novelraw Chapter 267: Alberto
Chapter 267: Alberto
Dragon Valley, that training ground compacted to be as hard as iron.
"Too... too powerful, the mighty Pale Hundred Wings! These training methods... are simply too harsh."
The Black Dragon Seraphina felt every muscle in her body groaning under unbearable strain, finally unable to resist voicing a pained protest to the supervisor, White Dragon Trixie.
"Harsh?!"
White Dragon Trixie let out a cold laugh, her dragon pupils filled with disdain: "Compared to the daily trials endured by the Lord of Molten Iron, your pitiful training intensity isn't even worth one hair from nine oxen."
The young dragons around—Red Dragon Kahir, Blue Dragon Heriam, Green Dragon Ludwig—including the Black Dragon, all involuntarily showed looks of doubt on their faces, clearly taking Trixie's words with a grain of salt.
But right at that moment.
Whoosh—!
A sudden, violent gust of wind swept through, accompanied by a clear tremor from the ground. A figure like a burning meteor shot out from Scorchsteel Fortress, carrying a suffocating pressure, and landed precisely in the center of the super-heavy area designated for extreme training not far away.
"Look at the lazy disbelief in your eyes; I see doubt."Trixie raised her head, her gaze burning as she looked toward that strong, majestic red iron dragon body radiating heat and metallic aura, and said: "Then watch closely! Open your eyes wide and see clearly how our Lord of Molten Iron tempers himself! Soon, you will understand that what you should envy most is not the powerful strength he now possesses, but that will—more stubborn than the hardest steel, more dazzling than the sun in the sky!"
Hearing this, the young dragons instinctively turned their slightly skeptical eyes toward the super-heavy training area.
At the same time.
They saw the red iron dragon Garoth suddenly flap his wings, his massive body instantly lifting off the ground and hovering. Then, with a clean and sharp reversal, he adjusted his body into a vertically inverted posture while decisively pulling in his broad wings.
When his inverted, fierce and imposing dragon head was less than a meter from the ground.
Whoosh—
Two incredibly broad giant wings snapped open fully like battle flags.
Fierce air currents carrying flying sand and stones radiated out violently! The powerful wind pressure even made the young dragons watching from a distance barely able to keep their eyes open.
When their vision finally broke through the blowing sand and dust to clearly see the red iron dragon's current movements, all their breathing involuntarily hitched.
Astonishing!
They saw the red iron dragon's body, heavy as a mountain range, now standing steadily on the solid ground in an unbelievable handstand pose, supporting his entire terrifying weight solely on his wing bones.
Every fold on the tough wing membrane seemed to be bearing unparalleled tremendous pressure, trembling slightly; the knotted muscles where the wings connected to his majestic torso emitted a nerve-grating "creaking" tension sound, as if countless wires stretched to their limit were groaning.
Under the increasingly shocked, nearly petrified gaze of the young dragons.
The red iron dragon steadily landed, his four powerful dragon claws digging deeply into the ground. Immediately after, he pressed his wings tightly against his broad back, and his thick, powerful tail, like a living giant python, flexibly moved along the curve of his back upwards, finally using the tip of his tail to hook onto the base of his own formidable dragon horns.
His entire body, from neck to tail, seemed to form a closed loop.
The next second.
That seemingly clumsy, sluggish, heavy-as-a-mountain body burst out with unbelievable resilience and agility, coiling up like a spring. Dragon scales scraped and collided violently against each other, sparking countless tiny flames. When his snout almost touched his strong tailbone, his entire massive dragon form was nearly compressed into a sphere.
Bang—!!!
The coiled dragon body, like a giant bow drawn taut by a god and then released, generated a terrifying elastic force from the muscles linking head and tail. His body shot straight into the sky like a sudden arrow, burning into an orange-red meteor from air friction, trailing long smoke as it crashed deep into the clouds, before steadily descending and returning to the ground.
His scales opened and closed slightly, emitting astonishing high temperatures, clashing violently with the cold air and steaming up dense, fog-like white vapor.
He slowly rose upright, fully extending his giant wings and powerful dragon arms.
He stretched out fully, extending that fierce, imposing, extremely strong... yet revealing a breathtakingly beautiful and powerful dragon body.
Without the slightest pause or rest, he began another round of training within the super-heavy exercise area.
Every movement seemed almost impossible to the young dragons, yet he performed them perfectly and full of power, shocking the observers' hearts.
"I really want... to experience the feeling of being completely overwhelmed and trampled by such a body..."
White Dragon Trixie extended her crimson tongue and licked her lower jaw with desire, her gaze firmly locked on Garoth, not concealing the surging heat and possessiveness within.
She had long coveted Garoth, but knew deeply that the other party simply looked down on her relatively "slender and weak" white dragon body.
Immediately, Trixie sharply turned her head, transforming the unbearable restlessness and slight frustration in her heart into another form of "motivation." Her gaze swept over the young dragons beside her like a whip.
"Did you all see that? Now, who still thinks they have reached their limit? Who still dares to complain that their training intensity is too high?!"
