novelraw Chapter 240: Super exciting four-armed overlord posture, powerful! Dominant! Strong!
Chapter 240: Super exciting four-armed overlord posture, powerful! Dominant! Strong!
The last trace of night vanished at the distant horizon as dawn replaced the darkness, casting beautiful light upon the earth. Yet the human tribe named Dawn had endured a painful night.
Their spiritual symbol, the Ancestral Spirit Altar, had been destroyed.
Blackstone Pass had immediately fallen afterward.
Following this, the true army of the Molten Iron Tribe drove straight in like a sharp blade tearing through defensive lines, advancing northward. This time, it was no longer primarily composed of cannon fodder like gnolls, kobolds, and lizardfolk.
Ogres, centaurs, flying dragons, and other elites.
Tamed Wild Beast Lords.
Even the goblins who originally belonged to the Gold Fang Tribe but had now submitted, manipulating powerful golems to fight alongside monsters. A flood of flesh and steel advanced inch by inch, trampling across territory belonging to the Dawn Tribe.
Though it hadn't yet reached the orcs of the Ironblood Tribe, the orcs sensed the danger of shared fate and continuously sent reinforcements.
The combined human and orc forces were collectively stronger than the Molten Iron troops.
The Molten Iron troops mainly relied on their lower-tier followers sacrificing themselves to wear down the armies of the two major tribes. However, the strongest aspect of the Molten Iron Tribe wasn't their troops, but rather the several dragons possessing flight capabilities who could freely traverse the skies, quickly decapitating Ironblood and Dawn leadership and destroying their important strongholds.Whenever both forces engaged in fierce battle.
The dragon groups would set out, dividing into two teams, locking onto targets before launching lightning-fast assaults. Within a single day, they could strike multiple strategic points, leaving the two major tribes unable to protect both ends, overwhelmed and beset by fires everywhere.
In this backward convergence land, noble flying units were simply unreasonable.
Especially the most powerful red iron dragon, whose mobility was downright terrifying and fundamentally indefensible.
Even a multi-dragon team composed of red dragons, iron dragons, and white dragons didn't carry the same oppressive presence as he did alone.
Whenever that formidable draconic form tore through the sky, his wings beating while emitting the sharp shrieks of countless drawn blades or continuous thunderous rumbles, any humans and orcs hearing these sounds would tremble with fear, their morale collapsing like an avalanche.
Because.
This sound meant death, meant destruction.
As the war continued raging, Brenhild and Ugosk repeatedly wanted to confront the red iron dragon directly, to have a king versus king battle.
However.
The red iron dragon adhered to the principle of kings avoiding each other, instead focusing on downward-level decapitation strikes. Despite possessing tremendous power, he never engaged the two tribal chieftains, always fighting quickly and leaving immediately without any hesitation.
Because they couldn't match his speed, every time the tribal chieftains arrived, the places attacked by the red iron dragon had already been reduced to scorched earth, littered with corpses.
They attempted counterattacks but always lagged one step behind the red iron dragon.
Just like now.
With a terrifying shriek and roar, the red iron dragon descended from the sky like a meteor piercing the earth, destroying a human outpost located on the hills before immediately activating his Frenzied State and beginning the slaughter.
In less than three minutes.
All the guards at this outpost had been killed, including a fairly high-ranking barbarian leader. The tenacious life force in their frenzied, enraged state had allowed them to survive for a full minute under Garoth's claws before dying.
"Fights like this are so much more relaxed and enjoyable."
The red iron dragon shook his head, retracting the golden lightning dancing across his body, then strolled casually through the flames and scorched earth before soaring into the sky.
Fighting opponents of the same level or higher was never something Garoth truly enjoyed.
What he preferred was downward-compatible 'level-surpassing' combat.
Crushing weaklings, sweeping through armies, all without any risk.
"Coward!"
"Lowborn scum!"
Brenhild and Ugosk's roars erupted from the ground, shooting straight into the clouds and reaching Garoth's ears.
