novelraw Chapter 365: will surely surprise the enemy!
Chapter 365: will surely surprise the enemy!
Chapter 365: It Will Definitely Surprise the Enemy!
When the red iron dragon stepped slowly out of Scorchsteel Fortress, what met his eyes was the fortress’s heavily layered defenses.
A bitter gale howled and rampaged over the valley crest, whipping up snow that filled the sky.
Yet those loyal guards, whether the low-circling flying dragons or the silent, motionless ogres....stood like iron firs rooted to the earth. No matter how wind and snow struck their heavy armor and thick fur, their bodies did not waver in the slightest.
The most conspicuous among them were the Earth Rampage Bears, exceptionally large and hulking, their bodies clad in rune-studded heavy armor.
These magical beasts were the earliest followers of Garoth. After decades of breeding and flourishing, their population had multiplied many times over.
In the fertile environment of Dragon Valley, their physical development far exceeded that of their kin in the wasteland, and their intelligence had noticeably increased.
The Rampage Bears were rarely sent out to war; they were more like the valley’s royal guard.
If any enemy dared invade this sanctuary, these tooth-and-claw armored Rampage Bear guards would—like a thunder strike—make the invaders personally taste the true meaning of “bear power.”
“My lord, you have finally awakened.”The Rampage Bear leader Mobel rushed forward at once.
He rose to a standing posture, brought his forepaws together in a bow-like gesture, and delivered his greeting with practiced flattery: “Your towering form seems able to support an entire mountain, your majestic aura is more fearsome than the storm! Dragon might grows by the day, Lord of Molten Iron!”
Garoth’s gaze landed on Mobel, carefully appraising this earliest follower.
He was Garoth’s first acquired subordinate.
As the new generation of Rampage Bears gradually grew stronger and became a main component of Dragon Valley’s defenses, the years had left clear marks on this original bear leader.
Teeth that were once bright and sharp had now yellowed slightly; the once glossy, dense fur had lost its sheen and looked a bit dry; and on that bear face, numerous conspicuous white hairs had quietly begun to appear.
Mobel had quietly passed the prime of his life and was, inexorably, moving into old age.
“With your current condition, barring accident, you probably have another ten to twenty years of life,” the red iron dragon said. “Try undergoing the dragon vein transformation; that can extend your life and give you more time to continue serving me.”
The Rampage Bear leader rubbed his huge paws anxiously on the ground upon hearing this.
He hesitated for a moment before replying in a low voice: “I am grateful for my lord’s grace....but I feel that following the natural order of life and death and ending naturally may also be a fine choice.”
“For beasts like us, being able to die peacefully in our sleep is already a rare blessing.”
Garoth nodded slightly, acknowledging the choice.
“The Dragon-Forge Modification ritual is different from the risky dragon vein transformation; its success rate is much higher.”
He added, then his tone shifted: “However, if your heart is set on following nature and ending as you please, then I will grant your wish.”
Upon hearing that, Mobel flinched.
Although he had never heard of the Dragon-Forge Modification ritual, even pawing it over in his mind, he could tell this had to be something the Dragon Lord bestowed that would bring enormous benefits.
“Wa-wait! Great Lord of Molten Iron!”
The expression under his muzzle instantly morphed from reluctance into obsequiousness. The massive body hunched down and practically prostrated himself, his furry bear backside pressed extremely low.
“You were finally thinking straight!” he said. “Letting nature take its course is obviously wrong. If I can keep this still somewhat robust body to continue serving you, to charge and fight for you until the very last moment when you again need my old bones at the front line.....that is the smallest honor and wish of your humble Mobel! Please, my lord, grant me this boon!”
The red iron dragon lifted a foreclaw and, neither hard nor soft, gave Mobel’s rear a kick that sent him rolling several times.
“Enough. Go sit over there and stay put.”
Garoth shook his head as he said it.
“All right! I obey my lord’s command!”
Mobel, who knew the Lord of Molten Iron very well, rejoiced. After steadying himself, he really did curl his body into a huge furry ball and rolled, round and comical, to the edge of the guard formation.
Huff! Huff!
Two dragon silhouettes split the wind and snow in the sky and spiraled down.
They were the patrolling white dragon Trixie and the brass-silver dragon Deborah. They folded their wings and landed beside Garoth.
“Garoth, Garoth!”
The diminutive faerie dragon Vira popped out from behind Deborah’s broad wing and circled quickly around the red iron dragon’s massive form.
She said, “You look a lot nicer this way!”
“When you returned before, your aura was so terrifying—Vira kept thinking you were about to eat us all!”
Deborah examined Garoth closely.
She noticed that the bloody hue that had previously clouded the red iron dragon’s eyes had now faded.
She asked, pleased, “Is your condition back to normal?”
