Translator: AnubisTL
Beneath the velvet-black night sky, Garos spiraled and circled at breakneck speed high above.
Unable to resist, he had nearly drained an entire barrel of black oil.
The potent energy from the black oil surged through Garos's veins, making his dragon blood boil like magma. His heart pounded like an engine, pumping faster and faster, creating an unbearable pressure that demanded release.
He channeled the energy into his wings.
The crimson flames at the tips of his wing bones tripled in size, leaving dazzling trails across the night sky. Garos felt himself transform into a true meteor, his speed shattering past limits and still accelerating.
But as sonic booms cracked behind him in rapid succession, Garos gradually realized something was wrong.
This speed was beyond his control.
Though he lacked explosive scales, his second layer of steel-like dragon scales gradually turned red-hot under the extreme velocity.
The clouds tore open in long, gaping tunnels.
The mountains below twisted into blurred patches of color in Garos's vision.
He tried to dive down and then rocket back up, but as he descended, his once-precise flight began to falter. He adjusted his wing angles, but at this speed, his body's reactions lagged behind by half a beat.
Though the surging qi behind his dragon wings had ceased, the momentum carried him forward at an uncontrollable speed.
"Wait... I can't climb any higher!" Garos's dragon eyes narrowed.
A gray-white cliff filled his entire field of vision.
With no time to evade, Garos instinctively curled into a ball, his powerful wings wrapping around his vital organs.
The moment of impact erupted in a blinding orange-red flash, the shockwave snapping trees within a hundred-meter radius like twigs.
Countless rock fragments scattered like cannonballs, some even reaching the distant edge of Crescent Moon Valley, terrifying several werewolves who had been watching the spectacle and sending them scrambling for cover.
When the dust settled, a meteor-like crater dozens of meters in diameter scarred the cliff face.
Garos lay embedded in the rock, his wings and tail twisted at awkward angles, his head and dragon horns wedged deep within the stone.
"Cough... cough... cough..."
Garos felt dizzy and disoriented.
Having exhausted his explosive scales—which normally cushioned impacts—during the battle with the ogre clan, and with no time for them to regenerate, even his formidable physique couldn't withstand the force of colliding with the mountain at such extreme velocity. The impact had left him with internal injuries.
From afar came the rising and falling howls of alarmed werewolves.
Garos wrenched his head free from the rock face, just in time to see Frostfang and a squad of werewolf warriors rushing toward him in a panic, as if they'd witnessed his "crash landing."
He tried to move his body, and the rock face groaned under the strain.
Garos pulled his entire body free from the mountain, swayed in the air for a moment, and finally landed inelegantly on the mountainside.
The scene was utterly humiliating.
A majestic giant dragon losing control after drinking black oil and crashing into a mountain? If word got out, the other dragons would mock him for centuries. Fortunately, no other dragons had witnessed the spectacle.
"I never imagined black oil energy could amplify my flight speed to such an extent," he mused.
"It's become so fast that I can't control it."
"The problem is, uncontrollable power can be more of a hazard than an asset. It can't be used recklessly."
Garos pondered this, when suddenly an idea struck him: "Wait, if I take another bite of fairy scale powder to enhance my senses, mental reflexes, and other attributes, could I briefly master this extreme speed?"
If it worked...
In the future, when facing formidable foes, he would first consume a jar of black oil, then a mouthful of scale powder, and finally activate the Bloodburst Technique. Even against dragonkind or giants, battling opponents far stronger than himself would no longer seem impossible.
"I'll test this out when I have time."
"If it works, this will be my ultimate trump card!"
Feeling his safety significantly enhanced, Garos flicked his tail, his mood brightening considerably.
He tilted his head toward the sky, preparing to take flight once more.
As his gaze swept across the shattered rock layers, Garos noticed a faint purple metallic glint reflecting from within.
"What's this?"
His eyes narrowed slightly as he approached. Using his dragon claw, he pried apart the rubble, revealing the underlying rock structure and embedded within it, a vein of purple-tinged metallic ore.
Purple copper ore.
Though not a magical metal, it possessed excellent ductility and thermal conductivity, making it a valuable mineral. It was also a crucial raw material for crafting components for alchemy golems.
The Sierre Wilderness was rich in diverse metallic minerals.
Purple copper ore wasn't particularly rare, but it wasn't common either, and it held considerable value, surpassing the red copper ore the earthstorm bears had mined in Needleleaf Valley.
Garos completely forgot about his earlier pain.
After carefully sensing his surroundings for a while, Garos discovered a significant deposit of purple copper ore buried beneath the gray-white cliff face. This could be used to trade black oil with the Southern Kingdoms once he reestablished contact with the merchant caravans.
The scales and remains of the cliff serpent dragon would eventually run out.
Garos had no intention of selling his own scales or blood for profit. He had previously considered using his innate sensing ability, inherited from his iron dragon lineage, to search for metal ores in his spare time as bargaining chips.
This unexpected discovery would save him considerable time.
"Crashing into a mountain and finding a decent metal ore deposit—that's the duality of fortune and misfortune," Garos mused, marveling at his rare stroke of good luck.
The graymane werewolves were already hurrying toward him.
Having discovered the purple copper ore, Garos decided to wait patiently, planning to instruct the Howling Moon Clan to begin mining operations here.
"Lord Dragon!" Frostfang's voice carried from a hundred meters away.
The petite female wolf, her fur gleaming with oil and her eyes bright with concern, showed a hint of worry.
Though she knew Garos was formidable, she couldn't help but fear that crashing into the mountain at such speed and with such force couldn't have left him unscathed.
"Are you alright? Do you need healing? I recently learned a healing spell," it said.
Garos's expression remained calm and unruffled, as if his earlier clumsy collision had never occurred.
He raised his dragon claw and casually tapped the exposed purple copper ore with its tip. "This dragon sensed the ore vein long ago. I was merely refining my extraction technique."
The young female werewolf glanced at the dust and rubble clinging to the composed giant dragon, then at the distinct dragon-shaped crater in the mountain wall.
"...Your perception and physical strength are truly astonishing," she murmured, her ears twitching subtly.
Garos nodded slightly, smoothly changing the subject. "Remember this location," he commanded. "Then bring your people to mine the purple copper ore. Collect the mined ore and store it within our territory."
Frostfang's expression turned puzzled. "I know purple copper ore," she said. "It's soft, unsuitable for weapons, inedible, and useless for sharpening claws and fangs. Though relatively rare, it has little practical value."
The monster clans of the wilderness had no understanding of the true value of various metal ores.
Even recognizing purple copper ore already placed them far ahead of other wilderness monsters in terms of knowledge.
The Sierre Wilderness boasted thriving trade routes, abundant wealth, and incredibly rich mineral resources, yet few monster clans knew how to exploit this wealth.
But this was only natural.
Even the more intelligent dragonkind sometimes made poor judgments due to their own limited understanding.
How could these ignorant monster clans be expected to do any better?
Garos gazed at the night sky and said, "Once we reestablish contact with the merchant caravan and secure trade routes with the Southern Kingdoms, these purple copper ores will reveal their true value."
Frostfang nodded, a hint of curiosity flickering in her eyes.
What was the true value of these purple copper ores?
The young shaman's heart burned with a thirst for knowledge about all things, but seeing that Garos had no intention of explaining, she dared not press the matter.
Garos took to the air, soaring back toward Crescent Moon Valley.
After marking the location and leaving a few strong warriors to guard the site, Frostfang and the werewolf warriors followed suit, returning to Crescent Moon Valley.
(End of the Chapter)
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