Garoth glanced down to see the two tribal chieftains sprinting across the land, dust clouds billowing behind them, their legs becoming blurs. But from receiving the message to arriving at the destination, enough time had passed for Garoth to finish the battle—they had still arrived one step too late.
Calmly looking at both of them.
The red iron dragon indifferently withdrew his gaze, then immediately returned to Dragon Valley to recuperate.
Just in case, the naturally cautious Garoth always paused his decapitation raids when either his Frostburst Scales were exhausted or his stamina dropped below seventy percent, only resuming attacks after recovering his condition.
He was simply too steady.
With black oil and high-energy magic potions obtained through trade.
Without any major injuries to worry about, he recovered extremely quickly. Repeated attacks dealt devastating blows to the humans and orcs, with half of the entire Molten Iron Tribe's achievements attributable to Garoth.
Amid the clamor of war, time quietly slipped away.
The Molten Iron Tribe's armies rampaged through the north, coordinating with the dragon groups to press forward step by step, squeezing the Dawn Tribe's living space and gradually tilting the balance of victory.
Meanwhile, in a certain temporarily erected tent.
Brenhild, Ugosk, and many high-ranking leaders from both human and orc sides gathered here to discuss their next strategy.
"We can't continue like this."
"That red iron dragon is too cautious, never engaging us directly. But he's also too fast—we can't keep up with his pace."
Brenhild said solemnly: "If we continue fighting according to his rhythm, we won't last long before complete collapse."
Ugosk nodded heavily: "That red iron bastard is the core of the Molten Iron Tribe. We must kill him first, leaving them leaderless, before we have any chance of victory!"
The Dawn Tribe had suffered the most severe losses.
But many orc forces had also been destroyed.
Moreover, they clearly understood that the red iron dragon's goal was the entire convergence land and he would never spare the orcs of the Ironblood Tribe. Pressured by a powerful enemy, the human-orc alliance reached its closest point of unity.
"We'll counterattack according to our previous plan."
Brenhild's expression turned serious: "We must kill the red iron dragon in one decisive strike. In this war, either he dies, or we perish!"
He asked the orc chieftain: "How are the preparations?"
Ugosk turned to look at a blind shaman with cloudy white eyes and covered in festering sores.
Before the orc chieftain could speak, the blind shaman seemed to sense something.
Hunching over, he coughed several times, then wiped the turbid blood from his mouth before speaking in a hoarse, broken voice: "The red iron dragon.... will.... tomorrow late night.... raid.... Raging River."
With each word he spoke, his body hunched further, the wrinkles on his face visibly multiplying.
His already feeble life force rapidly weakened, becoming like a candle flickering in the wind.
After speaking the final few words, his body trembled, then suddenly convulsed violently. He struggled to mutter a few unclear, incomprehensible words before collapsing unconscious on the spot, only prevented from falling by orcs supporting him.
This prophet shaman held equivalent status within the orc tribe to Ancestral Shaman Leoni, whom Garoth had killed.
He originally had over a decade of life remaining, but because he prophesied about Garoth and revealed it, he immediately suffered severe backlash—whether he would even have one year of life left was uncertain.
"Take the prophet to rest."
Ugosk said gravely: "No matter what, after paying such a price, we must slaughter that red iron bastard! I will use his life and blood to commemorate our fallen warriors!"
Brenhild coldly laughed: "The red iron dragon launches attacks with such high intensity and frequency that even a dragon's physique cannot possibly sustain the consumption. We'll wait rested while he labors, ambush and surround him—he will surely meet his end at Raging River!"
Immediately, under the will of the two tribal chieftains, commands rapidly issued from this place.
Nearly all high-level leaders and elites from the Dawn Tribe and Ironblood Tribe were transferred overnight from various strongholds. Under the cover of spells from sorcerers and shamans, they converged toward the Raging River outpost.
This included both Brenhild and Ugosk.
Time passed unhurriedly as always, just a day or so—too brief. Though the Molten Iron forces sensed some weakening in the allied army's strength, they didn't notice any obvious abnormalities.
Dragon Valley, where the setting sun's light fell upon the central lake surface, rippling with sparkling waves under the gentle breeze.
