Chapter 14: Battle for Leadership

After nearly a month of repairs, the Red Dragon's territory was thriving.

Under the command of Ramp and the Great Goblin, goblins and ogres had piled up a simple stone fortress within Giant Valley.

The walls were over five meters high, and watchtowers were placed on higher ground, named "Rock Fortress" by the widely-read Ramp.

This made the valley, which was already easy to defend and hard to attack, even more indestructible. Even if human regular armies were to attack, Red Dragon was confident in keeping them at bay,

"Hurry up with the work, no slacking!" a three-meter-tall ogre shouted from the top of the watchtower.

However, the wooden watchtower seemed so fragile under the ogre's large and corpulent body that one could even hear the wood creaking—almost as if moaning under the half-tonne weight.

"Heave ho!"

The ogres hoisted huge logs, straining to carry them upwards as a frame for the watchtowers of Rock Fortress.

Ogres, being close relatives of the Giant, possessed extraordinary strength and, aside from their gluttony and laziness, were excellent laborers.

Goblins, already accustomed to building camps, found it relatively easy to construct a simple fortress under the command of Ramp with an intelligence of 17 and the leadership of the Great Goblin, assisted by the mighty ogres and more than four hundred goblins.

Meanwhile, under the five-meter-high walls, a group of goblins fervently dug at the stone with their hoes.

"Faster!"

"You hit my foot!"

As cunning and slippery creatures, they often slacked off, but ever since an angry ogre overseer crushed a sleeping goblin into a pulp last time, such incidents had ceased to occur.

After all, while Ramp's "knocks" were only momentary pains for the dim-witted ogres, for the goblins, it meant the end of their lives, and they were very aware of this.

"Awooo—"

"What's that?"

The working goblins all looked up, startled by a huge shadow in the sky.

Suddenly, several enormous shapes flew toward them like a great dark cloud—those were more than ten bipedal wyverns.

They had merely felt the call of the dragon bloodline in their bodies, flocking together to see if there was a presence worthy of their allegiance.

The largest of these bipedal wyverns was even over seven meters long, ferociously baring its teeth and claws, its size almost matching Cassius but far more slender than Red Dragon.

Unlike true dragons, they didn't have four limbs and wings but had two scaled legs and a pair of sturdy wings.

The tails of wyverns were strong and muscular, with their most powerful weapon at the tip: a venomous barb.

This intensely toxic wyvern toxin could burn the heart and arteries of the victim through the recirculating blood—the lethality of the wyvern made hunters and adventurers covet its venom, using it for alchemical concoctions and poisoning weapons.

The bipedal wyverns planted their forelimbs on the ground, the wing membranes tucking close to their bodies.

They landed, roaring.

Calling for the master of this place.

The nearby goblins panicked, fearing they might be eaten or crushed by the bipedal wyverns, and quickly fled the area with their comrades.

After all, they were too small, and even a slight movement from the powerful creatures was enough to kill them.

The Ogre Mage on the fortress walls was ready for battle, already beginning to construct the Fireball Technique model.

The Chimera in the cliffside cave also became alert, its three heads showing different expressions.

"Master, there is a group of wyverns!"

"Roar!"

Red Dragon flew out of Giant's Mouth Cave, emitting a long, distant roar, arriving in front of the wyvern group.

"Submit to me (Draconic),"

Cassius said.

The wyverns let out raucous roars and then bowed their elongated necks, lowering their heads in submission.

But the largest of the wyverns, seeing that the Red Dragon in front of it was merely juvenile and almost the same size as itself, chose to issue a challenging roar.

Clearly, he was dazed by the rare opportunity to become the leader.

A leadership battle?

A long-standing tradition among dragon-type creatures.

The two contenders would duel, and the victor would become the leader of their community, while the loser would be banished.

But for a proud Pureblood Red Dragon, being challenged by a despicable Wyvern was a tremendous insult.

If Cassius were a full-blooded Red Dragon, he would have been steaming with anger and would have longed to tear it apart.

"You have made the worst choice. (Draconic)"

Cassius was also furious, but his anger focused on his own size—how long would he have to wait to shake his body like an adult Red Dragon and make these monsters bow before him.

"And I shall grant you—death! (Draconic)"

With a flap of his wings, the Red Dragon soared high, looking down at the Wyvern from above.

[Based on your own strength, you observe the following information]

Wyvern

Large dragons, unaligned

AC: 13 (natural armor)

Speed: 20 feet, fly 80 feet

Strength—19

Agility—10

Constitution—16

Intelligence—5

Perception—12

Charisma—6

Skill Proficiency: Perception +2, Hunting +4

Senses: Dark Vision 60 feet, Passive Perception 14

Language: Understands Draconic

Action Skills: Multi-attack, Biting, Clawing, Stinging

Challenge Level: 6 (2300 XP)

Assessment: "Sometimes, travelers in the wilderness look up to see a Wyvern in the sky, clutching its prey. These giant dragonkin also hunt in the dense forests and caves. They are brutal hunters, and their appearance in groups often triggers waves of panic on the fringes of civilization."

On the ground, the Wyvern lifted its sinister head with its long neck slightly curved, issuing a provocative hiss that sounded more like a type of snake.

"Hiss—"

Then, the large, bipedal Wyvern swung its forelimbs and leapt into the air, its strong tail shaking in the sky, its sharp tail spur shimmering with a cold glint.

"Flame Breath!"

However, before it completely left the ground, the Red Dragon spat a cone of blazing fire from its mouth, striking directly at the Wyvern's body.

The Wyvern hastily adjusted its body in mid-air, skewing its wings and trying to use its forelimbs to grab the ground to evade the attack, but it was still inevitably struck by the roaring flame breath.

Much of the scales on its chest were scorched black, and the skin beneath was damaged by the intense flames, leaving it in a terribly disheveled state.

"Aow—"

The Wyvern let out a painful wail, but immediately afterward, it propped itself up on the ground with its forelimbs and took off once more, unsteadily.

Because it didn't have much time, as the Red Dragon's next breath was imminent, its throat already glowing with an orange-yellow flame, like a volcano ready to erupt.

"Boom—"

There was another sound of flames consuming the air, and another streak of scarlet flame descended from above, following the Wyvern's flying trajectory.

This flame made the nearby air scorchingly twist, and it filled the Wyvern with utter terror.

It could only desperately flap its wings to flee, maneuvering through the air, with no means of retaliation.