The severe cold of Borderlands failed to overcome the natural barrier and blew onto the territory of Ser Wilderness.
Affected by recent climate changes and the invisible aftermath of the earth-shattering battle between the two Legendary Realm kings, except for the short rainy season, the overall hot year-round temperature in the vast wilderness has dropped, but as far as the eye can see, there is still no trace of a single snowflake.
Only in the northernmost sporadic areas closest to the edge of Borderlands can you occasionally see some thin flying snow blowing in the wind.
Phew--!
Red Iron Dragon flapped his wings and flew freely in the high altitude of Ser Wilderness. The strong airflow was easily torn apart by him, dragging out a long vortex behind him.
And between the waving of wings, time passed quietly.
Below Garos's field of vision, the landscape is constantly changing like a flowing scroll.
He gradually flew over the leafy and vibrant primitive mountain forest below, passed by the huge lake as clear and green as emerald, and overlooked the endless wilderness covered with drought-resistant shrubs and strong grasses.
Eventually.
His huge body began to slow down slightly, like a steady black cloud, landing on the top of a rugged and steep cliff.
The sharp dragon claws tapped lightly into the hard rock and firmly grasped the mountain.
While retracting his broad wings, he lowered his dragon head and looked down.
A deep place as huge as if it had been violently impacted by a meteorite suddenly came into his eyes.
It is the place where he was born, Sinkhole Territory ruled by Iron Dragon Mother Laetitia, a vast and sunken unique basin.
Garos's eyes moved slowly.
He could vaguely see a piece of land that looked particularly pitted and rugged under the steep cliff opposite. There were still some deep cracks and huge claw marks on the mountain wall next to it.
Despite decades of wind, rain, and natural changes, many unfamiliar traces have been left behind.
But he could still clearly identify it as a masterpiece he had left behind when he was doing Sun-Earth Training here day after day when he was a child.
A mixture of strange and extremely familiar emotions arises involuntarily from the bottom of my heart.
"Very good, the aura of Iron Dragon Mother is still very strong. She is obviously still living in this territory and has not left."
Garos slightly raised its majestic dragon head, no longer suppressing its own strength, and a majestic Dragon Might spread towards the territory ahead like an invisible tide.
In the social rules established by the dragons.
To trespass into the territorial owner's territory without the explicit permission is undoubtedly extremely disrespectful, and even a serious offense with strong provocation and declaration of war.
Although Garos was born here, this is after all the territory of Iron Dragon Mother Laetitia, not his direct jurisdiction.
First release your own unique Dragon Might aura, so that the other party is clearly aware of your existence and position, instead of rushing directly into the depths of Dragon Lair. This is a greeting that expresses basic goodwill and means that there is no hostility in this trip.
With Garos's unabashed Dragon Might sweeping past like a storm.
In an instant, many creatures living in this Sinkhole Territory, no matter strong or weak, felt an invisible and heavy sense of oppression originating from the instinct of life, and they became restless or silent.
The first to react to this uninvited guest were a group of alarmed Scorpion-Tailed Lion.
A group of ferocious-looking Scorpion-Tailed Lions exuding a strong evil aura, flapping their huge leather wings similar to dragons, quickly rose into the air from the steep cliff cave below like dark clouds.
Their characteristics are very distinct.
It has a human-like head with a shaggy mane.
The body is as strong and vigorous as a lion.
On its back grows a pair of huge, tough leather wings similar to Dragonkin.
The most iconic thing is their flexible scorpion tail, which is covered with hard horn and has a cluster of poisonous spikes at the end.
Scorpion-Tailed Lion is not a race with superior intelligence, their intelligence level is roughly equivalent to Earth Violent Bear.
They are capable of basic verbal communication, have evil blood flowing in their bones, and are willing to serve powerful lords who are kind enough to them, who can frighten them, and who regularly allow them to satisfy their desire to kill in Hunt.
Evil Dragon from the lawful camp, the brutal Hobgoblin warlord, the ruthless Giant... are all their common employers.
The Scorpion-Tailed Lion group that can appear in the core territory of Iron Dragon Mother, its ownership is naturally self-evident - they are the dependent guards of Laetitia.
The leader Scorpion-Tailed Lion is particularly huge, almost as big as an ordinary young dragon.
What's even more striking is.
On its scarred forehead, there is a pair of thick, short and sharp black dragon horns. Between the gaps in the thick mane, you can vaguely see the black dragon scales embedded under the skin, shining with a dark metallic luster. The whole body exudes a faint but unmistakable aura of Iron Dragon.
This is a Dragon Vein Scorpion-Tailed Lion that has been strengthened through the Dragon Vein Conversion ceremony.
Scorpion-Tailed Lion is naturally fond of fighting and killing.
When they first sensed the approaching aura of a powerful intruder, they flapped their wings and approached quickly, with low, threatening roars rolling from their throats, and their ferocious fangs completely exposed.
However.
When they really saw the majestic outline of the giant dragon hovering on the top of the cliff.