Garoth stretched his wings, emitting faint metallic clinking sounds.
He could clearly sense the sharpness of every Frostburst Scale's edge, the subtle tremors of every muscle fiber storing power—peak condition, like a fully drawn powerful bow.
At this moment, the red iron dragon's spirit and body had recovered to their absolute peak limits.
His Battle Dragon level had also broken through boundaries due to these days of intense combat, officially reaching level 4.
"Next target.... The Dawn Tribe continuously retreats, nearing their limit."
"First cut off their retreat path, wipe them out completely."
Garoth carefully recalled the strategic locations within Dawn Tribe territory, finally settling on—Raging River.
This was a great river winding through the northern convergence lands, its rushing waters flowing ceaselessly year-round, originating from the icy plains further north. The river water was piercingly cold, making direct crossing quite difficult. Since the Dawn Tribe had established an outpost at Raging River and built bridges for crossing, located deep within Dawn Tribe's rear territory, it represented an important retreat route.
"This is the place."
The red iron dragon beat his wings, flying into the sky as he approached Raging River.
To avoid giving the enemy advance reaction time for defense deployment, Garoth didn't rush at full speed when approaching midway. His wingbeats created no noise or disturbance as he approached steadily and quietly, only bursting forth abruptly when nearing the destination.
Twilight soon gave way to night.
The twin moons hung high in the night sky as darkness deepened.
Northern convergence lands, Raging River.
The river churned like an angry silver dragon under moonlight, turbid waters carrying the icy plains' chill as they smashed against both banks with mountain-shattering force. The splashing water spray shattered into icy rain mist in the night wind, enveloping the entire riverbank in piercing dampness.
That massive ironwood bridge spanning Raging River.
Thick ironwood secured with secret methods, wrapped in chains engraved with water-repelling runes, clattering noisily.
Bonfires burned brightly on both sides as Dawn Tribe outpost guards remained awake through the deep night, taking shifts patrolling.
Garoth hovered at several thousand meters altitude, taking a deep breath before dark red flames instantly surged from his wingtips. Then he tore through the night sky like a falling meteorite, plummeting directly toward the massive ironwood bridge.
BOOM——!!
The massive ironwood bridge shattered into pieces, countless water sprays flying everywhere as white waves surged and rolled toward the outposts on both banks.
The red iron dragon's first strike had destroyed the bridge.
He stretched his wings, his powerful body emerging from the water.
However, the expected panic and scattering didn't occur.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Ear-shattering roars suddenly erupted, that primal battle cry resonating from thousands of throats filled with fury and bloodlust. The entire Raging River instantly boiled.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three massive ethereal blue light pillars over ten feet in diameter erupted in a triangular formation from the left riverbank watchtower, right dense forest, and bridge foundation.
These light pillars weren't pure energy but tightly woven from countless rapidly spinning, mosquito-thin ancient runes. They shot into the sky before emitting more light rays that connected into a massive magical array centered on the red iron dragon, then imprinted themselves on sky and earth before vanishing.
Instantly.
The wind elemental energy in the air was almost completely dispersed, while an overwhelming super-gravity effect emerged from the earth.
Garoth felt his body grow heavy, his wingbeats struggling to harness wind elemental energy.
Clearly a dual anti-flight magical array simultaneously targeting draconic spell-like abilities and heavy physiques.
"Evil dragon, tonight you will be buried here!"
Brenhild's furious roar rolled like thunder across the river surface as the Dawn Tribe chieftain appeared, like an ancient war god resurrected from murals. On his bare bronze upper body, layer upon layer of ancestral totems flowed and breathed like living things across his muscular physique, his massive double-bladed runic battleaxe the size of a door panel pointing diagonally at the ground.
Behind him, Dawn Tribe elites stood with solemn expressions, their killing intent spreading through the night air like tangible ice needles.
Simultaneously, the dense forest on the opposite bank exploded.
"For Ironblood glory!"
Ugosk's roar carried a bloody gust as the phantom of a savage bear's spirit condensed into a massive translucent colossus behind him. The colossus beat its chest toward the sky, invisible shockwaves causing the river surface to explode in circular water walls.
