The blazing sun baked the Iron Fir Hills a scorched brown, while warped heat shimmered above the cracked ground.
The red Hatchling Dragon lay sprawled on the gravel with its tongue hanging out. Embers of Dragon Breath drifted from the corners of its mouth, bursting into tiny sparks in the air. Mobel was rubbing his back against the hard, rough bark of an iron fir to scratch an itch, sending leaves rustling down.
Garos stared at the Earth Spider that had emerged from a crack in the ground before him.
Its body was like a millstone, covered in rock-like patterns. Its eight jointed legs were long and sharp, stained with soil soaked black. On its back was a deliberately sunken stone carapace, carrying a large lump of black soil.
He sniffed the air.
A pungent sensation rushed straight into his nostrils.
Delight flashed in Garos's eyes. With a single stride, he rushed before the Earth Spider, and the heavy shadow cast by his body blocked out the sunlight and enveloped it.
"The smell of Black Oil!"
He lowered his head to look at the black spider trembling faintly beneath him. His gaze landed on the black soil it carried, and he reached out with a claw to pick it up.
The moment it touched his claw—
A slick, greasy sensation spread across it.
Garos squeezed it, and black oil gradually seeped through the gaps between his claws.
This was soil saturated with Black Oil. Although it had not brought back Black Oil directly, it still counted as progress. Garos was quite satisfied with what the Earth Spider had brought back.
However—
Why had it brought back only oil soil, rather than Black Oil itself?
With that question in mind, Garos used Mind Link and entered the Earth Spider's mental world.
The Earth Spider's mental world was equally dark. Like the Rock-Crushing Worm's, it seemed to lie in a bleak, oppressive Underworld.
"Why didn't you bring back Black Oil directly?"
Garos asked within the mental world.
The Earth Spider replied, "Dangerous. Die. Afraid."
Its intelligence was even lower than the Rock-Crushing Worm's, and its answer came in disjointed fragments, but Garos still understood its general meaning.
"The place where Black Oil is stored is extremely dangerous. It would die if it went near it, so it didn't dare approach. It only dug up some soil saturated with Black Oil from the outskirts."
Garos fell into thought.
Since this was within his expectations, he was not particularly surprised.
The intelligent creatures stationed near the Black Oilfield would certainly not defend only against threats from the ground and sky. They would also have measures in place underground.
He carefully examined the Earth Spider's flashback-like memory fragments.
Through its eyes, Garos saw several Earth Spiders moving through the dark underground ahead. Around them, the soil layers grew darker and darker, with their oil content steadily increasing.
Then, suddenly—
A huge centipede-like creature appeared.
Its entire body seemed forged from some kind of black metal, made of dozens of steel segments linked together. Each segment was etched with dim blue energy patterns, while pairs of auxiliary legs extended from its joints, constantly contracting and unfolding like folded war blades.
The instant it appeared, the creature began hunting the Earth Spiders.
It tore the leading Earth Spiders into pieces in less than a minute. Then it patrolled the underground once more, but did not attack the Earth Spiders that remained some distance away.
"Some kind of Alchemy Golem guarding the underground? Judging by its size and performance, it's at least level five or six. The Earth Spiders have no chance against it head-on."
Garos thought silently.
Clearly, this thing was not a natural lifeform, but a man-made underground guard meant specifically to clear out all manner of creatures approaching the oilfield from below.
"Bringing back oil soil is already pretty good. At least there's some gain."
Garos conveyed encouragement, urging the Earth Spider to keep up the effort.
The Earth Spider sent back excited mental waves. Even its will-form grew restless, and red light shone from its body. "Exchange. Promise."
You brat, you're really impatient.
But the promise he had originally made was for bringing back Black Oil. This oil soil was a lower grade.
Garos pondered for a few seconds, then withdrew from the Earth Spider's mental world and brought over the female spider he had been feeding well.
The moment it saw the female spider, the male Earth Spider immediately waved its jointed legs in excitement and pounced on her. The female spider, being in her breeding period, did not refuse and readily accepted.
Garos watched the two spiders curiously.
They had no sense of shame. In broad daylight, with a dragon watching, they immediately began making the next generation.
However, their mating method was entirely different from that of many creatures.
The male waved its limbs and inserted its tiny left pedipalp into the opening on the left side of the female's genital plate, then inserted its right limb into the opening on the right. At a glance, it looked almost like a murder, and the process was somewhat gruesome.
Just as the male was about to finish—
Garos reacted swiftly, extending a claw and yanking it off the female in one motion.
—What it brought back had not met the original requirement, so naturally, it would receive only half a breeding opportunity.
"Ten kilograms of oil soil for one complete breeding opportunity."
Garos conveyed his demand to the furious male spider, which was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.
You're not acting like a dragon at all!
Held in Garos's grip, it flailed its limbs through the air in protest. Yet in the end, it still yielded and agreed, then hurriedly drilled through the ground to gather oil soil for Garos.
The female spider looked utterly baffled and raised her head to look at Garos.
Why chase the male away?
She could not understand.
Crack. Another patch of ground split and bulged, and another male spider emerged. It had likewise brought back some oil soil and eagerly came to Garos to claim its reward.
Garos grinned and beckoned it over.
Soon after, one male spider after another returned carrying Black Oil soil, hoping to claim their rewards.
Garos was quite generous. Although what they brought back did not match the initial agreement, he still gave them half their reward—by pulling them away midway through the deed.
A group of overheated male spiders arrived eagerly and left in a fury.
They buried themselves in the underground, drilling wildly to vent their dissatisfaction. To obtain a full breeding opportunity, they became even more desperate to dig up Black Oil soil.
"Poor spiders. Garos, you're too evil."
Samantha changed her tone and praised him, "As expected of an outstanding Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon. Your innate wickedness is beyond anything I could hope to match."
In the eyes of red dragons—
Being bad represented excellence, represented glory. Every red dragon aspired to become the ultimate Evil Dragon.
In Samantha's view, Garos, who even oppressed and bullied spiders, was simply rotten to the core—so bad that he was beyond saving.
"Don't slander me."
Garos defended himself. "I'm only pushing them to do better, so they'll work more actively. How can that be called evil?"
He had never considered himself an Evil Dragon.
Garos did not think he was a Good Dragon who enjoyed aiding the weak and punishing evildoers, but he should not count as evil either, right?
Evil Dragons were often besieged and hunted by all sides. Garos had no desire to be treated as an Evil Dragon.
Yet when he looked at his own appearance, Garos was left speechless.
His evolved appearance, combining Iron Dragon and red dragon traits, was even more ferocious than the Evil Dragons of common imagination.
If a powerful adventurer came along, they certainly would not listen to Garos's explanation.
[Innately evil Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon!]
[Oh? And you like making excuses, too!]
[Take it up with my Evil-Banishing Slash!]
That was the outcome that would most likely occur.
The prejudice in people's hearts was truly a mountain. I, Garos, really wasn't an Evil Dragon.
With a sigh in his heart, Garos shook his head.
Since things had come to this, he could only find ways to arm and strengthen himself. If he encountered a crusade in the future, at least he would have the means to resist.
Before you continue