Chapter 14: The Battle for Leadership
After nearly a month of recovery, the red dragon's territory is thriving.
Uhe dire of Langpu and the hobgoblin, the goblins and ogres have already structed a makeshift stone fortress within the giant valley.
The walls reach over five meters high, with watchtowers positioned oed terrain. Langpu, with his extensive reading, has "Bastion of Stone."
This makes the already defensible valley even more impregnable. Even if a human army were to attack, the red dragon is fident they could be kept at bay.
"Move faster, no sg!" A three-meter-tall ogre shouted down from the top of the watchtower.
However, the wooden watchtower looked fragile uhe ogre's t, ht body. One could evehe creaking sounds of the wood—almost as if it were menting the half-to upon it.
"Heave-ho!"
The ogres hoisted massive logs, struggling to lift them as they built the framework for the Bastion's watchtower.
Being close kin to giants, ogres possess enormous strength. Besides their gluttony and ziness, they make excellent borers.
The goblins, aced to building camps, bined with over four hundred of their kind and the ogres' immerength, could plete a basic fortress easily uhe dire of Langpu, who boasted an intelligence of 17, and the hobgoblin's leadership.
Beh the over-five-meter-high walls, a group of goblins were swinging pickaxes, vigorously chipping away at the stones.
"Hurry up!"
"You hit my foot!"
As naturally zy creatures, they oen scked off. But after an enraged ogre overseer turned one feigning sleep into minced meat, suts had never recurred.
After all, Langpu's "discipline" was merely a temporary pain for the dumbfounded ogres, but for the goblins, it meant a perma end. They uood this well.
"Awooo—"
"What is that?"
The goblins paused in their work, looking up, startled by the huge shadow in the sky.
They saw massive shapes approag from afar, resembling a giant bck cloud—a group of over ten wyverns.
Sensing the call on blood withihey gathered in a swarm to see if there was a worthy being to serve.
Among these wyverns, the rgest spanned over seveers, fierd menag, its size almost rivaling Cassius himself, though it was far more slender.
Urue dragons, wyverns ck two limbs and wings; they possess two scaly legs and a pair of strong wings.
The wyverns' tails were thid powerful, their tips equipped with their most deadly on—a venomous stinger.
This venom, highly toxic, could corrode the hearts and arteries of victims through backflow of blood. The lethality of wyvern poison makes it a coveted resource among hunters and alchemists for cos and on coatings.
The wyverns crouched on the ground, their wing membranes folding back.
They nded, hissing and r.
Summoning the nd's ruler.
The nearby goblins panicked, fearing they would be devoured or crushed by the wyverns, and hurriedly scurried away.
Being so weak, even a minor movement from these powerful creatures could meah for them.
Meanwhile, the ogre mage stood at the fortress wall, preparing a fireball spell.
The chimera in the cliff cave also became alert, its three heads showing varied expressions.
"Master, a group of wyverns has arrived!"
"Roar!"
The red dragon flew out from the Giant's Maw Cave, letting out a long, distant roar, desding in front of the wyvern swarm.
"Submit to me." (in Draic)
Cassius anded.
The wyvered a cacophony of hissing sounds before l their long necks and bowing their heads to show submission.
But the rgest wyvern in the group, seeing that the red dragon before it was merely in its juveage and close to its own size, let out a challenging roar.
Clearly, it was intoxicated by the rare opportunity to cim leadership.
A leadership test?
A time-horadition among dragonkind.
Two would duel, with the victor being the group leader, while the loser would be expelled.
But for a proud, pure-blooded red dragon, a lowly wyvern challenging him was a severe insult.
If Cassius had been a full-blooded red dragon, he would have been enraged enough to release steam, ready to tear it apart.
"You've made the worst choice." (in Draic)
Cassius was fuming, though his anger was focused on his own size—how much longer until he reached the stage of an adult red dragon, able to inspire immediate submission with a mere presence?
"And I shall grant you—death!" (in Draic)
The red dragon fpped his wings, s high above, looking down upon the wyvern.
[Based on your own power, you observe the following information.]
Wyvern
Large Dragon, No Alig
AC: 13 (Natural Armor)
Speed: 20 feet, Flying 80 feet
Strength—19
Dexterity—10
stitution—16
Intelligence—5
Wisdom—12
Charisma—6
Skills: Perception +2, Hunting +4
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 14
Languages: Uands Draic
As: Multiattack, Bite, Cw, Sting
Challenge Level: 6 (2,300 XP)
Evaluation: "Sometimes, travelers in the wilderness look up to see the shadow of a wyvern carrying prey through the sky. These retives ons also hunt within the dense forests and caves. They are ruthless hunters, and when they appear in packs, they often incite waves of terror along civilization's fringes."
The wyvern on the ground slightly arched its slender neck, raised its menag head, a out a hissing roar, the sound coarse, almost snake-like.
"Hissss—"
Immediately, the rge wyvern fpped its forelimbs, lifting off, its powerful tail swaying in the air, the sharp stinger glistening with a cold sheen.
"Fme Breath!"
Before it could fully leave the ground, the red dragon spewed a scorg e of fme, aiming straight at the wyvern's body.
The wyvern hastily adjusted its body, snting its wings mid-air, attempting to anchor its forelimbs to the ground to escape the attack, but couldn't avoid the bzing fire breath.
Its chest scales were burned bck, the flesh beh scorched by the intense fme, leaving it in a sorry state.
"Awooo—"
The wyver out a pained howl but immediately propped itself up with its forelimbs, shakily rising into the air again.
It had little time, as the red dragon's breath was immi, with the e-yellow glow deep in his throat resembling aing volo.
"Boom—"
Another sound of fmes scorg the air followed, as another bst of crimson fire shot down from above, trailing the wyvern's flight path.
The nearby atmosphere turned searingly hot, causing the wyvern to panic.
It could only desperately fp its wings, darting and dodging in the sky, with no means of terattack.
