Chapter Summaries

Garos fought Bal while the Molten Iron Legion gained the upper hand, then unleashed his Exhilarated State and defeated the Bloodhoof Chieftain despite Bal reaching the Third Stage. The chapter ended with Garos killing Bal and declaring that he would rule the Borderlands.

• Garos evaded Bal and cut down Bloodhoof commanders, helping the Molten Iron Legion overwhelm the exhausted Bloodhoof Forces.
• Bal stopped chasing Garos and attacked the Molten Iron Kin, but Garos intercepted him before he could reach Kalu.
• Garos activated his Exhilarated State and badly wounded Bal, who entered the Third Stage and fought back with renewed strength.
• Garos outlasted Bal in their brutal clash, pinned him against a mountain, and left him half dead.
• Garos demanded Bal submit and pledge loyalty, but Bal tried one last attack before Garos beat him to death and proclaimed himself the future ruler of the Borderlands.

After the Bloodhoof Clan fell, Garos’s forces slaughtered those who refused to surrender while he searched the battlefield for Deborah. Deborah revealed herself as a Red-Silver Dragon and posed Garos a riddle, leaving him to answer it.

• After Chieftain Bal died, Garos chose not to absorb the resisting Minotaurs, and the Molten Iron Clan killed them while sparing those who surrendered.
• Garos kept watch for Deborah, suspecting she was nearby, while the Dire Bears guarded the sleeping Iron Dragon Sorog.
• A Minotaur charged Garos, transformed into Deborah, and was sent flying by his tail.
• Deborah complained theatrically about her injuries, but Garos saw through her act and challenged her intentions.
• Deborah offered to waive compensation if Garos answered her riddle about something born from fire and earth that pursues glory and tempers stars.

After defeating the Demon Bull, Garos faced the Red-Silver Dragon Deborah, who asked to join him on an adventure. Garos agreed to let her come if she solved his riddle, leaving her to ponder his question about war.

• Deborah posed an abstract riddle to Garos, who refused to answer and prepared to fight.
• Seeing Garos's power, Deborah abandoned her plans to challenge him and asked to adventure with him instead.
• Garos considered Deborah's usefulness to Dragon Valley and decided that riddles might help him win her cooperation.
• Garos demanded that Deborah offer a fortune, then promised to take her adventuring for free if she answered his riddle.
• Garos asked Deborah a riddle describing bloodshed, lies, and crowns, and left her to solve it.

Garos let Deborah join the adventure after she solved his riddle, then tested how far her moral principles would bend over the prospect of war and wealth. After the Molten Iron Legion defeated the Minotaurs, Deborah watched Garos and his followers, while secretly resolving to influence him toward goodness.

• Deborah solved Garos's riddle and agreed to follow his orders as long as they did not violate her moral principles.
• Garos questioned Deborah about starting a war in the Borderlands, and she objected to slaughter or resource theft until he offered her a share.
• The Molten Iron Legion defeated the Minotaurs, stripped the survivors of their gear, and feasted on the dead.
• Kalu asked Garos for permission to eat Bal's remains, and Garos granted it.
• Deborah watched Garos decline the feast and wondered whether he was truly an Evil Dragon.
• Vera told Deborah that she ranked third in Dragon Valley and that Deborah should be number six, while Deborah planned to turn Garos into a Good Dragon.

After the Molten Iron Clan defeated the Bloodhoof Clan, Garos assigned the Centaurs to take over its fertile territory and considered expanding his forces to compensate for battle losses. The chapter left him weighing further conquests as his growing domain strained his available manpower.

• Deborah disputed Vera’s dragon ranking, while Samantha and Tressie arrived and exchanged wary words with her.
• Garos’s followers salvaged weapons, armor, and monster remains from the battlefield and began securing the Bloodhoof Clan’s territory and valuable totem pillars.
• Garos assigned Elvie, Zachary, Jokic, and the Centaurs to take over the Fertile Plain with support from the warbands.
• The warband leaders reported heavy casualties, leaving the Molten Iron Clan short of followers to guard its expanded territory.
• Garos considered conquering more clans to replenish his forces and strengthen his growing holdings in the Borderlands.

