novelraw Chapter 317: Bloodburst Advancement—Crimson Lotus Form, Marching into the Wilderness and the Dragon Mother
Chapter 317: Bloodburst Advancement—Crimson Lotus Form, Marching into the Wilderness and the Dragon Mother
Garoth stretched his wings and stood amid the howling wind and snow.
The bone-piercing cold wind, laden with ice crystals, lashed against his rugged, powerful dragon body, but it could not make him sway in the slightest.
The previous siege by the dragon host had not been fruitless.
On the outer layer of his sturdy Frostburst Scales were clearly imprinted many scars and dents of varying depths.
Because Garoth had deliberately triggered his Frenzied State during the fight to stimulate his potential, the Frostburst Scales covering his body had massively shattered and cracked, almost flaking away entirely.
Beneath the broken Frostburst Scales were not fresh, tender new scales.
Instead there was a tougher inner primary scale layer, covered with countless deep, battle-hardened patterns.
However, this hard base scale, which should have displayed a deep black-red hue, was now flashing with an intense, searing crimson—like a branding iron freshly taken from a furnace—dazzling to the eye.
Even the pristine snowflakes, before they could actually touch the scale surface, vaporized the instant they came within a short distance, disappearing without a trace under that invisible high heat.
The scales covering Garoth were clearly radiating an extremely terrifying thermal energy.Yet strangely, centered on him there was no surging, rippling heatwave; the surrounding air was not visibly warped by high temperature—visually, almost nothing seemed unusual.
By naked-eye observation alone, it was difficult at first glance to judge the terrifying heat contained within that enormous dragon body.
This was completely different from his youth phase.
Back then, when Garoth’s Frostburst Scales tended to shatter and the internal heat energy accumulated, there would be a very violent, visually noticeable overflow of energy that significantly impacted the surrounding environment.
But now, all the turbulence of that energy had been restrained and contained.
Garoth extended a claw and gently stroked his solid right chest, feeling the Dragon Pearl beating steadily within.
“The energy storage and stability of the Dragon Pearl have both improved qualitatively. The heat it temporarily absorbs and converts no longer runs wild and dissipates so easily, nor must it be all released at once anymore.”
He carefully sensed the subtle internal changes of his body and understood in his heart.
At the root, all these changes sprang from this evolution.
In the past,
there had been only a vaguely formed Dragon Pearl. While it excelled at absorbing energy and efficiently converting it into heat, the converted heat leaked away like water through a sieve at an astonishing speed.
Therefore, he was forced to release it as a destructive Breath of Destruction the instant the heat accumulation was complete, otherwise it was a huge waste and a burden on the body.
But now,
the Dragon Pearl may not have had a earth-shattering improvement in conversion efficiency, yet its ability to preserve and restrain heat had taken a qualitative leap.
It still could not permanently store all heat forever.
But the rate at which heat energy was lost had slowed by tens to hundreds of times.
“I can still, as before, use heat to amplify my Breath of Destruction and unleash a more powerful annihilating blast.”
“But now I have another option: I can temporarily retain this heat to continuously strengthen my body during battle, not just use it as one-off breath fuel—part for the breath, part for the body.”
Thud, thud, thud! Thud, thud, thud!
The heavy, drumlike heartbeat did not cease.
Garoth was still maintaining the Bloodburst State that greatly elevated his bodily attributes.
He pondered briefly, then experimentally and deliberately guided the release of the heat the Dragon Pearl had absorbed and converted.
In an instant, the pure, majestic heat reacted in some strange way with his dragon blood, already boiling and churning from the Bloodburst State!
The red iron dragon’s scales all trembled slightly, emitting a low, dense buzzing.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clusters of dark-red flames, condensed as if they were substantial, erupted from his crimson scales without warning.
These flames did not surge and spread chaotically; rather, as if they were living liquid, they flowed rapidly along the battle-hardened patterns on his skin and the vivid blood-vein network emphasized by the Bloodburst State—spreading, streaming, tracing—like countless heated filaments covering his whole body.
