Galos concentrated, his face covered by a hazy mask, and the Star Self Visage quietly activated.
In this state, his perception and insight were elevated to an unprecedented peak, allowing him to inspect the changes brought about by his evolution in slumber with a near-internal view, penetrating the obstruction of scales and flesh with meticulous detail.
Under this extraordinary perceptive vision, Galos clearly saw.
Besides the energy heart pulsating in his right chest cavity.
Innumerable additional basal blood vessels had developed around his normally beating biological heart in the left chest cavity, and throughout his entire body.
These newly formed networks of vessels were like a precise energy grid, a hundred times more complex and dense than before his evolution.
They connected his heart more closely to every inch of muscle, every bone, and even every organ in his body.
Moreover, the changes were not limited to his heart and circulatory system.
All his internal organs—the resilient Dragon lungs, powerful liver, digestive stomach, efficient kidneys—had undergone significant strengthening and reshaping.
Their structures became denser, their functional efficiency increased exponentially, and their surfaces and interiors were similarly covered and intertwined with a far-beyond-normal number of newly formed basal blood vessels.
A strong, instinctive premonition from his bloodline told him that now, even without the aid of any alchemical tools, he would be able to autonomously unleash the Bloodburst State purely through the structure of his transformed body.
Furthermore.
This enhancement, stemming from the essence of life itself, would be far superior in intensity and effect to when he relied on external aids, and it would continue to grow as Galos himself became stronger, becoming a core part of his power system.
"Should I try it now?"
No sooner had this tempting thought arisen than Galos immediately suppressed it, shaking his head slightly.
He clearly perceived that his body was still in a state of extreme depletion, far from the optimal time to research a new Bloodburst State.
What's more, compared to the changes in his body structure, the unknown brought by the newly formed energy heart excited him even more.
"What kind of power does this energy heart possess?"
Galos's consciousness focused on his right chest cavity.
Under the extraordinary insight of the Star Self Visage, the form of the energy heart was revealed in minute detail.
It was not in a semi-ethereal state; it had completely solidified, presenting a deep, hard, crystalline texture as if condensed from the essence of life.
To call it a heart was not entirely accurate.
It was more like a perfectly embedded energy core in his chest cavity.
Adaptive evolution carried strong uncertainties, and its appearance completely exceeded Galos's initial expectations.
He had originally thought that being able to stably master the Bloodburst State after this evolution would be a huge success, never expecting such a pleasant surprise.
He pondered for a few seconds, deciding to give this energy core a formal name first.
"Crystal core? Dragon Crystal?"
"That sounds like the cheap magic cores dug out of the heads of third-rate magical beasts in old Western fantasy novels, too mediocre."
The Red Iron Dragon was not satisfied with this and shook his head.
After a moment of thought, he recalled the approximate structural outline of this object before its evolution and referenced a game setting from a distant memory, finally coming up with an idea.
"It's decided!"
"I'll call it—the Dragon Jade!"
The energy contained within the Dragon Jade was exceptionally pure and concentrated, but Galos currently had no idea what specific effects it could produce.
He wanted to continue his in-depth research, but the intense feeling of depletion within his body surged like a tide, growing more and more intense.
The extreme weakness even made him feel dizzy and his vision periodically blurred, as if he had returned to the severe injury state after fighting the Dragon Hunting Party to near death years ago.
"Besides the Dragon Jade, my body is too weak. I must replenish energy immediately."
Galos folded his wings, slowly lowered his altitude, and returned to the ground of Red Maple Valley.
As soon as he landed, the intense dizziness struck again, and the extreme weakness from within made him almost want to lie directly on the ground.
"Here, food I prepared for you in advance."
Seeing Galos in such a bad state, the Copper-Silver Dragon Deborah didn't have time to ask for the reason, immediately swung her Dragon claw, and quickly dug open a cellar.
Inside were displayed the bodies of large fierce beasts and monsters, completely preserved in ice.
These were all high-energy blood meals that Deborah had personally hunted and carefully stored during Galos's slumber.
But at this moment, an unexpected change occurred.
Deep within his right chest cavity, the energy core, which had just been named Dragon Jade, suddenly lit up without warning.
Buzz—!
A majestic, almost tangible, and impossibly dense light instantly burst forth from the core of the Dragon Jade.
It was so scorching, so powerful, that it even penetrated Galos's tough bones, thick muscles, and the heavy metallic scales covering his entire body.
Under the astonished gaze of Deborah and the curiously approaching Fairy Dragon Vera.
Galos's right chest cavity seemed to have a miniature, rising sun embedded in it out of thin air, its dazzling light illuminating the surroundings with a translucent glow.
Immediately after.
A powerful, heavy, yet not at all violent or rampant, warm current of life energy surged out from within the Dragon Jade!
It rushed unimpeded into Galos's limbs and bones, flushing through every dried-up blood vessel, and soaking into every muscle on the verge of exhaustion!
And so!
Under the gaze of the Copper-Silver Dragon and the Fairy Dragon, whose eyes suddenly widened and were filled with disbelief, the Red Iron Dragon, who a second ago had shriveled muscles, skin clinging to jagged bones, like a dried specimen, his massive body, as if a withered tree injected with the Fountain of Life, or a bellows furiously inflated by an invisible air pump, began to swell and fill out inch by inch, at a visible, rapid pace.
Withered muscle fibers re-flexed, brimming with strength.
Skin clinging to bones was pushed open by new, elastic, resilient muscle tissue.
In just a dozen breaths of time.
Galos transformed from that emaciated, skeletal, seemingly on-the-verge-of-collapse weak appearance to the robust state of a Red Dragon of equivalent length.
