Chapter 334 Mysterious Frenzied Fla, Iron Dragon Matriarch: Is That Gordon?
The clearing of the undead lair and the advancent of the Dragon-Forge Modification ritual were officially handed over to black dragon Seraphina.
The green dragon Ludwig would also take part as an important presence.
After respectfully receiving the leader’s instructions in Needleleaf Valley, the black dragon did not linger. Soon she beat her wings, leapt into the sky, and beca a streaking shadow as she flew off to carry out her new task.
Garoth patrolled the warm valley for a short while and finally found a slab of stone, huge, smooth, and scalding from the sun.
He settled down on it and lay there.
After a satisfied low growl, the red iron dragon stretched his massive body and basked in the gentle afternoon sunlight.
At the sa ti, his great claws scooped up glittering gems and precious tals, and with the sticky, scorching black oil, he chewed them like ore. The crisp cracking of hard materials under dragon teeth sounded distinctly.
He was slowly recovering the strength his body had lost and the weakness caused by Crimson Lotus Form and the lich’s curse.
Though he closed his eyes as if dozing lazily in the sun,
Garoth used the invisible bond deep within his bloodline to initiate a telepathic contact with the iron dragon Sorog, who was so distance away.
“Are you there?”
“Here.”
Almost instantly, Sorog’s concise, steady reply ca through.
Receiving the response, Garoth asked directly with his mind, “Sorog, have you established a stable Bloodline Connection with Mother?”
The iron dragon on the other end gave a slight nod, and a confirming ntal ripple arrived.
“It’s established and stable. We can communicate at any ti.”
After saying that, his ntal fluctuation turned a bit heavier, and he continued, “Following your suggestion, I tried to establish a bloodline link with our biological father, the red dragon Gorthax, hoping to sense his state.”
“But the result… was just as you expected.”
“My threads of spiritual energy barely brushed the edge of his thoughts through bloodline resonance before being instantly burned away by a force… a madness, chaos, indescribable—like a fierce, pure fla of brutality.”
“That spiritual force, like a tangible blaze, was extrely abnormal and felt very dangerous to .”
“If I hadn’t reacted quickly and forcefully cut the link, that strange extinguishing fla might have backfired along the spiritual connection and engulfed .”
Garoth, who had been feigning sleep, abruptly opened his eyes. His pupils narrowed into vertical slits as thoughtfulness appeared in his gaze.
“Could this be the so-called frenzied fla Mother once ntioned?”
When Garoth last t Iron Dragon Matriarch Leticia in the Sky Pit Territory, he had heard her speak of so past events regarding the red dragon Gorthax.
According to the matriarch’s description:
Gorthax’s notorious madness and chaos were not entirely innate.
At first, although he leaned toward a chaotic alignnt even in his bones as a chromatic dragon, he still knew how to weigh risks and retreat or advance appropriately. It was through his great power and his quick wits when force failed that he gained fearso renown in the Ser Wilderness and secured a place for himself.
But later, sothing happened that fundantally changed him.
From that point on, Gorthax gradually—and seemingly irreversibly—grew more chaotic and frenzied, severing kinship ties and eventually even frequently striking his mate, the iron dragon Leticia, becoming increasingly impossible to reason with.
The cause was this:
One day, a gigantic teor from beyond the sky, ablaze with flas and accompanied by a ripping roar and piercing extinguishing light, fell into a region of the Ser Wilderness.
The impact site was not far from Gorthax’s lair.
Gorthax, who first noticed the earth-shattering commotion, flew there at once.
Relying on his strength, he approached that ominous teor up close and even touched its scorching surface with his claw.
At that mont, an astonishing transformation occurred.
The strange flas burning on the teor seed to find superior fuel and detached from the rock, entering his body.
Gorthax felt an overwhelming exhilaration.
The flas’ power exceeded his own red dragon fire—wilder, hotter, and far more destructive.
With continued tempering and fusion from the teor’s fire, his body toughness and fla potency leapt forward far beyond the limits of a normal red dragon.
What excited him even more was that he awakened a precious ancestral bloodline; the rush of power consud him.
However, alongside the rapid growth in strength, his ntal frenzy and chaos deepened in tandem, becoming increasingly uncontrollable.
The Dragon Legacy held no record of such a weird fla.
Leticia, witnessing Gorthax’s dramatic change, nad it frenzied fla.
When she realized that Gorthax’s growing irritability and loss of reason likely stemd from the frenzied fla, she repeatedly urged him to find ways to suppress or expel it, to restore his sanity.
