Chapter Summaries

The Lion King’s coordinated guerrilla raids inflicted heavy losses on the Molten Iron Tribe’s border outposts, prompting Garos and the Ignas Dragonflight to counterattack from the air. Garos led the dragons toward the scattered lion forces, while Samantha prepared to test her newly crafted alchemical armor in battle.

• A lion pack led by a Mammoth Lion broke through a Molten Iron outpost, killed guards, and fled before reinforcements arrived.
• Garos and Sorog recognized that the Lion King’s split squads were using guerrilla tactics similar to those the Molten Iron Tribe had once used against the Golden Fang Tribe.
• Samantha showed Garos the heavy alchemical armor she had crafted using his body as a template, and he praised her workmanship.
• Garos decided to turn the lions’ pursuit strategy against them, while Sorog declared that the dragons’ aerial mobility would make the lions’ ground speed useless.
• Garos ordered the Ignas Dragonflight, including Heriam and Kaxier, to scatter and attack the lion forces along the border.

The dragon flock and Molten Iron forces turned back the Lion King's probing invasion, capturing most of the attacking Lion-beasts and killing the fiercest resisters. After the failed attack, Garos ordered the army to march on Echo Rift.

• Sorog used Mind Control and combat spells to defeat an Earth-Rending Lion-led pride, force its leader to submit, and help the Molten Iron forces capture the fleeing survivors.
• Samantha, Heriam, and Kaxier overwhelmed lion prides in other parts of the border, while Garos routed the lion pride chosen as its strongest force.
• The dragons coordinated with Molten Iron forces to hunt down the invading Lion-beasts, capturing most of them within a day and killing those who resisted too fiercely.
• A few wounded or cunning Lion-beasts escaped toward the Lion King's Territory, leaving the Lion King's probing attack a failure.
• Garos ordered the army to gather and march on Echo Rift.

The Molten Iron Legion advanced into the lions’ territory and confronted the Amethyst-Winged Lion King at Echo Rift. After Garos and the Lion King rejected each other’s demands for submission, Garos ordered the legion to attack.

• The Molten Iron Legion crossed into the lions’ territory as mobile sentries raised the alarm and the pride retreated before the dragons and advancing army.
• The lions gathered before Echo Rift to make a final stand, and the Amethyst-Winged Lion King’s Psionic roar steadied them.
• Garos and Sorog recognized the Lion King as Dragonkin with Amethyst Dragon blood and considered the chance of bringing it into their tribe.
• Garos demanded the Lion King submit, but the Lion King answered with a challenge for the dragons to submit to the pride.
• Garos welcomed the Lion King’s defiance, spread his wings, and ordered the Molten Iron Legion to attack.

The Molten Iron Legion overwhelmed the Amethyst Lion King’s forces at Echo Rift while Garos fought the Lion King in the air. After Garos battered it with a relentless assault, the wounded Lion King began a powerful transformation, leaving their duel unresolved.

• The Molten Iron Legion used artillery, shield formations, spells, and coordinated attacks to suppress the charging lion packs.
• The Red Iron Dragon sent Sorog and Samantha after the two Level 16 Lion-beast commanders, then ordered Heriam and Kaxier to aid the ground battle.
• Garos and the Amethyst Lion King clashed in the air, where the Lion King used psychic attacks and Damage Transfer to hurt Garos while enduring his blows.
• Garos resisted the Lion King’s Psychic Blast with Star-Self Visage, pursued its Psionic Step, and drove it into the mountain wall with a barrage of attacks.
• The battered Amethyst Lion King rose from the crater and began expanding and merging with the violet-flame outline surrounding its mane.

Garos defeated the Amethyst Lion King, who surrendered and submitted along with its pride to the Molten Iron King. Meanwhile, Gorsas heard rumors that Frenzied Flame had appeared in the Wilderness and set out to destroy a kingdom stronghold.