Although still slightly inferior to his peak, meticulously honed physique before his slumber.
Yet, even standing still, the imposing presence naturally exuded by his massive body was enough to make the surrounding air solidify.
At the same time.
As his body recovered, the Dragon Jade, which had been shining like a small sun in his chest cavity, quickly dimmed, its light receding.
Galos stretched his body in surprise, feeling the surging power and the return of vitality within him, deep in thought.
A few seconds later, he raised a foreclaw and gently stroked his solid chest, feeling the now dormant Dragon Jade within, a surprising conjecture vaguely forming in his mind. Immediately, he no longer hesitated and began to feast on the frozen blood meals in the cellar.
Crunch! Crunch!
The giant Dragon opened his massive mouth, filled with ferocious teeth, easily tearing, chewing, and swallowing the beast meat, including the unmelted solid ice.
Although far from as delicious as carefully prepared food, the giant Dragon's natural taste buds did not reject this raw blood meal; it had a unique, rugged flavor. However, as a large amount of food went down, Galos felt no sense of fullness, and his recently recovered body did not continue to grow stronger.
On the contrary, all the energy, after being efficiently absorbed, was frantically converging towards the Dragon Jade in his chest cavity, as if there was a bottomless void inside waiting to be filled.
"Not enough, far from enough. I need to return to Dragon Valley immediately."
The Red Iron Dragon suddenly flapped his wings, his massive body soaring straight into the snow-shrouded sky.
The Copper-Silver Dragon and the Fairy Dragon exchanged glances, then also flapped their wings without hesitation, following closely behind him.
Three Dragon shadows broke through the swirling snow, soaring rapidly towards Dragon Valley.
"Hmm?"
Mid-flight, Galos's gaze pierced through the heavy snow curtain, sweeping across the land below, and the sight made his pupils contract slightly.
"How did the Borderlands turn into this?"
As far as the eye could see, the world was left with only a dead silent and vast pure white.
Frozen for a thousand miles, all things withered.
If he hadn't clearly remembered waking up in the iconic Red Maple Forest of Red Maple Valley, he would have almost believed himself to be deep within the distant Eternal Frozen Tundra.
It wasn't that the Borderlands had never snowed.
But such a severe, extreme cold scene, as if to completely freeze the entire world, was the first Galos had ever witnessed.
He temporarily suppressed the questions in his heart and accelerated his flight.
Not long after.
The familiar outline of the valley, embraced by towering rock walls, finally appeared amidst the swirling snow.
In stark contrast to the apocalyptic frozen landscape outside.
Dragon Valley, due to its unique geographical structure, had towering mountain walls acting as natural barriers, blocking out most of the raging winds and blizzards.
Although there were sporadic snowflakes falling within the valley, and the ground was covered with a not-too-thick layer of snow, and the temperature was much colder than outside, overall, it presented a serene scene, like the arrival of early winter. Some cold-resistant dark green vegetation still stubbornly survived, and the not-yet-completely frozen lake water flowed gurgling under the thin ice.
It seemed the situation was much better than Galos had anticipated.
At the peak of the valley, Burning Steel Fortress still stood majestically.
After more than ten years of meticulous care and repair by his kin, despite the passage of time, this magnificent fortress remained as tall and proud as ever, like a silent steel giant, quietly bathing in the swirling snow, looking down upon the valley.
When Galos's figure appeared in the sky.
In the valley below, his kin, who were busy or on alert, all looked up.
Innumerable gazes, filled with awe and surprise, all focused on the Red Iron Dragon in the snow.
"Roar—!"
"It's the leader! It's Lord Galos!"
"The King! Our King has returned!"
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers and roars erupted like a volcano.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Galos circled once, as if inspecting his long-absent territory. Then he folded his wings and steadily descended onto the highest watchtower of the fortress.
"Children of the Molten Iron Tribe!"
A roar like rolling thunder was the first to sound.
The bear leader Mobel was so excited that his mane trembled. He was the first to raise his arms and cheer, then unhesitatingly bent his rear, prostrating deeply as if bowing to the ground!
"Rejoice! Cheer!"
"Our King—Lord Galos! Has returned!!!"
Like a lit fuse.
Throughout the fortress, inside and outside the valley, all the kin who witnessed this scene stopped what they were doing and, with the deepest reverence and ecstasy, knelt down in unison towards the direction of the fortress high platform, like wheat fields swaying in the wind!
A vast, dark mass, stretching all the way to the edge of the valley.
"Pass down the order, open the granaries! All kin of the Molten Iron Tribe, prepare a grand feast tonight to celebrate with me."
Successfully surviving the long slumber was already cause for great celebration, and coupled with the evolution exceeding expectations, Galos immediately decided to host a feast and carnival to announce his return to the entire tribe and to boost the tribe's morale.
After entrusting the specific arrangements for the banquet to the kin leaders.
He then used the bloodline connection to inform all the Iron Dragons and Red Dragons scattered in different places of his awakening and the feast, and told them to gather other Dragons.
Afterward, Galos first went to the fortress's treasury to retrieve some high-energy reserves, then chose a spacious and bright spot in the valley, ordering his kin to continuously deliver various foods.
He couldn't wait for the banquet to officially begin and decided to eat in advance to satisfy the Dragon Jade's demands.
Magic gems, precious metal ingots, fresh blood meals, concentrated black oil… these various substances, rich in energy or nutrients, were continuously devoured by Galos.
His digestive system operated efficiently, rapidly absorbing nutrients and energy, while metabolic waste was expelled from his body and collected by specialized kin for other uses.