Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 176: Tail Evolution

"Samantha, Trixie, do you crave battle?"

Garoth looked toward the red dragon and white dragon.

No evil dragon disliked battle, and the two nodded without hesitation.

"I suspect the Bloodhoof Clan is deliberately feigning weakness to deceive us, so let's not rush to attack their stronghold yet," Garoth said. "Take your respective followers and raid the Bloodhoof Clan's mines and pastures."

Since the minotaurs chose to retreat and appear weak,

Garoth decided to press them step by step.

He would see whether the Bloodhoof Clan would continue their deception or retaliate when their resources were plundered.

"Samantha, take the flying dragons to attack the pastures."

"Trixie, lead the Crimson Iron Riders to raid the mines."

Garoth gave more specific orders.Upon hearing his words, the red dragon raised her head and exhaled tendrils of flame: "I'll make those horned reptiles wail in the flames."

The white dragon spread her massive wings: "I'll freeze them into ice blocks."

The faerie dragon suddenly popped up from somewhere, declaring with exaggerated seriousness: "I'll scare them to death."

"No, you have a more crucial task—guard Dragon Valley." Garoth's solemn expression made the faerie dragon feel valued, so she puffed up her tiny face and said: "Vira promises to scare away all monsters trying to sneak into Dragon Valley."

Soon after, the excited red dragon took off with the flying dragon swarm, disappearing into the horizon from Dragon Valley.

The white dragon also led the swift Crimson Iron Riders toward the Bloodhoof Clan's mines.

Watching them depart, Garoth opened the black oil barrel, dipped his tail tip into it, then lightly licked it.

Hiss—it felt like a line of fire slid down his throat into his belly.

Flames snorted from Garoth's nostrils as he confirmed the 95-purity black oil was indeed superior—faster absorption, stronger energy supply, and lighter burden.

Resisting the urge to chug the entire barrel, Garoth placed the whole container in his mouth without biting down, yet it vanished instantly.

At the root of one of the red iron dragon's fangs, what appeared to be a tooth ring actually wasn't—it was a size-shifting spatial ring gifted by Nick, now glowing faintly.

It could be worn on his claws too,

but during intense battles, his primary weapons—the claws—were more prone to damage, so Garoth wore it on his fang instead.

His stomach's chamber had limited space,

and regurgitating items consumed time depending on their size, making the spatial ring far more efficient.

After storing the black oil barrel,

Garoth, already at peak physical condition, didn't rest further.

He used the massive anvil crafted by Samantha to sharpen his wings and tail, honing their blade-like scales and wing bones to greater sharpness.

He'd done this grinding many times before.

His wings showed no evolutionary response,

but his tail felt peculiar—the scales on both sides grew denser, overlapping and slightly protruding outward, as if evolving toward a bladed form, though just beginning, incomplete.

Screech! Screech!

The grating of dragon tail and wings against the anvil produced ear-piercing sounds and bursts of sparks.

Meanwhile, at the Bloodhoof Clan's armored rhino pastures.

Sunlight lazily bathed the grasslands.

Minotaur guards stood watch around the perimeter, vigilant against threats.

Nearly a hundred armored rhinos grazed leisurely on cold-resistant grass, their massive bodies leaving deep footprints. Their thick black hides gleamed metallically under sunlight as their head-mounted ramming horns occasionally brushed through shrubs, knocking down ripe berries.

Several calves playfully butted heads, producing dull thuds.

One of the Bloodhoof Clan's chieftains, Shaman Greno, collected rhino dung.

Some rhinos had grown unusually sluggish lately, even weak. Greno could determine from their waste whether they were ill or afflicted otherwise.

Greno's thick fingers pinched undigested grass stems as his bushy brows furrowed.

The mucus in this waste indicated digestive issues in three or four female rhinos.

"Fetch some wormwood,"

Greno began instructing his assistant when terrified calf cries suddenly pierced his ears.

The sky darkened abruptly.

Twelve figures tore through the clouds—leading them, Red Dragon Samantha and Flying Dragon Leader Tasha unfurled enormous wings, casting deep shadows that engulfed both rhinos and minotaurs.

"Enemy attack! Light the beacons!"

The shaman's shout drowned in the rhino stampede.

The hurricane-force downdraft from Samantha's dive flattened grass as she skimmed low, breathing fiery flames not at the guards but directly at the rhino herd first. The black hides turned molten red under dragonfire.

Following the red dragon's assault, flying dragons spewed corrosive acid.

The panicked rhinos scattered wildly, but the dragons didn't pursue.

Their crushing momentum unstoppable, the stampeding rhinos trampled minotaur guards attempting interception.

"Focus on the dragons!"

Greno's bloodshot eyes glared as he roared orders.

Elite minotaurs ceased intercepting rhinos, targeting the dragons instead.

They hurled javelins at the flying dragons and red dragon.

Tasha agilely dodged with wing flaps, swooping down to snatch an elite minotaur with her powerful hind claws. Her stinger pierced through armor gaps, injecting venom before flinging the victim into others.

Most javelins targeted Samantha.

She evaded most, deflecting the rest with tail swipes or claw strikes.

But during her dive to bowl over several guards, one javelin shot silently like lightning, piercing her magically reinforced scales to embed in flesh.

Baring fangs, Samantha turned to see a fully armored, exceptionally tall female minotaur warrior.

Javelins lined her waist as potent magical energy radiated from her formidable life level.

The warrior stomped hard.

Ground fracturing, she launched like a cannonball toward Samantha, magic-empowered spear aimed at the wing membrane.

Whoosh!

The red dragon beat wings to gain altitude while breathing fire downward, forcing the warrior to retreat.

Under Garoth's influence, Samantha had learned to leverage her aerial advantage unlike other reckless young dragons who fought heedlessly on land.

"Worms, the skies aren't your domain,"

the red dragon growled through flame-laced teeth.

Meanwhile, Shaman Greno knelt, palms pressed to earth as the ground cracked.

A massive totem pole erupted from the pasture's center.

"Ascend!"

Tasha's pupils contracted as she shrieked warning.

Lightning chains erupted from the totem, lashing at flying dragons—but most escaped upward thanks to the alert, though a few struck grew sluggish.

Minotaur javelin throwers concentrated fire, peppering the affected dragons with bloody holes before they too escaped the totem's range.

"That totem pole... this Bloodhoof Clan is indeed extraordinary, just as Garoth suspected."

Ordinary shamans couldn't create such artifacts.

"But I've got treasures too."

Samantha grinned, claws brushing neck scales to produce three crimson orbs she hurled at the totem.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lightning chains detonated two midair while the third exploded beside the totem, all unleashing deafening blasts and towering flames.

The totem's engraved runes flickered, conjuring a magic shield as lightning attacks paused.

"Flying dragons, attack!"

Samantha kept bombarding with high-explosive flame orbs—their range exceeded dragonfire, and being disposable, didn't drain her magical energy.

Under this cover, the flying dragons assaulted anew.

After sustained bombardment, the totem cracked, runes dimming.

With her orbs exhausted, the red dragon dove again alongside her swarm.

As time passed,

the increasingly wounded dragon forces withdrew without overstaying, leaving behind devastation and numerous minotaur corpses.