Subjugation

A week quickly passed.

Over the course of this week, as they ventured deeper, the two hatchlings gained a much more profound understanding of the desolation of the God-Forsaken Land.

It was an unimaginable loneliness.

They could travel dozens of miles without encountering a single living creature.

Most of what they saw along the way was nothing but rocks and sand.

And skeletons.

Most of these bones were buried in the yellow sand, only to be exposed when the wind blew.

Judging by the skulls, there were both humanoids and beasts.

The bones only bore signs of weathering, suggesting they hadn't been killed by other creatures.

Irene figured they had probably died of thirst or froze to death.

After all, the temperature difference between day and night here was extreme, and water was severely scarce.

After picking up a few bones that likely belonged to some kind of cattle for Daviel to gnaw on, the two dragons continued deeper into this desolate region.

They were trying to find a relatively livable area.

Although dragons could adapt to most environments—and extreme ones like red dragons could even sleep in magma—

who would willingly stay in a barren desert if they could have a comfortable living environment?

Fortunately, that night, Irene and Daviel discovered an oasis.

Unfortunately, there was firelight within this oasis.

That meant intelligent creatures had already occupied it.

But that was only natural.

Since the God-Forsaken Land was so desolate, most of the creatures living here could only huddle within these oases.

Under the cover of night, Irene and Daviel flew over the oasis.

They planned to first observe the creatures living inside.

If they were too strong, the dragons would have to slowly plan how to take it over.

Conversely, if they were very weak,

they would take it by force.

In this cruel foreign world, Irene had long understood the law of the jungle.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with this; only by surviving could one afford to talk about kindness.

If you couldn't even survive yourself, blind kindness would only lead to your own ruin.

Moreover, she was currently an evil dragon.

Relying on their extraordinary vision, which was comparable to Eagle Eye, the two hatchlings quickly identified the masters of this oasis.

It was a group of very weak half-beastkin.

To be precise, they were a branch of half-beastkin—

kobolds.

They were humanoids that looked like dogs but possessed human-like limbs.

They were generally only a little over a meter tall.

These creatures had a major characteristic: they worshipped dragons to an extreme degree.

Furthermore, generation after generation firmly believed they were the descendants of dragons, with draconic blood flowing in their veins.

Almost every kobold yearned to become a dragon's follower.

This unofficial history wasn't entirely baseless.

Indeed, a very small number of lucky kobolds could awaken the trace of draconic blood within them.

They would stand out from then on, becoming spellcasters capable of casting some of a dragon's innate magic—Draconic Sorcerers.

Having confirmed that this tribe's overall strength wasn't high, and that they were kobolds who worshipped dragons fanatically,

Irene and Daviel immediately dropped their disguise. Diving from the sky, they plummeted down like falling meteors.

Irene crashed heavily onto the plaza of this tribe, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

At this moment, the kobold tribe seemed to be holding a bonfire party, with a large number of kobolds gathered together.

Drawn by the loud noise, they all stopped what they were doing and looked over.

As the dust cleared, they discovered to their horror that these were two giant beasts covered in black scales.

One of them swept its golden eyes around, and its terrifying Dragon Fear instantly swept in all directions.

Frightened by the terrifying Dragon Fear, the kobolds didn't even have the courage to run away.

“Wah! Wah...”

A kobold baby held by a kobold woman burst into loud wails from the fright.

Just as the woman was at a complete loss, the giant beast merely glanced over, and the baby instantly stopped crying.

It was a fear and awe etched deep within their bloodline.

It was the bloodline suppression of a higher being over a lower being.

After scanning the crowd, Irene spread her black dragon wings.

Cold Draconic words, carrying an even more powerful aura, swept through the area.

“Submit, or die!”

The air fell silent for a few seconds.

Just as Irene was growing a bit impatient and preparing to turn these kobolds into an extra meal...

“Lord True Dragon! Lord True Dragon!”

An old, hunched kobold leaning on a staff cried out as he squeezed through the crowd.

He walked tremblingly to within half a meter of Irene.

Then, releasing his grip on the staff, he fell to his knees with a thud, pressing his head low to the ground.

He didn't dare look into the golden eyes of the giant beast before him.

Like a fuse being lit, the other kobolds immediately fell to their knees one after another.

“Lord True Dragon... we submit...”

The old kobold's teeth chattered, and he spoke somewhat unclearly, seemingly trying his best to suppress something.

“Very well. You have made a wise choice.”

Irene raised her head high.

“Now, under the witness of the gods, sign a master-servant contract with me!”

The old kobold tremblingly lifted his head.

What showed on his face was not fear, but extreme excitement.

The wrinkles on his old face smoothed out quite a bit.

Perhaps to other races, being taken as a dragon's follower was slavery.

It meant losing all sovereignty and becoming a vassal.

But for the Iron Tooth Tribe, it was different.

It wasn't just because they, as kobolds, naturally worshipped dragons to an extreme.

It was also because of the harsh living conditions.

The God-Forsaken Land was far from peaceful; in fact, it was highly chaotic.

Oases and water sources were the greatest wealth here.

The Iron Tooth Tribe wasn't particularly strong either. Previously, they lived in constant fear every day that other tribes would attack them.

Once defeated and captured by other tribes, they would become slaves, forced to do the heaviest labor.

In times of food shortage, they might even be used as emergency rations...

Now that they had become the followers of a dragon and secured such a powerful backer, they no longer had to live in fear every day.

If they could gain favor and be bestowed a drop of dragon blood, becoming dragon-blooded kobolds,

that would bring immense glory to their ancestors!

The old kobold couldn't help but be excited.

The old kobold slammed his head against the ground once more.

“I, Labudoderic Sommerfield Agerbrandylado, and all the kobolds of the Iron Tooth Tribe,”

“will surely become the sharpest spear and the sturdiest shield in your hands,”

“sweeping away all obstacles before you!”

Irene, however, frowned.

“Labu-what?”

“Your Grace, it is Labudoderic Sommerfield Agerbrandylado.”

The old kobold raised his head and repeated it.

“The name is too long, I can't remember it.”

Irene scratched her ear.

“From now on, your name is Fido.”

The old kobold slammed his head against the ground hard once more. A few drops of blood seeped from his forehead, but he didn't care at all.

Lifting his head and suppressing his joy, he roared with a face full of awe:

“Thank you for the name, Your Grace!”

Then Fido stood up and, under the envious gazes of the other kobolds, roared:

“Let the celebration continue! Prepare the finest food for our great Your Grace!”

“Heh, as expected of kobolds. Their fanaticism toward dragons is even greater than what's recorded in my inheritance.”

Irene lamented inwardly. She turned her head, intending to call out to Daviel, only to find that this guy was currently struggling to pull his head out of the ground.

Clearly, he had landed headfirst, which explained why he hadn't made a single sound just now.

Irene covered her face in exasperation.

“The next time we're out, don't say you're a black dragon. Just say you're a white dragon that got a tan.”

“We black dragons can't afford to lose face like this.”

Daviel finally pulled his head out of the ground and sat down on his butt, feeling dizzy.

Shaking the dirt off his head, he patted his head and poured a pile of soil out of his ear. Then, tilting his head, he asked Irene:

“Sis, were you talking to me just now?”

Irene turned her head away, pretending she didn't know this dragon.

“I said you look really handsome.”