Translator: AnubisTL
Frontierlands, Black Iron Plains.
The thick smoke swirling above the alchemy workshop couldn't be masked even by the heavy snow. Furnaces roared day and night, and the teleportation platform spun ceaselessly. On the assembly line, hyena-men and kobolds worked so furiously that their claws nearly sparked.
Garos nodded in satisfaction.
After his training, he had soared through the blizzard to relax his mind and body, and decided to check on the progress of the alchemy industry here.
"Samantha, you've done well," he said, praising the red dragon in charge. "I already see the shadow of the Red Dragon Queen in you."
Yet Red Dragon Samantha showed no joy at the compliment. Her chin remained lowered, her tail unraised—a stark contrast to her usual behavior.
"Hmm? You seem troubled," Garos observed, his deep understanding of dragon nature prompting his question.
"It's nothing major," the red dragon grumbled, flicking her tail irritably. "One of the giant fire ant bosses I had high hopes for died during the dragon blood transformation. Damn it, what a failure! A fire-type creature, burned to death by dragon blood."
Garos knew the giant fire ant boss she was referring to.
It was a demonic beast that had followed Samantha for a long time. Its intelligence was slightly higher than that of ordinary ferocious beasts, but lower than that of creatures like the Earthstorm Bear. Samantha often used it to fight her alchemical constructs, treating it much like a young girl might treat her dolls.
The "doll" couldn't withstand the dragon blood transformation and died.
For a red dragon like Samantha, "grief" was far too strong a word, but she was definitely annoyed.
"Dragon blood transformation."
Hearing Samantha's words, Garos couldn't help but recall the familiars under his command who had perished during their dragon blood transformations.
Those chosen for the dragon blood transformation had either been veterans who had followed him for years and rendered outstanding service, or elites with exceptional innate talent and outstanding abilities in specific areas.
In essence, each had been a capable subordinate whom he had placed great hope in.
Yet the dragon blood transformation process was truly perilous.
Failure meant certain death.
Only a handful of familiars had ever successfully survived this trial.
"Is there any way to reduce the mortality rate of the dragon blood transformation?"
Garos fell into deep thought, trying to find answers in the dragon race's inheritance, but the knowledge he found proved largely inapplicable.
Just then, the grand artificer, a goblin construct, approached.
He overheard the conversation between the two dragons, a stream of data-like light flashing in his eyes. Then, in his usual calm and rational voice, he said, "The dragon blood transformation process is brutal and unforgiving. If we could break it down into smaller steps and perform the transformation through multiple, minor adjustments, we should significantly increase the success rate."
His analogy was vivid.
Just like crafting an alchemy golem: trying to complete the entire process in one go is both time-consuming and difficult, but by manufacturing each part separately and then assembling them, we can greatly reduce the complexity.
Garos nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. The dragon blood transformation ritual itself isn't particularly complex—in fact, it's rather crude and straightforward."
"If we can break it down into stages and proceed incrementally, the risks would certainly be much lower."
He and the grand artificer delved deeper into this idea, and the more they discussed it, the more feasible it seemed.
They could decompose the complete transformation process into several, or even a dozen, modification rituals targeting specific parts: flesh and blood, heart, lungs, limbs, bones, brain, soul, and so on. This would allow for gradual enhancement of each part, step by step.
If this technology could be perfected, he would undoubtedly gain a host of powerful familiars under his command.
Moreover, it wouldn't necessarily require completing the full dragon blood transformation.
Completing just one or two modifications would enhance a familiar's attributes and potential. Gradually performing more rituals based on the situation could further stimulate the familiar's enthusiasm.
To distinguish it from traditional dragon blood transformation, Garos named this method "dragonforged modification."
"Excellent. If this concept proves viable, the Ironforged Tribe could gain another battle group—the dragonforged warrior."
Garos turned to the grand artificer and Red Dragon Samantha and asked, "Given our current level of alchemy, is it possible to deconstruct the ritual and perform dragonforged modification on an assembly line?"
Both shook their heads.
"Alchemy's specialty lies in steel and machinery."
After calming down, the red-iron dragon nodded and added, "Indeed. Dragonforged rituals involve the modification of flesh, blood, and soul. This should fall under the domain of necromancy."
The Ironforged Tribe currently lacked personnel skilled in this area, making the concept difficult to realize in the short term.
"Among the chromatic dragons, black dragons are naturally adept at manipulating flesh and soul. They would be ideal candidates for necromancy or studying necromantic spells. In the future, we could cultivate black dragon necromancers to specialize in refining the dragonforged modification ritual," Garos mused inwardly.
At that moment, Garos's expression turned grim, as if an emergency had arisen.
"What's wrong?" Red Dragon Samantha asked.
"A powerful demon has emerged from the abyssal rift. We must act immediately. I'll go deal with it myself."
With the situation critical, Garos didn't wait. With a flap of his dragon wings, his massive body tore through the swirling snow and vanished into the distant sky.
In the southwest, on the Fertile Plains, the familiar guards of the Ironforged Tribe were engaged in a desperate battle.
As time passed, White Dragon Treacy and the hybrid centaur sustained numerous gaping wounds. The stench of decay clung to them, their wounds refusing to staunch, their qi growing increasingly weak. Meanwhile, the vrock bosses grew ever more ferocious.
"Centaur, I will eviscerate your body and savor your flesh and soul," the vrock boss shrieked in the twisted, grating abyssal tongue.
