Garros stretched his wings, standing amidst the howling wind and snow.
The bone-chilling wind, mixed with ice crystals, lashed against his rugged and powerful dragon body, yet it could not shake him in the slightest.
The previous siege by The Dragon Flight had not been without results.
On his outer layer of sturdy Frostburn Scales, many scars and dents of varying depths were clearly branded.
Because Garros had deliberately triggered the Frenzied State during the battle to stimulate his potential, the Frostburn Scales on his body surface were now cracked and shattered over a large area, having almost completely fallen off.
Beneath the shattered Frostburn Scales, it was not new, tender scales.
Instead, it was a layer of tougher inner main scales, covered in countless deep battle-scarred patterns.
However, this layer of hard base scales, which should have appeared a deep black-red, was currently glowing with a searing crimson hue, like a branding iron freshly taken from a furnace, which was incredibly dazzling.
Sss, sss, sss—!
The crystal-clear snowflakes did not even truly touch the surface of the scales; they were instantly vaporized and vanished without a trace while still an inch away due to that invisible high heat.
Garros's dragon scales were clearly radiating an extremely terrifying amount of heat.
But strangely, there were no surging, spreading waves of scorching air centered around him, nor was the surrounding air distorted by the high temperature, making it visually almost impossible to detect anything unusual.
If observed only with the naked eye, it was extremely difficult to judge the terrifying heat energy contained within that massive dragon body at first glance.
This point was completely different from the situation during his juvenile stage.
Back then, when Garros's Frostburn Scales tended to shatter and the heat energy accumulated in his body was full, there would be a very violent, visible phenomenon of energy overflow, causing significant impact on the surrounding environment.
But now, all the agitation of energy had been restrained and confined.
Garros reached out his claw and gently brushed over his solid right chest cavity, feeling the dragon jade pulsating steadily within it.
"The energy storage effect and stability of the dragon jade have achieved a qualitative leap. The temporarily absorbed and converted heat energy is no longer so easily lost to loss of control, and there is no longer an urgent need to release it all at the first opportunity."
He carefully sensed the subtle changes inside his body, coming to a realization in his heart.
At its root, the source of all these changes lay in this evolution.
In the past.
The dragon jade, which only had a vague prototype, performed excellently in absorbing energy and efficiently converting it into heat, but the converted heat was like water in a sieve, leaking and dissipating at an alarming speed.
Therefore, he was forced to release it in the form of Destruction Dragon Breath the moment the heat accumulation was complete; otherwise, it would be a huge waste and a burden on his body.
But now.
The dragon jade might not have had an earth-shattering improvement in the efficiency of converting energy, but its ability to preserve and restrain heat energy had achieved a qualitative leap.
It still could not completely and permanently store all the heat energy.
But the speed at which the heat energy leaked and dissipated had become more than ten or a hundred times slower.
"I can still use the heat energy to strengthen my Dragon Breath, just like before, to unleash a more powerful Destruction Dragon Breath."
"But now, I have an extra choice: I can temporarily retain this heat energy to continuously strengthen my physical state during battle, rather than just using it as fuel for a one-time breath attack, or even using part of it to strengthen the breath and part to strengthen the body."
Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!
The heavy, war-drum-like heartbeat did not cease.
Garros was currently still maintaining the Blood Burst State, which significantly boosted his physical attributes.
He pondered for a moment, then tentatively and actively guided the release of the heat energy absorbed and converted by the dragon jade.
In an instant, the pure and majestic heat energy produced a strange reaction with his dragon blood, which was already boiling and surging due to the Blood Burst State!
The Red-Iron Dragon's scales all over his body vibrated slightly, emitting a low and dense humming sound.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clusters of dark red flames, condensed as if they were solid, ignited without warning from the crimson scales on his body surface.
These flames did not surge and spread chaotically; instead, like living liquid, they rapidly spread, flowed, and outlined along the battle-scarred patterns on his body and the bright blood-vein network that stood out in the Blood Burst State, as if countless scorching lines of fire were covering his entire body.
Countless lines of fire crisscrossed, weaving into a net of flames that covered his whole body.
Finally.
The blazing lines of fire and the deep red textures blended perfectly together, as if countless vivid, swaying, and burning crimson lotus flowers had blossomed gorgeously and lethally upon his massive, rugged, dark-Red Dragon body.
