Chapter 7: The Red Dragon Eggs
Muria was dumbfounded as he looked at the two red dragons in the hall, bound tightly by golden chains shimmering with strong magical fluctuations. This scene was spectacular, something most creatures would never see in their lifetime.
Unfortunately, these two pitiful-looking red dragons only attracted Muria's attention for a short time, because there was an even more noticeable presence in the hall than the red dragons.
Between the two horns on the head of one of the red dragons, which was relatively larger, stood a beautiful golden-haired and golden-eyed girl wearing a luxurious golden mage robe, breathtakingly beautiful.
Despite her small size compared to the red dragon beneath her feet, in Muria's perception, her presence was like the midday sun, magnificent, radiant, and impossible to ignore.
Of course, the most crucial reason Muria was stunned was the very familiar aura emanating from the golden-haired girl, telling Muria that the girl standing between the red dragon's horns was his mother in this life, the legendary golden dragon, Artelis Elonsas.
"Yo, Muria, you're awake now, a bit earlier than I expected." Upon seeing Muria, who resembled a giant baby, the golden-haired girl first frowned, then smiled, her voice as warm and gentle as Muria remembered, like an elegant noble lady.
"Ah, mother, I…" Muria was stunned, only now coming to terms with the fact that the breathtakingly beautiful golden-eyed girl was his mother, especially since, in his memory, his golden dragon mother had always been a colossal beast.
"Um, Muria, are you that surprised to see my human form?" Artelis looked at Muria's shocked expression, glanced at herself, and then a dazzling golden light flashed.
"Then, I'll change into a form you're familiar with." The beautiful golden-haired girl disappeared, replaced by a majestic and shimmering golden dragon, proudly standing on top of the two red dragons.
"How's that?" The nearly hundred-meter-long massive golden dragon lowered its head, bringing it close to Muria.
"Uh!" The mixture of pleasant scents dispelled the sulfur smell around Muria, making him feel comfortable. The familiar smell made him completely calm down; it was the unique scent of golden dragons, also known as their body fragrance.
To be honest, due to the influence of his previous life, Muria preferred the human girl form he just saw, but he couldn't say that now.
"It's too big." That was Muria's response.
"You're so demanding." Artelis muttered, but she still reduced her size, transforming into a "mini" golden dragon about ten meters long.
"Muria, how long do you sleep a day?"
"About sixteen hours."
"I see, it seems you haven't completely left your dragonling period yet. But it's almost time." Artelis frowned. Even in her dragon form, Muria could see the concern on Artelis's dragon face.
"Is there a problem, mother?" Muria asked, puzzled.
"My dragonling period lasted ten years."
"Ten years." Muria was baffled, "Isn't the dragonling period for golden dragons supposed to be five years? How could it be ten years?"
"That's for ordinary golden dragons! Do you think I'm an ordinary golden dragon?" Artelis countered.
Hearing this question, Muria fell silent for a moment. He had always thought his golden dragon mother's size was extraordinary, even ancient golden dragons didn't possess such a massive body. After researching in his mother's library, he became even more convinced.
But if Artelis was an ancient dragon, then he shouldn't exist, as ancient dragons normally don't have the ability to reproduce. His existence only proves one thing: Artelis is not an ancient dragon.
"Not really." After serious thought, Muria provided his answer.
"Do you know which growth stage of the dragon I am currently in?"
"I don't know." Muria honestly shook his head.
"I entered adulthood twenty years ago."
"Are you kidding?" Muria couldn't believe it, considering his golden dragon mother was a legendary golden dragon, but she had only just entered adulthood. (Twenty years for a dragon is very short.)
"What's so surprising about that? I am a primeval golden dragon with a bloodline infinitely close to the Dragon King, having this kind of strength is normal." For some reason, Artelis really enjoyed the shocked expression on her son's face.
"Primeval golden dragon?" Muria murmured, unclear but impressed. He didn't know what a primeval dragon or the Dragon King meant, but he knew from the names alone that they were very powerful, and that was enough.
"Right, but looking at your current situation, you haven't fully inherited my primeval true dragon bloodline." Artelis frowned as she examined Muria, "I didn't start to move around a bit until my eighth year after birth."
