Chapter 29: Cunning Evil Dragon!

"A juvenile Copper Dragon of Life Level 7."

Garos fixed his gaze on the Copper Dragon, which soared toward him like a crimson sandstorm, and used a Life-Level Scrying Art to confirm its Life Level matched his own.

A juvenile dragon.

A dragon species aged between 16 and 25 years.

Garos could not determine its exact age, but judging by its roughly nine-meter-long body, it fell within the category of a juvenile dragon, or perhaps it was an overdeveloped hatchling, though the probability was low.

As for why a juvenile dragon's Life Level was the same as his, a hatchling.

The reason was simple.

Dragon constitutions could not be generalized.

Within the dragon hierarchy.

Whether Red Dragons or Iron Dragons, both were premier dragon breeds.

Copper Dragons ranked at the bottom among metallic dragons; at the same age, their Life Levels were completely inferior to Red or Iron Dragons, let alone a superior hybrid like Garos. If it were a juvenile Gold Dragon, it would be at least Level 9.

The Copper Dragon did not dive directly to attack Garos.

Instead.

It circled slightly before landing on a scorched rock platform.

Roughly a hundred meters from Garos, its spiral horns reflected the midday sun.

Tilting its head, it scrutinized Garos's cracked scales.

The tip of the Copper Dragon's tail tapped the ground rhythmically as it paced left and right, weighing its options.

A nearly seven-meter-long Red-Iron hybrid dragon, Life Level 7. Its body length was less than mine, yet it looked so strong. Good heavens, its dragon wings looked like a pair of deadly weapons; its heart must be extremely evil.

It should not be easy to deal with.

But I possess three alchemical artifacts gifted by my parents, more than enough to deal with a foolish evil dragon of the same level.

After pondering for a few seconds.

The Copper Dragon curled its lips into a pleased smile, paused its steps, and stared at Garos, saying, "Oh, a naturally evil Red-Iron hybrid dragon. Now is the question time."

"May I ask, what thing requires both extinguishing fire and removing rust to survive?"

Among the five types of metallic dragons.

Brass Dragons and Copper Dragons were the most annoying to other dragon species.

Brass Dragons were excessively talkative and chatty, enjoying tormenting opponents with words; when holding an advantage, they would control their foes, such as burying them in the ground with only their heads exposed, then forcing them to listen to their speech.

Copper Dragons were less talkative than Brass Dragons.

However, they particularly enjoyed teasing and tormenting enemies with jokes they considered humorous, rather than starting a fight immediately.

If one encountered a Copper Dragon in the wild and accidentally offended it, as long as one could provide it with interesting jokes, stories, or riddles, there was a high probability of receiving forgiveness, or even its appreciation and favor.

Meanwhile.

The Copper Dragon chuckled.

"The answer is—you! The Red Dragon's temper combined with the Iron Dragon's rigidity makes for the most failed recipe."

Its voice sounded relatively crisp to other dragons, like wind chimes in the desert, and its relatively balanced and slender figure indicated that this was a female Copper Dragon.

While speaking.

The Copper Dragon crouched its body slightly, its limb muscles tensed, ready for battle.

The alchemical artifact pressed beneath its tongue was ready to activate at any moment, intending to deliver a crushing blow to the raging Red-Iron hybrid dragon charging at it.

But what the Copper Dragon did not expect was.

The evil dragon before it did not follow the usual pattern; despite such provocation, it remained unmoved, and instead simply flapped its wings, soared into the sky, and flew away toward the distance.

Garos ignored the Copper Dragon and had no interest in entangling with it.

Metallic dragons valued family bonds.

When juvenile dragons ventured out to adventure, they could receive equipment bestowed by elders, or certain Life-Saving Arts inscribed within the inner layers of their scales, often more than one.

With just a glance.

Garos noticed the Copper Dragon wore a large gold chain around its neck, and a red ring protruding from the tip of its wing, both shimmering faintly under the sun, with dense runes vaguely visible engraved upon them.

These were things directly visible.

Who knew if this fellow had any hidden alchemical artifacts or Life-Saving Art scales?

Copper Dragons did not like fighting fairly by overpowering opponents with force like Gold Dragons; their temperament was rather cunning and sinister, similar to the Green Dragon among the Chromatic Dragons.

Unless the stakes were huge or life was threatened, Garos did not fight battles without certainty.

"Hey! Are you a rare cowardly evil dragon? Don't run!"

The Copper Dragon first froze in surprise, then flapped its wings to ascend, relentlessly pursuing Garos.

To its surprise, its own speed was far inferior to Garos's; although its body looked bulky and heavy, its massive and exaggerated wings could fully bear the load and provide unimaginable flight propulsion.

The distance between the two sides rapidly increased.

"Such fast speed."

Its competitive spirit was ignited; the Copper Dragon persisted relentlessly, determined to make the evil Red-Iron hybrid dragon accept justice.

The fiery red ring hanging from the tip of its wing lit up rune by rune.

The color became vivid, and the high temperature distorted the surrounding air.

The fiery red ring became like a red-hot iron.

Whoosh!

A cluster of flames ignited, extending and radiating at extreme speed, spreading onto the Copper Dragon's wings, coating them with a layer of flowing fire.

As its wings flapped, the flames rose.

The Copper Dragon's speed surged.

Garos glanced back, noticing the pair of flowing-fire dragon wings on the Red Copper Dragon at this moment.

"An alchemical artifact capable of attaching flames, somewhat similar to my Lightning Tail Ring."

He thought.

"I want to test its level first."

A dangerous glint flashed in Garos's eyes.

Suddenly turning his head, the Red Iron Young Dragon opened its mouth and spat out.

A cone-shaped, brilliant lightning-fire composed of flame and lightning, blooming like countless flowers along its path, erupted violently from his mouth; fast and accurate, it pierced the air at extreme speed, shooting toward the Red Copper Dragon.

The Red Copper Dragon was caught off guard.

By the time it reacted, the Lightning-Fire Dragon Breath, inherited from the Iron Dragon bloodline, was already within arm's reach.

In terms of pure destructiveness, the Lightning-Fire Dragon Breath is inferior to the Red Dragon's Flame Dragon Breath, but it is faster and carries a paralysis effect, making its actual effect superior to the Flame Dragon Breath.

At the critical moment.

The golden chain around the Red Copper Dragon's neck suddenly lit up.

A layer of golden shield appeared on its body, adhering to the surface of its scales.

Sizzle!

The Lightning-Fire Dragon Breath struck the golden shield; the lightning and flame damage it carried were both blocked, and the golden shield rapidly dimmed.

The Red Copper Dragon shifted sideways, narrowly avoiding the subsequent Lightning-Fire Dragon Breath with a lingering sense of alarm.

But it felt no fear; instead, it continued to pursue Garos.

Garos's breath failing to penetrate its defense only made it feel even more certain of a steady victory over Garos.

"A treacherous and evil fellow; even a sneak attack is useless before absolute strength."

The Red Copper Dragon snorted lightly, thinking to itself.

Arrogance and overconfidence are common ailments among dragonkind; metallic dragons are no exception, not unique to chromatic dragons or Iron Dragons.

(End of this chapter)