His aura also rose again with this change.
The air within his vicinity finally began to distort and blur violently, and the terrifying heat waves formed a substantial shockwave that spread outwards, instantly evaporating and vaporizing all the accumulated snow in a large area around him.
The ground became charred and cracked; even the air was ignited, rising with raging flames out of thin air, forming a Domain of destruction where only flames burned.
The Red-Iron Dragon, standing in the center of this Domain, now looked like a walking natural disaster sowing destruction.
Garros clenched his claws slightly, able to feel a power even greater than the simple Blood Burst State surging and roaring within his body.
Clearly, the heat energy absorbed and converted by the dragon jade could indeed provide a deeper level of strengthening on the foundation of the Blood Burst State.
However, with every second that passed, accompanying the heartbeat that was as heavy as a beating drum.
Garros also felt an extremely heavy sense of burden, as if he had returned to the difficulty and pain of the first time he forcibly activated the Blood Burst State.
This long-lost feeling was something he hadn't experienced in a long time.
With his continuous Adaptive Evolution, the conventional Frenzied State now had a very low burden; to him, it was like the most ordinary aerobic exercise, which could be sustained for a very long time.
The Blood Burst State was similar to high-intensity anaerobic exercise.
Although intense, relying on his powerful physique and will, he could also sustain it for a considerable period.
As for this current state, formed by infusing heat energy into the Blood Burst State.
He felt that every inch of his muscles and every bone was bearing a huge burden.
The tough dragon scales covering his whole body kept trembling violently under the impact of the energy, even emitting unbearable cracking sounds in subtle places!
This was practically equivalent to recklessly burning himself in exchange for ultimate power.
"This state is more dangerous than any previous form."
Garros clearly perceived his own state.
Burning life was not just a figure of speech; he truly felt the dragon blood within him boiling, roaring, and burning violently.
"If the timing is poor, or if I fail to end it in time or defeat the enemy, this state will place me in an extremely dangerous, irrecoverable situation."
"However—"
He thought about it, and his mood relaxed immediately: "—I still have the second life stored in the dragon jade as a final guarantee."
"Hmm, then it's fine, I can use it with confidence and boldness."
Garros thought that this powerful form was also highly likely to be a result of this evolution, rather than an accidental coincidence, which was why it was so compatible with himself, allowing for a further step on the foundation of the Blood Burst State.
"In order to distinguish it from the conventional Blood Burst State."
"This extreme state, which further incorporates heat energy and is used for a desperate fight, shall be called—[Crimson Lotus State]. It will become my ultimate trump card when I am determined to fight to the death without reservation."
Whoosh—!
Garros took a deep breath, as if to suck the surrounding burning air into his lungs, and then raised his dragon head and opened his mouth wide towards the empty sky.
The Destruction Dragon Breath instantly pierced through and vaporized the pervasive wind, snow, and overcast clouds.
Garros also used this to vent and consume the agitated heat energy within his body in advance, actively terminating the Crimson Lotus State.
And with the spraying of the Destruction Dragon Breath, those flame-like Crimson Lotus patterns that wrapped around his whole body like living things quickly dimmed and extinguished, and the heavy, thunderous heartbeat also gradually calmed and weakened.
The searing crimson scales covering his whole body, like a cooling branding iron, also slowly settled in color, returning to their deep black-red original color.
Garros's aura finally returned to calm.
After doing all this, he looked towards the Golden Dragon Alberto.
"You seem to have woken up a long time ago."
Garros asked: "When The Dragon Flight was besieging me just now, why didn't you participate in the battle? If you had joined in, The Dragon Flight might have had a certain chance of winning."
Nonsense! Pure nonsense!
Alberto had already deeply realized in his heart at this moment that he absolutely could not believe Garros's nonsense.
This guy simply could not be speculated and measured by any common sense; otherwise, the one who would end up being swindled until he didn't even have his underwear left would definitely be himself.
At this moment, most of the dragons who participated in the siege were still in a state of true coma.
But considering that the Red-Silver Dragon Deborah and the Fairy Dragon Vera, who had not participated in the battle, were still circling in the sky, as well as some young dragons who were still small and had not reached the juvenile stage.
"This, it's mainly because the feeling of lying on the ground just now was especially comfortable."
