Translator: AnubisTL
Garos finished his neck-rolling training, shaking his body to dislodge the sand and gravel that had become embedded in the gaps between his scales.
He strode slowly to the riverbank, lowered his head, and drank deeply from the river.
After taking a long draught, he didn't leave but instead gazed at the water's surface.
The river's undulating waves distorted and swayed the reflection of his formidable dragon head. Only his pitch-black eyes remained unwavering, calm, and composed, belying his monstrous appearance. They resembled the eyes of a resolute warrior, forged through countless trials.
He raised his head and turned.
Garos's gaze fell upon his busy familiars.
The Estonian Great River was wide and its current swift, teeming with ferocious aquatic beasts and demonic creatures. Attempting to wade across would be extremely dangerous, so he had ordered the lizardfolk and kobolds to build rafts.
The lizardfolk selected suitable tree trunks, felled them, and hauled them to the riverbank.
The kobolds used sharp knives to strip bark from the logs, weaving the fibers into ropes.
The rafts were primarily constructed using mortise-and-tenon joints, sealed with waterproof river mud and resin, and further reinforced by sorcerers' spells. The resulting structures appeared crude but were remarkably sturdy, capable of carrying large groups across the river.
Given sufficient time, blueprints, and materials, the lizardfolk and kobolds could construct complex ships. They were widely recognized as master builders of the wilderness.
Upon reaching the borderlands, where concealment was no longer paramount, Garos prepared to have his followers construct a proper fortified dragon nest, rather than the dark caves they had previously shared with wild beasts.
This was a monumental undertaking.
Given the sheer size of dragons, building a suitable dwelling required vast quantities of time, materials, manpower, and resources.
However, a proper nest wasn't merely for comfort.
It pleased Garos, and a good mood aided his calm, rational thinking—a benefit not to be underestimated.
Garos gazed up at the sky.
The Kora Giant Eagle and the Iron Dragon Solgorn circled overhead, patrolling the area, while hidden sentries maintained watch from strategic locations.
Unless one possessed exceptional stealth skills, approaching this place would be nearly impossible. Moreover, given the scale of the monster horde here, no sane person would dare venture close.
And Garos was currently at the peak of his power.
Blood-red twilight bathed his body, seeping into the gaps between his scales.
It was clear that all his previous injuries had completely healed. The explosive scales he had lost had regrown, layering his body like thick armor. The thorn spikes on his body had hardened further, continuing to evolve toward an unknown final form.
"We're far beyond the Thousand Serpents' Trace now."
"Across the great river lies the border between the wilderness and the tundra."
The red-iron dragon settled down, closing its eyes in feigned slumber.
The setting sun cast a blood-red glow across the riverbank as twilight deepened.
The dragon hunting group's hunters moved silently through the monster horde, stealthily approaching the red-iron dragon.
The spellcaster murmured an obscure incantation, and a dark purple magic energy enveloped the group like a thin mist.
They became like souls wandering the border between light and shadow, invisible and intangible, leaving no trace of scent, sound, or body heat.
—Shadow Walk Technique.
This spell briefly transported the group into the shadow realm, a dark plane parallel to the material plane. By moving through the shadow realm, they could leap vast distances in the material plane, conceal themselves, or even teleport.
The dragon hunting group had a specialized dragon hunting procedure centered around the gladiator formation plate.
First, they used the shadow walk technique to approach their target. Then, they dragged the target into the gladiator space, where they used their numerical and spatial advantages to kill it. Finally, they teleported away to avoid the subsequent monster swarm.
They had only ever hunted one adult dragon.
But the youths, adolescents, and even younger juvenile dragons among them had considerable hunting experience.
Although they knew three young evil dragons had wreaked havoc in the mining settlement, and understood these creatures were extraordinary, the dragon hunting group remained confident in their abilities.
They might not stand a chance in a direct confrontation with an army, but when it came to dealing with dragonkind, they were the true professionals.
Weaving through sluggish ogre hordes and wary Hyena-Man packs, the dragon hunting group moved stealthily through the shadow realm, slowly closing in on their target. Fortune favored them; they encountered no shadow creatures along the way and faced no risk of being forced out of their shadow walk technique.
Only Vera, the most perceptive Fairy Dragon, sensed something amiss.
As a planar dragon—though not a shadow dragon from the shadow realm—she instinctively felt the subtle distortions in the plane's fabric as the group approached using planar manipulation techniques.
Vera fluttered her butterfly-like wings and flew toward the red-iron dragon, who was resting with his eyes closed.
She couldn't worry about his reputation as the "Dream Dragon Slayer" now.
Gathering her courage, Vera drew near and shouted, "Garos, wake up! I have a strange feeling!"
Garos opened his eyes.
"What is it?" he asked.
The Fairy Dragon spun anxiously in place, struggling to articulate her instinctive unease.
"Something's wrong! Something's definitely wrong!" the fairy dragon insisted.