Countless fiery filaments crisscrossed, weaving into a blazing net that enveloped him.
In the end,
the blazing lines perfectly fused with the deep crimson patterns, as if innumerable vivid, lifelike fiery lotus blossoms had burst into bloom across his huge, rugged dark-red dragon torso—resplendent and deadly.
His aura rose further with that change.
The air in the surrounding area finally began to violently warp and blur; a terrifying heatwave formed a tangible shockwave and spread outward, instantly vaporizing all the accumulated snow in a wide radius around him.
The ground turned black and cracked, and even the air was ignited, erupting into roaring flames out of nothing, creating a realm of destruction where only fire burned.
Standing in the center of that domain, the red iron dragon looked like a walking calamity that scattered annihilation wherever it moved.
Garoth tightened his claws slightly and felt a force far stronger than the mere Bloodburst State surging and roaring inside him.
Evidently, the heat energy absorbed and converted by the Dragon Pearl could indeed deepen the enhancement of the Bloodburst State.
However, with each pounding, drumlike beat of his heart and every passing second,
Garoth also felt an extremely heavy sense of burden, as if he had returned to the hardship and pain of the first time he forcibly entered the Bloodburst State—an old, long-unfelt sensation.
As he gradually evolved and adapted, the standard Frenzied State now posed very little burden; to him it was like ordinary aerobic exercise and could be sustained for a long time.
The Bloodburst State, however, was like high-intensity anaerobic training.
Though violent, with his powerful physique and will he could maintain it for a decent duration.
As for this new state—infusing the Bloodburst State with Dragon Pearl heat energy—
he felt every muscle and every bone was under tremendous strain,
the tough scales covering his body shook violently under the energy’s impact, even emitting tiny, unbearable cracking sounds in places!
It was almost like burning himself recklessly to exchange for extreme power.
“This state is more dangerous than any previous form.”
Garoth clearly sensed his condition.
Burning life was not merely a metaphor—he could palpably feel his dragon blood boiling, roaring, and burning fiercely inside.
“If used at the wrong time, if it isn’t ended promptly or if I can’t defeat the enemy, this state will place me in a fatal, irredeemable danger.”
“But—”
He changed his thought and relaxed considerably: “—I still have the Dragon Pearl’s stored second life as the final safeguard.”
“Hmm, then it’s fine. I can use it boldly.”
Garoth thought. This powerful form was most likely the result of this evolution rather than a random coincidence, which is why it fit him so well and could take the Bloodburst State one step further.
“To distinguish it from the ordinary Bloodburst State,”
“this extreme state that further fuses heat energy for an all-or-nothing gamble—let’s call it the Crimson Lotus Form. It will be my final trump card to use without reservation when I decide to fight to the death.”
Whoosh!
Garoth inhaled deeply, as if he wanted to draw the burning air around him into his lungs, then raised his head and suddenly opened his jaws toward the empty sky.
The Breath of Destruction pierced and evaporated the lingering wind, snow, and dark clouds in an instant.
Garoth used this to vent and expend the heat energy roiling inside him, actively stabilizing the Crimson Lotus Form.
As he expelled the annihilating breath, the living, flaming lotus patterns wrapping his body rapidly dimmed and extinguished, and the heavy, drumlike heartbeat gradually calmed and weakened.
The scorching crimson scales that had covered him, like a heated branding iron, cooled—the color slowly settling back into their deep black-red original hue.
Garoth’s aura finally returned to calm.
Having done all this, he looked at the Gold Dragon Alberto.
“You seem to have woken up early.”
Garoth asked, “Why didn’t you take part in the fight when the dragon host attacked me? If you had joined, the dragon host might have had a certain chance of success.”
Nonsense! Pure nonsense!
Alberto inwardly realized he must never trust Garoth’s lies.
