Evil Red Dragon

"Again? Do you think I'm some kind of sitting duck?!"

Alecto roared, his body swelling with golden flames.

He completely ignored the Thunderwing Serpent attacking again, letting the lightning, which felt like tickling, explode on his dragon scales. His entire body transformed into a crimson-gold meteor, rushing straight towards Cyril.

Cyril's pupils contracted sharply as he saw a burning, furious figure rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.

The chanting was abruptly interrupted, and the thought of dodging had barely formed when Alector rammed into him.

Boom!

The two giant dragons tore at each other wildly as they rolled, and blood and dragon scales rained down.

"Get out of here!"

Cyril roared, spewing forth a torrent of strong acidic dragon breath. The corrosive, yellowish-green liquid splashed onto Alecto's shoulder, instantly producing a pungent white smoke and causing his scales to sizzle and burn.

Alecto grunted, then advanced instead of retreating, his right claw gripping Cyril's wound tightly, and ripped it open.

"what!"

Cyril let out a piercing scream as his wounds were forcibly widened, and dragon blood gushed out.

The excruciating pain caused his strength to wane, and Alecto seized the opportunity, clenching his left claw into a fist, gathering golden flames, and slamming the fist heavily into Cyril's jaw!

Click!

With a sickening cracking sound, Cyril's head was smashed backward, his dragon breath interrupted, and his consciousness briefly wavered.

"Now!"

Alector's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

He abandoned his pursuit of Cyril, turned around abruptly, his wings whipping up a gale, and with incredible agility twisted his body to face the Thunderwing Serpent pouncing from behind!

Just as the Thunderwing Serpent was about to unleash its lightning again to restrain the enemy, it met Alecto's dragon eyes, which burned with icy killing intent. A chill ran down its spine and straight to the top of its head.

It tried to back away, but it was too late.

"I've been waiting for you for so long!"

Alecto extended his right claw forward, compressing the golden flames to their limit, transforming them into five incomparably sharp blades that pierced straight at the Thunderwing Serpent's vulnerable neck.

The rapidly enlarging dragon claw was reflected in the Thunderwing Python's eyes, and the shadow of death completely enveloped him.

The Thunderwing Serpent tried to unleash its magic, to release lightning to protect itself, to dodge... but Alecto was too fast and had no time to react.

puff-

The dragon claw pierced the scales without any resistance, sinking deep into the flesh.

Alecto yanked hard!

"Hiss!"

The Thunderwing Python let out a dying hiss as most of its neck was torn apart, and dark purple blood mixed with arcs of electricity gushed out like a waterfall.

Its massive body convulsed violently, its six wings flapped weakly, and the light in its eyes quickly dimmed.

Without pausing, Alecto followed with its left paw, gripping its head tightly, and pouring in golden flames.

Bang!

Lightning and flames exploded violently inside the Thunderwing Python's skull.

The struggle quickly diminished and eventually stopped completely.

The last glimmer of light in the Thunderwing Serpent's eyes went out, its massive body became limp, and it was tossed from the air by Alecto like trash.

Boom!

The ground trembled, and dust billowed up.

The level-six magical beast, the Thunderwing Serpent, which had once posed a great threat to him, was now dead.

From Alekto's sudden counterattack to the death of the Thunderwing Serpent, the entire process took only a few breaths.

Cyril had just recovered from the dizziness of his fractured jawbone when he saw the Thunderwing Serpent's corpse fall to the ground.

The excruciating pain in his chest, the shattering sensation in his jaw, and the incredibly impactful scene before him made him feel as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, and a chilling fear gradually crept over him.

I am no match for this red dragon!

escape!

The thought surged into my mind uncontrollably.

Treasure is good, but life is more important!

He's a bronze dragon with a long lifespan; there's no need for him to fight a mad red dragon to the death here.

Cyril endured the excruciating pain, flapped his wings frantically, and tried to create distance and escape.

"Trying to leave?"

Alecto had somehow appeared in front of Cyril's retreat path, covered in blood, his left wing drooping unnaturally. But the killing intent in his dragon eyes made Cyril feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Did I give you permission to leave?

Alecto spoke slowly, raising his right claw as gold, red, and yellow began to converge, rotate, and compress, rapidly forming a terrifying wave of destruction.

Cyril had no doubt that if that blow had landed on him, in his current state, he would have either died or been completely rendered unable to fight.

"etc!"

Cyril shouted hastily, his voice somewhat muffled due to a jaw injury:

"Red Dragon! We can talk!"

"Talk? You bring a serpent to my territory, demanding my treasure, and now you want to talk because you can't win? Is this how flexible the justice of the Copper Dragon is?"

