Chapter 87: Steam Rift, Dragon Slumber

In the rain curtain, the valley's valley, tall conifer pines stand erect, their treetops swaying with the wind and rain.

Garos flapped his wings, descended and returned, landed on a cliff rock slab, then summoned and gathered all the Fairy Dragons, Red Dragons, and Earth Rampant Bears together.

Fine silver threads kept falling.

The Rampant Bears stood in the rain, their fur soaked; the Fairy Dragon hid under the Red Dragon's wings to avoid the rain, while the Red Dragon wiggled its hindquarters and flicked its tail, feeling uncomfortable all over in the rain.

"I am going into Dragon Sleep."

Garos announced this news, saying: "For the next five years, I might not wake up."

Hearing this, Mobei was the first to pledge loyalty, kneeling on the ground with his hindquarters raised, his honest bear face showing a bit of jackal-like flattery.

"My Lord, please rest assured; with me leading the Rampant Bears to guard, no creature will disturb your deep slumber!"

"When you wake, you will surely sweep across the Sael Wilds like a storm, making countless creatures submit!"

The other Rampant Bears looked at Mobei, envious of his dragon-flattering skill.

Ordinary Rampant Bears were not good with words, only knowing how to bury their heads and work; they couldn't think of flattering words either, so they felt Mobei was a genius, very good at speaking, and their kneeling speed and proficiency left them in awe.

After Mobei had knelt for several seconds.

The other Rampant Bears finally reacted, following suit to kneel before Garos, expressing that they would definitely guard well.

Garos did not intend to sleep in the Conifer Valley.

If a powerful enemy appeared, relying on these Rampant Bears, Red Dragonets, and Fairy Dragons would still be unable to block them; moreover, with so many creatures gathered here, it would attract more attention; it was better to find a suitable place himself to sleep alone.

"Guard the Conifer Valley well."

"When I wake and return, I do not wish to see this place already changed hands."

Garos gave serious instructions, then let the Rampant Bears scatter.

The Fairy Dragon Long Long Weila poked her small head out from under Samantha's wing membrane, then flew toward Garos.

She flapped her translucent wings, rain sliding off her scales: "I can help you find a safe nest! I know there is a hidden cave east of the Conifer Forest; the entrance is covered by vines, and no one can discover it."

"No need, I have my own ideas."

Garos said.

Samantha also flew over: "Five years? You want to sleep that long? Can it be shorter?"

Last time, during Garos's injury and rest period, it was only seven days, yet she felt severe anxiety, lacking a sense of security in her heart; this time, five years—Samantha just thinking about it made her feel uneasy and nervous.

"Of course not; five years is still my conservative estimate."

Garos flicked his tail, splashing up some water, and said to Samantha: "During my Dragon Sleep, you and Long Long Weila must be careful; stay hidden in the Conifer Valley; do not run around aimlessly."

Pausing for a moment, he sternly added.

"Do not play with ants all day! When I wake, if your Alchemy level is still standing still..."

He did not finish his sentence, leaving a blank for Samantha to imagine the consequences herself.

In five years, barring accidents, the two clans should be able to accumulate some Black Oil reserves; by then, he would need Samantha to use Alchemy to refine the Black Oil and improve its quality as much as possible.

"As long as you wake up quickly, I promise not to disappoint you."

Samantha said.

Her obedient reaction surprised Garos a bit.

He did not probe deeper, then looked toward the Fairy Dragon Long Long Weila.

Garos instructed: "Do not forget to collect your scale powder every day and gather them together."

The Fairy Dragon circled Garos, saying: "Okay, okay!" She blinked her eyes and asked: "Can you play with me while you sleep?"

Garos shook his head.

"I am asleep; how can I play with you?"

The Fairy Dragon giggled: "It's fine, it's fine; as long as you allow it, that's enough; I won't disturb you; I can play by myself."

Her gaze swept over Garos's body, thinking about how to graffiti on this body later, or plant flowers and plants to decorate it, to dress up Garos and make him look 'cute and beautiful.'

Garos did not know the Fairy Dragon's specific thoughts.

But that did not stop him from refusing.

"Fine, you can stay by my side while I slumber."

He said with a chuckle.

"Yay!"

The Fairy Dragon became excited, extremely happy.

"Just be extra careful; do not let me kill you; when I dream, I cannot distinguish friend from foe."

Garos said calmly.

The Fairy Dragon's body stiffened.

She suddenly remembered: Garos could 'kill dragons in dreams'; she could not get close.

"Um, never mind then; I will play with Samantha and the Rampant Bears; I won't disturb you."

The Fairy Dragon stuck out her tongue and immediately changed her words.

After giving some further instructions to the two dragons, Garos began preparations for his Dragon Sleep.

He first went to the cave where the Cliff Serpent Dragon corpse lay, dug out its most venomous heart, then left the cave, shot into the sky, and his figure vanished into the dense rain curtain.

Some time later.

Garos arrived above a certain area shrouded in mist and steam, filled with the smell of sulfur.

This was the Dragon Sleep location he had chosen in advance.

Garos had the habit of planning ahead and preparing for a rainy day.

When he attempted to evolve Jet Dragon Wings and used Fairy Scale Powder for rapid thinking, he had already thought of using Dragon Sleep to increase the success probability; later, during daily training and exploring the surrounding terrain, he discovered a suitable place.

Garos lowered his gaze to look down.

The rift below resembled a wound in the earth split open by a giant axe, winding and twisting as it stretched into the distance.

The gray-white rock walls were covered in honeycomb-like Kong Dong, constantly spewing scalding steam that condensed into thick mist in the cold rain.

Through the dense steam, dark red lava veins were faintly visible at the bottom of the rift, flowing slowly between rock fissures like blood vessels, steaming the sulfurous odor up to a hundred meters into the sky.

The high-temperature, high-heat environment is favored by fire-type creatures.

But this place is also filled with scalding, sticky steam, and ordinary water-type creatures cannot endure the hot environment here either.

The environment of the Steam Rift is harsh; no creatures inhabit or exist within it.

But for Garos, it was just right.

He retracted his wings and, like an arrow leaving the bowstring, shot into the thick steam, piercing through the high-temperature, high-heat vapor to gradually descend and reach the bottom of the rift.

He hid within a rock fissure where steam was gushing forth.

Garos smeared the poisonous blood from the snake-dragon heart onto his dragon wings, corroding them into dense Kong Dong, then gritted his teeth and endured the torment of scalding steam constantly passing through these holes.

The toxin effect of the dragon heart blood is stronger, and its duration will also be longer.

Moreover, the steam here flows endlessly, constantly irritating Garos's wounds; combined with the poisonous blood, it slows the healing of the wounds, making the toxin even harder to remove.

But this is exactly what he wanted.

Waves of stinging pain came again and again.

Drowsiness surged like a tide.

Garos tried to relax his mind; his eyelids began to tremble, weariness grew, and then he slowly closed his eyes, entering the Dragon Sleep state.

The state of deep slumber.

The aura of the dragon kind is entirely internalized, making it difficult for other creatures to detect them, but their perception of danger does not slacken; instead, it becomes more sensitive than usual. Once they sense danger sufficient to threaten their lives, they will wake immediately, but the Dragon Sleep state will also be interrupted.

The rift grew calm.

Only the sound of surging steam continued without end.

Wrapped in the dense steam, the Red Iron Dragon slept in silence, evolving quietly.

Waiting for the next awakening.

These wings, tempered a thousand times, perhaps no longer need interaction with a rainy environment to shoot forth steam, swaying to leave comet-like trails, transforming into peerless deadly weapons.

(End of this chapter)