Wind and snow swept across the vast canopy of The Borderlands, deeply etching the cold into every inch of the land.
After a period of dedicated experimentation and careful realization, Garros had basically grasped the wonderful changes occurring in various parts of his body, especially the results brought about by the evolution of his dragon blood, which he now understood thoroughly.
The free transformation between Qi and blood had caused his overall strength to rise significantly by a massive margin.
Furthermore, the high-concentration black-red aura transformed from his burning dragon blood could not only be recovered but also carried extremely strong corrosive and destructive effects.
In actual combat, Garros could make decisions based on different battle situations.
Whether to choose to recover the detached aura and convert it into precious health to maintain survival and endurance; or to attach it to his claws, teeth, wings, and tail, or even integrate it into his breath to enhance his attack power.
"These tests are about done. Next, it's your turn, Frenzied Flame."
The Red-Iron Dragon's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of solemnity and anticipation flashing within them.
To be safe and avoid any potential loss of control affecting Dragon Valley during the testing process, he first took flight, leaving the valley where his subordinates gathered.
In an open, flat clearing covered with thick white snow and a wide view.
Garros landed slowly, then composed himself and projected his perception into the depths of his soul.
The Frenzied Flame had no physical form and did not depend on matter; in essence, it was a bizarre and blazing fire of the mind that could continuously entice and amplify the deep-seated Fury within a creature, driving them to madness and rage until they completely lost their reason.
Based on available information, it originally came from a mysterious, nameless meteorite that had disappeared.
As for what it actually was and where its true source lay... these deeper secrets remained shrouded in mist and were yet unknown.
"Become active; let me feel your presence more clearly."
Deep within his heart, the Red-Iron Dragon issued a call.
At the same time, sensing the host's will and guidance, the dormant Frenzied Flame began to flicker slightly. The flames gradually rose, then burned more and more vigorously.
A surge of nameless Fury subsequently bred and surged in the depths of Garros's heart, continuously rising.
However, unlike the situation before his slumber where he would become increasingly uncontrollable once angered.
The rising anger at this moment did not cause Garros to lose his composure.
Between his thoughts and the soaring Fury, there seemed to be an invisible yet resilient barrier, allowing him to maintain a relatively detached and calm perspective to observe and harness his own anger rather than being harnessed by it.
Garros understood that this was a precious trait evolved from his ten years of actively adapting to the Frenzied Flame and another thirty years of deep evolution during his slumber.
This allowed him to preserve his sanity to the greatest extent while in a state of Fury.
"This is exactly the ideal state I originally envisioned."
"While this is inseparable from my long-term targeted training, the fact that my body could naturally evolve in this direction without any uncontrollable mutations—does this mean my Adaptation Talent is gradually evolving from passively responding to the environment to being able to lean toward subjective guidance?"
Garros pondered in his heart.
Passively adapting to the external environment and actively guiding the body to change in a specific direction are two completely different concepts.
He felt that if his talent could one day be completely controllable, reaching the point where he could guide evolution at will, that would be true power, enough to face any challenge.
As for now, although his talent was not weak and gave him the capital to stand out among his peers, it was far from invincible. Garros's achievements today were not just due to the gift of talent but also the sweat and effort he put in far exceeding that of other dragons.
And even so.
In the records of the Dragon Race's Inheritance, there were a few dragons who displayed an even more dazzling brilliance than him.
For example, three types of Legendary Dragon Species that only existed in ancient texts and songs.
What they naturally controlled were not common elemental powers like earth, water, wind, or fire, but abstract concepts that sounded high-level, such as time, force, and light.
It was said that outstanding individuals among them were Legendary lifeforms the moment they hatched.
At the very least, they could steadily become Legendary before their youth.
However, these dragons only existed in ethereal legends; the records in the Inheritance were extremely sparse and vague, perhaps just rumors spread by word of mouth.
Let alone the Material Plane where Bernardo Planet was located.
Even if the scope were expanded to the various planes and the endless worlds, one might not necessarily encounter a single one.
Garros had no interest in competing with these ethereal dragons that only existed in legends.
In his eyes, his only true rival had always been his past self.
What he pursued was the continuous breaking of his own limits, completing one leap of life and evolution after another, until he reached true eternity and immortality.
He firmly believed that even if those Legendary dragons truly existed, in the Late Stages of life, they might not necessarily be stronger than him, who had undergone countless directional evolutions and continuous self-optimization.
As for those powers that sounded abstract and powerful.
He believed that in the future, he might not be unable to evolve similar or even stronger abilities.
Suppressing his somewhat wandering thoughts, Garros refocused his spirit on the Frenzied Flame within his body.
He did not try to suppress the growing anger; instead, he actively opened his body and mind to cooperate with it, like adding oil to a fire, letting that mental fire burn surgingly, far exceeding the previous test.
At the same time.
Within Garros's eyes.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, one hideous bloodshot vein after another emerged, spreading like a fine spiderweb.
