All the alchemy tools on its body were stripped away, leaving the Red Copper Dragon dizzy and with a painful neck. It had finally regained its senses and broken free from the hypnotic state.
It raised its dragon claw, striking and tearing at Galos's right shoulder.
The sound of the strikes was dull and heavy.
Sparks flew, and as its claw tips touched the scale armor, a grating metallic sound resonated, painfully sharp on the teeth.
The Red Copper Dragon felt as if it had hit a piece of anvil that had been forged thousands of times. Its claws ached deeply, yet it could only leave some marks on the opponent's dragon scales, unable to rip them open and draw blood.
Due to previous training, Galos now had no buffer scales on his body.
The dark red patterns crisscrossed and flickered like flowing magma, and the black scales, with a subtle silver matte sheen, looked as if they were cast in steel, far harder than normal Dragon Race scales.
"Such hard dragon scales!"
The Red Copper Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a gel-like acidic Dragon Breath, but Galos had already widened the gap, avoiding the acid breath.
Only at this point.
Having gotten a moment to breathe, the Red Copper Dragon finally realized it seemed to be missing something.
Turning its head, it saw that the Flowing Fire Wing Ring that used to hang on its dragon wings was gone. Looking down, the Watcher's Necklace on its neck had also vanished, and a flick of the tongue inside the mouth found no trace of the Silver Frost Ring either.
The scale armor on its neck also felt empty.
Reaching out a claw to feel around, the Red Copper Dragon was shocked to find that the gemstones and gold coins it hid within the inner layer of its scales were almost all gone.
At the same time, it noticed something glistening in the feathery scales of Galos's dragon wings, which looked closely, were precisely its own gemstones and gold coins.
The Flowing Fire Wing Ring, Silver Frost Ring, and Watcher's Necklace, all were clutched in one of his dragon claws.
"Ah, damn evil dragon! Give me back my gemstones, give me back my gold coins, give me back my alchemy equipment!"
The Red Copper Dragon screamed.
Having its treasures and equipment snatched right before its eyes, any normal Dragon Race member would find it hard to remain calm and rational.
Flaring its wings, it flew towards Galos.
The Red Copper Dragon charged furiously, baring its teeth and claws.
But the anger did not increase its strength, instead, it caused more flaws in its movements.
Galos tilted his body, sidestepping to dodge the Red Copper Dragon's angry charge, and seized its tail with both dragon claws, clamping down like a pair of iron pincers.
Crack, crack, crack!
The dragon scales on its dragon arm clamped tightly, and the strong muscles underneath bulged, erupting with a thick, robust giant strength.
"You—"
The Red Copper Dragon's words were dragged out into a long note as its entire body was swung around in the air by Galos holding its tail, spun around several times, and finally hurled harshly towards the ground.
Bang!
Accompanied by a deafening sound.
Countless rocks and dust exploded, forming a massive deep pit in the ground, with dense cracks extending outward in all directions.
"Ptooey!"
The Red Copper Dragon, its scale armor widely cracked, spat out rubble from its mouth and stood up from the deep pit, feeling pain emanating from within and without its body.
Yet even so.
This Red Copper Dragon had no fear.
On the contrary, it flapped its wings to disperse the dust, rising into the air once more, adopting a stance as if to fight Galos to the death, charging towards him again.
"Inherently evil Red Iron Dragon! Return my things, or we won't ever be done!"
The Red Copper Dragon shouted.
The Dragon Race has a resilient body, abundant vitality, and for the Red Copper Dragon, the previous injuries were far from being severe, unless the gap was exceedingly large, and unless the Dragon Race fought to the death with bloodshot eyes, otherwise killing a dragon was very difficult.
Yet even so, it seemed overly reckless.
As if it had some kind of confidence.
Galos's eyes flickered, not pursuing his advantage, but instead starting to retreat.
"I've already robbed enough gemstones, gold coins, and alchemy equipment, but Metal Dragons are each richer than the last, who knows if they have powerful protections."
