Translator: AnubisTL
"Vrocks... these mid-tier demons from the bottomless abyss, while not yet classified as greater demons, have long since surpassed the status of mere cannon fodder."
Amidst the howling wind and snow, the red-iron dragon lowered his gaze.
His eyes swept over the corpses, their blood staining the white snow as his familiars processed them. Then, his gaze turned to the abyssal rift on the surface, a wound that refused to heal, like a gash in the world.
It had grown calm now.
Elvie, imbued with holy energy, had mixed her blood into arrows and fired them at the rift, forcing the slightly expanded rift back to its original ten-meter length.
But beyond that point...
No matter how fiercely Elvie attacked, even as her pegasus blood nearly ran dry, the rift remained stubbornly unyielding, like an incurable disease.
At its core, it was a spatial rift corroded by abyssal energy. The recently expanded sections, formed by the initial intrusion of abyssal miasma, were unstable and could be eliminated with timely intervention. But the solidified "spatial rift" proved far more stubborn.
"Before, only low-tier demons emerged from the rift."
"Quasits, imps, and fiends."
"Even the strongest elites don't exceed level 10."
"While we dealt with them easily, I can't shake this feeling of unease."
The red-iron dragon pondered, "The vrock attack and the rift's expansion caused some casualties among the familiar guard, but we can now confirm this abyssal rift's limits."
Judging by the rift's reaction during the vrock swarm's appearance,
we can estimate the maximum scale of demons it can accommodate.
As long as it doesn't continue to expand or radiate, any future stronger demons will likely be around this level.
With its limits confirmed, the risk it poses has drastically decreased compared to before.
"Given the scale of this attack, relying solely on the white dragon and Elvie to guard this place isn't enough. If we don't get reinforcements quickly enough, the rift might expand."
"We need to dispatch more familiars to reinforce the guard here."
"White tigers, ice deer, giant python... Should we transfer the wild monster lords here?"
Garos noticed that as the familiars disposed of the demon corpses, one or two would occasionally lose their minds, suddenly attack their companions, and then be swiftly subdued and removed by the prepared others.
"Wild monster lords won't do."
"They're not very intelligent to begin with, and are more susceptible to the abyss's corrupting influence. Before we know it, they'll turn on us and backstab their own allies."
After some thought, Garos decided to send the Six-armed Serpent Woman Sword Saint here.
Within the Ironforged Tribe, the Six-armed Serpent Woman Sword Saint, though now submissive and loyal, possessed the highest life grade. Combined with her formidable sword skills and the unique synergy between her race and class, her destructive and killing efficiency was likely second only to Garos himself.
"Even a single Serpent Sword Saint isn't enough to ensure stability."
"Gluttonous Demon Karu, on the other hand, has undergone bloodline mutation. The abyss's influence has little effect on him, allowing him to slaughter without restraint. Here, he won't need to worry about hunger either—demons are everywhere, and he can eat them all."
The flesh of demons is poisonous, and other monster retainers cannot consume it.
Karu, however, was unfazed. As a Gluttony Demon, he possessed a furnace-like stomach. After merging with the dragon bloodline, he could devour demons like snacks, and their flesh would further enhance his bloodline's growth.
"Send some golems forged entirely from steel and metal as guards. They have a natural resistance to the abyss's corruption."
It's more accurate to say they have resistance rather than complete immunity.
This is because even metallic constructs can be corrupted and transformed into demon-kin. According to the dragon heritage, the Holden Empire experienced numerous such incidents, even losing a top-tier golem. After that, the Holden Empire began collaborating with the Church of the Dawn for the high-level golems guarding Super-Large Abyssal Rifts, inscribing them with runes of holy energy.
Regardless, alchemy golems exhibit greater resistance to abyssal corruption than flesh-and-blood creatures.
Once the limits of this miniature abyssal rift were determined, specific defensive measures could be implemented. This would minimize casualties even during a large-scale demon invasion.
The demons would be dismembered by sword saints, crushed by golems, and devoured by Gluttony Demons.
Ultimately, the rift would become a resource point that benefits the Ironforged Tribe, steadily generating abyssal material.