• Garos activated Exhilarated State and overwhelmed the Amethyst Lion King with a series of powerful attacks.
• The Amethyst Lion King tried to outlast Garos by teleporting, using psychic attacks, and consuming Amethyst Crystals to replenish its energy.
• After its crystals ran out and its psionic energy collapsed, the Amethyst Lion King surrendered and pledged loyalty to Garos.
• Garos discovered that the Lion King had pretended not to understand language to seem more dignified, then ordered it to regain its imposing manner.
• The defeated lion pride stopped resisting the Molten Iron Legion, and heavy rain fell as the battle ended in the Molten Iron King's victory.
• Gorsas learned of rumors that Frenzied Flame had appeared in the Wilderness, claimed it for himself, and flew toward a kingdom stronghold to unleash destruction.

Garos subdued Ennus, the Amethyst Lion King, and made him a regional lord under the Molten Iron Tribe while deciding to govern new territories through loyal subordinate rulers. As the tribe incorporated Ennus’s lands, news arrived that a powerful firebird and its flying-beast swarm had killed the Python King and seized Lost-Track Marsh.

• Ennus recounted how the Federation had destroyed his first lion pride, forcing him into hiding until he rebuilt his strength and later clashed with Garos.
• Garos wondered whether an elderly Amethyst Dragon might be Ennus’s unknown father, then reassured Ennus that he could govern his territory if he accepted the tribe’s conditions.
• Ennus agreed to surrender his title of king, host Molten Iron garrisons, and provide warriors and resources while retaining much of his local authority.
• Garos told Sorog that the tribe would use a feudal system to govern its expanding territories, and the dragonflight left Ennus in charge of the newly named Lionheart Plains.
• The Molten Iron Tribe began planning forts, garrisons, and military integration for Lionheart Plains while Ennus’s forces recovered from their losses.
• Scouts reported that a powerful firebird and its flying-beast swarm had killed the Python King, seized Lost-Track Marsh, and scattered the snakes.

Garos and Sorog suspected the firebird ruling Lost-Track Marshwood was an Immortal Bird, and Garos ordered scouts to investigate while considering how its Nirvana ability might benefit him. After training, Garos summoned Tressie with the tribe’s remaining Black Oil Crystals and approved the young dragons’ request to confront her, leaving her to face their revenge when she arrived.

• Garos asked Sorog about the firebird leader, and Sorog identified it as a likely Immortal Bird based on reports of its flames, bird-commanding power, and apparent Nirvana during its fight with the Python King.
• Garos reviewed the limits and costs of Nirvana and resolved to learn more about the suspected Immortal Bird, ordering Sorog to send elite scouts to watch it and gather information.
• Garos trained in the rain, first using Golden Lightning and then entering Red Lotus Form after consuming a Black Oil Crystal and concentrated Black Oil.
• Noting that his Black Oil Crystals were nearly depleted, Garos contacted Tressie and ordered her to bring the crystals stored in the Borderlands warehouse.
• Garos approved Heriam, Kaxier, and the other young dragons’ request to take revenge on Tressie, planning to see how she handled their challenge when she arrived.

Tressie escorted Black Oil Crystals toward the Ser Wilderness while boasting of her importance and continuing to discipline the young dragons. Garos gathered Heriam, Kaxier, Ludwig, and Seraphina and revealed that their reward was Tressie's arrival, giving them a chance to settle their old scores with her.

• Tressie convinced herself that Garos entrusted her with the Black Oil Crystals because he valued her, then struck Belquis during training and made him praise her guidance.
• Tressie lectured the young dragons on obeying those with higher niches before leaving Dragon Valley for the Ser Wilderness.
• Ludwig, Kaxier, Seraphina, and Heriam met in the rain and discussed their duties, combat records, and the reward Garos had promised.
• Garos praised the four Young Adult Dragons for their recent work and told them to look toward the sky for their reward.
• Tressie flew into view, and the four dragons recognized her as the chance to avenge the humiliation she had inflicted on them.

