Chapter 24: Gordon (Requesting Monthly Passes, Requesting Follows)

"Since black oil is edible."

"Then energy ores of higher quality than black oil should, barring unexpected issues, provide me with even richer energy."

"The problem is, these are all strategic resources. A small amount of black oil doesn't matter; if lucky, one can discover a deposit to mine oneself, and some alchemists refine it themselves. But large black oil deposits and other energy ore reserves are tightly controlled by the major powers."

Garos fell into thought.

Setting other matters aside for now.

The Human Empire 【Holden】 and the Elven Empire 【Nausil】 are currently locked in a covert struggle, with constant friction, over the division of resources from a super-large black oil deposit.

If not for their sheer scale, war between them would have unpredictable consequences, very likely leading to mutual destruction.

Now, they are no longer competing in the shadows.

"There are oil fields on the Cael Wilds too, but all are guarded by stationed armies for extraction."

"We'll deal with that later. For now, I definitely cannot provoke them, or it would be seeking my own death. Besides, the energy I currently need for evolution isn't much; hunting demons and ferocious beasts can satisfy it."

Garos thought silently in his heart.

He looked down at the black oil on his claws.

He extended his sensitive tongue to lick it carefully, then picked up the alchemy engine and poured the remaining black oil inside directly into his mouth.

A vigorous, spicy sensation shot straight to the crown of his head.

After finishing the small amount of black oil left in the alchemy engine in one gulp.

Garos felt as if a raging fire were burning in his belly, and his spirit became extremely excited.

Hoo!

He spread his dragon wings, riding the howling gale to shoot skyward, soaring at high speed in the upper air. He opened his mouth, continuously exhaling streams of fiery dragon breath, while the dark red patterns on his scales turned like molten lava, flowing and shimmering.

The flames constantly spread and surged.

Dyeing the sky's clouds a shade of crimson, as if ignited.

Half an hour later, Garos folded his wings and landed on a rock slab. The feeling of a raging fire burning in his belly was gone, yet he felt somewhat unsatisfied.

Because in this short half hour.

Garos could clearly feel that his training effect exceeded that of a normal week by far, especially regarding the intensity and duration of his dragon breath.

Moreover, he did not yet feel much fatigue.

"Truly a good thing."

He picked up the alchemy engine and tilted it further down.

Finally, only a single drop of black oil remained, poured into Garos's palm.

He originally intended to eat it directly.

But changing his mind, Garos looked at Samantha.

"The Legacy says this thing is not food, but it felt quite potent when I ate it. Could the Legacy be wrong?"

The Dragon Legacy is not necessarily absolutely correct; the information within might be outdated, or contain omissions and errors.

"Let Samantha taste it."

Garos woke Samantha, and under her suspicious gaze, said, "The energy contained in black oil is very rich. I just ate a lot of it; you try it too."

"Really? My Legacy never mentioned this thing is edible."

Samantha was skeptical.

She extended her warm tongue and licked the drop of black oil from Garos's palm.

Then.

Ptoo!

Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!

Before she could swallow, Samantha's eyelids twitched; she spat the black oil onto the ground with several more "ptoo"s.

"This thing is edible? It's completely impossible to swallow!"

She wiped her tongue, not wanting a single trace of black oil to stick.

"It seems the Legacy is fine; the problem is me."

Garos was speechless.

"I'll give you this engine; it will help you learn alchemy spells."

He threw the alchemy engine to Samantha.

Black oil has quality differences; the black oil Garos just ate was the lowest grade.

Alchemy can further refine and purify ordinary black oil, and can also refine monster bodies into ordinary black oil. These are very basic parts of alchemy.

Once Samantha masters it, then it will be time for her to repay me.

Garos does not raise idle dragons here.

Moreover, this time won't be too long; after all, the learning talent of the dragon race is actually excellent, and the preliminary entry into alchemy is not a difficult matter.

Samantha took the alchemy engine, curiously examined it a few times, then curled it up with her tail, closed her eyes slightly, and continued to excavate and learn the Legacy knowledge.

Glancing at Samantha, who was immersed in the Legacy knowledge.

Garos suddenly wondered how the other Iron Dragon brother, Gordon, was faring.

Gordon's arrogance and self-conceit were slightly less than Samantha's, but his mind was not as sharp as Samantha's; he has always been somewhat dull, and surviving alone would likely be very difficult.

Shaking his head, Garos did not think much more of it.

He had already given him a chance; how he ultimately chooses is his own business.

If Gordon, like Samantha, came to seek refuge, willing to obey commands and orders, no longer acting willfully and causing trouble, Garos could accept his following and let him, like Samantha, learn a type of spell that could assist him and benefit him.

But what Garos did not know was.

Gordon would not be coming here.

If one looked down from extremely high in the sky, a main road could be seen, winding and slithering across the entire Sael Wilds, its branch roads like a dense spiderweb or forked branches, extending in many different directions, resembling a network of wilderness veins.

And this network of veins was named—The Thousand Serpent's Trace.

Essentially, it was the collective term for the many roads responsible for caravan traffic and mineral transport across the Sael Wilds.

The main road of the Thousand Serpent's Trace led straight to the territory of the Southern Lothran Federation; the road was very wide, paved with a substance similar to asphalt, stretching endlessly into the distance under the sun.

With a series of slight tremors from the ground.

Wheels cast from metal inside and covered with a gelatinous substance rolled over the road.

A total of ten massive constructs, nearly fifteen meters long, crafted via alchemy and resembling cargo wagons, roared past on top of it.

On one of these wagons sat an open-air steel cage.

Every steel bar was as thick as an adult's arm, and dense alchemical runes were carved upon them.

Inside the cage was the young Iron Dragon, Gorton.

It opened its mouth and bit at the cage.

Amidst a metal clashing sound that made teeth ache, sparks flew in all directions.

Gorton's dragon teeth ached, yet it had only bitten out a series of shallow marks, completely unable to break through this cage.

After leaving the Iron Dragon Mother's territory, it had intended to start by robbing caravans and then head south to achieve great things.

The result was that the moment it showed its head, it was instantly captured by the powerful caravan guards; after all the twists and turns, it was finally bought by this current large caravan.

"Stop biting; even if you break all your teeth, you won't open it. This cage has been alchemically reinforced; it can hold even a young dragon."

A human warrior standing outside the cage, clad in heavy armor, said.

"Damn humans, what do you want to do to the great True Dragon!"

Gorton roared, baring its teeth.

The warrior clicked his tongue and said, "Don't react so strongly; we won't skin you, nor will we strip your bones and scales. On the contrary, we will dress you up beautifully and let you enjoy a wonderful life."

"What?"

Gorton didn't believe it, its eyes full of wariness.

"The beloved little princess of the Lothran Kingdom wants a dragon companion as a birthday gift. The kingdom has issued an official bounty notice, and you, lucky little Iron Dragon, are the gift we will present to the little princess."

Hearing this, Gorton's eyes widened.

It never expected to go to the south it desired in this manner.

(End of this chapter)