Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

He believed that even if his opponent was a part of the dragon clan, he would still be able to prevail if he played his cards right. Currently, Simon had no intention of fighting an enemy he had very less chances of defeating.

In the first case, he had decided to subdue the Deep Sea Alligator King because of the information he had on it. He knew that he would be able to beat the latter even if he fought it head on.

"By the way, what do you mean it was sent here by someone?" Simon asked noticing that the Lightning Draconic Serpent was aware of something.

"My lord, a dragon no matter how weak, is still a ruler class beast. They are different from other beasts with ordinary bloodlines. Not only are they from an incredibly powerful clan, their history is also very long".

"A dragon is a ruler class beast that stands at the top, even the weakest of their members easily reach the cataclysmic class. Most of the powers of a dragon reside inside their bloodline and core stone, even their body is an incredible treasure that is coveted by many. But the power of a dragon and how hard it is to defeat one also makes them a fearsome opponent".

"In this day and age, it is very rare to see a dragon since most of them live in the Draconic continent. Sometimes you might be lucky enough to see a dragon roaming around the world. However, those beings have already reached a mature stage and are able to transform their body into a more humanoid form".

"They are incredibly powerful and are at the very least a cataclysmic class. A dragon usually has four stages of evolution. From an egg, they evolve to a juvenile stage and then later grow up to evolve into a mature and then elder stage. Each stage brings about a drastic change both in terms of power and growth in a dragon. By the time they reach the mature stage they become so powerful that it is very much impossible to kill one unless they are some oddity or similarly powerful being".

Simon nodded his head, he understood that unlike other beasts, a dragon is already a race that has reached the peak of its racial evolution. The only way for them to progress is through their growth.

Their development from an egg to a mature dragon marks their evolution stage. Simon understood that, he even knew that the Elder Stage is not the last evolution a dragon can reach since there was also the Dragon Lords. Beings that stood at the pinnacle of this world.

"Are you trying to tell me that the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, is about to reach a mature stage?" Simon asked.

​ The Lightning draconic Serpent gave a bitter smile and said "How can that be my lord? A mature dragon is equivalent to a cataclysmic class or to be more precise, as powerful as the seven kings of the western region of the forest. There is no way that Earth Shattering Lower dragon has reached that stage or else there would be a need to call the seven kings, the eight kings".

"At most, I would say it has reached the middle phases of its juvenile stage. What I'm trying to explain to my lord is that a juvenile dragon is never left alone, there is always a mature dragon around to protect it".

"A juvenile dragon if left alone would attract endless amounts of greed towards itself since its every body part, staring from its blood to its bones, is an incredible treasure. Also since it hasn't reach its peak evolution, it is vulnerable to other high level beings that covet its power for themselves. After all, it is far more easier and viable to defeat a juvenile dragon rather than a mature one."

"As far as I know, the dragon clan have this harsh tradition of sending their juveniles far away from the comfort of their homeland to gain strength. They are left in a brutal environment to hone their skills and strength until they reach the mature stage. Once you are a mature dragon, you are free to return back to your home".

Simon's face was grave as he mused over those words. If he were to believe the Lightning draconic Serpent, didn't it mean that even if he defeated the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon he cannot subdue it because of the hidden cataclysmic class protector protecting it from the shadows?

"Are you sure?" There was no reason for the latter to lie to him, even then he still asked the question.

If it was as the lightning draconic serpent said, his whole plan and especially the agreement he made with the Ancient Titan Treant would come to a halt.

"My lord, I'm absolutely sure. The reason why the seven kings haven't attacked the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon yet is precisely because they are cautious of the mature dragon" the Lightning Draconic Serpent replied.

Even though it was unable to defeat the Earth Shattering dragon, at that time it still vaguely felt a much stronger presence looming around.

Since the Lightning draconic Serpent was so sure, Simon had nothing else to say. He could only frown his brows and think of some way to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.

Given that the other party was from the dragon race, the [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique was sure to be even more effective. However, if he cannot do anything about the mature class dragon, there was no way they would allow him to place a seal on a juvenile dragon like the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.

Was Aldebaran aware of this and still gave me this trail? Or was he unaware of the presence of the mature dragon? Simon thought of the possibility of Alderman being oblivious of this. However, he soon discarded that thought process when he recalled how the latter mentioned he was watching his fight (more like his one-sided struggle to escape) with the earth shattering lower dragon.

According to what the Ancient Titan Treant said, it was able to watch everything that is going around the ghastly winding forest from the eyes of the trees.

Given the fact that the Lightning Draconic Serpent also said that some of the seven kings were aware of it, Simon cannot believe that someone on the level of Ancient Titan Treant would be unaware of such a powerful being residing in the ghastly winding forest.

"So the Ancient titan Treant deliberately gave me this trial of subduing all the overlords even while knowing one of them is secretly protected by a mature class dragon?…"

There was no denying it, Aldebaran gave him this trial while fully being aware of it. But why would he do that? Does he still believe that I am incapable of protecting the Forest spring spirits?

Simon felt a little frustrated, no matter what the reason behind Aldebaran doing such a thing was, it had drastically affected his plans for the future and the agreement that he must fulfil to keep the Forest spring spirits inside his dungeon.

Since he couldn't come up with a solution immediately, Simon took a deep breath before teleporting away from the floor.

-----

Three days later, Simon mounted atop his Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse and Bea who was seated behind him, were flying at a high speed above the forest. Mountains and meadows quickly disappeared below them and before long they had arrived at their destination.

An enormous lake that spanned for more than ten kilometres and whose depth cannot be measured at a glance, was in front of them. The lake was in the middle of the forest and since a dangerous aura loomed around this part, no ordinary monster dared to come anywhere close to the lake.

The destination they have arrived to, was none other than the territory of the Deep Sea Alligator king, one of the three overlords of the forest. Or should he say a former warlord since they are now subdued by him?

FLAP…

With the flap of its draconic wings, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse gently landed near the lake.

"How long do you plan on snuggling me?" Simon asked Bea who was tightly hugging onto his back since the time they mounted the warhorse and flew all the way from the eastern region of the forest.

"Ehh… we arrived already? I wanted to enjoy riding with master a little longer~" Bea murmured in a low voice that only she could hear.

Simon wanted to comment on what was she so discontent about but restrained himself when he felt there were movements in the lake.

Simon along with Bea got down from the warhorse and stared at the numerous ripples that was forming on the calm surface of the lake. Before long, hundreds of Elder Lizardmen (Standard Evolution of Lizardmen) surfaced out of the water along with the enormous Deep Sea Alligator King.

The lizardmen that came out of the water glared at Simon with hostility. Even though he subdued their king it did not mean that he had subdued them too, it was only natural that they would show their discontent at a member of another race.

"You low class beings dare show you hostility towards master!!" Bea erupted out in rage, but before she could do anything, she was stopped by Simon.

The latter stood unfazed in front of their hostile gazes directed at him and simple activated his [Demonic Eyes]. A deadly bloodlust assaulted every lizardmen that dared to stare at him and quickly cowered them into submission.