Translator: AnubisTL
"What is this?"
Garos stepped closer and peered intently.
It was a square stone, etched with simple runes in the center. Unlike ordinary stone, the runes glowed with a faint light.
A Message Stone.
Garos recognized it.
This is one of the most common and versatile alchemy items on Bernardo Planet, and it works exactly as its name suggests: it can transmit messages.
The runes on the stone's surface were fading, gradually dimming to darkness.
Clearly, it had just been used.
"This goblin must have used the Message Stone before dying, likely to send a message to its tribe."
"It must be about me, about the Iron Fir Territory."
Garos's dragon eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Goblins were known for their vengefulness. According to Samantha's description, this tribe possessed a considerable number of alchemy items. However, their individual life grades were not particularly high, and the tribe's size was moderate—not too large, not too small.
"Once the goblin tribe receives this message, they won't let this go."
"The fact that they dared to hunt Samantha means they're not afraid of young dragons. They probably even see young dragons as prey."
Garos paced back and forth, deep in thought.
Should I abandon the Hemlock Hills? The resources here are mediocre, but barely enough for me to survive. The wilderness is dangerous, and finding suitable territory will be difficult. A life of constant wandering isn't conducive to my growth and development.
But if I don't abandon my territory...
Being ambushed and besieged by a prepared goblin tribe could be very dangerous.
I don't want to abandon my territory, nor do I want to die in an ambush.
I'll investigate first to determine the goblin tribe's strength.
If they're very weak, I'll simply ignore them. If they're too strong, I'll have to abandon the Hemlock Hills.
If they're somewhere in between—not posing a major threat in a direct confrontation, but capable of launching dangerous ambushes—I'll eliminate them all preemptively!
Under the sun, the red iron young dragon's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of ferocity flashing in them.
When his life is threatened, Garos becomes exceptionally vigilant, cautious, and... bloodthirsty.
When faced with a potential threat, Garos's strategy is to crush it in its cradle whenever possible.
For instance, during the attack on the Goblin Wolf Riders earlier.
To prevent any information from leaking, Garos resolved to eliminate every last goblin the moment he struck. Yet, information still managed to escape through a Message Stone, potentially putting him in danger.
He turned to Samantha.
"What's the overall strength of this goblin tribe that was hunting you?" Garos asked. "Tell me everything you know in as much detail as possible, without leaving anything out."
Samantha seemed taken aback, unsure of Garos's intentions.
After a moment's thought, she recounted everything she knew, leaving no detail unmentioned.
As she finished, Garos fell into deep contemplation.
"The strongest goblin is only level 6 in terms of life grade."
"Yet their tribe possesses numerous alchemy items, including an alchemy golem that posed a grave threat to Samantha."
Alchemy golems were a remarkably successful product of alchemy item development.
The dragon heritage contained records of them, and Garos paid particular attention to these entries.
For example:
The Holy Flame Arbiter, Ignis.
The Holy Flame Arbiter was one of the top-tier alchemy golems of the human empire of Holden. It was jointly created by countless alchemists and the Church of the Dawn, forged from the skeleton of an Ancient Red Dragon and cast with numerous rare and precious metals. Its interior and exterior were engraved with sacred runes of the Church of the Dawn, and it possessed a multitude of attributes.
This was because the Holy Flame Arbiter was made from the remains of an Ancient Red Dragon.
The dragon clan viewed this as a grave sacrilege.
Even the metallic dragons, who were enemies of evil dragons, could not tolerate it.
Once, a group of legendary metallic dragons stormed the gates, demanding the destruction of the Holy Flame Arbiter, but they were refused by the Holden Empire and the Church of the Dawn.
The metallic dragons, being lawful creatures, had reservations and were unwilling to start a war over the remains of an evil dragon.
Moreover, the Holden Empire, with shrewd diplomacy, offered numerous alchemy items to appease the metallic dragons' wrath. After prolonged negotiations, the matter was finally settled.
As for the evil dragon itself, even an ancient one, alone and solitary, could not stand against the might of the empire.
The Holy Flame Arbiter is now stationed at an abyssal rift within the Holden Empire, where it has slain countless demons. Its reputation on the Bernardo Planet is legendary, and its power is immense.
And like the Holy Flame Arbiter, such top-tier alchemy golems are capable of slaying ancient dragons.
There was far more than one entity involved.
To get back to the matter at hand.
The alchemy golems in the goblin tribe were unlikely to be high-level. They were most likely mass-produced, even designed for mining or transportation rather than combat. Such golems could be purchased directly from numerous sources.
"I don't need to be too tense."
"Come to think of it, if the goblin tribe were truly formidable, Samantha wouldn't have been able to escape them in the first place."
Garos's tension eased, and the murderous intent in his eyes gradually faded.
"I want to eat so badly... I haven't had meat in ages."
Samantha was staring intently at the wild bull, her eyes fixed on it, unable to look away.
If not for the peak of her reverence for Garos, she would have pounced on the bull in an instant.
Grrr!
A deep rumble suddenly came from her stomach, drawing Garos's attention.
Samantha flushed crimson, her dragon face burning, her tail twitching nervously. Unable to suppress her hunger any longer, she pleaded, "My dear brother, may I have some beef? Just a little, a tiny bit would be enough."
Why didn't you just ask earlier?
Garos tore off an entire hindquarter of the bull with his claws and tossed it to Samantha.
She snatched the hindquarter and devoured it ravenously, crunching through the bones and swallowing everything without wasting a scrap.
"Mobel, drive the gray wolves to the Hemlock Hills and pen them up as a food reserve."
Garos began eating as well, giving an order simultaneously.
"Alright!"
The Earthstorm Bear nodded heavily, took a large stride, and drove off the surviving gray wolves.
Time passed slowly.
The sun set in the west, and night fell silently.
The Rock-Chewing Tribe—the goblin tribe that had been hunting Samantha.
Their settlement was nestled at the foot of a heavily eroded, reddish-brown mesa. The mountain's surface was riddled with honeycomb-like natural caves, resembling the hollowed-out wood of a rotting log.
The goblins used rusted iron nails to fasten wooden planks, animal bones, and shattered pottery shards across the cave entrances, piecing together a haphazard wall.
It was less a defensive structure than a warning sign made of refuse.
Around the perimeter stood a fence woven from inverted flint spikes and Man-Eating Vines.
Dried lizard skulls hung from the vines—in goblin culture, displaying the skulls of hunted prey was believed to bring good fortune to the tribe.
Though small in scale, the settlement was fully functional.
In the iron ore pits, goblins with sulfur-blackened claws picked through iron ore, sending it to the smelting workshops. There, they forged barbed arrowheads, swords, and other weapons and equipment. These were then further enhanced and strengthened by the tribe's alchemists.
The Sierre Wilderness was rich in various ores.
Common iron ore was nearly ubiquitous, even the smallest tribes had no shortage of it. As for magical precious metals, they were beyond their reach.
(End of the Chapter)
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Translator's Corner
🛑LAST CHANCE! Massive Monthly/Yearly Discount Ends TOMORROW. 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦🔥