He spent the entire morning hunting and feeding.
The hunger in Garros's belly was completely gone.
It was worth mentioning that...
black oil could not make him full; the energy transformed from black oil was swift and efficient but not long-lasting, only eliminating hunger for a short time. Thus, Garros still needed meat to sustain himself.
When hungry, what he needed most was still normal food.
black oil was mainly used to increase his body's excitement during training, improve training efficiency, and charge himself during battle, allowing him to exert power beyond his limits for a short time.
After the hunt ended.
Garros mainly spent the afternoon training.
This included routine training in defense, strength, and flight, and finally, targeted training using the lightning tail ring to stimulate his body, aiming to complete his lightning-related evolution as soon as possible.
However, the lightning tail ring was primarily used for enchantment.
It was like a key that opened the door to Garros's lightning evolution, but the subsequent stimulatory effect on Garros was not that obvious. It was better to use direct lightning attacks for damage rather than strikes through a layer of enchantment.
The sun was shining brightly now, and it wasn't the rainy season.
Natural lightning was difficult to call down.
The Ogre Warlocks in the Bone-Chewing Warband who mastered the Chain Lightning attack Spell were Garros's best sparring partners in this regard.
Twilight gradually approached, and the brilliant sunset glow spread across the sky in layers.
Garros soared through the sky, draped in the light of the sunset, and arrived at the Broken Spine Hills, the main base of the Ogres.
Karu wasn't here; he had gone out hunting with some elites.
"Morga, Snaga."
"Assemble the Ogre Warlocks of the Bone-Chewing Warband."
Garros looked at the two-headed Ogre and said.
Morga and Snaga were its names—more accurately, the different names of its left and right heads.
The simultaneous existence of two heads gave the two-headed Ogre Warlock the talent of dual-casting, allowing it to prepare two Spells at once. This also made two-headed Ogre Warlocks terrifying monsters that struck fear into ordinary adventurers.
But there were also drawbacks.
Two heads and two different minds controlling one body simultaneously would inevitably cause some trouble and inconvenience.
"My Lord, there is something I need to inform you of first."
The left head, Morga, spoke first.
But before it could continue, the right head, Snaga, cut in: "The Ogre troops at the Quenchfire Highlands discovered a group of strange Gnolls a few days ago."
Bang!
The left head slammed its forehead hard against "its" other head.
"Don't interrupt me!"
Taking advantage of the right head's dizziness, it hurriedly reported to Garros, as if competing for favor: "Those Gnolls are loyal to another Dragon."
The right head controlled the right hand and punched the left head in the eye socket.
"It's an Iron Dragon! They are loyal to an Iron Dragon!"
It blurted out.
The left head, having taken a punch, now reacted. Refusing to be outdone, it swung its left fist and hit the right head.
Bang, bang, bang!
The two-headed warlock fought itself, left against right. It soon fell to the ground, rolling around, cursing and insulting each other's ancestors while fighting.
"Enough!"
Garros's voice rang out, and the two-headed warlock immediately stopped. It scrambled up to beg for Garros's forgiveness, not forgetting to belittle and shift the blame to the other head.
"Morga, tell me exactly what happened."
Garros specified the left head.
Morga gave Snaga a proud look, then turned to Garros with a respectful posture and began from the beginning: "It's like this. The one who first discovered the Gnolls was Ugo."
It recounted the story in detail.
A minute later, Garros knew the specifics of the matter.
A Young Iron Dragon occupied the Stony Beach north of the Quenchfire Highlands. It had sent Gnolls to investigate the movements in the Quenchfire Highlands, but they were discovered by Ugo, who captured the Gnoll scouts. Subsequently, Ugo had the Kora Giant Eagles relay the message back to the Broken Spine Hills.
With the death of the Stone Giants, the Kora Giant Eagles were now loyal to the Molten Iron Clan. They were excellent scouts and messengers.
"The area north of the Quenchfire Highlands is a place I haven't set foot in yet."
"I didn't expect a Young Iron Dragon to be entrenched there."
Garros narrowed his eyes, assessing the risk of the Young Iron Dragon based on the available information.
Iron Dragons are the head of the Ferrous Dragons. At the same age, they are slightly weaker than Red Dragons, but the gap isn't large. A normal Iron Dragon's life Rank in its Young Dragon stage is roughly between 7 and 10.
If it really was just a Young Iron Dragon...
...then there was no need to fear.
The question was, was it really just a Young Iron Dragon?
Garros was skeptical of information he hadn't seen with his own eyes.
"Ugo isn't meticulous enough; the message he sent back via the Kora Giant Eagles was too brief."
"I need to go to the Quenchfire Highlands personally."
The Gnoll prisoners were still at the Quenchfire Highlands, and he would have to pass through there to investigate the Stony Beach.
"Calculating the time, Nicks Caravan should be arriving soon."
"He will bring back some Communication Stones for me. By then, the transmission of information between clans will be much simpler and more convenient."
