Translator: AnubisTL
"This young dragon's combat experience is far inferior to mine," Garos assessed.
Judging by the Red Copper Dragon's initial pursuit speed, Garos concluded it wasn't particularly strong. Even after using an alchemy item to enhance its speed, it remained slightly slower than him.
The recent probing confirmed its inadequate reaction time, limited practical combat experience, and revealed the effects of its golden chain alchemy item.
This is a fledgling dragon, inexperienced in real combat, arrogant due to its alchemy items, Garos thought.
"All its alchemy items will be mine now. Let it taste the harshness of the wilderness."
Garos's eyes flashed as he changed his mind.
Originally, he had no interest in tangling with the Red Copper Dragon. But after testing its capabilities and realizing it was far weaker than anticipated—and laden with treasures—the situation had completely changed.
The Red Copper Dragon continued its relentless pursuit.
Garos slowed slightly, keeping the Red Copper Dragon close enough to follow without losing him.
After some time, the red iron young dragon retracted its wings, tore through the thick clouds, and dove downward, vanishing abruptly from the Red Copper Dragon's sight.
"Tiring out already?"
The Red Copper Dragon's spirit surged with renewed vigor.
In its view, Garos's heavy, bulky frame must be consuming vast amounts of magical energy during flight. Now exhausted, while the Red Copper Dragon, enhanced by alchemy items, had conserved its strength, this was the perfect moment to strike.
Changing direction, the Red Copper Dragon also plunged downward, its neck frills fluttering wildly.
In an instant, it landed on the ground.
"Where did it hide?"
The Red Copper Dragon's gaze swept across the surroundings, noticing an abandoned mine pit ahead.
Approaching cautiously, it peered down into the pit and spotted several dragon scales scattered across the jagged, rocky floor, as if they had been carelessly rubbed off.
"Hiding in a place like this? How fitting for an evil dragon's crude tastes."
The Guardian's Necklace—the massive gold chain around the Red Copper Dragon's neck—emitted a defensive glow that enveloped its entire body.
The Red Copper Dragon lowered its wings and spiraled down to the bottom of the mine pit. Its eyes narrowed as it scanned the dark, winding tunnels, searching for Garos.
Just seconds later, the black rock beneath its feet suddenly trembled.
A violent gust of wind roared from the largest tunnel.
"Evil hybrid dragon! Come and taste my might!"
The Red Copper Dragon's wary eyes lit up.
But it quickly realized something was wrong. The ground shook too violently, and the commotion in the tunnel sounded like a colossal creature was charging through it.
At that moment, a massive black shadow burst from the tunnel, exposed to the sunlight.
It was an exceptionally large Rock-Crushing Worm, its meat-grinder-like maw bristling with countless jagged teeth as it lunged at the Red Copper Dragon.
This was the Rock-Crushing Worm King.
Having been repeatedly hunted by Garos, the worm king was now extremely vigilant, erupting at the slightest disturbance. Garos had anticipated this and exploited it.
"Ah, you cunning evil dragon!"
The Red Copper Dragon's heart pounded with terror as it realized it had been tricked.
This was a trap.
It had never imagined that the red iron young dragon, though seemingly stronger than a red dragon, would lack the red dragon's muscle-bound physique.
The Red Copper Dragon immediately opened its mouth.
Its tongue curled back, revealing an exquisite silver ring.
Taking a half-step back, the Silverfrost Ring on the Red Copper Dragon's tongue suddenly glowed.
Freeze!
A thick torrent of icy air erupted from the Red Copper Dragon's mouth—or, more accurately, from the ring itself—resembling the breath of a silver dragon. It slammed into the colossal Rock-Crushing Worm King charging toward it.
A layer of frost instantly coated the worm's body.
Then, with a sickening crackling sound, the ice encasing its carapace shattered rapidly.
The worm king continued its assault.
Seizing the moment while the worm king was slowed by the ice, the Red Copper Dragon flapped its fiery wings with renewed vigor, soaring upward without hesitation to evade the worm king's follow-up attack.
But before it could relax,
a black-and-red dragon shadow suddenly erupted from the ground. Its wings spread like massive guillotines, tearing through the air with a terrifying shriek.
The Red Copper Dragon's heart leaped in alarm.
