The Red Dragon spread his wings and flew over his territory.
After continuous expansion, the Dragon clan's territory had become extremely vast, more than ten times the size of the original Giant True Dragon family's territory. Especially the newly subjugated dependents, those Gnolls, under the leadership of Yug, were particularly aggressive.
Even while undertaking the task of reclaiming wasteland and protecting newly cultivated fields, they would take time to sweep through areas beyond the surrounding territory.
Currently, the distance from the easternmost Golden Coast to the Dragon Nest Mountains is approximately four hundred miles, and from the Dragon Nest Mountains to the westernmost forest domain of the Dragon Territory is approximately twelve hundred miles.
And with the Dragon Nest Mountains as the central point, the distance to Bay Stream City, which chose to build its settlement near the southernmost edge, is nearly nine hundred miles. This is only the forest territory under the Dragon clan's actual control.
Such a territorial area already surpasses many duchies, and even some smaller kingdoms cannot compare to the vastness of the Dragon clans's territory.
The vast grassland was not measured by the True Dragons, but the area marked by the True Dragon on the grassland was even vaster than the forest. Due to a severe shortage of manpower, the grassland had always been in a free-range state, serving only as a hunting ground for the Dragon clan and its dependents.
Even the forest, which the Dragon clan paid special attention to, mostly remained vacant and uninhabited. Only some powerful creatures occupying the territory were subjugated or driven away by the True Dragon Group.
Kalon looked down at the territory from the sky. His sub-brain cluster continuously calculated how much population would be needed to bring the current territory under substantial control.
Currently, the Dragon clan's territory, including all active inhabitants and the Dragon clan's dependents, totals less than fifty thousand. Scattered throughout the territory, it's like a few buckets of water poured into a river, only splashing a few drops.
"It seems that using conventional methods to wait for the population to grow to an ideal state will take at least ten years," Kalon thought to himself. Population is not only the foundation for controlling territory but also one of his sources of power.
"Fortunately, the dependents I've taken in are all exceptionally prolific. Not to mention the Green Goblins and Kobolds, even the most powerful Centaurs, although their birth rate is slightly lower than humans, almost every day and night they enjoy the pleasures of reproduction. In a stable environment, newborns will surely increase."
Kalon had almost grown accustomed to multitasking. His sub-brain cluster was contemplating the development of the territory, while his main consciousness scanned the forest below, trying to find a prey that met his target.
The Red Dragon's mental power was now extremely strong. With his senses fully open, everything within a radius of several miles was clearly visible in his perception. If he focused all his efforts to explore in a specific direction, his sensory range would be even greater.
A subtle arc suddenly appeared on Kalon's spiky face, and his long, stark white fangs gleamed like sharp long knives under the moonlight. He had found a prey, and he had set his sights on it.
Under the bright moonlight, tall stone steles stood in rows within the jungle. Among the hundreds of steles, some had been eroded and weathered by wind and rain, while others appeared to have been snapped in half by immense force, revealing stone fragments of varying sizes.
But without exception, all these steles were carved with many strange totems and symbols.
A huge, thick python's body coiled beneath these tall steles, constantly rubbing against them, as if scratching an itch or shedding its skin.
Every scale on the python's thick body, as wide as a water vat, emitted a black light, a black light that could even devour the moonbeams cast from the sky.
Beneath the python's massive body, within the forest of steles, countless white bones covered the ground. There were all kinds of creatures, including some fresh skeletons that looked very much like the build and shape of the Trolls in the forest.
Unlike ordinary snakes, this python, over twenty meters long, had countless tiny sharp teeth in its mouth, in addition to four particularly long fangs.
On the python's large head, a pair of yellow vertical pupils stared coldly and ferociously, cautiously fixed on the Red Dragon, who cast a large shadow from the sky. Its fangs were bared, emitting a low, warning hiss.
"Titanoboa," Kalon's inherited memories contained descriptions of this creature. This creature belonged to a naturally extraordinary magical beast, not the kind that evolves from ordinary wild beasts into ferocious species, and then accidentally into magical beasts.
But unlike other magical beasts, which all possess their own magical abilities, the Titanoboa's magical abilities only resulted in one talent: the ability to consume almost all matter in the world for growth.
