Translator: AnubisTL
As dusk approached, Garos concealed himself high in the clouds, his gaze fixed on the two Earthstorm Bears below, one chasing the other.
Among the Earthstorm Bear Clan, challenges for leadership were considered legitimate, often resolved through knightly single combat duels.
However, when faced with an attack from dragonkind like Garos, all Earthstorm Bears would unite against the common enemy, fighting fiercely until their morale crumbled or their chieftain was slain. In such cases, luring the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain away alone could significantly reduce unnecessary complications.
On the ground, Mobel's muscles strained as he sprinted relentlessly, daring not to relax for a moment.
Runes flickered beneath his fur, granting him strength beyond his usual limits. Yet even with this enhancement, he couldn't outpace Chief Gor, the distance between them steadily closing.
Though lacking in straight-line speed, the younger bear possessed superior agility. Mobel deliberately chose the most treacherous routes to escape.
Sharp basalt columns, fallen rotting logs, and hidden fissures in the ground posed some challenges for Old Gor, repeatedly slowing him down and preventing him from catching up to Mobel quickly.
As time passed, the old Earthstorm bear's pursuit grew increasingly ferocious.
He smashed through trees that took several men to encircle, crushed rock pillars in his path, his brown eyes burning with murderous intent.
Soon, the two Earthstorm Bears, one chasing and the other fleeing, arrived at the eastern cliffs of Needleleaf Valley.
With his path blocked, Mobel came to a halt.
"You can't escape," Old Gor growled, charging toward Mobel on all fours.
"Wait!" Mobel shouted, retreating to the cliff's edge.
This caused Old Gor to pause momentarily, but the murderous glint in his eyes remained undiminished.
"Begging for mercy now? It's too late!"
"Daring to challenge me without understanding the difference in our strength? Your death is assured."
Old Gor was aging and growing weaker. He had to eliminate this young Earthstorm Bear who dared to defy him to prevent future threats. Otherwise, he himself would be the one to die.
"I wasn't the one who challenged you," Mobel retorted.
Mobel snorted. "Old man, you're the one who doesn't understand the situation."
At the same moment, Gor sensed something was amiss.
A fiercely predatory gaze descended from the sky, locking onto him. The sense of danger it radiated far surpassed anything his rebellious son could muster.
He looked up.
A seven-meter-long red iron young dragon, impossibly muscular, filled Gor's vision, causing his bear-like face to twist in alarm.
The dragon's appearance was vaguely familiar; they had crossed paths before.
But back then, the young iron dragon hadn't exuded such overwhelming pressure, hadn't made him feel threatened. Now, everything was different.
"Damn you! You've groveled before dragonkind! You've lured them here!" Gor roared at his son.
"Serving the great Garos is my honor!" Mobel declared, puffing out his chest with pride rather than shame.
This display enraged Gor to the point of wanting to tear him apart, but the greatest threat now came from the sky.
Under his watchful gaze, the last rays of the setting sun pierced through the clouds, bathing the dragon's scales in a crimson glow.
The dragon circling overhead suddenly spread its wings fully. Though its body measured only seven meters in length, its wingspan stretched nearly twenty meters, a terrifying sight. As the dragon wings unfurled, the crimson scales between the membranes rubbed together, showering sparks that blazed vividly against the darkening sky.
The red iron young dragon began its dive.
Its descent wasn't swift, but rather carried a suffocating sense of pressure. The dragon wings sliced through the air like terrifying blades, and its body plummeted straight down like a javelin. The piercing shriek of tearing air grew louder and more shrill as it approached, and the scales on its body gradually glowed crimson, as if brimming with explosive energy.
Under Garos's oppressive dragon might, Gor instinctively wanted to retreat.
However, the authority he had commanded over the bear clan for years stiffened his spine. The Earthstorm Bear Chieftain straightened his chest, spread his arms, and roared defiantly at the rapidly descending dragon.
"Come on, dragon!"
Flames erupted around him, and layers of earth and stone surged to cover his body, especially his arms. Under the searing heat, the molten rock hardened into lava-like armor, distorting the air around him with its heat.
Mid-air.
Trailing a dense shower of sparks, Garos descended like a crimson meteor, hurtling toward the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain.
In the instant before contact, Garos's claws extended, gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.