The Golden Dragon's voice sounded quite sincere: "So I thought about lying down for a while longer."
"I originally intended to make a magnificent appearance at the critical moment of the battle, at the last crucial juncture, to turn the tide."
"But who would have thought—"
He pointed to the dragons lying scattered on the ground and said: "—that they would all lie down so quickly?"
"As a result, I didn't even wait for the chance to make an appearance. This can't be blamed on me, right?"
He shook his head, looking very regretful.
"So that's how it is. However, your appearance now isn't actually too late."
Garros said, "Considering the heavy debts you carry, those glittering gems and gold coins, those rare magic Materials—everything you struggle to obtain must be used for repayment."
"I find myself feeling a bit sympathetic, so I've decided to give you a special opportunity."
"From now on, for every wound you successfully leave on me, I will reduce a certain amount of your debt based on the depth of the injury. Conversely, if you fail to do so, as a small incentive, you will only need to pay an additional debt equal to half the value of the wager."
"How about it? Isn't that a great deal?"
Hearing these words, the Golden Dragon Alberto instinctively felt a surge of anticipation.
He carefully scrutinized the Red-Iron Dragon, keenly noticing that the other had seemingly just performed some sort of extremely dangerous experiment. This had left his dragon scales covered in tiny, cracked fissures, and even the aura he emitted seemed like a facade—weak and far less unfathomable than before.
It felt as if he could defeat him quite easily.
Not to mention just leaving a few wounds on his body.
"Fine—"
Alberto was almost about to agree subconsciously; his dragon mouth had already opened.
But in that same instant, the painful memories of past attempts—where he was full of confidence only to suffer crushing defeats and pile up mountains of debt—instantly drowned out his impulse, causing him to snap awake.
"No!"
He forcefully halted the agreement that was about to spill out and abruptly changed his tone.
"Thank you for your kindness! But I have rested for too long, and my oath is urging me to begin today's training immediately! Let's talk about other matters later!"
While speaking with righteous indignation, Alberto began stepping in place, performing warm-up movements as if he were truly impatient to fulfill his oath.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of regret flashed in Garros's eyes.
This Golden Dragon had suffered enough losses that he was indeed not as easy to trick as before.
Like the Ignas Dragon Flight, he too was constantly growing through repeated lessons, becoming different from the past.
Over these years, due to the existence of that strict oath, Alberto had been forced to stay grounded, honing and training himself day after day. His temperament had gradually shed much of its impatience, becoming much steadier than before. Even his paranoid and obsessive thoughts had improved significantly, and his resistance to being swindled had advanced by leaps and bounds; he wasn't so easily hot-headed anymore.
The content of the [Oath of Conquest] and the [Oath of the Crown] had not changed.
But Alberto was no longer blindly confident or arrogant as he once was; his understanding of his own strength had become much clearer.
"However, it's not entirely without opportunity."
Garros observed the Golden Dragon, who, despite his refusal, still had flickering eyes, and pondered inwardly.
"Alberto's age should be over seventy now, not far from the slumber of his juvenile stage. Once he survives that slumber, his Life Level will inevitably see a massive, leap-like improvement. Given the nature of Golden Dragons, his confidence will surely inflate to an unprecedented new peak."
"At that time, him initiating a challenge against me will be all but guaranteed."
"I'll place a big wager then."
"Before then, if he can pay off his existing debt, I'll let him have an easy time for a while. I won't think of other schemes; after all, I'm not some kind of devil."
Thinking this, a smile appeared on the Red-Iron Dragon's face.
Opposite him.
Alberto was also calculating rapidly in his heart at this moment.
"Thanks to the grueling training forced upon me by the oath over these years, my current Life Level is 16, which is already comparable to an ordinary adult Golden Dragon."
"Once I survive the slumber and enter adulthood, my Life Level will likely jump directly to 18, or even close to 19! That's the level of a Golden Dragon nearing the Late Stage of adulthood."
"When that time comes, it will be the best opportunity for me to wash away my shame and make a complete comeback."
"I can issue a formal challenge to Garros and win back everything I've paid and lost, with interest, in one fell swoop."
Thinking of that wonderful and glorious future, Alberto couldn't help but widen his massive dragon mouth, revealing a smile full of anticipation and longing.
For a moment, the two dragons gazed at each other from a distance, both wearing satisfied smiles with different meanings.