Garos narrowed his eyes, scanning the surroundings warily, but everything appeared normal.
Red dragons and iron dragons weren't known for their exceptional perception, tending to be somewhat dull in that regard. Garos's mixed heritage hadn't improved this; he was naturally weaker in this aspect than purebred red or iron dragons. Over the years, he had enhanced his spirit through fairy scale powder, mitigating his perceptual weakness, but it still wasn't a strength.
He trusted the fairy dragon's instincts.
Acting cautiously, Garos flapped his wings, preparing to take flight and assess the situation from above.
But at that moment, chaos erupted.
Eight shadowy figures materialized without warning from the void.
The reeds of the real world eerily pierced through their bodies, as if the two existed in different dimensions.
Only when the spellcaster raised a stone tablet etched with reverse scale patterns and slammed it into the ground did their armor and robes suddenly solidify, landing with a dull metallic thud.
The surrounding monsters instantly turned their attention to the intruders.
Countless eyes fixed on the group.
Samantha opened her dragon's maw, ready to unleash a torrent of flaming dragon breath to engulf the sudden attackers.
Simultaneously, the ground beneath Garos collapsed into a swirling vortex.
It wasn't a physical collapse—the very fabric of space was contracting.
Like a parchment crumpled by an invisible giant hand.
A crimson light curtain rose from the vortex's edge, resembling the closing jaws of a beast. The spatial distortion was so rapid that it swallowed the red-iron dragon whole before anyone could react.
In Garos's perception, the riverbank scene froze momentarily, then began to fade.
The Hyena-Men weaving ropes, the ogres hauling boulders, even Samantha's fiery breath blurred and vanished like an oil painting washed away by rain.
Only the red stone tablet and a few human figures grew increasingly distinct, filling his entire field of vision.
The world twisted and reformed.
When Garos's vision cleared, he found himself standing in the center of a circular arena in the style of ancient Rome.
The stands were empty, yet the echoes of battle reverberated endlessly. Garos instinctively understood how this space operated. Across from him, eight shadowy figures gradually materialized.
"Why does this space feel like a dungeon from a game?"
"Oh, I'm the boss now. These guys are raiding me."
After surveying his surroundings, Garos fixed his gaze on the figures before him.
Eight in total.
Two of them left the strongest first impression.
Leading the group was Spellcaster Commander Shadowbinder Karios, a gaunt figure clad in a deep purple robe woven from magic spider silk. Half his face remained hidden beneath a hooded cowl, while runes continuously surfaced and swirled across the robe's surface. In his hand, he gripped the Dragon Spine Staff, crafted from the vertebrae of a black dragon.
Beside him stood Paladin Vice-Commander Steel Oath Leo.
Leo was a towering, muscular figure clad in heavy armor. The armor's surface was covered in overlapping black scales, radiating the aura of dragonkind, each scale etched with blasphemous prayers against the dragon race. Beneath the steel helmet's visor, his eyes burned with icy detachment. The dragon-slaying greatsword in his hand stretched over three meters long, its blade as wide as a door.
More accurately, he was an oath of vengeance paladin.
The oath of vengeance was a solemn vow to punish grievous sins.
When evil forces slaughtered helpless villagers, when entire populations turned away from divine will, when a thief guild grew too powerful and tyrannical, when terrifying dragons ravaged the countryside—whenever such crises arose, oath of vengeance paladins would emerge to restore order.
These paladins would sacrifice their own purity and honor to uphold justice.
They showed no mercy to evildoers and would stop at nothing to achieve victory.
Each oath of vengeance paladin's vow differed slightly.
Leo's oath of vengeance was a solemn vow to eradicate all evil dragons that threatened the world.
This oath granted him bonus damage against dragonkind and enhanced his combat abilities when fighting dragons.
Within the dragon hunting group, the paladin was their primary damage dealer, while the spellcaster commander controlled the battlefield.
The other members specialized in distinct classes rather than traditional balanced warrior archetypes.
For example, there was the shadow assassin, specializing in lethal ambushes and poisons; the beast hunter, skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of large creatures; the war priest, who provided team buffs and divine strikes; the magic potion expert, specializing in explosives and potions; and the bloodrage berserker, who excelled in regeneration and combat.
With the spellcaster and paladin as their core, these specialized professionals, working in synergy, possessed both the confidence and the capabilities for dragon hunting.
Garos sensed an unprecedented level of danger from this group, far greater than when he had fought the diamond giant.
The dragon hunting group had meticulously prepared, trapping him in this confined space. Even without anti-flight measures, the limited area severely restricted his aerial mobility.
As the one forced to defend, Garos was at a geographical disadvantage.
Yet his mind grew increasingly calm, untouched by anger despite the ambush.
In moments like these, it was crucial to suppress negative emotions and focus entirely on resolving the predicament and averting the crisis.
(End of the Chapter)
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