Chapter 7 The Lorthorn Federation
The Sel Wilderness is located on the land border of Atlanta, bordering the Permafrost Tundra to the north, the Lorthern Federation to the south, and surrounded by the Rust Mountains and the Boiling Sea to the east and west, respectively.
Dense forests, majestic mountains, and crystal-clear lakes.
These can all be seen in the Sel Wilderness.
but.
In the perpetually hot and humid wilderness of Sel, the most numerous features are various sulfur rifts, hills, and abandoned mines. The underground here contains rich magical metal veins, which once caused various countries to fight fiercely for control of the mineral resources in this area.
About eight hundred years ago.
The southern kingdoms waged endless wars over the Serian Wilderness, causing widespread devastation and natural disasters. Many intelligent species struggled to survive, and cries of agony echoed across the land.
Until a human king appeared who was proficient in strategy, tactics, and governance.
He led his legions to sweep across the southern kingdoms, forcing them to sign a peace treaty. He also established a federation led by his kingdom of Lorthen. Although the Lorthen Federation was not as powerful as the empire, it was still far stronger than most kingdoms.
Only then did the battle for the Sel Wilderness come to an end.
Under the leadership of the Kingdom of Lorthen, the southern kingdoms divided up the Sel Wilderness through negotiations. After hundreds of years of mining, the mineral resources of the Sel Wilderness are now far less abundant than before. Many veins have been depleted, and its importance in the eyes of the kingdoms has greatly diminished.
but.
Even now, some unexploited mineral veins still exist in the Ser Wilderness. These places often have outposts and bases of various countries, and are also equipped with stationed troops.
"We cannot approach the strongholds of the Lorthern Federation."
"If I go there, I'll just be giving them magical materials, which will then be dismantled and made into various magical items, or I'll be enslaved and imprisoned, and forced to live an inhumane life."
Amidst the drifting winds and floating clouds above the wilderness, Garos raised his head and gazed westward—in this direction lay a stronghold of the Lorthern Federation, which occupied a large [Fire Marrow Stone Mine].
Iron Dragon Girl has always coveted the Fire Marrow Stone mine and longed for it.
Iron Dragon is not a pure fire-type dragon, but its attributes are also related to fire. If there are a lot of Fire Marrow Stones for Iron Dragon to eat, its growth rate can be greatly increased.
But even an adult dragon like Iron Dragon Girl.
It could only watch with envy, not daring to make any rash moves.
The Lorthen Federation is full of legendary powerhouses; any one of them could easily skin Iron Dragon Girl alive.
Legendary – This is a life level above level 20, a leap and sublimation. Level 20 is also the watershed between mortals and legends.
If dragons don't die young, they are all destined to become legends; the only question is whether it will happen sooner or later.
As for humans, legendary powerhouses are one in ten thousand; only those with exceptional talent can become legends. However, due to the vast human population, the number of legends is not small.
On the planet Bernardo, the race with the most legends is human.
Dragons, giants, and elves—these races have fewer legends than humans. However, if a human legend were to fight one-on-one against a legend of one of these races at the same level, it would be tantamount to suicide.
"Firestone mine. There are many such veins in the Sel Wilderness."
Garus thought to himself.
The ores in the Iron Dragon Girl's sinkhole territory are scattered and far from being considered a mineral vein. Moreover, they contain many impurities and are not pure.
Even so.
When Galus consumes various minerals, he can still clearly feel that they contain abundant energy, which has a very good promoting effect on the development and growth of his scales, claws, teeth, and bones.
"Unfortunately, all known mineral veins, regardless of size, already have owners."
"Even the Iron Dragon Girl couldn't seize the mine, so I can only dream about it now. I should focus on the present and practice my combat skills first."
Centered on the Tiankeng territory, Galos circled in the surrounding sky, searching for targets.
Time passed slowly, the sun began to set slightly in the west, but it was still bright and dazzling, radiating scorching heat that enveloped and swept across the entire Serbian wilderness.
Everywhere there are deep pits and collapses, abandoned mine pits.
Three gray hyenas slowly moved along the edge, their limbs crossed, their ears perked up, and their eyes warily surveying their surroundings.
After finding no other creatures nearby, the gray hyenas lowered their heads to lick the salt crystals seeping from the crevices in the rocks.
These beasts, covered in heat-resistant thorns, are absorbing the salt their bodies need.
But what they didn't know was...
A cruel and cunning predator has its eye on them.
Rock-breaking worms are a type of creature that prefers to live in abandoned mines and feeds on slag and metal.
Its appearance resembles a worm covered with a layer of black chitinous shell. It is nearly twenty meters long and as thick as a bucket. The spiral teeth inside its mouthparts can easily crush ores into powder like a stone crusher, and tearing flesh apart is a piece of cake.
The patterns on the carapace blend perfectly with the cracks in the surrounding rocks.
The rock-breaking worm's shell rubbed against the rock wall, sending shockwaves through the rock strata, sensing movement within a one-kilometer radius and discovering the presence of the gray hyena.
It travels underground, slowly approaching its target.
The soil and rocks were torn apart like tofu in front of it, and the ground above rose slightly, forming a long mark.
One minute later.
The gray hyena had licked the food almost clean and was ready to leave.
The strongest gray hyena suddenly turned its head and noticed the rising earthen mound that was rapidly approaching, instinctively sensing danger.
Awoo!
It roared to warn its companions and leaped to the side.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
The rock-breaking worm suddenly exerted force with its tail, and the rock layers and the ground surface shattered like a biscuit.
The enormous insect body burst from the ground, its shadow obscuring the surface rocks, and pounced and bit like lightning.
Buzz!
Its crusher-like mandibles snapped into two gray hyenas, the spiraling fangs inside spinning and almost instantly shredding their fur and bones, swallowing them along with the billowing blood mist.
The other, strongest gray hyena whimpered and fled without stopping.
The rock-crushing worm raised half of its body, and an umbrella-shaped spray of acidic liquid erupted from its mouth, landing on the fleeing gray hyena. In an instant, the liquid dissolved through its fur and flesh, making a hissing sound.
The rock-crushing worm slowly crawled to the gray hyena and swallowed it into its abyss-like mouthparts.
It ate three gray hyenas in succession.
The rock worm that had emerged from the soil did not burrow back underground. Instead, it crawled onto a flat rock and lazily basked in the sun.
This creature primarily lives underground.
But they occasionally need to come to the surface to let the sunlight stimulate their shells, remove the damaged parts, and grow new, harder shells.
Under the sunlight, the rock-crushing worm lazily rolled over.
Unfortunately, what it didn't know was...
A more ruthless and cunning predator has its eye on it.
(End of this chapter)
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