Garros circled a thousand meters above, his dragon pupils locked onto the Rock-Crushing Worm below.
Through the Life Level Detection Technique, Garros had already determined that the Rock-Crushing Worm was a Rank 7 lifeform, the same as his current Rank.
Life Level Detection Technique—this was a Spell-like Ability he had awakened a year ago.
Dragonkin are top-tier magical creatures and natural sorcerers; as they age, they naturally master many Spells originating from their Bloodline.
Such techniques differ from standard Spells; their power is weaker, but they can be cast instantly, which is why they are called Spell-like abilities.
The Life Level Detection Technique was one of them.
Under normal circumstances, a Young Dragon wouldn't have reached the point of Awakening Spell-like abilities.
Because of Adaptive Evolution, it wasn't just Garros's physique that grew rapidly; he had also mastered several Spell-like abilities ahead of schedule.
"Same Rank as me; I should be able to take it down reliably."
Rank is only a reference; many creatures can fight above their level, and Dragonkin are the best among them. Garros was cautious and steady by nature, so he didn't consider hunting above his level for now, instead targeting the same-ranked Rock-Crushing Worm.
Garros restrained his Dragon Fear, his wings vibrating with minimal amplitude as he gradually approached the target from above.
Rock-Crushing Worms perceive the location of creatures through vibrations.
A breeze swept past, and the sunbathing Rock-Crushing Worm suddenly raised its head alertly, its two tiny, almost invisible eyes blinking.
Powerful Vicious Beasts and monsters were everywhere on the wilderness, along with hunting parties formed by clans of intelligent beings.
Hunting and being hunted were the eternal themes here.
The Rock-Crushing Worm was a powerful hunter, but that didn't mean it wouldn't become prey.
A hundred meters in the air.
The moment he saw the Rock-Crushing Worm show signs of abnormality, Garros, who had been slowly vibrating his wings, narrowed his eyes. His wingspan of over twelve meters suddenly unfurled, flapping violently and whipping up a gale.
The Young Dragon turned into a black-and-red meteor. As he dove, the edges of his wing membranes sliced through the air, nearly throwing off sparks.
By the time the Rock-Crushing Worm reacted, the dragon's shadow had already eclipsed its body.
Without the slightest intention of slowing down, Garros dove into the ground with immense force, using his own body as a weapon to smash into the Rock-Crushing Worm.
The moment the iron-hard insect carapace came into contact with Garros's body.
Under the massive impact, the black shell shattered like an eggshell, and the flesh beneath was instantly mangled and crushed into pulp.
Boom! With a world-shaking sound like an earthquake, the rock plates shattered into countless stones, rising and swirling amidst the dust.
The Rock-Crushing Worm, a Vicious Beast that was considered quite strong even among Rank 7 lifeforms.
Hit by the Young Dragon's falling strike, its body was split directly into two halves from the middle.
Meanwhile, as some of the Buffer Scaless on his body fell off, Garros suffered almost zero fall damage.
Wooo—!
In agony, the Rock-Crushing Worm let out a roar that sounded like a gale blowing through a canyon.
Insects have tenacious vitality; it didn't die. Instead, it burst forth with great strength like a final surge of life, its upper body thrashing in a rage, throwing the Young Dragon toward sharp rock spires.
The rock spires failed to pierce the dragon scales; instead, they were crushed and pulverized.
The Buffer Scaless on his back absorbed the impact force the moment they hit the rocks, forming a counter-shock force.
Garros shot back toward the Rock-Crushing Worm at an even faster speed.
By now, the Rock-Crushing Worm already wanted to flee. The sharp teeth in its mouthparts rotated as it gnawed at the ground, and a small portion of its body had already burrowed underground.
Even with only its upper body.
With the Rock-Crushing Worm's regenerative abilities, it could gradually recover its full form.
Feeling the vibrations of the dragon's body friction with the air, the carapace on the part of the Rock-Crushing Worm still above ground suddenly swelled, and high-temperature, high-pressure steam sprayed from the gaps.