This was somewhat similar to the True Dragon's characteristics, but the True Dragon could not use all material energy to strengthen its physical body in the way the Titanoboa could. This was the Titanoboa's growth path, which is why Titanoboas could even contend with some True Dragon s in terms of physical strength.
Almost every Titanoboa could grow to a length comparable to an Ancient Titan. This was a type of guard pet and war beast particularly favored by the Ancient Titans.
Due to their specialization in physical growth, the scales on these Titanoboas possessed excellent magical resistance and physical defense capabilities. In many wars between Ancient Titans and True Dragons, many Titanoboas were tamed by the Titans and coiled around their bodies to fight alongside them.
They were used by those Titans as meat shields and spell shields, and the Titanoboa's immense strength could also repel the True Dragon's attacks. However, this creature is rarely seen on the main Plane; it generally only exists in special Planes.
Kalon looked at this Titanoboa. The occasional patterns interspersed on its black scales indicated that it was not a purebred, but a mixed-blood python.
"No wonder its size is so small," in Kalon's opinion, a Titanoboa over twenty meters long also fell within the scope of malnutrition. Snakes and Giant True Dragon s have different growth patterns; a twenty-meter Titanoboa, only as thick as a water vat, was already considered a relatively weak specimen.
If a True Dragon was twenty meters long, you might be facing a True Dragon that could contend with a Legendary.
The Red Dragon spread his wings and hovered in the air, and a strong True Dragon's might spread out. But the Titanoboa on the ground showed no fear; instead, it hissed and growled, warning the Red Dragon not to overstep.
"Pity, this creature is too stupid. Perhaps its muscles have blocked its brain, just like some mastiffs. Although once tamed, they are extremely loyal and recognize only one master for life, making them suitable guard pets. But this mixed-blood Titanoboa is already an adult and difficult to tame."
Kalon hovered in the air, and the wind of magic gathered in his large True Dragon claws. A probing spell was cast by the Red Dragon, landing on the Titanoboa's thick body.
This was a Slow spell, used to hinder a creature's movements, but the magical energy of this spell seemed to encounter some obstruction, and then was decomposed and absorbed by the python's scales.
"Tsk," what excellent magical resistance. One must know that the Red Dragon's magic, with its immeasurable magical power output, has a spell intensity one level higher than spells cast by ordinary Mages. But for this mixed-blood Titanoboa, low-level spells should be difficult to have an effect.
Although he knew that low-level spells and cantrips would probably have no effect on the Titanoboa, Kalon continued to cast spells from his claws.
Frost Ray, Necrotic Strike, Touch of Fatigue, Magic Missile, Flame Blade, Acid Arrow, and other spells were used by the Red Dragon, continuously bombarding the Titanoboa, which was coiling its body, ready to strike, and hissing in a low voice, like a magical bomber.
Although the Titanoboa's magical element resistance was extremely excellent, some scales still bore slight marks under Kalon's spell bombardment.
For Kalon, this was a spell practice. It was usually difficult to find a live target like the Titanoboa, and Kalon had to make use of it.
Moreover, Kalon usually used his prey to constantly practice certain abilities and skills. On the one hand, it was to provide the sub-brain cluster with opportunities to collect information and data; on the other hand, Kalon did not allow himself to be too complacent, seizing every opportunity to grow.
And although this Titanoboa was powerful, some juvenile True Dragon s might even suffer a setback, such as certain white True Dragon species. But in Kalon's eyes, it was nothing more than a relatively thick and long spicy stick.
The Red Dragon had many ways to deal with it. Kalon could easily crush this Titanoboa with physical strength alone.
"Oh, it seems that for opponents with such excellent physical magic resistance, spells targeting the mind and will are very effective," Kalon flew slowly around the Titanoboa. The Titanoboa's head also rotated with him. Although it was annoyed by the Red Dragon's constant spell-casting, and its beastly eyes gradually filled with rage, it still cautiously and sinisterly sought an opportunity.
At this moment, Kalon cast a spell, a Daze spell and a Rage spell targeting the creature's will, which immediately elicited a reaction from the coiling Titanoboa.
The Titanoboa's thick body extended somewhat shakily, like a spring. Its upper body sprang up, its vertical pupils filled with fury, and it opened its huge mouth, futilely biting at the Red Dragon, who was leisurely in mid-air.
Clang, clang.
