novelraw Chapter 212: Flesh is Frail, Ascension Through Machinery
Chapter 212: Flesh is Frail, Ascension Through Machinery
"What does Vira need to do?"
The faerie dragon emerged from the flower bushes nearby, circling around Garoth in flight as she asked with eager anticipation.
"Your task is the most important."
Garoth said: "Remain stationed in Dragon Valley, guarding our territory together with the Rampage Bears."
As he spoke, he carefully observed the faerie dragon's appearance. Compared to their first meeting, the colors on her body remained vividly bright and had actually deepened.
Faerie dragons' age progression differed from normal dragons. Vira was now nearly fifty years old, already a mature adult faerie dragon.
As ultra-small miniature dragonkin, faerie dragons normally only lived slightly over two hundred years.
This meant when Garoth reached his prime adulthood, the faerie dragon would be entering her twilight years, and due to being inherently weaker than other dragon species, extending that twilight would be extremely difficult.
If the faerie dragon died, where would I get scale powder?
Thinking this, Garoth extended his claw and gently poked the faerie dragon's head."What are you doing?"
The faerie dragon was knocked tumbling by the finger poke, stabilizing herself before asking indignantly.
"Nothing, just an itchy claw."
Garoth watched the faerie dragon for a few seconds before shaking his head and speaking casually.
He temporarily set aside thoughts about the faerie dragon's lifespan, since she was currently in her prime, far from her twilight years.
"Then I forgive you."
"I also often feel an itch in my heart, unable to resist playing pranks. So next time if I stuff itching flowers in your nostrils, you have to forgive me too."
"Promise made, no takebacks."
Faerie dragon Vira said with a giggle. Without waiting for Garoth's specific response, she unilaterally finished speaking before hurriedly flying away, as if this would grant her an 'immunity token' for pranking Garoth.
"What do I need to do? Go directly to the battlefield to kill enemies?"
Brass-silver dragon Deborah blinked her eyes and asked.
Garoth thought for a moment, then said: "Same as Vira, guard Dragon Valley." After pausing, he added: "The difference is, Dragon Valley truly relies on you for protection."
Once the battle officially began.
The Gold Fang Tribe's counterattack would inevitably come as well.
Unlike the previous Bloodhoof Clan, because the Gold Fang Tribe excelled at alchemical industry, their stronghold was impregnably fortified, making swap-base tactics ineffective.
Dragon Valley, as the Molten Iron Tribe's central hub, held extraordinary significance.
It couldn't be abandoned meaninglessly. When Garoth was away fighting, guards needed to remain to prevent unexpected disasters.
The brass-silver dragon was perfect for guard duty.
If she appeared on a battlefield with drawn blades and life-or-death combat, even with her metallic dragon status, she couldn't make enemies hesitate. But stationed in Dragon Valley, primarily responsible for defense rather than fighting to the death, the situation would be different.
"Acceptable, I will ensure this place's safety."
The brass-silver dragon nodded.
Chaotic good was still good. Although her bottom-line principles were flexible, she ultimately retained good dragon nature and wasn't particularly interested in blood-soaked battlefields.
Direct participation in combat was less appealing than taking on defensive guard duties—simply repelling attacking enemies was sufficient.
Soon, time passed silently.
The Molten Iron Tribe intensively prepared for war.
Multi-point engagement warfare tactics like these consumed more commander mental energy than large-scale frontal battles, further testing the commander's ability to coordinate the overall situation.
After a day's rest, iron dragon Sorog's spiritual energy depletion had somewhat recovered.
He issued specific instructions to the subordinate leaders at various strongholds, covering every detail meticulously, communicating all considerations to ensure they understood their objectives and tasks, knowing exactly what to do.
One carefully assembled army after another stood ready for action.
Attacks on the Gold Fang Tribe's riverbank strongholds continued as usual, serving as misdirection.
In the blink of an eye, dawn was about to rise for the seventh time.
Southeastern convergence lands, Black Iron Plains.
The Gold Fang Tribe's main stronghold was located here.
The goblins here weren't just green-skinned clowns fiddling with explosive potions.
They had established extraordinary industrial facilities, their style completely incongruous with the convergence lands.
Spires of rusted iron and black smoke pierced the sky, the sound of interlocking gears never ceasing day or night. Rows of alchemy workshops stood tightly packed, depicting a brutal yet precise alchemical aesthetic.
Perhaps still somewhat immature.
But without doubt, the Gold Fang Tribe's alchemical industry had begun taking shape.
Thirty conveyor belts driven by black oil power wheels never stopped moving, each carrying assembling alchemical golem components. The most basic golems like [Weld-Iron Drudges] and [Flesh Rippers] were born here.
Goblin overseers brandished electrified barbed whips, screeching orders alongside the assembly lines.
Their slaves were also goblins.
But unlike the short ordinary goblins, these were tall, burly [Bugbears] wearing shock collars, looking at first glance like upright standing giant bears.
Bugbears were goblin cousins—dim-witted but savage and fierce.