The smell of sulfur rushed into his nostrils.
This steam carried both fire and water damage; it was the Rock-Crushing Worm's life-saving skill and was quite powerful.
Garros closed his eyes and charged straight through, his powerful physique bypassing the thick steam. A claw tore through the carapace again, embedding itself into the Rock-Crushing Worm's flesh.
Whoosh!
His strong wings flapped, and his body rose into the air, yanking the Rock-Crushing Worm's upper body completely out of the ground. He then swung the body in a wide arc, smashing it repeatedly against the surrounding rocks.
The thumping sounds of the impact continued for several seconds.
A sweep of his dragon wings dispersed the surrounding dust.
Garros released his claws. The Rock-Crushing Worm was now completely silent, its carapace shattered in many places and its flesh mangled beyond recognition.
"Used a bit too much force."
"A Rock-Crushing Worm of the same Rank seems completely unable to resist my strength."
Garros clenched and unclenched his claws, feeling the pain on his body rapidly receding as he thought silently.
He was basically immune to the fire damage from the Rock-Crushing Worm's final high-temperature steam. As for the water damage, it should have caused him some trouble, but since he had specifically trained to adapt to it, the slight damage was negligible.
"My behavior of overcoming my aversion to train in water was effective."
"Though I can't measure it precisely, my resistance to water damage has definitely improved."
He turned his head to look at the worm's corpse.
Garros stepped forward and used his claws to peel back the carapace, revealing the flesh inside.
Contrary to its hideous appearance, the meat of the Rock-Crushing Worm was white and tender, looking very appetizing. Moreover, the texture and taste were excellent—cool, delicate, and sweet, almost like vanilla ice cream.
A short while later, after finishing the delicacy from his hunt.
Garros scanned the surroundings, his gaze sweeping over this abandoned mine pit.
It was filled with jagged rocks. The mine pit was surrounded by a ring of steep, dangerous rock layers, while the interior was a square area full of potholes and collapsed or abandoned mine shafts.
Flapping his wings, the Young Dragon landed at the bottom of the pit.
Garros closed his eyes slightly, quietly sensing the ground beneath him. Soon, he felt a faint pull.
"There are still some residual ore veins down here."
He thought reflectively.
There were many such abandoned mining sites in the Serel Wilderness, but not many were mined so cleanly that absolutely nothing remained; there were usually some residual veins.
His gaze swept over the surrounding mine shafts again. Garros mused that this seemed like a good place to settle.
Not far from this abandoned mine was a woodland area, which also contained a lake and a fair number of creatures similar to Gray Hyenas.
Water, prey, mineral resources.
Possessing these elements made it a good place.
"After I leave the Iron Dragon Mother, I can occupy this place first as my Dragon Nest, and then make other plans."
Garros thought to himself.
Suddenly.
The ground vibrated slightly.
Garros's gaze sharpened. His wings flapped, and with a 'whoosh,' he shot into the sky, vanishing from his original spot.
Bang!
The rock ground where he had just been standing shattered like fragile glass in an instant. A massive black shadow burst out from the earth, actually propelling itself hundreds of meters into the air before falling back down.
His tense nerves relaxed slightly.
Garros let out a breath and looked down.
In his field of vision was a super-giant Rock-Crushing Worm, at least a hundred meters long, coiled at the bottom of the abandoned mine pit. Its insect carapace glinted with a cold metallic sheen under the sun, a sense of overwhelming pressure washing over him.
Crackle, crackle!
Amidst teeth-gritting sounds, the ground continued to shatter as one Rock-Crushing Worm after another burst from the earth.
They were densely packed and numerous, their bodies rubbing and tangling with each other in a way that made one's skin crawl.
"There's a swarm of Rock-Crushing Worms, and even a Worm King exists."
"This place is temporarily out of my reach."
"It seems finding a suitable territory to inhabit won't be an easy task."
The Young Dragon thought it a pity. Avoiding the acid rain spat toward him by the Rock-Crushing Worm King, he flew higher and higher, leaving the area.