Translator: AnubisTL
The crimson barrier peeled away like melting ice, and the red-iron dragon stumbled out of the void.
His scales were shattered, his body riddled with crisscrossing wounds. A gaping hole pierced through his torso from back to abdomen, and a massive gash at his neck gushed dragon blood.
The battle was over.
Waves of pain and exhaustion washed over Garos, threatening to collapse him.
Yet a strange sensation stirred within him. His nearly depleted magic energy and overdrawn life force now writhed like two entwined serpents deep within his organs, tearing and merging. This fusion erupted in soul-searing agony and scorching heat, somehow supporting Garos's battered frame and keeping him upright.
This sensation was the sign of his dragon qi awakening.
Though his body screamed in agony, Garos's eyes burned with newfound vitality.
His magic energy and life force, pushed to their absolute limits, were now ascending, transforming, evolving into dragon qi.
The battle against the dragon hunting group had been perilous.
The enemy outnumbered him greatly. Apart from Viscount Ironthorn, the lowest life grade among them was 10, matching Garos's own. They also fielded high-level combatants: a 14th-grade spellcaster, a 13th-grade paladin, and a war priest, among others.
As the ambushed and besieged party, Garos had been at an overwhelming disadvantage.
The most critical factor was the gladiator formation plate.
There was no retreat, only a fight to the death.
Without his familiar or other dragons to provide support, using raging bloodburst from the start would have allowed the numerous elite dragon hunters, with their coordinated teamwork, to kite him relentlessly, avoiding direct combat.
Moreover, the frenzy state was best activated after a period of warm-up, allowing the body to reach its peak amplification effect.
Garos understood this.
He first used explosive scales to absorb damage and exhaust the dragon hunters. Then, feigning weakness, he suddenly unleashed a raging bloodburst, instantly killing one of the berserkers, creating an opening in their formation. The paladin and war priest alone couldn't hold him back, and he swiftly eliminated the beast hunter and shadow assassin.
This marked the turning point, shifting the balance of power in his favor.
Finally, with a third-stage Bloodburst, he annihilated the remaining dragon hunters, who were exhausted and had used up their ultimate techniques.
Even so, Garos himself had sustained grievous injuries from the hunters' coordinated attacks.
Forced to his limits in this life-or-death struggle, he finally triggered his dragon qi awakening, merging and sublimating his magic energy and life energy.
"Now that I have dragon qi, I should be able to extend my frenzy state."
"Most importantly, this means I can start learning martial dragon skills, enhancing my perception, and improving my instinctive sense of danger."
Garos reflected on the recent battle.
He concluded that the primary reason he had been put in danger was his dull perception.
As a red-iron dragon hybrid, Garos possessed a positive hybrid nature in most aspects, combining the strengths of both parent species. However, in terms of perception, he had a negative hybrid nature, with his initial perception even worse than that of ordinary red or iron dragons.
Through training and enhancements to his spirit attribute, his perception had improved slightly, now surpassing that of normal juvenile red or iron dragons, but it remained limited, still inferior to that of a fairy dragon.
For example, during the battle, he failed to detect the dragon hunting group's stealthy approach, allowing them to get close enough to use their tools against him. In the gladiator domain, he was deceived by the spellcaster's illusions, missing the crucial moment to interrupt their spellcasting and being forcibly controlled for a period.
Had he not been deceived and interrupted the spellcaster's spell earlier, he might not have suffered such severe injuries.
"My perception has always been a weakness, and it improves at a painfully slow rate."
"However, everything changed after my dragon qi awakened."
Garos exhaled deeply.
Martial dragons evolved from the martial monk class, sharing a similar fundamental nature.
With dragon qi, he could now learn perception skills like reflex dodging and focused awareness. Moreover, with his Adaptive Evolution Talent, frequent use of such skills would eventually transform them into permanent, passive abilities.
Magic energy and life energy continued to intertwine and fuse.
This transformative process required time, rather than instant completion.
Meanwhile, the surrounding monster retainers had gathered, forming an iron-wall guard around Garos to prevent further attacks. The dragons also landed beside him.
"Garos, how are you feeling?" Samantha asked anxiously, noticing the red-iron dragon's horrifying injuries.
Though she didn't know the specifics of Garos's ordeal, the sight of his bloodied, scarred body made it clear how perilous the battle had been.
If it had been her or Solgorn in his place, they would surely have perished.
"I'm fine," Garos replied. "The fight was close, but I won in the end. As for these wounds, as long as they didn't kill me outright, they're nothing. A good night's sleep will fix them."
Garos curled his tail and tossed the red, stone-slab-shaped gladiator formation plate to the iron dragon. "Keep this for now. This alchemy item trapped me in another dimension, but it's still usable."
The gladiator formation plate was now covered in cracks, resembling a porcelain object on the verge of shattering.
But it hadn't broken yet.
The moment Garos won the gladiator match, he became its new master and naturally understood its function.
It was an incredibly powerful decapitation tool, though unfortunately, it could only be used once more. If used strategically at a critical moment, it could prove extraordinarily effective.
Iron Dragon Solgorn accepted the gladiator formation plate with a solemn nod. "Heal and rest as quickly as possible."
"During that time, Samantha and I will guard you without leaving your side."
Fairy Dragon Vera shouted, "Me too! This time, I won't let anyone sneak up on you again!"
She felt guilty for her slightly delayed warning earlier, though it wasn't entirely her fault. While fairy dragons possessed exceptional senses, they weren't sharp enough to instantly detect shadows moving in stealth.
Garos slowly stretched his body, the shattered scales emitting a grating, metallic screech.
He lowered his head to examine his wounds.
The dragon hunters' attacks were more than just physical. Their wounds often carried residual energy that inhibited regeneration, causing him to bleed continuously.
The paladin's evil-slaying slash had left a bone-deep gash on his neck, with holy flames coursing through it, corroding the flesh. The spellcaster's shadow energy was embedded in his wounds like countless black-purple parasites, gnawing at the newly forming tissue. Most troublesome was the holy energy lingering from the blade of judgment's piercing wound, burning him like a raging fire.
"Before I rest, these wounds must be treated to speed up recovery," Garos declared.
His magic energy was nearly depleted, with the remaining reserves transforming into dragon qi.
"Frostfang, summon the sorcerers and shamans to heal me," Garos commanded.
The sorcerers gathered around the red-iron dragon, carefully removing the stubborn residual energy and excising the necrotic flesh. They then applied secret healing potions concocted by wilderness monsters, along with magic potions acquired from a merchant caravan earlier.
"Karu, stop gawking and fetch an iron bucket. We can't waste this dragon blood."
Garos ordered the ogre to bring over an iron bucket to collect the dragon blood.
He had lost a significant amount of blood this time, enough to create more than one dragon blood retainer.
Recycle and reuse—waste nothing, he thought.
Six hours later, as midnight approached, the Estonian Great River was shrouded in mist, its surging waves shattering the moonlight into fragments.
Garos's wounds were finally nearly healed.
Exhausted from the battle, fatigue began to set in, clouding his mind.
But he didn't immediately collapse. Instead, he rallied his spirit and ordered his familiars to cross the river on the makeshift wooden rafts they had assembled. After crossing, they were to establish a camp on the northern bank.
Garos himself found a secluded spot nearby to sleep.
The iron dragon, red dragon, fairy dragon, and the chosen's sorcerers and other elite units remained vigilant, patrolling and guarding the area around Garos's slumbering form without rest.
(End of the Chapter)
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