"Samantha, Tereshi, do you long for battle?"
Garros looked toward the Red Dragon and the White Dragon.
No Evil Dragon dislikes fighting; the two of them nodded immediately without any hesitation.
"I suspect the Bloodhoof Clan is intentionally feigning weakness to deceive us, so we shouldn't be in a hurry to attack their main base," Garros said. "Each of you take your subordinates and raid the Bloodhoof Clan's mines and ranches."
Since the Minotaur chose to avoid conflict and show weakness...
...Garros decided to press them step by step.
He would see if the Bloodhoof Clan would continue their deception or if they would start to counterattack once they could no longer endure their resources being plundered.
"Samantha, take the Wyvern swarm and attack the ranch."
"Tereshi, lead the subordinates of the Crimson Iron Cavalry to raid the mine."
Garros gave more specific instructions.
Hearing his words, the Red Dragon raised her head and spat out wisps of flame. "I will make those horned creeps wail in the flames."
The White Dragon spread her massive wings. "I will freeze them into blocks of ice."
The Faerie Dragon darted out from somewhere and said solemnly, "I will scare them to death."
"No, you have a more arduous task—guarding Dragon Valley." Garros's serious expression made the Faerie Dragon feel valued. Thus, she tightened her small face and said, "Vera guarantees that she will scare away all monsters trying to sneak attack Dragon Valley."
Shortly after, the Red Dragon excitedly took the Wyvern swarm and departed from Dragon Valley, disappearing into the horizon.
The White Dragon also took the swift Crimson Iron Cavalry and began marching toward the Bloodhoof Clan's mine.
Garros watched them leave, opened the lid of a black oil barrel, dipped the tip of his tail into a bit of black oil, and then licked it gently.
Hiss—it was like a line of fire was traveling down his throat and into his abdomen.
Flames erupted from Garros's nostrils; he felt that the 95-purity black oil was indeed better than what he had drunk before.
It was absorbed quickly, provided ample energy, and imposed less of a burden.
Resisting the urge to chug the 95 black oil, Garros opened his mouth wide and placed the entire barrel of black oil inside.
He didn't bite down, but the black oil barrel disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At the base of one of the Red-Iron Dragon's fangs, there appeared to be a tooth ring at first glance, emitting a crystal-clear luster. In fact, it wasn't a tooth ring but a ring that Garros had placed over his tooth.
It was a spatial ring presented by Nick, capable of changing size.
It could also be worn on a dragon claw.
However, during intense combat, wearing it on a dragon claw—the most commonly used part for attacking—made it prone to damage, so Garros wore it on his tooth.
The chamber space in his stomach was limited.
Furthermore, he would need to ruminate each time, which consumed a certain amount of time depending on the size of the item; it wasn't as quick as retrieving things from a spatial ring.
He stowed away the black oil barrel.
During these past few days, Garros, whose physical condition had already reached its Peak, did not continue to rest.
He used the large anvil Samantha had made to sharpen his wings and tail, making the blade-like scales and wing bones sharper.
Garros had performed this kind of sharpening many times.
The wings showed no signs of evolution.
However, he felt something unusual about his tail, especially the scales on both sides, which had become tighter and layered together, slightly protruding outward. It seemed to be evolving toward a blade-like style, though it had only just begun and was not yet complete.
Screech! Screech!
The dragon tail and wings rubbed against the anvil to sharpen, accompanied by a piercing sound and bursts of sparks.
A short while later.
Bloodhoof Clan, Heavy-armored Rhino Ranch.
Sunlight spilled lazily across the meadow.
Minotaur guards were stationed around the perimeter, alert to threats in the surroundings.
Nearly a hundred Heavy Armored Rhinos were leisurely grazing on cold-resistant grass, their heavy bodies leaving footprints on the ground. Their thick black hides glinted with a metallic luster in the sun, and the horns on their heads occasionally brushed against the bushes, knocking down a few ripe berries.
A few young rhinos playfully butted heads, making dull "thud-thud" sounds.
One of the Minotaur leaders of the Bloodhoof Clan, Shaman Grino, was collecting the rhino herd's dung.
A few Heavy Armored Rhinos had been exceptionally lazy lately, even somewhat weak. Grino could determine through their dung whether they were sick or if it was due to other reasons.
Grino's thick fingers pinched a few undigested grass stems, his bushy eyebrows knitting together.
There was abnormal mucus in the dung, and it was clear that the digestive Systems of three or four female rhinos were having issues.
"Go get some wormwood."
Just as Grino looked up to instruct his assistant, the panicked cries of a young rhino suddenly reached his ears.
The sky suddenly darkened.
