Chapter 118: Study

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“……”

Facing one of their own kind, Lady Crimson naturally spoke in Dragon Tongue, which the impostor Huang Ze, of course, could not understand.

However, with his heightened focus, he vaguely sensed the attitude this red dragon held toward him—it seemed somewhat flattering, even tinged with a hint of humility!

Yes… it was like the kind of lowly admirer who vows to worship only one person for life, suddenly encountering a long-lost idol. The light shining in their eyes is impossible to conceal!

Of course, it could not be ruled out that this red dragon was skillful in the art of persuasion, deliberately putting on airs to seduce a superior male dragon like him.

The black dragon was wary in his heart. He had indeed hesitated about whether to test his own weaknesses; after all, he was destined to be a leader among dragons one day… and facing certain romantic entanglements early on might not be a bad thing.

Yet, this Lady Crimson, dressed flamboyantly and exuding abundant charm, was somewhat excessive, not quite fitting the black dragon’s ideal mate—he preferred someone purer, more innocent, a young maiden dragon with little worldly experience.

Ah… though he wasn’t sure if such rare types even existed among the dragon race.

“Y-You… I am Isolde Manningcus Caesar Augustus… of the Red Dragon clan, 980 years old, unmarried and without offspring, owning over a hundred properties, and with savings exceeding three hundred tons of gold… May I have the honor of making your acquaintance, handsome Mr. Black Dragon?”

Lady Crimson was completely unaware that the black dragon could not understand Dragon Tongue. Unlike him, she lacked the ability to forcibly suppress ominous feelings within herself. At this moment, she was deeply captivated by the black dragon’s handsome physique and unique aura, her mind filled with thoughts of capturing him, of courting him!

Yet the black dragon’s mind, lacking a Dragon Tongue module, not only failed to comprehend her words, but even found her somewhat insincere and frivolous. Naturally, his expression remained indifferent.

Far from being offended, Lady Crimson felt that this black dragon was truly genuine and manly, utterly different from the coquettish creatures outside! Her attitude immediately became more proactive, and she poured out waves of pleasantries and inquiries without pause.

Dragon Tongue is an ancient magical language, seemingly devoid of rules or logic. Whether spoken or written, it is difficult to analyze or study, let alone learn.

For a time, the Xiacuo Institute even suspected that Dragon Tongue was one of the advanced languages used to decode the essence of the world or magic itself, much like how C++ relates to computers. Mastery of Dragon Tongue might allow one to manipulate matter and magic.

Thus, at first, when Lady Crimson chattered non-stop, the black dragon did not interrupt but listened earnestly. After all, he was a mighty dragon; perhaps by hearing more Dragon Tongue, he might suddenly recall it!

Unfortunately, whether it was due to Hebrion severing his technical authorization or his soul’s core programming being incompatible with Dragon Tongue…

In any case, after a long time of listening, the black dragon gained nothing but irritation and finally could not help but interrupt, saying, “...Speak human language!”

“…”

Lady Crimson was stunned—why would he refuse to speak their native tongue and demand human speech? If Hebrion heard of this, she would surely be reprimanded!

But dragons generally held little respect for their main deity, Hebrion, who was notoriously stingy and greedy.

Not to mention that recently, this ancient forebear had somehow learned about the patent laws of the Xia Kingdom and schemed to transform Dragon Tongue from a free-to-use language into a licensed one. Any dragon wishing to use Dragon Tongue or Dragon Tongue magic would have to pay an annual patent fee to him!

This move provoked fierce opposition from all dragons, even the god of commerce, Volkin, could not bear it and harshly rebuked Hebrion remotely.

Though surprised, Lady Crimson was delighted that the male dragon was willing to talk to her.

Dragons are not known for restraint, and having lived nearly a millennium, Lady Crimson had finally encountered a suitable match. There was no time for coyness; she immediately repeated her introduction, this time in Xia language.

“Red dragon, 980 years old, unmarried and childless—you’re lying!”

The black dragon sneered; even he, a self-demanding and somewhat fastidious black dragon, was occasionally overwhelmed by lust. How much more so for her, a vigorous red dragon who had lived nearly a thousand years!

Besides, dragons could not undergo marriage checks; whatever she claimed was taken as truth.

“...It’s true, I swear it by the heavens!”

Seeing the black dragon’s disbelief, Lady Crimson quickly affirmed with excitement.

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“Give me a break… if swearing by the heavens worked, this world would be peaceful already!”

Having suppressed all ill omens within himself, the black dragon remained calm and said lightly, “So, you’re that red dragon the Xia people talk about. Tell me, why are you so eager to find me?”

“Of course, it’s to have children with you… no, no, to cooperate with you!”

Lady Crimson blurted out her true intention, then quickly realized her mistake and corrected herself.

Her intuition told her this Mr. Black Dragon was a serious, responsible gentleman dragon. Being too blunt or frivolous would not win his favor but only cause disgust.

“...Cooperate? How exactly?”

The black dragon superficially ignored her earlier words but felt a slight stir in his heart. As a mighty dragon, finding ways to breed more offspring was surely contributing to the nation!

“You give up plans to join the Xia nationality, then team up with me to build a free city near the Xia border. We monopolize real estate and taxes, and we’ll make a fortune!”

Without hesitation, Lady Crimson said, “Mr. Dios, what’s so great about joining the Xia nationality? Even if the Xia treat you well, it can’t compare to starting your own business and being your own boss!”

“As long as we can leverage connections in Xia and establish the free city, I guarantee your annual income won’t be less than two hundred tons of gold… If not, I’ll give myself to you as compensation!”