After returning victorious to Dragon Valley, Garos settled into training while the Molten Iron Clan consolidated its gains. He learned that the Red-Silver Dragon Deborah’s powerful parents lived in the Borderlands and secured her promise to intervene if they threatened him unjustly.

• Mobel assured Garos that the Dire Bears had kept the Iron Dragon Sorog’s sleeping grounds secure while the dragons were away.
• Deborah asked Garos why he had come to the Borderlands, and he explained that its freedom suited his ambitions to rule the land.
• Deborah warned Garos that her parents, Frostmark and Copperflame, were powerful Mature Dragons, but promised to defend him if they judged him unjustly.
• Garos and Deborah exchanged riddles, and she correctly answered his question about what walks on four legs in childhood, two in maturity, and three in old age.
• Garos resumed his training with Deborah and the White Dragon while the Molten Iron Clan guarded and consolidated the resources it had taken from the Bloodhoof Clan.

Samantha forged a suit of Rune Armor in the Sulfur Hills, and Garos showed her how to divide alchemical production into steps handled by different followers. Samantha adopted the assembly-line idea, which promised to increase production and help Dragon Valley obtain more resources.

• Samantha forged and enchanted a suit of Rune Armor, exhausting herself after three hours of work.
• Garos arrived at the Sulfur Hills and praised Samantha's armor, then asked how many suits she and the alchemy apprentices could produce.
• Samantha said she could make three suits a day, while the apprentices could only produce simple weapons and were not ready to forge complete armor.
• Garos explained that followers could handle separate tasks such as working bellows, hammering, assembling components, and inscribing basic runes.
• Samantha understood the assembly-line approach and resolved to focus on the core alchemical work while her followers handled simpler steps.

Garos inspected the Molten Iron Clan’s developing territory, then prepared to enter his adolescent Dragon Sleep and left Deborah in charge of guarding him. He fell asleep expecting the long slumber to last more than eight years.

• Garos explained to Samantha how the clan’s lack of an alchemical industry drained its wealth, motivating her to focus on developing one.
• Garos inspected the unfinished Giant Ruined Fort and noted that Sorog could oversee its reconstruction after waking.
• Garos watched Ogres tame an Armored Rhino and considered ways to improve the ranch’s breeding, raising, and resource management.
• Garos surveyed his territory and concluded that much of the Molten Iron Clan was still in an early stage of development.
• Garos entrusted Deborah with guarding him during Dragon Sleep and gave instructions to the dragons and Kin Leaders.
• Garos entered a cave in Dragon Valley, folded his wings around himself, and gradually fell asleep.

After waking from a seven-year Dragon Sleep, Gordon learned from Elina that the Lothern Saint-King had died and the kingdom was bracing for turmoil. Seeing the royal court as a dangerous cage and the Ser Wilderness as a chance for the Dragonkin to rise, Gordon urged Elina to leave with him.

• Gordon awoke from his Dragon Sleep, discovered he had returned to a normal Iron Dragon form, and indulged in a lavish meal.
• Elina visited Gordon, and he learned that the royal family could no longer afford Moonlight Dew because it was cutting expenses.
• Elina told Gordon that the Lothern Saint-King had died after a failed breakthrough, threatening the kingdom's stability and the Federation's peace.
• Gordon considered the kingdom's decline and saw the Ser Wilderness as a place where the Dragonkin could prosper amid coming chaos.
• Gordon warned Elina that Lothern was liable to collapse and asked her to leave the Royal Court with him for the Wilderness.

Elina refused to flee Lothern as the kingdom faced growing danger, and Gordon vowed to stay with her while planning how to protect her. Three years after the Saint King's death, the Federation buried him amid rising tensions, and Garos awoke from a ten-year slumber in Dragon Valley.

• Elina told Gordon she would remain in Lothern and live or die with the kingdom, while Gordon agreed to stay by her side.
• Gordon considered contacting his elder brother Garos for help and resolved to become less lazy and prepare for danger.
• Three years after the Saint King's death, Lothern formally announced his passing and held a state funeral attended by envoys from across the Federation.
• After the funeral, the Red Iron Dragon Garos awoke in his cave in Dragon Valley after ten years of slumber.

After sleeping for ten years, Garos emerged from his cave with a dramatically larger body and new silver-trimmed scales. He assessed his growth and abilities, then flew off to find food, leaving his next steps unresolved.

