Chapter 7: Lothren Federation

The Sael Wasteland lies on the border of the Atlant Continent, bordered to the north by the 【Permafrost Tundra】, to the south by the 【Lothren Federation】, and encircled on the east and west by the 【Rust Mountains】 and the 【Boiling Sea】 respectively.

Dense forests, towering mountains, and crystal-clear lakes.

All of these can be seen in the Sael Wasteland.

However.

In the Sael Wasteland, which is scorching hot year-round, the most numerous features are various sulfur rifts, hills, and abandoned mines; rich veins of magical metal lie beneath the ground here, once inciting various nations to fight fiercely over the mineral resources of this region.

Roughly eight hundred years ago.

The southern nations waged endless wars over the Sael Wasteland, causing suffering to all living beings, frequent natural disasters, and making survival difficult for many intelligent species, with wails echoing everywhere.

Until a human king appeared who was simultaneously proficient in strategy, spellcraft, and statecraft.

He led the legions under his command to sweep through the southern nations, forcing them to sign a peace treaty, and, with his kingdom 【Lothren】 at the head, established the 【Federation】; although the Lothren Federation is not as powerful as an empire, it is far stronger than a typical kingdom.

Thus, the struggle for the Sael Wasteland finally ceased.

Under the leadership of the Kingdom of Lothren, the southern nations partitioned and divided the Sael Wasteland through negotiation and communication; after hundreds of years of mining and excavation, the mineral resources of the Sael Wasteland are now far less abundant than before, many veins have been hollowed out, and their importance in the eyes of the various nations has greatly diminished.

However.

Even now, there are still some unexhausted mineral veins on the Sael Wasteland; these places often have outposts and bases of the various nations, accompanied by stationed armies.

"One cannot approach the outposts of the Lothren Federation."

"If I go there, I would be delivering magical materials to them; they would immediately dismantle and craft them into various magical artifacts, or enslave and imprison me, forcing me to live a life devoid of humanity."

Amidst the flowing winds and floating clouds above the wasteland, Garos raised his head to gaze westward—in that direction lies an outpost of the Lothren Federation, occupying a large 【Fire Marrow Stone Mine】.

All along, the Iron Dragon Mother has coveted and longed for the Fire Marrow Stone Mine, her heart set on it.

The Iron Dragon is not a purely fire-elemental dragon, but its attributes are related to fire; if a large quantity of Fire Marrow Stones were available for the Iron Dragon to swallow, it could greatly accelerate its growth rate.

But even for an adult giant dragon like the Iron Dragon Mother.

She can only covet it, daring not to act rashly.

The Lothren Federation has many legendary experts; just one of them coming could skin the Iron Dragon Mother alive.

Legendary—this is a life tier above level 20, a leap and sublimation; level 20 is also the dividing line between mortals and legends.

If dragons do not die young, they are destined to become legends; the only question is sooner or later.

As for humans, legendary experts are one in ten thousand; only humans with extraordinary talent can become legends, but due to the massive human population, the number of legends is not small.

On the planet Bernardo, the species with the most legends is humans.

Dragons, giants, and elves—all these species have fewer legends than humans; however, at the same level, if a human legend engages in a one-on-one duel with a legend of these species, it is no different from suicide.

"Fire Marrow Stone Mines... there are many such veins in the Sael Wasteland."

Garos thought to himself.

The ores within the Iron Dragon Mother's crater territory are scattered and far from reaching the scale of a vein; moreover, they contain many impurities and the ore is not pure.

But even so.

When Garos consumed various ores, he could still clearly feel that they contained abundant energy, having a very good promoting effect on the development and growth of his scales, claws, teeth, and bones.

"Pity, all known veins, regardless of size or scale, already have owners."

"Even the Iron Dragon Mother failed to occupy a vein; I can only think about it for now and focus on the present, first training my combat skills."

Centering on the crater territory, Garos circled in the surrounding sky, searching for a target.

Time slowly passed; the sun tilted slightly westward but remained bright and blinding, pouring out scorching heat that shrouded and swept over the entire Sael Wasteland.

Everywhere were deep pits and collapses, at the sites of abandoned mines.

Three gray hyenas were slowly pacing along the edge, their limbs moving in an alternating gait, ears held high, and eyes alertly scanning the surroundings.

After finding no other creatures nearby, the gray hyenas lowered their heads to lick the salt crystals seeping from the rock crevices.

These beasts, covered in heat-resistant spines, were ingesting the salt essential for their bodies.

But what they did not know was.

A cruel and cunning predator had set its sights on them.

Rock-Splitting Worms—a type of creature that likes to inhabit abandoned mines and usually feeds on mine tailings and metal.

Their appearance resembles worms covered in a layer of black chitinous armor, nearly twenty meters long and as thick as a water bucket; the spiral sharp teeth inside their mouths can crush rocks into powder like a rock crusher, and tearing flesh and blood is nothing to them.

The patterns on their armor perfectly blended with the surrounding rock fissures.

The Rock-Splitting Worm's armor scraped against the rock walls, sending shockwaves through the rock layers, sensing movement within a one-kilometer radius, and detecting the presence of the gray hyenas.

It moved underground, slowly approaching the target.

Soil and rock were torn open before it as if they were tofu; the ground above bulged slightly, forming a long trail.

One minute later.

The gray hyenas had licked almost everything and were preparing to leave.

The strongest of the gray hyenas suddenly turned its head, noticing the rising earth trail approaching at high speed, and instinctively sensed danger.

Awooo!

It let out a roar from its mouth to warn its companions and leaped to the side.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The tail of the Rock-Splitting Worm suddenly exerted force, and the rock layers and surface cracked like brittle biscuits.

The massive worm body burst from the ground, its shadow covering the surface rocks, and it lunged and bit like lightning.

Buzz!

The rock-crusher-like mouth clamped onto two gray hyenas; the spiral fangs inside began to rotate, almost instantly grinding the hyenas' fur and bones into pieces, which were swallowed into its belly along with the spreading blood mist.

The other, strongest gray hyena whimpered and fled without the slightest hesitation.

The Rock-Splitting Worm raised half its body, and a net of acid sprayed from its mouth in an umbrella shape, landing on the fleeing gray hyena; in an instant, it dissolved through its fur and flesh, emitting a hissing sound.

Moving slowly and deliberately to the front of the gray hyena, the Rock-Splitting Worm swallowed it into its abyss-like mouth.

It had just devoured three gray hyenas in succession.

The Rock-Shattering Worm that burst from the soil did not burrow back underground; instead, it wiggled onto a flat rock and lazily basked in the sun.

This creature primarily lives underground.

But occasionally, they must come to the surface, letting sunlight stimulate their carapace, shedding damaged parts, and growing brand new, harder shells.

Bathed in sunlight, the Rock-Shattering Worm lazily rolled over.

Unfortunately, what it did not know was this:

A far more ruthless and cunning predator had set its sights on it.

(End of this chapter)