He resolutely refused.
The red dragon, who had spent his life pursuing and worshipping absolute power, wholly accepted the change brought by the frenzied fla.
He understood his transformation but embraced it willingly—more proactively and zealously than resisting.
After that, Leticia lost all hope for Gorthax.
Gorthax’s increasingly mad actions drew the Lothrian Federation’s campaign against him. After being grievously wounded, he had to leave the Ser Wilderness, and the two officially parted ways.
Leticia later returned to the teor’s impact site to investigate, only to find that the enormous teor had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
The crater left by that teor was exactly where she now dwelled in the Sky Pit Territory.
More precisely, that great pit was ford when the teor carrying the frenzied fla struck the ground.
Leticia, partly for practical reasons, wanted to eliminate Gorthax—an unstable hazard who might bring endless trouble.
Partly because she was haunted by the violent change the frenzied fla had wrought in Gorthax, she chose to reside in the Sky Pit Territory, hoping to find clues.
But after an incredibly long ti, she found nothing.
The crux wasn’t the crater itself but the teor that had mysteriously disappeared.
“The frenzied fla that drove Gorthax mad, and that mysterious, vanished teor—”
“These two things are probably no ordinary objects.”
“Without legendary-level power, perhaps you don’t even qualify to investigate the truth. It’s best not to pry.”
Garoth reined in his wandering thoughts, pushed that curiosity aside for the mont, and slowly closed his eyes again.
As for whether there was the slightest possibility—say, pouring the entire Molten Iron Tribe’s resources into searching for that vanished teor at any cost, or finding so thod to change the current Gorthax and reverse the frenzied fla so he could be reasoned with and coexist—such possibilities existed in theory.
But their chances of success were minuscule.
Garoth and the red dragon Gorthax were uneasily acquainted at best; they had never even t.
There was no shred of father-son affection between them.
For him to expend substantial ti, resources, and energy on sothing with such negligible expected return would be extrely unprofitable to Garoth, who had inherited iron dragon practicality.
Moreover,
even if a way existed to restore Gorthax, the matriarch’s account suggested Gorthax himself would likely be unwilling.
He did not change under duress—he embraced the frenzied fla and beca what he is by choice.
Power and madness—he stepped onto that path of his own accord.
“Sorog, open the bloodline network.”
Garoth set the matter aside and said, “Mother’s formal alliance with us hasn’t been fully announced to the others. Let’s use this opportunity to have a private conversation within the Ignas family.”
He did not worry that Leticia might seize control of the conversation.
Dragon society never asured respect by age or seniority. Only absolute strength decided everything.
“All right.”
Sorog answered simply.
Then, using his spirit as a hub, he successively linked into the minds of other kin, building an invisible ntal network.
Within this unique psychic space, each dragon could clearly perceive reflections of the others’ consciousness.
It was a projection on the ntal plane, largely mirroring each one’s true physical form.
Soon,
the consciousnesses of four dragons—Garoth, Sorog, Samantha, and Leticia—gathered first in this psychic realm.
Gordon, who was stationed far to the south in the Lothrian Kingdom, needed more ti to establish and stabilize such a long-distance ntal link.
“Sorog, Samantha.”
Leticia’s projection turned toward the two offspring. She keenly sensed the resilience and strength in their spirits—
a depth not common among young dragons, enough to rival many adults.
And indeed,
Sorog and Samantha had both reached life level 15.
Under normal circumstances, that level would typically be reached only by adult iron dragons or adult red dragons.
Having grown alongside a unique kin like Garoth, their progression could not compare to Garoth the monster, but both had already far outpaced the average for their species.
“Mother.”
Sorog’s response was as concise as ever.
“Mother, long ti no see.”
Samantha’s projection curled her lip into a combative smile. She added, “When we et in the real world next ti, I want to spar with you, Mother, to asure firsthand how far I still fall short of an elder-stage adult dragon.”
“Fine.”
Leticia readily agreed. “I’d like to know what level you’ve reached.” Then she looked to Sorog. “Would you be interested as well?”
“Pointless sparring wastes energy. I’m not interested.”
Sorog’s projection remained unruffled.
Simply from observing Leticia’s projected ntal concentration, he had calmly drawn his conclusion.
Against a level 17 white dragon, there might be room to maneuver.
But facing a level 17 iron dragon?
Zero chance.
“I’m here!”