With earth-shaking footsteps, Ironblood orcs surged forth like a tidal wave.
They wore only simple bone armor on their upper bodies, their skin branded with various totems, their eyes staring fixedly at the red iron dragon like wild beasts.
"An ambush? This setup definitely wasn't prepared hastily."
Garoth furrowed the skin between his brows: "How did they know I would attack Raging River?"
The decision to attack Raging River had been made spontaneously, ruling out betrayal by moles.
"Some magical method, most likely divination magic."
After pondering, the red iron dragon's gaze fell upon those sorcerer shamans emerging from shadows alongside barbarian warriors.
"This ambush was truly unavoidable—can't underestimate the methods of other intelligent beings."
Garoth's 'brow' smoothed, his expression cautious but without fear or panic: "Fortunately, I'm always prudent, maintaining peak condition for every attack, and I brought the Duel Array Disk."
He could use the Duel Array Disk to pull one person inside, kill them, then use its spatial teleportation effect to escape.
However, Garoth was unwilling to use such a precious single-use item here, preferring to save it for truly desperate situations.
Unlike the roaring, screaming barbarians.
The red iron dragon remained calm, his eyes revealing rational and composed brilliance. Compared to him, those humanoid creatures seemed more like wild beasts.
He waved his wings, testing the anti-flight array's strength.
Seeing the red iron dragon slowly ascending.
"Trap him!"
"First cripple the bastard's wings!"
Ugosk growled, his steel-plated gauntlets smashing together, sparks flying everywhere. The savage bear spirit roared skyward before leaping forward toward the red iron dragon, its colossal energy hand tearing through air as it slammed viciously toward the base of Garoth's wings. Groups of orc elites followed closely behind.
Standing further back, sorcerer shamans formed hand seals, their fingertips guiding piercing cold currents.
Ice Spike Torrent!
Thousands of prismatic ice spikes condensed from nothing, each core compressed with a dazzling blue point. They tore through air with piercing shrieks, showering like rain toward the dragon's pupils, wing membrane connections, reproductive cavity, scale gaps—all the most lethal weak points of dragonkind.
Garoth's vertical pupils contracted, his focus intensifying.
Spinning!
His iron tail became a blur tearing through air, sweeping with thousands of tons of force, exploding the ice spikes into sky-filling ice crystal mist mid-air. Without slowing, it struck the savage bear spirit's massive palm, shattering it.
Brenhild simultaneously entered his berserk state, advancing as if ignoring spatial distance.
His massive axe trailed cold light as he raised it high, the blade precisely chopping into Garoth's exposed right shoulder blade from the tail-sweeping motion.
Clang!
A deep crack appeared at the impact point, cold air suddenly spreading out and freezing Brenhild's movement momentarily. Looking up, he saw the red iron dragon's massive claw sweeping toward him.
"Kill!"
Ugosk's roar exploded like thunder.
The savage bear spirit's massive palm had somehow regenerated, striking again while carrying mountain-splitting force, barely blocking the dragon claw's counterattack.
Brenhild seized the opportunity, his massive axe swinging upward to chop into the red iron dragon's arm.
Simultaneously, those human and orc elites charged forward, the rushing cold water presenting no obstacle to them.
Led by Brenhild and Ugosk, groups of barbarians and warrior elites surrounded the red iron dragon, launching fierce attacks while shamans and sorcerers harassed and distracted with ranged spells from behind.
Massive axes, war hammers, flails.
Various weapons attacked from almost all directions simultaneously, crashing against the red iron dragon's body with clanging sounds, sparks flying everywhere, covering his black-silver dragon scales with cracks and dents.
The red iron dragon's counterattacks were equally fierce.
While his dragon claw combos forced Brenhild and Ugosk back.
Rip!
His tail blade split three orcs along with their weapons and bodies in half, then as his body spun, his massive wings sliced continuously, killing all elites within range who couldn't retreat in time.
A berserker leaped up, attempting to attack from above.
Whoosh!
The red iron dragon's right wing flexed upward agilely, the spear-like wingtip piercing completely through the berserker before a flick and slash bisected him from the middle.
