"The four Map King in the northwest wilderness, except for the Beholder, the others are somewhat similar to the Monster Lord I conquered in Borderlands."
Garos sorts through the information in his mind.
In terms of the types of creatures and the categories of ferocious beasts and monsters they belong to, the Map Kings seem to be no different from the Monster Lords under his command.
But this is only on the surface.
In fact, without exception, those Map King are powerful beings with high intelligence.
They also have a large and well-disciplined legion under their command, and they are by no means a weak lone wolf.
The strength of the individual and the overall power that can be mobilized are far beyond those of Borderlands and Monster Lord who only rely on instinct to dominate.
However, having wisdom also means that there is the possibility of communication and negotiation.
This also means that there is an opportunity to conquer them and turn them into your own dependents.
"In Borderlands, I killed more than a dozen Monster Lord, but in the end only three chose to surrender."
"For these Map Kings in the northwest region, the situation may be different."
"The probability of successfully bringing them under his command should theoretically be higher."
Garos analyzed silently in his heart.
The development of the Molten Iron Tribe in Borderlands has already hit the ceiling and reached its limit, but after moving to the broader stage of Ser Wilderness, the situation is completely different.
Based on the current size of the tribe.
Not to mention controlling the entire wilderness, even if you just want to completely control the northwest region, it seems to be beyond your capabilities.
With the subsequent conquests and expansion, the core family members' strength that can be mobilized at any time will actually be continuously diluted.
At that time, it may not be difficult to capture the occupied territory with the powerful force of the dragons, but how to effectively control the vast territory captured will become an extremely difficult problem.
For example, after the Molten Iron Tribe initially took over the entire Borderlands, although its scale expanded rapidly, when it decided to march into the wilderness on a large scale, it also had to disperse some of its precious forces to stay behind to guard and control the basic order of Borderlands. It could not completely let it go.
Same reason.
As the dragon flag is planted on new lands, more outposts, sentries, and strongholds need to be established, and strategic locations like Quenching Heights also need to be garrisoned...
The tribe is not infinite in power, and will be further dispersed and diluted.
"In the process of expansion, absorbing and conquering new and powerful forces as dependents is a strategy that must be adopted."
Red Iron Dragon's thick and long tail flicked, slapping the ground, thinking in his heart.
"Otherwise, the power of the dragons and tribes will only be gradually consumed by war after war, and they will be dragged down by the increasingly large territory. The gains outweigh the losses."
The ultimate goal in his mind is to master the power to sweep the world with Power of One Dragon, so that one day he can be truly unscrupulous and do whatever he wants.
But at this stage, the importance of territory and dependents is still self-evident.
In terms of pure force, Garos actually doesn't need them that much. On the contrary, they need Garos's protection to survive and grow.
However, the various resources required for Garos's rapid growth are inseparable from the collection and supply of a huge territory and dependent system.
Without them, all trivial matters would need to be done by Garos himself, which would waste his endless time and energy and prevent him from focusing on his own training and strength.
"These Map King are potentially dangerous enemies, but they are also ready targets for their followers to conquer."
Red Iron Dragon pondered for a moment, and already had the first clear goal in mind.
The closest person to Creekwood Territory, Map King, is [Lion King] who is entrenched in Echo Rift.
This Lion King designated Echo Rift and its surrounding vast area as his own territory. He ruled over a large number and variety of lion beasts and monsters, and established a strict hierarchy of the Lion Pride Kingdom.
According to scout reports, the power of Lion King continues to expand.
It is not satisfied with its existing territory and intends to turn a larger area of land into a hunting ground for lions.
Immediately afterwards, Red Iron Dragon slowly closed its huge eyes and began to rest and recover.
When his condition reaches its peak and the tribal army takes a short rest, he will personally lead the dragon group and the elite Thrall Legion, send troops to Echo Rift, and attack Lion King's Territory.
On the one hand, it is to truly weigh the true level of other Map King;
On the other hand, it is an attempt to subdue the entire lion group and add a powerful new force to the Molten Iron Tribe.
As for why it was necessary to mobilize an army and bring the dragons and their families with them, instead of choosing to go alone and fight alone.
The reason is simple: out of caution.
For now, Garos himself is just a newly promoted Map King. He is tied with several other Map Kings in terms of reputation, and there is no clear distinction between them.
For powerful creatures that are qualified to be ranked alongside themselves, Garos believes that it is necessary to give them due attention.
If the opponent is a hidden enemy with many trump cards, and he rushes to attack alone, and then encounters the opponent's army cooperating to encircle and suppress him, the risk of capsizing in the gutter is not non-existent.
Garos doesn't want to attack aggressively, only to come back defeated.
The sky gradually dimmed in meditation.
Garos is entrenched in Conifer Valley, and the physical energy and physical condition that were depleted by Red Lotus Form and the curse are recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After that, time passed by neither quickly nor slowly.