"Even so, my true dragon bloodline should be stronger than ordinary golden dragons, right?" Although Muria was a bit regretful about not fully inheriting the bloodline as mentioned by his golden dragon mother, he wasn't too bothered, as he was already quite satisfied with his current bloodline.
"It's stronger than ordinary golden dragons, but it's meaningless." Artelis walked back and forth restlessly, then stopped in front of Muria, "Don't worry, I will find a way to compensate for your bloodline defect."
"I'm not worried!" Muria silently said to himself, but wisely didn't speak out loud.
"Ah, right, you've been born for so long, and I haven't given you anything. Now, let me give you a gift!" Just as Artelis was worrying about Muria's bloodline, she quickly changed the subject, leaving Muria no time to react.
"This is the gift you're giving me?" Muria was once again dumbfounded as he looked at the six large red eggs, each about as tall as a person and wrapped in dense fire elements, his heart filled with countless grass mud horses galloping past.
"Right, little Muria, aren't you happy?" Artelis asked with a smile.
"…" Muria couldn't understand why his golden dragon mother thought he would be happy. This wasn't chicken or duck eggs; these were evil dragon eggs. The nature of this was just like a human mother giving her breastfeeding child a few snake eggs.
At this moment, Muria completely believed his golden dragon mother had just reached adulthood because this erratic and unreliable character was not something a long-lived and knowledgeable ancient golden dragon could possess.
In fact, at this moment, Muria began to doubt his mother's race. This kind of behavior wasn't something a lawful good golden dragon would do, only a whimsical and silly brass dragon could do such a thing.
"Hmm, I see you're very satisfied." The golden dragon mother, seeing her child's expressionless face, nodded on her own and made a decision, "Then, these few red dragon eggs are yours to raise."
Muria remained silent, protesting silently with his behavior, but his golden dragon mother completely ignored him.
"Ha-hoo!" The golden dragon mother opened her mouth wide and blew a big breath towards her child, a very strong mixture of incense rushed into Muria's nostrils, "If there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep."
"Wait a minute." Suddenly, Muria remembered something, "Mother, do you know an ancient golden dragon named Dimos?"
"Dimos!" The golden dragon mother, who was about to leave, turned back to look at Muria twice, making his whole body feel hairy, "That's my dad, your grandfather."
"Grandfather!" Muria was slightly dazed, his face slightly red as if an invisible hand was "slapping" his chubby little face.
"Why are you asking about this?"
"Nothing, just curious." Muria lowered his head somewhat awkwardly, "A few days ago, when I was reading, I came across this name that shares my surname, so I was a bit curious."
Dimos Elonsas, his grandfather, whom he had mercilessly mocked not long ago, but he never expected this dragon to be his direct relative, and a senior at that.
His grandfather, as the father of a golden dragon daughter who possessed legendary strength in her adulthood, obviously couldn't be weaker than his daughter at the same age. Thus, Muria's grandfather didn't brag; he truly confronted a legendary Balor demon during his adulthood and pushed it back to the abyss. Muria was slapped in the face by reality.
"Now that you've started reading books? Hmm, that's a good habit, keep it up." The golden dragon mother Artelis's attention was focused on Muria reading books, and she didn't care about anything else. Clearly, the fact that Muria was reading now made the golden dragon mother very happy, but this wasn't a reason to stop her from wanting to sleep.
"Right, the dragon eggs were specifically brought back for you to raise, don't eat them." Lastly, leaving Muria with a reminder that made him feel extremely awkward, the golden dragon mother disappeared from the hall.
"Teleportation or some kind of portal?" Muria ignored his mother's reminder, touching his chin, guessing how his golden dragon mother disappeared. But he didn't ponder long before focusing on the six red dragon eggs at his feet.
"Hot potatoes!" Muria sighed, then turned to look at Sofia and four dragonkin maids who had hurriedly arrived at the castle hall.
"You're a bit slow." Muria, seeing the five maids' faces turning very shocked upon seeing the two red dragons, felt somewhat pleased, after all, this was his mother's glorious achievement, and as a son, he shared in the honor.
"No wonder she's known as 'The Golden Blaze,' Lady Artelis's strength is truly formidable." Head maid Sofia was the first to recover, admiringly commenting, "Capturing two red dragons at once, what an incredible feat!"
"The Golden Blaze!" Muria smacked his lips, "Is that my mother's title? It sounds quite imposing."