The python's upper and lower teeth clashed, making a sound like metal striking. The Red Dragonhad already widened the distance, and even with the Titanoboa's sudden attack, it couldn't touch a single hair on the Red Dragon.
In its rage, the Titanoboa's thick tail thrashed around, directly snapping tall and thick steles. Many huge rocks splashed like charged cannonballs, breaking thick trees in the surrounding jungle and creating deep pits in the ground.
But the Red Dragon didn't care. Spells appeared between the Red Dragon's True Dragon claws, continuing to bombard the enraged but futilely attacking Titanoboa. Amidst this spell bombardment, a thought suddenly flashed through Kalon's mind.
Every spell requires a Mage's mental power to outline a spell model, then to activate magical power to output magic according to the spell model, and only then can a complete spell be released.
An ordinary Mage can only cast one spell at a time. Mages with sufficiently strong mental power might be able to cast two or three spells simultaneously, but there are still severe limitations.
Moreover, a Mage's strength, aside from power level, lies in how many spell models that Mage can remember and skillfully outline.
But no matter how powerful a Mage, the number of spell models they can learn, remember, and skillfully outline is limited. Furthermore, this kind of spell casting also requires a certain reaction time. In some dangerous moments, many Mages don't even have time to react and cast their magic before being attacked and killed.
This is also why many Mages carry a large number of defensive magic treasures and defensive spells. Not every Mage is proficient in instant-cast magic techniques and possesses the ability to react immediately. Even High-level Mages and even Saint-level Mages, not many Mages are proficient in such advanced magic techniques.
Kalon thought of the Bronze Proof on the former noble William Clarence. This power source, born from an ancient cultivation method, had obvious advantages and characteristics: it could be activated with a thought. It could also absorb power from the same source to temporarily supplement and enhance one's strength.
If the magical runes covering most magic could be condensed into a magic power seed, like the power seed of the Bronze Proof, then when needed, these magical runes could condense into spell models driven by thought.
This would not only allow for instant magic casting but also the release of more than one spell, enabling an instant torrent of spells, turning into a True Dragon -shaped magical bomber.
"It seems I also have to embark on the path of a strange Mage. At the very least, I need a laboratory for experiments and some good quality experimental subjects," Kalon stopped casting spells, scratching his chin with his True Dragon claws in thought.
The Titanoboa below, still in a furious state, whether due to excessive stupidity or excessive stubbornness, saw the Red Dragon stop and did not flee, but proudly coiled its thick, long body around the tall stone monument, raising its head and hissing.
But Kalon, inspired by this magical practice, was already impatient to continue playing with this giant python. He folded his wings, and his massive body, like a meteor falling from the sky, plummeted directly.
The next moment, the Titanoboa, with its thick, long body and immense strength, was pinned to the ground by Kalon's outstretched claw on its huge head.
Kalon's hind limbs precisely stepped on the giant python's fatal joint, which is also the fatal'seven inches' of all snake-like creatures—an unavoidable flaw in snake-like life forms.
No matter how powerful, the flaws in the body structure will always exist, unlike relatively perfect creatures like True Dragon, which have no obvious shortcomings in their body structure.
This giant python probably sensed that the moment of its life's end had arrived, so the latter half of its body thrashed wildly, but the flaw in its body structure was revealed at this moment; the Titanoboa's thick, long tail could not reach the Red Dragon's body at all.
And the Red Dragon's sharp Dragon Claw, which could treat hard mountain rocks like tofu, had deeply dug into the Titanoboa's spine. No matter how hard the giant python's scales were, they couldn't help the Titanoboa, which had been flipped over, exposing its belly.
The Titanoboa's final death throes lasted only an instant, but most of the stone monuments in the entire stone monument jungle were snapped by the giant python. Kalon, without hesitation, pierced the Titanoboa's head with his front claws, from the jaw upwards.
Bang!
The giant python's heavy body fell to the ground, shaking up jumping pebbles and dust.
Kalon began to enjoy his supper. He used his True Dragon Claw to cut open the tough skin of the Titanoboa's abdomen, then, following a habit developed since childhood, first cleaned out the inedible internal organs of the giant python, and only then began to eat.
