Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

The sound wasn't loud, but it brought tears to the Great Shaman's eyes once again.

He stretched out his hands and carefully cradled the tiny firebird in his palms.

He knelt on the ground, holding the ball of golden-red light, and cried like a child.

The surrounding orcs watched this scene in silence. Some knelt, some stood, some slumped on the ground, some held children, and some covered their faces.

But in their eyes, the firelight was reflected.

The fire spirit chick squatted in the great shaman's palm for a while, tilting its head to look around.

It saw the orcs kneeling on the ground, the cub reaching out to it, the young archer slumped on the ground, and a figure that had been knocking on its head. It blinked, then its gaze swept over everyone and landed on the dark golden figure hovering in mid-air.

Those pure gold eyes met those dark gold vertical pupils.

The fire spirit chick tilted its head, flapped its wings twice, and jumped down from the great shaman's palm.

It landed on the ground, took two steps, flapped its wings twice, and then flew up unsteadily.

It flew toward Auduin.

The great shaman's smile froze on his face.

Alduin hovered in the air, his dark golden vertical pupils fixed on the ball of flame flying towards him.

He could easily swallow this ball of fire spirit now, and immediately gain fire resistance and ember magic, but...

The Emberfang Orcs would consider him a mortal enemy. A seventh-tier chieftain and a high shaman, along with several hundred of their people, had severely weakened them. However, if they didn't die and pursued him relentlessly, it would still be troublesome, even though he wasn't afraid.

But if we leave it...

This fire spirit is the faith of the Emberfang Orcs, and he can use it to control the Emberfang tribe.

Alduin unleashed the dragon language magic "Breath of Fire," and his entire body burst into crimson flames.

Upon seeing this, the Fire Spirit chick's golden fiery eyes suddenly lit up, and it swooped down towards Alduin, plunging headfirst into the crimson flames engulfing him.

Auduin did not dodge.

The crimson flames suddenly flickered, and the fire spirit chick's body appeared and disappeared in the flames. Far from being burned by the dragon flames, it fluttered around happily as if it had returned to its nest.

Alduin felt the crimson flames and golden flames intertwining and swirling around him, and his dragon eyes narrowed slightly.

He felt it. The warm, fiery aura emanating from the fire spirit was seeping into his chest and merging with it.

The feeling was like being...licked by a mother dragon.

Alduin frowned, feeling somewhat uneasy. He extinguished the flames on his body, and the feeling disappeared.

The fire spirit chick perched on his nose, gently scratching his scales with its claws, tilting its head to look at Alduin, letting out a soft cry, somewhat puzzled.

Alduin ignored it and simply turned his gaze to the Emberfang Orc in front of him.

The high shaman watched this scene, his lips trembling, and looked down at his hands.

He understood what Auduin meant.

That's the only thing we can do.

He slowly stood up from the ground, straightened his back, picked up the bone staff that had fallen to the ground, and stuck it into the pile of rubble to support his swaying body.

Then he raised his head and looked at Alduin with his eyes reflecting the red light.

His lips moved, his voice hoarse, "Black Dragon... Your Excellency."

Alduin did not respond to him, but simply stood there, meeting his murky gaze with his dark gold vertical pupils.

The fire spirit chick perched on his nose, tilting its head to look at the high shaman, then at Alduin, seemingly bored by the silence.

It scratched at Alduin's scales with its claws, let out a soft chirp, then curled up, buried its head in its wings, and dozed off.

The high shaman watched the golden-red light sleeping peacefully on the dragon's nose, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"We... need a condition."

"explain."

The high shaman took a deep breath. "Mother of Embers...She has chosen you." His voice trembled. "We will not disobey Her choice. But..."

He paused, his tone heavy.

"But He is the faith we have guarded for generations. We can submit to Him, offer magic crystals and ores, and fight for Him, but He... cannot become your prisoner."

Du Yin's vertical pupils narrowed slightly.

The high shaman gripped his bone staff tightly: "He needs freedom, the right to fly back to the Ash Highlands, the right to bathe in the embers, the right to..."

"I didn't say to keep it closed," Auduin interrupted him.

The great shaman was stunned.

Alduin glanced down at the little creature that had curled up into a ball of fur, perched on the bridge of his nose.

"It flew here on its own," Alduin said calmly. "When it wants to fly back, it will naturally fly back."

Auduin was telling the truth.

After all, spirits are pure elemental entities, and to restrict them, one can only use containers of the corresponding element to attach them to.

But this is not a constraint; it is simply a choice they have to make to prevent their magic from constantly dissipating.

The fire spirit that was born naturally in front of us is full of magic power, which is inexhaustible and will not be lost. Therefore, it does not need any vessel to rely on and is not restricted.

However, Alduin wouldn't tell them the reason.

The great shaman stood there, a hint of surprise flashing in his cloudy eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but found that he didn't need to say anything.

He had prepared a lot of rhetoric, about freedom, dignity, and the inviolability of faith, and was even prepared for the dragon to make harsh conditions.

but……

He remained silent for a long time, then lowered his head and looked at his hands once more.

Those hands, once... He shook his head, no longer recalling them.

What was it used for before?

Now, these hands are empty, there's nothing there.

"We," he said softly, "the Emberfang Tribe..."

He didn't finish his sentence because he didn't know how to say it.

Submission? Loyalty? Or, as the dragon said... a dependent?

He had lived for too many years, witnessed the rise and fall of too many tribes, and seen too many powerful figures rise and fall.

He had seen tribes that submitted to the strong; some lived well, some were used as cannon fodder, and some didn't even leave behind their names.

He didn't know which form Emberfang would take, but he knew they had no other choice.

His knees bent.

He pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice trembling yet clear: "The Ember Fang tribe, seven hundred and thirty-seven people, are willing to serve the Dragon Lord as their master. The Ember Fire is our witness, our bloodline our covenant, and we will never break it for generations."

Iron Bone stood behind him, motionless, and then... knelt down on one knee.

Seeing this, the orcs behind him also chose to put down their weapons and kneel down.

Alduin looked at the orcs with a satisfied expression.

He brought a powerful orc tribe under his command with virtually no effort.

However, they cannot yet be considered true imperial consorts.

Surrender is one thing, but genuine faith from the heart is another.