A Dragon against the Whole World

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Martial Dragon and Dragon Qi

After finishing the hunt, Galos found another barren mountain, crashing into rocks and land, enjoying each collision thoroughly.

Initially, Galos trained to become stronger, to ensure survival, pushing himself to endure pain for training. But now he had grown accustomed to the pain, and if any day passed without training, he felt as if something was missing; it had become a part of his daily routine.

As dusk turned to night, Galos returned to the Needleleaf Valley.

Upon his return, he vaguely sensed a tense and murderous atmosphere.

He hovered in the sky without landing directly, gazing down with lowered eyes at the fierce battle between the Giant Dragon and the ant army.

The Elf Dragon and the Red Dragon, both wore expressions of seriousness and gravity, completely unaware of Galos’s arrival, still immersed in their fantasy world.

Samantha was crouched with dignity, gazing down at the ground, overlooking an anthill, with a ball of blazing fire in her mouth.

Elf Dragon Vera spiraled above her head.

She scattered dazzling Magic Dust, transforming ordinary black ants into warriors clad in armor.

”Vile Ant Race!”

Samantha’s roar was filled with rage, deliberately making her voice as deep as that of an adult Dragon: ”You dare to build a fortress on the territory of the Red Dragon Queen!”

She spewed a thin tongue of flame, burning a small smoky pit three centimeters from the entrance of the anthill as a deterrent strike.

”Duel with me! King of Giant Ants!”

Samantha gingerly picked up the ’Ant King,’ placing it beneath her.

It was a soldier ant with particularly long antennae and a larger size.

In a panic, it tried to escape but was trapped in the middle of a drawn trench, frantically turning in circles.

Elf Dragon Vera used Illusion Technique, causing the Ant King to emit light that sometimes expanded and sometimes contracted, making it appear more formidable, while Samantha repeatedly teased the Ant King with her claws, and after a ’fierce battle,’ killed it with a single blow.

”It’s over, the mighty Red Dragon Queen has once again achieved victory!”

Samantha lifted her chin, looking down with pride.

When she proclaimed victory, the Elf Dragon chased a cricket onto the battlefield:

”Watch out! The true mastermind is the Dark Cricket High Priest!”

”The giant ant prince who secretly conveyed fortress information to you is in fact a puppet controlled by the High Priest! It was all part of the High Priest’s scheme!”

Samantha was dazed for two seconds before quickly playing along, snorting a few sparks from her nose.

”What? It’s all a conspiracy?! High Priest! What are you plotting!”

The Elf Dragon replaced her tone with a creepy laugh, voicing the true villain: ”Hehehe, of course, it’s to provoke a war between you and the King of Giant Ants. Now that you’re exhausted, it’s the perfect time for me to reap the fruits of victory.”

The Red Dragon Queen was furious.

”Very well, you’ve successfully incited my fury, now, are you ready to face death?!”

She roared.

Meanwhile, Galos watched the scene below in silence.

Samantha’s queen fantasy seemed even more severe, and Elf Dragon Vera as well, even playing along with her; the plot was quite rich, even with twists and turns.

”What are you two doing?”

He landed, interrupting the two dragons’ role-playing game.

”My dear brother, I am... uh... training Vera’s tactical command abilities.”

Samantha stammered.

”Yes, yes.”

Elf Dragon Vera nodded in agreement.

Alright, these two dragons had hit it off... should I play along for a bit too?

Galos shook his head, considering the game too childish, unfit for his dragon persona, reducing his dignity, so he decided against it.

However, I could play by myself during leisure time, as long as they didn’t find out.

He thought to himself.

Galos did not press the matter, pretending to agree with the two dragons’ explanation, then flew towards the cave where the Cliff Snake Dragon’s body lay.

One large and one small, the Red Dragon and Elf Dragon exchanged glances and then turned their attention back to the ant nest.

The threat of the Dark Cricket High Priest was imminent, the battle was not yet over! The Red Dragon Queen was determined to crush the wicked plot against her!

After Galos left, the two dragons merrily resumed their play.

In the cave untouched by moonlight.

The pitch-black environment didn’t pose any problem for Galos; the Dragon Race generally possessed dark vision.

He walked up to the Cliff Snake Dragon’s corpse.

After about seven days, in the hot environment of the Sel Wilderness, the ordinary creature’s corpse would have rotted and decayed by now if not preserved by special means.

But there was little change to the Cliff Snake Dragon’s body, looking just as it did at the time of death.

Being a Fire Dragon, and dragon corpses themselves could naturally resist decay for long periods.

Galos stepped forward, extended a claw, opened up the Snake Dragon Scale Armor of the Cliff Snake Dragon, and intently observed its lower structure.

Some honeycomb-like fine pores.

Reflected in his sight.

No surprise, the Cliff Snake Dragon used these pores to release high-temperature steam for explosive propulsion.

This was not a magical means.

This Cliff Snake Dragon was merely a young dragon, not having mastered magic.

Magic isn’t powerful in the early stages, and learning magic requires considerable time and effort, far less effective than the natural claws and fangs of dragons; dragons usually begin to learn magic after the age of 50, in their youth when body growth slows and elemental affinity increases.

Furthermore, since dragons are born mages, not all dragons are inclined to learn magic.

The career paths in Dragon’s Legacy aren’t limited to being a Caster.

Galos had seriously contemplated what path he should take; for now, he aspired to become a Martial Dragon, part-time mage.

Mage is an innate profession.

It allows Galos to grasp skills similar to magic without spending too much time, enriching his arsenal.

And Martial Dragon, in truth, is a branch of dragon Martial Monk.

Martial Dragons don’t need to strictly adhere to the monk’s precepts; they primarily grow through brutal training and combat, honing themselves through pain and hardship.

This suited Galos perfectly, a profession tailor-made for him.

Normal Martial Monks can master a unique energy known as ’Qi.’

At its core, it’s a special energy formed by blending the life energy flowing within living beings with magical energy.

Through the manipulation and control of Qi, by accumulating years of practice, Martial Monks can use Qi to enhance their speed, attack, response, and overall physical capacities, meanwhile being able to produce effects akin to magic.

The Qi of Martial Dragons is called Dragon Qi.

The effects of Dragon Qi are similar to normal Qi, but due to the racial attributes of dragons, Dragon Qi is more profound, more majestic; Martial Dragons mastering Dragon Qi don’t have a myriad of showy skills but possess extraordinary combat strength.

Only, however.

At Galos’s current age, and with his current life energy and magic energy strength, it’s not enough to awaken Dragon Qi, not meeting the standards for becoming a Martial Dragon.

His daily training could shorten this time.

Just when exactly he could achieve it, Galos could not determine.

But no matter what, whether becoming a Martial Dragon, or advancing further on the mage path, adaptive evolution remained Galos’s most relied upon, innate talent.

This could fundamentally change him, enhancing his potential.

Galos extended a claw, brushing the fine pores beneath the Snake Dragon Scale Armor.

”If I could evolve some jet holes on the Dragon Wings, using magic energy, or better yet, Dragon Qi as fuel, my speed would see an explosive increase, compensating for the lack of explosive force.”

He thought to himself.

But how could he make the uncertain outcome of adaptive evolution align with his desires?

That was a problem.

Thinking of this, Galos thoughtlessly licked some fairy scale powder.

This made his mind become clear, highly active, quickly running.

Ideas emerged in his mind, one by one being rejected and discarded due to lack of conditions or impracticality.

And as time gradually passed, after a brainstorming-like rapid contemplation, just as the effect of the fairy scale powder was about to end, Galos finally thought of a simple enough method with a higher possibility of realization.