Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

“Ah?!” Images of being punished by her mother and father surfaced in Yulanda’s mind, indistinguishable from the notion of politeness and deference.

“Why do we have to live on Dragon Island?! Is it because the scenery and food are better there? Or do you prefer nibbling on leaves and licking rock salt, over indulging in crispy, oily roasted lamb and fine, clean salt?!” Brooks raged.

Yulanda shook her head frantically, her desire for roast lamb making the Dragon Island’s strict diet unbearable. There weren’t enough sheep to satisfy the appetite of all the dragons on the island. Wouldn’t it be easier if they lived on the mainland, with plenty of land to raise sheep, offering a plentiful food supply?

“You can’t do it! Neither could our ancestors! Do you think they were so amenable! That they would obediently surrender their lands to humans? To elves? To dwarfs!? Are they stupid or are you?!”

“But…,” Yulanda protested, “I have no memory of us being evicted in my blood.”

“Who would record such a disgraceful event in their bloodline? It’s passed down verbally. Unbelievable that one as young as you harbors such reckless thoughts – exterminate humans? You are dreaming!” retorted Brooks, spitting at Yulanda in disgust.

“What are we supposed to do then? If we can’t beat humans, calling upon the dragons of the entire island would just be sending them to their deaths, wouldn’t it?” Yulanda stubbornly challenged.

She began to realize that Brooks’ words likely held a harsh truth, as the surrounding dragons, having heard their argument, remained surprisingly passive, casting indulgent glances at her.

This only frustrated Yulanda. At her age, she craved validation and took their indulgence as mockery.

“We may not be able to defeat humans, but our Dragon Clan isn’t to be trifled with! We once made an agreement with humans not to pursue the giant dragons. It seems that humans have forgotten about this agreement, as someone killed Naeli. Perhaps, it is time to refresh their memory,” said Brooks.

Yulanda flew in silence for a long time, possibly taken aback.

Seeing her this way, Brooks softened. “I was quite harsh earlier, mostly because I was concerned that you might not fully grasp the situation. Both we, the Dragon Clan, and the humans have our own strengths. Our strength lies in our individual power and greater growth potential while human strength lies in their numbers and quick growth rate.”

“In an all-out war, it’s hard to predict the victor. However, we’d surely be defeated, as we cannot afford any casualties due to the small number of giant dragons. Even if 90 percent of humans were to perish, within a few centuries, they would flourish again. That’s the advantage of being short-lived.”

“Therefore, our ancestors wisely established an agreement with humans – the sea for us, the land for humans and elves, and the underground for dwarfs. We promised non-aggression and agreed to unite against any threat from the Undead Empire.”

Brooks’ words comforted Yulanda. The dragons weren’t defeated by humans; it was just that the humans reproduced too fast. One-on-one, a giant dragon would definitely hold the upper hand.

Feeling slightly better, Yulanda was suddenly captivated by a new term, “Undead Empire?”

“Yes, the Undead Empire. Memories of it exist in your bloodline. With deep reflection, you should be able to recall them… Huh?” Before he could finish, Brooks suddenly shouted in surprise and his body was lifted several kilometers into the air as if by an invisible force.

This elevation clearly wasn’t due to the flapping of wings, but the exhibition of an unparalleled level of magic by Brooks.

Witnessing the Clan Leader’s prowess, Yulanda suddenly realized that her own minor tricks seemed insignificant in comparison.

Brooks, having ascended into the sky, looked westward to see the sky darkening. A low-pressure system was forming, sucking in the air.

It was clearly the prelude to a storm; a hurricane was forming. If it weren’t for the faint wave of magic, Brooks would have attributed it to a natural occurrence.

“Well, well, is this the humans’ arcane magic – Typhoon?” Brooks mumbled to himself with a cold smirk.

The sky grew increasingly gloomy. Dark clouds pressed down from all sides, covering the entire horizon, leaving only the direction whence the dragons came clear and cloudless. It looked like they were being driven back.

Brooks stretched his neck, letting out a loud dragon chant, and flapped his wings.

The force of his flap created a small vortex in front of him. As it seemed about to dissipate, he flapped his wings once more, causing the vortex to slightly grow.

In this way, Brooks repeatedly flapped his wings, amplifying the vortex in front of him into a tornado, growing thicker and longer, gradually extending to both ends of the horizon.

The dragons who heard Brooks’ call flew to the sky, circling the tornado. As more and more dragons joined in, the tornado grew rapidly. Soon, its ends reached the sea and the clouds.

The rapidly rotating tornado relentlessly sucked up the ocean water, transforming it into a water tornado. It also drew down the dark clouds in the sky, quickly enlarging it.