All the roars and all the ferocious auras seemed to be instantly strangled by an invisible big hand, and disappeared after a slight suffocation.
After a period of rest and recovery, Garos's body shape has completely returned to its peak.
Under the dragon scales that look like cast iron, there is almost no terrifying muscle mass and bone density that any giant dragon of the same size can match in terms of strength.
Even the red dragon, which is famous for its strength, would probably look dwarfed by the comparison and even feel a little ashamed if it stood face to face in front of Garos.
Not to mention these "slim and weak" Scorpion-Tailed Lion.
Their originally ferocious eyes suddenly became much clearer after seeing Red Iron Dragon's mountain-like body.
"This place belongs to the great Lord Steel Queen--Laetitia!"
Leader Scorpion-Tailed Lion bit the bullet and shouted in a slightly blunt Dragon Language voice. He took the lead in using his name Dragon Lord in an attempt to scare the other party. "Unfamiliar dragon! Without Steel Queen's explicit permission, please stay away from this place immediately!"
Its voice tried hard to remain strong, but the trembling in it revealed the tension inside.
Returning to his hometown, Garos was in a good mood, so he remained patient and responded in a low voice, "Go and tell your queen, her former heir, who has now grown into a powerful being, specially came to visit today."
Hearing this, the Scorpion-Tailed Lion leader showed obvious doubt on his huge humanoid face.
Although its intelligence is not very smart, it still has basic judgment.
The actual size of the giant dragon in front of you may be slightly inferior to Steel Queen in terms of body length.
But that physique, as thick as a mountain, with knotted muscles, covered with layers of metal scales and ferocious spikes, brought visual impact and heaviness that even surpassed the impression of the queen it had.
Such a big heir?
What a joke!
When has the Queen ever had an offspring with such an outrageous size?
However... it wiggled its nose and sniffed the scent in the air carefully, and indeed caught a trace of the bloodline scent from the other party that was similar to that of Lord Iron Dragon.
Considering that even if he gathered the entire Scorpion-Tailed Lion group, plus the other dependents in the territory, they might not be able to stop the evil star in front of him, the leader of Scorpion-Tailed Lion finally lowered his head slightly and softened his tone a lot.
It said, "Mighty dragon, Her Majesty the Queen is not in the territory at the moment. Please come back later."
So that's it.
Garos understands clearly.
No wonder it took so long since I released Dragon Might, but Iron Dragon Mother never showed up to respond.
It turns out he is not at home.
"It doesn't matter."
Garos's voice was calm. "I'm just here waiting for her return."
After saying that, he no longer paid attention to the Scorpion-Tailed Lion group. The huge dragon wings waved again and went straight to the internal area of Sinkhole Territory.
Scorpion-Tailed Lion leader opened his mouth and seemed to want to stop him.
But when the words came to his mouth, looking at the other person's huge back that he couldn't handle at all, he finally swallowed it back helplessly.
For now, we can only watch nervously and wait for Dragon Lord to return as soon as possible.
Immediately, under the nervous and wary gazes of many family members, Garos was like a returning king, strolling leisurely among Sinkhole Territory.
He walked through the clear lake where he dived for a long time in order to exercise his lung capacity when he was young, walked through the training ground that was destroyed by his "Mountain-and-Earth Training" day after day, and passed by the mining area where the dragon brothers and sisters were forced to work hard to dig ore... In the end, he stopped at Iron Dragon Mother near the huge Dragon Lair deep in the pit wall.
More than fifty years have passed.
Sinkhole Territory has inevitably undergone many changes. The replacement of vegetation, the diversion of water flow, the expansion of mines, and the change of family members have added new traces and blurred some old memories.
And Garos himself has also changed tremendously, and is no longer the Dragonling he was before.
"I wonder how Iron Dragon Mother will look at me when he sees me again after not seeing him for a long time."
A trace of curiosity and expectation could not help but arise in his heart.
While waiting, he was not idle, and was doing some warm-up exercises on the spot that in his own eyes could only be considered relatively simple.
However.
The violent air currents and slight tremors on the ground caused by each movement made the surrounding family members who were closely monitoring and did not dare to relax tremble with fear and become more and more nervous.
At the same time.
Another area of Ser Wilderness which is quite far away from Sinkhole Territory - Steepstone Highlands.
A huge Blue Dragon, covered with ghostly Blue Dragon scales, with dangerous electric sparks jumping from time to time in the gaps between the scales, was like a statue standing on the edge of a cliff.
Blue Dragon looked at the calm-breathing Iron Dragon in front of him, and his voice sounded like rolling thunder.
"Dominic Family, we will never provoke powerful enemies that are difficult to deal with for no reason, and we will never do anything that has no benefit or benefit at all. This is our rule of survival."
Opposite, Iron Dragon Laetitia, whose scales resemble well-forged black plate armor, exudes tenacity and strength.
"I understand your principles."
Laetitia said seriously, "However, no dragon understands the nature of that lunatic Gorsas better than me!"
