Chapter 73: The Howling Moon Clan, The Onslaught of the Red Copper Dragon

Needleleaf Valley, Sulfur Pool.

Garos tossed chunks of red copper ore into it.

This ore is distributed around Needleleaf Valley; it is a fire-attribute metallic ore that reacts with the Sulfur Pool to produce intense heat. The Rage Bears had previously used red copper to enhance the pool's effect, making it boil, hotter, and generate more steam.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

As chunks of red copper ore touched the Sulfur Pool water, bubbles immediately rose continuously from the pool, hissing, while its temperature kept rising.

Garos did not jump into the Sulfur Pool water to soak.

He raised his dragon wings, coated with serpent-dragon venom blood, and held them horizontally over the Sulfur Pool water, letting the parts corroded by the venom blood into many Kong Dongs endure the impact of the high-temperature steam.

That high-temperature, moisture-laden steam.

It penetrated everywhere, drilling into the blood holes on the dragon wings; the pain transmitted made the corners of Garos's mouth twitch slightly.

Ordinary high temperatures meant nothing to him.

Due to the influence of the Blessing of Fire, his fire resistance, after an initial drop, had been constantly rising recently, surpassing its previous peak and showing improvement; ordinary fire damage was basically immune.

But high-temperature steam was mixed damage.

Especially since it carried water-attribute damage that countered Garos, mixed with the pain brought by the serpent venom; the sensation was indescribable. If forced to describe it, it was like having dense mouth ulcers already, then eating a mouthful of chili powder and stirring it evenly with the tongue to smear it on every ulcer.

"Even if the attempt fails, it can still raise some water resistance."

Pain outside of combat was even harder to bear; Garos's tail kept whipping, and his dragon wings trembled.

But his eyes were fierce; he still stretched out his dragon wings, enduring the steam impact.

"Pain? I am the master of this body."

"Trivial pain, submit to me!"

"This isn't pain; it's exhilaration. This is exactly the feeling I want."

Garos bared his teeth, tossed another chunk of red copper ore into the Sulfur Pool to make the steam denser and more scorching; it made him grimace in pain, but he absolutely refused to move his dragon wings away.

Long Long Weila the Faerie Dragon and Samantha the Red Dragon exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

"Garos has become even more perverted."

"He actually tortures himself this way; ordinary pain no longer satisfies him."

Samantha silently stepped back a few paces away from the steam-filled area and said.

"When did Garos start having this symptom?" the Faerie Dragon asked in confusion: "Could he have contracted some kind of dragon mental illness?"

Dragon minds are highly developed, allowing them to perceive the essence of the world better.

But this also gives dragons a probability of contracting mental illnesses.

Infinite Gluttony, Extreme Magic Thirst, and Nestless Roaming all belong to dragon mental illnesses; Garos's symptoms were uncommon, but the Faerie Dragon felt they were somewhat like a precursor to 'mental illness'.

"As far as I remember, he has always liked doing this."

Samantha touched her chin keratin, pondering: "This shouldn't be a mental illness, but rather some kind of fetish. My inheritance mentions that some intelligent beings enjoy the sensation of injury and pain."

"Garos must be like that; the more his body hurts, the more he enjoys it."

The Faerie Dragon suddenly understood and nodded: "No wonder it's Garos; unique even in his fetishes, so strange."

Garos's spirit was contending with the pain and did not notice the two dragons' conversation.

Otherwise, he would have slapped one dragon each, making them pay the price for their slander and defamation!

In three days, he still had to go to Crescent Moon Valley; if the Howling Moon Clan's werewolves chose to refuse, combat would be needed. Garos had only tasted the waters this time and stopped not long after.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, three days later had arrived.

Garos had also recovered almost completely, so he soared into the air and flew toward Crescent Moon Valley.

For safety's sake, two days ago, he ordered Mobeer to lead the majority of the Rage Bears toward Crescent Moon Valley; Garos did not need them to launch an attack, only requiring them to maintain a certain distance, station themselves on the periphery, and hide.

This way.

If communication with the Howling Moon Clan went poorly.

With the Rage Bears' coordinated encirclement, the certainty of annihilating this werewolf tribe without letting any member escape would be higher.