The smell of gunpowder in Ser Wilderness is getting stronger and stronger, and Map King are showing their minions and sharp edges one by one. Warfare is everywhere and conflicts continue in various regions.
Including the base areas of human principalities and kingdoms, they are also constantly being attacked by various wilderness forces or powerful creatures.
However, let alone carrying out previous missions of clearing out wilderness creatures, due to the sharp weakening of Federation's control, the defenders of these strongholds now have no time to take care of themselves, and most of them have adopted a conservative strategy of shrinking and defending.
During this period.
In order to survive in troubled times, many small and medium-sized wilderness monster clans have chosen to take the initiative to join the famous and rising emerging forces.
Molten Iron Tribe is naturally one of the targets that many clans seek refuge in.
Almost every day, some wilderness clans from different races travel across mountains and rivers to other strongholds of Creekwood Territory or Molten Iron Tribe, expressing their willingness to be loyal to the dragons in exchange for protection.
After some time.
The deepest part of the underground Undead Lair.
Black Dragon Seraphina and Green Dragon Ludwig, the two are respectively filled with a profound aura of death and vigorous natural vitality, forming an extremely sharp contrast.
Their chests were heaving violently, and their breathing was rapid and heavy.
Their originally shiny scales were now covered with various wounds - deep claw marks, corrosive marks, and even some wounds with bones so deep that Dragon Blood was slowly seeping out of them.
Obviously, in order to clean up and suppress the lair left by Lich, the two dragons had just experienced a fierce and dangerous battle and paid a heavy price.
Surrounding them were the remains of undead creatures that were scattered all over the ground Shatter and had lost their activity again, as well as some elite family members belonging to the Molten Iron Tribe who were injured but still standing.
"These undead... have finally been cleared away."
Green Dragon Ludwig bared his teeth, and the multiple wounds on his body continued to feel severe pain as if they were being corroded by Negative Energy.
He sniffed the thick smell of death in the air that made him feel uncomfortable all over, and finally couldn't help but turn his head and look at Black Dragon, who was also scarred next to him.
"Seraphina, tell me... Why did the leader send me specifically to help you deal with this ghost place?"
He said, "This rich Negative Energy is simply my natural nemesis. Logically speaking, I am more suitable to be responsible for managing a vibrant jungle or river valley stronghold."
Green Dragon naturally prefers concealment and strategy, and is accustomed to hiding behind the scenes rather than charging forward.
He rarely expresses himself in front of the leader.
Therefore, he was very surprised by the task assigned to him by his leader.
He looked at Black Dragon carefully and seriously suspected that Seraphina recommended him to the leader behind his back.
Under Green Dragon's scrutinizing eyes, Black Dragon Seraphina nodded calmly and admitted directly.
"I proposed it to the chief."
She met Green Dragon's eyes that widened instantly, and said calmly and with a hint of pride, "I told the leader that the rich Negative Energy environment of this lair is an excellent exercise and temper for you, and can help you better understand the other side of life."
"Furthermore, we cannot do without your help in transforming this place into a Dragonforging Ritual place."
Green Dragon Ludwig:"..."
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"Everything I said is true."
Black Dragon flicked his tail, even lightly patted Green Dragon's shoulder blade with the tip of his tail, and said with a grin, "The fact that the leader can entrust you with such a heavy responsibility has a lot to do with my suggestion. However, we are companions, so you don't need to thank me too much."
Green Dragon rolled his eyes suddenly and slapped Black Dragon's tail away.
"Thank you so much!"
He squeezed out these words through his teeth, gritting his teeth.
"Well, like I just said, you don't need to thank me."
Black Dragon didn't seem to hear the opposite meaning in the other person's words. Instead, he nodded seriously and let out a few crisp and pleasant chuckles in his throat. "But if you insist on expressing your gratitude, I can only reluctantly accept it."
She tends to be gloomy and gloomy by nature, but every time she sees Green Dragon looking defeated and helpless, it always makes her feel inexplicably happy.
"Hmph, how can verbal gratitude be as real as actual actions?"
Green Dragon Ludwig had a cunning flash in his eyes, and suddenly stretched out a front paw and pressed it hard near a wound on Black Dragon Seraphina's back!
The next second, the emerald green nature Magic Energy, filled with exuberant life, poured into Black Dragon's body.
Tsk--!!!
As soon as the vital energy came into contact with Black Dragon's scales and flesh that were soaked in Negative Energy, a violent conflict reaction immediately occurred, as if cold water was poured into a boiling oil pan, making a harsh burning sound, and even a trace of white smoke rising up.
"Damn Ludwig! It hurts! What are you doing?!"