Tressie delivered Black Oil Crystals to Garos and settled her past grievances with Heriam, Kaxier, Ludwig, and Seraphina by letting them beat and insult her. After Tressie returned to Dragon Valley, Garos learned that Xia'er’s team had discovered Malnes Dungeon beneath the Worm Waste Pit and ordered further exploration.

• Tressie delivered the Black Oil Crystals to Garos and tried to leave, but he kept her there to reunite with her former students.
• Tressie praised Heriam, Kaxier, Ludwig, and Seraphina, but Garos reminded them of her past abuse, prompting the four dragons to challenge her.
• Tressie refused their one-on-one proposal and invited all four to attack her together, allowing them to vent their anger while she avoided serious injury.
• Garos ended the challenge after the Young Adult Dragons stopped attacking, and Tressie concluded she should arrange similar fights whenever her students grew powerful enough to retaliate.
• Tressie returned to Dragon Valley to teach her new students, while Xia'er informed Garos that her team had discovered Malnes Dungeon beneath the Worm Waste Pit.
• Garos ordered Xia'er to lead a capable team in exploring Malnes Dungeon and to report any developments.

As the Rybos-led Crusader Faction gained ground in the Federation’s civil war, Princess Elina worried that O’Brien’s confidence would leave Lothern unprepared and resolved to strengthen her support for the Dragonflight. In the Ser Wilderness, Garos dismissed the rising Five Kings as unsettled contenders until Sorog reported that the Deer King and the Beholder had begun an all-out war, presenting Garos with a chance to claim the northwest.

• Princess Elina warned O’Brien that the Crusader Faction was advancing, but O’Brien insisted Lothern would win and used his domain to erase her wrinkles.
• Elina worried that O’Brien was becoming careless and decided to increase her investment in the Dragonflight.
• Garos’s Molten Iron Tribe expanded its territory by absorbing scattered clans and attacking Federation outposts, while the Mad King, Troll King, Mountain King, and Mushroom King rose to prominence in other regions.
• Garos treated the Five Kings’ growing reputations cautiously and continued training, believing the wilderness’s final balance of power remained uncertain.
• Sorog told Garos that the Deer King and the Beholder had begun an all-out war, giving Garos an opportunity to defeat both and become Regional King of the northwest.

Garos sent the Molten Iron Legion and Ennus’s forces to exploit the battle between the Deer King and the Beholder. As the two Map Kings weakened each other and an Immortal Bird arrived, the Ignas Dragonflight and its forces reached the Lightless Jungle.

• Garos ordered Sorog to lead an elite force to the Lightless Jungle and sent word for Ennus to bring lion-beast elites from the Lionheart Plains.
• The Deer King's Nature Legion and the Beholder's enslaved army fought fiercely while the Deer King and the Beholder exchanged attacks without either gaining a decisive advantage.
• The Deer King and the Beholder grew exhausted as the battle dragged on, with the Beholder suffering heavier wounds and the Deer King struggling to resist its mental assaults.
• An Immortal Bird arrived with a vast flock, mocked the Deer King and the Beholder, and prepared to attack the Beholder.
• The Ignas Dragonflight, led by the Red-Iron Dragon, arrived with a large force as the Map Kings turned toward the approaching army.

Garos confronted the Immortal Bird after the Beholder tried to flee, then defeated her through repeated attacks and survived her Nirvana explosions. The Immortal Bird surrendered and agreed to serve him for a hundred years, leaving Garos poised to unify the northwest and turn his attention to his father, Gorsas.

• Ennus exposed the fleeing Beholder, and the Sacred Spirit Deer and Ennus pursued it while the Molten Iron Legion engaged the remaining forces.
• Garos asked the Immortal Bird to demonstrate her Nirvana, provoking her into a battle against him and the dragons.
• The Immortal Bird detonated her Nirvana flames twice, but Garos survived and overwhelmed her after each rebirth.
• Garos rejected the Immortal Bird’s offer of treasure and demanded a hundred years of service; after another beating, she submitted.
• Garos concluded that the Molten Iron Tribe could consolidate its control of the northwest before he focused on his coming conflict with Gorsas.

