Translator: AnubisTL
A strong gust of wind struck the fairy dragon, sending it tumbling through the air and cutting off its half-finished sentence, which got stuck in its throat.
"Vera, I thought you said you didn't see anything?" Garos said, flapping his left wing and fixing the fairy dragon with a menacing glare.
"Y-yes, Vera saw nothing and knows nothing!" the fairy dragon shouted, startled into a hasty declaration.
Samantha's gaze sharpened with suspicion. She looked back and forth between the fairy dragon and Garos, sensing a hidden secret between them.
She approached Fairy Dragon Vera, intending to extract the truth.
But before she could speak, Garos's command cut her off.
"Samantha, fetch an iron bucket and fill it with water," he said.
"Oh."
The red young dragon glanced at the fairy dragon again, resolving to interrogate it later, using threats and bribes to extract the secret. Then, flapping its dragon wings, it swooped low toward the alchemy workshop.
Iron buckets and similar containers—
It had plenty of those.
"Vera, remember the saying, 'Disaster comes from the mouth.' Speaking carelessly can get you killed."
After Samantha left, Garos smiled gently at the fairy dragon, revealing a mouth full of gleaming fangs.
The fairy dragon clamped its mouth shut, covering it with its claws and nodding rapidly, like a chick pecking at grain.
In less than two minutes, Samantha returned from the alchemy workshop with an iron bucket. She went to the river flowing through Needleleaf Valley, filled the bucket with water, and carried it back to Garos.
By then, Garos's wing blades were coated with Serpent Dragon Poison Blood, and his severed tail had shriveled to a dry husk.
With his sharp claws, he tore the desiccated tail into a bloody pulp and stirred it into the water. The once-clear liquid immediately turned a murky green, emitting a pungent odor.
Splash!
Garos doused himself with the mixture. Green smoke billowed from his body, hissing and crackling. He closed his eyes slightly, coiled up, and settled down to rest.
Due to the extensive contact with the poisoned water, green blotches appeared across his body. However, these were a lighter shade than those caused by direct Poison Blood contact, and the pain was moderate.
The diluted poison was far less potent than the unadulterated blood.
Otherwise, Garos wouldn't have acted this way.
Watching Garos transform into a "green dragon," Samantha and the fairy dragon remained uneasy, circling him and standing guard, despite his assurances that he was fine.
A week later, at dusk.
The fiery glow of the sunset cascaded down, bathing Garos in light that seemed to drape his scales in a veil of flame.
He soared through the sky, his sharp eyes locking onto a demonic beast on the ground below, then swooped down in a deadly dive.
Within minutes, Garos had finished his hunt. He devoured the Giant Rhinoceros on the spot, replenishing his energy after the ordeal, and returned to Needleleaf Valley.
He landed on a rocky outcrop on the valley's slope, from which he could take in the entire valley in a single glance.
Bathing in the cool evening breeze, he turned to examine his dragon wings.
The areas directly contaminated by the Poison Blood had now returned to normal. The wing blades, which had been smeared with the toxic substance, looked as they had before, and his previously green scales had also regained their original color.
The serpent dragon's blood was poisonous, but the quantity was too small.
My poison resistance should have increased somewhat, right?
Garos thought to himself.
In this world, there were many creatures that excelled at using poisons, and many that wielded deadly toxins. Poison damage was a major category of damage.
For example, when Garos considered moving his territory to Greystone Ridge to escape the threat of the dwarves, he knew it was inhabited by giant-tailed steel scorpions, which were venomous and lived in swarms. Without sufficient poison resistance, being stabbed a few times by their giant tails would be excruciating.
Among dragonkind, most dragons, except for green dragons that were particularly skilled at using poisons, had only moderate poison resistance.
"I'll head to Crescent Moon Valley again later."
"The cliff serpent dragon's Poison Blood and its venomous claws and fangs are excellent materials for enhancing my poison resistance."