However, Kalon did not cut and discard the Titanoboa's stomach. The stomach of this creature, like the True Dragon's storage stomach, possesses a certain magical spatial quality, and its capacity is even larger than that of a True Dragon's storage stomach, making it an excellent material for crafting certain spatial magic equipment.
This stomach can be given to Mages who have the ability to create spatial magic equipment in the future, to craft spatial storage magic equipment, which will be valuable whether used for transportation within the territory or for sale.
And Kalon also didn't want to swallow the dirty stomach into his own storage stomach, so he preserved the Titanoboa's stomach. Therefore, Kalon was extra careful when eating its abdomen, as he did not like the taste of "nine-turn large intestine."
Kalon did not use his Dragonfire to cook this Titanoboa. The flesh and blood of this magical beast contain abundant energy and nutrients. Roasting it with Dragonfire would cause a significant loss of energy and characteristics from the flesh and blood. Perhaps some characteristics could even benefit the True Dragon's body, so Kalon, for once, chose to eat this supper raw—giant python sashimi.
The flesh and blood of this Titanoboa were extremely rich in energy, and the taste also suited Kalon's palate. Thus, Kalon unknowingly hollowed out half of the giant python's body, eating until his belly was bulging, revealing the giant python's internal spine, as white as jade, thick, and covered with bone spurs.
The giant python's spine was very hard, capable of supporting the immense weight of the giant python's body, which speaks to the density and toughness of its bones. Therefore, Kalon decided to cut off a section of the spine to use as his teething stick.
Kalon's body has been growing somewhat rapidly during this period, and his teeth have constantly felt itchy. He has even gnawed a large gap in his volcanic True Dragon Nest.
As for the remaining flesh, Kalon planned to leave it for the pioneering army of Bay Stream City to sample, considering it a reward for his troops from him, their Lord.
Also, the giant python's scales and skin, materials with excellent magical element resistance, are top-grade for crafting magical weapons and armor, and Kalon would not abandon them here.
Currently, Kalon has no intention of wasting even a tiny bit; he strives for perfection in resource utilization. After all, waking up every day and thinking of the large number of people in his territory crying out and depending on him gives him a headache.
To put it bluntly, during the initial development of the territory, even if his dependents ran out of things to wipe their bottoms, they would still look to him for a solution. Of course, this is an exaggeration, but there is no doubt that for the territory to develop, the pressure and responsibility he bears as the highest decision-maker of the territory are immense.
Fortunately, he has now delegated most matters to other True Dragon and more capable dependents, so the troubles are now others', allowing Kalon to enjoy a rare moment of ease.
However, the habits he had developed still remained.
Kalon savored the satisfaction after eating. A faint white light emanated between his thick claws, like an enclosed cage, trapping a phantom of a python within, struggling and bumping back and forth.
This was the soul of the Titanoboa he had killed. Ordinary people find it difficult to touch the souls of deceased creatures; even Mages with strong mental power find it hard to detect traces of souls.
This requires special abilities to perceive and touch the realm of souls, and Kalon possesses this special ability.
The faint white light emanating from his thick True Dragon Claw is the key to his ability to touch souls. This is the power of psionic energy, but it is not the psionic energy provided to Kalon by other creatures.
Rather, it is a unique power born from the long-term immersion in the psionic energy provided by those creatures, combining Kalon's body, flesh, mental will, and spirit. It carries a strong personal imprint and will, even more prominent than the True Dragon's own field radiation effect by many times.
The psionic energy born from himself, though still weak, is quite miraculous. This power, born from the combination of flesh and spiritual mind, seems to be nurtured by these elements together. The stronger the body, the stronger the psionic energy; the firmer the mind and spiritual will, the more solid and sharp the psionic energy.
However, Kalon has not yet explored more ways to use this power, but the ability to contact souls came naturally to him.
The Red Dragon looked at the soul trapped in his claws. Although he longed to explore the mysteries of the soul, which is said to be a realm only Gods can touch, containing many magical knowledge and rules about the true origin of the world.
But he knew it was not yet time; his abilities were not sufficient to bear the risks of venturing into the realm of souls.
Even these deceased magical beasts, their souls have their respective destinations in the world, either certain nature spirits who govern souls—these magical creations born from living souls, whose power, if strong, is equivalent to the incarnation of a God in the Main Plane; these are beings that the current Red Dragon cannot afford to provoke.