As the Ironforged Tribe grows stronger, it could be allowed to expand slightly. The abyssal material produced by high-level demons is truly priceless, but the risks and opportunities must be carefully weighed. Such decisions cannot be made lightly.
At least, Garos would only consider such a thing if he had more individuals like Elvie, or others capable of countering abyssal demons, under his command. Even then, he might not act on it.
As his thoughts gradually settled, the red-iron dragon turned to the hybrid centaur and noticed that the energy she radiated was even more sacred and noble than before.
"Elvie, your life grade has increased again," Garos said, his admiration evident. "Tier 13. That already surpasses a normal white dragon just entering its prime age."
When he first met Elvie, she was only Tier 9. In just over a decade, she had advanced four life grades.
This pace didn't seem particularly fast. Truly gifted humans might achieve such a leap in a single year.
But one must remember that she was half-elf, a member of a long-lived race. While her elven bloodline granted her many advantages, it also imposed the challenge of slow life grade progression.
Elvie's rate of advancement was already extraordinary.
If she were to avoid premature death...
With her bloodline talent, it was only a matter of time before Elvie surpassed the Six-armed Serpent Woman Sword Saint.
Garos had long considered her and the Gluttonous Demon Karu the only two non-dragonkind familiars under his command with legendary potential, worthy of cultivation.
"How can I compare to the noble dragonkind?" Elvie murmured, lowering her head. "Fighting demons merely stimulates my bloodline. I was fortunate to break through to the first tier recently."
Like the demon bosses who craved her life and soul, her pegasus bloodline thrived in combat against demons. Though guarding the abyssal rift was a grueling task, her bloodline filled her with burning hatred for demons, making her relish the slaughter and cleansing of their kind. She was content to remain here.
"There's no need for false modesty before me," Garos said. "Perform well, and you'll earn the tribe's attention and respect."
He then noticed that the White Dragon Treacy had remained silent, keeping her distance, which struck him as odd. Usually, she would eagerly seek his attention to deepen her impression of him.
Today, she was acting strangely. Even her earlier, unintentional remark that could have been interpreted as discriminatory against white dragons didn't provoke the usual defensive reaction.
When Garos's gaze shifted toward her, she averted her head, avoiding direct eye contact. She quietly retreated a few steps, trying to conceal herself in the blizzard, hoping to remain unnoticed.
"Come here!"
Only when the red-iron dragon's voice, leaving no room for argument, did White Dragon Treacy reluctantly approach him.
"You seem... off," Garos observed, studying White Dragon Treacy. "Did you hit your head fighting demons?"
Here it comes, the insult from the superior to the subordinate.
Even if unintentional, it was still an insult.
White Dragon Treacy had kept her distance from Garos precisely to avoid lowering her ecological position and becoming the target of such insults. Yet, the moment she approached, she was already being verbally demeaned.
However, White Dragon Treacy's mindset had changed.
She didn't bare her fangs or hiss. Instead, she calmly shook the ice and snow from her scales. "I just wanted to stay away from you to avoid lowering my ecological position."
After a two-second silence, unable to find a suitable explanation for her statement in his inheritance, Garos's eyes glinted with curiosity. "Treacy," he asked, "what are you talking about?"
White Dragon Treacy had no intention of concealing her reasoning from the red-iron dragon.
She carefully chose her words and began to explain her self-developed Dynamic Niche Theory in detail.
When she finished, Garos fell silent again, his gaze toward Treacy shifting, as if seeing her in a new light.
The claim that ice and snow increase white dragons' intelligence seems to be true, he thought. To logically deduce such a theory... while her experiences certainly played a role, her innate talent and comprehension are undeniable. I underestimated Treacy—she's no ordinary white dragon.
At first glance, Treacy's theory might seem like a form of mental victory born from humiliation.
But upon careful reflection, it held considerable logic, especially for dragonkind, a long-lived race with such a prolonged late-stage existence.
If white dragons could use her Dynamic Niche Theory to regulate their mindset, their chances of surviving the arduous growth period and enduring hardships to reach the late stage would dramatically increase.
Given enough time, white dragons would be no weaker than other dragons.
(End of the Chapter)
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