novelraw Chapter 324: The Sky-Flying Big Cat Garoth
Chapter 324: The Sky-Flying Big Cat Garoth
Ser Wilderness, Sky Pit Territory, deep within the Iron Dragon Nest.
“Dominic Blue Dragon Clan—originally I thought they were the most likely potential allies. Their strength is sufficient, and their way of doing things leans toward order. It’s a pity I could never offer them what they truly want, something big enough to sway their interests.”
Iron Dragon Matriarch Leticia’s voice echoed through the cave, laced with obvious regret.
She and Garoth had already discussed concrete cooperation details, and now their conversation turned to other potential partners in the wilderness.
Besides.
She had earlier learned from Garoth that this red iron dragon offspring had actually formed an alliance with a gold dragon.
That news felt utterly incredible, even somewhat absurd to her.
A red iron dragon born with chaotic tendencies, and a gold dragon born for justice, order, and goodness—how on earth did the two mix together?
If this pairing were spread around, any intelligent race across the Ser Wilderness and even the wider continent would think it was the drunken fabrications of some troubadour.
“Dominic Blue Dragon Clan—let’s not consider them for now.”Garoth shook his head. “There are some potential conflicts between me and them. In the future, there’s a significant chance we could stand on opposing sides.”
“Potential conflicts? What kind?”
Leticia tilted her massive, scale-covered head slightly and asked.
The Ignas Dragon Cluster was growing larger by the day; taking in stray young dragons was not something that needed to be kept strictly secret.
Garoth carefully chose his words, looked at the Iron Dragon Matriarch, and said slowly, “I think forcibly expelling offspring while they’re still young—letting them fend for themselves and be culled by survival of the fittest—is an old tradition that can indeed select for strong, resilient individuals, but it also causes many dragons with excellent talent to die young due to bad luck or lack of resources.”
Hearing this, Leticia reflexively scratched her hard neck with a claw tip but made no sound.
This method of raising was common among the Five-Colored Dragons; she had practiced it herself.
There was no accusation in the red iron dragon’s tone—only stating a fact.
“Therefore, I made a decision.”
“For those young dragons struggling to survive under the wilderness’ fangs, desperate to live—”
“As long as they are willing to follow the cluster’s rules, regardless of their lineage, the Ignas Dragon Cluster will give them a chance—provide necessary shelter and basic cultivation.”
“Of course, this does not come without cost.”
“What I do is also based on interest. They must repay the favor by serving the cluster—contributing to the group.”
Garoth calmly explained his philosophy.
Leticia pondered for a moment. “I’ve heard Dominic Clan’s blues mention that in recent years some unruly young dragons quietly left without notice.”
Her mind sharp, she looked at the red iron dragon before her.
“Are you saying those little ones who betrayed the Dominic Clan are now curled up under your wings?”
Facing the Iron Dragon Matriarch’s piercing gaze that could seem to probe the soul, Garoth did not flinch. He nodded steadily, his great head covered in coppery-red and black iron scales inclining.
“Yes. Right now I have four dragons in their adolescent stage, and they come from the Dominic Clan.”
Within the rapidly expanding Molten Iron Tribe, they could not yet be called mainstays.
But dragons who had grown into adolescents already played important roles in the tribe, taking part in management and combat.
Leticia lowered her head in thought for a moment and said, “That sounds like something that might be reconciled.”
“The Dominic Clan has always placed practical benefits first.”
“If you’re willing to take the initiative to negotiate and show sufficient sincerity or compensation, there may be room to maneuver.”
She offered a relatively conservative suggestion.
Garoth did not entirely agree.
“The blues do value benefits, but they will not easily tolerate betrayal,” he said.
“Otherwise, with their oppressive control, if they do not mete out sufficiently harsh punishments to betrayers, the dragons at the bottom—those whom they have long suppressed—would without exception begin to think about betraying and fleeing.”
The red iron dragon spoke coolly, analyzing the pros and cons.
“Taking the initiative to negotiate might make the Dominic Clan concede under certain conditions.”
“But that also means I must offer them such enormous gains that they would swallow their pride and ignore the loss of face.”
“Instead, I prefer to let them weigh the choice themselves: is it worth going to war with the entire Ignas Dragon Cluster for a handful of escaped adolescent dragons? Based on their reaction, I will then decide whether to fight or make peace.”
Setting aside the other adult and young dragons in the Dominic Clan for the moment, their clan leader—a blue dragon who had lived more than three hundred years—was a foe to be taken seriously.
Garoth had already understood this from accounts by Heriam and others.
However, if he were still the adolescent red iron dragon who had once slept and worried constantly about such threats, he might have felt anxious about potential Dominic incursions. Now, the situation was different.
A three-hundred-year-old adult blue dragon would likely have an average life level around 17.
Considering he was not a loner but the leader of a large blue dragon clan with vast resources and accumulations, it’s reasonable to estimate the leader’s life level might be pushed to 18.
Garoth, cautious by nature, habitually overestimated opponents slightly.
With that thinking, the cluster leader’s life level might at most be 19—unlikely to reach 20. If the other side had extraordinary talent and potential, there could be a slim chance of 20, but no further. Otherwise, the Dominic Clan would not be so obscure, would not fear the chaotic red dragon Gorthax, and would not have rejected Leticia’s earlier cooperation.
Of course, the adult blue dragon’s level would not be low either.
Garoth would not rashly pick a fight with such a high-level dragon.
But he also had a clear recognition and confidence in his current strength and did not feel intimidated.
With age and the rapid rise of his own power, the Garoth who once acted preemptively to eliminate potential threats had become steadier and more reserved; he no longer let fear determine his actions.
Even so,
his enemies would do well to pray silently not to take actions that truly threatened or unsettled him.
