Garros stood at the highest point of the Hemlock Hills, his gaze sweeping across the ground like a blade.
The tunnel entrances where the Earth Spiders used to travel back and forth were silent; not even the shadow of a single Earth Spider could be seen.
This was very unusual.
Driven by their natural reproductive instincts, these Earth Spiders would not disappear without reason, let alone collectively disobey orders.
Garros clawed at an empty black oil container, his mind heavy and deep in thought.
For the past few months, the small oil field the Earth Spiders visited daily belonged to the Blackrock Duchy, a nation composed of dwarves and a member of the Losern Federation.
An army from the Blackrock Duchy was stationed at the oil field; Garros had observed them from a distance.
Overall, it was far smaller than the Carmel Black Oil Field belonging to the Losern Kingdom that he had caught a glimpse of back then, but it was still not to be underestimated.
The Heavy Infantry alone numbered over two thousand, and because they were responsible for guarding the oil field in the dangerous wilderness, every one of them was an elite, clad in rune-reinforced full plate armor and equipped with fine gear like battleaxes and large shields.
There were more than two hundred Rock-Armored War Ram Heavy Cavalry.
Garros had seen them practicing on the field; when the heavy cavalry charged, they kicked up clouds of dust, and their iron hooves made the ground tremble and groan. Their strength and military discipline were far beyond what the previous Goblin Wolf Cavalry could compare to.
Every dwarven heavy cavalryman wore even finer Runic Steel Full Plate Armor and carried multi-meter-long lances and curved tower shields.
There were also some lightly equipped Scout Rangers responsible for scouting the outermost perimeter of the oil field; they were equipped with at least heavy crossbows, grappling hooks, and poison smoke bombs, and their mounts, the Green-Maned Horses, were magical beasts that moved like the wind.
As for the even rarer Casters, Garros hadn't seen them directly, but they certainly existed.
And none of these were the most formidable.
The true core of the Blackrock Forces were those war machines and Alchemy Golems.
Thick, hard Alchemy Golems, standing as still as boulders, exuded a sense of oppressive pressure that warned outsiders to stay away just by being there.
In short.
Compared to such a structured army, Garros was alone and currently found it difficult to contend with them.
If a young dragon were discovered and its location exposed, the Blackrock Forces stationed near the oil field would certainly not mind sending soldiers over to hunt the young dragon and earn some unexpected resources.
There were many Alchemists among the dwarves.
The demand for top-tier Alchemy Materials was immense.
On a Dragonkin's body, the scales, flesh, bones, and claws were all excellent Materials; by imprisoning and raising a young dragon, they could continuously harvest high-quality Alchemy Materials.
"Over these past few months, the total amount of oil-soaked soil the Earth Spiders brought back is quite significant. Although it's just soil from the periphery, anyone paying attention could notice something is wrong."
Garros flicked his tail, sending several pieces of rubble flying.
Just then, the tunnel entrance commonly used by the Earth Spiders suddenly cracked and bulged, as if an underground creature was burrowing toward the surface.
"The Earth Spiders are back? No, that's not right!"
First, an Earth Spider crawled out of the tunnel, but before it could take more than a few steps, an invisible shockwave rippled through. The soft organs under its carapace were damaged, and its body suddenly went limp as it collapsed to the ground.
Garros's eyes narrowed as he saw a flat, triangular head poke out.
Then.
A massive, long body burrowed entirely out from underground.
It had a cold, hard, metallic black shell and a long body formed by dozens of connected steel segments. Densely packed limbs, like folding combat knives, extended from the joints, constantly retracting and expanding.
It was precisely the Alchemy Golem guarding the underground of the oil field that Garros had seen in the memory fragments of the Earth Spiders.
It was 8.2 meters long with a torso diameter of 1.5 meters, looking like a steel centipede.
The Earth-Rending Centipede.
A Burrowing-Type Anti-Infiltration Alchemy Golem, and also a combat type.
Stained with some green blood belonging to the Earth Spiders, this Earth-Rending Centipede first stepped forward to easily tear the remaining Earth Spider to shreds. Then, it raised its head slightly and looked around, the two metal antennae on its triangular head swaying constantly, as if observing and inspecting its surroundings.
Crunch, crunch!
The ground bulged and cracked once more.
Two more Earth-Rending Centipedes burrowed out to scout the area together. Their body lengths and torso diameters were identical, without any difference, as if they were cast from the same mold.
"The loss of oil-soaked soil over these five months has drawn attention. The Alchemy Golems that were originally just guarding the black oil killed the Earth Spiders and followed them all the way through the underground tunnels."
Seeing them, Garros confirmed his suspicions.
"This day has finally come."
He thought.
Being discovered was only a matter of time; Garros had long had a premonition about this. While he conducted his daily flight training, he was actually using the high-altitude view to observe movements in all directions, preventing any troops from approaching and ambushing him.
Meanwhile.
Red lights flashed on the heads of the three Earth-Rending Centipedes, as if they had sensed something. They simultaneously raised their heads and looked toward the Red-Iron Young Dragon at the high point of the Hemlock Hills.
The Red Young Dragon Samantha, who was closer to them, was ignored.
The reason was simple: they had detected a more dangerous high-energy reaction from Garros and judged him to be a dangerous target, whereas Samantha was not worth being on guard against.
"They've found me."
Garros became alert, but he did not panic. Looking into the distance from where he was, he saw no sign of the Blackrock Forces.
"Since it's come to this, let's test the strength of these Alchemy Golems."
These Earth-Rending Centipedes were clearly different from the Giant-Arm Miners.
They had a cold, hard appearance that gave off a dangerous and icy feeling; at first glance, they looked like weapons rather than mining tools like the Giant-Arm Miners.
"Samantha, Mobel, stay back and don't interfere."
Hearing Garros's words, Samantha was eager to try but did not disobey. She flapped her wings and flew high into the sky, circling away from the ground, while the Earth Storm Bear Mobel hid behind a hemlock tree.
Simultaneously.
Garros leaped from the high ground of the hills, diving down at high speed toward the three Earth-Rending Centipedes.
As countless branches and trunks were severed, the fine scales on his wing membranes rubbed against each other, striking sparks that seemed to pull along a hazy cloak woven of embers.
Facing the high-speed attack of the Red-Iron Young Dragon.
The Earth-Rending Centipede's knife-like limbs snapped open and vibrated at high frequency. However, it did not meet the imposing impact and slash head-on; instead, it dove into the ground, its body swaying as it disappeared beneath the surface.
Boom!
As Garros landed, a massive crater appeared in the ground. Rubble splattered like bullets, and dust was carried away by the air currents.
His dragon wings lightly swept away the murky dust.
Garros's eyes narrowed as he scanned the surroundings inch by inch, but he saw no sign of the Earth-Rending Centipedes.
They seemed to have fled.
No.
They hadn't fled.
Garros felt the slight, intensifying vibrations coming from underground. The Earth-Rending Centipedes had only burrowed into the ground to avoid his first powerful attack, not to flee.
For this type of combat Alchemy Golem, there was no option in the System to flee without a fight.