• Garos woke from a ten-year Dragon Sleep, replenished himself with 95 Black Oil, and crawled out of his cramped cave hungry.
• Deborah rushed to the sleeping grounds and watched Garos burst into the night sky, transformed in size and appearance.
• Garos asked Deborah how long he had slept, and she told him it had been a full ten years.
• Garos flew through the night and discovered his Life Level had reached 14, with new Spell-like Abilities and Martial Dragon skills.

Garos tested the weapons and dark, silver-edged scales gained in his evolution, then endured Deborah’s attacks to discover powerful resistance to ice and unleash an enormous Flame Dragon Breath. He ended the chapter recovering from the blast as its residual heat still radiated from his scales.

• Garos revealed blades along his tail, a spearpoint at its tip, spear-like projections on his wings, and dark scales edged in silver.
• Garos ate a vast meal brought by his followers before asking Deborah to attack him.
• Deborah’s ice spells and blows revealed that Garos had gained strong resistance to ice, while his damaged scales released intense cold and heat built inside him.
• Garos asked Deborah to use Frost Dragon Breath, and he endured it until his scales shattered and his body grew red-hot.
• Garos warned Deborah to move away, then unleashed a towering Flame Dragon Breath that stunned her with its overwhelming power.

Garos discovered that his evolved Cold Explosive Scales could absorb heat and unleash it as a powerful breath attack. After his post-sleep desires led him to make a rash mating proposal to Deborah, she fled, leaving Garos with Vera as an embarrassing witness.

• The Red-Silver Dragon asked Garos how he unleashed such a powerful breath attack without appearing weakened, and Garos realized his scales had stored absorbed heat for a devastating blast.
• Garos named his evolved scales Cold Explosive Scale and considered their heat-absorbing, cold-producing, and energy-releasing abilities and their limitations.
• Garos and Deborah discussed whether Hybrid Dragons could produce offspring with multiple mixed bloodlines, and Garos became attracted to her.
• Garos impulsively invited Deborah to have offspring with him, and she fled after striking the valley cliff in her haste.
• Garos found Vera hiding in the bushes and summoned her, suspecting she had witnessed his embarrassing proposal.

After awakening from a ten-year Dragon Sleep, Garos learned from the Fairy Dragon Vera that Dragon Valley had faced no real crisis, then contacted Sorog to ask about the Borderlands. Sorog summoned him to the Fertile Plain, and Garos began considering whether he could eventually defeat the four great tribes and become King of the Borderlands.

• Vera told Garos that the Spirit of the Valley had died, then listed trivial changes in Dragon Valley that confirmed it had not been invaded.
• Garos used Fairy Scale Powder to clear his groggy thoughts and contacted Sorog, who welcomed him after his unusually long Dragon Sleep.
• Sorog told Garos that the Molten Iron Clan had been unable to resolve a problem at the Fertile Plain and asked him to come there.
• Garos reflected on the four great tribes and Dragon Valley's limited strength, deciding that he would not abandon the territory if they threatened it.
• Garos embraced the ambition of defeating the four great tribes and becoming King of the Borderlands, while resolving to judge risks rationally.

Garos reunited with Sorog, Samantha, and Tressie, then discovered an Abyssal Rift on the Fertile Plain where Bal Bloodhoof had died. Though Dragon Valley could not close it, Garos proposed keeping it under control and using it as a source of valuable Abyssal materials.

• Garos arrived at the Fertile Plain and reunited with Sorog, Samantha, and Tressie, while Sorog revealed that he had become a Psionicist.
• Sorog explained that a dispute with the Goblin Tribe had been settled and showed Garos a strange rift in the ground.
• Garos recognized the rift as a passage to the Abyss and connected its appearance to Bal Bloodhoof's death at that location.
• Sorog, Samantha, Tressie, the Eye of Annihilation warband, and Elvie had failed to destroy the rift, though Elvie's Pegasus power could restrain its growth.
• Garos said the small rift could be managed and its Abyssal materials put to use, and Sorog agreed that it might become a valuable resource.

Garos and Iron Dragon Sorog arranged defenses around the Abyssal Rift, which soon opened and released five Lesser Demons. White Dragon Tressie killed them, while Elvie cleansed the Abyssal corruption, and Sorog warned that Quasits could lead more Demons to the Material Plane.

