Garos stood atop the highest point of the Iron Fir Hills, his gaze sweeping the ground like a blade.
The tunnel entrances the Earth Spiders once traveled through were silent. Not even the shadow of an Earth Spider could be seen.
This was highly unusual.
Driven by their innate urge to reproduce, these Earth Spiders would not vanish without cause, much less disobey orders as a group.
Garos pawed at an empty Black Oil barrel, his expression grave and contemplative.
Over the past several months, the small oil field the Earth Spiders visited daily had belonged to the Black Rock Principality, a nation of Dwarves and a member of the Lothern Federation.
A Black Rock army unit was stationed at the oil field. Garos had observed it from afar before.
Overall, it was far smaller than the Carmel Black Oil Field of the Lothern Kingdom that he had glimpsed in passing, but it was not to be underestimated.
Its heavily armored infantry alone numbered over two thousand. Since they were tasked with guarding an oil field in the perilous Wilderness, every one of them was an elite, clad in rune-reinforced full plate armor and equipped with fine weapons such as battle axes and great shields.
There were more than two hundred Rock-Armor War Ram Heavy Cavalry.
Garos had watched them drill on the battlefield. When the heavy cavalry charged, they kicked up immense clouds of dust, and their iron hooves made the earth tremble and groan. Their strength and military discipline were far beyond anything the previous Goblin Wolf Cavalry could compare to.
Every Dwarf heavy cavalryman wore even finer rune-steel full plate, wielded a lance several meters long, and carried a curved tower shield.
There were also lightly equipped scout cavalry responsible for reconnaissance around the oil field's outer perimeter. At the very least, they carried powerful crossbows, grappling hooks, poison smoke bombs, and other gear. Their Green-Maned Horses were magical creatures, swift as the wind.
As for the rarer Spellcasters, Garos had not seen any personally, but they surely existed.
And none of that was even the most formidable part.
The true core of the Black Rock Troops lay in their war machines and Alchemy Golems.
The massive, hardened Alchemy Golems were as solid as boulders. Even standing motionless in place, they radiated an oppressive aura that warned all living beings to stay away.
In short.
Compared to such a large-scale force, Garos was alone and currently unable to contend with them.
If a Hatchling Dragon were discovered and its location exposed, the Black Rock Troops stationed near the oil field would certainly not mind sending soldiers over to hunt it down and earn some unexpected resources.
The Dwarf race had many Alchemists.
Their demand for top-tier alchemical materials was immense.
Dragonkin bodies provided exceptional materials in every part: scales, hide, flesh, bones, claws, and fangs. By imprisoning and raising a Hatchling Dragon, then harvesting materials from it continuously, they could obtain a steady supply of high-quality alchemical ingredients.
"The Earth Spiders have gradually brought back quite a bit of Oil Soil over these past months. Though it only came from the outer layers, anyone paying attention could still notice that something was wrong."
Garos flicked his tail, sending several chunks of gravel flying.
Just then, a tunnel entrance often used by the Earth Spiders suddenly split and bulged, as though some underground creature were burrowing toward the surface.
"The Earth Spiders are back? No, that's not right!"
An Earth Spider crawled out of the tunnel first, but before it could take more than a few steps, an invisible ripple of vibration swept over it. The soft organs beneath its carapace were damaged, and its body suddenly went limp as it collapsed to the ground.
Garos narrowed his eyes as he saw a flat, triangular head emerge.
Then.
A huge, elongated body bored entirely out of the earth.
Its shell possessed the cold, hard luster and metallic texture of black metal. Dozens of iron segments formed its lengthy body, while densely packed limbs like folding combat blades extended from its joints, endlessly contracting and unfurling.
It was unmistakably the Alchemy Golem Garos had seen in fragments of the Earth Spiders' memories, the one guarding the oil field underground.
It was 8.2 meters long, with a torso diameter of 1.5 meters. It resembled a steel centipede.
Earth-Splitting Centipede.
A subterranean anti-infiltration Alchemy Golem, and also a combat model.
Its body was stained with green Earth Spider blood. The Earth-Splitting Centipede first moved forward and effortlessly tore the remaining Earth Spider to pieces. Then it raised its head slightly and surveyed its surroundings, the two antenna-like metal whiskers on its triangular head continuously swaying as though examining and assessing the environment.
Crack! Crack!
The ground bulged and split again.
Two more Earth-Splitting Centipedes emerged, investigating the area together. Their body lengths and torso diameters were completely identical, without the slightest difference, as if cast from the same mold.
"The loss of Oil Soil over the past five months drew attention. The Alchemy Golems that were originally only meant to guard the Black Oil killed the Earth Spiders and followed their underground tunnels all the way here."
The instant he saw them, Garos confirmed his suspicions.
"This day has finally come."
He thought.
Being discovered had only been a matter of time. Garos had long anticipated it. During his daily flight training, he had also surveyed the surrounding lands from high above, watching for approaching forces that might try to ambush him.
At the same time.
Red lights flashed atop the heads of the three Earth-Splitting Centipedes, as though they had detected something. They then raised their heads in unison and looked toward the Red Iron Dragonet high in the Iron Fir Hills.
Samantha, the Red Dragonet closer to them, was ignored.
The reason was simple. They detected a more dangerous high-energy reaction from Garos and identified him as a dangerous target, while Samantha was not worth guarding against.
"They found me."
Garos became inwardly alert, but he did not panic. Looking into the distance from where he stood, he saw no trace of the Black Rock Troops.
"Since things have come to this, I'll test the strength of these Alchemy Golems."
These Earth-Splitting Centipedes were clearly completely different from the Giant-Arm Miners.
Their cold, hard coloring gave off a dangerous, chilling impression. At first glance, they looked like weapons rather than mining tools like the Giant-Arm Miners.
"Samantha, Mobel, move farther away. Do not interfere."
Upon hearing Garos's words, Samantha was eager to fight, but she did not disobey. Flapping her wings, she flew high into the sky and began circling far from the ground, while Mobel, the Earth Violent Bear, hid behind an Iron Fir.
At the same time.
Garos leaped from the heights of the hills, diving down at tremendous speed as he charged toward the three Earth-Splitting Centipedes.
As countless branches and trunks were sliced apart, the fine scales on his wing membranes scraped against one another and scattered sparks, as though dragging behind him a hazy cloak woven from embers.
Faced with the Red Iron Dragonet's lightning-fast assault.
The Earth-Splitting Centipedes snapped open their blade-like limbs one after another, making them vibrate at high frequency. Yet rather than directly receiving his awe-inspiring ramming slash, they plunged headfirst underground, their bodies writhing as they vanished beneath the earth.
Boom!
As Garos descended, a massive crater appeared in the ground. Fragments of stone shot out like bullets, while dust spread outward on the blast wave.
With a light flap of his dragon wings, Garos dispersed the murky dust.
Garos narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings inch by inch, but saw no trace of the Earth-Splitting Centipedes.
They seemed to have fled.
No.
They had not fled.
Garos sensed a faint tremor rising from underground and gradually intensifying. The Earth-Splitting Centipedes had burrowed beneath the ground only to evade his first overwhelming strike, not to escape.
Such combat Alchemy Golems had no option in their systems to flee without fighting.
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