His claws, dragon tail, wings—all functioned like peerless deadly weapons.
Continuous claw strikes, tail sweeps, wing slashes, stabs.... Even elites from the two major tribes couldn't resist, getting injured from grazes and dying from direct hits. Blood and severed limbs instantly dyed Raging River red.
And despite being a fire-element hybrid dragon, intense cold emanated from the red iron dragon's body.
The surrounding river water froze solid before being crushed, the barbarians' movements slowed by the cold erosion, often unable to react to the red iron dragon's attacks before being instantly killed.
However, the painful price paid by humans and orcs also yielded results.
Their relentless attacks left increasingly more wounds on the red iron dragon's body.
Brenhild's eyes blazed with fierce light, all his totems burning brightly.
Using his core as power source, his body spun like a top, his massive axe whirling up an air-tearing cyclone carrying battle intent inherited from ancient ancestors as it chopped toward the red iron dragon's neck.
This strike was exceptionally fierce. Garoth didn't take it head-on, instead shifting sideways while enduring other miscellaneous soldier attacks.
"Now!"
Thump!
Like a heavy hammer striking an anvil!
The red iron dragon's massive draconic form was sent staggering back for the first time, then struck by Brenhild's spinning combo strikes. As sparks exploded, even some underlying scales cracked, bleeding.
"The dragon whelp is bleeding! He's weakening!"
Barbarians witnessing this scene screamed madly, bloodthirsty excitement igniting every pair of eyes.
Many elites from both tribes had already died or been injured, but barbarians fought fearlessly, with furious emotions dominating their minds.
Boom!
The red iron dragon's counterattack sent both tribal chieftains flying while other barbarians simultaneously swarmed forward.
However, the moment Brenhild landed, he felt a heart-pounding sense of dread.
To maintain combat control and prevent friendly fire, both he and Ugosk hadn't fully entered their berserk rage states, retaining some rationality.
"Retreat, fall back!"
But the barbarians who had lost their rationality didn't obey their chieftains' commands, fighting with bloodshot eyes as they continued attacking the red iron dragon.
"Insects, turn to dust!"
The red iron dragon suddenly took a deep breath.
Instantly, molten metal-melting high-temperature steam erupted from between his scales, instantly melting all weapon fragments embedded in flesh or clinging to dragon scales.
Glowing red-hot light instantly covered every dragon scale.
Terrifying high temperatures burst from the cracks, scorching and distorting the surrounding air.
Thermal Enhancement—Destruction Breath!
Whoosh!
Countless river water instantly evaporated as flame currents that destroyed everything poured from the red iron dragon's mouth. As his neck turned, they swept across, engulfing human and orc elites one after another.
Witnessing this, Brenhild and Ugosk's eyes instantly reddened.
Immediately, both fully entered their berserk rage states, trading rationality for terrifying power.
"Ancestral—Battle Form!"
Brenhild emitted dying beast-like shrieks and roars.
The totems on his face and body burned like flames doused with boiling oil, condensed substantial ancestral battle spirits instantly bursting from his body before completely merging with him one after another.
His body showed no obvious changes, but his aura skyrocketed while simultaneously exhibiting many different qualities.
Ugosk similarly roared, three totem beast phantoms—savage bear, giant wolf, goshawk—simultaneously appearing around him before all attaching to his body. This made his physique powerful like a savage bear, agile like a giant wolf, and capable of soaring through the skies like a goshawk.
However, those with second phases weren't just them.
The red iron dragon beat his wings, instantly bursting from the dense white steam formed by evaporated river water, his body already wrapped in flying golden lightning.
Moreover, engine-like sounds like thunder and drumbeats continuously emerged from his chest cavity. Centered on his heart, many spiderweb-like blood-colored patterns appeared on his dragon scales.
Barbarians possessed tenacious life force.
In their berserk rage state, they could fight like mad demons without regard for life.
Three massive azure light pillars over ten feet in diameter erupted in a triangular formation from the left riverbank watchtower, right dense forest, and bridge foundation.
