Translator: AnubisTL
Frontierlands, Sulfur Hills.
High-temperature steam billowed through the hills and ravines, making this region uncharacteristically warm compared to the Frontierlands' usual frigid climate.
Red Dragon Samantha's crimson scales were coated in black ash as she worked with focused intensity.
Using her foreclaws, she clamped a red-hot fine steel ingot and shoved it into the alchemical furnace. With a burst of dragon breath, she ignited the furnace's flames.
When the ingot had completely melted into molten metal, she swung her tail, its tip precisely hooking a mold.
The lava-like steel poured into the mold, solidifying into a rough breastplate with scale-like patterns.
Samantha pinned the cooling breastplate with her foreclaws and coiled her tail around the adamantine hammer, beginning to forge.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each strike sent sparks flying like shooting stars.
A look of pure joy spread across Samantha's draconic face as she unleashed the red dragon's power.
Initially, she had loathed forging, finding it tedious and laborious. But as she grew accustomed to it, she discovered a strange pleasure in the process.
Take this forging, for example. Each reverberating impact numbed her muscles and made her scales tremble, making it almost impossible to stop.
The red dragon instinctively reveled in wielding her strength.
As the chestplate began to curve, Samantha unleashed a cone of dragon breath. The intense heat softened the steel edges, allowing her to use her tail tip to pick up pre-made thorn spikes. She then fused them to the shoulder armor like sewing, repeating the process one by one, followed by quenching, polishing, and other refining steps.
Under Garos's tutelage, Samantha had been exposed to alchemy from a young age.
Now, with ten years of alchemical experience, her armor-forging process wasn't particularly elegant, but it was undeniably skillful and efficient. For an alchemist, crafting things by hand was the most effective way to gain experience and level up quickly.
Moreover, fire played a prominent role in alchemy.
A red dragon's breath was no ordinary flame; it ranked among the highest-tier alchemical flames.
The prospects for red dragons in the alchemist profession were vast.
Often, alchemists would seek contracts with red dragons, offering compensation in exchange for their assistance in forging alchemical constructs of superior quality.
As the final step approached, the red dragon suddenly spread her wings, casting a shadow over the armor. "Watch closely, fools!" she roared. "The great Red Dragon Queen is about to complete another masterpiece!"
The surrounding salamanders, giant fire ants, and other familiars instinctively prostrated themselves on the ground.
Dragon flame ignited on the red dragon's claws, transforming them into flame claws.
Sizzle, sizzle— The flame claws slashed across the breastplate, leaving behind a series of orderly, intricate runes—the crucial alchemical enchantments and enhancements.
After nearly half an hour, the scattered runes coalesced into a unified network.
"Finished!"
The red dragon left a claw mark as her signature seal, then retracted her claws.
Panting heavily, she collapsed beside the lava pool, steam rising from the gaps in her scales. The three-hour forging process had drained nearly half her dragon breath, leaving her exhausted.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the Sulfur Hills.
The red-iron dragon flapped its wings, dispersing the steam, and landed before Samantha.
"When did you arrive?"
Samantha propped herself up, her tail flicking the runic armor forward in a showy gesture. "Look! My latest masterpiece! It's worth at least a thousand gold coins!"
"I watched the latter half of your armor-forging process," Garos said with a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the armor. "A decent piece."
But it's probably not worth a thousand gold coins, he thought, though he kept the thought to himself.
The alchemy industry on Bernardo Planet was highly developed, bordering on overproduction. Even goblin clans in the wilderness could obtain mining golems, albeit outdated and crude, but genuine alchemy golems nonetheless.
In regions where alchemy was less advanced, a single set of rune battle armor could easily fetch over a thousand gold coins.
But here, it would be a challenge.
Moreover, the rune battle armor Samantha crafted wasn't particularly advanced. It was a mass-produced item made according to blueprints; she hadn't yet reached the level where she could design and create advanced alchemical constructs herself.
"How many sets of armor like this can you produce in a day?" Garos asked.
He usually stayed in Dragon Valley and rarely visited Sulfur Hills. Today, while practicing his flying techniques, he had a sudden urge to check on the situation and ended up observing Samantha's armor-making process for some time.
"About three sets," Samantha replied.
The crafting process required her full concentration and hands-on involvement, making it both time-consuming and physically demanding.