Garos ended the battle, secured the submission of Anqiya Phoenix and Lucy, and appointed them regional lords under the Molten Iron Tribe. After the tribe began clearing the battlefield, Garos and the other leaders returned to their territories.

• Garos and the Immortal Bird Anqiya Phoenix ordered the battle to stop, and Garos learned her name as the surviving dragons regrouped.
• Amethyst Dragon Lion Ennus reported that Lucy had killed the Beholder, and Garos gave Lucy the choice to submit or die.
• Lucy submitted to Garos and requested a fair duel with Ennus after she recovered, which Ennus eagerly accepted.
• Garos appointed Lucy and Anqiya regional lords alongside Ennus and laid out their duties and the conditions for their loyalty.
• Anqiya asked for more attractive Molten Iron Legion garrisons, but withdrew the request when Garos challenged her to survive ten minutes against him.
• The Molten Iron Tribe cleared the battlefield, and Garos and the other lords returned to their territories after receiving further instructions.

After securing the northwest, Garos focused the Molten Iron Tribe on consolidating its territory and grew stronger through its resources and training. He oversaw Nick’s Dragon Scale Transformation Ritual as Gorsas, angered by Garos’s growing reputation, vowed to kill him after visiting Laetitia and investigating reports of the Frenzied Flame.

• Garos halted the Molten Iron Tribe’s expansion and ordered his followers to secure trade routes, gather resources, and strengthen their hold on the northwest.
• As wars intensified elsewhere in the wilderness, Xia'er returned to Creekwood Territory while the tribe’s explorers continued searching Malnes Dungeon for a Legendary Artifact.
• Garos’s rich diet and sparring with his followers helped him grow stronger, and he went to the Undead Cavern to watch Nick’s Dragon Scale Transformation Ritual begin.
• Seraphina chanted and Ludwig painted Dragon Blood patterns on Nick as the runes bound him to the ritual array.
• Gorsas destroyed a human outpost, learned of Garos’s rising reputation, and vowed to kill him after visiting Laetitia and checking reports of the Frenzied Flame in the sinkhole.

Garos’s first Dragon Scale Transformation Ritual succeeded, turning Nick into a young, powerful Dragonkin with an Iron Dragon bloodline. After Nick tested his new strength, Garos sent him to procure controlled alchemical techniques and industrial blueprints in the war-torn south.

• Seraphina and Ludwig completed the ritual, transforming Nick from a frail, level-zero human into a strong middle-aged Dragonkin covered in black Iron Dragon scales.
• Nick awoke, thanked Garos, and swore loyalty to him, then discovered his renewed strength and vitality.
• At Garos’s instruction, Nick fought off a summoned tiger with a single kick and subdued it with his faint Dragon Might.
• Garos told Nick to master his new body and ordered him to return south to acquire alchemical techniques and industrial blueprints for the Molten Iron Tribe.
• Nick returned to Creekwood Territory to rest and prepare for his mission while Garos resumed his training.

Laetitia stalled Gorsas while he searched Sinkhole Territory for the Frenzied Flame, then learned he intended to kill the Molten Iron King. After Sorog alerted Garos that Gorsas was there, Garos gathered allies to attack the Mad King.

• Gorsas arrived in Sinkhole Territory and demanded that Laetitia help him search for the Frenzied Flame.
• Laetitia claimed adventurers had spread rumors of the Frenzied Flame and agreed to accompany Gorsas after he threatened to destroy her territory.
• As they searched, Gorsas vowed to kill the Molten Iron King despite Laetitia urging him to avoid a war.
• In the northwestern wilderness, Garos stopped his training after receiving Sorog's message that Gorsas was in Sinkhole Territory.
• Garos summoned the Amethyst Dragon Lion, the Sacred Spirit Deer, and the Immortal Bird to join him in taking down Gorsas, while Alberto and Xia'er also received the message.

