The crimson barrier crumbled like lting ice as the red iron dragon staggered out from the void. His scales were shattered, his body crisscrossed with deep wounds - a gaping hole pierced clean through from back to belly, while a terrible slash across his neck gushed dragon blood profusely.
The battle had already ended.
Pain and exhaustion surged through Garoth like tidal waves. By all rights, he should have collapsed from sheer weakness. Yet an extraordinary sensation was blossoming within him - his nearly depleted magical energy and overtaxed life force now intertwined like two colossal serpents, biting and rging deep within his organs. The soul-scorching agony and searing heat sohow kept him standing upright.
This was the sign of Dragon Qi awakening.
Despite his injuries, Garoth's eyes shone with brilliant intensity. His magic and life force, pushed to their absolute limits, were now undergoing tamorphosis - transforming into Dragon Qi.
The battle against the Dragon Hunting Team had been perilous beyond asure. They outnumbered him greatly, and apart from Viscount Iron Thorn, even their weakest mber matched Garoth's Level 10. Their ranks included a Level 14 curse mage, Level 13 paladin, war priest and other elite warriors. As the ambushed party, Garoth faced overwhelming disadvantages.
Most crucially, the Duel Array Disk prevented any retreat - only a fight to the death remained. Without vassals or fellow dragons to divide the enemy's attention, activating Frenzied Bloodburst from the outset would have allowed the coordinated hunters to kite him endlessly, avoiding direct confrontation. Moreover, the Frenzied State's full potential required proper warm-up through combat.
Garoth understood this perfectly. Thus he endured their assaults with Explosive Scales first, wearing down the hunters before feigning weakness. Then he suddenly erupted in frenzy, eliminating a berserker to break their formation. With their numbers reduced, neither paladin nor war priest could fully restrain him, allowing Garoth to swiftly dispatch the beast hunter and shadow assassin.
Only then did the tide turn in his favor. Through three stages of Bloodburst, he eventually slaughtered the exhausted remnants of the hunting party. Yet even in victory, Garoth suffered grievous wounds from their coordinated attacks.
Pushed beyond his limits in this life-or-death struggle, he now grasped the opportunity for Dragon Qi awakening as his magic and life force fused into sothing greater.
"With Dragon Qi, my Frenzied State duration should extend," Garoth mused. "More importantly, this ans I can begin learning combat dragon skills to enhance perception, danger intuition and other attributes."
Reviewing the battle, Garoth identified his greatest weakness - dulled senses. As a hybrid red iron dragon, he inherited strengths from both bloodlines in every aspect except perception, where the mixture proved detrintal. Even after training and ntal attribute improvents, his senses only slightly surpassed normal red or iron young dragons - still inferior to faerie dragons.
This deficiency nearly proved fatal. He failed to detect the stealthy hunters until they were close enough to deploy the Duel Array Disk. Inside the battle dinsion, the curse mage's illusions made him miss the critical mont to interrupt spellcasting, resulting in prolonged crowd control. Had he seen through the deception earlier, his injuries might have been far less severe.
"My perception has always been a weak point, improving at a snail's pace," Garoth admitted. "But with Dragon Qi awakening, everything changes."
He exhaled deeply. Combat dragons originated from monk professions, sharing similar core principles. Reflexive dodging, heightened focus and other perception-based techniques would beco accessible with Dragon Qi. Through repeated use and his adaptive evolution talent, these could eventually beco permanent passive abilities.
The fusion of magic and life force continued gradually - tamorphosis couldn't be rushed. As the process unfolded, his monstrous vassals ford protective rings around him while several dragons landed nearby.
"Garoth, how are you feeling?" Samantha asked anxiously, horrified by his grievous wounds. Though unaware of the battle's specifics, the sheer brutality evident in his injuries spoke volus about its ferocity. Neither she nor Sorog would have survived such an ordeal.
"No lasting harm. The fight was close, but I prevailed," Garoth replied. "As for these wounds, anything that fails to kill outright hardly matters. A good sleep will suffice."
His tail flicked, tossing the cracked Duel Array Disk - now resembling fragile porcelain - to the iron dragon. "Hold onto this alchemical tool. It trapped in a pocket dinsion and remains functional."
Upon winning the duel, Garoth had instinctively beco the disk's new master, understanding its chanics. This potent assassination tool had one final use remaining - if deployed strategically, it could prove decisive.
Sorog caught the disk firmly. "Rest and recover imdiately. Samantha and I will stand guard without respite."
" too!" Vira the faerie dragon chirped loudly. "I won't let anyone sneak up this ti!" She still regretted her slightly delayed warning earlier, though even a faerie dragon's sharp senses couldn't instantly detect shadowy infiltrators.
Garoth stretched slowly, his broken scales screeching like grinding tal. Examining his wounds carefully, he noted the hunters' attacks carried lingering energies preventing regeneration and promoting bleeding. The paladin's Holy Smite had carved to the bone on his neck, holy flas still searing within. The curse mage's shadow energy clung like parasitic worms devouring new tissue. Worst was the divine energy lingering in the Judgnt Blade's piercing wound, burning like wildfire.
"These need treatnt before hibernation for faster recovery," Garoth declared. His remaining magic reserves, currently transforming into Dragon Qi, couldn't be spared for healing. "Frostfang, summon our shamans and sorcerers."
The gathered spellcasters worked ticulously, removing stubborn energy residues and dead flesh before applying wilderness poultices and healing potions looted from caravans.
"Karu, stop gawking. Fetch an iron bucket - we're not wasting this dragon blood," Garoth ordered the ogre. His copious blood loss could create multiple dragon vein vassals when properly processed - nothing went to waste in his domain.
Six grueling hours later, under the moonlit Estonian Great River's misty expanse where crashing waves shattered silver reflections, Garoth's wounds were finally stabilized. Battle exhaustion brought overwhelming drowsiness, yet he resisted imdiate sleep, commanding his forces to cross the river via prepared rafts and establish camp on the northern bank first.
Garoth himself sought a secluded spot nearby for hibernation. Sorog, Samantha, Vira and elite vassals ford concentric defensive rings around his resting place, maintaining vigilant watch through the night.
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