novelraw Chapter 334: Mysterious Mad Fire, Iron Dragon Girl: Is this Gorton?
Chapter 334: Mysterious Mad Fire, Iron Dragon Girl: Is this Gorton?
Chapter 334 Mysterious Frenzied Flame, Iron Dragon Matriarch: Is That Gordon?
The clearing of the undead lair and the advancement of the Dragon-Forge Modification ritual were officially handed over to black dragon Seraphina.
The green dragon Ludwig would also take part as an important presence.
After respectfully receiving the leader’s instructions in Needleleaf Valley, the black dragon did not linger. Soon she beat her wings, leapt into the sky, and became a streaking shadow as she flew off to carry out her new task.
Garoth patrolled the warm valley for a short while and finally found a slab of stone, huge, smooth, and scalding from the sun.
He settled down on it and lay there.
After a satisfied low growl, the red iron dragon stretched his massive body and basked in the gentle afternoon sunlight.
At the same time, his great claws scooped up glittering gems and precious metals, and with the sticky, scorching black oil, he chewed them like ore. The crisp cracking of hard materials under dragon teeth sounded distinctly.
He was slowly recovering the strength his body had lost and the weakness caused by Crimson Lotus Form and the lich’s curse.
Though he closed his eyes as if dozing lazily in the sun,Garoth used the invisible bond deep within his bloodline to initiate a telepathic contact with the iron dragon Sorog, who was some distance away.
“Are you there?”
“Here.”
Almost instantly, Sorog’s concise, steady reply came through.
Receiving the response, Garoth asked directly with his mind, “Sorog, have you established a stable Bloodline Connection with Mother?”
The iron dragon on the other end gave a slight nod, and a confirming mental ripple arrived.
“It’s established and stable. We can communicate at any time.”
After saying that, his mental fluctuation turned a bit heavier, and he continued, “Following your suggestion, I tried to establish a bloodline link with our biological father, the red dragon Gorthax, hoping to sense his state.”
“But the result… was just as you expected.”
“My threads of spiritual energy barely brushed the edge of his thoughts through bloodline resonance before being instantly burned away by a force… a madness, chaos, indescribable—like a fierce, pure flame of brutality.”
“That spiritual force, like a tangible blaze, was extremely abnormal and felt very dangerous to me.”
“If I hadn’t reacted quickly and forcefully cut the link, that strange extinguishing flame might have backfired along the spiritual connection and engulfed me.”
Garoth, who had been feigning sleep, abruptly opened his eyes. His pupils narrowed into vertical slits as thoughtfulness appeared in his gaze.
“Could this be the so-called frenzied flame Mother once mentioned?”
When Garoth last met Iron Dragon Matriarch Leticia in the Sky Pit Territory, he had heard her speak of some past events regarding the red dragon Gorthax.
According to the matriarch’s description:
Gorthax’s notorious madness and chaos were not entirely innate.
At first, although he leaned toward a chaotic alignment even in his bones as a chromatic dragon, he still knew how to weigh risks and retreat or advance appropriately. It was through his great power and his quick wits when force failed that he gained fearsome renown in the Ser Wilderness and secured a place for himself.
But later, something happened that fundamentally changed him.
From that point on, Gorthax gradually—and seemingly irreversibly—grew more chaotic and frenzied, severing kinship ties and eventually even frequently striking his mate, the iron dragon Leticia, becoming increasingly impossible to reason with.
The cause was this:
One day, a gigantic meteor from beyond the sky, ablaze with flames and accompanied by a ripping roar and piercing extinguishing light, fell into a region of the Ser Wilderness.
The impact site was not far from Gorthax’s lair.
Gorthax, who first noticed the earth-shattering commotion, flew there at once.
Relying on his strength, he approached that ominous meteor up close and even touched its scorching surface with his claw.
At that moment, an astonishing transformation occurred.
The strange flames burning on the meteor seemed to find superior fuel and detached from the rock, entering his body.
Gorthax felt an overwhelming exhilaration.
The flames’ power exceeded his own red dragon fire—wilder, hotter, and far more destructive.
With continued tempering and fusion from the meteor’s fire, his body toughness and flame potency leapt forward far beyond the limits of a normal red dragon.
What excited him even more was that he awakened a precious ancestral bloodline; the rush of power consumed him.
However, alongside the rapid growth in strength, his mental frenzy and chaos deepened in tandem, becoming increasingly uncontrollable.
The Dragon Legacy held no record of such a weird flame.
Leticia, witnessing Gorthax’s dramatic change, named it frenzied flame.
