Chapter 21: The Old Patriarch’s Emergency Assembly

“Alas.”

Sighing with a hint of melancholy, the Old Patriarch turned to his guards. “There’s no need. I’ve already contacted them; they’ll return to this island in about an hour. Theresia isn’t so rebellious as to be reckless.”

With his dragon claws clasped behind his back, the Old Patriarch then dragged his immense dragon body into a towering, nameless building.

This structure hadn’t existed just three days prior. It was an emergency construction commissioned by the Old Patriarch, built by the dragon race’s construction teams using highly sophisticated magical methods. They had effortlessly erected a world-leading emergency command center.

The facility was fully equipped with the most advanced magical tools and workshops. The dragon race’s most authoritative experts were already poised for action, their faces etched with grave seriousness, as if they were on the cusp of a war that would determine the fate of their entire race.

The Old Patriarch stood before the assembled dragons and inquired in a deep voice, “Esteemed colleagues, are you all prepared?”

The head of the dragon race’s top-tier medical examination team was the first to speak. “Old Patriarch, you know my team well. We’ve examined dozens, if not hundreds, of dragons, and we never miss even the slightest ailment.”

“As for the magical massage service provided during the examination, every dragon who experienced it praised it, some even wishing for a second session.”

The Old Patriarch nodded slightly, then shifted his gaze to another dragon.

That dragon immediately puffed out their chest and declared in a resonant voice, “Old Patriarch, you know my team well. Our medical group boasts a ten-millennium legacy in treating dragons, and in recent years, we’ve continuously developed and refined our methods.”

“All manner of dragon ailments, even the most intractable diseases, can be resolved in the shortest possible time! Many dragons leave our care completely rejuvenated, experiencing a second spring in their lives!”

“Excellent,” the Old Patriarch acknowledged, turning his head towards yet another dragon.

That dragon confidently flashed their gleaming fangs, proclaiming proudly, “Old Patriarch, you know my team well. The alchemical potions from our workshop are unparalleled, whether for regulating body and mind, enhancing pleasure, or boosting stamina.”

“Go ask around outside; our potions are fiercely sought after by nobles of all races. In fact, Old Patriarch, you could try them yourself…”

“Next,” the Old Patriarch interrupted, his face darkening. He scoffed inwardly. Did he need such things? They had no idea how powerful he was, satisfying multiple female dragons at once when he dedicated himself to the dragon race’s propagation efforts.

His current abstinence was merely due to the overwhelming demands of tribal affairs; he was still as sharp as ever.

“It’s our team’s turn! Old Patriarch, you know our team well. We have dozens of incredibly mature and safe solutions for assisting female dragons with smooth births…”

At first, the Old Patriarch nodded along, but then a sense of unease settled over him. What was this all about? Theresia had only just reached adulthood and was experiencing her first heat. How could she suddenly be laying dragon eggs?

He turned his head, and upon recognizing the dragon, his expression became utterly bewildered. He quietly beckoned to a nearby guard. “Why is she here? I don’t recall her being on the list of required emergency personnel.”

The guard looked equally confused. “Perhaps she snuck in with the social delegation.”

The speaker at that moment was the dragon race’s most skilled birthing expert. The number of dragon eggs she had helped deliver was countless; one could even say that for the past 5,000 years, every recorded birth on Dragon Island had been facilitated by her and her team.

This was a birthing dragon with immense dedication to her profession. Like the Old Patriarch, she saw expanding the race’s numbers as her personal mission. Thus, she tirelessly worked on the front lines, assisting with births and providing ideological and psychological education to female dragons.

Everything was fine, except this particular dragon was a bit of a chatterbox. Other dragons finished their reports in a sentence or two, but this birthing dragon continued to ramble incessantly.

The Old Patriarch’s head was buzzing, not only because this birthing dragon was completely unnecessary here, but also because she had a rather unpleasant history with Theresia.

Specifically, upon discovering Theresia’s unique ideology compared to other female dragons, she had enthusiastically attempted to ‘adjust’ her thinking.

Subsequently, her ‘adjustment’ had led to Theresia’s awakening.

This awakening wasn’t an awakening of ideological consciousness.

Rather, it was the awakening of the dragon race’s innate power. Different dragon lineages possessed distinct types of power awakenings, which could be either active or passive.

For instance, White Dragons, adept at magic, would develop an affinity for elements that could even surpass elves after awakening. They could also actively initiate a deeper enhancement, allowing them to cast most spells with no cooldown, no cast time, and no mana cost for a certain period, though this active phase would be followed by a period of weakness.