White Dragon Trixie swung her tail, creating a sound that ripped through the air, and opened her huge mouth to reveal a smile that was both cruel and excited.
"Now, it's time for your 'impact resistance training'! Line up one by one and come obediently await my lashing."
Before her words faded, her tail covered in hard scales had already whistled out like a steel whip.
"Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!"
Dull, loud cracking sounds rang out one after another, landing precisely on each young dragon. Instantly, their scales were shattered, skin split and flesh torn, leaving bloody marks.
However, perhaps strongly stimulated by the red iron dragon's superhuman will and powerful body, an unprecedented yearning and expectation to grow stronger grew in the young dragons' hearts.
Even enduring the white dragon's merciless whipping, they only clenched their sharp teeth, swallowed their painful roars back into their stomachs, endured silently, their eyes burning with the flames of unwillingness and desire.
Elsewhere.
Garoth, in the midst of his extreme training, naturally also noticed the commotion of White Dragon Trixie "training" the young dragons.
But he merely glanced over, his dragon pupils showing no ripples, then withdrew his gaze and continued focusing on his own training, showing not the slightest intention to stop it.
The reason dragonkind can stubbornly exist and thrive across many planes and worlds lies in their extremely strong adaptability to various extreme environments.
Even if other dragons don't possess Garoth's heaven-defying evolutionary talent and cannot match his efficiency, day after day of targeted training is absolutely immensely beneficial for them.
Strength, speed, defense, endurance... these basic attributes can all be significantly improved through persistent training.
Surpassing Garoth might be a distant, unattainable dream, but surpassing those other lazy clansmen who only know how to sleep and plunder is absolutely a certainty.
Unfortunately, many dragons are born dominated by lazy natures, stubbornly believing that just by eating, sleeping, and waiting for time to pass, their strength will naturally grow. Therefore, they severely lack the precious awareness of autonomous training.
White Dragon Trixie herself is a perfect example.
She knew deeply that Garoth's strength was inseparable from his day-and-night, nearly self-torturous training, and she had also tried to imitate his methods.
But that bone-deep pain and boredom quickly wore down her enthusiasm, making her unable to persevere.
In the end, she simply gave up on self-training altogether.
After all, for her, applying this "harshness" to other dragons was much simpler and more fun than demanding perseverance from herself.
From another perspective, having a "dutiful" supervisor and "special training officer" like the white dragon is actually a good thing that offers more benefits than drawbacks for the growth of these young dragons.
It allows them to master power more quickly in this perilous world where the strong prey on the weak, possessing the capital to protect themselves and even become strong.
Meanwhile.
At the Estonian Great River on the southern bank of the convergence lands.
The wide river surface, brushed by a gentle breeze, rippled with layer upon layer of fine waves. Under the afternoon sun, it shimmered with countless tiny golden lights, presenting a intoxicatingly beautiful, sparkling scene.
Several merchant ships with deep drafts sailed unhurriedly along with the gentle rolling of the water, their bows slowly adjusting direction as they approached the river waters of the convergence lands.
"Young man, I'm really curious,"
The captain of one of the merchant ships, a weathered middle-aged man, leaned on the gunwale and looked at the youth standing before him, his tone carrying puzzlement and a trace of worry.
"Why are you going to the convergence lands? That place... in the eyes of most people, is not some safe and friendly destination."
The youth being questioned was named Alberto, looking approximately twenty years old.
He had fair skin, a handsomely nearly perfect face that always wore a brilliantly sunny, highly infectious smile, and dazzling golden shoulder-length curly hair that fluttered lightly in the wind. He wore simple leather armor suitable for action, with a rolled-up map, a leather water canteen, and a rather sharp-looking short knife neatly tucked at his waist—the standard adventurer's outfit.
A few days ago, when Alberto accidentally heard this fleet's destination was the convergence lands, he proactively sought out this captain, politely requesting a ride.
The captain naturally demanded compensation from him.
Alberto then showed a slightly apologetic smile and frankly stated he was currently short on funds.
Normally, without tangible benefit, the captain would never agree to take a stranger aboard. It was against practice and posed potential risks.
However.
When he met Alberto's clear, sincere, seemingly starry-sea-containing azure eyes, for some reason, he inexplicably nodded and exceptionally agreed.
"I've heard—"
Alberto gestured to his adventurer attire, his smile still brilliant, but with a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "—that the convergence lands today seem somewhat different from the chaotic and dangerous place rumored in the past."
He paused, his gaze turning toward the increasingly close shoreline bathed in sunlight ahead of the bow.
"As you can see, I am an adventurer filled with passion for the unknown. I am always filled with irrepressible curiosity for those seldom-visited lands shrouded in mystery, moreover... the convergence lands seem to be undergoing some peculiar changes, which makes it even more worth seeing for oneself."
He changed tack, asking the captain with just the right amount of thirst for knowledge.
"You seem to be a regular here, not your first time entering the waters of the convergence lands. Do you know why this land is undergoing such change? What force is reshaping the order here?"
Under the gaze of the youth's seemingly magical eyes, the usually silent, mind-his-own-business captain suddenly felt a strong desire to speak welling up inside him.