For several consecutive days, torrential rain had shrouded the wilderness, but its raging momentum finally began to subside.
The heavy curtain of rain that had connected heaven and earth now turned into thin silver threads, pitter-pattering down as they struck mountain rocks and vegetation. Deep within the moist soil, long-dormant seeds greedily sucked up water, accumulating energy for their germination.
It had been three days since the encounter with the Copper Dragon.
At that time, after leaving behind words like 'I'll be back,' the Copper Dragon turned and left, and Garros did not stop him.
In his eyes...
This Copper Dragon was like a gift pack that would occasionally show up at his door to deliver wealth and equipment; he actually found the fellow quite pleasing to the eye.
As for the Copper Dragon's claims about defeating him...
Garros didn't take them to heart.
Dragon nature being what it was, the Copper Dragon might be spurred on by failure in the short term, wanting to sharpen his claws and strengthen himself like Garros. However, maintaining that accumulation and persistence year after year was incredibly difficult.
Furthermore...
As long as he couldn't resolve to discard the life-saving measures on his person...
A veil would always stand between him and 'danger,' preventing him from receiving true tempering from the wilderness.
If it were Garros...
He certainly!
Wouldn't be able to make that resolution either.
He was incredibly envious of the life-saving Spell Scales Metallic Dragon parents gave their offspring. Unfortunately, his origins dictated that he could not develop safely and steadily; he could only keep company with danger.
Garros had also come to understand the effects of the Horn Ring he had snatched from the Copper Dragon.
It contained an enhancement Spell—Blood Burst.
This Spell could boost all of one's attributes for a short time, but it came with side effects. After use, the body would become weak. If one couldn't defeat the enemy while in the Blood Burst state, the ensuing weakness would plunge them into a dangerous situation.
However, for Garros...
This was better than any Alchemical Item he had stolen before.
He tried it once and discovered that the Blood Burst Technique directly affected his physical state.
While the Spell was active, his dragon blood almost boiled within his body, flowing turbulently as his heart pumped frantically like an engine.
This meant that if he used the Blood Burst Horn Ring enough, Garros's body might gradually undergo Adaptive Evolution, developing a structure that allowed for a direct Blood Burst without needing an Alchemical Item.
The physical talents Garros evolved himself would be more suitable for him, and the effects would definitely be better than an Alchemical Item.
Alchemical Items would eventually become obsolete.
But his physical talents would not; they would grow stronger along with him.
Garros also gained some enlightenment, gradually realizing the correct way to use Alchemical Items on himself—using them as stimuli and guides, acting as keys to unlock his own evolution.
For a moment...
Garros even looked forward to meeting the Copper Dragon again, hoping to get other Alchemical Items like the Blood Burst Horn Ring from him.
Meanwhile...
As he finished exploring the use of the Blood Burst Horn Ring and the rain weakened, Garros formed a plan to integrate the biological clans of the Scale-Earth Rift Road.
Crescent Moon Valley.
The werewolves of the Howling Moon Clan were using various methods to besiege the Red Iron Dragon.
Their sharp claws and fangs landed on the Red Iron Dragon's body, striking sparks that flickered in the rain.
The Old Shaman waved his oak staff, summoning a Wind Totem.
Sharp Wind Blades turned into a storm, dispersing the rain and sweeping across the Red Iron Dragon's body. Countless sparks flew everywhere with a clanging sound, as if they were cutting into an indestructible iron anvil.
And as time passed...
After more than ten minutes...
The high-intensity 'battle' left the group of young, strong werewolves nearly exhausted. The Old Shaman was also panting heavily, feeling the figures of the Werewolf Ancestors flickering before his eyes as if they were calling out to him.
This siege was not a betrayal.
On the contrary, it was a way to cater to the Dragon Lord's needs and make him feel pleased.
And this also made the werewolves realize just what a terrifying creature the Dragon Lord they followed and pledged loyalty to was. Within that Young Dragon-like physique lay strength and defense more powerful than a Young Dragon's, hiding unparalleled potential.
"Dragon Lord, your scales are as heavy as the earth."
The strength-venerating werewolf chieftain, Russell, was won over by the Hybrid Dragon. He knelt on one knee and spoke.
