Collecting Scales

The Dragon Lord shrouded himself in darkness with a spell, Then went to spectate the battle

When Dragons hatch, They're already in the Third Realm, Which humans call a Knight/Mage Realm

They start hunting beasts all over the Draconic Domain from the moment they hatch

By consuming Beasts' Mana and Life Force, They grow bigger and Evolve higher

Upon reaching maturity, the typical dragon evolves to the Fourth Realm, Which humans call the Elite Realm

After reaching Elite, Dragons unlock their own version of (Domain), Thus, They become territorial, And they no longer allow other dragons to invade their territory

Evolving beyond this point is no longer easy, Dragons are aware that if the Dragon controlling the territory beside theirs evolves first, He will expand his territory, consuming theirs

If a Dragon loses his territory he becomes what's known as: A Stray Dragon

Only 1% of the Stray Dragons survive by running from one territory to another until they find a safe cave or an empty territory to gain, The other 99% get eaten alive.

Thus, Once they sense that the neighboring Dragon is becoming stronger, They fight 'til death to prevent him from evolving first, or it'll be too late.

Only the strongest and the most powerful Dragons manage to survive beyond this Point and evolve to the Fifth Realm, Becoming Royal Dragons

Once they become Royals, They undergo a transformation, Becoming a lot stronger and gaining intelligence

They also unlock Telepathy, Allowing them to talk with each other and with other species, And that's when Dragons get involved in politics

Fighting among Royal Dragons is extremely rare and complicated, They have clans, Factions, Teams, and all sorts of groups, Some of them even serve specific Kings

Without the Ancient Dragon Lord, None of this would be possible, The higher Dragons would ruthlessly consume the weaker ones, But the existence of the Lord keeps everything in check, That's why he rarely leaves his turf.

Right now, The Dragon Lord perceived a fight among two Elite Dragons,

A Fire Dragon and an Earth Dragon,

He concealed himself and hovered above them, Then spectated the battle

The Fire Dragon started by creating fireballs and launching them at the Earth Dragon, But it had no impact

The earth dragon protected his body with hard, Earth Mana that blocked the fireballs

The Fire Dragon created more fireballs, But after realizing that it was futile, He changed his tactic

Magic attacks weren't working, So he decided to go for a physical one

WHOOOM

The Fire Dragon dashed forward, Using tiny explosions of fire behind him to increase his speed slightly

His jaws stretched open, and he set his teeth ablaze, turning them into blades that weren't just sharp but also emanated intense heat.

The Earth Dragon covered his vitals with earthen shields and prepared himself for the attack,

Within seconds, The Fire Dragon reached him and sank his teeth into the Earth Dragon's body, Breaking through both the Earth Dragon's shield and scales, But it didn't stop just there

His hot teeth sank deeper, shattering the Earth Dragon's bones and cutting out a big chunk of his flesh

The Earth Dragon's loud roar reverberated through the air

The Dragon Lord watched with annoyance

'Don't destroy the scales, you idiot'

Suddenly, The Earth Dragon's eyes gleamed dangerously!

He didn't take the attack for nothing!

While the Fire Dragon was busy obliterating through his shields, scales, Flesh, and bones, The Earth Dragon was readying his first attack

He had a trick up his sleeves!

The Earth Dragon created as many spears as he could and hid them behind his massive wings, And at the right moment, He unleashed all the spears toward the Fire Dragon

At the same time, He stopped flying and pushed all his weight on the Fire Dragon, Preventing him from escaping and causing both of them to fall down

The Fire Dragon crashed down with the Earth Dragon on top of him, But that was only the beginning

Tens of Spears appeared out of nowhere, At least that's how it seemed to the Fire Dragon

And every single one of them penetrated the Fire Dragon

Instantly, His skull and neck were both filled with spears!

The Earth Dragon roared loudly, but now it was a cry of victory, not pain

He was bleeding profusely from his wound, But he was alive, Unlike the now perforated Fire Dragon.

The Fire Dragon was dead, And now it was time for the Earth Dragon to have his meal, But at this moment, The Dragon Lord intervened

He unconcealed himself and sent a mental command to the Earth Dragon

"Wait"

The Earth Dragon immediately froze in place

With a mighty strike, The Dragon Lord punched the dead Fire Dragon's chest and ripped out his still-beating heart in his hand, Then gave it to the Earth Dragon

The heart is where most of the being's Life Force is located, And once the Earth Dragon consumes it, He will replenish both his lost Mana and Life Force, Allowing him to heal his wounds and making him stronger

"Now Leave" The Dragon Lord transmitted

The Earth Dragon swallowed the heart whole, Then immediately got out of the area

In a couple of seconds, The Dragon Lord skinned the dead Dragon's corpse, collected all his remaining scales, and then created a dimensional pocket and put them inside it

He wiped the blood off his hands

'Now I'm ready'

He concealed himself again, Then flew out of the Draconic Domain toward the southwest

'The Echelon Dynasty'

In a couple of minutes, The Dragon crossed the entire Middle Continent and entered the skies of the Echelon Dynasty,

He kept flying until he reached the Capital, His destination was exactly in the middle of the Capital

The Royal Castle

The Castle was huge, It's color was black and it had guards everywhere around it, But none of them noticed the Dragon Lord's existence

He entered through one of the entrances and then made his way to the Throne Room

Inside the room, There was a black colored throne with many people standing in front of it and discussing something

The room was bustling with activities, Different ministers and city-rulers, Each with their own guards and escorts, Not to mention the countless servants and maids

Yet, Not a single person noticed the Dragon Lord's existence

The Dragon Lord locked his eyes on the person who was sitting on the throne

The Dynasty's King

Then he altered his concealment a bit, Allowing only the King to perceive his existence

As soon as the King noticed the Dragon Lord, He spoke calmly

"Everyone, Leave for today."

The people were shocked by the sudden order, but none dared to defy it. Slowly, the room emptied until only the King and the Dragon Lord remained.