Meanwhile, in Crescent Moon Valley, the Howling Moon Clan.

The Old Shaman and the Chieftain, along with a crowd of adult Gray-Mane werewolves, were waiting within the clan territory for the dragons' arrival; some werewolves bore fresh wounds, the number of giant wolves in the clan had increased, and the number of werewolves had correspondingly decreased.

These ten days.

The Howling Moon Clan had not lived peacefully.

The Old Shaman and the Chieftain, the two highest clan leaders, both inclined toward submission and following the dragons.

Standing at the highest positions, bearing the most pressure, they knew how difficult it was to lead a clan to survive in the wilderness; moreover, by staying up all night consulting ancient texts within the clan that recorded knowledge about dragons, they realized that Garos was probably just a young dragon, yet he could kill the evil serpents they regarded as great enemies; such a performance was already not that of an ordinary dragon.

Following a young dragon with extraordinary potential.

For a wilderness clan, this was a good choice.

Furthermore, because of Garos's final kind words, they felt Garos was not a cruel, bloodthirsty evil dragon.

But the voices within the clan were not unified; some werewolves, due to the shadow left by the Cliff Serpent Dragon, firmly believed they could no longer invite wolves into the house.

Quickly, different voices turned into different factions.

The originally peaceful discussion gradually became intense.

The Gray-Mane werewolves respected strength above all; since no result could be reached through discussion, they would fight; whoever had the bigger fist would have the final say.

So.

To decide the clan's future development direction.

At this critical juncture, a group of werewolves with the same goal but different ideas began duels, which ultimately ended with the victory of the Shaman and Chieftain's side.

Those individuals who participated in the duels and lost.

According to the Howling Moon Clan's tradition, willingly became giant wolves, abandoning intelligence, and continued to guard the clan under the leadership of other werewolves, using wild instincts and thought processes.

Whoosh!

Accompanied by a piercing whistle growing louder as it approached from afar.

To demonstrate his own power, Garos once again streaked across the sky like a crimson meteor, descending upon the territory of the Howling Moon Clan.

His gaze swept over the werewolves, finally coming to rest on the Old Shaman.

Garos smiled faintly and said, "Have you considered it? Will you choose to follow beneath my wings and walk toward a brighter path, or reject my kindness and continue struggling for survival in the wilderness?"

The Old Shaman was the first to lower his head, kneeling before Garos.

"Noble and powerful dragon, it is the honor of our Howling Moon Clan to serve you."

"From this day forth, the Howling Moon Clan shall become your kin, offering you our loyalty; wherever you tread, the wolves of Howling Moon shall follow."

It was as if a switch had been flipped.

One by one, the werewolves knelt prostrate before Garos.

Thus, Garos obtained his first group of intelligent kin.

The process went smoothly, as natural as water flowing to form a channel.

Immediately after, Garos quickly noticed the change in the numbers of giant wolves and werewolves within the Howling Moon Clan.

"What is the story with these newly added giant wolves?"

He asked the Old Shaman.

The Old Shaman's gaze was complex as he slowly said, "They were warriors who once held opposing views; now they have shed their wisdom to become beasts, guarding the clan in another way."

Then, he informed Garos of the specific details.

This left Garos with some sighs and thoughts.

He had merely presented a choice, paying no further attention to the Howling Moon Clan's reaction, simply waiting for the final result.

Yet for the Howling Moon Clan to make that choice,

they had undergone an internal struggle within these short ten days.

This made Garos realize even more clearly

just how important strength is in this world where the strong devour the weak.

A single thought from the powerful, a mere whim, can decide the fate of the weak, granting them rebirth or plunging them into the abyss.

At the same time,

in the north of the Ser Wilderness, between the wilderness and the permafrost tundra, at Red Maple Ridge,

a Copper Dragon soared into the sky.

"Innately evil half-breed dragon! I will find you, then defeat you! Capture you, train you, and turn you into a good dragon!"

Equipped with brand-new gear and having undergone more than half a year of harsh training, the Copper Dragon, full of fighting spirit, flew high into the sky.

(End of Chapter)