Garros stretched his wings in the drizzle, noticing that many claw marks had appeared on his outer layer of dragon scales.
The Explosive Scales had evolved from Buffer Scales; they had a good resistance to attacks from collisions and blunt force trauma, but their performance was more ordinary when being cut by sharp instruments.
However, the Black-Red Scales beneath the Explosive Scales...
They had no functional characteristics like buffering or explosive reaction.
They were simply and purely'sturdy'.
As if cast from steel, yet harder than real steel—indestructible.
When some werewolves scratched through the gaps in the Explosive Scales with their sharp claws and landed on this layer of scales, their claws snapped, and they couldn't even leave a tear mark.
It was foreseeable...
If a creature that didn't understand Garros fought him and finally managed to wear down his layer of Explosive Scales with great effort, only to find another layer of indestructible scales beneath, their psychological reaction would be quite a sight.
Immediately after...
Garros had the other werewolves disperse, leaving behind only the most intelligent and knowledgeable Shaman.
He was the eldest of the Howling Moon Clan, highly respected, and the true leader who knew every matter within the tribe, large or small. In comparison, the werewolf chieftain Russell was somewhat young; his role in the Howling Moon Clan was more like a 'General' leading the clansmen in battle.
Garros asked, "How have the gains been on the Scale-Earth Rift Road these past few days?"
Nicks Caravan would still take about half a month to return.
Garros would not wait in vain. He had the werewolves of the Howling Moon Clan continue to lie in ambush on the Scale-Earth Rift Road, picking suitable targets to establish a trade channel with the southern civilization.
The Old Shaman lowered his head, his aged body prostrate on the ground to express his apologies.
"I am sorry to have disappointed you. Aside from that first caravan at the very beginning, the clansmen responsible for the Scale-Earth Rift Road have gained nothing."
He said.
"Stand up and tell me, what happened?"
Garros said.
It couldn't be that even mugging people had a 'newbie bonus,' such that after the smooth success with Nicks Caravan, there were no other gains.
The Old Shaman stood up again. His fur was stained with a lot of muddy water, but he did not brush it off.
Through reading the tribe's ancient texts, he knew that most dragons were fickle. Although Garros acted relatively amiably and unlike an Evil Dragon, the Old Shaman felt that making oneself appear humble before a dragon was never a mistake.
The muddy water on his body wasn't filth.
It was loyalty, awe, and humility.
Under Garros's calm gaze, the Old Shaman explained in a low voice, "Because of the heavy rain a few days ago, the weather was terrible, and no merchant groups passed through the Scale-Earth Rift Road."
"Once the rain weakened, the Red-Eye Clan and the Ripped-Claw Clan also lay in ambush on the Scale-Earth Rift Road to rob passing caravans."
"The road locations they occupy are more advantageous than ours; they always get to them a step ahead of us."
The clans entrenched around the trade route were actually not very close to it. After all, if they were too close, they might be dealt with by the Thousand Snake Scars guards responsible for clearing Vicious Beasts and monsters for the Lothern Federation.
Every time they went to plunder, they had to spend a long time on the road back and forth, and they also had to guard against attacks from Vicious Beasts and monsters.
There were also intelligent existences within the wilderness back then.
After a long period of exploration, several clans had bypassed the territories of powerful Vicious Beasts and monsters, avoiding various obstacles to slowly form some of their own fixed routes and occupied road sections.
The Howling Moon Clan's section was not good; it was relatively far back.
A caravan passing through the Scale-Earth Rift Road would only reach the Howling Moon Clan's section after safely passing the first few sections.
Normally, monsters would not go to the trade route frequently.
On one hand, the Scale-Earth Rift Road was just a minor branch road, and there weren't actually many passing caravans. Most ambushes were just a waste of time with no gains.
On the other hand, appearing and plundering on the trade route too frequently would attract the attention of caravans or even the Guard Army, leading to a crusade.
Therefore...
Although the werewolves' section was not good, there were still caravans that could pass through the other sections and reach their territory. There were just fewer of them, and after filtering out those with powerful guards, the remaining suitable targets were even fewer.