"This adolescent dragon's combat experience is still far inferior to mine."
Judging by the speed at which the Copper Dragon had begun pursuing him, Garos determined that it was not particularly strong. Even after using an alchemical item to enhance its speed, it was still slightly slower than him.
And after the earlier probing,
he had confirmed that its reaction speed was lacking, its practical combat experience was limited, and he had also learned the effects of the gold-chain alchemical item.
It was a Copper Dragon fresh out of the nest, with little real combat experience, relying on a few alchemical items and full of arrogance—Garos made his assessment.
"All the alchemical items on its body are mine now. Let it experience the perils of the Wilderness."
Garos's gaze flashed as he changed his mind.
He had originally had no interest in tangling with the Copper Dragon, but after probing it, he confirmed that it was far less formidable than he had expected—and it was carrying treasures. That changed everything.
The Copper Dragon was still pursuing him relentlessly.
Garos slowed down slightly, dangling himself ahead of it to keep it from falling behind.
After some time, the Red Iron Dragonet folded his wings, tore through the thick clouds, and dove downward, abruptly vanishing from the Copper Dragon's sight.
"Can't fly anymore?"
The Copper Dragon perked up.
In its eyes, Garos's heavy, burly body must have consumed an enormous amount of Magic Energy in flight. He had surely exhausted himself by now, while it had alchemical items boosting it and had conserved its strength. This was the perfect opportunity.
Changing direction, the Copper Dragon dove as well, the scales along its neck fluttering in the wind.
In the blink of an eye, it landed.
"Where did he hide?"
The Copper Dragon swept its gaze over the surroundings and noticed an abandoned mine pit ahead.
It slowly walked closer and looked down, seeing several dragon scales scattered across the jagged stones at the bottom of the mine pit, as though they had been scraped off by accident.
"Hiding in a place like this truly suits an Evil Dragon's crude taste."
The Watcher Necklace—the thick gold chain around the Copper Dragon's neck—radiated defensive light that covered its entire body.
It lowered its wings and spiraled down to the bottom of the mine pit, narrowing its eyes as it scanned the pitch-black tunnels one by one, trying to find Garos.
A few seconds later.
The black rock beneath its feet suddenly trembled.
Bursts of foul wind blew from the largest mine tunnel.
"Evil Hybrid Dragon! Come on, taste my power!"
The wary Copper Dragon's eyes lit up.
But very quickly, it realized something seemed wrong. The ground was shaking far too violently, and the commotion in the mine tunnel sounded like some enormous creature was moving through it.
At the same time.
A massive shadow burst from the mine tunnel and emerged into the sunlight.
It was an exceptionally huge Rock-Crushing Worm, its vicious meat-grinder-like maw packed with countless interlocking sharp teeth as it lunged at the Copper Dragon.
It was the Rock-Crushing Worm King.
Because Garos had repeatedly come here to capture Rock-Crushing Worms before, the Worm King was now extremely vigilant. The slightest disturbance would make it erupt into action, and Garos knew this well and used it to his advantage.
"Ah, you cunning Evil Dragon!"
The Copper Dragon was terrified as it realized it had been tricked.
This was a trap.
It truly had not expected that the Red Iron Dragonet, which looked even more muscular than a Red Dragon, did not have a brain stuffed full of muscles like one.
The Copper Dragon immediately opened its mouth.
Its tongue curled, revealing an exquisite silver ring.
Taking half a step back, the Silver Frost Ring on the Copper Dragon's tongue suddenly lit up.
Freeze!
A powerful frigid current erupted from the Copper Dragon's mouth—or more accurately, from the ring. Like a Silver Dragon's breath, it struck the enormous Rock-Crushing Worm charging toward it head-on.
A layer of frost instantly covered its body.
Then, amid teeth-grinding cracking sounds, the ice coating its shell rapidly shattered.
The Worm King continued its attack.
Taking advantage of the moment when it had been slowed by the attack, the Copper Dragon beat its flaming wings faster and soared upward without daring to pause for even a moment, avoiding the Worm King's continued pursuit.
But before it could relax.
A black-red dragon shadow suddenly sprang up from somewhere on the ground, its spread wings like enormous guillotine blades, producing a terrifying shriek as they tore through the air.
