novelraw Chapter 218: The Prime Silver Dragon's Suspicion and Pursuit
Chapter 218: The Prime Silver Dragon's Suspicion and Pursuit
The night over the Black Iron Plains was thick like unmixed asphalt, with both moons completely devoured by heavy dark clouds, plunging the earth into a suffocating, pure ink-black darkness.
Suddenly, the dead silence was torn apart.
At the watchtower on the tribe's outskirts, the piercing alarm siren only managed to emit one short scream before being cut off as if choked, replaced by countless horrifying friction sounds, low growls, and the sharp screech of claws scraping against metal fortifications!
The dark curtain was abruptly illuminated.
Yellow-green, crimson, ghostly blue... densely packed like ghost fires, silently surrounding the entire Gold Fang Tribe without any gaps.
"Enemy attack! It's the Molten Iron Tribe's monsters!"
—Not by lights, but by pairs of eyes that suddenly opened in the absolute darkness, burning with naked killing desire!
Yellow-green, scarlet, deep blue... densely packed like ghost fires, silently surrounding the entire Gold Fang Tribe without any gaps.
The goblin guards' screams exploded in the dead silence, trembling with unconcealed fear.
Searchlights hastily turned on, their beams sweeping futilely through the thick darkness, barely illuminating a small area at the forefront of the encirclement.There were twisted ogre faces, fangs dripping with saliva; Graymane Werewolves with arched backs, their claw-blades reflecting cold light; centaurs with heavy iron hooves crushing the ground step by step.
Higher in the night sky, enormous shadows undulated in the darkness, then emerged.
Dragons circled in the night sky, their wings tearing through the night's silence with each beat, an invisible pressure like icy iron bands tightening around every goblin's heart.
The operators' fingers rested on triggers but dared not press them.
Those anti-air ballistae, alchemical heavy cannons... though already loaded, they didn't dare fire, and the goblins piloting the mecha golems didn't dare cross the line, retreating step by step before the advancing Molten Iron warriors.
Dragons circled in the night sky, their wings tearing through the night's silence with each beat, an intangible pressure like icy iron bands tightening around every goblin's heart.
An elderly goblin elder collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself, his muddy eyes filled with despair.
The news of the alchemical legion's defeat and Scott's death in the southwestern border mountains had long since returned, breaking the Gold Fang Tribe's backbone, stripping them of their confidence.
Goblins are inherently cowardly.
When they lost their protection, when their proud legion was crushed, even though they still had alchemical machines to fight with, they couldn't muster the will to resist.
"Scum!"
"Drop your weapons, kneel!"
Thunderous voices erupted from the iron dragon and red dragon as they clustered around the majestic red iron dragon, circling around him.
The goblins' knees went weak, collapsing like wheat being cut down.
But just as the tribe's panic was about to turn into complete collapse,
—Boom! Hum—Boom!
But just as the tribe's panic was about to turn into complete collapse,
The palace's outer walls peeled away, revealing its steel-cast main structure.
Then, to countless goblins' surprised gazes, the Grand Artificer's palace actually came to life!
Thick steam mixed with dazzling arcane energy flows violently erupted from exhaust ports at the palace's base.
Heavy armor plates covering the surface flipped, slid, and reassembled like a giant beast's scales.
Enormous gears meshed and rotated wildly inside, emitting deafening metal roars. The top structure collapsed and contracted downward, while both sides extended with breathtakingly thick mechanical arms, and the base bulged upward, transforming.
Finally.
A colossal giant resembling a small hill emerged.
Garoth narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Just as I suspected something unusual."
Meanwhile, the steel giant stood upright, its movements carrying an inhuman heaviness and precision, every joint extension accompanied by mechanical operation sounds.
Its standing posture seemed to support the entire collapsing sky of the Gold Fang Tribe.
"There really is something unusual."
"Lord Scott! Is that you?!"
The despairing goblins, as if grabbing their last lifeline, burst into cries and fanatical cheers of survival after disaster.
Their fear vanished completely, and they all stood up again, cheering and jumping: "Great Artificer, destroy these monsters!"
However.
Its eyes shot out blue light beams, scanning the darkness, sweeping over the circling dragons in the sky, then becoming still.
[Analyzing environment... Threat assessment... Enemy-to-friendly force ratio... Combat simulation... Tribe survival probability calculation]
[Resistance: Victory probability 11%, tribe survival probability approaching zero, optimal solution: Surrender]
All its weapons retracted, energy glow gradually dimmed, like a fierce beast sheathing its claws and fangs.
Immediately after, on the lowered head of the giant golem, armor split open, and a goblin emerged from within, appearing in appearance like a young adult Grand Artificer.
Under countless goblins' stunned, despairing, incredulous gazes, the giant that had just given them hope, like the most humble servant, slowly and extremely heavily knelt on one knee before the red iron dragon.
"So it's an alchemical construct."
Red dragon Samantha's eyes glowed with a faint light of detection magic, then she blinked, showing a realization expression.
