Chapter 9: Spiked-Tail Lion

After the hunt through the abandoned mine and the discovery of the Rock-Breaking Worm swarm.

Garos did not return directly to the Sinkhole Territory sheltered by the Iron Dragon Mother; instead, he continued to circle above the clouds, gazing down with lowered eyes at the boundless wilderness, searching for monsters and fierce beasts to hone his combat skills, while also observing territories suitable for his future habitation and occupation.

It is worth mentioning here.

Monsters are an abbreviation for magical creatures; as a dragon, Garos is actually among the top-tier monsters. As for fierce beasts, they are ferocious wild beasts that have undergone evolution and mutation.

Monsters mostly possess innate skills similar to spells, and their intelligence is generally high. Fierce beasts rely mainly on their powerful physical attributes to exert dominance, possessing low intelligence.

Over the course of most of a day.

Apart from the initial Rock-Breaking Worms, Garos hunted a total of five targets.

Stone-Shell Lizard, Fire-Breath Crocodile, Red-Eyed Giant Rhino, Terror-Claw Owl-Bear, Giant-Pincer Rock Crab.

Two monsters, three fierce beasts.

This is due to the environment of the Sael Wilderness, which is mainly inhabited by Earth and Fire-aligned creatures.

Counting the Rock-Breaking Worms, the six combat hunts in total gave Garos a clearer understanding of his own level.

He is now a Level 7 lifeform.

When dealing with the Level 6 Terror-Claw Owl-Bear, relying on the dragon's naturally powerful physique which he had strengthened through day and night training, Garos killed it with a single charge.

When fighting the Fire-Breath Crocodile, a Level 7 monster, Garos's fire resistance inherited from his Red Dragon and Iron Dragon bloodlines meant that even when directly hit by the high-temperature flames spat by the opponent, only some soot and scorch marks appeared on his scales; meanwhile, the flame dragon breath he spat directly turned the Fire-Breath Crocodile into charcoal.

Other monsters or fierce beasts of the same level were also no match for Garos.

Even the thick-skinned and fleshy Red-Eyed Giant Rhino was left half-dead after Garos accelerated from high altitude and slammed into it.

At present, 'Great Desolation Dragon Fall' is Garos's most powerful attack method besides his dragon breath.

For other young dragons, such a self-sacrificial attack method is very dangerous; if not handled properly, it could severely injure oneself. But Garos, having practiced hitting the mountain and the earth day and night at Rishan, has even evolved a set of buffer scales and has long mastered the technique.

Lower-level and same-level opponents are all very weak.

Only the Level 8 monster, the Stone-Shell Lizard, which was higher than Garos, caused him some injury.

Its petrification ray hit Garos, turning a small area of the dragon scales on his arm armor and a layer of flesh beneath into stone texture, but that was the only injury the Stone-Shell Lizard left on Garos.

He estimated.

Although he is only Level 7, he should not fear even facing Level 9 fierce beasts or monsters.

Ordinary dragons can also fight above their level, and Garos's physique, adapted and evolved, is among the elite even among dragons.

However, Garos does not possess the overly arrogant and conceited personality common to other dragons.

Unless necessary, unless driven by sufficient benefit, he will not rashly deal with creatures far higher in level than himself.

With the innate talents and adaptive evolution of dragons, if he develops steadily, he will become increasingly powerful.

There is no need to fall into a dangerous situation due to momentary arrogance and conceit.

Since ancient times, the arrogance and conceit left over from the era when giant dragons ruled everything has caused countless dragons to die before they could even grow up.

Back to the main topic.

Apart from the fierce beasts and monsters hunted.

Garos also discovered several suitable biological habitats.

The good news is that these habitats are either fertile with lush vegetation, or have clear lakes with flocks of birds and beasts, or feature treacherous terrain that is easy to defend and hard to attack.

The bad news is that all of them are like the abandoned mine occupied by the Rock-Breaking Worm swarm; they all have owners.

In this wilderness, there are many creatures living and inhabiting; suitable habitats are rare and scarce, and basically all are already occupied by powerful creatures.

The territory Garos coveted most was nestled against a mountain and beside water, with beautiful scenery and abundant food resources.

Unfortunately, it was occupied by a group of Spiked-Tail Lions.

The average life level of an adult Spiked-Tail Lion is Level 5.

If it were one-on-one, a duel like a knight's, Garos could let the opponent use two hands.

But that group of Spiked-Tail Lions was numerous; counting from above, there were about thirty of them. Not only were there two leaders, one male and one female, present simultaneously, but their size was also extremely huge, and their appearance differed from normal Spiked-Tail Lions, seeming to have some mutations.

Having marked the locations of the few territories he favored.

Garos thought that perhaps by the time he left the shelter of the Iron Dragon Mother, he would be sufficient to replace the original lord.

When the sun was about to sink into the embrace of the distant mountains, and the sunset clouds layered and dyed the sky like a burning fire.

The young dragon ended this expedition, swept across the sky under the setting sun, and returned to the Sinkhole Territory.

Because, according to the rules, he had reached the age of expulsion, Garos, although living in the Sinkhole Territory, no longer shared a dragon nest with the Iron Dragon Mother.

He simply settled down by the cliff where he exercised daily.

Just upon returning.

He saw the Red Dragon Sister and the Iron Dragon Brother lazily basking in the afterglow of the sunset, lying on their bellies outside the mine tunnel to rest, eyes half-closed, their tails behind them swaying left and right, flicking back and forth, very content.

The two of them were lazy and slack in their dragon nature, and lacked the self-discipline that Garos possessed.

At the very beginning, they thought they knew Garos's secret to strength, so during their free time they imitated Garos by hitting the mountain and the earth, with an enthusiastic and high-spirited demeanor.

For the past few days, it was indeed so.

The two dragons were full of enthusiasm; whenever they had time, they hit the mountain and the earth at Rishan, unlike before when they would wander aimlessly or lie down and sleep when they had nothing to do.

But as time passed, their nature proved hard to change, and their enthusiasm began to fade.

Just a short while ago.

During her free time, when it was time to hit the mountain for exercise just like the previous times, the Red Dragon Sister hesitated. Thinking she should combine work and rest, sleep a bit to rest, and start only after replenishing her energy and spirit, she went to sleep.

After waking up, the sky was a bit late, and the cool night breeze blowing made the Red Dragon Sister feel somewhat uncomfortable.

She pondered that if her state was not right, the exercise effect would definitely be poor, so she thought she would start again during the day.

By daytime, when the morning light first rose and the air was freshest, the Red Dragon Sister felt again that with such good air, she should soar in the sky, enjoying the thrill of flying high and looking down at the earth, and then put the exercise out of her mind again.

After several times like this.

She completely stopped thinking about exercising.

As for Iron Dragon Brother, he differs from Red Dragon Sister; he never underwent Red Dragon Sister's emotional journey.

Once, he flew too high and failed to adjust his angle when facing the sun and earth; his dragon face made intimate contact with the ground. The impact was too severe, leaving him with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, looking utterly bewitched.

After this incident, Iron Dragon Brother also gave up.

In fact, although not as effective as Garos's visible evolution and adaptation, if they persist in using mountain rocks and the earth to strike and temper their bodies, their scales and armor will become harder to some degree, and their bodies will grow more resilient.

Even while being forced by Garos to mine.

After a month, their claws and teeth had become significantly sharper, and their muscular strength had increased somewhat.

Ordinary dragons actually possess evolutionary abilities far surpassing other creatures; they are just not as obvious or efficient as Garos's.

(End of this chapter)