Translator: AnubisTL
Near a low, rocky mountain with a parched, cracked surface riddled with pits of varying sizes, a succulent piece of skinned beast meat lay exposed on the ground. Under the scorching sun, it emitted an enticing, bloody aroma that permeated the surrounding air.
Time gradually passed.
After more than ten minutes, the ground before the meat suddenly bulged and cracked open.
An earth spider crawled out from within.
Its main body was roughly the size of a millstone, each of its spear-like legs nearly two meters long. Its carapace was earth-yellow, patterned with rock-like striations.
Earth Spider—Level 3 Ferocious Beast.
Extending its segmented limbs, the earth spider approached the meat, ready to savor this 'pie' that had fallen from the sky.
Little did it know, there are no free gifts in this world.
Whoosh!
A sudden gust of wind swept in from behind.
The red iron young dragon swooped low, seizing the earth spider before it could react. Using mind sense, it successfully subdued the creature through a combination of coercion and enticement.
In every aspect, the earth spider paled in comparison to the Rock-Crushing Worm.
Yet after days of searching, Garos found no other Rock-Crushing Worm colonies, nor any other suitable creatures. He had no choice but to settle for the earth spider.
One earth spider is hardly enough, Garos thought. I need to capture more.
Using beast meat as bait proved too slow. He considered alternative methods.
As he pondered, Garos noticed that the earth spider he had just subdued still had a faint crimson tinge on its earthy-brown abdomen.
Inherited knowledge told him this meant it was a female spider currently receptive to mating with males, and emitting pheromones to attract them.
As for why such detailed knowledge was included in his inheritance...
One could only surmise that dragonkind's interests were remarkably broad. At least one of Garos's dragon ancestors must have been particularly fascinated by earth spiders, hence the preservation of this knowledge.
The next step was simple.
The female spider lay leisurely on the ground, emitting a scent that drove male spiders into a frenzy.
Soon after, a male spider, drawn by the scent, rushed to the scene.
However, the male spider's hopes were dashed.
As soon as it eagerly emerged, the red iron young dragon, acting as a "fishing enforcer," ambushed it. After a brutal beating and coercive threats, followed by promises of reward, the dragon subdued the spider using the same method as before.
"Lust is a blade hanging over your heads, you poor spiders," Garos lamented before resuming his "fishing enforcement."
Shortly after, Garos had amassed a group of earth spiders under his command, totaling 43: 42 males and 1 female.
All the male spiders were dispatched to a small black oilfield occupied by dwarves to seize the black oil for Garos. The female spider, meanwhile, remained in the Hemlock Hills, provided with food and drink, spared from any danger.
But this didn't mean the female spider had nothing to do.
Besides continuing to attract other earth spiders, she also bore the crucial responsibility of soothing and motivating the male spiders.
When subduing the male spiders, Garos had made a promise:
Any male spider that brought back black oil would earn a mating opportunity with the female spider.
For these ferocious beasts, lacking in intelligence, the instinct to reproduce outweighed all else.
Driven by their primal urge to procreate, the male spiders proudly burrowed into the earth, while Garos silently awaited their triumphant return.
Several days later, Hemlock Hills.
Samantha opened her mouth and spat out a fireball.
Boom!
The fireball slammed into Garos, erupting into a dazzling blaze. The powerful impact shattered the last of his cushion scales, revealing his black-red armor, forged from steel and iron.
Feeling the dryness and burning sensation in her throat, Samantha panted heavily and asked, "Is that enough? I'm getting tired."
"Keep going. This is just the beginning. Is your stamina really worse than Mobel's?" Garos coldly urged, resorting to provocation.
Glancing at the Earthstorm Bear resting against an iron fir tree nearby, Samantha's competitive spirit flared. Grinding her teeth, she declared, "You asked for this. Now I'm getting serious."
With that, she...
Samantha took a deep breath, her chest swelling dramatically as a molten crimson glow seeped through the gaps in her scales.
A dazzling ball of fire materialized between her jagged dragon teeth, churning within her maw.
Explosive Dragon Breath Orb!
The surrounding air temperature rose invisibly, building for several seconds. Then, a blinding, magma-like red fireball erupted from Samantha's mouth, hurtling straight toward Garos.
Garos's eyes reflected the rapidly approaching fireball.
He neither dodged nor flinched, instead straightening his chest and bracing himself to withstand the full force of the impact.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave erupted, the blast wave carrying flames outward. The ground was blasted into a deep crater ringed by scorched earth.
Red dragons were renowned for the sheer destructive power of their attacks.
Facing Samantha's fully charged assault head-on, Garos was inevitably sent flying, crashing through several iron fir trees before finally stopping.
He rose to his feet and glanced down. The thick, crimson-black scales on his chest were dented inward, radiating cracks spreading outward like spiderwebs.
"Now that's an attack with some bite!"
Far from being angered by the pain, Garos grinned with delight.
Samantha's earlier attacks had been mere pinpricks, failing to satisfy him. But this one showed promise.
"Again! I'll stand here and let you attack."
He turned to Samantha, his voice brimming with excitement.
Unexpectedly, Samantha had collapsed to the ground, limp as a puddle of mud. The Explosive Dragon Breath Orb had nearly exhausted her last reserves of strength.
"Garos... you're... becoming... increasingly... monstrous," she gasped between ragged breaths, her tongue lolling out.
She was finished.
But Garos wasn't quite satisfied. He turned his gaze toward Mobel, the Earthstorm Bear.
Mobel squeezed his eyes shut and feigned death.
He had been Samantha's sparring partner earlier and hadn't fully recovered yet. Even though Garos was the one being fought, Mobel's entire body ached.
Still restless, Garos soared into the sky, found a desolate mountain and open space, and began repeatedly ramming into them.
Nearby wild beasts watched in terror as the dragonkind, seemingly gone mad, relentlessly crashed into the mountain and ground. They scrambled away to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Boom!
The dragon horn shattered the granite into fragments.
After another round of training, Garos emerged from the "cave" he had carved out, shaking off dust and rubble. He still wasn't fully satisfied.
As his physique grew stronger, ordinary training methods were becoming increasingly ineffective.
He had nearly breached the small, desolate mountain, yet his scales had only suffered a few cracks, none completely shattered.
"Ordinary mountains and terrain are no longer sufficient for my training needs," Garos thought. "I require a better, more suitable environment."
He flexed his dragon wings, stirring up a whirlwind of dust as he prepared to return to Hemlock Hills.
Just then, a dry, desert-like scent of dragonkind suddenly filled the air.
Narrowing his eyes, Garos looked up.
A dragon silhouette appeared in the sky.
Its scales gleamed crimson, reflecting the sunlight with a metallic sheen. A pair of spiraling horns, resembling those of a bighorn sheep, curved back from its forehead. Copper-colored, hardened scales bristled along its neck and spine, fluttering in the wind. As it flew, its form resembled a crimson sandstorm sweeping across the horizon.
This was a Red Copper Dragon, a type of metallic dragon.
It was now flying directly toward Garos, its course unwavering, clearly having detected his presence.
"Senselessly destroying innocent mountains and land... Hmph, you naturally wicked hybrid dragon of red and iron! Today, this dragon will make you feel the full force of a metallic dragon's righteous punishment!"
The young Red Copper Dragon had caught Garos's scent and, feeling a surge of battle lust, took an instant dislike to him.
(End of the Chapter)