Laetitia lured Gorsas to Sinkhole Territory with a false rumor about the Frenzied Flame, where he discovered a scale from Garos and realized she had set a trap. Garos arrived with allies, revealed himself as Gorsas’s offspring, and trapped Gorsas in a spatial vortex as their fight began.

• Gorsas failed to find the Frenzied Flame and accused Laetitia of hiding it or using the rumor to lure him into a trap.
• Gorsas found one of Garos’s Cold Explosive Scales, recognized the signs of a plot, and decided to stay and face his enemies.
• Garos arrived at Sinkhole Territory, and Gorsas recognized him as his offspring through their shared bloodline.
• Garos tried to propose living alongside Gorsas, but Gorsas demanded that he kneel and submit to him.
• Garos’s allies appeared around the sinkhole, and Garos used a rune-etched metal disc to pull Gorsas into a spatial vortex.

Garos led a coalition of dragons and other powerful fighters against his father, Gorsas, in Gladiatorial Space, but Gorsas’s rage and Wild Form overwhelmed the group. After the arena shattered and Garos seemingly killed Gorsas by crushing his heart, Gorsas survived and snapped Garos’s neck; Garos regenerated and defeated him in a renewed battle, ending the chapter with Gorsas captured in his claw.

• Gorsas was transported into Gladiatorial Space, where Garos, Laetitia, Samantha, Sorog, Alberto, Anqiya, Ennusi, Xia’er, and the Sacred Spirit Deer surrounded him.
• Garos and the others attacked Gorsas, but his Furious State and Furious Roar disrupted their coordination, and Anqiya detonated herself with Nirvana Flame twice.
• Gorsas entered Wild Form and badly injured the fighters, while Garos activated Bloodburst State and then Red Lotus Form to battle him at close quarters.
• Garos and Gorsas’s final collision shattered Gladiatorial Space, and Garos pierced Gorsas’s chest and crushed his heart with Red Lotus Exploding Claw.
• Gorsas survived by relying on his Mad Flame and Destructive Will, then snapped Garos’s neck and nearly killed him.
• Garos regenerated, activated Exhilarated State and Bloodburst State together, defeated Gorsas in the sky, and lifted his defeated father into the air, declaring that he had won.

Garos killed Gorsas but discovered that the Frenzied Flame had begun corrupting his mind. After resisting an attack on Alberto, Garos left for the Borderlands to overcome the influence and pursue new insights into power and death.

• Garos's rage, fueled by the Frenzied Flame, drove him to break Gorsas's neck and tear off his head.
• Garos confronted Alberto about not using his life-saving Spell Scale, and Alberto explained that he had spent its energy escaping the Mountain Giant King.
• Garos nearly attacked Alberto, but stopped himself and admitted that the Frenzied Flame had passed into him and could compromise his control.
• Garos found Xia'er dead and ordered Seraphina to bring the Phylactery in hopes of preserving his soul.
• Garos left Sorog and Samantha in charge of wilderness affairs, asked his allies to watch over the Molten Iron Tribe, and flew toward the Borderlands to recover and pursue the Eternal Death Pathway.

Garos struggled to control the Frenzied Flame and unleashed his rage on demons at the Abyssal Rift, worsening his injuries before regaining his senses. He tasked Elvie with warning him when he neared losing control, then flew to Dragon Valley as the Raging Tide Dragon Realm reopened.

• Garos realized that suppressing the Frenzied Flame only intensified his rage, so he flew to the Abyssal Rift to vent it on demons.
• Elvie and the guards withdrew as Garos slaughtered the demons and blasted the rift, causing stronger waves of demons to emerge.
• Garos continued fighting until he had killed the demons around the rift, then regained his clarity and recognized that he had worsened his injuries by expanding it.
• Garos asked Elvie to warn him when he was about to lose control, and she accepted the dangerous responsibility.
• Garos flew toward Dragon Valley to recover, while the Raging Tide Dragon Realm dissolved its seal and its Metal Dragons emerged into the open sea and sky.