Ultimately, none of the three alien species obtained food from Karon.
Yet, combining the opinions of the three powerful alien species and his own circumstances, Karon formed his own ideas.
Though he is now a Juvenile Dragon, his physical development far exceeds that of dragons his age, and he is comprehensive in his enhancements. Even the most talented Golden Dragon among the True Dragon Race can’t beat him at this stage; his strength should be sufficient to handle battles in the Gladiatorial Arena for now.
As for his bodily manipulation power, with Mental Overclocking, he can perfectly control his body and exert one hundred percent of his strength. This is superior to many who specialize in mastering manipulation power. Although he was impacted by injuries in the previous two occasions, it was simply due to his unfamiliarity with the sensation.
During the transition from hatchling to juvenile dragon, he was always in an advantageous position; hunting never caused him any harm. However, as he gradually becomes accustomed to that sensation in the future, he will adapt slowly and won’t let injuries affect his body’s manipulation power.
His current focus should temporarily be on his combat aspects. The more victories he achieves, the longer his developmental period can extend.
Moreover, the Giant Dragon legacy largely consists of combat techniques against Titan Giants who are exceptionally massive in size. These are time-honored family heirloom-level techniques, accustomed to a grandiose style, yet somewhat unsuitable for contemporary battles given their ancient nature.
These crude offensive techniques are less effective against smaller opponents than the hunting tactics Karon himself has devised. Hence, this small enhancement of Karon’s will focus on this aspect.
In order to minimize sleep duration and enhance quickly within a short timeframe, his initial plan was to nurture the enhancement of his second sub-brain into a magic power organ transmission node, similar to a heart.
However, the primary function of this node is for information gathering and analysis. It would capture Karon’s battle data and various information about his opponents for analysis, then synthesize and summarize the combat tactics suitable for the Red Dragon, aiding in adjusting the Red Dragon’s movements and stances to achieve the maximum results with minimal effort.
This node is significantly smaller than the heart and smaller than the originally planned sub-brain, making it more suitable when time is insufficient.
Karon shut his eyes, preparing for a short-term enhancement. The development of small nodes wouldn’t consume much time, and with sufficient energy, a node could be generated in one night.
"Karon, Karon, can you hear me?" A voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum, yet with a familiar, charming lively touch—was that the voice of the Pick Elf?
Karon opened his eyes in doubt, but didn’t see the figure of Little Elf Riven. However, a soft sensation lingered on his shoulder—that was the foot of Little Elf, who stood upon Karon’s shoulder.
An emotion called "moved" arose within the Red Dragon’s heart. Although he indeed regarded the Little Elf as a friend, questioning himself, he wasn’t sure if he’d chase down to here if Riven were captured. Perhaps, Little Elf was his first true friend in this world.
Karon quickly extended his large claw, signaling the Little Elf to stand in his palm, then retracted himself beneath his wide wings, hiding the Little Elf in the shadows.
He buried his head into his wings, pretending to sleep, and whispered with the Little Elf, "Riven, how did you end up here?"
In the shadow, Riven revealed herself. The tiny elf wasn’t wearing her beloved Flower Crown and Acorn Hat at the moment, exposing flowing long hair. Two flowers with green sprouts as buds remained tucked in her hair like little horns, delicate Elf Dust quietly encircled her like a wreath.
Little Elf cautiously sat down in the spread Dragon Claw and began to speak.
It turns out that day Riven saw Doss and Kleyna, those Juvenile Dragons, being captured. She wanted to inform Karon but couldn’t find him. So she quietly followed behind Will’s group, saw Karon being ambushed by the Mage and held captive, yet couldn’t immediately find a way to rescue him, thus followed the human ship.
On the sea, the human ship was far off, and Riven, onshore, followed from afar. To keep track of the ship’s whereabouts, the Little Elf even signed a Magic Contract with a swift renowned for endurance.
Thus, the Little Elf followed the ship, traversing endless forests and mountains to reach the human world, only to lose her target as the Juvenile Dragons were sent into the Imperial Palace. Fortunately, the Gladiatorial Arena recently advertised the appearance of a Giant Dragon, attracting many curious onlookers, allowing Riven to once again trace Karon.
Then the Little Elf quietly followed the feeding attendants and found the Red Dragon. It must be said that although the Pick Elf’s power is weak, the magic she possesses is quite wondrous.
"You’re truly a good friend, Riven." The Red Dragon’s eyes glittered with light. The arrival of the Little Elf afforded him more assurance; he not only wanted to escape himself but also aimed to bring the Juvenile Dragons back to his territory, and perhaps those alien gladiators in the arena could be brought back too.
Riven’s arrival provided Karon not only a route back to the Dragon Nest but also played a powerful role in intelligence communication, essential in understanding the external world while gathering strength.
"Karon, we’re forever good friends!" The Little Elf’s face brimmed with joy upon receiving the praise. "But how can I help you and those fools Doss escape?"
The Red Dragon squinted his eyes, pondered, then whispered to Riven, "Currently, I don’t have much understanding of this city. Riven, I need you to scout out the defenses of this city and the locations of those dangerous mages."
"Moreover, if you could discreetly gather information on the nobles and ministers dissatisfied with the Emperor of the Imperial, these factions’ intel might be useful to me later, but you must be very careful not to be discovered, Riven."
Underneath a powerful, suppressive Emperor, there must exist latent undercurrents. The stronger the Emperor’s oppression, the less breath the nobility has, leading to more intense undercurrents beneath the calm surface.
Even in a centralized powerful Emperor can’t escape this, especially not in a Noble Lord system Imperial with vast territories.
This world’s Emperor possesses strong personal power, yet those noble lords aren’t completely ignorant ordinary people, there will always be flaws to be found.
Karon only needs a tiny opportunity, and the hope of bringing the Juvenile Dragons out of danger would greatly increase.
"Oh, quietly tell Doss and them to aim to win the battles; if they lose, it’s alright as they can ’voluntarily’ sign an equitable Magic Contract. I’ll figure out how to handle this."
The Little Elf nodded her little head, "Alright, but I need to sleep for a while; I haven’t had a peaceful sleep in a long time." Riven’s refined face was filled with sleepiness. Upon entering human society, a constant sense of crisis filled her heart, for in the eyes of humans, these elves were valuable commodities.
It wasn’t until she reached the Red Dragon’s side, even if the Red Dragon was trapped in a cell, that the Little Elf felt a sense of security. Her mind relaxed, and gradually she fell asleep in Karon’s palm.
The Red Dragon gently rested his palm on the ground and also closed his eyes.