The Red-Iron Dragon slowly stood up, his massive shadow falling upon the snow.
Fury was like a tsunami, surging within him and crashing against the dam of his reason in wave after wave.
If it had been before, with such intense Fury, he would likely have already been driven by the instincts of the Fury State, reduced to a beast that knew only destruction.
But now, it was different.
Although that invisible barrier between his thoughts and the Fury continuously rippled due to this massive anger, Garros's reason did not suffer much substantial impact.
Garros carefully felt this unprecedented Fury, allowing the fire of anger to burn wantonly within his body.
As time passed, the bloodshot veins in his eyes became more numerous and dense, dyeing almost the entire white of his eyes a terrifying bright red.
Finally, at a certain moment when it accumulated to the peak.
Garros's eyes turned completely crimson, like blood moons!
At the same time, without actively activating the Frenzied State or other buffing states, the aura emanating from his body began to rise, gradually giving off a seductive, crazed, dangerous, and highly unstable feeling, like an active volcano that could erupt at any moment.
Garros naturally and officially stepped onto the Wild Path.
From now on, Fury was no longer just a pure negative effect and burden to him; it officially became one of Garros's sources of power.
He also naturally comprehended the Fury State.
Which was the state he had entered at this moment.
"Huff... huff..."
The Red-Iron Dragon's breathing became heavy, deep like thunder, echoing across the empty snowy plains.
He could clearly feel his attributes growing as his Fury climbed.
"With the Frenzied Flame as an almost infinite source of Fury, my Wild Path Level will increase extremely quickly. I expect it won't be long before I can comprehend a higher-level Fury State."
Garros slowly clenched his claws, feeling the power surging with his Fury.
Under his active guidance and cooperation, the power and Fury within his body continued to climb upward.
As this power rose, the sense of irritation in Garros's heart also increased simultaneously. The barrier between his thoughts and the Fury shook more and more noticeably, but it still existed resiliently, showing no signs of collapse yet.
This feeling was quite strange.
It was like manipulating a character full of Fury through a solid screen.
No matter how angry the character inside the screen was, it was difficult to truly affect the calm operator behind the screen.
This was exactly what Garros was experiencing now.
Fury swept through his body and mind like a wild tide, yet deep within his thoughts, it was calm and without ripples.
A state where Fury and calm coexisted was contradictory, yet it was truly manifesting within him.
"The key question now is, where exactly is the limit of this Mental Barrier?"
Garros could feel the pressure and the sense of wavering it transmitted.
If it were completely destroyed by extreme Fury, Garros would inevitably be deeply affected by that Fury.
Then, he decided to keep trying, allowing the anger and power to surge toward an even higher peak.
Meanwhile...
High in the sky, an Arctic Falcon accustomed to soaring through the bitter cold swept past.
Its sharp gaze noticed the terrifying dragon coiled in the snow below; its biological instincts immediately sounded an alarm, and it subconsciously prepared to flap its wings and flee this dangerous place.
But suddenly...
A surge of unprovoked, blazing rage erupted in its tiny chest, and its eyes were instantly bloodshot.
[So angry! So what if it's a dragon? Why should it be allowed to occupy that spot so arrogantly? Just looking at it makes this bird furious! Even if I die, I'm diving down to give it a peck!]
With such vague yet extremely angry thoughts, the Arctic Falcon let out a sharp, malevolent cry.
Abandoning its flight, it tucked its wings and dived toward the Red-Iron Dragon below like a death-defying arrow.
Slap!
Without even looking up, Garros casually raised his right wing and gave a light swat, as if shooing away a fly.
The diving Arctic Falcon instantly exploded in mid-air, turning into a mist of tragic crimson blood that dissipated in the cold wind.
"Such a weak creature dared to attack me? With such a death wish, how did it survive to adulthood?...Wait, no." Garros's mind raced: "It seems it was affected by the aura of Fury I unintentionally emitted, to the point where it was blinded by rage, completely ignored the massive gap in our strength, and charged in with the intent of mutual destruction."
He realized this immediately.
Unknowingly, the intent of Fury he emitted had become like that of the Red Dragon Gorthax, capable of radiating outward and directly affecting surrounding creatures.
Furthermore, the range of this influence seemed to be quite extensive.
"Excellent, this is a simple and crude, yet remarkably effective divine skill."
Garros felt a slight joy in his heart.
He had personally experienced how tricky and troublesome Fury Radiation could be.
However, as much of a headache as he once thought it was, he felt equally delighted now that he had mastered it himself.
Afterward, Garros continued to increase his anger.
In an ever-expanding radius centered on him, all sentient living beings were inevitably drawn into the vortex of Fury; they lost their reason, attacked one another, or launched futile charges toward Garros's position.
As his anger continued to grow, the range of this Frenzied Domain expanded visibly to the naked eye.
Not long after...
Even the Red-Iron Dragon's incomparably tough body began to struggle under the power growing wildly with his anger. As the scales on certain areas of his body began to crack and bleed slightly, the Mental Barrier guarding his sanity also began to shake violently, with countless invisible cracks appearing as if it would shatter in the next second.
