Translator: AnubisTL
The Sierre Wilderness, during the rainy season, was saturated by relentless downpours. The once-clear scent trails of prey were washed away and muddled, making tracking nearly impossible. Swollen rivers erased footprints and traces, leaving trackers disoriented.
The flesh and blood of slain prey rotted rapidly in the stifling heat and humidity, making long-term preservation difficult even after a successful hunt.
The hyena-men of the Redeye Clan and the lizardfolk of the Riftclaw Clan.
They independently chose to cross the clans' controlled routes during lulls in the rain, ambushing travelers along specific stretches of the Scaly Earth Rift Road to carry out raids.
Based on past experience, they knew the rainy season in the Sierre Wilderness wouldn't end soon. Above the persistent drizzle, dark clouds gathered, brewing even more violent storms that could descend at any moment. Therefore, they decided it was best to begin their operations during the less intense periods of rain.
Strangely, the ogres of the Bonechewer Clan remained confined to their territory, not venturing out in large numbers.
Even with one less clan to contend with, the few merchant caravans that managed to traverse the Scaly Earth Rift Road were so thoroughly exploited and plundered by the hyena-men and lizardfolk that they couldn't reach the Howling Moon Clan's territory. Only the largest caravans, those the Redeye and Riftclaw Clans dared not attack, could make it that far, and even then, the Howling Moon Clan lacked the confidence to attempt a raid.
"The Redeye Clan and the Riftclaw Clan."
"Hyena-men and lizardfolk."
Garos narrowed his eyes, his mind working through the possibilities.
He didn't have direct knowledge of these clans; his understanding came indirectly from the Howling Moon Clan.
Individually, hyena-men were weaker than graymane werewolves, but the Redeye Clan's overall strength was comparable to the Howling Moon Clan's.
Their leader was a warlord.
A hyena warlord was more than just a position of authority; it was a social rank.
The strongest and most ferocious hyena-men ascended to this rank through a ritual of consuming the hearts of other hyena-men. The ritual carried a high risk of death, but success granted extraordinary abilities.
Hyena warlords could empower their kin, bestowing extra damage on their attacks, granting them movement advantages, instilling fearlessness in the face of death, and unleashing strength far beyond that of ordinary hyena-men.
In addition to the hyena warlord, the Redeye Clan also had a priest.
A priest differed from a shaman.
Shaman communicated with spirits of nature, ancestors, and the essence of plants and animals through meditation and totems to gain supernatural power. Priests, on the other hand, served deities, offering sacrifices to receive divine blessings.
The hyena priests worship Yeenoghu, the hyena god, who is also a Demon Lord.
Blessed by their deity, hyena priests are less skilled in survival than shamans but command brutal sacrificial rituals and divine magic.
One thing is certain:
Both hyena warlords and priests are 7th-grade life forms.
"The Riftclaw and Bonechewer Clans are larger and stronger," Garos thought.
"In that case, I'll start with the Redeye Clan."
Why not pick the softest target first?
To the Howling Moon Clan, the Redeye Clan's warlord and priest might seem formidable, but to Garos, they were nothing. Though cautious, he was fully aware of his own power level.
For creatures like hyena-men, even if there were several times as many of them, they would still pose little threat to dragonkind.
The Riftclaw and even stronger Bonechewer Clans had individuals of higher life grades, but honestly, with Garos's current strength, he could have stormed their strongholds directly if he wanted.
But Garos didn't like doing things that way.
He also enjoyed fighting creatures of a higher life grade, but not by challenging them directly.
If the circumstances allowed.
Garos wanted to crush level 6, 5, and 4 creatures with overwhelming power.
He had no desire to challenge stronger foes, nor great ambition. Perhaps that would change in the future, but for now, he lived by the principle of self-preservation, wanting only to survive long and comfortably.
Garos instructed the werewolf shaman, "Continue stationing werewolves along the Scaly Earth Rift Road to ambush them. The other clans will soon pose no threat to you."
"What do you plan to do?" the shaman asked.
Garos grinned, revealing his sharp dragon fangs. "Starting with the Redeye Clan, they will either be destroyed or become your allies."
The werewolf shaman stirred slightly.
As a shaman, it had long communicated with nature and possessed a keen mind. Through its interactions with Garos, it gradually realized that although Garos claimed not to be an evil dragon, he exuded a subtly dangerous aura.
What if I had refused to pledge my loyalty back then...?
The Howling Moon Clan, it thought, was likely destined for destruction as well.
It felt a sense of relief, glad it had made the right choice back then.
Garos hadn't treated them cruelly. The only thing that made the werewolves flinch was his habit of demanding they surround and attack him, exhausting them nearly to death. Yet this practice also served as training for them.
Moreover, Garos used hunting to hone his combat skills. He didn't require the werewolves to provide food. When hunting ferocious beasts and demonic creatures, if he ate his fill and killed more than he needed, he would reward his chosen.
For the Howling Moon Clan, a ferocious beast or demonic creature targeted by Garos was a rare and precious feast.
Garos's protection was also crucial.
His dragonkind qi kept the ferocious beasts that once raided the clan at bay, and it significantly reduced the threat from other clans. This gave the werewolves a sense of security, allowing them to focus on other matters. In recent days, several female werewolves had become pregnant.
"The Howling Moon Clan stands ready!"
"At your command, we will become your claws and fangs, your vanguard!"
The shaman prostrated himself once more, his voice firm as he pledged his loyalty.
Having received Garos's protection and gifts, the werewolf tribe was ready to fight for him.
However, Garos shook his head dismissively.
"There's no need for you to fight."
He paused before adding, "Let the young and strong of your tribe rest well and receive the finest food. I want their claws and fangs to sharpen, to the point where they can leave scars on me and draw my blood."
The old shaman fell silent, speechless.
Could the clan's ancient texts have been wrong about dragonkind?
He wondered.
If we'd known dragons were like Garos, we wouldn't have needed his offer. The moment we saw him, we would have prostrated ourselves and the entire tribe would have bowed!
The wilderness was treacherous, and the rainy season made the ground muddy and overgrown with tangled vegetation.
Garos disdained the werewolves' slow pace on the ground and didn't plan to have them join the assault on the Redeye Clan. At their speed, it would take too long for them to reach the enemy.
Better to handle it himself.
His true purpose in gathering familiars wasn't for them to fight for him.
Garos flapped his wings and soared into the sky amid the light rain. In an instant, he vanished into the thick, dark clouds, disappearing without a trace.
Meanwhile, as he hurried toward the hyena-man Redeye Clan...
In the western Sierre Wilderness, near the Boiling Sea, a stone giant clan composed of over a dozen individuals was reluctantly sorting through their belongings, preparing to migrate north.
"Elder, will we ever return?" the young stone giant asked, his voice rough and deep as he stood on a high cliff, gazing back at the turbulent Boiling Sea.
"We will return when our strength is sufficient to slay these blue dragons and reclaim our territory," the burly elder replied, his voice like the grinding of boulders—low, gravelly, and resonant.
For years, their clan had been locked in a territorial war with a blue dragon clan at the Cliff Strait. Over time, the stone giants had gradually weakened. Out of their original thirty-plus members, only eleven remained alive, the majority of them still young. Continuing the war risked total annihilation.
With no other choice, the stone giants had abandoned their ancestral territory and fled north, seeking temporary refuge from the blue dragons' wrath.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗢𝗡) on the Site till Ch156. (74 Chapters Ahead)
💲Read upto Ch94 for ABSOLUTELY 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀! ℕ𝕠 𝕃𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕟
⚡15 Novels | 9.3k+ Chapters | 15.4M+ Words [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]