The night sky was dyed red by the glow of raging flames.
High-temperature streams of flame surged behind Garros's wings, tracing a trail across the sky like a crimson baleful star, while sparks generated by the friction of fine scales against the air surrounded him like a rain of stars.
He circled slightly.
The streams of flame at the tips of his wing bones slowly dissipated as he hovered high in the sky, looking down upon the Ogre territory from above.
As the flames and shockwaves gradually cleared,
a landscape of devastation was revealed, with the ground charred and shattered.
The Ogre territory looked as if it had undergone a baptism of artillery fire; the ground was riddled with dense, shocking craters, and branch-like cracks radiated outward, making the entire surface appear on the verge of breaking apart.
One by one, Ogre Warriors, faces covered in dust and bodies looking as if they had been scorched by fire, crawled back up.
Their injuries were not severe because the explosions rarely landed directly on them; most hit the ground beside them. Although the resulting flames and shockwaves were powerful, they weren't enough to seriously wound elite Ogre Warriors.
Gluttony Demon Karu, whose life force was as vigorous as a furnace, also stood up.
He stepped out from the ruins of the collapsed throne.
On his sturdy body, which seemed cast from steel, there were only a few insignificant wounds; those Explosive Scales that didn't land directly on him caused little damage.
"Ogres, you have encroached upon my territory and provoked my majesty."
Garros's dragon pupils narrowed into slits, revealing a dangerous glint.
"The attack just now was merely a warning."
"Bow before me and submit. I shall forgive your offense and grant you the chance to become my kin; otherwise, you shall turn to ash while wailing in the flames."
The Dragonkin's voice, like muffled thunder, echoed from the sky into the Ogres' ears.
The ordinary Ogres looked at each other with trepidation, still shaken by the recent bombardment, finding the Dragonkin before them terrifying.
The elite warriors and warlocks surrounding Gluttony Demon Karu, however,
showed no fear on their faces, only looking toward their strong and tall Gluttony Demon leader.
Karu brushed the dust off himself and said gruffly, "Your attack couldn't even make me feel pain. The Bone-Chewing Clan will not yield to a weak Dragonkin."
Garros narrowed his eyes, and his dragon wings rose once more.
"It seems you do not understand the meaning of a warning."
As he spoke, his dragon wings flapped violently, and dark red streams of flame erupted from the tips of his crystal bones like a volcanic eruption.
The Red Iron Dragon's body traced a crimson arc in the night sky as he dove toward the Bone-Chewing Clan.
This time, the Ogres were prepared.
Elite warriors hoisted nearby boulders, gripped spears, or drew powerful bows to launch a surface-to-air counterattack.
Boulders, spears, and bolts tore through the air, thrown and shot toward Garros.
The Two-headed Ogre Warlock possessed a talent for Dual-casting; its two heads chanted different incantations, constructing two different Spells simultaneously.
A cloud of grayish-black mist spat from its left mouth, condensing into an ominous mark before vanishing into the air. Its right arm rose, crackling with electrical arcs that gathered at its fingertips before shooting out.
Curse of Weakness!
Chain Lightning!
The curse locked on through sight and landed on Garros, forming a layer of gray light on his scales, but this light was fleeting and dissipated instantly.
Dragonkin naturally possessed excellent resistance to curses.
Having adapted to the Cliff Snake Dragon's Curse of Fire, Garros's curse resistance had significantly increased, making him immune to ordinary curses.
Looking at the stones, spears, and bolts,
with a casual sweep of his dragon wings and a booming burst of flame, Garros's body snapped into a turn, pulling a sharp ninety-degree angle to dodge everything. Even the fastest Chain Lightning could only trail behind him, unable to touch him at all.
"Get down here!"
Gluttony Demon Karu let out a low roar, his arm muscles bulging as he hurled a massive metal warhammer that smashed toward Garros like a cannonball.
Garros spread his wings and effortlessly leaned to the side to avoid it.