"What about the other alchemists in training?" Garos remembered that the Ironforged Clan had several intelligent familiars with potential to become alchemists. Many had been sent to Sulfur Hills for intensive alchemy training while assisting Samantha.
"Their skill level is too low," she explained.
"No one can create a complete suit of armor from scratch like I can," Samantha said dismissively, waving a claw. "At best, they can only produce crude weapons."
The Ironforged Clan's plan to cultivate alchemists and develop the alchemy industry had only just begun. Apart from Samantha, the current alchemists were largely useless, barely qualifying as alchemy apprentice.
Yet they shouldn't be entirely worthless.
Garos pondered for a moment before suggesting, "The alchemy apprentice and other familiars at Sulfur Hills could actually participate in alchemical creation."
Sparks shot from the red dragon's nostrils.
"Those imbeciles? Absolutely not! They'd only waste materials," she scoffed.
While raw materials weren't immediate wealth, alchemy could transform them into valuable constructs. Samantha refused to let them be squandered.
Seeing the red dragon's reaction, Garos paused for a few seconds before slowly asking, "Samantha, have you ever seen ants moving house?"
Samantha nodded.
As a child, she had enjoyed playing with ants and had witnessed their mass migrations.
She used to give the ants a massive chunk of food they couldn't possibly carry away, only to snatch it back before the poor creatures could return with their colony.
She repeated this process, reveling in the thrill of manipulating the fates of these tiny creatures.
"Each ant carries only a small piece," the red-iron dragon continued calmly. "Yet, together, they can move an entire food source many times their size."
The red dragon scratched her head in frustration, still not understanding.
Seeing this, Garos realized her intelligence wasn't fully engaged. He needed to explain more directly, rather than using metaphors.
"Hyena-Men pump the bellows, ogres swing the hammers, kobolds assemble components, and alchemy apprentice inscribe basic runes."
"In short, break down the entire forging process into separate steps. Assign the simple tasks to your other familiars, allowing you to skip the tedious and repetitive parts and focus solely on the most critical core steps."
Garos elaborated.
Across from him, Red Dragon Samantha pondered, finally grasping his meaning.
She imagined how this approach would indeed allow her to complete alchemical constructs more efficiently. Moreover, focusing on the core steps would yield greater experience, accelerating her alchemy level advancement.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
Samantha wagged her tail excitedly. "Garos, you truly are my brother! You always come up with such brilliant ideas!"
Garos nodded slightly, offering no reply.
The concept of a "production line" must have been well-established on Bernardo Planet long ago. However, the rapid advancement of alchemy and the lack of specific descriptions in the red dragon's inheritance had left them without the necessary framework to implement it.
As the saying goes, "A single thought can expand the world."
Problems that once seemed insurmountable often become clear and simple with a flash of insight, like a complex lock that requires only the right key turned in the correct direction.
Now that Samantha grasped the concept of a production line, the output of the Sulfur Hills would undoubtedly increase.
Strength was paramount, and the rapid growth of dragonkind demanded resources.
Various high-energy supplements, growth hormones, vitality magic potions, and similar items were listed on the merchant caravan's trade manifest, each carrying a hefty price tag.
For Dragon Valley to advance further and secure more resources, the alchemy industry was indispensable.
The Ironforged Clan lacked efficient production methods. Their current trade with the outside world primarily involved selling raw materials from their mines.
Untapped wealth like gray magnetite and Obsidian Mine ore flowed ceaselessly outward via merchant caravans, only to be exchanged for expensive potions, spices, black oil, and other goods at heartbreakingly low prices.
(End of the Chapter)
------------------------------------------------------
🧩 What happens next?
Read [DRAGON] on 𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖑.𝖈𝖔𝖒🔥
📖 Free chapters → up to [Ch232] (no sign-up needed!)
🔓 Become a member → unlock up to [Ch338] 🚀
🎁 Read:
[18,400,000+ Words],
[11,300+ Chapters],
across [16 Novels] on 🅲🅸🅽🅳🅴🆁🆃🅻.🅲🅾🅼.
🧧Massive Giveaway!
📆 2 Months of Full Access Reading Across all 16 Novels.📚
💥 Giveaway will be live on August 1st.
🌐 For More Details Visit 𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝕞.
------------------------------------------------------