Otherwise, if they crossed his line, the consequences would be severe.
For example: the Albert family.
While Garoth slept, that renowned count family in the Raymond Duchy quietly disintegrated.
Once members of its private army learned of their true origins, under General Wolfbar Rod’s leadership, they first suppressed their anger, feigned normalcy, then used assassinations, puppet support, and internal division to completely destroy the Albert family’s rule from within—leaving it in pieces.
All of that stemmed from the Albert family making Garoth uneasy.
Back to the present.
“The Dominic Clan does not yet know about this. We can wait until the potential conflict becomes clear before deciding how to handle it. But in any case, my dear Garoth, as ally and kin, I will steadfastly stand with you.”
Leticia raised her massive dragon head and said this solemnly.
As time passed, dawn brightened outside the nest and morning light tried to pierce the thin mist above the wilderness.
After a long night of in-depth talks with Leticia, they had preliminarily finalized the alliance’s cooperation details and a basic joint strategy for dealing with the red dragon Gorthax.
Soon after,
Iron Dragon Sorog would attempt to rebuild the bloodline connection, integrating Iron Dragon Matriarch Leticia into the Ignas kinship telepathic network.
With Sorog’s current mastery of spiritual energy, he could construct a connection across a generation of bloodlines.
Theoretically, Sorog might even try to contact the red dragon Gorthax through bloodline sensing, but that adult red dragon—utterly deranged—would most likely violently shred any spiritual thread attempting to connect to him, never giving an opportunity to form a link.
After a brief farewell, the red iron dragon spread his wings and, under the increasingly bright sky, transformed into a falling star that flew toward his direct territory in the Ser Wilderness—the Ximu Domain.
After some time,
the lively, increasingly prosperous outline of Ximu Domain appeared in Garoth’s dragon-pupiled vision.
However, descending in full dragon form would be too conspicuous and flashy.
Ximu Domain was no longer the obscure wilderness outpost it had once been.
It had developed rapidly and was quietly being watched by many interested powers.
Garoth did not want to reveal his whereabouts or status too early; retaining some mystery might grant a surprise advantage at a crucial future moment.
So,
over a patch of dense woodland still some distance from Ximu Domain’s outer sentries,
with an almost imperceptible shimmer of Transformation,
an incredibly large black cat—so massive and robust it defied common assumptions about cats—silently appeared and soon landed on a rooftop at Ximu Domain’s edge.
Its muscles bulged under glossy black fur; through the sheen the cable-like muscle bundles twisted and slid smoothly and expansively with each limb movement!
It moved with light, nimble agility among the packed rooftops and quickly reached the center of Ximu Domain.
It was Garoth using Transformation.
He chose a rooftop with good sightlines, crouched in a relaxed posture at the edge, lowered his gaze, and watched the streets below begin to wake, becoming lively and prosperous.
At that moment a hiss came from beside him. Garoth slightly turned his oversized cat head and glanced toward the sound’s source.
A mottled tabby cat stared at this uninvited guest with wide eyes, alert.
The tabby arched its back and hissed threateningly, twisting its head and baring its teeth, clearly treating Garoth—the oversized black cat—as an intruder attempting to steal its territory.
After a short silence,
the titanic black cat mimicked the gesture and, from its throat, emitted a low hiss that belied its size.
Its sinewy muscles tensed and swelled at once as its back arched; its overall posture was majestic and terrifying, like a miniaturized ferocious lion-tiger, projecting an invisible pressure.
The tabby, which had tried to show dominance, was instantly terrified by the overwhelming presence; its fur stood on end. It could no longer care about territorial dignity, let out a short shriek, tucked its tail, and leaped down from the roof, fleeing without looking back.
Having driven off the would-be rival,
Garoth withdrew his gaze satisfi ed and remained crouched, surveying his domain.
At that moment,
a subtle ripple formed in the air beside him.
The next instant, a tall human figure appeared without warning, light-footed and crouching on the roof beside the black cat, as if he had been there all along.
People passed below but none seemed to notice the strange pair.
“Good day, exalted Lord of Molten Iron.”
The newcomer bowed slightly and lowered his voice.
Garoth turned his muscular cat head to the figure beside him.
What entered his eyes was the once Flower Knight, now acting as the lord of Ximu Domain—the Flower Lord,
Shire Hynes.
Being a competent professional in strength, despite a decade having passed he still looked youthful, with no dramatic changes to his face—only a bit of carefully trimmed stubble along his jaw and cheeks, adding a few mature lines to his handsome features.
Garoth’s gaze flicked and he used Detection Art.
But around the Flower Lord there seemed to be an invisible barrier blocking his probing vision.
That meant Shire’s life level was higher than his; Life Level Detection Technique can only scan targets of the same or lower level.
Feeling the probe,
Shire blinked and relaxed his instinctive defenses, exposing his life aura to the Detection Art.
[Life Level: 19]
Garoth saw the Flower Lord’s current level; unsurprisingly, it was indeed very high.
“Shire, you’ve progressed a lot—your life level is edging toward legendary.”
Garoth said in a leisurely tone: “I’ll give you a chance to challenge me. If you win, our previous contract will be void. How about that?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Flower Lord shook his head.
He offered a bitter smile. “Life level is only a reference. I know full well I am not a match for you, and I will not indulge in vain hopes of a successful challenge.”
“If we actually fought,” he added, “I expect it would go like before: dodging and hiding, the wolf fleeing for a time, then you taking the opportunity to capture and finish it.”
Garoth chuckled: “You’re too modest. How can you know the result if you never truly challenge me?”
Shire remained unmoved and replied softly: “I’m just stating facts.”
Garoth did not pursue the topic further and let Shire report on Ximu Domain’s condition, especially whether any unusual incidents merited attention.