His body was sturdy, and at first glance, he didn't seem to favor speed, but due to this evolution of the Wings of the Heavenly Comet, his maneuverability now far surpassed his strength.
Air-to-ground.
And with terrifying speed and explosiveness.
Garros held an absolute advantage.
In the blink of an eye.
He streaked across the sky, diving once more over the Bone-Chewing Clan.
Swish, swish, swish!
The second round of Explosive Scales was even denser.
Those scales, colored like red-hot iron and radiating intense heat, tore through the air with ear-piercing shrieks, falling once more upon the Ogres.
This time, the Ogres displayed remarkable tactical discipline.
In an Ogre clan with a Gluttony Demon, though the warriors remained dull-witted, the influence of the Gluttony Demon's Leadership Aura allowed them to become enlightened in warfare, their tactical skills surging instinctively.
The elite warriors quickly formed a circular defensive formation.
They interlocked heavy steel shields, constructing a metal dome over their heads.
The Explosive Scales slammed into the shields with deafening roars. Flames billowed, and shockwaves caused the outermost warriors to bleed from their noses and mouths, but the formation never broke.
At the center of the formation were the Ogre Warlocks.
They cast buffing Spells to further enhance the Ogre Warriors' strength and defense.
"Caught off guard the first time, but able to respond quickly the second... the Ogres of this clan are completely different from ordinary ones. Looking at that gear fitted to their size, there must be an Alchemist in the tribe. Otherwise, despite the abundance of metal Ore in the wilderness, it would be hard to craft weapons and equipment without an Alchemist."
Garros became even more interested in the Bone-Chewing Clan.
Of course, the main attraction was still the Gluttony Demon.
All the changes in this clan stemmed from the birth of the Gluttony Demon.
Karu's way of dealing with the Explosive Scales was even easier, bordering on the abnormal.
He opened his massive maw and inhaled sharply.
The air surged like a storm, sucking in and swallowing all the flying scales!
Boom, boom, boom!
Muffled explosions echoed from his stomach; his belly bulged and retracted repeatedly. Finally, Karu let out several sulfur-smelling burps, having completely consumed the flames and shockwaves.
"Not enough to eat, little Dragon!"
Karu slapped his bloated belly, making a thumping sound.
After successfully handling Garros's second wave of attacks, his confidence soared, feeling that Garros was nothing special.
Garros's expression remained unchanged as he simply circled around and dove again at high speed.
Boom, boom, boom!
The third wave of Explosive Scales arrived, causing the defensive formation to wobble. The Ogre Warriors' arms shook violently, their skin split, and blood seeped out continuously. They bled from their noses and mouths, as the Ogre Warlocks' healing and buffs couldn't keep up with the dense frequency of attacks.
Without giving them a moment to breathe,
the fourth and fifth waves of bombardment descended one after another as Garros soared and dove.
The roars of explosions rose one after another, and plumes of flame soared into the sky like thunderclaps on flat ground, looking like small suns rising from the surface.
Lacking effective surface-to-air countermeasures, the Bone-Chewing Clan could only take the beating passively.
Since his goal was to subjugate them and he didn't want to kill the warriors outright, Garros controlled the number of Explosive Scales; the bombardment wasn't overly intense.
But even so,
by the seventh wave,
many Ogre Warriors were bleeding from their facial orifices, their arm bones snapped, and they could no longer hold on. They were blown away as the defensive formation shattered. The Ogre Warlocks at the center didn't even need another attack; they had already exhausted their spirit and Demonic Energy, collapsing like piles of mud.
Gluttony Demon Karu's belly was round and bloated.
Having swallowed too many explosions, he had also reached his limit in the short term.
Facing the seventh wave of bombardment, he could no longer swallow the Explosive Scales. His sluggish speed wasn't enough to dodge, so he could only tank it with his body. Sharp scale fragments were embedded all over his tower-like frame, his flesh was torn open, and his skin was covered in charred marks.