Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 54: Faerie Dragon

Garoth seemed visibly irritable and in a bad mood at the moment.

Samantha ducked her head slightly and stopped talking, turning to leave.

Garoth lay down again, spreading his massive wings while letting his tail droop lazily. He narrowed his eyes, enjoying this rare moment of peaceful rest as he basked quietly in the sunlight.

Several days later.

The sun's rays dyed the sky a deep gold as fierce winds howled through jagged rock formations, whipping up fine grains of sand.

Garoth folded his wings slightly, hovering calmly amidst the flowing winds and drifting clouds. His dragon pupils gazed downward, surveying the hills below.

A herd of Thunderhorn Rams came into view, using the surrounding boulders to grind their horns.

These creatures resembled mountain goats, with massive curved horns wreathed in dancing electricity. Each time they lowered their heads to grind against stone, small arcs of lightning would spark outward.

At the herd's center, one ram the size of an elephant slowly raised its head.

Unlike the blue-white electricity of ordinary members, its horns shone with a liquid metal-like dark silver, covered in intricate lightning-patterned markings. Whenever it sharpened its horns, the entire basalt boulder would split with spiderweb-like scorch marks amid piercing sizzling sounds."Today's target is you."

This was Garoth's first hunt after three days of rest.

His enormous wings spread wide, casting a shadow that enveloped the entire herd.

Garoth made no effort to conceal his presence, diving down like a crimson bolt. The shrieking wind torn apart by his wings announced his arrival, startling the rams.

The ordinary Thunderhorn Rams instinctively scattered to flee.

But as their leader raised its head, crackling electricity bursting between its horns, the herd regained composure.

One by one, the rams lifted their heads, horns glowing with electricity before simultaneously firing skyward.

Countless silver serpents of lightning wove together into an electric net that rose upward to intercept Garoth's descent.

With a flap of his wings, Garoth came to an abrupt halt just before colliding with the net, then executed a near 90-degree turn - displaying agility far surpassing ordinary dragons.

The lead ram growled, its horns releasing dense chains of lightning that arced through the air chasing Garoth's figure.

These quasi-spell skill lightning chains weren't light-speed fast, but remained terrifyingly swift.

Rather than diving straight for the kill, Garoth flexed his massive yet nimble body through continuous sharp turns and dashes, dancing between the lightning chains with sparks flying from his wingbeats.

Graceful as a startled swan, fluid as a swimming dragon.

Not a single lightning chain, despite their renowned speed, could touch him.

As the lead ram's magical energy dwindled with every missed attack, fear and frustration took hold. Abandoning offense, it signaled the herd to scatter while it too began fleeing with lightning-charged hooves moving like the wind.

But how could this speed compare to Garoth's?

He dove straight down, laser-focused on the herd leader.

Just as the lead ram kicked off with its hind legs, Garoth's claws precisely clamped around its spine, lifting it skyward.

At this close range, the struggling ram unleashed thick currents that erupted from its horns, sending countless silver lightning serpents dancing across Garoth's scales.

Yet Garoth remained unfazed.

Beyond slight numbness, he felt no pain or burns.

Regular self-training with his lightning-enhancing tail ring had boosted his resistance - this level of damage barely affected him.

His movements stayed precise.

With a crisp snap, his claws severed the ram's spine.

Garoth continued hunting, specifically targeting magical beasts with quasi-spell skills to test and train his resistances through their attacks, accumulating progress bit by bit.

As the sun dipped westward behind mountain peaks,

Garoth returned to Needleleaf Valley amid the radiant glow of sunset.

Thud! Thud!

Two massive, half-dead beasts crashed down as Garoth dropped them from the sky before his Rampage Bear sparring partners.

"These are your rewards!"

His deep voice carried from above, leaving the bears both surprised and delighted.

Not only did Garoth not require his subjects to hunt for him - after satisfying his own hunger, he would gift his surplus kills.

Being his sparring partners was grueling work.

The bears often finished sessions utterly exhausted and heavily injured, their hunting efficiency drastically reduced.

Considering himself no tyrant, Garoth provided these bloody feasts to help them recover faster for continued training.

After circling once more,

Garoth folded his wings and descended before a boiling sulfur pool, plunging straight in.

Sizzling... The water reacted violently against his scales, bubbling aggressively while emitting corrosive fumes that left the surroundings barren.

Completely at ease, Garoth closed his eyes and fully submerged himself.

The metal-particle-rich pool's intense corrosion and high heat proved perfect for his steel-forged scales and thick hide.

His Explosive Scales gradually turned furnace-red, but through careful control avoided detonation.

As the water flowed between scale layers with hissing corrosion, metallic particles gradually adhered to and tempered his lower armor plating. Garoth simply rested in pseudo-sleep within.

Later,

Under night's cover at the valley's edge,

After ensuring no intelligent observers were present,

Garoth resumed specialized training for his little dragon.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each impact from the red iron young dragon,

Wood chips flew as the tree trunk became increasingly perforated, finally creaking and toppling sideways.

Exhaling, Garoth sensed some improvement in his little dragon's endurance - at least the soreness felt lesser than last time.

"Maybe try drilling stone?"

The bold thought surfaced but was quickly dismissed in favor of gradual progression.

Suddenly,

Just as he prepared to leave,

Garoth detected faint rustling behind him - the sound of scales brushing against leaves. He whirled around instantly.

Eyes met in mutual staring.

The figure hiding in the bushes froze mid-retreat.

Small as a kitten with a slender, delicate build, its body was covered in dazzling multicolored scales dominated by reds, blues and purples. Butterfly-like wings at its sides emitted faint silver-grey luminescence in the dark.

Its appearance was peculiar, its size minuscule.

But one thing was undeniable.

This was a dragon.

A faerie dragon.