The Copper Dragon's heart jolted.
It opened its mouth and spat out a stream of orange-red, gelatinous acid that expanded into a web in midair and descended over Garos's head.
Flame Dragon Breath surged from Garos's mouth, igniting the Copper Dragon's Acid Dragon Breath and destroying its corrosive and adhesive properties.
Whoosh!
The gale raised by his dragon wings swept up the flames, making them trail and billow behind him like a cloak.
Garos charged straight toward the Copper Dragon with an unstoppable, overwhelming presence.
His breathing stalled. Facing Garos directly, the Copper Dragon finally realized that it had made a mistake. This Evil Dragon was far stronger than it had imagined. Worse, he was not only powerful but also sinister and cunning. He would surely become a terrifyingly great Evil Dragon in the future.
A thicker curtain of light condensed before its body from the Watcher Necklace.
The Copper Dragon prepared to meet the attack.
Garos raised his right wing, and his body suddenly shot diagonally forward.
Magic Energy flooded into his wings, causing his speed to surge.
—Normally, Garos relied entirely on his rigorously trained and evolved wings to fly, rather than using Magic Energy to boost his flight like other Dragonkin.
His body carved an arc through the air.
Garos almost instantly circled behind the Copper Dragon.
The muscle fibers in his tail tightened and twisted one by one like steel wires. The Lightning Tail Ring hidden beneath the gaps in his dragon scales also lit up, forming countless snake-like arcs of electricity around his tail with crackling sounds. At the same time, the current stimulated his muscles, making them erupt with even greater power.
Unlike the Copper Dragon, which openly displayed its two pieces of equipment.
Garos kept his Tail Ring hidden in the gaps between his dragon scales whenever he was not using it, never taking it out to show off.
With a motion resembling a forward somersault.
The Red Iron Dragonet's lightning-wreathed tail drew a full-moon streak of light and smashed fiercely into the Copper Dragon's back.
Crack!
The light barrier instantly shattered.
The glow of the Watcher Necklace abruptly went out, having exhausted all the energy it had stored.
The weakened tail strike landed on the Copper Dragon's back scales. Countless sharp dragon scales, like blades, raked densely across it, shredding its scales apart and still leaving behind a huge, horrifyingly bloody wound.
The Copper Dragon cried out in pain and twisted around.
It opened its dragon maw, and the Silver Frost Ring on its tongue shone again as cold rapidly spread.
Against a Red Dragon and Iron Dragon hybrid.
The frigid current generated by the Silver Frost Ring could deal double damage. It was also the Copper Dragon's greatest reliance.
However.
Anything that had already been revealed could no longer be called a trump card.
Garos had long been prepared. Before the Copper Dragon could spit out the frigid current, he thrust his head forward and rammed its jaw with a dull thud.
The Copper Dragon was forced to shut its mouth, unable to retaliate immediately.
Whoosh!
Garos exhaled a large cloud of white vapor at close range, engulfing the Copper Dragon.
This was another breath belonging to his Iron Dragon Bloodline—Hypnotic Breath.
Any creature struck by Hypnotic Breath would enter a sleepwalking, dreamlike state and answer every question, so long as its willpower check failed.
A sufficiently old and powerful Iron Dragon could even directly hypnotize enemies into serving it like puppets on strings.
Flame Dragon Breath, Electric Fire Breath, Hypnotic Breath.
These were the three types of Dragon Breath Garos possessed.
Struck in the face by the Hypnotic Breath, the Copper Dragon's vision blurred and drowsiness washed over it. But it was older after all, and its mind had grown relatively resilient, so it was not hypnotized instantly.
Garos slapped a Dragon Claw against the Copper Dragon's neck.
Clatter!
Many glittering objects flew out.
—They were gemstones and gold coins. Some Dragonkin liked to keep them close to their bodies, hidden beneath the inner layers of scales around their necks.
Garos swept his dragon wing over them and caught every gemstone and gold coin that had burst out. Then he struck several more times, sweeping away even more gems and coins.
Before the Copper Dragon could recover its senses.
Garos clawed off the Copper Dragon's thick gold necklace, then, with lightning speed, hooked away its Wing Ring with his claw tip, pried open its mouth, straightened its tongue, and removed the ring.
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