This guy could not be reasoned with by normal logic; otherwise he would end up being the one completely duped down to his undergarments.
At this moment, most of the dragons involved in the siege were still genuinely unconscious.
But considering the brass-silver dragon Deborah, the faerie dragon Vira, and some very young hatchling dragons—spectators still circling above and not yet in youth phase,
“Well, mainly because lying on the ground just felt so comfortable.”
The Gold Dragon’s voice sounded sincere: “So I thought I’d lie a little longer.”
“I originally planned to make a grand entrance at the crucial moment and turn the tide dramatically.”
“But who could’ve guessed—”
He pointed to the dragons lying all over the ground and said, “—they all just lay down so quickly?”
“As a result I didn’t even get a chance to make my entrance. You can’t blame me for that, right?”
He shook his head regretfully.
“I see. However, you’re not late to show up now.”
Garoth said, “Considering the heavy debt you carry—those glittering jewels and gold coins, those rare magical materials that get used up every time you acquire them to pay what you owe—”
“I feel a little sorry for you, so I’ll give you a chance.”
“From now on, for every wound you successfully leave on me, I will reduce your debt by an amount proportional to the wound’s depth. Conversely, if you can’t do it, as a small incentive you’ll only need to pay an extra debt equal to half the wager’s value.”
“How about it? Sounds like a great deal, right?”
Hearing that, Alberto instinctively felt a flicker of hope.
He sized up the red iron dragon carefully and keenly noticed that the other had seemed to perform some extremely dangerous experiment a moment ago—his scales were now covered with subtle fissures, and the aura he exuded felt somewhat hollow, appearing weaker and far less inscrutable than before.
It seemed possible to defeat him with relative ease, let alone leave a few cuts on him.
“All right—”
Alberto almost responded instinctively; his maw had already opened.
But at the same moment, memories of countless past attempts where confident gambles ended in crushing, debt-adding defeats rushed over him, dousing his impulse in an instant.
“No!”
He forced himself to halt the near-spoken agreement and sharply changed tack.
“Thanks for your kindness! But I’ve rested long enough. My vows are urging me to begin today’s training immediately! Other matters can wait for later!”
Alberto said righteously while already starting to march in place, doing warm-up movements as if he couldn’t wait to start fulfilling his oath.
At those words, a trace of regret flickered across Garoth’s eyes.
This Gold Dragon had been taken advantage of so many times that he was no longer as easily fooled.
Like the Ignas cluster, he had grown through repeated lessons and was different from his former self.
Over the years, due to the strict vows, Alberto had been forced to work steadily, day after day refining and training himself. His temperament had been polished, losing much of its previous impulsiveness and becoming noticeably more steady. His obsessive, narrow-minded tendencies had improved, and he had become much harder to deceive—no longer so easily fired up.
The contents of the Conquest Oath and the Crown Oath had not changed.
But Alberto no longer displayed the blind arrogance of old; his understanding of his own power had become clearer.
“Nevertheless, there’s still opportunity.”
Garoth observed the gold dragon whose eyes still flickered despite the refusal and thought to himself.
“Alberto’s current age should be in his seventies, not far from the sleep of youth. When he goes through that slumber, his life level will almost certainly leap forward. Given a Gold Dragon’s nature, his confidence will swell to an unprecedented peak then.”
“At that time, him taking the initiative to challenge me will be practically guaranteed.”
“I’ll propose another big wager then.”
“Until that point, if he can repay his current debts, let him relax for a while. I’m not some demon after all.”
With that thought, a smile appeared on the red iron dragon’s face.
On the other side,
Alberto was rapidly calculating inwardly.
“Thanks to the harsh training forced by my vows over these years, my life level is now at 16—it already rivals an ordinary adult Gold Dragon.”
“Once I pass the slumber and enter adult phase, my life level will probably jump to 18, maybe even approach 19! That’s near the level of late-adult Gold Dragons.”
“Then will come my chance to redeem myself and completely turn the tables.”
