Chapter 8 The Swarm
Garus hovered a thousand meters in the air, his dragon eyes locked onto the rock-crushing worms below.
Using the Life Level Detection Technique, Garos has determined that the Rock-Breaking Worm is a Level 7 life form, the same level as his current life form.
Life Level Detection – This is a spell-like skill he awakened a year ago.
Dragons are top-tier magical creatures and natural-born sorcerers, naturally acquiring many spells from their bloodline as they age.
Such techniques differ from spells; their power is weaker, but they can be cast instantly, and are therefore known as spell-like skills.
Life Level Detection is one of them.
Under normal circumstances, young dragons are not yet at the age where they can awaken and master spell-like skills.
Galos's rapid growth due to adaptation to evolution was not only physical; he also mastered some spell-like skills ahead of time.
"They're at the same level as me, so we should be able to take them down without much trouble."
Life level is just a reference. There are many creatures that can fight above their level, and dragons are among the best. Garos is cautious and steady by nature, so he will not consider hunting above his level for the time being, and will instead target the Rock Worm of the same level.
Galos withdrew its dragon might, its wings flapping with minimal amplitude, and gradually approached its target from above.
Rock-breaking worms sense the location of other organisms through vibrations.
A gentle breeze swept by, and the rock worms that were basking in the sun suddenly raised their heads warily, blinking their two almost invisible, bead-sized eyes.
Powerful beasts and monsters roam the wilderness, along with hunting parties composed of clans of intelligent beings.
Hunting and being hunted are the eternal themes here.
Rock-breaking worms are powerful hunters, but that doesn't mean they can't become prey.
100 meters in the air.
The moment he saw the Rock-Breaking Worm act strangely, Galos, which had been slowly flapping its wings, narrowed its eyes, and suddenly spread its wingspan of more than twelve meters, whipping them violently with a gale.
The young dragon transformed into a black and red meteorite, its wing membranes tearing through the air as it swooped down, almost sparking.
By the time the rock-crushing worm realized what was happening, the dragon's shadow had already shrouded its body.
Without slowing down in the slightest, Galos plunged to the ground with immense force, using his own body as a weapon to smash into the Rock-Breaking Worm.
The moment the insect armor, as hard as iron, made contact with Garus's body.
Under the immense impact, the black carapace shattered like an eggshell, and the flesh beneath was directly rotted and crushed into a pulp.
Crash! With a deafening roar, like an earthquake, the rock slab shattered into countless pieces, rising up with dust.
Rock-crushing worms are a ferocious beast that is quite powerful even among level 7 life forms.
It was struck by the young dragon's impact from the sky, and its body was split in two.
As some of the cushioning scales on his body fell off, Garus suffered almost no damage from the fall.
Waaaaah!
In excruciating pain, the rock-crushing worm let out a roar that sounded like a strong wind sweeping through the canyon.
Insects are incredibly resilient. Instead of dying, it burst forth with tremendous power as if in a final burst of energy, its upper body raging and hurling the young dragon toward the sharp rock spikes.
The rock spike failed to pierce the dragon scales and was instead crushed.
The cushioning scales on its back absorb the impact force upon impact with the rock, creating a counterforce.
Galos launched himself at the Rock-Breaking Worm at an even faster speed.
At this point, the rock-breaking worm was trying to escape, its sharp teeth rotating and gnawing at the ground, with half of its body already burrowed underground.
Even if it's just the upper body.
With the regenerative ability of the rock-breaking worm, it can gradually recover its original state.
Feeling the vibration of the dragon's body rubbing against the air, the rock-crushing worm's carapace, still protruding from the ground, suddenly swelled up, spewing out high-temperature, high-pressure steam from the gaps.
A strong smell of sulfur hit my nose.
This steam carries both fire and water damage, making it a life-saving skill for the Rock Smash Worm, and its power is considerable.
Galos closed his eyes and charged straight ahead, using his powerful physique to leap over the billowing steam. With one claw, he tore open the insect armor again and embedded himself into the flesh of the Rock-Breaking Worm.
call!
With a flap of his powerful wings, he soared into the air, pulling the upper half of the rock-crushing worm completely out of the ground. Then, he swung its body around and slammed it against the surrounding rocks.
The thuds continued for a few seconds.
With a flap of its wings, the dragon dispersed the surrounding dust.
Galos released his grip, and the Rock-Breaking Worm was completely silent, its carapace shattered in large quantities, and its flesh rotted and was a gruesome sight.
"You used too much force."
"The rock-breaking worms of the same level seem completely unable to resist my power."
Galos clenched and unclenched his dragon claws, feeling the pain rapidly subsiding in his body, and thought to himself.
The high-temperature steam from the Rock Worm's final attack rendered Galos largely immune to fire damage. As for water damage, it should have caused Galos some trouble, but because he had trained to adapt to it, the minor damage was negligible.
"My practice of overcoming my aversion to water and exercising was effective."
"Although it's impossible to measure precisely, my resistance to water damage has definitely increased."
He turned to look at the insect corpse.
Galos stepped forward and used his claws to peel off the carapace, revealing the flesh inside.
Contrary to its ferocious appearance, the flesh of the rock worm is actually white and tender, which looks very appetizing. Moreover, the texture and taste are also great. It is cool, delicate and sweet, just like vanilla ice cream.
Soon after, they finished enjoying the food they had obtained from the hunt.
Galos glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the abandoned mine.
Here, the rocks are jagged and the mine is surrounded by a steep and dangerous rock layer. Inside, the area is full of pits and hollows, with collapsed or abandoned mine tunnels scattered around.
With a flap of its wings, the young dragon landed at the bottom of the mine.
Galos closed his eyes slightly, quietly sensing the ground beneath him, and soon felt a faint attraction.
“There are still some remaining mineral veins below.”
He seemed to be deep in thought.
There are many abandoned mining sites like this in the Sel Wilderness, but not many have been completely mined out; some mineral veins will remain.
As Galos's gaze swept across the surrounding mine tunnels, he pondered that this seemed like a good place to settle down.
Not far from this abandoned mine is a woodland with lakes and a number of creatures resembling gray hyenas.
Water, prey, mineral resources.
With these features, it's a good place.
"After I leave Iron Dragon Girl, I can occupy this place first and use it as a dragon's nest, and then make other plans."
Garus thought to himself.
Suddenly.
The ground trembled slightly.
Galos's gaze sharpened, and with a flap of his wings, he soared into the sky and vanished from his spot.
Bang!
The rocky ground he had just stood on shattered like fragile glass in an instant, and a huge black shadow burst out of the ground, shooting hundreds of meters into the air before falling back down.
My tense mind relaxed a little.
Galos exhaled and looked down.
In the field of vision was a gigantic rock-breaking worm, a full hundred meters long, coiled at the bottom of the abandoned mine. Its insect armor gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight, and an oppressive feeling was overwhelming.
Click click click!
Amidst the teeth-grinding sound, the ground continued to crumble, and one after another, rock-crushing worms burst forth from the earth.
They were densely packed and numerous, their bodies rubbing and intertwining with each other, sending chills down one's spine.
"There is a swarm of rock-breaking worms, and there is also a worm king."
"This place is not for me for the time being."
"It seems that finding a suitable place to live is not an easy task."
The young dragon sighed inwardly, dodging the acid rain spewed out by the Rock-Breaking Worm Dynasty, and flew higher and higher, leaving the place behind.
(End of this chapter)
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