Twelve figures tore through the cloud layer. Led by the Red Dragon Samantha and the Wyvern leader Tasha, they spread their massive wings, casting deep shadows on the ground that enveloped the rhino herd and the Minotaurs.
"Enemy attack! Light the beacon fires!"
The Shaman's loud shout was drowned out by the chaos of the rhino herd.
The hurricane-like winds kicked up by the Red Dragon's dive flattened the grass. She skimmed low, spitting out Flame Dragon Breath. Instead of attacking the Minotaur guards first, she headed straight for the rhino herd. When the Dragon Breath landed on the Heavy Armored Rhinos, their thick black hides turned crimson, like melting molten iron.
One after another, the Wyverns followed the Red Dragon's lead, spitting out corrosive acid.
The attacked rhino herd scattered, but the dragon swarm did not pursue.
The heavy bodies of the Heavy Armored Rhinos crushed the earth, unstoppable. The Minotaur guards tried to block them, but they were sent flying one by one.
"Deal with the Evil Dragon first!"
Grino's bovine eyes were bloodshot as he issued the order.
The Minotaur elites stopped blocking the rhino herd and stared intently at the incoming Evil Dragons.
They threw the short spears they carried, aiming at the Wyverns and the Red Dragon.
The Wyvern Tasha nimbly flapped her wings to avoid the short spears and dove toward the ground. Her strong hind feet grabbed a Minotaur elite, carrying him into the air. Her tail stinger pierced through a gap in his armor into his skin and flesh, injecting toxin, before she threw him toward the other Minotaurs.
The largest number of short spears were thrown at Samantha.
Samantha avoided most of them, knocking down the rest with her tail or claws.
However, as she dove and knocked away several Minotaur guards, a short spear shot through the air silently and at lightning speed, piercing her rune-enhanced scales and embedding itself in her flesh.
Baring her fangs, Samantha turned her head to see a fully armed and exceptionally tall female Minotaur.
She held a long spear, with rows of short spears wrapped around her waist. She was brimming with powerful Demonic Energy, and her Life Level was not low.
The Minotaur warrior raised her hoof and stomped the ground fiercely.
The ground instantly cracked, and she charged at Samantha like a cannonball, her long spear imbued with Demonic Energy as she locked onto Samantha's wing membrane.
Whoosh!
The Red Dragon flapped her wings to gain altitude while simultaneously spitting Dragon Breath at the Minotaur warrior, forcing her to dodge and retreat back to the ground.
Under Garros's influence, the Red Dragon had gradually become aware of her advantages. She wouldn't be like other reckless Young Dragons, fighting regardless of the consequences and giving up flight to land on the ground.
"Creeps, the sky is not your Domain."
The Red Dragon said, flames churning between her teeth.
At this moment, Shaman Grino knelt on the ground, his hands pressed firmly against the earth, and the ground in front of him cracked open.
A massive totem pole rose from the center of the ranch.
"Take flight!"
Tasha's pupils shrank slightly, and she let out a screech.
In the next second, the totem pole erupted with Chain Lightning, sweeping toward the Wyverns. However, because of the Wyvern leader's early warning, most of the Wyverns took flight first, escaping the range of the Chain Lightning.
The few that were hit felt their bodies go numb, and their movements became sluggish.
The Minotaur spear-throwers concentrated their attack, raining short spears down on these Wyverns, piercing their bodies and creating bloody holes. After suffering some injuries, these Wyverns also took flight and escaped the attack range of the totem pole.
"This totem pole... the Bloodhoof Clan is indeed extraordinary, just as Garros thought."
Ordinary shamans couldn't create such a thing.
"However, I have good stuff too."
Samantha grinned, her claws brushing over the scales on her neck. She took out three crimson spheres and then hurled them at the totem pole.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Chain Lightning swept through two of them, detonating them in mid-air, while the other landed on the right side of the totem pole. All of them created deafening explosions and soaring flames.
The runes engraved on the totem pole flickered, forming a magic shield, and the Chain Lightning attack paused.
"Wyverns, attack!"
Samantha continuously hurled the High-Explosive Flame Beads she carried at the totem pole to interfere. The attack range of this item was further than that of Dragon Breath, and since it was a one-time consumable, it didn't consume Samantha's Demonic Energy.
The Wyvern swarm continued their attack under her cover.
After a period of frantic bombardment, the totem pole cracked, and its runes lost their luster.
The Red Dragon's High-Explosive Flame Beads were also exhausted, so she dove toward the earth again to attack alongside the Wyvern swarm.
As time passed...
Under the Minotaurs' counterattacks, the dragon swarm, which was gradually sustaining more injuries, began to retreat. They did not linger on the battlefield, leaving behind a mess and many corpses of Minotaur guards.