The Borderlands, Black Iron Plain.
The thick smoke swirling above the Alchemy Workshop could not be obscured even by the heavy snow. The furnaces roared day and night, the teleportation platforms operated incessantly, and the claws of the Gnolls and Kobolds on the assembly line were almost sparking from friction.
Seeing this scene, Garros nodded in satisfaction.
After finishing his training, he soared through the blizzard to relax his body and mind, taking the opportunity to visit the Black Iron Plain to check on the development of the Alchemy industry.
"Samantha, you have done well."
"I can already see the shadow of the Red Dragon Queen in you."
He complimented the Red Dragon in charge of this place.
However, the Red Dragon Samantha did not feel happy because of this compliment; her chin did not lift, and her tail did not perk up, which was somewhat unusual compared to her previous behavior.
"Oh? You seem to have something on your mind."
Garros, who was well-versed in dragon nature, asked.
"Not exactly."
The Red Dragon flicked her tail in annoyance and grumbled, "A Giant Fire Ant leader I had high hopes for was burned to death while undergoing my Dragonblood Transformation. Damn it, what a waste. It was clearly a fire-elemental lifeform, yet it was burned to death by dragon blood."
Garros knew the Giant Fire Ant leader she was talking about.
It was a monster that had followed Samantha for a long time. Its intelligence was slightly higher than an ordinary Vicious Beast, but lower than an Earth Rampage Bear. It was often caught by the Red Dragon Samantha to fight her Alchemy creations, and in her eyes, its status was roughly like a little girl's doll.
The 'doll' did not survive the Dragonblood Transformation and died.
Given the Red Dragon's personality, she was far from heartbroken, but she was certainly annoyed.
"Dragonblood Transformation."
Hearing Samantha's words, Garros could not help but recall the subordinates under his command who had perished during the Dragonblood Transformation.
Those who were able to obtain the opportunity for the Dragonblood Transformation were all veterans who had followed him for many years and rendered meritorious service, or elites with extraordinary talent who performed exceptionally well in certain aspects.
It could be said that each one of them was a capable subordinate in whom he had placed high hopes.
However, the process of the Dragonblood Transformation was simply too dangerous.
Failure meant death.
Very few subordinates were able to successfully pass this trial.
"Is there any way to reduce the mortality rate of the Dragonblood Transformation?"
Garros fell into deep thought, attempting to find an answer within the Dragon Clan Legacy, but the knowledge he found was not very applicable.
Just then, the Grand Artificer, who looked like a gnome construct, walked over.
He had heard the conversation between the two dragons. A stream of data-like light flashed in his eyes, and then he spoke in his consistently calm and rational voice: "The process of the Dragonblood Transformation is overbearing and cruel. If it can be broken down into different steps and performed through minor but multiple conversions, it should significantly increase the success rate."
His analogy was very vivid.
Just like manufacturing an Alchemy Golem; wanting to complete the entire production process in one go is both time-consuming and difficult, but if the various parts are manufactured separately and then assembled at the end, the difficulty can be greatly reduced.
Garros nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense. The Dragonblood Transformation ritual itself is not complex; one could even say it is somewhat simple and crude."
"If it can be broken down into different steps and carried out in stages, the danger will definitely be reduced by a lot."
He and the Grand Artificer discussed this idea in depth, and the more they discussed it, the more feasible they felt it was.
The complete transformation process could be broken down into several, or even a dozen, modification rituals targeting different parts such as flesh, heart, lungs, limbs, bones, brain, and Soul, strengthening each part step by step.
As long as this technology could mature.
His subordinates would surely gain a group of powerful members.
And it would not be necessary to complete the full Dragonblood Transformation.
As long as one or two modifications were completed, the subordinates' various attributes and potential could be improved. Afterward, more rituals could be completed gradually according to the actual situation, which would further stimulate the subordinates' enthusiasm.
To distinguish it from the traditional Dragonblood Transformation.
Garros named this method "Dragon-Forged Modification".
"Very good. If this idea can be realized, the Molten Iron Tribe can add another battle group—Dragon-Forged Warriors."
