The Ser Wilderness was as hot as ever, as if it were trapped in an eternal summer.
The land was dry and dusty, while bright, scorching sunlight poured down from the high sky, illuminating Garos as he circled overhead and revealing his current appearance.
Compared to a year ago.
Garos had grown by nearly half a meter. It was not a huge increase, and his body was now roughly six and a half meters long.
However, his physique had clearly become more massive. His limbs were thick and powerful, while his back and chest were solid and robust. Even his neck looked thick and sturdy.
The entire dragon was immensely strong. Even through his scales, one could still sense the powerful, rigid muscles beneath, each block seeming to have been cast from steel and forged from iron.
Dragons with physiques as powerful as red dragons and Gold Dragons...
There were few Hatchling Dragons whose strength could rival Garos's.
Garos's current physique and bearing were practically equivalent to Tyson among dragons of the same age.
And that was not all.
The greatest change was undoubtedly Garos's pair of dragon wings.
First was their wingspan, which had reached a full fifteen meters—more than twice Garos's body length. Moreover, his wing membranes were covered in fine, overlapping dragon scales that looked, at first glance, like layered feathers. As they cut through the air, they perfectly guided the airflow, preventing it from becoming an obstruction and instead turning it into propulsion.
The flesh membrane connecting the roots of his wings to his torso, which had originally caused him the most pain when he flapped, had grown three times thicker.
The folds overlapped like steel tempered through a hundred rounds of forging and hammering.
A layer of exceptionally sharp, metallic-looking material had also grown along the wing edges. It could easily tear through the air, and slicing through living creatures was no problem. It made the entire dragon wing resemble a gigantic guillotine blade, radiating a dangerous, fearsome sharpness.
Over the course of this year.
Strength training had been secondary. Whenever he had free time, Garos had tempered these dragon wings practically day and night, and his efforts had paid off.
After an evolution not long ago.
Garos could now soar through the sky using only his wings, and his speed in flight far surpassed that of other dragons of the same level.
His Life Level had not changed and remained at Level 7.
However, Garos felt that he could now defeat his former self twice over.
I need to verify the results of this evolution.
Then it's decided. You, Earth Violent Bear.
His gaze pierced through the clouds as Garos lowered his eyes to survey the ground below. He saw a super-giant bear dwelling among the hills, standing eight meters tall and covered in yellow-brown, steel-needle-like fur. It looked like an ordinary brown bear that had been enlarged and enhanced.
The Earth Violent Bear before Garos was Level 8, but it was in no way comparable to the Level 8 Petrified Lizard from before.
The Earth Violent Bear was one of the stronger monsters. It even had a chance of reaching the Legendary Realm.
Not only did it possess a powerful body, but it had also mastered many Spell-like Abilities of the earth element.
Although it could not compare to dragonkin, it was strong enough to crush the vast majority of monsters at the same level.
Among the fir trees on the hills below.
The Earth Violent Bear was scratching an itch by rubbing its back against a century-old Iron Fir, sending flakes of bark flying like a torrential downpour.
His goal this time was to verify his current strength, not to hunt.
Garos did not choose to launch a sneak attack. Instead, he directly released Dragon Might, announcing his arrival to the Earth Violent Bear.
He flapped his wings, mixing the airflow with Dragon Might. The combination almost formed visible ripples as it swept over the Earth Violent Bear.
The Earth Violent Bear had been rubbing itself with a blissful expression, but it suddenly froze. Its fur then stood on end like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and it raised its head toward the sky.
In its field of vision, a black dot was rapidly enlarging as it dove toward the ground.
Scales, horns, claws, tail, and wings. It was unmistakably a giant dragon! However, judging by its size, it could not yet be called giant. It was only a Hatchling Dragon.
The Earth Violent Bear had a high intelligence. It did not feel fear when facing a Hatchling Dragon. Instead, it rose upright on its hind legs and roared furiously at Garos.