"As long as I exist in this wilderness with you Dominic Family"
"Sooner or later, he will cast his greedy and cruel eyes on your territory, your treasures, and your families."
"Waiting passively is like sleeping next to the crater of a volcano, never knowing when the destructive lava will erupt."
"Instead of doing this, we should take the initiative! While we still have the strength and information advantage, we should unite and completely eradicate this deadly threat hanging above our heads."
Blue Dragon slowly shook his tail covered with lightning patterns, his tone still calm.
"I understand your concerns and suggestions, Laetitia."
"However, as I have emphasized repeatedly just now, for us at the Dominic Family, tangible benefits are far more important than illusory potential threats or personal grudges."
"I will convey your thoughts and suggestions to the leader in their entirety."
Blue Dragon paused, then continued with a hint of frankness, "However, I must also explain to you in advance that based on my understanding of the family's decision-making style, the probability that the leader will finally agree to join forces with you and take the initiative to kill Gorsas is not very high."
Although Blue Dragon and Iron Dragon both belong to the lawful evil camp Evil Dragon, their ways of thinking are significantly different.
Blue Dragon people tend to be more rational and calm, attaching great importance to pros and cons and long-term planning; while Iron Dragon are more tenacious and stubborn, and are sometimes willing to pay a higher price for the goals or beliefs in their hearts.
Without enough attractive profits to drive it, let the Blue Dragon family surround and kill a powerful, crazy and vindictive red dragon in its prime for no reason?
Once it fails, it will definitely provoke a terrible enemy for the family.
Even if it succeeds, apart from the possibly valuable corpse of the red dragon, how many substantial benefits can be gained?
The territory under the rule of that crazy red dragon has long been devastated and desolate, and most of its dependents are a chaotic mob, with basically no value to take over.
"... I will await your final response."
Iron Dragon Laetitia was silent for a moment, and finally said no more. He suddenly vibrated his steel-like wings, and his huge body rose into the sky, flying towards his territory.
After a simple exchange, she actually no longer had much expectations for participating in the Blue Dragon group.
At this time, the night was getting darker, and the boundless sky was shrouded in deep dark blue night, with only a few sparse stars twinkling.
Laetitia shook his head silently, suppressed the complicated thoughts temporarily, and accelerated his flight.
As the distance got closer, when she gradually approached the range of Sinkhole Territory.
An unusually powerful, strange, but vaguely familiar Dragon Might aura hit him like a substance.
Laetitia felt a sudden shiver in his heart. He didn't have time to carefully identify who this complex smell belonged to. His eyes instantly became sharp, and he increased his flying speed again, returning to his territory like a black lightning bolt.
Soon, the familiar outline of the sinkhole appeared in her field of vision.
She began to dive downwards, and at the same time, her sharp dragon eyes immediately locked onto the extremely broad and solid back of a giant dragon standing near the lair with its back to her.
The astonishing amount of muscle displayed on the back, the densely packed sharp thorns covering the whole body, the scales so thick that they seemed to be immune to all attacks, the pair of dragon wings with a strange structure and sharp blade-like edges, the powerful tail, and the huge and winding dragon horns... all conveyed to her the signal of extreme danger.
Laetitia's heart suddenly sounded alarm bells.
Boom!
Her heavy dragon body landed heavily near the entrance of the lair, the muscles of her limbs were slightly lowered, and the huge Magic Energy in her body began to surge, and she had already assumed a combat posture of being fully alert and ready to launch a fatal attack at any time.
"Who dares to intrude into my territory!"
Iron Dragon Laetitia let out a low and threatening roar from the depths of his throat. The steel scales all over his body stood up slightly, and his muscles were as tight as a bow.
At the same time.
The broad and thick dragon shadow opposite, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression, heard her roar and slowly turned around.
When Laetitia's vigilant and sharp eyes finally saw all the details of the other person's face, and he could clearly smell the familiar smell that was mixed with molten iron, fire and a hint of blood originating from the depths of his blood.
She was startled for a moment, and her huge dragon eyes froze for an instant.
Immediately afterwards, her eyes opened bit by bit in disbelief, and then opened wider again... A ridiculous thought that almost made her wonder if she was hallucinating, uncontrollably emerged from the bottom of her heart.
"Oh? My dear mother, long time no see."
Garos looked at Iron Dragon Mother, who was almost stunned and seemed to be petrified, and opened his mouth with a smile.
"You seem nervous."
"Have you forgotten your former heir?"
Opposite, Iron Dragon Laetitia's eyes were wide open, and his field of vision was completely occupied by the mighty dragon on the opposite side that was much larger than himself and exuding a terrifying aura like a prehistoric beast.
Unparalleled shock washed over her mind like a tsunami, leaving her eyes filled with disbelief.
Is it fake?!
This giant dragon, which is more than twenty meters long, weighs far more than me, and has a posture comparable to Mature Dragon, is actually my descendant who broke out of his shell decades ago?!