Or it is the Legendary Menagerie existing beyond the Plane, in the endless Starry Sky, which is also a colossal entity that the current Red Dragon cannot contend with.
"Alas, my strength is still not enough," Kalon sighed, releasing the psionic energy's restraint on the soul, watching the Titanoboa's soul disappear into the real world, its destination unknown. Even with Kalon's full sensory spread, he couldn't detect any trace of the soul.
Kalon shook his head, no longer bothering with the matter, and began to clean the traces of his meal from his body, then prepared to take away the remaining body of the Titanoboa. But at this moment, two faint life fluctuations appeared within Kalon's naturally spreading perception.
He walked towards the source of the life fluctuations. In the center of the stone monument jungle, covered by rubble and broken stone monuments, a small part of a dark cave entrance was revealed.
Kalon dug away the rubble and broken stone monuments blocking the cave entrance, revealing a deep cavern with a strong, fishy smell smell. The two life fluctuations, faint relative to the Red Dragon, came from within this cavern.
"It seems this Titanoboa wasn't foolishly stubborn, but rather had something it needed to protect with its life," Kalon thought with a sigh.
However, he didn't feel the slightest guilt. The law of the jungle, the strong prey on the weak, is always true. Even True Dragon can be considered prey in front of certain powerful Legendarycreatures.
However, although the cave entrance in front of him was quite large for ordinary creatures, the Red Dragon's body was too enormous at this time. If he were to force his way in, the entire cave might collapse, and it would be a pity if the snake eggs were crushed.
So Kalon had no choice but to, like a young one, stick out his rear and carefully widen the cave, while simultaneously using magic to reinforce the cave ceiling slightly to prevent it from collapsing.
After the passage was widened, Kalon folded his wings tightly against his back, then stealthily squeezed in, crawling and widening the passage as he went.
He walked like this for about dozens of meters before reaching the depths of the Nest.
Such a distance was actually only the length of one lunge for that Titanoboa. Clearly, this Titanoboa was the strongest creature in this place and didn't need to dig the Nest too deep to hide its tracks. It only built this Nest to shelter from wind and rain.
Two huge black snake eggs stood upright on a thick layer of animal skin. Although these two snake eggs were not as large as True Dragon eggs, they were nearly identical, only slightly thinner.
Kalon's eyes lit up, and he carefully swallowed these two snake eggs into his storage stomach. He planned to take these two snake eggs back, find a way to hatch them, and then use them to guard his treasure vault, or the True Dragon's treasure vault.
This type of Titanoboa is extremely loyal; once tamed, it only obeys its master's commands. At that time, no one except Kalon and those he permits will be able to cross the treasure vault's door by a single step.
Moreover, a grown Titanoboa is not weak in ability; ordinary characters are just appetizers in front of it.
Besides these two snake eggs, Kalon also found some crude artifacts in the cave: snake-shaped statues carved from stone, some polished jewelry made from naturally occurring gemstones, and some gold ornaments engraved with snake patterns.
"Perhaps the Titanoboa I killed was a guardian magical beast, a worshipped demonic god, of some tribal race in this area," Kalon speculated, with these gold ornaments and statues, as well as the animal skins covering the ground, serving as clear evidence.
Of course, the term 'totem god' is merely a designation for some powerful creatures. In the wilderness, many weak tribes seek the protection of powerful creatures nearby and worship these creatures as totem gods.
Moreover, even if the Titanoboa is a magical beast with some intelligence, without hands, it cannot perform these tasks that require fine manipulation.
However, Kalon was too lazy to investigate now. This place was outside the Dragon Clans Territory. His hunting range was no longer limited to his own territory, and he had no interest in conquering these tribes or expanding his territory at the moment.
He hadn't yet digested and consolidated his existing territory. Even with the Red Dragon's greed and desire for conquest, he knew that blind expansion would only hinder his progress.
He no longer needed to shrink back into his own territory as before; the Red Dragon's current range of activity could be said to be limitless.
With his speed, it would be difficult for any creature to catch up with him now. Unless he encountered a Legendary Mage, even if he met a Legendary Warrior, the Warrior would only be able to eat his dust.
Kalon swallowed these gold ornaments whole, disregarded the other stone statues, then climbed out of the cave, grabbed the Titanoboa's thick, long body, spread his wings, and flew away