Garros knew that the test should end here.
He acted decisively, concentrating his mind to suppress the overwhelming rage bit by bit until it gradually subsided and retreated back within a safe threshold.
"It seems the physical limit of my body is roughly the limit of this Mental Barrier."
Understanding dawned in Garros's heart: "However, if a time truly comes when I need to push my anger to that degree, it will likely mean I am already in a desperate life-and-death battle, having exhausted all my regular trump cards and needing to push myself to the absolute peak and most dangerous state."
"At that point, whether I ultimately fall completely into Fury no longer matters."
Regardless, he had gained a powerful and terrifying skill.
Even if it was temporarily difficult to activate the Crimson Lotus State after using the Dragon Core, it didn't matter; he had this brand-new trump card.
After spending some more time testing various effects and influences of the Frenzied Flame under different levels of activity in more detail, Garros was finally satisfied. He beat his wings and returned to Dragon Valley.
Wings, scales, blood, and Frenzied Flame.
Deep adaptation and evolution in these four aspects had brought Garros's strength to an unprecedented and powerful peak.
He had no doubt that his current self could easily kill his former peak self—even when using every method available—and would likely not even give his former self a chance to escape.
Now, the only question in his mind was how much of a gap existed between himself and a true Legend.
Unfortunately, it seemed there was currently no suitable situation for Garros to verify his thoughts.
On the other side, in the vast Southern Kingdoms...
After the turmoil and baptism brought about by the Alliance's civil war, the landscape of the kingdoms gradually stabilized, including the Kingdom of Theo located at the northern frontier.
It was one of the kingdoms that had followed the Kingdom of Ripos in joining the anti-king faction back then.
Not counting those weaker duchies, it was the human kingdom in the Southern Kingdoms located closest to the northern border and nearest to the Serel Wilderness.
Since three years ago, when the Holy King abruptly appeared and announced the dissolution of the Alliance and the end of the war...
The Kingdom of Theo had been quietly healing its war wounds, working hard to restore the national strength and Vitality consumed by the war.
As order and vitality gradually returned to all aspects, some high-ranking officials finally found the time to turn their gaze back toward the Serel Wilderness.
Because its geographic location was adjacent to the wilderness, development and infiltration were relatively convenient.
The Kingdom of Theo had always established a large number of strongholds in the wilderness, second only to the two great powers of Rebos and Lothern; they were practically blooming everywhere, scattered across all the major regions of the wilderness.
Then, as reports and requests for aid from various strongholds were submitted one by one...
The shocking content described within immediately drew the high level of attention from certain kingdom officials.
Except for the northeast region...
The northwest, central, southeast, and southwest... the kingdom's bases, outposts, and resource points located in these four major regions had all suffered attacks of varying scales. The defenders were either brutally killed or forcibly expelled.
The bases established with great effort were also forcibly occupied by the so-called 'Regional Overlords' of the wilderness.
In the past, because the wilderness belonged to the Alliance, handling such matters required reporting to the Kingdom of Lothern—the leader of the Alliance—for a decision or coordinated action.
But now, the Alliance had been dissolved, and each country acted on its own.
The Kingdom of Theo could now make decisions on how to handle matters in the Serel Wilderness and respond to the provocations of the local natives entirely based on its own interests and judgment.
In Iron Crown City, at the headquarters of the Military Staff and the office of the Department of Foreign Strategy.
On the heavy mahogany desk, several extremely detailed maps of the Serel Wilderness were spread out.
On the maps, the small blue flags that originally represented the various strongholds of the Kingdom of Theo had been mostly removed and thrown aside in disarray.
In their place were threat zones marked strikingly with crimson pigment, appearing like ugly scars that almost covered the entire map.
Inside the room, the atmosphere was heavy.
Two men holding important positions were in conversation.
Sitting in the primary seat was an elderly man with graying hair meticulously combed, a serious and stiff expression, wearing a sharp deep-blue uniform with gold trim—the Director of the Department of Foreign Strategy, Marquis Marcus.
His fingertips were tapping rhythmically on the most glaring red marks on the map, producing a dull and oppressive sound.
Standing opposite him was a relatively young man, about forty years old, with a posture as straight as a spear and eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
He wore light armor underneath a short cloak bearing the Growling Mountain Lion emblem of the Kingdom of Theo.
The Unfinished Sword, the Legendary Sword Saint of the Kingdom of Theo, Kairos.
He was also one of the experts who had once been commissioned by the kingdom to guard the wilderness border for a long time.
It was worth mentioning that when he guarded the wilderness years ago, Kairos was still below the Legendary Level; he was a peak Level 20 warrior specializing in the Sword Saint Path, having been stuck just one step away for many years.
His Legendary status was finally forged and shaped during the civil war, through the baptism of life and death, iron and fire.
Although the time since he became a Legend was not very long, Kairos's name had already begun to spread within the kingdom long ago.