At that mont, a heavy, resonant roar, as if carrying an echo, sounded through the ntal network.
Then a particularly solid, robust projection coalesced.
Leticia instinctively fixed her gaze, and her huge dragon pupils widened slightly.
What did she see?
An iron dragon whose thick scales seed stretched taut to reveal a broad silhouette!
In body width, he did not pale in comparison to Garoth, but he was not the muscular type. Instead, he was layered with unusually thick rolls of fat, appearing exceptionally massive.
However, a careful look revealed:
beneath that fortress-like fat layer, the contours of hard, powerful muscles rose faintly.
Within that seemingly clumsy body, a truly terrifying foundation of strength clearly lurked.
The young iron dragon Gordon—life level 16.
He ranked third in presence, after Garoth and Leticia.
“...You’re… Gordon?”
Leticia’s ntal fluctuation held disbelief and hesitation.
In her mory, Gordon had been the slimst and least obviously gifted among her offspring.
But the projection before her looked different.
Had she not known this was a closed family eting, she would hardly have recognized him.
“It’s !”
Gordon’s projection answered proudly, then noticed Leticia. “Mother? Long ti no see! You finally joined our Ignas Dragon Cluster? Sticking with Brother Garoth is the wisest choice!”
Gordon spoke cheerfully, with utter naturalness.
As the actual eldest, Sorog refrained from retorting.
Gordon wasn’t entirely wrong.
In terms of strength, Garoth was unquestionably the big brother; in birth order, Sorog was the eldest.
These were different hierarchies and did not conflict.
Leticia could not help but ask, “Gordon… how did you turn into… this?”
She was puzzled.
Gordon then briefly explained his special circumstances at the Lothrian royal court.
Although nominally a mber of the dragon cluster, he lived far away at the human power center in the south.
“Mother, look, look carefully!”
Gordon’s projection puffed out his chest, showing the contours hidden beneath his thick fat layer. “Look at this body, full of power and substantial beauty! Aren’t you proud?”
It took Leticia a few seconds to calm her surprise before replying slowly, “Hmm… yes, it is certainly unique.”
Her tone carried complexity.
Her children each seed to possess different traits and specialties.
Hearing that, Gordon nodded his massive head in satisfaction, swaying it.
Having chosen the Hundred Battle Dragon path, he had burned through large fat reserves during his previous dormancy.
Afterward, he remained indulgent in eating, consuming the royal court’s top-tier resources.
More importantly, deeply influenced and encouraged by Garoth, he began intense training. Gradually he beca this fat-and-muscle build—firm, stout, and mighty.
Now Gordon’s appearance differed wildly from ordinary dragons.
Yet he no longer inspired ridicule; instead, his broad, fortress-like form projected an alternate kind of overwhelming pressure.
In sheer size, he was now the closest to Garoth, though his aura still lacked a touch of true ferocity.
“You iron porker, you finally look tolerable—less of a muddy puddle than before.”
Samantha’s voice, blunt and unsparing, snorted a laugh. “But that bragging about power and weight? You’re joking. At best, you just look like a giant, juicy cut of at—more appetizing to enemies.”
Gordon didn’t explode in rage as he had when mocked in his youth.
Truth is a swift blade.
For Samantha’s baseless taunt, he only smiled placidly and replied, “Samantha, my foolish sister, your taste is still so shallow. I know you’re false-faced and secretly jealous.”
“Admit it—you admire my perfect, powerful physique.”
“Besides, my strength now has actually surpassed yours.”
Samantha flashed sharp fangs. “I’ll fly south eventually and beat you flat so you sober up.”
“Then co. I’ll be waiting.”
Gordon answered without backing down; he even sounded eager. “It’ll be a good chance to show you what absolute power feels like.”
Listening to the siblings’ familiar banter, Garoth spoke slowly, “Mother, Sorog, if Samantha and Gordon really fought now, who would have the better chance of winning?”
Leticia considered carefully and, based on her knowledge, answered, “I think Samantha.”
Life level doesn’t tell the whole story.
From Gordon’s own description, although he had received training at the royal court, he lacked the brutal experience of life-or-death battles—an apparent disadvantage compared with Samantha, who had scraped and fought her way through the wilderness and had much richer combat experience.
Furthermore, in re ferocity and aggression, red dragons often outmatch iron dragons.
Sorog’s calm internal analysis also favored Samantha’s chances.
But instead of voicing his true thoughts, he nudged the debate with an oddly flat tone: “I think Gordon.”
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