In older times, bugbears typically ruled goblin tribes due to their great strength, but now ordinary goblins had enslaved bugbears through intelligence, using them as slaves while specially researching bugbear breeding manuals.
At the tribe's core stood the Grand Artificer's palace.
Unlike ordinary tribes that used 'Chieftain' for their most esteemed leader.
The Gold Fang Tribe's leader was honored as Grand Artificer.
His palace stood at the tribe center, entirely constructed from metal and machinery with faintly visible runic traces. The architectural style was rough yet imposing, revealing a precise beauty within its primitive appearance.
At this moment, inside this metal palace, the Gold Fang Tribe's goblin elders had gathered here.
The leader's appearance didn't differ much from normal goblins, but his attire was quite refined, wearing a monocle on his face, his robe engraved with mechanical patterns of gears and levers, seated on a high-backed chair cast from metal.
Grand Artificer—Scott.
He was the true master of all alchemy workshops and the highest-level alchemist in the Gold Fang Tribe.
Within the council chamber, eight goblin elders who were also alchemists sat surrounding him, each showing some signs of alchemical modification—smooth metal arms, third mechanical arms protruding from shoulders, expressionless cold iron masks, etc.
Among the most common development paths for alchemists.
Alchemical ascension through alchemical modification, merging with metal and machinery to completely transcend fleshly form, was one option.
As alchemists grew in level, those born with physically weak constitutions often chose the alchemical ascension path, undergoing alchemical modifications to gradually shed the limitations of fleshly bodies.
The advantage was that alchemically modified casters would experience great improvements in lifespan, combat capability, etc.
The disadvantage was that losing their soul-compatible physical bodies caused soul issues. Their thinking became influenced by alchemical modifications, growing increasingly mechanical and rigid, slowly losing creative inspiration. The higher the modification degree, the more severe this problem became.
It was said.
The first interstellar spacecraft created by the elven empire Nausil carried an advanced intelligence that was essentially a high-level alchemist who had lost their own soul.
But returning to topic.
The Grand Artificer also had alchemical modifications, just with more sophisticated craftsmanship that wasn't visually apparent.
"After a month of negotiations with the Venomtail Tribe, we've temporarily reached a peace agreement."
A goblin elder with a crystal-modified eye said.
The Venomtail Tribe, one of the convergence lands' four major tribes, consisted of serpentfolk. Their tribe contained the convergence lands' most spellcasters and shamans among other supernatural units, and they excelled at voodoo curses and similar methods, with numerous bloodthirsty, fierce serpentfolk warriors.
Among the four major tribes.
The Venomtail Tribe and Gold Fang Tribe had the worst relationship.
Serpentfolk enjoyed hunting goblins, eating them as food.
Before the Gold Fang Tribe discovered the black oil field and rose to power, they suffered greatly under serpentfolk oppression. Tracing back ancestry, nearly all contemporary goblins had ancestors who ended up in serpentfolk stomachs.
Goblins were creatures that held grudges well.
But facing wealth and resources, they could suppress hatred and become far-sighted.
In goblin eyes.
The other three tribes were short-sighted, failing to understand trade and economy's importance.
Years ago, goblin elders proficient in trade proposed a monopoly plan.
They wanted to control trade, monopolize material exchanges with the Federation, gradually accumulate development, use economic means to suppress other tribes, develop toward becoming convergence lands king, even establishing a goblin nation here and joining the Federation.
To monopolize the Estonian Great River's convergence lands riverbanks and monopolize trade.
Gold Fang Tribe emissaries traveled among the major tribes, promising benefits, conceding profits, carefully negotiating, removing obstacles from other tribes.
They focused on the future, not stinting on temporary investments.
Once the monopoly plan succeeded, everything other tribes gained would be repaid with interest.
Including initially sending emissaries to the Molten Iron Tribe, originally intended to pave way for their monopoly plan.
But at that time, the Molten Iron Tribe had been turtling for years due to the red iron dragon's hibernation, appearing weak and insignificant in goblin eyes, so instead of using inducements, they directly applied threats.
The calculation failed.
The Molten Iron Tribe's toughness exceeded their expectations.
Now they were directly counterattacking their riverbank strongholds.
But these weren't the most important matters.
Most importantly.
"The Molten Iron Tribe understands economy and trade's importance, and their rise is rapid. For our monopoly plan to succeed, we must eliminate them."
The three-armed goblin elder said quietly.
"Aside from our Gold Fang Tribe, the convergence lands cannot allow a second tribe skilled in trade to appear."
"They will take our gold coins! This is unforgivable."
The metal-armed goblin elder nodded in agreement.
"We've reached agreement with the most dangerous Venomtail Tribe and signed magical contracts. Now is precisely the time to concentrate our strength and eliminate the Molten Iron Tribe."
Another goblin elder's eyes flickered as he said:
"Those dragonkin, their body parts are all top-tier alchemical materials. If we can enslave them, using dragon breath to fuel our furnaces day and night would also greatly increase production capacity and quality rates."