“I can formally challenge Garoth and win back everything I lost—the treasures and costs included.”
Thinking of that glorious future, Alberto couldn’t help but grin broadly with expectation and longing.
For a time, the two dragons gazed at each other across the distance, both wearing smiles of very different meanings.
The atmosphere felt amicable.
However, for now it was only temporary; in the end there could be only one dragon laughing the loudest.
Soon after, Alberto, to conceal his schemes, beat his enormous wings and flew upward, then began practicing the Earth Pounding training he had learned from Garoth—smashing himself down to grind and train.
Not long after, the dragons Garoth had knocked unconscious slowly came around.
Although they had expected the siege to fail, the speed and inevitability of their defeat made them more deeply aware of the gulf between them and the Lord of Molten Iron, deepening their awe of Garoth.
Meanwhile,
Alberto, dizzy from the Earth Pounding set, crawled out of the huge crater he had made, shook his still-spinning head, looked more serious, and said, “Garoth, I’m heading back to the Ser Wilderness.”
“Since the Federation’s civil war fully broke out, that place has become more chaotic and exciting day by day.”
“From time to time, powerful creatures that had been dormant deep in the wilderness seize the chance to rise, showing their claws and attempting to seize territory and resources.”
“Monsters rarely stop fighting among themselves, and the principalities and kingdoms aligned on different sides constantly send out elite forces to strike each other’s strongholds and supply lines. Occasionally, large monster clans or tribes will interfere and loot in the chaos.”
“Now the Ser Wilderness is almost like a pot of boiling porridge—chaotic but full of opportunity and excitement.”
Alberto said eagerly, “I can’t wait to soar over that land and fight alongside you.”
As a challenger he felt Garoth’s oppressive weight.
But as a comrade in arms, Garoth’s presence would be as reliable as an immovable steel mountain, giving any partner complete peace of mind.
After a brief exchange, Alberto did not linger. He beat his wings and his massive body soared, breaking through the perennial snow and clouds of the convergence lands, streaking like a brilliant golden line toward the Ser Wilderness.
Watching the Gold Dragon depart, Garoth’s gaze slowly swept over the surrounding dragons, now awakening in varying conditions.
After considering for a moment, he said in a deep voice, “The Molten Iron Tribe’s banners have long been planted in every corner of the convergence lands, but this is only the beginning.”
Garoth spread his huge wings and pointed toward the Ser Wilderness.
“A vaster wilderness full of endless opportunities awaits our conquest, awaiting the iron wings of the dragon host to rule!”
“When your states have fully recovered, the Molten Iron Tribe will formally march into the wilderness! Our claws will crush any obstacle daring to stand before us, and our roars will become the new law of those lands.”
All the dragons present felt a surge of blood and heat in their chests.
They raised their heads in unison and unleashed deafening, excited, triumphant roars that tore through the howling snow and reached the heavens.
Listening to the rising chorus of dragon cries, Garoth’s heart remained very calm.
His proclamation had been made to boost the host’s morale; he understood deeply that the wilderness was vast and that while it provided the best opportunities, it also held many dangers—not a place for reckless action, but one for steady advances.
“The Ser Wilderness will be a huge cake; I’m not yet able to devour it all.”
“The Blue Dragon host mentioned earlier, the plague dragons, and my red dragon father… are all formidable enemies, not to mention other powerful beings beyond dragons.”
“Trading benefits for reliable allies will alleviate many burdens and troubles.”
He contemplated deeply, his thoughts drifting to the large pit territory where he had lived when he was still weak.
“The Iron Dragon Mother… she should still be in the wilderness. Maybe I can recruit her.”
“With her age and bloodline, her life level should be at least 16, and perhaps even 17. Compared to me now she’s not vastly stronger, but she is no weakling.”
Garoth resolved that he should go see the Iron Dragon Mother.
It was not to show off his present strength, nor for vain pride, but purely for practical reasons—to better develop in the wilderness.