Broken Spine Hills, Bone-Chewing Clan.
The Ogres had all eaten and drunk their fill, sitting or lying on the ground in a lazy fashion, picking their teeth, dozing off, or gnawing on their fingernails. Their mental state appeared very relaxed.
However...
Their weapons were all placed within immediate reach.
With a single command, these lazy Ogres would instantly transform into elite troops and war machines.
It was now three days later.
In order to ensure the absolute elimination of the Elder Diamond, Garros had mobilized elites from other clans, concentrating units such as Overseers and Warlocks to lie in ambush on the reverse side of the hills.
An army is maintained for a thousand days to be used in a single moment.
Garros usually didn't need his subordinates to fight for him, but that didn't mean he wanted to be a babysitter, raising them just to keep them away from danger.
The Elder Diamond was no small matter.
Because he hadn't used the Detection Spell to avoid alerting the enemy, Garros estimated based on its size that it was at least Rank 11, possibly 12, or even Rank 13.
Rank 12 was the most likely probability.
This life Rank already exceeded Garros by three levels, equivalent to a Young Adult Gold Dragon over 25 years old.
With each increase in life Rank, the average standard of a creature rises by a whole level. Furthermore, Diamond Giants were the cream of the crop among giants, being exceptionally powerful at the same Rank and capable of fighting above their level.
Against such a Diamond Giant, a group hunt was the best choice.
A one-on-one frontal duel belonged to the honor of knights, but it did not belong to Garros; he didn't care about such things.
Compared to illusory glory, Garros wanted victory. He wanted to win the game of survival, winning again and again regardless of the process.
And it wasn't just about victory.
The more critical point was how to achieve the greatest victory with the smallest cost.
If he were to be heavily injured or even near death by the opponent's final counterattack, such a narrow victory was no different from a failure in Garros's eyes, as it would bring significant security risks afterward.
Garros would not belittle himself.
He knew he still wasn't a powerhouse, but he was no longer weak. He wasn't that Young Dragon who had just left the Iron Dragon Mother's territory and had to survive cautiously; fighting above his Rank was not a difficult task for him.
However, Garros would not be arrogant either.
He was well aware that whether it was a Dragon or a Giant, neither was comparable to ordinary Vicious Beasts or monsters. Wanting to defeat a Diamond Giant of a higher Rank was no simple matter and carried significant risk.
But for the sake of his thriving territory, which was already on the right track, and for his future growth and development...
After weighing the pros and cons.
Garros deemed it worth the risk.
The subordinates were ambushed on the back of the hills.
While Garros himself was high in the sky, concealing his form within the thick, dense clouds.
Descending from above, by using sufficient distance and the acceleration of his aura, Garros could unleash an attack that exceeded his own limit.
"black oil, Scale Powder, Blood Burst Technique—these are all prepared."
"While the subordinates pin down the Elder Diamond and distract it, I will accumulate kinetic energy and launch a sudden strike, delivering a fatal blow at my strongest state."
"As long as this strongest first strike can heavily wound it, the subsequent hunt with my subordinates will allow us to kill it with minimal cost."
Garros pondered his battle strategy, waiting patiently.
However.
Things did not go as planned.
Garros's plan fell through.
Time passed continuously, but from day to dusk, there was still no sign of the Elder Diamond; it had not come alone.
Other creatures came in place of the Elder Diamond.
Kora Giant Eagles—this was a type of creature that originated from the Elemental Plane of Air and gradually spread across the major planes. They were semi-intelligent species with a level of intelligence similar to monsters like the Earth Storm Bear. They were born with the ability to sense and manipulate wind elemental energy, and their flight was characterized by both speed and elegance, like dancers in the wind.
Two Kora Giant Eagles circled high in the sky, their wingspans exceeding ten meters.
They approached the Broken Spine Hills quietly under the cover of twilight, their sharp eyes monitoring the movements of the Ogres.
But what the Kora Giant Eagles didn't know...
Was that they had already been exposed.
From the firmament even higher than their position, Garros silently watched their every move.
