novelraw Chapter 140: Heaven's Wrath, Chase and Escape
Chapter 140: Heaven's Wrath, Chase and Escape
The flames and thick smoke behind them gradually blurred in the heavy rain. Garoth and the other dragons soared through the high cloud layers, having already escaped danger. Samantha's scales bulged unnaturally, stuffed full of Skyfloat Stones whose cyan glow shimmered through the gaps between her scales, reflecting in the excited vertical pupils of the red dragon.
"Look at these gems!" Samantha's voice nearly drowned out the rain as she spread her wings and performed a midair somersault, proudly displaying one gemstone and shaking her trophy. "Each one could trade for piles of gold!"
The iron dragon Sorog glanced at the red dragon, his iron-gray scales still stained with blood from the warehouse guards. "Only fools trade magic gems for gold," he said while giving his tail a shake. The iron dragon's tail coiled around an uncut Skyfloat Stone the size of a human head, its surface swirling with patterns of wind magic. "Good purity, but the cutting technique is too crude." He tapped the gem's surface critically with a claw. "These humans don't know how to handle real treasures."
Garoth flew at the forefront, his black-red scales still embedded with half a crossbow bolt. Rainwater washed down the shaft, carrying thin trails of dragon blood that quickly vaporized from his body heat. With a sharp crack, he snapped the bolt shaft and bared his teeth as he pulled out the barbed arrowhead, leaving behind a bleeding wound - one of many similar injuries marking his body.
The regular army with their war machines proved far more formidable than the previous noble militias. Their ballistae packed tremendous power, firing with terrifying speed and accuracy, while the alchemical golems demonstrated exceptional durability that resisted destruction in one or two strikes. Garoth had activated his Frenzied State early while creating chaos, yet still couldn't avoid getting hit amidst the concentrated attacks. His Hardened Body quasi-spell skill shattered quickly, and even his scales couldn't fully withstand the savage assaults from heavy ballistae and magic-resistant golems, leaving clearly visible wounds that weren't life-threatening but went beyond mere scratches.
Fortunately it was Garoth. Any ordinary young dragon would have been pierced clean through by those anti-air ballistae, with far more severe consequences than simple flesh wounds. Then there were those anti-flight pillars - while they couldn't completely strip Garoth of his flying ability, they had made his body abruptly heavier. Only the extraordinary power of his wings allowed him to keep airborne. Sorog or Samantha would have plummeted straight down, which was why he'd destroyed the pillars immediately - otherwise the heist would have been impossible.
Facing a proper army required full seriousness with no room for carelessness. This raid on the mining outpost wasn't just about recouping losses before leaving, but also testing the strength of regular military forces. During his wyrmling days, he would have given any such outpost a wide berth regardless of size. Now as a young dragon, despite his injuries, he could engage in direct confrontation and withdraw intact - clear proof of his growth.
"This haul exceeds expectations," the red iron dragon said, glancing back at his two companions. "Samantha, stop showing off and tighten your scales before you drop the gems." The red dragon reluctantly compressed her scales, dimming the cyan glow. Sorog similarly coiled his tail tighter around the massive uncut gem. "With a skilled formation master's help," the iron dragon mused, "this could serve as the core for a powerful barrier."
Garoth gave a slight nod, then narrowed his draconic eyes as he looked back toward the distant horizon. Through the rain curtain, the mining outpost was barely visible, but he knew with certainty the garrison would be reporting the attack and robbery, likely calling for reinforcements. "They won't let this go," Garoth's deep voice cut clearly through the rain. "We'll need extreme caution in coming days to avoid being hunted down."
Samantha curled her lip dismissively. "Let them come! They'll taste my breath weapon." Sorog shot her a look. "Foolish. Against professional dragon slayers, your flames wouldn't even scorch their magic-resistant shields." As the red dragon opened her mouth to retort, Garoth suddenly raised a claw for silence.Draconic hearing had picked up thunderous engine roars approaching from the east - not from the mining outpost, but from Lothrian Federation territory. Garoth's instincts flared as he turned eastward. The clouds split apart as the source emerged - metal wings spanning over forty meters, composed of three thousand two hundred tempered steel feathers, each edge engraved with wind-cutting and levitation runes. The alchemical golem codenamed "Heaven's Wrath" streaked toward the young dragons at terrifying speed.
Its nineteen-point-eight-meter-tall steel frame tore through wind and rain with suffocating force, the hawk-like streamlined head pivoting on hydraulic neck joints as glowing blue eyes locked onto all three young dragons simultaneously. The Raymond Duchy garrison had requested this high-energy golem from nearby Federation forces in response to the raid.
Fighting wasn't an ideal option - more golems and powerful pursuers might follow, making entanglement dangerous. "Split up," Garoth commanded tersely, expression grave. "Rally at Tempering Heights." Both dragons recognized the danger immediately. Samantha banked sharply south, her red scales painting a vivid streak through the rain, while Sorog vanished silently into the cloud layer, his iron-gray form blending seamlessly with storm clouds.
Garoth gauged Heaven's Wrath's speed with deep breaths, inhaling cold rain and howling winds deep into his lungs before twisting to unleash his Electric Fire Breath. The dazzling breath weapon lanced through the storm toward the golem. All runes on the steel feathers flared as the massive construct executed an improbably agile evasive arc before blue flames erupted from its back, accelerating through the rain curtain in direct pursuit of Garoth - having correctly identified him as the highest-level threat.
Rather than fleeing immediately, Garoth engaged in brief maneuvering, allowing the distance to close slightly while his companions escaped in opposite directions. Then with a fierce grin, he regurgitated black oil barrels from his storage stomach, crushing and swallowing them before licking fairy dragon scale powder from a hidden scale pouch. Thick, oily crimson flames erupted from the silver wingbones as if fed by accelerant.
Frenzied State! Golden lightning crackled across his body simultaneously. With a thunderous wingbeat, the red iron dragon shattered the sound barrier, a shockwave radiating outward as he left a blazing red-gold contrail through the rain, covering nearly a kilometer instantly and carving a temporary vacuum tunnel through the storm.
Heaven's Wrath gave futile chase. While fast for an aerial combat golem with specialized flight modules, it stood no chance against Garoth's supersonic speed. Raw power and defense became irrelevant - Garoth's unmatched velocity and maneuverability were his greatest assets now. Short of legendary beings, few creatures could match his pace unless specifically evolved for extreme speed.
Within minutes, Heaven's Wrath could only watch as the faint glow of its quarry vanished completely into the storm's depths. The hunt had failed. Meanwhile, deep within distant cloud layers, Garoth's golden lightning gradually subsided as he panted heavily, each wingbeat still carrying residual tremors. Looking back where his pursuer had long disappeared beyond the horizon, he felt his draconic heart still pounding violently - not from fear, but some indescribable thrill.