Chapter 28: Red Copper Dragon: Naturally Evil Hybrid Dragon! (Request Monthly Votes)

Near a low hill with cracked rock walls, its surface pocked with countless small and large depressions.

A fresh, skin-on piece of beast meat lay exposed on the ground, emitting a tempting bloody scent under the sun’s scorching heat, spreading through the surrounding air.

Time slowly passed.

After several minutes, the ground before the meat suddenly bulged and split open.

A spider crawled out from within.

Its main body was about the size of a millstone, each leg sharp as a spear, nearly two meters long, its carapace a dusty yellow marked with rock-like patterns.

Earth Spider — Level 3 beast.

With its jointed limbs, the earth spider approached the meat, ready to savor this “pie” fallen from the sky.

But it did not know that no gift in this world comes free.

Whoosh!

A strong gust suddenly swept in from behind.

The young Red Iron Dragon dove low, snatching the earth spider before it could react, then using mental resonance to subdue it through intimidation and persuasion.

The earth spider was inferior to the Rock Shatter Worm in every way.

But after days of searching, Garos found no other Rock Shatter Worm colonies, nor any other more suitable creatures, and had to give up.

“One earth spider is too few. Capture more.”

Garos thought to himself.

Using meat as bait was too slow; he considered switching tactics.

After thinking for a moment, Garos noticed the earth spider he had just subdued — its earth-brown abdomen still glowed faintly red.

His inherited knowledge told him this meant it was a female, currently in the phase receptive to mating with males, capable of emitting corresponding pheromones to attract them.

As for why inherited knowledge included this detail:

One could only say dragonkind had broad interests; at least one of Garos’s dragon ancestors had taken a keen interest in earth spiders, hence the knowledge had been preserved.

What followed was simple.

The female spider lay calmly on the ground, radiating a scent that drove male spiders into a frenzy.

Soon, one male spider arrived, drawn by the odor.

But the male spider did not get what it wanted.

As it rushed forward, the Red Iron Dragon, acting like a fisherman enforcing the law, seized it, beat it mercilessly, then bribed it — replicating the same method to subdue it.

“The character ‘lust’ carries a blade above it — poor spiders.”

Garos sighed, then continued his fishing enforcement.

Soon after,

Garos now commanded a group of earth spiders — forty-three in total.

Forty-two males, one female.

All male spiders were dispatched to a small black oil field occupied by dwarves, tasked with harvesting black oil, while the female remained at Iron Cedar Hill, fed and cared for directly, spared from danger.

But this did not mean the female had no duties.

Besides continuing to attract other earth spiders, she was also charged with calming and motivating the males.

When subduing the males, Garos had made a promise:

— Any male that brought back black oil would earn one opportunity to mate with the female.

For such low-intelligence beasts, the desire to reproduce outweighed all else.

Driven by their instinctual urge to breed, the male spiders marched boldly underground and departed, while Garos silently awaited their triumphant return.

Several days later, Iron Cedar Hill.

Samantha spat out a fireball.

Boom!

The fireball struck Garos, exploding into brilliant flames, blasting off his last remaining buffer scales and revealing his black-red, steel-cast scales beneath.

Feeling the dry, burning ache in his throat,

“Enough? I’m already tired.”

Samantha panted, asking.

“Keep going — this is just the beginning. Is your stamina worse than Mober’s?”

Garos urged mercilessly, employing provocation.

Seeing Mober the Earth Storm Bear resting against an iron cedar on the other side, Samantha’s competitive spirit flared; she ground her teeth and said, “You asked for it — I’m going all out now.”

With that,

Samantha drew a deep breath, her chest swelling, dark red hues like molten lava appearing between her scales.

A brilliant flame formed between her interlocking dragon fangs, churning within her mouth.

Inferno Dragon Breath!

The ambient temperature rose invisibly, building for several seconds before a dazzling, magma-condensed red fireball shot from Samantha’s mouth, hurtling straight at Garos.

The fireball filled his vision as it raced toward him.

Garos did not dodge or retreat — he straightened his chest and absorbed the blow with his body.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave erupted, flames and airwaves spreading outward, blasting a massive crater and charred earth into the ground.

Red dragons’ attacks were famed for their devastating power.

Facing Samantha’s fully charged assault, Garos could not avoid being blasted away, his body smashing through several iron cedars before stopping.

Standing up and looking down, he saw his thick black-red scales on the chest sunken inward, cracks radiating outward.

“Now that’s a real hit!”

Feeling the pain in his chest, Garos was not angry — he was delighted.

Samantha’s other attacks were meaningless; they never satisfied him. This one, however, was worthy.

“Again. I’ll stand still and let you attack.”

He looked at Samantha, eager and excited.

But Samantha had collapsed on the ground like a pile of mud — the Inferno Dragon Breath had drained her last strength.

“Garos, you’re… becoming… more and more… monstrous.”

Samantha panted, tongue lolling, speaking in broken gasps.

She was done.

But Garos was still unsatisfied; he turned to Mober the Earth Storm Bear.

Mober shut his eyes and pretended to be dead.

He had been Samantha’s previous sparring partner; he hadn’t recovered yet. Though the target was Garos, it was always he who ended up aching all over.

Still unsatisfied, Garos soared into the sky, found a barren hill and open ground, and repeatedly slammed into it.

Nearby wild beasts stared in terror at the dragon mindlessly crashing into mountains and earth, fleeing hastily to avoid being caught in the chaos.

Boom!

Hard granite shattered under the impact of Garos’s dragon horns.

After further training,

Garos stepped out of the “cave” he had carved, shaking off dust and broken rocks — still not fully satisfied.

As his body grew stronger, ordinary training no longer yielded sufficient results.

Even this small barren hill — he had nearly smashed through it — his scales had only developed cracks, not shattered outright.

“Ordinary hills and earth can no longer meet my training needs.”

“I need a better, more suitable environment.”

He flicked his dragon wings, stirring a gust that lifted dust from the ground; Garos pondered, preparing to return to Iron Cedar Hill.

At that moment,

A dry, desert-sand-like dragon scent suddenly reached him.

His eyes narrowed; Garos looked up at the sky.

In his line of sight,

A dragon’s silhouette appeared.

Its scales glowed crimson, shimmering with metallic luster under the sun; a pair of spiral horns, resembling ram’s horns, extended from its forehead backward; copper-colored hardened scale-tendrils grew from neck to spine, fluttering in the wind; as it flew, its form resembled a crimson sandstorm sweeping across the sky.

It was a Red Copper Dragon — a type of metal dragon.

It was flying straight toward Garos, its target clear — it had clearly detected Garos’s presence.

“Senselessly destroying innocent peaks and land — hmph! You’re a naturally evil hybrid of red and iron dragon. Today, this dragon shall show you the punishment of metal dragons!”

The young Red Copper Dragon smelled Garos’s dragon scent, found him utterly distasteful, and felt a fierce urge to fight.

(End of Chapter)