He also knelt, maintaining a humble posture, his voice devoid of any emotion, word by word.
"Your insight is sharp."
The Grand Artificer said.
She smacked her lips with interest, thoughtfully saying: "Garoth, the Gold Fang Tribe's leader probably died long ago. This Grand Artificer is a construct he left behind using alchemy."
"As you wish."
The goblin recounted in detail, narrating his own birth.
When Grand Artificer Scott reached the end of his lifespan, he chose to retreat into seclusion within his palace.
Unfortunately, due to the convergence lands' barren resources and scarce knowledge inheritance, and because he spent almost all his clearest-minded years researching golems and developing the tribe, even with exceptional talent, he couldn't create a method to extend his life within the limited time available in his old age.
The goblin recounted in detail, narrating his own birth.
He used alchemy to merge his soul with the palace, transforming it into an intelligent golem.
The goblins gradually understood.
The alchemist they revered, the one who led their clan from obscurity to rise, had long since died.
This was just cold legacy left by Scott, an alchemical intelligence existing for "continuation"—it had no honor, no anger, no resentment, only rational intelligent logic.
"Alchemical intelligence... Your performance in the war makes me doubt your claims."
The red iron dragon said.
However, the goblins' actions of stationing in the Fertile Plains and establishing bases regardless of potential risks directly doomed them.
"Don't give me gold, teach me the flame that turns stone to gold."
The Grand Artificer said: "This was the life motto written by my predecessor, and the original intention of my birth. My purpose for existence isn't combat, but guiding and training alchemists, ensuring the Gold Fang Tribe can endure long without relying on me."
He wasn't skilled in warfare.
His combat strategies against the Molten Iron Tribe were primarily based on reports from goblin elders, trying to summarize appropriate decisions as much as possible.
No wonder the Gold Fang Tribe had so many alchemists—the reason was here.
"Let me see your intelligence core."
Garoth roughly understood the situation.
As an alchemist, she knew all intelligent golems had a core for integrating and processing chaotic information, for forming 'thoughts'.
The Grand Artificer didn't hesitate.
Armor on the golem's nape opened, revealing an octahedral structure core covered in alchemical runes. Red dragon Samantha examined it carefully for a few moments, then said to Garoth: "Such an exquisite structure... It truly is an intelligent golem, very valuable to us."
Having witnessed the Grand Artificer's ability to exchange blows with Garoth, completely overwhelming other Young Adult dragons in strength,
Red dragon Samantha felt even more anticipation about alchemy.
In her view, if mere goblins could achieve such mastery, noble herself would inevitably achieve even greater accomplishments.
Having witnessed the Grand Artificer's ability to exchange blows with Garoth, completely overpowering other Young Adult dragons in strength,
Red dragon Samantha felt even more anticipation about alchemy.
"The Molten Iron Tribe might not lack alchemists in the future either."
Garoth looked at the Grand Artificer with an art-appreciating gaze, also sweeping over the deathly silent tribe,
"Unexpected gain."
He said.
No bargaining, no empty gestures.
This was an unquestionable proclamation from the victor.
"Thank you for your mercy."
The giant golem, being the Grand Artificer's main body, gradually transformed back into a palace, quietly situated on the ground, while the goblin-like construct was his more convenient 'avatar' for movement.
"All goblins of the Gold Fang Tribe, abandon resistance, pledge loyalty to the Lord of Molten Iron."
The Grand Artificer said.
Actually, no need to say more—from the moment they realized the Grand Artificer was just a construct, not a 'legend', almost all goblins knelt again, silently praying the dragons would accept the Gold Fang Tribe's loyalty, thus gaining a chance to live.
There were also a few exceptions.
They angrily cursed the intelligent golem for deceiving them, disgracing the Gold Fang Tribe's honor, unwilling to submit, and before the monsters could act, were crushed by the Grand Artificer controlling alchemical machines.
Afterward.
Part of the Warhost elite stationed in the Black Iron Plains.
As time passed, the various former strongholds and resource points of the Gold Fang Tribe were quickly taken over, and the Molten Iron Tribe's territory gradually expanded throughout the entire southern convergence lands. Those gnolls and kobolds who reproduced extremely quickly—almost unsustainable without restrictions—finally found their purpose.
And while the Molten Iron Tribe developed rapidly and vigorously,
In the northwestern convergence lands, Red Maple Valley.
"Deborah has been in the convergence lands this whole time."
And while the Molten Iron Tribe developed rapidly and vigorously,
"In the convergence lands but not returning to Red Maple Valley, pretending to be adventuring outside."
【Frostmark】Edri in human form felt somewhat confused and displeased: "What exactly is Deborah doing?"
The brass-silver dragon had a tracking mark secretly placed by Edri, so he always knew her whereabouts clearly.
Remembering how evasive Deborah was during previous communication, making excuses about being on an adventure, the silver dragon felt she must be hiding something from him.
It was necessary to go check the situation.