Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 70: The Right and Wrong Uses of Scale Powder

Samantha descended from the sky in a circling motion.

Clutched in her sharp claws was a muscular wild bull-like beast, which she unceremoniously slammed onto the ground.

"My dear brother, I sensed you were about to wake up, so I went hunting in advance. You must be starving now? Here, have something to eat first," Samantha said.

This was unexpectedly thoughtful. Garoth gave the red dragon a surprised glance.

This wasn't the Samantha he remembered.

In truth,

During these past few days while Garoth rested to recover from his injuries, Samantha had been patrolling the skies and witnessed far too many powerful beasts and magical creatures that she couldn't handle alone. Her nerves had been constantly on edge, unable to relax.

When Garoth was around normally, she didn't feel it much - just peacefully studying alchemy, playing with ants, and doing whatever tasks Garoth assigned. Life was calm and easy, almost no different from being under the Iron Dragon Mother's protection.

Only when Garoth temporarily stepped back did she truly realize how reliable and secure his presence made her feel.

After devouring the wild bull beast, Garoth still felt unsatisfied. The gnawing hunger in his stomach remained."Pity there's no more black oil,"

"Otherwise, downing a can after waking from hibernation would prevent this ravenous hunger."

Ever since the black oil source disappeared, Garoth had been missing its taste intensely.

The substance wasn't addictive, but its benefits to Garoth made it impossible for him to ignore.

"What I really need is a stable channel to obtain black oil regularly," Garoth thought to himself.

For now, he'd settle for some Faerie Dragon scale powder to perk up his spirits.

When it came to mental stimulation and enhancement, the faerie scale powder was even more effective than black oil.

Garoth turned his head toward the Faerie Dragon Vira and beckoned her with a claw.

Since this wasn't their first time, Vira understood immediately. She flew above Garoth and fluttered her butterfly-like wings, causing scale powder to rain down in a shimmering cascade. Garoth opened his maw and inhaled, catching every last speck.

Buzz!

Instantly, it felt like a warm current shot from the crown of his head straight down his spine.

The world through Garoth's eyes sharpened into warm hues. His senses amplified more than twofold, his mind refreshed with unimpeded clarity of thought.

Garoth knew himself well.

Whether as an iron dragon or red dragon,

Neither left an impression of being particularly intelligent to others.

And this was indeed the case.

Garoth was fully aware that as a red-iron hybrid, his intelligence was thoroughly average - neither a significant advantage nor a weakness.

Terms like "brilliant strategist" or "genius" had nothing to do with him. Beyond his adaptive evolution talents, his greatest strength lay in restraining desires and negative emotions.

But under the influence of the faerie scale powder,

With thoughts racing and mind crystal clear, noticing previously overlooked details, Garoth couldn't help but feel:

—I'm incredibly smart right now.

"I should have saved the faerie scale powder for when studying the cliff serpent dragon's steam eruption,"

"It should be used for tactical thinking during battles, enhancing perception, excavating inherited spells from my bloodline, or beginning professional knowledge acquisition."

"Using it just for temporary mental stimulation is an extreme waste."

The newly brilliant Garoth rapidly analyzed this, his draconic pupils gleaming with intellectual light.

"Vira, give me more scale powder," he commanded.

The Faerie Dragon blinked, then continued fluttering her wings to release more powder.

Rather than using it immediately, Garoth stored the powder carefully within hidden crevices beneath his scales, ensuring he could access it whenever needed without requiring Vira's presence.

Moments later, Garoth beat his wings and shot into the sky to hunt for food.

"Tiny one, let me try your scale powder too," Samantha said curiously after Garoth left.

"Can't do. I'm Garoth's servant. I can't act without his permission," the Faerie Dragon shook her head, tone somehow sounding proud.

Samantha casually approached, then—when the faerie dragon wasn't looking—shot out her tongue to lick Vira's wing.

"Eek! What are you doing?!"

Now drenched in red dragon saliva, Vira quickly retreated.

She wasn't actually scared—she knew Samantha wouldn't eat her.

Meanwhile, after tasting the faerie powder, Samantha also felt her spirits lift and thoughts accelerate, experiencing newfound intelligence.

But she didn't use this opportunity to study alchemy.

Instead, she scurried to an anthill, her hyper-stimulated mind conjuring elaborate "Red Dragon Queen" scenarios so vivid they bordered on hallucinations, then began playing with the ants.

"Ancient Destroyer Ants awoken from primordial times! How dare you invade the territory of the Great Red Dragon Queen!"

"Hehehe, things just got interesting."

"So you're the King of Destroyer Ants? You fail to comprehend the gap in our power—face my draconic flames!"

Samantha was completely absorbed in her delusions.

The Faerie Dragon circled above, quickly catching onto Samantha's game and syncing with her wavelength before enthusiastically joining in.

Meanwhile,

Garoth soared across the skies, keen eyes scanning the land below.

After days of rest,

His explosive scales had fully regrown. These scales shed easily but also regenerated quickly. When not heated to extreme speeds, they appeared dark gray rather than glowing red, blending seamlessly with the pale blue wilderness skies.

Unless a creature possessed exceptional perception,

Few would notice the red-iron dragon soaring overhead.

Under the wilderness sun, a herd of steel-quill beasts wallowed in a muddy forest pond.

These boar-like creatures were far larger than ordinary swine—standing two meters tall at the shoulder and nearly seven meters long. Their thick metallic quills could both absorb attacks and be fired like arrows, while their bodies were armored in hardened tree sap and mud—clearly built for defense.

In this area, these quill-beasts reigned supreme.

When the herd charged together, other beasts and magical creatures scrambled to get out of their way.

Thus,

They rollicked carefree in the mud, playfully nudging each other.

Until an ear-splitting shriek pierced the air.

When Garoth beat his wings at high speed, the feather-like scales on the membranes guided airflow to produce a terrifying shriek like the grim reaper's arrival. The sound alone was enough to make most creatures tremble in fear.

The quill-beasts were no exception.

These "rulers" scattered in panic under Garoth's draconic might.

But it was too late.

The shriek signaled Garoth's full-speed descent.

Whoosh! He dove, claws clamping onto a massive quill-beast's back. The hardened armor shattered like a walnut shell under his grip.

His weight bore down as another claw smashed the beast's skull.

The tremendous force cracked the skull open.

The quill-beast convulsed once before going limp.

This level 7 beast had been instantly slain.

Rather than eating on the spot, Garoth carried the heavy carcass back into the sky. Soon after, the remaining quill-beasts regrouped without abandoning their territory.

The loss of one member

Wasn't enough to make them relocate.

Herds like these—along with thunderhorn rams, armored rhinos, land crocodiles—were plentiful around Needleleaf Valley, all excellent food sources.

When hunting, Garoth never fixated on one prey type, but rotated between them continuously.

Partly for variety in his diet,

But more importantly, to prevent any group from fleeing too far—ensuring sustainable hunting.

The meat-rich quill-beast finally satisfied Garoth's hunger.