Black Dragon Seraphina shivered in pain, and his scales exploded. He quickly took a few steps back, distanced himself from Green Dragon, and bared his teeth and growled at him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
Green Dragon Ludwig slowly retracted his paw, shook his head, and apologized without any apology.
"I almost forgot that our energy attributes are naturally incompatible."
"Just like I feel uncomfortable staying in this hellish place, my life-filled nature Magic Energy is even more uncomfortable for you than being attacked by a sword."
Black Dragon Seraphina glared at Green Dragon fiercely, bared his teeth and growled, but in the end he did not continue to entangle.
She stopped her joking expression, her expression gradually became serious and focused, and she walked to the central area where the undead remains were on the ground.
She took a deep breath of the air that was full of death and decay, and began to walk around the altar base.
At the same time, the tip of Black Dragon's flexible tail dipped into the Dragon Blood that had not yet solidified from his wound, and began to outline complex and ancient runes on the ground, building a huge Magic Array.
Time passed bit by bit in silence.
Black Dragon reluctantly pulled out a few dragon scales with the sharpest edges from his body, tore off a few small pieces of flesh and blood containing dark energy, and even forcibly dismantled a few ribs, using them as the highest quality casting materials and placing them on several key nodes of Magic Array.
In the end, Black Dragon stood at the center of Magic Array, which was built with its own flesh and blood.
She took out a crystal box - Phylactery with great solemnity.
This is a key item temporarily lent to her by the leader to control Undead Lair.
She raised a front paw, and the dragon claw was wrapped with rich Negative Energy, and then slowly pressed it on the core rune of Magic Array.
At the same time, she used her other paw to slowly open the cover of Phylactery.
In an instant.
With Black Dragon Seraphina as the center, a pure and majestic torrent of Negative Energy surged out like a tsunami, then formed a circular shape and spread crazily towards every corner of the entire underground cave.
Click, click, click...
Following a dense and numbing sound of bone friction and flesh and blood crawling, the originally fragmented and motionless remains of the undead on the ground began to tremble violently and squirm,
Their bones join together and piece together automatically as if they are alive; pieces of broken flesh and blood fuse and regenerate.
Not long after, those dead undead creatures once again trembled and struggled to get up from the ground, and their movements gradually became more vigorous.
However, it is completely different from before:
The Soulfire rekindled in their eyes was imprinted with a trace of the spiritual imprint belonging to Black Dragon Seraphina.
"Using this Undead Lair as a foundation and operating it carefully... given time, I may have a chance to surpass those two guys Heriam and Kaxier."
Black Dragon felt exhausted both physically and mentally, but still couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth and reveal a somewhat ferocious smile.
However, she did not forget her other tasks.
After quickly condensing his divergent thinking, Black Dragon Seraphina began to control the undead through spiritual connections.
She commanded them, and with the obsidian altar where Phylactery was originally stored as the core, she began to drastically transform this area, trying to transform it into a venue capable of conducting Dragonforged Transformation Ritual as soon as possible.
The undead are tireless and not afraid of death.
The renovation project here is expected to be completed in a short time.
At the same time, on the outskirts of the Molten Iron Tribe's territory, is the border area bordering Lion King's Territory.
The cool breeze carries the dust and Bloodshed air unique to the wilderness, blowing past the patrolling sentries and guards.
This is just a small border post set up by the Molten Iron Tribe. The sentries stationed there are mainly Kobold and Gnoll, supplemented by Ogre and Werewolf guards, as well as a few Alchemy Golem.
The overall defense force is relatively weak, and its main function is to warn and warn.
"The tribe just won a great victory and conquered Quenching Heights. I heard that they will continue to expand outwards soon."
A Gnoll sentry leaned on the rough stone fence, looking at the wilderness in the distance, his tone full of yearning.
"It's so exciting... I also want to go into battle and kill enemies for the tribe, perform meritorious deeds, and exchange for higher status and rewards! Instead of staying in such a remote place and being an ordinary sentinel who can only watch the scenery all day long."
The other Kobold sentry next to him heard this and shook his head cautiously.
He lowered his voice and said, "Come on, with your small body, if you are really on a big battlefield like a meat grinder, I'm afraid you won't be able to survive even a single charge, and you will be turned into a pile of minced meat."
After decades of development and standardization, all aspects of the Molten Iron Tribe are now gradually on the right track.
Even for the Iron Will Legion, which is the largest, its soldiers have gone through certain screening and training, and not all of their relatives can meet the standards.
"Hmph! I will definitely live at least a few more days than you."
Gnoll Sentinel retorted.
Kobold The sentry was about to argue, but suddenly, his slender ears twitched suddenly and his pupils suddenly shrank.
"Shh... don't make any noise!"
He lowered his body and said in a solemn voice, "I seem to... smell something wrong."
Almost at the moment the words fell.
Click.
An extremely slight crisp sound came faintly.
