"My Wing Slash at full speed was incredibly powerful. Even I probably wouldn't be able to withstand it with my own defenses."
Garos silently thought to himself.
The armor on the Earth Violent Bear was rock-like in texture, yet even harder than ordinary metal and steel. The armor on its arms was especially thick, and its fur, flesh, and bones were not fragile either.
Yet even so, Garos's dragon wing had severed it in a single stroke.
Throughout that brief exchange, he had barely felt any resistance or obstruction.
His body traced an arc through the low air. Garos's claws left long fissures in the ground as he steadied himself at the other end. Then, in the next second, his limbs bent slightly, and the muscle fibers beneath his dragon scales tightened like twisted steel wires, unleashing formidable strength.
His dragon wings beat, accelerating him.
Garos sprinted across the ground, each step shattering the earth beneath him. The blade-like edges of his wings cleaved through trees along the way. He charged toward the Earth Violent Bear once more with a momentum unlike that of a Hatchling Dragon.
This battle had mainly been meant to test the current strength of his dragon wings.
As for a self-sacrificing charging skill like Great Wilderness Dragon Fall, Garos had already mastered it with ease.
Intense pain surged from its severed arm. Faced again with a Dragonkin whose Dragon Might was overwhelming and seemingly unstoppable, the Earth Violent Bear's innate savagery vanished without a trace. Instead of roaring, it let out a whimper.
Then—
Garos, who was charging at full speed and intending to use his dragon wings to split the Earth Violent Bear in two, watched in astonishment as the bear let out a whimper and promptly sprawled flat on the ground. It timidly displayed its surrender, sticking its rear up while lowering its head, nearly burying it entirely in the soil.
Whoosh!
The Hatchling Dragon, almost upon the Earth Violent Bear, suddenly pulled upward.
Garos shot straight into the sky, changed direction in midair, and landed steadily after circling around. He did not choose to kill the Earth Violent Bear.
It sensed the fierce wind subsiding and the Dragon Might fading away.
The Earth Violent Bear cautiously raised its head and looked at the Hatchling Dragon walking toward it step by step.
"Wuu ah wuu lah!"
It whimpered, its eyes revealing an almost humanlike mixture of flattery and fear.
Magical beasts possessed relatively high intelligence. Magical beasts like Earth Violent Bears were even as intelligent as humans, making them intelligent creatures by nature, and they could naturally speak some Giant Language.
Giants were the enemies of Dragonkin.
As the saying went, your enemies always understood you best.
Dragon Inheritance contained Giant Language, and Garos could understand it.
Noble dragon, please spare me—this was roughly what the Earth Violent Bear had meant earlier.
"The inheritance says that Earth Violent Bears fear no death and dare to attack Dragonkin ferociously. I don't know about the others, but this Earth Violent Bear is rather different from the records. It seems Dragon Inheritance cannot be trusted completely."
Garos looked at the Earth Violent Bear thoughtfully.
"But the battle was too brief. I still haven't fully determined the strength of my dragon wings."
His eyes narrowed slightly, and a dangerous glint appeared in his draconic pupils.
The Earth Violent Bear keenly caught that glint and immediately shoved its head back into the dirt. It looked like an ostrich, its body trembling. In any case, kill me if you want—I won't look, and I won't resist.
Seeing it like this, Garos lost his desire to kill.
He did not yet have any retainers serving him. Perhaps he could subdue this Earth Violent Bear.
He stepped closer.
Garos reached out with a claw and lightly patted the Earth Violent Bear's head.
It first shuddered in fright, then raised its head and met Garos's calm, unruffled gaze.
"Choose to submit, and I can give you a chance to live."
Garos spoke in somewhat halting Giant Language.
"It would be my honor."
The Earth Violent Bear nodded rapidly like a pecking chick and agreed without hesitation.
Garos's strength had deeply shocked it.
An Earth Violent Bear capable of living alone in the Wilderness was not ignorant. Although it could not determine what kind of Dragonkin Garos was, it could tell from Garos's size that he was merely a Hatchling Dragon. That was why the Earth Violent Bear had acted so boldly at the beginning, without the slightest fear. Yet the instant they clashed, one of its bear arms had been severed. After a few more attacks, it felt certain it would die.
After a brief exchange, Garos learned the Earth Violent Bear's name—Mobel, a male Earth Violent Bear.
Having preserved his life, Mobel picked up his severed arm and pressed it against the wound.
Earth-yellow energy coiled around it, temporarily sticking and reconnecting it.
Earth Violent Bears possessed decent regenerative abilities. After recuperating for a while, the bear arm would still be usable.