He thought to himself.
Sure enough, on the Red Copper Dragon's chest, on one of its dragon scales, a silver rune appeared. Its shape was not an alchemy rune, but something similar to a magic scroll, only it was directly inscribed on the dragon scale.
—This was the strongest life-saving measure a Metal Dragon parent could bestow upon its offspring.
If the Metal Dragon parent is powerful enough.
Even for a juvenile dragon, its magic scale might erupt with power akin to the legendary level.
No one could predict how a juvenile Metal Dragon might counterattack in a life-threatening situation.
Galos instinctively sensed a hint of danger.
"Why am I not a Metal Dragon?"
He sighed inwardly.
If he said he wasn't envious, it would definitely be a lie.
A Metal Dragon's adventure is merely an adventure, carrying life-saving means and exploring various places with a playful mindset, and often it's not for survival, but for entertaining themselves, making their dragon lives less monotonous and boring.
An Evil Dragon, however, gambles with life for tomorrow.
The key is Galos didn't think of himself as an Evil Dragon, his goal was simply to live a bit longer, a very basic and simple thought.
Yet this world was too dangerous and extremely unfriendly to him.
Wasn't it?
Galos was happily training, bothering no one, but as soon as the Red Copper Dragon saw him, it yelled something about inherently evil Red Iron Half-blood, coming straight over to pick a fight.
Not being an Evil Dragon, yet being forced to become one.
Galos exhaled slowly, calming his thoughts.
The treasures and alchemy equipment were already in his possession, no need to risk anymore.
Unclear about what kind of power the opponent's life-saving magic scale contained, attempting to kill a Metal Dragon posed more risk than the subsequent benefits.
Galos swiftly made a decision in his heart, preparing to disengage and withdraw.
With a flap of his dragon wings.
He retreated swiftly, instantly widening the distance from the Red Copper Dragon, disappearing in a flash.
The Red Copper Dragon chased for a few seconds, unable to catch up at all, it gritted its teeth and stopped.
"Evil Red Iron Half-blood Dragon, don't let me catch you, or I'll make you lick my claws every day to atone for your wicked deeds!"
It shouted in exasperation.
At the same time, before his figure completely disappeared, Galos's voice drifted faintly from the wind.
"It's question time now."
"What's something that's flying in the sky and about to cry out for its mommy?"
The Red Copper Dragon was momentarily stunned, and by the time it reacted, the color of its scale armor visibly became even more vibrant.
Blushing.
It roared with fury, yet there was nothing it could do, its gaze on the Insect King squatting on the ground, watching the fight between the two dragons in the center of the abandoned mine pit.
"Damn bug, what are you looking at!"
The Red Copper Dragon snarled, folding its wings, and dived toward the Insect King.
Caught off guard with poor knowledge of the Dragon Race.
The Insect King opened its massive mouth, leaping to bite at the Red Copper Dragon.
Simultaneously, the silver rune on the Red Copper Dragon's chest lit up fully.
—This kind of life-saving magic scale only triggers when life is threatened.
The surrounding temperature plummeted, as if suddenly transitioning from a sweltering summer to the dead of winter.
Tightly packed, seemingly endless ice blades materialized around the Red Copper Dragon, then howled toward the Insect King like a torrential storm, moving so swiftly that the Insect King couldn't react.
Slash, slash!
Each ice blade drilled into its mouth, effortlessly tearing through its carapace and bursting out, leaving the Insect King covered in wounds, full of holes, gravely injured in an instant.
Making odd noises from its mouth.
Startled by the pain, the Insect King panicked, turned, and ran, burrowing into the mine shaft, dragging its severely wounded body as it fled deep underground.
Failing to kill the Insect King in one strike only fueled the Red Copper Dragon's rage. It circled above the abandoned mining pit, raining down ice blade storms with each beat of its wings, plowing through the pit below, leaving it utterly devastated.