Theresia’s awakening, as a Black Dragon, was not active but a continuously growing passive ability: a reduction in physical and magical damage taken, an increase in physical strength, and a gradual decrease in internal magic power.

Initially, this awakened ability wasn’t very strong, quantifiable as roughly a 1% increase in physical and magical damage reduction, a 1% boost to core physical attributes, and a 1% reduction in mana. However, it grew continuously from the moment of awakening.

A Black Dragon that developed this ability to its peak was truly terrifying. The most powerful Black Dragon recorded in dragon lore possessed the strength to contend with a Golden Dragon, becoming nearly immune to physical and magical damage—approximately 99% damage reduction and a massive increase in core attributes. With a strong enough claw swipe, they could even tear space itself.

However, that particular Black Dragon perished alongside a powerful entity from the late era of the Great Dragon Alliance.

Of course, none of this was the main point now.

The crucial detail was that, theoretically, this awakening could only be triggered at the earliest when a Black Dragon reached five hundred years of age. Yet, Theresia had been stimulated into awakening before even reaching adulthood, shattering the Black Dragon’s historical awakening record and becoming the fastest awakened Black Dragon from the Age of Giants to the present day.

And her awakening wasn’t for anything else but to pick a fight with the birthing dragon.

The Old Patriarch didn’t even need to ask the birthing dragon to know what was on her mind. She was undoubtedly planning to inject Theresia with her theories during the heat period, when the Black Dragon’s hormones would be raging.

The idea was well-intentioned, but Black Dragons were also incredibly irritable during this time. The Old Patriarch worried that another confrontation might provoke some unforeseen issues.

An early awakening for a Black Dragon before their heat wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It meant they would be even more potent in that regard. It was like an already overworked plow being pushed to its limits.

“You understand,” the Old Patriarch glanced at the captain of the guards.

“Understood, Old Patriarch.” The captain nodded solemnly, then, with a serious expression, summoned a dozen guards who swiftly surrounded the birthing dragon. “Dr. Edith, forgive us.”

With the captain’s command, dozens of well-trained guard dragons swarmed forward, securely binding the birthing dragon. Immediately, the floor of the emergency center slowly opened into a dark chasm under the glow of a magic circle. The guard dragons grabbed Edith and leaped in.

Before the opening sealed, the birthing dragon’s fading voice could still be heard: “Let me go! I’ve rendered meritorious service to the dragon race! I’ve bled for the dragon race! I’ve delivered eggs for the dragon race! Old Patriarch, this is a great opportunity!”

Ignoring the clamor from below, the Old Patriarch breathed a sigh of relief once the floor had completely closed. Just then, a dragon guard rushed in from outside, reporting, “Old Patriarch, the target is within sensing range. Expected arrival in ten minutes.”

“Good!” The Old Patriarch raised his arm and called out, “Brothers, each of you is an elite of the dragon race, with exceptional skills that surpass all of ancient and modern times. Theresia is the last Black Dragon of our tribe. If anything unexpected happens during her heat, no matter how glorious our past achievements, we are destined to be etched onto the dragon race’s pillar of shame.”

“Surely, none of you want our fellow dragons to point at our backs after this and say, ‘Look, these so-called experts couldn’t even properly manage the heat period of the dragon race’s last Black Dragon,’ do you?”

The elite teams of the dragon race exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting resolute determination.

The Old Patriarch began his pre-battle mobilization. “Since I began leading our people, the dragon race has seen nearly 2,000 births. I can confidently say that within your lifetimes, this historic goal—the first since the Great Dragon Alliance—can absolutely be achieved.”

“The dragon race’s historians have repeatedly assured me that as long as the dragon lineage remains intact and births exceed 2,000 within the next millennium, they will dedicate an entire page in the dragon race’s history to me!”

“And I, for one, dislike solitude. So, that page must bear the names of my comrades-in-arms, who fought alongside me! That means you! My dear compatriots!”

“Roar!”

“We absolutely cannot allow a mere Black Dragon to spoil our page!”

“Roar!”

“Our page must be filled with glorious deeds, not a blemish recorded in history!”

“Roar!”

“Good! Brothers, to your stations!”

The elite dragon teams swiftly returned to their workstations, standing by in full readiness. The Old Patriarch, with a graceful turn, resolutely stepped out to greet the Black Dragon who might just become their historical blemish.