When she realized that Gorthax’s growing irritability and loss of reason likely stemmed from the frenzied flame, she repeatedly urged him to find ways to suppress or expel it, to restore his sanity.
He resolutely refused.
The red dragon, who had spent his life pursuing and worshipping absolute power, wholly accepted the change brought by the frenzied flame.
He understood his transformation but embraced it willingly—more proactively and zealously than resisting.
After that, Leticia lost all hope for Gorthax.
Gorthax’s increasingly mad actions drew the Lothrian Federation’s campaign against him. After being grievously wounded, he had to leave the Ser Wilderness, and the two officially parted ways.
Leticia later returned to the meteor’s impact site to investigate, only to find that the enormous meteor had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
The crater left by that meteor was exactly where she now dwelled in the Sky Pit Territory.
More precisely, that great pit was formed when the meteor carrying the frenzied flame struck the ground.
Leticia, partly for practical reasons, wanted to eliminate Gorthax—an unstable hazard who might bring endless trouble.
Partly because she was haunted by the violent change the frenzied flame had wrought in Gorthax, she chose to reside in the Sky Pit Territory, hoping to find clues.
But after an incredibly long time, she found nothing.
The crux wasn’t the crater itself but the meteor that had mysteriously disappeared.
“The frenzied flame that drove Gorthax mad, and that mysterious, vanished meteor—”
“These two things are probably no ordinary objects.”
“Without legendary-level power, perhaps you don’t even qualify to investigate the truth. It’s best not to pry.”
Garoth reined in his wandering thoughts, pushed that curiosity aside for the moment, and slowly closed his eyes again.
As for whether there was the slightest possibility—say, pouring the entire Molten Iron Tribe’s resources into searching for that vanished meteor at any cost, or finding some method to change the current Gorthax and reverse the frenzied flame so he could be reasoned with and coexist—such possibilities existed in theory.
But their chances of success were minuscule.
Garoth and the red dragon Gorthax were uneasily acquainted at best; they had never even met.
There was no shred of father-son affection between them.
For him to expend substantial time, resources, and energy on something with such negligible expected return would be extremely unprofitable to Garoth, who had inherited iron dragon practicality.
Moreover,
even if a way existed to restore Gorthax, the matriarch’s account suggested Gorthax himself would likely be unwilling.
He did not change under duress—he embraced the frenzied flame and became what he is by choice.
Power and madness—he stepped onto that path of his own accord.
“Sorog, open the bloodline network.”
Garoth set the matter aside and said, “Mother’s formal alliance with us hasn’t been fully announced to the others. Let’s use this opportunity to have a private conversation within the Ignas family.”
He did not worry that Leticia might seize control of the conversation.
Dragon society never measured respect by age or seniority. Only absolute strength decided everything.
“All right.”
Sorog answered simply.
Then, using his spirit as a hub, he successively linked into the minds of other kin, building an invisible mental network.
Within this unique psychic space, each dragon could clearly perceive reflections of the others’ consciousness.
It was a projection on the mental plane, largely mirroring each one’s true physical form.
Soon,
the consciousnesses of four dragons—Garoth, Sorog, Samantha, and Leticia—gathered first in this psychic realm.
Gordon, who was stationed far to the south in the Lothrian Kingdom, needed more time to establish and stabilize such a long-distance mental link.
“Sorog, Samantha.”
Leticia’s projection turned toward the two offspring. She keenly sensed the resilience and strength in their spirits—
a depth not common among young dragons, enough to rival many adults.
And indeed,
Sorog and Samantha had both reached life level 15.
Under normal circumstances, that level would typically be reached only by adult iron dragons or adult red dragons.
Having grown alongside a unique kin like Garoth, their progression could not compare to Garoth the monster, but both had already far outpaced the average for their species.
“Mother.”
Sorog’s response was as concise as ever.
“Mother, long time no see.”
Samantha’s projection curled her lip into a combative smile. She added, “When we meet in the real world next time, I want to spar with you, Mother, to measure firsthand how far I still fall short of an elder-stage adult dragon.”
“Fine.”
Leticia readily agreed. “I’d like to know what level you’ve reached.” Then she looked to Sorog. “Would you be interested as well?”
“Pointless sparring wastes energy. I’m not interested.”
Sorog’s projection remained unruffled.
Simply from observing Leticia’s projected mental concentration, he had calmly drawn his conclusion.
Against a level 17 white dragon, there might be room to maneuver.
But facing a level 17 iron dragon?