"With our level of Alchemy industry, is it possible now to dismantle the transformation ritual and perform Dragon-Forged Modification on an assembly line?"
Both of them shook their heads simultaneously.
"The specialty of Alchemy is steel and machinery."
After calming down, the Red-Iron Dragon nodded and said, "Indeed. The Dragon-Forged ritual involves the modification of flesh and Soul, which should belong to the professional field of Necromancy."
The Molten Iron Tribe currently lacks talent in this area.
It will likely be difficult to realize this concept in the short term.
"Among the Chromatic Dragons, Black Dragons are naturally adept at manipulating flesh and Soul, making them very suitable for becoming Necromancers or learning Necromantic Spells. In the future, we can train some Black Dragon Necromancers to specialize in researching and perfecting the Dragon-Forged Modification ritual."
Garros silently planned this in his heart.
Just then, his expression suddenly became serious, as if some emergency had occurred.
"What's wrong?"
The Red Dragon Samantha asked.
"A powerful demon has appeared at the Abyssal Rift. There is no time to delay; I will go and resolve it now."
The situation was urgent. Before his words had even faded, Garros flicked his dragon wings, and his strong body tore through the blizzard, disappearing rapidly into the distant horizon.
In the southwest, the Fertile Plains.
The subordinates of the Molten Iron Tribe were locked in a bitter battle.
As time passed, the White Dragon Tereshi and the half-breed Centaur sustained many lacerations. The stench of rot lingered, the bleeding was difficult to stop, and their auras gradually weakened, while several Vulture Demon leaders became increasingly ferocious.
"Centaur, I will cut open your body and savor your flesh and Soul in detail."
The Vulture Demon clamored in the twisted and grating Abyssal tongue.
Although Elvie could not understand the Abyssal tongue, she could clearly feel the undisguised malice within it.
These Vulture Demons seemed to be drooling over her, as if they couldn't wait to devour her alive.
However.
She did not feel fear.
Because in that distant horizon, she saw a point of red spark, flickering in the snowstorm, becoming clearer and clearer.
"He is here."
The White Dragon Tereshi let out a low roar, and her combat style, which had originally been focused on defense, suddenly became aggressive. She provoked them in the Abyssal tongue: "Crawling things of the Abyss, are you ready to welcome death?"
Before the Vulture Demons could react to what was happening.
That red Death Omen Star had already pierced through the clouds; the flying snow where it passed instantly vaporized, leaving a white rainbow in the sky.
The Red-Iron Dragon came charging with an unstoppable momentum.
Bearing the brunt were those ordinary Vulture Demons circling in the air.
They simultaneously let out terrifying shrieks; the sound waves crushed the snow, attempting to slow down the Red-Iron Dragon's approach speed.
However, these mental terrors had no effect on the Red-Iron Dragon's tenacious will and were negated by his resistance.
He charged into the Vulture Demon flock; his dragon wings swung like giant blades, and his entire body turned into a deadly weapon. In the blink of an eye, the severed limbs and blood of the Vulture Demon flock fell like raindrops, painting a bewitching blood-red pattern on the snow-white ground.
However, the foul, stinking aura emitted when the Vulture Demons died also enveloped the Red-Iron Dragon.
When demons from the Abyssal plane invaded the Material Plane, they were always accustomed to first dispatching a large number of low-level demons as the vanguard. These cannon fodder were not without value; their deaths would pollute the environment of the Material Plane and could also weaken powerful enemies.
Seeing the Red-Iron Dragon surrounded by the foul, stinking aura.
The five Vulture Demon leaders tacitly flashed their figures, unanimously abandoning the already scarred White Dragon and Centaur, and instead concentrated their attacks on the Red-Iron Dragon who had come to support.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
In the smoke-like foul, stinking Domain.
The five Vulture Demon leaders attacked the Red-Iron Dragon simultaneously from different directions.
When the Red-Iron Dragon extended his sharp claws, spread his wings, and swung his dragon tail to counterattack, they instantly disappeared from their original positions.
