Translator: AnubisTL
Garos focused his mind, a faint, shimmering mask forming over his face as he silently activated Star-Self Appearance.
In this state, his perception and insight were elevated to an unprecedented peak. This allowed him to peer inward, bypassing the obstruction of dragon scales and flesh to meticulously examine the changes wrought by his deep slumber and subsequent evolution.
Under this transcendent vision, Garos saw it all with absolute clarity.
Beyond the energy heart pulsing in his right chest cavity...
Around his biological heart, which beat steadily in the left chest cavity, and throughout his entire body, countless new basal blood vessels had sprouted.
These newborn channels formed a precise energy network, hundreds of times more complex and dense than before his evolution. They bound his heart more tightly to every inch of muscle, every bone, and every single organ.
And the changes extended far beyond his heart and vascular system.
Every organ in his body—his resilient dragon lungs, his powerful liver, his digestive stomach, his highly efficient kidneys—had undergone significant strengthening and reshaping.
Their structures had become denser, their functional efficiency multiplied, and their surfaces and interiors were now entwined with a number of new basal blood vessels that far exceeded any normal range.
A powerful premonition, rooted in his bloodline instincts, told him: Now, even without relying on any alchemy items, he could independently activate the bloodburst state using only his newly transformed body structure.
Moreover.
This amplification, derived from his very life essence, would surely far surpass the strength and effects of his previous attempts with external aids. It would also continuously grow as Garos himself became stronger, becoming the most core part of his power system.
"Should I try it out now?"
The moment this tempting thought arose, Garos immediately forced it down and shook his head slightly.
He could clearly sense that his body was still in a state of extreme depletion, far from the optimal time to research the new bloodburst form.
What's more, compared to the changes in his body structure, the unknown brought by that newly formed energy heart...
...made his heart pound even faster.
"What kind of power does this energy heart possess?"
Garos focused his consciousness on his right chest cavity.
Under the transcendent insight of his star-self appearance, the energy heart's form was revealed in minute detail.
It was no longer half-real and half-illusory, but had completely materialized, presenting a deep, hard, crystalline texture that seemed to have condensed the very essence of life.
Calling it a heart was, in truth, not quite accurate.
It was more like an energy crystal core, perfectly embedded within his chest cavity.
Adaptive evolution was fraught with intense uncertainty, and its emergence had completely exceeded Garos's initial expectations. He had thought that stably mastering the bloodburst state during this evolution would already be a massive success, never imagining he would also reap such a pleasant surprise.
He pondered for a few seconds, deciding to first give this energy core a formal name.
"Crystal core? Dragon crystal?"
"Those names sound like cheap magic cores dug out of the heads of third-rate magical beasts in some old-fashioned Western fantasy novel. Too mediocre."
The red-iron dragon shook his head in dissatisfaction.
After a moment's thought, he recalled the rough structural outline of the object before its evolution and referenced a game setting from a distant memory. Finally, he had an idea.
"Decided!"
"It shall be called—Dragon Jade!"
The energy contained within the Dragon Jade was exceptionally pure and dense, but Garos still had no idea what specific effects it could produce.
He wanted to continue studying it, but a powerful sense of depletion surged through his body like waves, growing more violent with each passing moment.
The extreme weakness even made him feel dizzy, his vision darkening in waves, as if he had returned to the critically injured state he'd been in after his bloody battle with the dragon hunting group years ago.
"Aside from the Dragon Jade, my body is too weak. I need to replenish my energy immediately."
Garos folded his wings, slowly descending back to the ground of Red Maple Valley.
The moment he landed, the intense dizziness struck again. The profound weakness radiating from within nearly forced him to collapse.
"Here, I've prepared food for you in advance."
Seeing Garos in such a terrible state, the Red-Silver Dragon Deborah didn't waste time asking questions. She immediately swung her dragon claw, swiftly digging open a cellar.
Inside, the bodies of large ferocious beasts and demonic beasts were displayed, perfectly preserved in ice.
These were all high-energy blood-meals that Deborah had personally hunted and carefully stored while Garos was asleep.
But at that very moment, a sudden change occurred.
Deep within his right chest cavity, the energy crystal core—which had just been named the Dragon Jade—flared up without warning.
Voom—!
A torrent of light, so dense it felt tangible, erupted from the Dragon Jade's core.
It was so fierce, so powerful, that it pierced through Garos's tough bones, thick muscles, and the heavy metallic scales covering his entire body.
Under the astonished gazes of Deborah and the curious Fairy Dragon Vera, who had drawn near...
In Garos's right chest, a miniature, rising sun seemed to embed itself out of thin air, its dazzling brilliance illuminating his surroundings with crystalline clarity.
Then, a torrent of life energy—profound, heavy, yet devoid of any wild fury—surged from the Dragon Jade.
It rushed through Garos's entire frame without a single point of resistance, flushing every withered vein and saturating every muscle on the brink of collapse.
And so!
Before the wide-eyed, incredulous gazes of the Red-Silver Dragon and the Fairy Dragon, the Red-Iron Dragon—who just a moment ago had been a skeletal husk, his skin clinging to bone like a desiccated specimen—began to swell. His massive body, like a withered tree drinking from a spring of life or a leather skin being pumped full of air, expanded inch by inch at a visible rate.
Withered muscle fibers bulged anew, brimming with power.
The skin, once taut against bone, was pushed outward by the newly formed, resilient muscle.
In just a dozen breaths.
Garos had transformed from a skeletal figure, seemingly on the verge of collapse, back to the robust build of a red dragon of his same age.
