The night wind brushed through the branches, making leaves rustle against each other as elongated shadows stretched across the ground. Moonlight filtered through the foliage fell upon Garoth's scales, creating scattered patches of light on his armored body.
His hardened form pushed through the shrubs as he clawed aside vines, following the scent of blood in the air. After several minutes of searching, he halted abruptly.
Focusing his gaze, he saw a severed segnt of a serpent dragon's tail lying quietly on the ground. The green dragon blood oozing from the broken end had already corroded all surrounding rocks and broken branches, forming a bubbling pool of green liquid that continued expanding outward with gurgling sounds.
"Poison hidden in blood... why doesn't it poison itself to death?" Garoth muttered as he picked up the severed tail with his claws. Flapping his dragon wings, he soared into the sky, turning back toward Needleleaf Valley.
This expedition was ant to scout his 'neighbors' - he had planned to survey more intelligent creature clans or powerful magical beasts in one trip. However, after encountering the Cliff Serpent Dragon at the Graymane Werewolves' territory and getting his wing poisoned during their fight, he lost motivation to continue exploring and decided to return to Needleleaf Valley.
Before long, Garoth arrived above Needleleaf Valley. Folding his wings, he descended to his usual training ground - a clearing in the valley.
On the western side of the clearing, the Faerie Dragon Vira was swaying sleepily on a tree branch, snoring loudly. Garoth's arrival didn't wake her at first - she rely twitched her nose before suddenly thrashing her limbs and tail wildly as if having a nightmare, then tumbled down with a thud.
"Se-se-serpent dragon! Don't eat !" The Faerie Dragon trembled like a quail, screaming in terror. She had dread of being caught and devoured by a serpent dragon.
Opening her eyes to find herself still in Needleleaf Valley with the robust Red Iron Hybrid Dragon before her - no serpent dragon in sight - she relaxed slightly. But confusion soon followed as she distinctly slled serpent dragon scent.
Serpent dragons feasted on other dragons and considered elves, Pique spirits, and other fey creatures delicacies. As both dragon and fey creature, Faerie Dragons were premium delicacies to them - natural predators indeed. Back in Serene Spirit Wilderness, unicorn elders often used serpent dragons to scare Faerie Dragons, always effectively.
Highly sensitive to her natural predator's scent, Vira's tiny head swiveled until she pinpointed the source - Garoth himself. Fluttering her butterfly-like wings, she circled around him and discovered the green severed tail in his claw and a foul-slling dark green patch on his right wing's edge where several scales had fallen off, revealing festering mbrane.
"You encountered a serpent dragon? And got poisoned by its blood?" Vira asked worriedly.
"t a Cliff Serpent Dragon," Garoth replied, moving his right wing forward to examine the poisoned area. The excruciating pain had faded into numbness, especially in the palm-sized festering area which felt almost nonexistent now.
Dragons possessed robust constitutions with natural toxin resistance - ordinary poisons barely affected them. But serpent dragon venom seed specially evolved for draconic combat, capable of seriously poisoning even dragon bodies.
"The Cliff Serpent Dragon's close combat skills were diocre, but this poisonous blood is truly troubleso," Garoth pondered silently. "Unless I can defeat it from range, any lee combat - even if I tear it apart - would leave severely poisoned from excessive blood contact."
Severe injury - Garoth had experienced it once during his wyrmling days. At three years old, newly aware of his adaptive evolution talent but unable to curb draconic arrogance, he'd flown to his maximum altitude for his first 'earth pounding' training, hoping to grow stronger rapidly through extre thods. The result was near-fatal injuries requiring over half a month's recovery, with unsatisfactory evolutionary feedback teaching him that his talent favored gradual accumulation over intense spurts.
Without his Iron Dragon Mother's protection now, severe injuries could prove fatal if other dangers arose.
anwhile, Vira fluttered anxiously near Garoth's wound. "Quick, cut away the poisoned flesh! It'll heal faster that way!" Having forgotten she was technically a prisoner under enslavent contract, the little creature now saw Garoth as a companion who promised playti with his Rampage Bears.
"No need," Garoth refused, shaking his head. He raised the severed tail and slowly extended his wing - its tal-edged wing blade sharp as a knife - drawing it across the tail to coat the 'blade' with venom. The corrosive blood sizzled upon contact. Occasionally, splashes landed on his wing, forming dark green patches that brought snake-bite-like agony.
Witnessing this, Vira's eyes widened in shock. She'd never heard of Cliff Serpent Dragon venom causing madness! "Wh-what are you doing?!" she cried, circling him frantically.
Just then, a crimson draconic figure erged through the pine trees - Samantha, drawn by the serpent dragon scent.
"Overreacting much?" Samantha gave Vira a superior glance, lifting her chin. "You'll get used to such things, tiny one. Garoth enjoys this - it's his peculiar hobby."
Vira shrank back slightly at the Red Dragon's appearance, still fearful since Samantha had initially wanted to eat her. Though Garoth's warnings and Vira's ager size had diminished Samantha's appetite, the Faerie Dragon still struggled to remain calm around her.
Recalling Garoth's previous tree-pounding antics that had shocked all dragons present, Vira began understanding Samantha's aning. "Y-yes, Garoth does have... unique interests. When I first saw him..." she started explaining unconsciously to the Red Dragon.
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