Translator: AnubisTL
Beneath the stormy sky, the red copper dragon finished its riddle, wagging its tail triumphantly as it awaited Garos's answer.
Garos remained silent, unable to respond.
Red copper dragons are natural Riddle Dragons, and one thing can be said for certain: when crafting riddles, their innate nature prevents them from ever lying.
Its riddle offered multiple clues, and the difficulty was moderate.
Garos guessed the answer:
Luck.
The red copper dragon had appeared before him not due to oversight, equipment tracking, or hidden treasures, but because of the elusive, intangible force of luck.
This realization brought him relief, yet he didn't forget that he still needed to overcome his greedy desire for wealth.
Garos blinked and glanced at the horn ring worn by the red copper dragon, its neck scales once again bulging with gold coins and gems.
Ever since he had devoured his first magic gem, he had rarely practiced this kind of training.
He realized this was because his instinct to guard treasure had subconsciously made him ignore this weakness. Now, he had rediscovered it.
The best way to overcome fear is to face it head-on.
Garos decided to seize another hoard of the red copper dragon's treasures. Later, when he had time, he would confront these riches directly, attempting to consume them to temper his will and overcome his obsession.
At the very least, he wanted to reach the point where he could devour two magic gems in one sitting!
This would require immense willpower, a torment far greater than physical pain. Only dragonkind could truly understand the resolve and courage needed to achieve such a feat.
Meanwhile,
Since Garos remained silent, the red copper dragon assumed he couldn't solve its riddle. It circled in the air and declared the answer with self-satisfaction: "Hybrid dragon, the answer is—luck!"
Garos turned his neck.
Unhurriedly, he unfurled his massive dragon wings inch by inch, flapping them gently to stir the surrounding rain into a swirling vortex. He rose into the air, leveling off with the red copper dragon at a distance of about a kilometer.
"Fools rely on luck to win, and the weak rise through luck," Garos grinned. "Red copper dragon, it seems you have self-awareness. You know you are both a fool and the weak."
The red copper dragon's smile froze.
Upon reflection, it seemed true.
The riddle it had posed had backfired, making it feel like a fool who had tripped over his own feet. It was rather unpleasant.
"You came before me by sheer luck. What do you want?" Garos asked again.
The red copper dragon's scales began to glow faintly, a sign of magical energy coursing through its body. "Of course, to defeat you and change your wicked ways! To turn you into a good dragon!"
Garos was puzzled, unable to understand the source of the red copper dragon's confidence. His gaze fell upon the ring around its horn, and his wariness sharpened.
"Last time, you only won by a fluke and my negligence," the red copper dragon declared confidently. "This time, I'll take the battle seriously. I've undergone rigorous training and am far stronger than before."
"Come, let's begin anew and settle this once and for all. This time, I'll show you the true might of a metallic dragon." It calmly beckoned Garos with a clawed hand.
This red copper dragon seems overly confident. Let's spar a few rounds to test its strength before deciding whether to fight, steal, or retreat. Garos made a swift decision.
His wings suddenly beat, the fine scales on their membranes singing like blades. Rain shattered into fine mist between the scales, only to be instantly vaporized by the heat generated by the friction.
His body erupted forward in an instant, forcing the rain into visible, cone-shaped white waves as long trails of steam trailed behind his dragon wings.
Unstoppable, he charged toward the red copper dragon, his momentum fueled by the rolling dragon might tempered in the wilderness's dangers, like a meteor streaking through the sky.
The red copper dragon's smile froze.
No matter how harsh and brutal the special training under his parents' supervision, it couldn't compare to Garos's. If the red copper dragon were subjected to Garos's training intensity, it would likely collapse within a single day.
While the red copper dragon had indeed grown over the past six months, Garos's growth far surpassed it.
Garos had survived among the fangs of the wilderness, knowing that every breath could be his last. He had never slackened, while the red copper dragon's rigorous special training was merely a sheltered, alternative game.
Even without considering his formidable physique, Garos's willpower, spirit, and resilience far surpassed those of the red copper dragon.