Since their creation, Communication Stones had immediately gained favor from all sides and were widely used in civilized nations. However, they were rare and scarce in the wilderness, as most monsters didn't understand the importance of information transmission.
"When Karu returns, tell him to lead the Ogre elites to the Quenchfire Highlands."
After giving the orders to the two-headed warlock, Garros flapped his dragon wings and soared into the sky, his figure disappearing into the sunset glow.
Watching Garros leave, the left head, Morga, snorted and said, "Stupid Snaga, I am smarter than you and more valued by the Dragon Lord."
The right head, Snaga, remained silent and responded with a punch.
The two-headed Ogre started fighting itself again. The other Ogres nearby didn't react; they were clearly used to it.
Before long.
Twilight faded, and the night took its place.
Garros arrived at the Quenchfire Highlands just as the moon was rising and landed in the Ogre camp.
Ugo was directing the Ogres to build a dragon statue using giant remains.
Upon seeing Garros, he immediately knelt on one knee and said in a coarse voice, "My Lord, the light of your scales outshines the bright moon."
This flattering remark was something Ugo had racked his brains over for more than ten days and nights.
He was just waiting for Karu to be away so he could present it to Garros and please the dragon's heart.
He had lost to Karu during the Sacred Banquet, but he wasn't entirely resigned. He coveted Karu's position as Legion Commander and his current status as a Dragon-vein Gluttony Demon.
But he didn't have the strength to compete with Karu.
Thus, he could only suppress these thoughts, hoping to overtake Karu by pleasing Garros and gaining his favor.
"Rise."
Garros looked at the statue.
Ogres weren't known for their artistic talent. The statue they built was only a rough outline, crude and primitive, but through the strong limbs and large, slender wings, one could vaguely see Garros's shadow.
"This is a statue being built for you."
"I heard that humans build statues for great leaders. To me, you, the noble and great Lord of the Crimson Wings, are the only absolute great existence. I couldn't help myself; I couldn't wait for the Legion Commander's approval and chose to build this statue for you, to admire your glory day and night."
Ugo said gruffly.
Garros took a close look at the Ogre.
This big, burly fellow actually had his own little schemes.
He might have thought his thoughts were well-hidden, but in Garros's eyes, they were clear as day. The gap in intelligence between an Ogre and a Dragon was simply too large.
"Hmm, not bad. I like it."
Garros replied.
Seeing through it but not calling it out, he tacitly allowed Ugo's behavior.
If all the Ogres in the Bone-Chewing Warband were united and completely loyal to Karu, that would be a problem.
Karu, having undergone Dragon Vein Transformation, was absolutely loyal to Garros and would not betray him, but that didn't mean Karu didn't have his own thoughts. He might want more benefits or try to slack off.
Garros couldn't always go and urge him personally.
At such times, a potential competitor would make Karu work better for him.
These were all pieces of knowledge from the prince within the Iron Dragon Legacy.
"Bring the Gnoll prisoner here; I want to interrogate him personally."
Garros said.
Ugo nodded, then grabbed a Gnoll scout by the neck with his large hand and brought him before Garros.
"He is the leader of the Gnoll scouts."
Ugo gave a kick, making the still somewhat dazed Gnoll, Haken, kneel before Garros.
The dragon's breath was inches away, and Haken came to his senses, trembling all over.
He stole a glance at Garros and found that this Lord of the Crimson Wings was stronger and more oppressive than the Iron King they served, appearing to possess even greater power.
"Now, I ask, you answer."
Garros said.
"Mighty Dragon, I will certainly hide nothing."
Haken said with a fawning expression.
The subsequent questioning could hardly be called an interrogation because the Gnoll always answered immediately, telling everything he knew.
Gradually...
...Garros obtained more information.
For example...
The Young Iron Dragon at the Stony Beach had only two clans under its command.
Gnolls and Kobolds.
If Goblins were added...
...it would almost complete the 'Three Phantom Gods' under the command of young, weak dragons.
This basically confirmed that this Iron Dragon was a Young Dragon and posed no great threat to Garros.
Among this information, there was one point that Garros was particularly concerned about.
"Why does the title 'Iron King' sound so familiar?"
His eyes flickered as he remained silent, memories surfacing in his mind.
"Garros! My weak younger brother, let me tell you a secret: Hybrid Dragons never live past their youth unless you swear fealty to the great Iron King."
"Garros! My foolish younger brother, do you want treasure? Do you want to become strong? Prostrate yourself before the great Iron King, and you can realize all your wishes."
"Garros! My foolish and weak younger brother, you are ugly, short, and weak; you are destined to achieve nothing great in the future. Abandon the protection of Mother Dragon and follow the great Iron King. Let us brothers join forces, and under my leadership, the position of King of the Wilderness will be within our grasp."
Similar quotes surged in Garros's memories.
They all came from the same Dragon.
—Sorog Ignas.