"Scouts sent by the Stone Giants."
When Garros had scouted the Stone Giant camp, he had seen several Kora Giant Eagle subordinates under their command. It wasn't hard to guess that these two Kora Giant Eagles were sent by the Stone Giants.
Because their own senses were relatively dull and they lacked detection skills.
Stone Giants would keep creatures like the Kora Giant Eagle to handle tasks like monitoring and scouting. Furthermore, their Legacy contained specific methods for taming them.
Seeing is believing.
There is a gap between hearsay and what is seen with one's own eyes.
Garros had personally gone to scout the Stone Giant camp earlier instead of sending subordinates, firstly for efficiency, and secondly because Garros trusted his own eyes and perception more.
Flying in a higher airspace, he avoided the Kora Giant Eagles' patrol and instead gained a full view of their camp's situation.
"The Elder Diamond didn't come alone, but instead sent giant eagles to scout."
"Did it realize the danger, or is it just out of a cautious mentality?"
Watching the two Kora Giant Eagles, Garros narrowed his eyes slightly, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, the Kora Giant Eagles quietly circled in the sky. Through their wide high-altitude field of vision, the situation of the Broken Spine Hills was reflected in their sight. Not just the front of the hills where the Bone-Chewing Clan was stationed, they also flew over the back, and their sharp eyes discovered the elite troops hidden on the reverse side of the hills.
The two Kora Giant Eagles looked at each other.
Immediately after, they flapped their wings and quietly retreated under the cover of twilight, just as they had come.
However, before they could fly out of the airspace of the Broken Spine Hills, a massive sense of pressure suddenly descended from the heavens.
The feathers of the two Kora Giant Eagles nearly stood on end as they both looked toward the sky.
Their pupils suddenly constricted, and their breath hitched.
Above the clouds, a crimson comet was tearing through the night sky, diving downward. The dark-red aura trailing from the tips of his wing bones burned scorched-mark-like trails across the night sky.
Garros was like an ominous star descending from the heavens, his entire body radiating the pressure of death.
Screech!
No longer flying quietly, the two Kora Giant Eagles simultaneously pushed their speed to the limit, bolting in different directions. Under the immense threat to their lives, the flight posture of these 'dancers in the wind' was no longer elegant, appearing panicked and wretched.
Garros pursued with even greater speed.
He caught up to the slightly larger male eagle almost instantly, his left claw clamping onto its cervical vertebrae. He remained motionless despite its frantic wing-flapping, then, holding the male eagle, the dark-red aura surged behind him as he carved an arc through the air.
Garros quickly turned and caught up to the other female eagle flying in the opposite direction.
His right claw gripped the second one's chest like an iron pincer, his talons sinking slightly into the feathers. A little more force would have crushed its ribcage.
One Kora Giant Eagle in each claw.
Under Garros's restraint, they both seemed paralyzed, losing all room for resistance or struggle.
With a final flap of his dragon wings, Garros carried the two giant eagles and landed on a rocky platform atop a high peak of the hills.
"Now."
Garros loosened his claws, throwing the two still-breathing giant eagles onto the rock surface.
Their first instinct was to try and escape again.
Garros's dragon wing swept out like a guillotine. Before they could even react, it sliced off a tuft of feathers from the tops of their heads.
The two Kora Giant Eagles immediately fell silent as grave, trembling in Garros's shadow, not daring to move again.
"State your purpose."
Garros spoke.
The Red-Iron Dragon's words were very calm, like a casual inquiry, but under the influence of his formidable and ferocious appearance, it still felt like a death threat, terrifying the Kora Giant Eagles to their core.
"To scout information on the Bone-Chewing Clan."
"To report abnormal situations to Elder Abaddon."
"The Elder believes the Bone-Chewing Clan's reaction is unusual and that there is a problem behind it."
The two Kora Giant Eagles said hurriedly.
Undoubtedly, the Elder Abaddon they spoke of was the Diamond Giant.
Hearing the two giant eagles' answer, Garros remained silent, a thick, almost tangible, cold killing intent appearing in his eyes.