Cyril's face turned pale, filled with shame and indignation, but his will to survive overwhelmed everything.

He said quickly:

"This is a misunderstanding! It was the Thunderwing Python that bewitched me! It said you ruled tyrannically, enslaving all living beings, so I..."

Save your breath.

Alector interrupted him, his dragon eyes filled with mockery:

"Your greed is written all over your face; now you only have one ending..."

The Burning Gold Rock Spear on his claws was fully formed, its threatening intent self-evident.

"That's where we'll die!"

Cyril's heart sank:

"Wait! Trade all my treasure for my life!"

Alecto said calmly:

"How ridiculous! After you die, all your treasure will still belong to me."

Cyril hurriedly said:

"I've designed my lair as a labyrinth; you won't find it without me!"

"That……"

Alecto changed the subject, a calculating glint in his eyes:

"If you submit to me, offer your loyalty and all your treasures, I may consider sparing your life."

Submit, not kill.

This idea was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Alecto had already been weighing his options the moment he saw Cyril.

Killing a level 6 peak copper dragon can eliminate future troubles, but the benefits are limited to a dragon corpse and the treasure of a nest.

Subduing it... means gaining a powerful metal dragon with a long lifespan and growth potential.

The strategic value of a level 6 peak combatant far exceeds that of a pile of treasure.

But will it accept it?

So what if they don't accept it? They'll definitely make money anyway, it's just a matter of how much.

Thoughts raced through my mind, but in reality, they only lasted a moment.

"Surrender?!"

Cyril felt like his tail had been stepped on:

"I am a noble bronze dragon! How can I submit to a mere red dragon?! This is against..."

"Violated your creed?"

Alecto scoffed:

"So this has gone against your perfect plan of failing to rob someone and getting robbed instead? Be realistic, Bronze Dragon. I may not find your treasure, but your life is now in my hands."

"Submit or die, choose one."

The pressure of death loomed over Cyril.

He looked at the unbearable pain from the wound on his chest, then at the gradually cooling corpse of the Thunderwing Serpent below, and then at the increasingly dangerous rock spear in Alekto's claws.

Dignity? Creed? Alignment? They all seem so pale in the face of death.

He has lived for nearly two hundred years, and with great difficulty he has accumulated considerable wealth and possessed the strength of the peak of level six. How could he die here?

Submitting to a red dragon is certainly a disgrace, but at least you're alive... and as long as you're alive, you have a chance.

He has a long life ahead of him; perhaps he will find a chance to break free from control someday…

Various thoughts flashed through Cyril's mind.

Ultimately, the instinct for survival prevailed over pride.

He slowly lowered his head, the light in his dragon eyes dimming, and said hoarsely:

"I... surrender."

Alecto did not immediately lower his guard.

He knew all too well the cunning of dragons, especially metal dragons, who were even better at concealing their true nature and disguising themselves than the five-colored dragons.

"I swear by your real name."

Alecto said coldly:

"Swear an oath to Bahamut, that you willingly become my vassal dragon, offering your loyalty and never betraying me. At the same time, open your soul immediately and enter into a master-servant pact with me."

"Real name?!"

Cyril looked up abruptly, his eyes flashing with terror and struggle.

For dragons, their true name is one of their greatest secrets. Once it is known, they will be subject to human control, or even sold to the devil.

Furthermore, signing a contract by opening one's soul means completely entrusting one's life and death to the other party!

"You don't want to?"

The brightness of the rock spear in Alekto's claw suddenly increased:

"Then forget it."

"No! I'm willing!"

Cyril shouted in a panic.

He sensed the rapidly rising destructive aura emanating from the rock spear and had no doubt that it would strike at him in the next moment.

He closed his eyes, overwhelmed by immense shame, but still managed to tremble as he revealed his true name to Alecto.

At the same time, he relaxed his soul's defenses, revealing a crack.

Alecto's immense spiritual power, carrying the pre-prepared contract runes, surged powerfully into the depths of Cyril's soul.

The contract was simple yet harsh, requiring absolute obedience and prohibiting any form of harm or betrayal of Alecto and his family, among other things.

Cyril's soul trembled violently, instinctively trying to resist this foreign mark, but under Alector's threat, the resistance quickly crumbled.

The contract is established.

A master-servant relationship was established between Alector and Cyril.

Alector can impose certain punishments on Cyril through a contract.

He slowly dissipated the Burning Gold Rock Spear, and the boiling killing intent on his body also subsided.

"very good."

Alecto looked down at the bronze dragon with its head bowed:

"Now, take me to your lair."