• Garos left Iron Dragon Sorog in charge of managing the territory and handling the Abyssal Rift.
• Sorog assigned White Dragon Tressie and Elvie to guard the rift, ordered warning spells and traps, and arranged for combat units to stand by.
• The Abyssal Rift pulsed and released five Quasits, who froze in fear at the sight of the surrounding dragons.
• One Quasit tried to flee into the rift, but Tressie killed it and then crushed the remaining Quasits.
• Sorog warned that surviving Quasits could guide more Demons to the Material Plane, and Elvie purified the corrupted ground.

Garos returned from seven years of Dragon Sleep, learned how the Molten Iron Tribe had expanded, and ordered his followers not to enlarge the dangerous Abyssal Rift. He then asked Sorog about the Golden Fang Tribe and learned that the goblins’ control of trade along the Estonia River had caused friction with the tribe.

• Garos and the other young dragons considered using Lesser Demons for resources, but Garos forbade attempts to expand the Abyssal Rift because of the danger.
• Elvie’s forces arrived to guard the rift, while the Ignas Siblings returned to Dragon Valley and Garos asked Sorog about the tribe’s development.
• Sorog reported that the rapidly growing Gnoll and Kobold population had strained resources, while the Steel Will Warband helped clear out most of the southwestern Borderlands.
• Samantha described how her Sulfur Hills assembly line produced Alchemy goods for sale, with part of the profits going to her personal hoard and the rest to Dragon Valley’s treasury.
• Garos asked about the Golden Fang Tribe, and Sorog explained that the goblins’ established trade network and river defenses had caused clashes with the Molten Iron Tribe.

Garos learned that the Golden Fang Tribe had tried to tax dragonkind and was now threatening merchants to isolate Dragon Valley from trade. He recognized the goblins’ actions as the start of a trade war and left the conflict unresolved.

• Sorog told Garos that the Golden Fang Tribe had claimed the Estonia River banks and sent an envoy to Dragon Valley to collect taxes.
• Sorog explained that he had driven the envoy away without killing him, and Garos praised him for controlling his anger.
• Samantha returned to the Sulfur Hills to resume her work in the Alchemy Workshop.
• Sorog reported that the Golden Fang Tribe had stopped fortifying the western riverbank and was warning merchant ships against trading with Dragon Valley.
• Garos concluded that the Golden Fang Tribe was trying to cripple Dragon Valley’s trade and force it to pay taxes.

Garos and Sorog planned to consolidate the Molten Iron Tribe’s territory, with Sorog confronting the Golden Fang Tribe and Garos preparing to fight the southwest Monster Lords. When the aged Hodge visited Garos, a dragon-blood transformation meant to grant him rebirth ended with Hodge’s death, leaving Garos to confront the limits of time and resolve to seek immortality.

• Garos agreed that Sorog would handle the Golden Fang Tribe’s trade blockade while he focused on reclaiming territory from the southwest Monster Lords after his Cold Explosive Scales had fully grown.
• Hodge visited Garos, explaining that age and old injuries had left him near death and that he had wanted to see his lord once more.
• Garos offered Hodge dragon blood and a chance at rebirth in recognition of his long service, ordering him to survive the transformation and continue fighting.
• Hodge swallowed the dragon-blood bead, but the painful Dragon Vein Conversion killed him and left only ashes.
• Garos scattered Hodge’s ashes and wondered whether he could reach the Immortal Realm, then firmly resolved that he could.

After reflecting on mortality and embracing his ambition, Garos trained relentlessly until his Cold Explosive Scales regrew, then flew toward the Monster Lords of the southwest. He reached Sword Crag and found its powerful Red-headed Chimera, whose origins disgusted him.

• Garos told Sorog that even stars would eventually die and resolved that he wanted to become something eternal.
• Sorog left Dragon Valley to prepare for the Golden Fang Tribe's trade war while Garos began intensive neck and body training.
• Garos trained for two days and nights, rested for three days, and awoke with his Cold Explosive Scales regrown.
• Garos flew into the southwest and watched the Chimera of Sword Crag seize and kill a Cave Lion.
• Garos recognized the Chimera as an unusually powerful Red-headed Chimera and suspected it had been created by a Demon Lord.