…Dream on!

The black dragon sneered inwardly, watching Lady Crimson with amusement. “Sorry, our paths differ. Our pursuits are clearly not the same, so there’s no point wasting words. Nothing more to discuss.”

“Pursuits… Mr. Dios, what are your pursuits? Could you tell me?”

Lady Crimson did not lose composure at his refusal; instead, she shifted strategy and followed his topic to inquire.

My pursuits…

The black dragon looked toward the horizon at a forty-five-degree angle, feeling somewhat lost. In the past, his pursuits would have been to marry a gentle, virtuous wife, have two smart and adorable children, own a car, a house, savings, a career he loved, and live a peaceful, happy life.

But now that he had become a mighty dragon, those old pursuits were evidently outdated!

Should he leverage his business acumen and physical advantages to amass wealth and become the richest dragon across all realms? Or should he transform into a resolute seeker and revolutionary, overthrow the gods’ rule, unveil the world’s truth and essence, and bring everything to harmony…

“No, no, no… My pursuit cannot be as vulgar as the former nor as lofty as the latter. I just want to protect my family and my homeland through my own efforts, remain healthy forever, and see them flourish eternally!”

The black dragon did not answer Lady Crimson’s question directly but instead spoke quietly to himself.

“…”

Perceiving that the black dragon showed little interest in her human form, Lady Crimson dispelled her transformation, appearing before him in her true dragon shape.

Sure enough, the black dragon’s attention was captured; his eyes widened, fixed unblinkingly on her body.

It wasn’t that he had lost his wits to lust, but that he suddenly noticed an oddity—female dragons had no nipples!

“…Seems so. Reptiles and oviparous animals generally don’t have nipples.”

The black dragon realized belatedly and chuckled at himself—he was actually pondering such a matter!

However, the smile in the black dragon’s eyes was clearly interpreted by Lady Crimson as a positive signal. She immediately transformed into a devoted fangirl, crawling forward toward him.

Lady Crimson’s form was graceful, her fiery red scales gleaming brilliantly. Whether polished or naturally radiant, even the black dragon had to admit, by dragon standards, she was quite beautiful and alluring!

Unfortunately, preconceived notions ran deep. Passive personalities like Huang Ze found such forwardness uninteresting, so when Lady Crimson approached for affection, the black dragon not only felt no excitement but even wanted to swat her away with a claw.

Yet he refrained, showing a touch of chivalry. Instead, he suddenly had a good idea. He stood up, stepped back about ten paces, then said to Lady Crimson, “Since you’re female, just perfect. Help me incubate these two eggs!”

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“…”

Lady Crimson did not refuse. First, she was known as a godmother-level red dragon because she liked to help other dragons incubate eggs, releasing her overflowing maternal instincts; second, these two dragon eggs carried the black dragon’s body heat, so sitting on them was certainly beneficial!

A male and a female dragon taking turns incubating eggs—that was the ideal dragon family!

Mr. Dios must have had this in mind but was too shy to say it outright, hence such a subtle hint!

Lady Crimson’s imagination ran wild. Seeing the black dragon watching her intently while she incubated the eggs, she felt even more thrilled, her eyes nearly brimming with tears.

The black dragon, however, had no idea of her inner drama. He simply wished to learn the proper incubation posture from this mature female dragon, since he would inevitably have to handle such tasks in the future!

“Um… Could you kindly teach me the technical essentials?”

After watching for a while, the black dragon felt he might have gleaned something, or perhaps nothing at all. Unable to resist, he humbly asked Lady Crimson for guidance.

“...What?”

Lady Crimson was somewhat caught off guard.

“I mean the incubation technique.”

The black dragon explained, “Your posture seems similar to mine but looks much more professional. Could you share the knowledge behind it?”

“…”

Lady Crimson stared into the black dragon’s earnest eyes, unsure if he was mocking her or genuinely interested. After a moment, she asked, “Mr. Dios, why are you curious about this? And did the Xia people force you to come here to incubate eggs?”

“No need to call me ‘Mr.’ You’re 980 years old; you might be older than me.”

The black dragon was easygoing. Since Lady Crimson had obediently agreed to incubate the eggs, he relaxed and spoke more. “The Xia people didn’t force me… I wanted to try it myself. After all, it’s not only female dragons who can incubate eggs, right?”

“That’s true…”

Lady Crimson nodded thoughtfully. Unlike humans, where only mothers bear offspring, as oviparous creatures, male dragons can also incubate dragon eggs, though almost no males do so voluntarily.

It’s simply that the incubation period is so long and arduous that male dragons are mostly irresponsible scoundrels, lacking the kindness or patience to help females incubate.

Therefore, Lady Crimson was pleased by the black dragon’s question and eagerly shared her incubation experience.

According to her, she had helped incubate about a hundred dragon eggs for others in her lifetime. Initially, it was to seek solace for her soul; over time, she truly gained some expertise.

For example, red and black dragon eggs prefer dry, hot environments, and nesting near volcanoes is ideal.

Gold and bronze dragon eggs require abundant metal.

“Since you have incubation experience… why did you refuse when the Xia people asked you to help previously?”

The black dragon scored her poorly in his mind but kept a neutral face. This was why he was somewhat wary of Lady Crimson—he sensed she might be opportunistic and not entirely sincere with the Xia.

“I haven’t done it for several hundred years.”

Lady Crimson answered honestly. “Incubation is physically taxing for a single dragon. When I did it alone before, I often became weak. Even Hebrion warned me specifically, saying I incubated too many eggs and severely affected his work.”