"If I refine enough Poison Blood, I might even be able to imbue my Wing Slash with toxic damage."
Garos flexed his massive dragon wings, the edges of the wing blades sharp and hard, gleaming with a cold light.
At that moment, he recalled the cliff serpent dragon's explosive burst of speed.
Back then, massive amounts of superheated gas had erupted from beneath the cliff serpent dragon's scales, propelling it forward with jet-like force and causing its speed to skyrocket.
"I'm not weak in any aspect now, but I lack explosive power."
"Impacts and slashes require a certain distance. My current dive-and-accelerate strategy relies on speed to enhance my power, but it's ineffective in close-quarters combat."
"How can I evolve a similar trait that allows me to instantly burst into speed?"
Garos pondered.
After several minutes, he shook his head, having come up with no good ideas.
Yet he felt the key lay in his wings.
If he could evolve a jet-like structure, powered by his own magical energy or the heat from his explosive scales, his speed burst would improve dramatically.
This would allow him to escape powerful enemies at will, significantly increasing his survival rate.
Take the encounter with the cliff serpent dragon, for instance. Unable to catch him, the creature had been powerless to retaliate, no matter how enraged it became. Garos could choose when to fight and when to flee, maintaining complete control of the situation.
Speed, defense, health, and offense—these were all areas Garos was striving to improve.
Meanwhile, the fairy dragon was teasing Mobel.
While the earthstorm bear slept, the fairy dragon braided its forehead fur into comical pigtails, applied pink eyeshadow, and sprinkled itchy flower pollen in the spots it couldn't reach on its back.
"Hehehehe."
The fairy dragon let out a delighted laugh, eager to see Mobel's reaction when he woke up.
Just then, it noticed Garos on the valley slope.
Flying over to Garos, the fairy dragon circled him, sniffing curiously.
"Why do you still smell like a serpent dragon?" it asked.
"I don't smell anything," Garos replied.
"Serpent dragons are my natural enemies," the fairy dragon insisted. "I'm far more sensitive to their scent than you are. I can detect a faint but highly concentrated trace of it on you."
As if struck by an idea, the fairy dragon suddenly flew faster, showering Garos with a cascade of magical dust.
The dust settled on his dragon scales, eventually revealing a Scent Tracking Mark on a section of his back scales.
"Just as I suspected—it's a cliff serpent dragon's Scent Tracking Mark!" the fairy dragon said urgently. "Garos, the cliff serpent dragon has locked onto you. Through this mark, it can pinpoint your exact location within a thousand-mile radius!"
Scent Tracking Mark?
Garos's inheritance had never mentioned anything about this.
Inheritance is the accumulated knowledge passed down through generations of ancestors, and each dragon's inheritance is unique. In understanding the cliff serpent dragon, the fairy dragon possesses superior knowledge.
Garos frowned.
It's locked onto me?
Now I'm exposed while it remains hidden. That's a dangerous situation.
Pacing on the rock slab, Garos felt his life was threatened.
While the cliff serpent dragon wasn't strong in direct combat, it employed insidious tactics. Being secretly targeted by it, and then ambushed, carried the risk of death.
The past few days had been unnervingly quiet.
Garos estimated that the cliff serpent dragon was likely recovering from its injuries and would only resume its pursuit once healed.
This creature, with its hidden advantage, poses a grave risk. Whether I kill it or try to capture it, I must act swiftly!
Anxiety, danger, and fear welled up within him, all transforming into a cold, murderous intent.
A fierce glint gradually surfaced in Garos's pitch-black dragon eyes.
The cliff serpent dragon can't recover faster than me. It's likely still lurking in Crescent Moon Valley, perhaps plotting its next ambush. I can't let it continue unchecked.
The fire curse?
So what if my resistance drops? With my talent, I can restore it. Besides, this curse might even strengthen my fire resistance in the long run.
Strike first!
Hmph!
The setting sun bled like blood as the red-iron dragon decisively flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
(End of the Chapter)
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