The atmosphere appeared quite harmonious.
However, this was only temporary; in the end, it was fated that only one dragon would be laughing more happily.
Soon after, to cover up his inner calculations, Alberto took the initiative to flap his massive wings, flew into the sky, and began a vigorous self-honing session right there, using the ground-training methods he had learned from Garros.
Not long after, the group of dragons that had been knocked unconscious by Garros gradually drifted back to consciousness.
Although they had long anticipated the result of their failed siege, being completely crushed so quickly and with such inability to resist made them realize even more profoundly the chasm-like gap between themselves and the Lord of Molten Iron. Deep down, their awe and reverence for Garros deepened by another layer.
Meanwhile.
Alberto, who had just finished a set of ground training and was feeling dizzy from slamming himself, crawled out of the massive crater he had created. He shook his still-dizzy head, his expression becoming more serious, and said, "Garros, I am preparing to return to the Serel Wilderness."
"Ever since the federal civil war broke out in full, the situation over there has become more chaotic and exciting by the day."
"Almost every so often, some powerful creatures that were originally dormant in the depths of the wilderness seize the opportunity to rise, baring their fangs and claws as they attempt to compete for territory and resources."
"The fighting and slaughter between monsters have almost never ceased. Those Duchy and Kingdom forces, standing on different sides, are constantly sending elites to raid each other's strongholds and supply lines. Occasionally, some sizable monster clans or tribes will stir up trouble and loot the burning house."
"The Serel Wilderness is now almost like a pot of boiling porridge—chaotic and messy, but also full of opportunities and excitement."
Alberto said expectantly, "I can't wait to soar over that land and fight alongside you."
As a challenger, he felt a heavy sense of oppression from Garros.
But as an ally fighting side-by-side, Garros's presence would be as reliable as an unshakable mountain of steel, enough to make any companion feel incredibly secure.
After a brief exchange, Alberto did not delay. He flapped his wings, and his massive body soared upward, breaking through the eternal wind, snow, and dark clouds of The Borderlands, transforming into a brilliant golden streak as he sped off toward the Serel Wilderness.
Watching the Golden Dragon depart, Garros's gaze slowly swept over the surrounding group of dragons, who had all awakened and were in various states.
After some thought, he said in a deep voice, "The banner of the Molten Iron Tribe has long been planted in every corner of The Borderlands, but this is merely the beginning."
Garros's massive dragon wings suddenly unfurled, pointing in the direction of the Serel Wilderness.
"A wider wilderness, containing endless opportunities, is waiting for us to conquer it, waiting for the iron wings of The Dragon Flight to rule!"
"When you have fully recovered, the Molten Iron Tribe will officially march into the wilderness! Our sharp claws will crush all obstacles that dare to stand in our way, and our roars will become the new Law of that land."
All the Dragonkin present felt a surge of hot-blooded passion rise in their hearts.
They raised their heads in unison, unleashing deafening, excited, and impassioned dragon roars that fiercely broke through the howling snowstorm, piercing straight into the clouds.
Listening to the rising and falling dragon roars, Garros felt very calm inside.
The declaration just now was merely to stir up the enthusiasm of The Dragon Flight. He himself knew deeply that the wilderness was vast; while the coming times offered the best chance to pull chestnuts from the fire, there would also be more challenges and dangers. He could not act recklessly and needed to proceed steadily.
"The Serel Wilderness will be a huge cake, and I am not yet strong enough to consume it entirely."
"The Blue Dragon group, the Plague Dragon, and that Red Dragon father of mine that Alberto mentioned are all very powerful rivals, not to mention other powerful existences outside of the Dragonkin."
"Using benefits to trade for some reliable allies can alleviate many burdens and troubles."
Deep in thought, his mind gradually drifted to the Sinkhole Territory where he had resided when he was still weak.
"The Iron Dragon Mother should still be in the wilderness; perhaps I can recruit her."
"Given her age and Bloodline, her Life Level is at least 16, and the possibility of her reaching level 17 is also high. Compared to me now, she cannot be called exceptionally powerful, but she is certainly no weakling."
Garros pondered in his heart that it was time to go see the Iron Dragon Mother.
It was definitely not to show off his current strength, nor was it for some ethereal vanity; it was purely to get things done and for better development in the wilderness.