Cyril froze, raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment:

"Master... my injuries..."

"He won't die."

Alecto said:

"My injuries are worse than yours, but I'm still flying, aren't I? Lead the way."

Cyril dared not refute any further. Enduring the sharp pain in his chest and the discomfort in his jaw, he turned around and flew back towards his nest, his speed noticeably slower.

Alekto followed closely behind, simultaneously relaying simple instructions to Gru on the ground:

"Clean up the battlefield, collect the corpses of the Thunderwing Serpents, and wait for my return."

……

After flying for about ten hours, passing through several hills and a wide river, a mountain range with jagged rocks appeared ahead.

This place is dry and hot, and it's a rocky mountainous plateau, which is quite suitable for copper dragons to live in.

Cyril's lair is located on the side of the highest peak, with its entrance hidden behind a huge rock crevice and further concealed by rocks.

It would have been difficult to discover this without Cyril leading the way.

Entering the rock crevice and navigating through the winding maze, the interior space suddenly opens up.

Dragon's Nest is a huge cave, which appears quite well-organized after Cyril's modifications.

The cave walls were polished relatively smooth, the floor was paved with stone slabs traded from human towns, and deep inside was a small mountain of treasure.

It was glittering with gold, but its scale... was far smaller than that of Alector, with a value of only around 70.

There were plenty of gems, but very few magical items, and those that were of average quality. Only a few of them emitted level three or four energy fluctuations, and most of them were defensive or supportive, with very few offensive ones.

There were also some handicrafts that clearly came from the human world, which Cyril casually piled up in a corner.

Alecto glanced at it and assessed in his mind that this bronze dragon wasn't doing too well.

Cyril stood nervously to the side, watching Alecto examine his collection, his heart bleeding.

These are the fruits of his hard work over two hundred years!

Now everything is going to change hands!

Alecto walked up to the pile of treasure, stretched out his claws, and began to count it one by one.

He brushed aside the gold coins on the surface, examined the quality of the gems underneath, and picked out a few magical items to sense them slightly.

Cyril's heart clenched as he watched, and he couldn't help but say:

"Master... according to dragon tradition, vassal dragons are usually allowed to retain a portion of their private treasure..."

He was trying to fight for some rights.

Alecto didn't even look up:

"Tradition? When you brought the Thunderwing Serpent to my door, what about tradition? Now you are my spoils of war, everything you have is mine. Including you."

He glanced at Cyril:

"Of course, if you perform well and make contributions in the future, I won't mind rewarding you with some. But for now, it's all mine."

After saying that, he ignored Cyril and began to put all the gold coins, gems, and magical items into his spatial bag.

His movements were practiced and his eyes were calm, as if he were doing something completely ordinary.

Cyril watched helplessly as his two-hundred-year savings vanished rapidly, stuffed into that inconspicuous bag. The immense loss and resentment suffocated him.

But the covenant deep within his soul burned slightly, reminding him that any thought of rebellion or resentment could invite punishment.

He could only suppress his emotions, burying his head even lower, his dragon claws scratching at the stone slabs on the ground, leaving deep marks.

It, the noble bronze dragon Cyril, had become a vassal of the red dragon...

Their true names have been obtained, their souls have been branded, and their treasures are about to be looted.

A strong sense of regret welled up in his heart.

If only I hadn't listened to the bewitching words of the Thunderwing Python, and hadn't coveted the red dragon's treasure...

No, perhaps we shouldn't have gotten close to this area in the first place.

But it's too late to say anything now.

The contract has been made; life and death are now in our own hands.

It could only pray that the red dragon named Alecto wouldn't die so soon, otherwise, as a vassal, it would probably suffer collateral damage as well.

Alecto noticed Cyril's subtle movements but didn't pay them any mind.

It's perfectly normal for a loser to feel resentful; as long as the contract remains in effect, they can't cause any trouble.

He is now more concerned with the actual value of these treasures and how to use them.

After the inventory was completed, all valuable items were collected.

Alecto clapped his paws and looked at Cyril: "Is this all you have?"

Cyril said in a muffled voice:

"...I mainly operate on the outskirts of human kingdoms, rarely venturing deep into the territory, and unlike...some dragons, I don't plunder indiscriminately."

He ultimately didn't dare to mention the Red Dragon directly.

Alecto remained noncommittal.

It's reasonable that the copper dragon's behavior pattern limits the speed of its wealth accumulation.

However, Cyril himself, as a level six peak metal dragon, is his greatest asset.

A powerful fighter who can also act as a shield is a useful asset no matter how you look at it.