"Are there any magical beasts nearby about as strong as you, or slightly stronger? I haven't had my fill yet."
Garos asked the Earth Violent Bear.
The Earth Violent Bear nodded and extended a bear claw toward the south.
"There is a Red Scale Python occupying territory in that direction. I have fought it many times, and neither of us could gain the upper hand."
As he spoke, a gleam flashed in the Earth Violent Bear's eyes, and his expression was full of malicious delight.
The Red Scale Python was his mortal enemy. The two had fought many times over territory and resources, and many of the old scars on the Earth Violent Bear's body had been left by the Red Scale Python.
"Lead the way."
Garos directly took to the air.
The Earth Violent Bear strode across the ground, running south with great strides. Under his guidance, Garos soon discovered the Red Scale Python's nest.
It was coiled around a giant cedar tree, its body nearly as thick as the tree itself, and its snake scales were fiery red.
Its Life Level was also Level 8, the same as the Earth Violent Bear's.
The difference was that the Red Scale Python was a ferocious beast with little intelligence.
Having locked onto his target, the Hatchling Dragon high in the sky tensed every muscle in his body while spreading his blade-like wings wide. With a howl, he dove toward the Red Scale Python.
Less than a minute later—
As his dragon wing swept past, the enormous head of the Red Scale Python flew into the sky. A rain of blood splashed over Garos, adding a few shades of ferocity to his appearance.
"Even a Level 8 ferocious magical beast cannot last long before me."
Garos shook his dragon wings, flinging the blood from them.
Although he could still fight above his level so easily, he did not feel smug or arrogant. Dragonkin were top-tier magical beasts by nature. Accomplishing something like this was only natural.
Life Level was merely a reference and could not truly measure combat power.
Garos kept firmly in mind that arrogance and conceit were the greatest original sins that killed Dragonkin. He could not lose himself because of momentary strength.
Besides, he could not be considered powerful. In this Wilderness, he merely possessed some ability to protect himself. He was still far, far from being able to act without restraint or fear.
Not to mention anything else, Iron Dragon Mother could kill him with a few slaps.
And an adult dragon like Iron Dragon Mother was not even considered an overlord in the Ser Wilderness.
Not long afterward, Garos left the Earth Violent Bear in this region instead of taking him along, and returned alone to Sinkhole Territory.
The reason was simple.
Given Iron Dragon Mother's personality, she would not permit an uncontrolled Earth Violent Bear to remain in her territory. She would forcibly enslave him, especially since Garos had not used Dragon Vein Conversion on him.
Dragon Vein Conversion—when Dragonkin bestowed their own essence blood upon another creature, transforming it into a Dragon-Vein Creature that was loyal to them from the bottom of its heart.
Compared with retainers, Garos placed greater importance on himself. He was still a Hatchling Dragon, at the stage of rapid growth. Giving away his essence blood would slow his own growth, and he would not burden himself for the sake of a single retainer.
Without undergoing Dragon Vein Conversion, the Earth Violent Bear—
His verbal surrender was not reliable. He could ignore Garos's orders and flee at any time.
However—
Surviving in the Wilderness was difficult, and danger lurked everywhere. Even Garos had to remain cautious. Unless absolutely necessary, a magical beast like the Earth Violent Bear would not leave a region it was familiar with.
Even if he truly fled, it did not matter.
Garos had only subdued a retainer on a whim. Deep down, he did not care much about him. At most, if they met again, Garos would kill him. If they never met, Garos would not give it another thought.
Besides—
On one side lay the perilous Wilderness and a life of fleeing in hardship. On the other stood a powerful Dragonkin patron with extraordinary potential.
With the Earth Violent Bear's intelligence, he knew how to choose.
When Garos returned to Sinkhole Territory, the sky was still bright, and the sun was radiating its usual scorching heat.
"Garos, Mother wants us to go to her Dragon Lair together."
The moment he returned and landed by the cliff, the two dragonlings came over and spoke to Garos. More accurately, they were now two Hatchling Dragons.
Over the course of a year, both Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother had grown larger, and they had reached the Hatchling Stage.
"She called all three of us together. It has been a long time since that last happened. I wonder what Mother wants to tell us."
Red Dragon Sister blinked, somewhat curious.
"Hehe, maybe Mother has prepared delicious blood food for us to enjoy together."
Iron Dragon Brother tilted his head and guessed cheerfully.
You two idiots, have you already forgotten what happened to me a year ago?
Garos shook his head slightly.
Without saying a word, he flew toward Iron Dragon Mother's Dragon Lair. The two Hatchling Dragons followed close behind, eagerly flying after him.
Before you continue