Unwarranted Disaster

All the alchemical items on its body had been stripped away. The Copper Dragon was dizzy and aching terribly in the neck, but it finally came to its senses and broke free from the hypnosis.

It raised a foreclaw and slapped and tore at Garos's right shoulder.

The blows landed with dull, heavy thuds.

Sparks flew at once. As its claws scraped against the scales, a teeth-grating sound like metal grinding rang out.

The Copper Dragon felt as though it had struck an anvil tempered a thousand times over. Its claws trembled with pain, yet it could only leave a few marks on the other dragon's scales, unable to tear them open and draw blood.

Because of his previous training, Garos no longer had Buffer Scales on his body.

Dark-red patterns interwove and flickered like flowing magma. His black scales, carrying a faint silvery matte sheen, seemed forged from steel and iron, far harder than those of ordinary dragons.

"Such hard dragon scales!"

The Copper Dragon opened its jaws and spat out a gelatinous stream of Acid Dragon Breath, but Garos had already pulled away and evaded it.

Only then—

Having gained a moment to catch its breath, the Copper Dragon realized that something seemed to be missing from its body.

Turning its head, it saw that the Flowing Fire Wing Ring hanging from its dragon wing had vanished. Looking down, it found that the Watcher Necklace around its neck had also disappeared. It rolled its tongue around its mouth and likewise could no longer sense the Silver Frost Ring.

Its neck scales also felt strangely empty.

Reaching out to feel around, the Copper Dragon was shocked to discover that nearly all the gems and gold coins hidden beneath its scales were gone.

At the same time, it noticed glittering objects wedged between the feather-like fine scales on Garos's dragon wings. Looking closely, weren't those its gems and gold coins?

The Flowing Fire Wing Ring, Silver Frost Ring, and Watcher Necklace were all clenched in one of his claws.

"Ah, you damned Evil Dragon! Give me back my gems, give me back my gold, give me back my alchemical equipment!"

The Copper Dragon let out a shriek.

Having its treasure and equipment snatched away right before its eyes, any normal dragon would find it difficult to remain calm and rational.

It beat its wings and flew toward Garos.

The Copper Dragon was seething with Anger, baring its fangs and claws.

But rage did not increase its strength. Instead, it exposed even more openings in its movements.

Garos tilted his body and sidestepped the Copper Dragon's furious charge. At the same time, both his claws seized its tail, gripping it tightly like iron pincers.

Crack, crack, crack!

The scales along his dragon arms locked together tightly, while the powerful muscles beneath them bulged, erupting with immense Colossal Strength.

"Y—"

Before the Copper Dragon could finish speaking, its voice stretched into a long cry. Garos swung its entire body through the air by its tail for several rotations before hurling it viciously into the ground.

Boom!

The deafening crash echoed out.

Countless shards of stone and clouds of dust billowed up. A huge crater formed in the ground, with dense cracks spreading outward in every direction.

"Ptooey!"

The Copper Dragon, its scales cracked over a wide area, spat the gravel from its mouth and rose from the crater, feeling constant pain radiating through its body from outside to in.

Even so—

The Copper Dragon still felt no fear.

Instead, it flapped its wings to scatter the dust and soared into the air again, charging at Garos with the air of someone ready to fight to the death.

"Red-Iron Dragon, evil from birth! Return my things, or I'll never let this go!"

The Copper Dragon shouted.

Dragons possessed powerful bodies and vigorous life force. Its previous injuries were still far from severe, and unless the gap in strength was enormous and the dragon fought itself to death without retreating, killing a dragon was difficult.

Even so, it was being far too reckless.

It seemed to have some kind of confidence.

Garos's gaze flickered. Rather than pressing his advantage, he began to retreat.

I've already taken enough gems, gold, and alchemical equipment. But Metal Dragons are all wealthy, and it's hard to say whether it has any life-saving measures left.

Sure enough, a silver rune emerged on a scale over the Copper Dragon's heart. Its shape was not that of an Alchemy Rune, but something similar to a spell scroll—a Spell Scale directly inscribed upon dragon scale.

—This was the strongest life-saving measure Metal Dragon parents would bestow upon their offspring.

If the Metal Dragon parents were powerful enough—

Even an Adolescent Dragon's Spell Scale might unleash terrifying power comparable to the Legendary Realm.

No one could know what kind of counterattack an adolescent Metal Dragon could unleash at a critical moment.

Garos instinctively sensed a trace of danger.

Why am I not a Metal Dragon?

He sighed inwardly.

It would be a lie to say he was not envious.

For Metal Dragons, adventure was merely adventure. They traveled the world with life-saving measures in hand and the mindset of playing a game, often not even to survive, but to entertain themselves and make dragon life less dull.

Evil Dragons, on the other hand, risked their lives for tomorrow.

The key was that Garos did not think he was an Evil Dragon either. His goal was only to live a little longer; it was a plain and simple desire.

But this world was too dangerous, and it was particularly unfriendly to him.

Just like this.

Garos had been happily training without provoking anyone, yet the moment the Copper Dragon saw him, it started shouting about some Red-Iron Hybrid born evil and came straight over to pick a fight.

Even if he was not an Evil Dragon, he was going to be forced into becoming one.

Garos slowly exhaled and gathered his thoughts.

The treasure and alchemical equipment were already in his possession. There was no need to take further risks.

He had no idea what level of power was contained within the other dragon's life-saving Spell Scale. Trying to kill a Metal Dragon carried dangers far exceeding any potential gains.

Garos swiftly weighed his options and prepared to disengage and retreat.

With a flap of his dragon wings—

He shot backward at tremendous speed, instantly widening the distance between himself and the Copper Dragon. In the blink of an eye, he was nearly out of sight.

The Copper Dragon chased for a few seconds, but could not catch him at all. Grinding its teeth, it came to a stop.

"Evil Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon, don't let me catch you! Otherwise, I'll make you lick my claws every day to atone for your evil deeds!"

It shouted furiously.

At the same time, before his figure disappeared completely, Garos's voice drifted over from afar on the wind.

"Now it's question time."

"What's flying in the sky and about to cry for its mother?"

The Copper Dragon froze for a moment. By the time it understood, the color of its scales had visibly become brighter.

It had gone red-hot.

It flew into a furious rage, but there was nothing it could do. Its gaze turned toward the Worm King, which was coiled at the bottom center of the abandoned mine pit, watching the two dragons fight.

"Damn stinking bug, what are you staring at?"

The Copper Dragon growled, folding its wings as it dove toward the Worm King.

It had suffered from its lack of understanding about dragons.

The Worm King opened its huge mouth and sprang forward to bite the Copper Dragon.

At the same time, the silver rune on the Copper Dragon's chest lit up completely.

—This type of life-saving Spell Scale would only activate when its owner's life was threatened.

The temperature in the air plummeted, as though blazing summer had suddenly turned into the depths of winter.

Countless ice blades, so dense they seemed endless, appeared around the Copper Dragon. Then they screamed toward the Worm King like a torrential downpour, moving so fast that the Worm King could not react.

Squelch! Squelch!

Ice blades burrowed into its mouth, effortlessly tearing through its carapace and bursting out from its body. They cut the Worm King full of wounds and holes, severely injuring it in an instant.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle. Strange sounds came from its mouth.

In pain, the Worm King panicked, turned, and fled. It burrowed into the mine tunnel and dragged its badly wounded body toward the depths underground.

Failing to kill the Worm King in one strike made the Copper Dragon even more furious. It circled above the abandoned mine pit, and with every beat of its wings, a rainstorm of ice blades fell, plowing through the abandoned mine from every angle and leaving it utterly ravaged.