"A juvenile Copper Dragon with a life level of 7."
Garos fixed his gaze on the Copper Dragon flying straight toward him like a crimson sandstorm. He used Life Level Detection Technique and confirmed that its life level was the same as his own.
Adolescent Dragon.
A Dragonkin between sixteen and twenty-five years old.
Garos could not determine its exact age, but judging from its roughly nine-meter-long body, it fell within the category of an Adolescent Dragon. Alternatively, it might be a precociously developed Hatchling Dragon, but that was unlikely.
As for why an Adolescent Dragon's life level was the same as his own as a Hatchling Dragon—
The reason was simple.
The physiques of Dragons could not be generalized.
Within the Dragonkin hierarchy,
both Red Dragons and Iron Dragons were among the finest Dragon species.
Copper Dragons, however, ranked near the bottom among Metal Dragons. At the same age, their life levels were far inferior to those of Red Dragons or Iron Dragons, let alone to an outstanding hybrid like Garos. If it were a juvenile Gold Dragon, its level would be at least 9.
The Copper Dragon did not dive straight at Garos to attack.
Instead,
it circled slightly before finally landing on a charred stone platform.
It was roughly a hundred meters from Garos, its spiral horns reflecting the blazing midday sun.
It tilted its head and examined Garos's cracked scales.
The tip of the Copper Dragon's tail tapped rhythmically against the ground as it paced from side to side, weighing its options.
A Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon nearly seven meters long, with a life level of 7. It was smaller than me, but so much stronger. Good heavens, its wings look like a pair of murder weapons. It must be incredibly evil at heart.
Probably not someone to provoke.
But I have three alchemical items given to me by my parents. Dealing with a foolish Evil Dragon of the same level will be a piece of cake.
After pondering for a few seconds,
a pleased smile curled across the Copper Dragon's lips. It stopped pacing, stared at Garos, and said, "Oh, naturally evil Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon, it's time for a question."
"Tell me, what needs both fire extinguishing and rust removal in order to survive?"
Among the five types of Metal Dragons,
Brass Dragons and Copper Dragons had the personalities most irritating to other Dragonkin.
Brass Dragons were excessively talkative and garrulous. They enjoyed tormenting their opponents with words, and when they held the advantage, they would control their opponents—for example, burying them in the ground with only their heads exposed, then forcing them to listen to the Brass Dragon talk.
Copper Dragons were less talkative than Brass Dragons.
However, they especially enjoyed teasing and playing pranks on their enemies with jokes they thought were humorous, rather than immediately engaging in battle.
If one encountered a Copper Dragon in the wild and accidentally offended it, providing it with amusing jokes, stories, or riddles would have an extremely high chance of earning its forgiveness—and might even win its admiration and favor.
At the same time,
the Copper Dragon giggled.
"The answer is—you! Red Dragon irritability plus Iron Dragon rigidity. What a disastrously failed recipe."
Its voice sounded relatively clear to Dragonkin, like wind chimes in the desert. Its well-proportioned, slender figure also indicated that this was a female Copper Dragon.
As she spoke,
the Copper Dragon lowered her body slightly, her muscles tensing as she prepared for battle.
The alchemical item pressed beneath her tongue was already ready to activate, allowing her to strike the enraged Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon head-on when it charged at her.
But what the Copper Dragon had not expected was—
the Evil Dragon before her did not play by the rules. Despite being provoked to this extent, it remained unmoved. Instead, it simply swept its wings, shot into the sky, and flew away into the distance.
Garos ignored the Copper Dragon. He had no interest in becoming entangled with it.
Metal Dragons valued familial bonds.
When juvenile Dragons ventured out to adventure, they could obtain equipment bestowed by their elders, or life-saving Spell Scales carved into the inner layers of their armor. Often, they received more than one item.
With a glance just now,
Garos had noticed that the Copper Dragon wore a large gold chain around her neck. The red rings protruding from the ends of her wings glimmered faintly beneath the sun, and the densely packed runes engraved upon them were vaguely visible.
Those were merely the items visible at a glance.
Who knew whether this fellow had hidden any other alchemical items or life-saving Spell Scales?
Unlike Gold Dragons, who enjoyed fighting openly and suppressing their opponents through sheer power, Copper Dragons were somewhat cunning and sinister in temperament, much like Green Dragons among the Chromatic Dragons.
Unless the benefits were enormous or his life was at risk, Garos did not fight battles he was not confident of winning.
"Hey! Could it be that you're a rare cowardly Evil Dragon? Don't run!"
The Copper Dragon was stunned for a moment before flapping her wings and taking off. She doggedly pursued Garos.
To her surprise, her speed was actually far inferior to Garos's. His body looked sturdy and heavy, but his enormous, exaggerated wings could bear his weight while providing astonishing flying power.
The distance between them rapidly widened.
"What incredible speed."
Her competitive spirit was aroused. The Copper Dragon persisted relentlessly, determined to make the Evil Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon face righteous punishment.
The fiery-red rings hanging from the ends of her wings lit up one by one, their runes glowing.
Their color grew brighter, and the intense heat distorted the surrounding air.
The fiery-red rings became like red-hot branding irons.
Whoosh!
A cluster of flames ignited and rapidly extended outward, spreading across the Copper Dragon's wings and coating them in flowing fire.
As her wings beat, flames surged upward.
The Copper Dragon's speed suddenly increased.
Garos glanced back and noticed the Copper Dragon's wings now wreathed in flowing fire.
"An alchemical item capable of coating something in flames. It's somewhat similar to my Lightning Tail Ring."
He thought to himself.
I want it. First, I'll test her strength.
A dangerous glint flashed through Garos's eyes.
He suddenly turned around. The Red Iron Dragonet opened its mouth and spat.
A conical stream of dazzling Electric Fire, composed of flames and lightning, erupted from his mouth. Along its path, countless brilliant blossoms seemed to bloom. It was fast and accurate, tearing through the air at incredible speed and shooting toward the Copper Dragon.
The Copper Dragon was caught off guard.
By the time she reacted, the Electric Fire Breath inherited from the Iron Dragon Bloodline was already right in front of her.
In terms of pure destructive power, Electric Fire Breath was inferior to a Red Dragon's Flame Dragon Breath. However, it was faster and also carried a paralyzing effect, making it more effective in practice than Flame Dragon Breath.
At the critical moment,
the gold chain around the Copper Dragon's neck suddenly lit up.
A golden shield appeared around her body, clinging to the surface of her scales.
Sizzle!
The Electric Fire Breath struck the golden shield. The lightning and flame damage it carried were both blocked, while the golden shield rapidly dimmed.
The Copper Dragon veered sideways, narrowly avoiding the lingering Electric Fire Breath with a lingering sense of fear.
But she was not frightened. Instead, she continued pursuing Garos.
Garos's breath had failed to pierce her defenses. This only made her feel even more certain that she could defeat him with ease.
"You treacherous, evil creature. In the face of absolute strength, even a sneak attack is useless."
The Copper Dragon snorted softly as she thought this.
Arrogance and conceit were common ailments among Dragonkin. Metal Dragons were no exception; they were not traits unique to Chromatic Dragons or Ferrous Dragons.
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