It opened its maw and spat out a viscous, orange-red acidic liquid that expanded mid-air into a spiderweb-like formation, descending upon Garos like a net.
Flaming dragon breath erupted from Garos's mouth, igniting the Red Copper Dragon's acidic dragon breath and neutralizing its corrosive and adhesive properties.
Whoosh!
The gale generated by Garos's flapping dragon wings whipped the flames into a swirling vortex behind him, billowing like a fiery cape.
Garos charged toward the Red Copper Dragon with unstoppable force.
The Red Copper Dragon's breath hitched. Facing Garos head-on, it finally realized its mistake: this evil dragon was far stronger than it had imagined. And not only powerful, but also cunning and treacherous—a future super-villain among dragons.
Before it, the Guardian's Necklace coalesced into an even thicker barrier of light.
The Red Copper Dragon braced for the attack.
Garos tilted his right wing, suddenly veering sharply to the side.
Channeling magical energy into his wings, he surged forward with explosive speed.
Normally, Garos relied solely on his honed and evolved wings for flight, unlike other dragons who required magical energy amplification to fly.
His body arced through the air.
In an instant, Garos had circled behind the Red Copper Dragon.
The muscles in his tail coiled taut as steel cables, while the lightning tail ring hidden beneath his dragon scales flared to life. Countless serpentine arcs of electricity crackled along his tail, stimulating his muscles to unleash even greater power.
Unlike the Red Copper Dragon, which openly displayed two pieces of equipment, Garos kept his tail ring hidden between his dragon scales when not in use, never showing it off.
With a motion resembling a front flip, the red iron young dragon's lightning-charged tail arced in a full-moon-shaped arc, crashing down violently onto the Red Copper Dragon's back.
Crack!
The energy barrier shattered instantly.
The light from the Guardian's Necklace flickered and died, its stored energy completely exhausted.
The weakened tail strike landed on the Red Copper Dragon's armored back. Razor-sharp dragon scales, each like a blade, scraped across its hide, tearing through its scales and leaving a long, gruesome gash of blood and mangled flesh.
The Red Copper Dragon roared in pain, twisting its head around.
It opened its dragon's maw, and the Silverfrost Ring on its tongue glowed once more, unleashing a wave of icy cold.
Against a red dragon-iron dragon hybrid, the Silverfrost Ring's freezing blast dealt double damage—a trump card the Red Copper Dragon relied on.
However, a revealed weapon is no longer a trump card.
Garos had anticipated this. Before the Red Copper Dragon could unleash its icy blast, he lunged forward, his head slamming into the dragon's jaw with a dull thud.
The Red Copper Dragon was forced to clamp its mouth shut, unable to retaliate immediately.
Whoosh!
Garos exhaled a massive cloud of white gas at close range, engulfing the Red Copper Dragon.
This was another type of breath belonging to the iron dragon lineage—hypnotic dragon breath.
Any creature struck by hypnotic dragon breath would enter a drowsy, sleepwalking-like state, provided their willpower failed the resistance check. In this state, they would answer any question truthfully.
Sufficiently old and powerful iron dragons could even hypnotize enemies into becoming puppets, forcing them to act according to their will.
Flaming dragon breath, electric fire dragon breath, and hypnotic dragon breath.
These were the three types of dragon breath Garos possessed.
The Red Copper Dragon's vision blurred as the hypnotic breath washed over its face, making it drowsy. However, due to its greater age and more resilient mental fortitude, it resisted immediate hypnosis.
Garos slammed a dragon claw against the Red Copper Dragon's neck.
Clatter!
A cascade of glittering objects spilled forth.
These were gems and gold coins—some dragons liked to stash them in the inner layers of their neck scales.
Garos swept his dragon wings to catch the scattered gems and coins, then struck again, gathering even more.
While the Red Copper Dragon remained dazed, Garos snatched the Guardian's Necklace from its neck. In a lightning-fast motion, he used his claw tips to pry off the wing rings, forced open the dragon's jaws, straightened its tongue, and plucked off the Silverfrost Ring.
(End of the Chapter)
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𝟏𝟒 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 | 𝟖.𝟒𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 | 𝟏𝟒.𝟐𝐌 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]