The sky at this moment showed a strange gray Blue Dragon, dawn was approaching, and the wind was still whining through the wilderness.
But a certain dangerous aura belonging to a powerful predator slowly seeped into the air like an invisible tide, causing all the sentinels with keener perceptions to instantly feel a ray of light on their backs and a chill down their spines.
"Alert!"
"There's a situation! Everyone is on alert!"
The lookout on the sentry tower was the first to sound a shrill alarm.
The Ogre and Werewolf guards below immediately grasped the weapons in their hands, tensed their muscles, and looked warily towards the direction where danger might come.
Boom--!!!
However, almost at the same time, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble violently.
A huge, swift black shadow suddenly burst out, accompanied by a dull sound like the beating of a giant drum. In an extremely arrogant manner, it directly smashed the granite wall outside the sentry.
"Roar--!!!!!!"
The deafening roar of the lion, full of wildness and power, suddenly exploded, tearing apart the silence before dawn like thunder!
It was a demonized Lion-beast that was comparable in size to Giant Bear! Its dagger-like fangs reflected a chilling light in the sparse morning light, and the most eye-catching thing was that the mane on its neck was not the usual brown, but like condensed night fog, showing a kind of gloomy blackness that seemed to be able to absorb light.
Monster--Shadowmane Lion.
Its speed was unimaginable, like a black lightning speeding close to the ground, it rushed under a sentry tower in an instant.
Immediately afterwards, it used its body as a weapon and savagely slammed into the guard tower.
Bang! Click!
The bottom of the sentry tower groaned under the weight and began to shake violently!
The Gnoll sentry on the tower screamed in terror and fell. While still in the air, Shadowmane Lion's sharp claws swept past.
Tsk--!
Gnoll The sentry was instantly dismembered in the air, torn apart Shatter, and its blood was splashed on the remains of the sentry tower and the ground.
Buzz buzz--!!!
A Alchemy Golem started its chest engine, brandishing a heavy weapon that rotated at high speed like Chainsaw Sword, and slashed at Shadowmane Lion from behind.
But the black lion seemed to have expected it. His body just sank slightly, merged into the shadow, and disappeared in an instant.
The next second, it emerged from the shadow on the side and rear of Golem, pounced forward, and pushed the heavy Golem to the ground with quite terrifying force. Its sharp claws tore at the metal body of Golem frantically, making a tooth-piercing squeaking sound.
"Damn thing! Get out of here!"
A Ogre guard, who was big and round and holding a giant mace, roared angrily and rushed toward Shadowmane Lion with heavy steps.
However, phew--!
Another strong wind suddenly struck from the side.
On the other end, Fangtooth Lion, which had exaggerated white teeth and was slightly smaller but more flexible and fierce, hit the guard Ogre's waist like a cannonball.
Ogre The huge body of the guard was directly hit and staggered backwards, losing balance and falling to the ground.
Before he could even get up, the Fangtooth Lion pounced ferociously, with terrifying sharp teeth capable of chewing steel, biting through the relatively fragile throat of Ogre accurately and cruelly.
This is just the beginning.
Flame Lion, Swiftshadow Lion, Steelback Lion More different lion-like beasts and monsters emerged from the intertwined shadows of the gray morning light and the lingering night.
Their number may not be overwhelming, but each individual exudes a ferocious and violent aura.
They are not a disorganized Beast. Some are responsible for frontal attacks, some are attacking from the flanks, and some are specialized in killing lone sentries, showing a basic sense of coordinated combat.
In just one minute, the small border post failed to wait for support to arrive, and was reduced to burning ruins and wreckage under the swift and brutal attack of the lions.
Similar things happened at more than one outpost bordering the lion territory at almost the same time.
As deep and deep roars echoed in the wilderness, more members of the lion pride continued to march deeper into the territory of the Molten Iron Tribe, stepping on the corpses of the sentries and the ruins of the sentries.
Obviously, with the desire to expand their own territory, the lions have turned their dangerous eyes to the territory of their neighbors.
After receiving the last urgent message sent back by the sentry at the front with his life, Molten Iron Tribe also responded immediately.
The real elite legions quickly gathered from various strongholds and converged quickly towards the border area with the lion territory.
Soon after.
When the first ray of real morning light finally breaks free from the shackles of the horizon and shines on Conifer Valley.
Red Iron Dragon, who was entrenched in it, slowly opened his eyes, and the laziness in his eyes instantly disappeared, replaced by sharp edges.
"The lions... showed their sharp claws and fangs to me first."
"But it doesn't matter. My condition has returned to its peak. It's time to measure the level of Map King, who is as famous as me."
Garos has received information about multiple attacks in the tribal territory through spiritual connection.
He stood up with a huge and strong body, crushed the falling morning light into countless tiny spots of light, then waved his wings and soared into the sky, flying towards the area where the war was ignited.