Two of the Vulture Demons appeared in the Red-Iron Dragon's blind spot.
The demonic claws, wreathed in Abyssal energy and carrying multiple effects such as tearing, erosion, and stench, struck toward the back of the Red-Iron Dragon's head like lightning.
However.
Just at the moment they were about to succeed, the bodies of the two Vulture Demon leaders suddenly stiffened, as if tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand, and their flesh and bones emitted a teeth-grinding sound of distortion.
The other three powerful Vulture Demons immediately activated their energy vision.
Hiss—their pupils contracted simultaneously, and they gasped.
They saw that on the sides of the already mighty Red-Iron Dragon, two more strong black-Red Dragon arms had extended, firmly gripping the two caught-off-guard Vulture Demon leaders in their claws.
As the dragon claws tightened, the bodies of the Vulture Demons were being crushed bit by bit.
Soon.
The Red-Iron Dragon carelessly discarded the now-shapeless rotten meat.
He stretched his four strong dragon arms, his imposing body bathed in the blizzard, radiating a momentum even more violent than that of a high-level demon.
If one did not consider his act of crushing the two Vulture Demons just now.
One would almost think he was the mastermind behind the demons invading the Material Plane.
Run!
The remaining Vulture Demon leaders made a prompt decision and fled in panic toward the direction of the Abyssal Rift.
However, a flash of golden light swept past.
The Vulture Demon leader's vision was suddenly completely occupied by a "wall".
It slammed headfirst into the Red-Iron Dragon's strong chest armor; its body became paralyzed and stiff from the surging lightning, and before it could react, the Red-Iron Dragon's giant claw had already struck down, beating it into a radial pulp of flesh.
The other two Vulture Demons attempted to use teleportation abilities to bypass the Red-Iron Dragon.
But above the Abyssal Rift, a holy network had already appeared, meticulously constructed by the half-breed Centaur, blocking the Vulture Demons' path of retreat.
Boom! Boom!
The golden lightning on the Red-Iron Dragon's body leaped violently, his speed as fast as teleportation. He caught up with the two Vulture Demons one after another, ending their lives with just two or three swipes of his claws.
The Vulture Demon leaders were indeed known for their agility.
But when they encountered the Red-Iron Dragon, who was faster, stronger, and capable of killing with a single blow, they immediately became weaklings with no power to fight back.
"As expected! As long as Garros arrives, these demon leaders become inferior objects ready to be slaughtered."
The White Dragon Tereshi witnessed this scene and was even more convinced of her Dynamic Niche Theory.
"In the future, as long as I try my best to avoid appearing in front of the strong, the number of times I am bullied will be greatly reduced."
"After the number of Young Dragons in the Molten Iron Tribe increases, I will apply to become their nurturer and mingle among the Young Dragons as their leader!"
The White Dragon Tereshi calculated happily.
The subsequent battle was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
The other demons were quickly cleared out.
"Great Lord of the Crimson Wings, the unstoppable Death Omen Star! Unbreakable, invincible!"
"Dragon Lord above! Praise the Dragon Lord! Even the Abyss must tremble before the Dragon!"
Looking at the Red-Iron Dragon, whose combat posture was like a Devil King, the surrounding subordinates felt even more awe and admiration for him, letting out various cheers and praises.
Too exaggerated.
Garros dispersed the lightning of his Frenzied State and retracted his giant Dragon Qi arms.
But he did not speak to stop them, contentedly enjoying the subordinates' praises and admiring gazes, his eyes slightly narrowed, and his tail swaying left and right.
At this moment, Elvie dragged her exhausted body, drank some potions to restore her state, and then used holy energy to disperse the lingering Abyssal aura.
The subordinates began to methodically collect valuable Abyssal Materials:
Quasit bat wings, Manes tentacles, Vulture Demon black feathers, Vulture Demon sharp claws.
These were all quite precious Abyssal specialties that could only be obtained from demons. If brought to the Southern Federation, there would certainly be many Spellcasters and warlocks willing to pay a high price to acquire them.