Zero chance.
“I’m here!”
At that moment, a heavy, resonant roar, as if carrying an echo, sounded through the mental network.
Then a particularly solid, robust projection coalesced.
Leticia instinctively fixed her gaze, and her huge dragon pupils widened slightly.
What did she see?
An iron dragon whose thick scales seemed stretched taut to reveal a broad silhouette!
In body width, he did not pale in comparison to Garoth, but he was not the muscular type. Instead, he was layered with unusually thick rolls of fat, appearing exceptionally massive.
However, a careful look revealed:
beneath that fortress-like fat layer, the contours of hard, powerful muscles rose faintly.
Within that seemingly clumsy body, a truly terrifying foundation of strength clearly lurked.
The young iron dragon Gordon—life level 16.
He ranked third in presence, after Garoth and Leticia.
“...You’re… Gordon?”
Leticia’s mental fluctuation held disbelief and hesitation.
In her memory, Gordon had been the slimmest and least obviously gifted among her offspring.
But the projection before her looked different.
Had she not known this was a closed family meeting, she would hardly have recognized him.
“It’s me!”
Gordon’s projection answered proudly, then noticed Leticia. “Mother? Long time no see! You finally joined our Ignas Dragon Cluster? Sticking with Brother Garoth is the wisest choice!”
Gordon spoke cheerfully, with utter naturalness.
As the actual eldest, Sorog refrained from retorting.
Gordon wasn’t entirely wrong.
In terms of strength, Garoth was unquestionably the big brother; in birth order, Sorog was the eldest.
These were different hierarchies and did not conflict.
Leticia could not help but ask, “Gordon… how did you turn into… this?”
She was puzzled.
Gordon then briefly explained his special circumstances at the Lothrian royal court.
Although nominally a member of the dragon cluster, he lived far away at the human power center in the south.
“Mother, look, look carefully!”
Gordon’s projection puffed out his chest, showing the contours hidden beneath his thick fat layer. “Look at this body, full of power and substantial beauty! Aren’t you proud?”
It took Leticia a few seconds to calm her surprise before replying slowly, “Hmm… yes, it is certainly unique.”
Her tone carried complexity.
Her children each seemed to possess different traits and specialties.
Hearing that, Gordon nodded his massive head in satisfaction, swaying it.
Having chosen the Hundred Battle Dragon path, he had burned through large fat reserves during his previous dormancy.
Afterward, he remained indulgent in eating, consuming the royal court’s top-tier resources.
More importantly, deeply influenced and encouraged by Garoth, he began intense training. Gradually he became this fat-and-muscle build—firm, stout, and mighty.
Now Gordon’s appearance differed wildly from ordinary dragons.
Yet he no longer inspired ridicule; instead, his broad, fortress-like form projected an alternate kind of overwhelming pressure.
In sheer size, he was now the closest to Garoth, though his aura still lacked a touch of true ferocity.
“You iron porker, you finally look tolerable—less of a muddy puddle than before.”
Samantha’s voice, blunt and unsparing, snorted a laugh. “But that bragging about power and weight? You’re joking. At best, you just look like a giant, juicy cut of meat—more appetizing to enemies.”
Gordon didn’t explode in rage as he had when mocked in his youth.
Truth is a swift blade.
For Samantha’s baseless taunt, he only smiled placidly and replied, “Samantha, my foolish sister, your taste is still so shallow. I know you’re false-faced and secretly jealous.”
“Admit it—you admire my perfect, powerful physique.”
“Besides, my strength now has actually surpassed yours.”
Samantha flashed sharp fangs. “I’ll fly south eventually and beat you flat so you sober up.”
“Then come. I’ll be waiting.”
Gordon answered without backing down; he even sounded eager. “It’ll be a good chance to show you what absolute power feels like.”
Listening to the siblings’ familiar banter, Garoth spoke slowly, “Mother, Sorog, if Samantha and Gordon really fought now, who would have the better chance of winning?”
Leticia considered carefully and, based on her knowledge, answered, “I think Samantha.”
Life level doesn’t tell the whole story.
From Gordon’s own description, although he had received training at the royal court, he lacked the brutal experience of life-or-death battles—an apparent disadvantage compared with Samantha, who had scraped and fought her way through the wilderness and had much richer combat experience.
Furthermore, in mere ferocity and aggression, red dragons often outmatch iron dragons.
Sorog’s calm internal analysis also favored Samantha’s chances.
But instead of voicing his true thoughts, he nudged the debate with an oddly flat tone: “I think Gordon.”