The earth and stones before it suddenly bulged upward, condensing into chunks of rock.
It raised a paw and stomped down. Five or six huge rocks burst into the sky and smashed toward Garos.
Facing the first rock, Garos neither dodged nor evaded. He lowered his head and rammed into it.
Crash!
The rock shattered like tofu beneath the impact of Garos's horns. The fragments that scraped across his scales afterward could leave behind nothing more than faint dusty marks.
Four rocks remained.
Although he could have smashed them directly, Garos did not charge head-on again.
His enormous, powerful wings swept upward, whipping up waves of wind. His entire body seemed to dance through the air as he passed between the four rocks, his movements agile and graceful like a swimming dragon.
Strength, speed, defense. Garos did not want any weaknesses and sought to develop in every aspect as much as possible.
After dealing with the Earth Violent Bear's first wave of attacks, Garos approached the upper side of the densely wooded hill, with the Earth Violent Bear directly below.
He folded his wings and dove down the slope, plunging through the treetops.
Oak branches scraped against his scales with a harsh rasp. Wherever his blade-like wing edges swept past, rows of ancient trees were severed at the roots like stalks of wheat.
The Earth Violent Bear roared and slammed its massive paws against the ground. Ten earth spikes burst from the soil.
Yet the Hatchling Dragon suddenly folded its wings and curled up. Its tail, wrapped in broken branches and leaves, swept across and smashed the earth spikes in half. The flying chunks of rock embedded themselves in tree trunks like bullets.
The Earth Violent Bear plunged both paws into the ground, lifting a three-meter-thick slab of rock and hurling it at Garos once again.
Garos advanced instead of retreating. His wing edge bit into a crack in the stone slab, and with a fierce flap, he sent the entire slab flying a hundred meters into the sky.
Sunlight passed through the suspended boulder, casting mottled shadows below. Seizing the opportunity, the Hatchling Dragon launched an attack from the boundary between light and darkness. In an instant, he closed in on the Earth Violent Bear, thrust out both claws, tore through its fur and flesh, and sank them deep into its shoulder. He then flipped through the air, forcibly hurling the nearly twenty-ton beast away like a broken sack.
The rolling bear smashed through seven oak trees before finally losing its momentum.
Roar!
It howled furiously, then suddenly grabbed a section of broken wood and hurled it into the air.
Yellow-brown Magic Energy wrapped around the broken branch. As it neared Garos, it exploded into a torrential rain of spikes that shrieked through the air toward him.
Garos's expression remained calm. His enormous wings suddenly spread wide and swept across the sky, scattering the wooden spikes.
A few occasionally struck his body, but they still had difficulty piercing his hard dragon scales.
Only places such as his eyes required a little caution.
"It's my turn!"
The Earth Violent Bear had used many Spell-like Abilities in one breath and was now panting heavily, while the Hatchling Dragon showed no sign of tiring as he accelerated toward it with powerful wingbeats.
Heavy Rock Armor!
Watching the approaching dragonkin, the Earth Violent Bear planted its feet, raised its head, and roared furiously. The earth and stones around it suddenly seemed to come alive, surging like flowing water. They climbed up its legs and spread across its body almost instantaneously, condensing layer by layer into hard armor with granite patterns.
At the same time, Garos's right wing spread flat. Like a guillotine blade, it tore through the air with a piercing shriek and slashed toward the Earth Violent Bear.
The Earth Violent Bear simultaneously raised its thickest armored forearm and smashed it toward the dragon wing.
Clang—slash!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out first, sending dazzling sparks flying. Then came the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through flesh.
The Earth Violent Bear let out a howl of agony. The armor on its forearm was torn apart almost instantly by the dragon wing, and the tough fur, flesh, and bones beneath were all cleaved through.
As Garos and the Earth Violent Bear crossed paths, half of the bear's forearm flew into the air, spraying blood.
Before you continue