The sun was very bright today, and the temperature at noon in The Borderlands was not cold; it was comfortably mild for a change.
However, before the Red-Iron Dragon that had torn apart the earth and stood amidst the ruins, almost all the goblins felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar; their hands and feet were cold, and they could not feel a shred of warmth.
However, no race lacks brave warriors.
A Mecha Golem, more Advanced than the Flesh Tearer, suddenly surged forward and launched a surprise attack from the rear.
The Red-Iron Dragon did not even look directly at it; he just casually swung his tail, the dragon scales on it closing together like a giant blade, instantly sweeping past the Mecha Golem.
"Pathetic toy."
The Red-Iron Dragon's voice was unhurried, yet it clearly echoed through the ruins.
The afterimage of the dragon tail's swing was still frozen in the air, while the Golem that had launched the surprise attack had already turned into scattered steel parts, clattering as they rolled onto the scorched earth.
At the same time, more shadows closed in.
One by one, the Mecha Golems activated their overload engine modes; their core engines roared like beating drums, emitting large amounts of high-temperature steam, and their energy veins glowed with a red light.
Goblins are naturally cowardly and dare not face battle directly.
But perhaps because of the layer of steel mecha between them, the goblins operating the Golems often had the illusion that they had become taller and tougher, making them braver and more fearless than usual, even daring to fight a Dragon.
A burly and heavy Golem approached from the right and brought its heavy hammer down.
Garros leaned slightly to the side.
Boom! The ground exploded with spiderweb-like cracks under the heavy blow.
The splashing gravel landed on the dragon scales, shattering further.
The Red-Iron Dragon's counterattack was as fast as lightning.
He raised his claw and pressed it toward the heavy Golem.
The trajectory of his claw strike was ordinary, straight and direct, but it had a sense of seasoned skill, a return to simplicity.
It seemed understated, yet it blocked all space the Golem could use to dodge.
The Claw Strike Mastery brought by his martial combat Rank made Garros's claw technique seem like that of a Grandmaster who had been tempered a thousand times, rather than the clawing of a beast.
The tens-of-tons-heavy Golem had just reacted when its chest cockpit was already pierced through.
Broken gears and pipelines gushed out from the back, tracing shiny arcs in the sunlight, and the spilled black oil looked like the Golem's blood.
Front, rear, side.
Three Steel Tearers surrounded him at once; they were Advanced models of the Flesh Tearer, with thicker mechanical arms and equipped with chain-saw swords capable of cutting through refined steel.
Flame Curse!
Garros used the Spell-like Ability he had awakened during his slumber, and flames seemed to ignite in his eyes.
Without any warning, the bodies of the three Steel Tearers were simultaneously shrouded in crimson red light, but other than that, there were no other obvious changes.
Heat Metal!
Garros raised his claw and grasped into the void.
Clack, clack, the three Steel Tearers twitched simultaneously, their metal bodies becoming scorching hot and turning red, like iron heated in a fire.
The constituent Materials of the Mecha Golems were mixed with magic-resistant metal, and they also had anti-magic runes.
Low-level Spells were basically ineffective against the Steel Tearers.
But this was not enough to completely exempt them from the two Spell-like Abilities Garros had used simultaneously.
The goblins inside the cockpits let out miserable wails, as if they had turned into barbecue on an iron plate, their bodies covered in blisters where they touched the metal; however, the magic-resistant metal had its intended effect, and while the burns caused the goblins pain, they were not fatal.
After a brief twitch, the Steel Tearers continued to raise their chain-saw swords and slashed toward Garros.
However, a momentary sluggishness was a fatal flaw.
Boom! The flame energy behind his dragon wings surged, and he instantly accelerated.
The Red-Iron Dragon's pair of wings fully unfurled, and he suddenly spun with himself as the center; the wing-blades sliced through the air, carrying a dangerous and fatal sharpness, and swept past the three Steel Tearers, splitting them, including the goblins inside, in two.
Meanwhile.
The Golems in the rear row completed their lock-on.
They were heavy and low-profile, not as tall and mighty as the Steel Tearers, but they were loaded with an extraordinary number of ranged weapons, carrying six-barreled Demonic Energy cannons on their shoulders, and having Alchemy weapons on their hands and chests.
They fired at the Red-Iron Dragon simultaneously.
Acid shells, arcane missiles, and scorching solid metal projectiles attacked from different angles, engulfing the Red-Iron Dragon just as he had sliced through the Steel Tearers.
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground shattered; flames, acid, and arcane energy mixed together. The air instantly became incredibly murky, as if it had turned into a Domain of death.
The power of Alchemy lies in this.
As long as there are suitable Materials and resources, and relying on a solid industrial system, the crafted Alchemy equipment can unleash the skills of almost all Dao paths.
In an environment with sufficient resources where one can take whatever they want.
