Hearing this, Furiel's movements stiffened.
"How come I didn't know that?"
Dragons were very concerned about their image, especially chromatic dragons. Most of them possessed a degree of vanity; who wouldn't want to look a bit better?
Jonavili let out a soft chuckle.
"Hehe~ Think about the other red dragons in your draconic inheritance. Aren't most of them covered in dull, dark scales? That is caused by being angry every single day.
Now look at yourself—your color is so vibrant. You wouldn't want such beautiful scales to turn into that, would you?"
Furiel looked at her with an expression that said she didn't believe a word of it.
"That is caused by bathing in magma every day combined with old age. Once dragon scales thicken, they dull. You're trying to fool a white dragon here."
Being exposed did not embarrass Jonavili; instead, she put on a look of profound distress.
"As your friend, how could I possibly lie to you?"
This made Furiel hesitate slightly.
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm."
Jonavili put on an expression of absolute sincerity.
"As a friend, for you to actually doubt me, Furiel... I am truly heartbroken, waaaah."
Jonavili made a show of being about to cry, leaving Furiel completely at a loss.
"Ah, I..."
"Hee-hee~ Fooled you."
Jonavili suddenly beamed with joy, making Furiel want to slap her across the face.
'What a piece of work...'
As if she felt the provocation wasn't enough, Jonavili reached a dragon claw toward her reverse scale. This was one of the most vital parts of a dragon, and it could generally block out external perception. After all, the heart lay just beneath the reverse scale.
Just as Furiel was wondering what kind of trouble Jonavili was up to now, her dragon pupils suddenly narrowed into vertical slits.
A shiny, golden little beauty was partially revealed—it was a gold coin!
Seeing Furiel's reaction, Jonavili grinned with satisfaction and then tucked the gold coin back in.
A quick look was enough; she didn't dare take it out. If she did, this red dragon would surely try to snatch it. After all, to a dragon, a gold coin was nothing less than a circular succubus—it was nearly impossible to resist.
Keeping it in the reverse scale was also relatively safe. The reverse scale was the most sacred spot for all dragons; no other dragon was ever permitted to touch it. If someone touched it without the dragon's permission, it meant a fight to the death.
Jonavili didn't think Furiel would choose a death match over a single gold coin.
"Do you want it?"
Hearing such an idiotic question, Furiel really wanted to crack open Jonavili's skull to see if her brain was filled with dragon dung.
Was she joking? What dragon wouldn't want a circular succubus?
"Stop playing games with me."
"Good, straight to the point. I need your dragon blood to convert more draconic kin."
Hearing this, Furiel frowned.
For an arrogant dragon, granting their power to these weak races was inherently unpleasant.
If she hadn't been afraid of something unexpected happening while she slept, Furiel would never have chosen to convert those gnolls back then.
However, after weighing it again, Furiel still nodded.
"Fine. Give me that little beauty after the conversion is done."
Jonavili wagged a dragon finger, and Furiel's gaze turned cold.
"What do you mean by that?"
Looking at Furiel on the verge of an explosion, Jonavili spoke teasingly.
"Don't be so angry. I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you, but it won't be this specific one.
In a few months, a human caravan will come to our territory. They are very likely to launch an attack on my servants.
When the time comes, we will step in to kill them and take their little beauties. What do you think?"
Hearing Jonavili's words, Furiel grew suspicious.
"How do you know this?"
"Don't worry about that."
"Then what does that have to do with my dragon blood?"
Jonavili thought to herself that this fellow was truly difficult to fool.
"Because I've decided not to step in immediately. I want our servants to experience a battle to accelerate their growth. The little beauties we seize will be distributed as spoils based on their merit.
We will only act when they encounter a situation they cannot resolve.
Just think about it. When the humans are facing utter despair and a very strong person suddenly appears among them—that is their hope. Then, we step in to suppress that hope and grant them true despair. Wouldn't that be exciting?"
Hearing Jonavili's words, Furiel bared her teeth in a dragon grin.
For a chromatic dragon, this kind of scenario was the most delightful.
"Fine, I agree. Let's go now."
Seeing Furiel agree, Jonavili knew her trickery had succeeded.
And so, she led Furiel out of the cave, flying toward the nearby White Crystal City.
Before they even landed, they saw Gris lying in the plaza like a grand lord, waiting for the servants to feed him.
"This guy... he really knows how to enjoy himself."
The changes in the sky caught the attention of the monsters. Upon seeing the two massive dragons, the monsters were all terrified and knelt on the ground.
Gris had his eyes closed, lying on a lounge chair with his mouth wide open. Noticing that no monster had fed him for several seconds, he said dissatisfiedly.
"What are you doing? Is every single one of you planning to rebel?"
Receiving no response, Gris opened his eyes in annoyance.
"Oh? Today I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of my big sis..."
His words cut off abruptly. Gris's eyes instantly cleared, and he put on a fawning smile.
"Hehehe~ Big sis, you're here."
Thud!
Standing in front of Gris, Jonavili expressionlessly punched him on the head. The immense force shattered the entire lounge chair, and Gris tumbled to the ground.
"Big sis, what was that for!"
"You are the definition of embezzlement and corruption!"
Gris stood up from the ground and scratched his head.
"Embezzlement and corruption? What on earth is that?"
Jonavili felt the futility of punching a cloud. At that moment, a little girl with long, fiery red hair descended from the sky to land beside Jonavili.
Furiel's face was filled with expressions of unhappiness, impatience, disgust, and a 'the world should just end, I'm tired' vibe.
For a dragon, transforming into such a weak and inferior race was inherently unpleasant, except for those bored metallic dragons.
Metallic dragons would transform into humans to integrate into their society, observe their behavior, and live among them.
But there was no other way; this city-state was too small. If Furiel didn't transform into a human, she wouldn't be able to move around at all.
The surrounding monsters were already scared witless, especially the three tribal leaders who had been summoned.
The minotaur leader Dalu still remembered clearly that he had been happily playing with two beautiful cows when these dragon-kin suddenly charged into their tribe. Before he could even react, a strong frost kobold had grabbed him by the throat and asked menacingly.
"Will you submit voluntarily, or should I beat you into submission?"
He had been scared into impotence on the spot, leading to some ongoing issues even now.
Furiel scanned the area and announced arrogantly.
"I want these fellows."
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