Chapter 42: Confrontation

Amid the blizzard, Garon maintained a rapid pace towards the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest. He made no effort to conceal the noise of his movement, wanting the White Dragon Mother to detect his arrival and see her incredulous reaction.

However, to Garon's disappointment, the White Dragon Mother's figure had yet to appear even as the outline of the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest came into view. He guessed she was in a deep sleep, oblivious even to the presence of her own son.

Yet, when Garon approached within a kilometer of the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest, three small white dragon figures peeked out hesitantly from the edge of the nest. Sensing a familiar presence, the three little white dragons, shocked, flew out of the nest and appeared before Garon.

Garon paused and smiled at his long-unseen dragon siblings.

Compared to Garon's now twelve-meter-long adult dragon form, the ordinary two-year-old white dragon whelps looked almost like horses next to him, not even three meters in length and appearing frail and vulnerable.

Their bold approach was due to the recognition of the distinctive ring of black scales around Garon's neck and his familiar scent, confirming his identity as their brother who had been driven away half a year earlier.

"G-Garon? Is it you?"

Even though he knew it was Garon, Charles, one of the dragon siblings, still asked timidly.

Seeing the young dragons, who hadn't changed much, Garon was reasonably amiable. "What, you forgot me already?"

After a pause, Garon's gaze grew dangerous. He waved a claw capable of killing a white dragon whelp with a single swipe and said, "Do I need to teach you how to address me? Show the proper respect to your elder brother."

The dragon siblings looked at each other, overwhelmed by Garon's dominating presence which made even breathing difficult for them.

A heavy, mountainous oppression descended upon them.

Because Garon had disciplined them from birth to over a year old, the three young dragons, realizing he had grown even more formidable, timidly chorused, "Brother Garon."

Garon nodded, no longer pressing the issue with the younglings.

Seconds later, his dragon sister, Hill, mustered the courage to ask, somewhat puzzled, "Brother Garon, why have you returned? Mother has banished you from the territory. If she wakes up and finds you here, she will surely beat you."

Beat me? We'll see about that.

Garon's gaze shifted past his siblings to the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest behind them. Without responding to Hill's question, he simply stated in Dragonese, "Wake mother up, tell her Garon has returned."

By now, Garon could sense the White Dragon Mother's presence deep within the nest, her essence stable and calm as she slept.

The dragon siblings hesitated.

"Hmm?"

Garon's eyes darkened.

Before he could speak again, startled by his gaze, the young dragons hurried back into the nest to call the White Dragon Mother.

In the blizzard, Garon patiently waited, his dragon wings gently beating, pushing away the surrounding snow.

Minutes later, the dragon siblings left the nest, their flight shaky in the storm, barely maintaining balance. They told Garon, "Mother is sleeping deeply; we couldn't wake her."

Garon, as usual, did not respond to the calls of the young dragons.

He wasn't surprised, just calmly told his siblings, "Move aside, do not block me."

The siblings, dumbfounded, didn't react immediately. But as they saw Garon open his mouth, glowing with an icy blue light of impending danger, they felt a bone-chilling cold and quickly scrambled aside. The potency of Garon's frost breath, able to chill even white dragons, was evident.

Though not yet able to fully combine his frost breath with the plundering breath of time, the power of his frost breath had significantly increased due to the stimulation of temporal forces, far surpassing the breath of an ordinary white dragon.

Aiming at the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest, Garon's body trembled slightly after gathering his energy.

Boom!

His icy blue frost breath pierced through the air, striking the cave of the Ice Cliff Dragon's Nest, where it formed clusters of icy crystals upon impact.

At the same time, deep within the cave, the sleeping White Dragon Mother felt the surge of potent magic and abruptly opened her pale yellow dragon eyes, fury flashing through them as she spread her wings, casting a dragon-shaped shadow on the ground.

"How dare you invade the great White Dragon Salya's territory! Foolish!"

With a high and clear dragon's roar, the White Dragon Mother, her sixteen-meter body imbued with ferocious power, charged out of the nest. The icy spikes formed by the frost breath shattered against her scales as she moved.

At ninety-five years old, the White Dragon Mother wasn't quite an

 adult but was nearly as strong as a mature white dragon, with just five more years until her official adulthood.

Garon, at the equivalent age of a fifty-year-old young white dragon, was still somewhat inferior in size to the White Dragon Mother.

In mere seconds, the White Dragon Mother burst out of the nest, her wings whipping up a fierce wind and snow, appearing before Garon.

Facing the familiar white behemoth, Garon, who had stopped his frost breath, remained silent.

As the White Dragon Mother recognized Garon, her fast-flying body briefly stalled, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Though she hadn't paid much attention to her offspring, she still knew what her eldest son looked like.

However, even knowing Garon had grown quickly, seeing his now over ten-meter frame after just half a year was almost beyond belief.

"Garon?"

The White Dragon Mother cocked her head, asking cautiously in Dragonese.

Garon nodded. "It's me."

Pausing, he spoke in an emotionless voice, "I have returned."

The White Dragon Mother stiffened, then her eyes narrowed, her tone cold, "Returned? This is my territory, and though you are my offspring, I do not welcome you here."

Garon had grown beyond her expectations, but seeing that he was still not quite her size, the White Dragon Mother was not afraid.

After her initial shock, her expression turned indifferent again, her breath emitting a cold warning, "Leave now, immediately!"

Hearing the White Dragon Mother's uncompromising words, Garon laughed heartily, his voice echoing through the blizzard.

As the White Dragon Mother grew more cautious, Garon ceased his laughter, his gaze sharp, and said slowly, "I can leave, but before that, I hope mother will agree to one thing."

Instinctively, the White Dragon Mother asked, "What?"

Garon's wings shook as he said, "Give me eighty percent of the treasures in your nest, and I will leave immediately."

Pausing, Garon's tone sharpened, "Otherwise, don't blame me for taking them by force."

Originally, he had planned to ask for only sixty percent, but seeing the White Dragon Mother's cold demeanor, Garon was irritated and changed his mind on the spot.