Alchemists are arguably the strongest profession in the early to Middle Stage, bar none.
If it were an ordinary Young Dragon, being hit by this wave of blanket bombardment would at least cost them a layer of skin.
However, before the goblins could rejoice at the result.
Whoosh!
The Red-Iron Dragon unfurled his wings wide and suddenly rushed out of the area covered by artillery fire; his scales had more cracks, pits, and traces of corrosion, but that was all.
Frostburn Scales possess excellent resistance to both high and low temperatures.
Their resistance to physical damage is even more unparalleled.
Meanwhile, with the damage suffered this time, heat energy accumulated within Garros's body.
Destruction Dragon Breath was one of Garros's major trump cards. He was not sure if the battle here would be reported to the goblin headquarters, so he needed to hold back somewhat, but he could also reveal it appropriately as a distraction.
Therefore.
Garros did not wait for the heat energy to continue accumulating; he chose to release it before it reached its Peak.
Suddenly, a metal missile landed on Garros's shoulder, shattering the Frostburn Scales and some spines on it.
At the same time, the Red-Iron Dragon took a deep breath, his chest swelling high, and rolling heat burst and spread from the gaps between every one of his scale plates; his entire body of black scales began to turn red.
Boom!
He flew low, lowered his head, and spat out the Dragon Breath enhanced by the heat energy toward the Alchemy Golems.
The heat energy Garros poured in had not reached its Peak, not even half of it; the enhancement received by the Flame Dragon Breath could not be called destructive, but it was still not to be underestimated.
A continuous stream of flames spewed from his mouth.
The Red-Iron Dragon soared at low altitude, washing the ground with Dragon Breath; one Mecha Golem after another was melted under his terrifying Dragon Breath, and the flesh-and-blood bodies inside also died on the spot.
After one breath of Dragon Breath was exhausted.
The Golems at the Steel Spike Outpost were almost all destroyed.
This was a bit of a pity; after all, the Golems were valuable. If they could be left intact and then modified, they could become weapons for the Molten Iron Tribe, but now was not the time to show mercy.
The Black Oil Field was the most important thing.
As long as he took the Black Oil Field and had a sufficient energy supply, he could obtain the blueprints for Alchemy Golems through the Gem Merchant Guild, and by building his own assembly line to produce common components for some core assemblies, he could manufacture them too.
By then, the Molten Iron Tribe could have its own Alchemy Golems, and wealth and resources could be more easily converted into power.
At this moment, as the Golems were destroyed one by one, other defensive weapons could not stop the Red-Iron Dragon.
The morale of the goblins at the Steel Spike Outpost completely collapsed.
The cowardly side of their nature when facing death was completely ignited, and they fled in all directions in a panic.
Regarding this, Garros did not bother to hinder them.
He killed the goblin warriors who had Alchemy equipment and captured a few remaining Alchemists; as for the ordinary goblins, he simply let them be.
The strength of the Golden Tooth Tribe lay in the Golems and war machines they had accumulated, not in the goblins themselves.
Alchemists are strong when they have Golems and equipment, but correspondingly, Alchemists without Golems are pitifully weak. Destroying those Golems and machines was already considered conquering the Steel Spike Outpost, and the goal was achieved.
Moreover.
Garros still had use for the goblins.
For the Golden Tooth Tribe, Garros's primary goal was to subjugate them, not to destroy them completely. If the Molten Iron Tribe's Alchemy industry wanted to develop, experienced goblins could contribute to it.
A few minutes later, the Red-Iron Dragon soared into the sky and left the Steel Spike Outpost.
This important military defensive stronghold of the Golden Tooth Tribe had almost become ruins, crushed by him with the power of one Dragon.
Garros returned to Dragon Valley.
Next, as time passed, reports of victory arrived one after another from various places.
Because they had the advantage of the first move, the Molten Iron Tribe's surprise first attack achieved remarkable results; the strongholds targeted by the Molten Iron soldiers were almost all conquered, and the Golden Tooth Tribe suffered heavy losses.
And when the reinforcements of the Golden Tooth Tribe arrived.
The Molten Iron warriors had already retreated.
After they conquered the Golden Tooth Tribe's strongholds, they did not occupy them; they took everything they could carry, destroyed what they could not, and then decisively chose to retreat.
The ignited flames of war did not extinguish because of the Molten Iron Tribe's retreat.
Moreover, the Molten Iron Tribe was only retreating strategically, for the sake of better strikes.
After a brief rest, the Molten Iron soldiers continued to launch attacks on the major strongholds of the Golden Tooth Tribe. Under the orders and coordination of the Iron Dragon, they acted strictly according to the tactical core, maintained a guerrilla style, fought on multiple fronts, did not confront the Golden Tooth Tribe head-on, and brought their own advantages to the extreme.