The Earthstorm Bear Chieftain roared in fury, raising its massive, lava-encrusted arm to meet the attack. Its colossal paw swung down in a thunderous counterstrike.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted.
Countless shards of rock scattered like bullets. A violent shockwave, carrying dust and flames, swept over Mobel, flattening his fur and nearly blinding him. The ground beneath his feet crumbled as the cliff collapsed, sending him plummeting downward with massive boulders.
Amidst the swirling dust, Garos straightened, the sparks flickering on his wing membranes starkly visible against the twilight.
The Earthstorm Bear Chieftain's forearm was bent at an unnatural angle, shattered by the force of the collision. Its body was covered in scorched, mottled marks from the blast.
"Surrender, and I will spare your life," Garos said in a deep, resonant voice.
The old Earthstorm bear responded with a furious roar and a massive, lava-coated paw that slammed into Garos's shoulder with a deafening crash.
Boom! Dragon scales shattered, unleashing a shockwave of immense power and searing flames.
The old Earthstorm bear's arm was jolted aside, and it staggered back several steps. Before it could regain its footing, Garos's dragon wings transformed into crimson blades, slashing toward its chest. The bear swiftly raised its arm, which was covered in the thickest layer of molten lava.
In the next instant, lava splattered everywhere.
Garos felt as if he had struck viscous tar. Though his blade-like wings sliced through the lava armor, leaving a deep gash on the bear's arm, they failed to cleave it in two.
Lacking the momentum from a diving attack, the dragon wing blades' power was significantly diminished.
Whoosh! Before the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain could retaliate, Garos suddenly soared skyward, then spread his wings and dove back down in a swift, sweeping arc.
Unlike other young dragons who would lose their heads in battle and forget their aerial advantage, choosing to fight on the ground, Garos skillfully exploited his strengths.
The red iron young dragon circled once in the air, adjusting his angle.
Sparks erupted between his wings as he plunged toward the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain once more.
The Earthstorm Bear Chieftain stomped its feet.
Molten lava spheres erupted from the ground, hurtling toward Garos. He either evaded them with agile maneuvers or shattered them into showers of fiery debris. Undeterred, he closed the distance to the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain in an instant.
The dragon wings slashed through the air, aiming for the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain, who once again blocked with its massive bear arms.
Rip!
A severed arm shot skyward, blood and molten rock raining down.
Gor's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Earthstorm Bear's most formidable limbs—one shattered and dangling uselessly, the other cleanly severed.
Thump!
Garos's tail lashed out, striking the chieftain's chest and sending it tumbling across the ground, carving a deep trench before it finally skidded to a halt nearly a hundred meters away.
"One last chance," Garos growled. "Submit or die."
"Death in battle is the glory of the Earthstorm Bear Clan!" Gor roared, his hind legs digging into the ground. Molten armor enveloped his body, his eyes burning crimson as he charged at Garos.
In this desperate struggle, he felt a surge of youthful vigor. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest, blood surging through his veins like a raging river.
Garos flapped his wings, soaring upward to evade the chieftain's charge.
A blast of electric fire dragon breath engulfed the bear, the dazzling flames and lightning swallowing him whole. The chieftain roared and thrashed, but his resistance rapidly waned as his fur and flesh gradually charred into blackened ash.
Soon after, Mobel spat out the gravel in his mouth and scrambled back up the cliff.
"Ah, great Dragon Lord! Your majestic presence eclipses even the sun and moon!"
"I knew that old fool wouldn't stand a chance against you—he was as fragile as a withered leaf!"
He scurried over, prostrated himself, and cautiously nudged Garos's claw with his nose, continuing his flattery: "Your descent from the heavens was like a legendary celestial fire meteor! When those foolish Earthstorm Bears witnessed this, they must have been so terrified they nearly wet themselves! They'll all submit to you now, crowning you King of Earthstorm Bear Ridge. I, Mobel, swear to be your most loyal claw and fang! If you command me east, I'll never stray west!"
Garos glanced at him.
"You seem to have inherited none of your father's courage and resilience," he remarked.
Mobel chuckled smugly, puffing out his chest. "That's why I'm still alive, breathing in this glorious air, while he's just a lifeless corpse. Fools who rely solely on brute force end up as fertilizer for the wilderness."
In this harsh land, courage may earn respect, but only the living and cunning can savor the fruits of victory.
(End of the Chapter)
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