Garoth shook his head slightly. “Not fully restored, just temporarily suppressed. As time passes, the anger in my heart will gradually build again. I need to periodically find ways to vent.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the tiny faerie dragon.
“For example, eating a faerie dragon to tide me over. Perhaps that tender, juicy taste will lighten my mood considerably.”
Vira, who had been sneaking up behind Garoth to pull a prank, froze instantly.
“Ha, hahahaha....Garoth, you really know how to joke—this joke isn’t funny at all, right Deborah?”
She gave a forced laugh and zipped back behind the brass-silver dragon, peeking out with only half her head, pretending indifference as she admired the blizzard.
“Venting your anger? I have a suggestion,” Trixie the white dragon spoke up.
She sounded a little eager: “With your current status and strength, Garoth, you could freely humiliate every creature present, including us great dragons.”
“I guarantee that when you see them trembling and utterly humiliated beneath your majesty, you will feel pleased and your anger will naturally dissipate.”
If she had Garoth’s position and power, even without the frenzied flame influence, she would want to do exactly that.
Just imagining the scene relaxed her claws and filled her with an indescribable thrill.
Garoth turned his head and stared at the white dragon, asking, “You propose that and you aren’t afraid I’ll be the first to make you an example? After all, you offered the idea.”
Upon hearing that, the white dragon’s breathing thickened a few notches.
Without thinking, she answered, “Insult me as you please. I would never resist nor harbor any complaint.”
Garoth fell silent.
He had nearly forgotten that this one was not only a sadist but also showed strange masochistic tendencies; for many forms of humiliation, she might not merely tolerate them—she might even enjoy them.
“I have an idea too!”
Vira mustered courage and flew out to propose again: “I can teach Garoth all sorts of fun pranks.”
“For example, painting ridiculous doodles on sleeping creatures, or stuffing specially prepared tickle powder up their nostrils....watching them hop madly but be helpless—that will absolutely make you super happy!”
A faint blood vein appeared at the corner of Garoth’s eye; his inner anger almost rose because of it.
I’m acting so normally, why are so few of my kind actually sensible?
“Your suggestions are good.”
“Next time, don’t suggest them again.”
Garoth raised a claw and rubbed the side of his massive brow, feeling weary.
Finally, he fixed his gaze on Deborah.
Under Garoth’s stare, Deborah met his eyes and said, “You probably already planned how to vent your anger; you don’t need me to suggest anything.”
“Whatever you decide, I can accompany you.”
Garoth nodded. He still felt Deborah the most reliable and considerate.
“By the way, there’s an important outside development you might not know about while you were asleep.”
Deborah seemed to have remembered something and said, “The dragon domains have been unsealed. Those elderly metal dragons who had been silent for a while are now active again.”
“My parents have returned to the convergence lands and are currently in Red Maple Valley.”
Garoth gave a faint reply, a flicker of thought crossing his eyes.
The unsealing of the dragon domains....he wondered if the Gold Dragon King had succeeded in stepping into the immortal realm?
If he failed, the dragon race would likely undergo internal turmoil soon.
But such affairs at that level were far from what Garoth needed to consider now.
He turned to Deborah and asked, “When your parents returned, why didn’t they ask you to go back and reunite with them?”
Deborah shook her head gently.
“They did come to Dragon Valley once.”
She explained, “Besides visiting and catching up, my father Edri seemed to want to speak with you personally. At the time you were still asleep, so he told me to notify him when you woke; he said he would come again.”
“Also, I didn’t tell my parents much about what happened to you in the wilderness.”
Garoth pondered: “After decades apart, didn’t your father suggest you go back to live in Red Maple for a while?”
Deborah answered naturally: “Of course he suggested it.”
“But I thought, since we both live in the convergence lands, meeting is not difficult; there’s no need to specially return to Red Maple.”
“Besides, I told him clearly that while you were asleep, Dragon Valley’s defenses were relatively thin and needed reliable guards; it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to leave now.”
Garoth fell silent for a few seconds.
He could almost picture the look on Edri the mature silver dragon’s face when he found out his precious daughter refused to go home to guard another male dragon....that expression probably wouldn’t be very pleasant.
If Garoth were in the silver dragon’s shoes, he might erupt with frenzied flame right on the spot, burning with fury.
As for what Edri wanted to discuss with him in person....Garoth had a bad feeling it might not be pleasant news.
He couldn’t help feeling a little troubled.
He wasn’t worried about getting into a fight with the mature silver dragon. With his rapid growth, his strength was no longer what it used to be.
What truly concerned him was something else.
“If it really comes to blows and I can’t control my strength and emotions and beat the silver dragon too badly.....that scene might not look good.”
Garoth shook his head inwardly and reflected quietly.
