Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 126: Garoth: My Strength Comes From Myself

"Only life-and-death battles can stimulate the awakening of Dragon Qi."

"This means I'd need to fight against creatures with at least Life Level 15 or even 16 to have a chance at awakening. Too dangerous. Better let nature take its course."

Garoth wasn't impatient.

He had always been patient. As a dragon, time was on his side.

His gaze fell upon the crater he had created and the behemoth remains within. With a flap of his wings, he descended into the pit.

When the iron dragon Sorog landed at the crater's edge, he saw Garoth lifting half of a behemoth tusk with his claw.

The ice-crystal-like material shimmered with golden halos from residual lightning heat, creating a surreal contrast against the blue-black beast blood covering the ground.

Simultaneously, a brilliant white lightning bolt pierced through the clouds, illuminating heaven and earth, imprinting the silhouettes of the red iron dragon and the giant beast's remains onto the ground. Torrential rain endlessly washed over the battlefield, steam rising like pale banners.

"Golden lightning."

Sorog stared at Garoth, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the black-red scales to see the thunderous radiance that had just pierced the sky."When did you master this power?"

Sorog's voice sounded hoarse as he asked.

He had witnessed Garoth's entire battle with the frost behemoth. When Garoth's explosive scales shattered completely, Sorog's heart nearly jumped to his throat, barely restraining his urge to intervene. But just as he was about to assist, he saw Garoth's body erupt with frenzied electricity, abruptly reversing the situation.

Garoth caught falling raindrops on the back of his claw, watching them vaporize from his residual body heat.

"I practiced in the storm clouds every thunderstorm."

"Only today did I fully unleash it."

He spoke unhurriedly.

The iron dragon fell silent, remembering how Garoth would disappear for hours during every heavy rain these past three years.

But who could have imagined he was letting lightning strike his body in the high-altitude clouds? Unless one was a blue dragon, other dragon species would suffer injuries from lightning attacks.

"Maybe... I should try it too?"

"Learn from Garoth and attract lightning strikes in the clouds."

"What if I awaken similar abilities?"

Sorog looked up at the storm clouds covering the sky, his gaze tracing the lightning flashing within, this thought sprouting in his mind.

Though he enjoyed managing territories and minions, he equally revered strength and craved power.

Garoth saw through the iron dragon's thoughts.

"You'd better not act recklessly."

He warned: "The golden lightning I channel doesn't belong to the iron dragon bloodline. It was pure luck I mastered it."

Hearing Garoth's words, Sorog nodded.

But judging by his casual expression, he probably wasn't taking it seriously.

Garoth didn't press further.

After getting struck by lightning a few times, suffering injuries without gaining anything, he'd likely come to his senses. Some lessons needed personal experience.

"There's still plenty of behemoth remains."

Garoth said: "Its bones and tusks - these hard materials can craft weapons and armor. Its meat also contains high energy. Have the minions come collect and categorize the remains."

This frost behemoth.

Its overall strength was comparable to the Diamond Stone Giant.

Three years ago, Garoth defeated the Diamond Stone Giant through pre-planned tactics, sustaining near-fatal injuries himself from attacks surpassing his limits.

Now, three years later.

His battle with the frost behemoth was almost entirely direct confrontation, mainly frontal assaults without tricks. Yet after slaying the frost behemoth, Garoth emerged virtually unharmed, merely exhausted.

Somewhat regrettably.

The frost behemoth's remains weren't very valuable, incomparable to the Diamond Stone Giant.

Upon reflection, this made sense - it was created solely for combat. If its corpse held high value, it risked aiding enemies.

Sorog's claws brushed his neck, retrieving a message stone from beneath a scale.

These were now standard equipment for Clan of Molten Iron leaders.

Previously, lacking such magical means, they'd need to return to territory personally to notify minions. But southern trade routes had brought many convenient alchemical tools to the clan.

Sorog issued commands through the message stone to minions at Shattered Stone Beach.

They'd soon arrive to dismember and categorize the frost behemoth remains.

"While you fought the frost behemoth, I remained vigilant for potential frost giant ambushes."

Sorog said: "But until the behemoth died, I detected no traces of frost giants or other giants."

Puzzled, he looked northward.

"How did this behemoth become isolated and wander here alone?"

Garoth flapped his wings, ascending again.

Looking north through the heavy rain, he could see the vast, turbulent Estonian Great River. Beyond it, crossing more Ser Wilderness territory past the border, one would gradually reach the Permafrost Tundra.

"Establish more sentry posts between Shattered Stone Beach and Estonian Great River."

Garoth said.

The frost behemoth's origins remained unknown.

A potential threat.

But lacking information and unable to investigate the Permafrost Tundra over this, Garoth wouldn't pursue it further. Setting more sentries in this area as precaution sufficed.

Should other incidents occur later.

They'd handle them as they came.

Sorog shared similar thoughts. Nodding, he said: "Most creatures from Permafrost Tundra never reach here. The frost behemoth's appearance might just be coincidence. Regardless, we indeed need more sentries here."

Garoth mused: "Permafrost Tundra... Nick's caravan will arrive soon. We can inquire about Permafrost Tundra news from them. Their information network is sharp, always sensitive to anomalies."

Though more barren than Ser Wilderness, Permafrost Tundra had unique resources.

Items like frost marrow and millennia-old frozen earth, absent in Ser Wilderness, attracted merchants seeking high returns.

Leaving these trivial matters to Sorog.

Garoth beat his wings, soaring across the sky. Instead of returning directly to Needleleaf Valley, he found a desolate clearing to land and reactivated his Supercharged Frenzy State.

In this condition, he began intense 'anaerobic' training.

The severe strain of Frenzy State was a drawback, but from another perspective, it provided better training effects for Garoth.

With Dragon Qi awakening currently unreliable.

Pushing his physical limits could somewhat extend Frenzy State's duration.

Wreathed in dazzling golden lightning, Garoth seemed transformed into a 'gold dragon', darting and leaping across the area, pounding the earth.

Only when his lightning began flickering and his breath rasped like bellows did Garoth stop.

Rain sluiced over his coiled form as golden arcs flickered between his scales.

He gazed down at his slightly trembling claws.

Tiny golden currents danced between muscle fibers, like countless forging hammers pounding each fiber bundle, squeezing out more potential and strength.

Garoth in Frenzy State.

Radiant, savage, magnificent, dazzling.

But beneath this surface, each breath carried electric stings - proof of muscle fibers tearing and reforming.

Over these years, as suns rose and moons set, time flowed.

Many things had changed.

The one constant was Garoth never slacking.

Talent wouldn't directly grant him a powerful body.

Black oil, scale powder - these were merely supplements... The true source of his strength was those unceasing drops of effort accumulated day and night.

His real power was never talent's gift, but the product of grinding talent into his flesh and blood.

After deactivating Frenzy State to rest briefly, Garoth's breathing steadied.

He inhaled deeply, drawing vast air mixed with wind and rain into his lungs, then golden lightning once again arced between his scales as he began another training cycle.