Though he hadn't evolved true Bloodburst yet, making the Bloodburst spell's current amplification limited, it still strengthened his attributes further.
The red iron dragon instantly appeared before Brenhild, one claw descending.
Clang—BOOM!!!!!
Brenhild's weapon was instantly smashed away.
He roared furiously, eyes bloodred, using both arms to support the red iron dragon's massive claw.
Under Garoth's terrifying strength, his arm muscles spasmed violently, arm bones emitting horrifying groans and cracking sounds, the totem radiance on his body shattering layer by layer.
Even enraged barbarians couldn't match dragonkind in frontal confrontations.
The red iron dragon pushed Brenhild out of Raging River, crashing through and killing many sorcerers and shamans behind who couldn't dodge in time. As his claws contracted, he gradually crushed the tattoos covering this ancestral guardian's body.
Suddenly, tattoo after tattoo swelled and separated from his body.
They were formless yet possessed powerful strength, extending onto the red iron dragon's body to form extremely powerful binding and solidification effects, momentarily freezing the red iron dragon's movements.
Simultaneously.
Ugosk emitted overlapping beast roars and hawk cries, soaring like a goshawk as he rapidly approached Garoth's back.
Brenhild's furious roar rolled like thunder across the river surface as the Dawn Tribe chieftain appeared, like an ancient war god resurrected from murals. On his bare bronze upper body, layer upon layer of ancestral totems flowed and breathed like living things across his muscular physique, his massive double-bladed rune battleaxe the size of a door panel pointing diagonally at the ground.
All three totems concentrated on his right arm as the orc's face twisted viciously. This strongest strike aimed at the back of Garoth's head.
His body bound by Brenhild's ancestral tattoos—since these things weren't just physical constraints—even the red iron dragon's strength couldn't break free instantly.
However, when he sensed the sinister wind approaching the back of his head, he felt no panic.
Because when his Dragon Qi broke through, he had chosen his temporary main advanced path—Astral Self Battle Dragon!
Level 4 Dragon Qi Rotation!
Dragon Qi Arms!
Two terrifying dragon arms invisible to the naked eye but clearly observable to anyone with energy vision condensed substantially, extending from behind Garoth's shoulder blades.
Each black-red dragon scale with sharp textures had a steel-like quality.
Since they were formed from Dragon Qi representing Garoth's own life and magical energy, their thickness and toughness matched his actual arms perfectly.
Without flesh and tissue connections affecting the body, they offered greater flexibility. Controlled by thought and moving with mental commands, they remained unaffected by physical condition.
Whoosh!
As the attack approached, caught off guard, Ugosk was violently struck by the black-red dragon arm and sent flying through the air like a ball.
The two thick black-red dragon arms shifted direction, locking onto the struggling Brenhild.
Boom! Boom!
Air was suddenly torn apart as fierce, violent attacks landed on Brenhild's body, instantly shattering and piercing through the layers of tattoos on him. The binding tattoos on the red iron dragon also broke free.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The red iron dragon's powerful body overwhelmed Brenhild.
Four dragon arms bombarded relentlessly, creating sky-filling afterimages as they poured onto the barbarian like a storm. As the ground beneath continuously collapsed and sank, the layers of ancestral protective aura on the barbarian were rapidly shattered. Immediately after, even the barbarian's robust flesh-and-blood body couldn't withstand the four-armed red iron dragon's violent offensive. After losing ancestral protection, he was instantly beaten into pulp.
Whoosh—!
The red iron dragon gently exhaled hot air, beating his wings as he emerged from the deep crater.
His scarred, rugged body covered with axe-and-blade marks stood vertically, hovering mid-air as his thick, fierce four arms stretched slightly.
So powerful.
Who could possibly defeat him now?! Who could kill him?!
This intensely domineering terrifying scene shocked those sorcerers and shamans with energy vision who could see the Dragon Qi arms to the point of near mental collapse. So much so that.
They couldn't construct a single spell, cold sweat pouring down their faces, minds completely blank, utterly helpless as they watched the Dawn Tribe chieftain get beaten to death by the red iron dragon.