“Also, when I discovered you were awake, I let my father know. He should arrive soon.”
Deborah added.
Well, with events at this point, he would just have to adapt as things came.
After chatting a bit longer, he spread his great wings and said, “I slept too long; this body is nearly rusty. I need to stretch and exercise properly.”
With that, the red iron dragon flapped his wings and flew to the valley’s training ground, opening the heavy weighted gear.
His body suddenly felt the weight, but Garoth’s face remained calm.
“The effect of this gear has already weakened considerably for me,” he thought as he felt the burden. A notion flashed through his mind: It’s time to have Samantha craft a special alchemical heavy armor tailored for me.
What he wanted was not defense or stat boosts.
On the contrary, Garoth hoped this armor would act as a form of restraint and compression, keeping him under constant weight so that training would be woven into every moment of daily life.
That way,
in some future fierce battle, the enemy, after arduous effort and heavy sacrifice, finally shatters what seems like an unbreakable heavy armor and thinks victory is theirs, exhausted and about to fall,
they will discover that the moment the armor breaks, he feels as if a heavy yoke has been removed; his aura does not weaken but instantly surges dramatically.
That will give the enemy an unforgettable surprise.
Thinking of this, Garoth couldn’t help but curl his colossal maw into a tight smile.
The pleasure from that idea slowed the rise of his inner anger by a little.
“Later I’ll use the Bloodline Connection to ask about the tribe’s developments in the wilderness, and also discuss the heavy armor with Samantha.”
He gathered his focus and began the basic stretching and loosening exercises.
Garoth spread those massive wings nearly to their limit. Then his enormous, powerful body began a spine-centered twisting motion beyond the norm, astonishing to behold.
Thick scales rubbed together with each twist, spitting dense red-hot sparks and producing teeth-gnashing creaks.
Soon his body was contorted into an exaggerated pose: a thick neck almost twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, limbs and torso joints bent into shocking angles.
And this was only the beginning of his warm-up—mere simple stretches.
His frame was mountain-strong, yet each muscle was full of explosive power and startling resilience; not dead muscle, but possessing unmatched toughness and exceptional flexibility.
After warming up, he began truly intense, high-load physical training.
Over time he progressively entered various enhanced states.
Frenzied State, Bloodburst State, up to the ultimate Crimson Lotus Form that made the surrounding air twist and boil. His blood seemed set aflame, roaring through his veins, vivid lotus-like patterns appearing on his skin, radiating scorching heat.
When he first mastered Crimson Lotus Form, once activated it could not be stopped until the power was exhausted.
But through repeated familiarity and adaptation, Garoth could now, while not in combat and in a focused state, use his strong will to gradually guide and quell the burning dragon blood within, then safely shut down Crimson Lotus Form.
This allowed him to precisely control training intensity and duration.
If he could later toggle Crimson Lotus Form on and off even in battle, that would be ideal.
After a long time, Garoth finally ceased his movements.
His scales glowed a dark, heated red like a branding iron, heat waves billowing outward from him and driving the snow and cold from the training ground.
He took a deep breath.
The glowing embers and lotus flame patterns on his skin faded like tidewater, his armor seemingly tempered by a thousand hammers, returning to a deep, restrained black-red.
“One day the command of Crimson Lotus Form will, like Frenzied State, become a power I wield at will.”
Garoth adjusted his long breaths, thinking: “And in this process, the evolution of the dragon blood itself will most likely be the key.”
His evolution never came from nothing or all at once; it was closely tied to his state and experiences.
He continuously trained and pushed Crimson Lotus Form’s limits, and in those burnings his dragon blood underwent some deep adaptation and metamorphosis.
Although the exact direction and outcome of that evolution could not be precisely predicted,
one thing was certain: after evolving, there would be a deeper, tighter connection between his bloodline and Crimson Lotus Form.
Garoth shook his large head and refocused on the frenzied flame dwelling in his consciousness, carefully sensing the subtle changes in his anger.
“Huh? It seems....while I concentrate on training, the rate at which anger accumulates has clearly slowed, and overall may even have decreased a bit?”
Observing the changes in his own emotions, Garoth made an unexpected discovery.
Just as Trixie and Vira suggested, investing himself in what he truly loved and gaining inner pleasure and satisfaction was indeed an effective way to vent negative emotion.
Continuously forging himself and feeling his strength grow day by day, stepping toward greater power.
That was something Garoth genuinely loved and found joyful.
“Good. In everyday life, focused training can slow the accumulation of anger.”
“When the anger reaches a certain threshold, go hunt demons and have a thorough vent.”
Garoth’s thinking about how to effectively control the rage bred by frenzied flame and how to better wield this double-edged sword slowly became clearer and more complete.
He was gradually adapting.