Use one's own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.
Among them, there was the unstoppable Red-Iron Dragon. The goblins who luckily survived after fleeing spoke of his dreadfulness and terror,
——When a mysterious red light appeared in the sky, it meant he had arrived, it meant that death was about to descend.
That was how the surviving goblins described it.
Rumors spread, and the Red-Iron Dragon cast a thick shadow over the Golden Tooth Tribe.
The rhythm of the battle was also grasped by the Molten Iron Tribe; the Golden Tooth Tribe was retreating steadily and suffering heavy losses.
A few days later.
Black Iron Plain, goblin headquarters, Grand Artificer's palace council hall.
The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat heavy and silent, with only the clacking sounds of gears from some Alchemy prosthetics.
"Elders, report the current situation."
The Grand Artificer spoke first; his face was the same as always, with no expression visible on his green face, and his voice carried the sharpness peculiar to goblins.
"Our important military stronghold, Steel Spike Outpost, has become a ruin."
"The quartz mine, the refined iron mine, the spine-beast pasture. The defensive lines have all been crushed."
"Our Golems have been destroyed in large numbers, the carefully trained operators have suffered heavy casualties, and many Alchemists are dead or missing."
"..."
Item by item, reports that made the atmosphere even heavier were uttered from the mouths of the goblin Elders.
"We should have attacked with our full army as soon as we discovered the Molten Iron Tribe and nipped it in the bud!"
The three-armed goblin Elder said in a shrill voice.
That is what is said, but unless one can predict the future, no matter how many times it happened, the Golden Tooth Tribe would make the same choice.
Back then, Garros was sleeping, and the Molten Iron Tribe was dormant and cowering, not a threat at all; moreover, the goblins' focus was mainly on other tribes, and they did not care about the Molten Iron Tribe.
"Things have reached this point; there is no point in talking about the past."
"What we need to do now is to eradicate the Molten Iron Tribe."
The Grand Artificer looked around and said: "Elders, what are your thoughts?"
The mechanical-armed goblin Elder took out a projection stone.
"Let's first talk about the King of the Molten Iron Tribe, this Evil Dragon that has terrified many of our clansmen."
As he spoke, he activated it, and the projection stone cast light and shadow, outlining the scene of the Red-Iron Dragon at the Steel Spike Outpost.
The scene of the Red-Iron Dragon rampaging at the outpost and easily tearing apart the Golems was seen by the goblin Elders.
"The breath it used at the end is not quite normal."
The eye-modified goblin Elder said sharply: "The black scales turned crimson, and the heat radiation is visible to the naked eye."
The goblin Elder paused and zoomed in on the scene of Garros using Dragon Breath, and after careful observation, said thoughtfully: "Its Dragon Breath is unusual, as if it has undergone some kind of enhancement."
Another goblin Elder said:
"The signs of the attack are obvious, and the power is mighty, but it is not enough to make us fear."
The iron-faced goblin Elder nodded and echoed: "The King of the Molten Iron Tribe, this Red-Iron Hybrid Dragon is strong, there is no doubt about that, but if it only has the level it has shown so far, then it is not worth worrying too much about."
The mechanical-armed goblin Elder shook his head slightly and said:
"Its performance in destroying the Steel Spike Outpost was very easy; it definitely has hidden power, so we cannot let our guard down."
The goblin Elder beside him said: "That is correct, but given the arrogant and conceited nature of Dragonkin, the fact that it did not directly come to attack the Black Iron Plain means it is somewhat wary of us."
"Its hidden power is limited; we cannot underestimate it, but there is no need to overestimate it too much either."
After analyzing the Lord of the Crimson Wings for a while.
The goblin Elders changed the subject and began to discuss how to counterattack the Molten Iron Tribe.
"We cannot be led by the nose by the Molten Iron Tribe."
"They are trying to fight on multiple fronts, repeatedly attacking to wear us down."
"In a head-on decisive battle, the Molten Iron Tribe is definitely not our match."
"Assemble our forces to strike head-on, move the battlefield to the southwest, and take back the rhythm of the battle."
"..."
After discussion, the goblin Elders and the Grand Artificer quickly reached a consensus.
——Assemble forces, frontal Breakthrough.
This is exactly the opposite of the Molten Iron Tribe's tactical strategy, but it is also the battle strategy that can best exert the advantages of the Golden Tooth Tribe's Alchemy machines.
Immediately after.
Under the call of the Elders and the Grand Artificer, the goblins assembled their legions and began to march toward the southwest, with their primary target being the heartland of the Molten Iron Tribe—the Fertile Plains.
×=×
15PS = 1 Extra Chapter. ✓
30PS = 2 Extra Chapters. ✓
50Ps= 3 Extra Chapters.✓
75PS = 4 Extra Chapters. ✓
100Ps = 5 Extra Chapters.