The red copper dragon finally reacted.
In a panic, it spewed a stream of orange-red, gelatinous acidic dragon breath, hoping to slow or stop Garos's advance.
Garos's figure blurred into a crimson lightning bolt amid the rain.
He didn't charge in a straight line. Instead, he darted left and right, weaving and weaving at high speed, displaying a level of agility that left the red copper dragon stunned.
The red copper dragon's eyes struggled to track him, and its dragon breath couldn't even reach him.
In the next instant, Garos surged forward, his right wing raised high, tearing through the wind and rain like a scythe.
The red copper dragon instinctively tried to raise its claws in defense, but found its muscles frozen. Terror washed over it in a tidal wave, leaving its mind completely blank. It even forgot how to use its innate magical abilities or alchemy items.
A hothouse flower could never withstand a warrior who had weathered storms and battled the wilderness.
"Not dodging? So confident? Oh, so it's just paralyzed by fear."
"I overestimated it."
At the last moment, Garos's mind raced. He adjusted his angle, and the blunt surface of his wing membrane slammed into the red copper dragon's neck with a sickening thud.
The treasures meticulously stored within the dragon's scales burst forth like scattered flowers.
Gold coins and gems traced dazzling parabolas through the rain.
Garos's dragon wings curled inward, catching every last one and trapping them between the fine scales of his wing membrane. Simultaneously, he swiftly extended a dragon claw and tore off the red copper dragon's horn rings.
When the red copper dragon finally regained its senses...
It was too late.
Just like last time, Garos had stripped it of its equipment and treasures.
This time, the red copper dragon fared even worse.
It had thought it could defeat Garos, but was instead frozen in place by his dragon might, unable to move like a puppet, not even daring to resist.
"Trying to turn me into a good dragon? Red copper dragon, you're still far too weak."
Garos toyed with the horn ring he had just acquired, addressing the red copper dragon.
He had no intention of killing it.
The risk was too great.
Metallic dragons are born with the doting affection of their elders and possess life-saving trump cards.
He might be able to kill the red copper dragon before it could react, but its subsequent berserk reaction from its life-saving scale would likely backfire and kill him instead.
Moreover, Garos could see through it.
This red copper dragon had never experienced the trials of the wilderness, never faced a crisis. It had only just left the protection of its parents—naive and foolish, posing no real danger to him and failing to stir his killing intent.
As for its parents...
Elder metallic dragons of the Order Alignment adhere strictly to their principles. Unless Garos cruelly slaughtered their child, they would not attack such a young dragon.
"Why... why is the gap between us so vast?" the red copper dragon asked bitterly.
Garos fell silent for a few seconds, then grinned.
"It is formless and intangible, yet it sharpens claws and fangs, and tempers scales."
"It is silent and invisible, yet it tears apart weakness and forges will."
"It has no beginning and no end, yet it makes young dragons prostrate themselves and true dragons soar."
"It is neither the love of parents nor the warmth of a greenhouse, yet it has brought you here—to fall beneath my claws!"
"Tell me, red copper dragon, what is it?"
He answered her riddle with another riddle, in the style of the Riddle Dragon.
The red copper dragon froze, stunned.
Garos's riddle was like a sharp claw, dissecting the confusion in her heart.
She gazed down at the world, seeing lightning like silver serpents devouring the mountain ridges and gales uprooting ancient trees.
Suddenly, she understood. She had never truly faced this world.
The riddles given by her Dragon Parents, however difficult, always had answers in books. But Garos's riddle had to be written in blood and fire.
"Th-thank you. I understand."
The red copper dragon looked at Garos, imprinting the hybrid dragon's image in her mind. Then she spoke each word deliberately: "Hybrid dragon, remember my name. I am Deborah."
"I will return. I will stand before you again, in a different form, and I will defeat you."
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗢𝗡) on the Site till Ch154. (74 Chapters Ahead)
💲Read upto Ch90 for ABSOLUTELY 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀! ℕ𝕠 𝕃𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕟
⚡15 Novels | 9.2k+ Chapters | 15.4M+ Words [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]