Though Elvie couldn't understand the abyssal tongue, she could clearly sense the unbridled malice behind the words. These vrocks seemed to covet her, as if they wanted nothing more than to tear her apart and devour her alive.
Yet...
She felt no fear.
In the distant sky, she spotted a crimson star, flickering faintly through the blizzard, growing steadily clearer.
"He has come."
White Dragon Treacy let out a low growl, her defensive stance suddenly shifting to aggressive. In the abyssal tongue, she taunted, "Abyssal vermin, are you ready to face death?"
Before the vrocks could react to what was happening,
The crimson star pierced through the clouds. The flying snow in its path instantly vaporized, leaving a long white trail across the sky.
The red-iron dragon hurtled forward with unstoppable momentum.
The vrocks circling in the air bore the brunt of his charge.
They simultaneously let out a terrifying shriek, their sonic waves crushing the blizzard in a desperate attempt to slow the dragon's approach.
Yet these mental assaults had no effect on the red-iron dragon's indomitable will, nullified by his immunity.
He plunged into the vrock swarm, his dragon wings slashing like colossal blades. His entire body became a lethal weapon. In an instant, severed limbs and blood rained down from the vrock swarm, painting a grotesque crimson pattern across the snow-white earth.
However, the stench of decay emanating from the dead vrock enveloped the red-iron dragon.
Demons from the abyssal plane always send waves of low-level demons as vanguards when invading the Material Plane. This cannon fodder isn't entirely useless; their deaths pollute the environment and weaken powerful enemies.
Seeing the red-iron dragon surrounded by the putrid aura, the five vrock bosses tacitly vanished. They abandoned their battered targets—the white dragon and centaur—and focused their assault on the approaching red-iron dragon.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Within the dense, foul-smelling haze, the five vrock bosses simultaneously attacked the red-iron dragon from different directions.
As the red-iron dragon retaliated with sharp claws, spread wings, and a lashing tail, the vrocks vanished from their positions in an instant.
Two of them materialized in the dragon's blind spot.
Their magic claws, crackling with abyssal energy, struck with a combination of tearing, corrosive, and putrid effects, aiming for the back of the red-iron dragon's head like lightning.
However,
Just as they were about to strike, the two vrock bosses froze abruptly, as if seized by invisible hands. Their flesh and bones twisted with a sickening crunch.
The remaining three powerful vrocks immediately activated their energy vision.
Hiss— Their pupils contracted simultaneously as they gasped in unison.
Beside the already majestic and imposing red-iron dragon, two more muscular, black-red dragon arms had emerged, firmly gripping the two unprepared vrock bosses in their claws.
As the dragon claws tightened, the vrocks' bodies were slowly crushed into unrecognizable pulp.
Soon.
The red-iron dragon casually discarded the mangled remains.
Stretching its four powerful dragon arms, its formidable body bathed in the wind and snow, radiating a ferocity even greater than that of a high-level demon.
If one ignored the fact that he had just crushed two vrocks to death, one might easily believe he was the mastermind behind the demons' invasion of the Material Plane.
Flee!
The remaining vrock bosses made a split-second decision, scrambling desperately toward the abyssal rift.
However, a golden flash streaked across their path.
The vrock bosses' vision was suddenly completely blocked by a "wall."
It slammed headfirst into the red-iron dragon's muscular chest plate, its body paralyzed and rigid from the crackling lightning. Before it could react, the dragon's massive claw descended, crushing it into a radial spray of flesh and gore.
The other two vrocks attempted to bypass the red-iron dragon using their teleportation ability.
However, a sacred net, meticulously woven by the hybrid centaurs, had already materialized above the abyssal rift, blocking the vrocks' escape routes.
Boom! Boom!
Golden lightning crackled fiercely across the red-iron dragon's scales, moving with speed rivaling teleportation. He swiftly caught up to the two vrocks, finishing them off with just two or three claws each.
The vrock bosses were indeed agile.
But when they encountered the red-iron dragon—faster, stronger, and capable of delivering a fatal blow in a single strike—they were instantly reduced to helpless prey.
"Just as I thought! Once Garos arrives, these demon bosses become nothing more than easy targets."
White Dragon Treacy, witnessing this scene, grew even more convinced of her Dynamic Niche Theory.
"If I just avoid strong opponents, I'll be bullied much less often."
"Once the Ironforged Tribe's young dragon numbers increase, I'll apply to become their caretaker—a leader among the young dragons!"
White Dragon Treacy cheerfully plotted.
The rest of the battle was as swift and decisive as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
The remaining demons were swiftly eliminated.
"Great Lord of the Crimson Wings, invincible Ominous Star of Death! Unbreakable, invincible in battle!"
"Dragon Lord on high! Praise the Dragon Lord! Even the abyss shall tremble before the might of the dragon!"
As the red-iron dragon Garos stood in a battle stance like a Demon King, his familiars grew even more awestruck and admiring, erupting in cheers and praise.
How over-the-top.
Garos dispelled the frenzy state's lightning, retracting his massive arm of dragon qi.
Yet he made no move to stop them. Contentedly, he basked in their adoration, his eyes narrowing slightly as his tail swayed lazily from side to side.
At this moment, Elvie, dragging her weary body, drank some restorative magic potion and used holy energy to cleanse the lingering abyssal aura.
The familiars began methodically collecting valuable abyssal materials:
Quasit bat wings, imp tentacles, vrock black feathers, vrock talons.
These were rare abyssal specialties, obtainable only from demons. If brought to the Southern Federation, spellcasters and sorcerers would undoubtedly pay exorbitant prices for them.
(End of the Chapter)
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