Though he fell slightly short of the peak physique he had forged through countless battles before his slumber, his mere presence—even while standing still—exuded an overwhelming pressure that seemed to freeze the very air around him.
Simultaneously, as his body recovered, the Dragon Jade in his chest, which had been shining like a miniature sun, rapidly dimmed.
Garos stretched his massive frame, feeling the surge of power and vitality returning to his veins. A thoughtful expression crossed his features.
After a few moments, he raised a foreclaw and gently stroked his solid chest, sensing the now-dormant Dragon Jade within. A startlingly bold hypothesis formed in his mind. Without hesitation, he began to feast ravenously on the frozen blood-meat stored in the cellar.
Crunch! Crunch!
The dragon's maw, lined with savage fangs, tore through the meat and the unthawed ice, crushing and swallowing it all with ease.
Though far from the delicacy of a carefully prepared meal, the dragon's innate taste buds did not reject this raw, bloody meat. It had a certain rustic charm.
However, as the massive amount of food went down, Garos felt no sense of fullness. His newly restored body did not grow any stronger.
Instead, after being efficiently absorbed, all the energy rushed toward the Dragon Jade within his chest, as if it were a bottomless pit waiting to be filled.
"Not enough. Still far from enough. I must return to Dragon Valley immediately."
The Red-Iron Dragon violently flapped his wings, his massive form soaring straight into the snow-shrouded sky.
The Red-Silver Dragon and the Fairy Dragon exchanged a glance, then took flight without hesitation, following close behind.
Three dragon shadows tore through the swirling snow, soaring swiftly toward Dragon Valley.
"Hmm?"
During their flight, Garos's gaze pierced through the heavy snow curtains, scanning the land below. The sight before him made his pupils constrict.
"How did the Frontierlands end up like this?"
As far as he could see, only a dead, desolate, and vast expanse of pure white remained between heaven and earth.
The land was frozen for a thousand miles, and all life had withered.
If he hadn't clearly remembered waking up in the iconic Red Maple Forest of Red Maple Valley, he would have thought he was now deep within the distant Permafrost Tundra.
The Frontierlands had seen snow before.
But this was the first time Garos had ever witnessed such a fierce, world-freezing cold.
Suppressing his questions for a moment, he accelerated his flight.
Soon after, the familiar outline of the valley, enclosed by towering rock walls, finally emerged from the swirling snow.
It was a stark contrast to the apocalyptic frozen wasteland outside.
Thanks to its unique topography, Dragon Valley's towering cliffs acted as a natural barrier, blocking out most of the raging winds and blizzards.
Though stray snowflakes still drifted down inside, and the ground was covered by a thin layer of snow, and the temperature was far colder than usual, the overall scene remained serene, as if early winter had just arrived. Hardy, deep-green vegetation still clung to life, and the half-frozen lake water continued to flow gently beneath a thin sheet of ice.
It seemed the situation was far better than Garos had anticipated.
At the valley's peak, the Burning Steel Citadel still stood imposing and resolute.
After more than a decade of meticulous care and repair by his familiars, the grand fortress remained as stalwart as ever. Like a silent iron giant, it bathed in the swirling snow and wind, gazing down upon the valley.
When Garos's figure appeared against the sky, the familiars below—some busy with chores, others on guard—all lifted their heads.
Countless gazes, filled with awe and joy, converged upon the red-iron dragon in the snow.
"Roar—!"
"It's the Chief! It's Lord Garos!"
"The King! Our King has returned!"
After a brief silence, heaven-shaking cheers and roars erupted like a volcano.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Garos circled once, as if inspecting his long-absent territory. Then, he folded his wings and landed steadily on the fortress's highest watchtower.
"Children of the Ironforged Tribe!"
A roar, like rolling thunder, was the first to erupt.
Mobel, the Earthstorm Bear Chieftain, trembled with excitement, his thick fur bristling. He was the first to raise a paw in a triumphant gesture, then without hesitation, he threw his backside into the air and pressed his entire body flat against the ground in a deep prostration!
"Celebrate! Rejoice!"
"Our King—Lord Garos—has returned!!!"
Like a lit fuse, the command spread.
Throughout the fortress, within and without the valley, every familiar who witnessed the scene halted their work. With a mixture of profound awe and ecstatic joy, they fell to their knees, a wave of submission sweeping across the land like wheat in the wind, all facing the high platform of the fortress.
A vast, dark sea of prostrate figures stretched all the way to the valley's edge.
"Pass the word," Garos commanded. "Open the granaries! All familiars of the Ironforged Tribe shall prepare a grand feast tonight to celebrate with me."
Successfully awakening from his long slumber was a feat worthy of a massive celebration. Moreover, the extent of his evolution had far exceeded his expectations. Garos decided to host a revelry to announce his return to the entire tribe and revitalize their morale.
After entrusting the banquet preparations to his familiar bosses, Garos used his bloodline link to announce his awakening and the upcoming feast to all the iron and red dragons scattered throughout the region, instructing them to gather the rest of dragonkind.
He then visited the fortress's inner treasury to claim some high-energy reserves. After selecting a spacious, sunlit spot in the valley, he commanded his familiars to deliver a steady stream of various foods.
Unable to wait for the festivities to officially begin, Garos decided to eat early to satisfy the Dragon Jade's demands. He devoured magic gems, precious metal ingots, fresh blood-flesh, and concentrated black oil—all materials rich in energy or nutrients.
His digestive system worked with ruthless efficiency, rapidly absorbing nutrients and energy while expelling waste. This waste was then collected by specialized familiars for other uses.
(End of the Chapter)
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