Chapter 224: Chapter 212: Flesh Is Weak; Ascend Through Machinery

“What does Vera need to do?”

The Elf Dragon emerged from the nearby flower bushes, flying circles around Galos, eagerly asking.

“Your task is the most important.”

Galos said, “Stay at the Dragon Valley and guard our territory with the Violent Bears.”

As he spoke, he carefully observed the appearance of the Elf Dragon. Compared to the first time they met, the colors on the Elf Dragon were still vibrant and rich, and had deepened.

The age of the Elf Dragon differs from a regular dragon; Vera, now close to fifty years old, is already a mature Elf Dragon.

As a super small-sized miniature Dragon Race, the normal lifespan of an Elf Dragon is only a little over two hundred years.

Which means, by the time Galos reaches maturity, the Elf Dragon will be entering its twilight years, and due to its inherent weakness compared to other dragons, it’s very difficult to extend those twilight years.

If the Elf Dragon dies, where will I get scale powder?

Thinking of this, Galos extended his claw and gently poked the head of the Elf Dragon.

“What are you doing?”

The Elf Dragon was flipped over with a finger poke, and after stabilizing her body, asked angrily.

“Nothing, just itchy hands.”

Galos shook his head after looking at the Elf Dragon for a few seconds, casually saying.

The matter of the Elf Dragon’s lifespan, he temporarily put aside, as she was now in her prime, and there was still a long way to go before the twilight years.

“Then I forgive you.”

“I also often feel itchy, and can’t resist the urge to play pranks, so if I stuff an itchy flower in your nostril next time, you also have to forgive me.”

“Deal, no going back.”

Elf Dragon Vera said with a giggle, and without waiting for a specific response from Galos, stated one-sidedly, hurriedly flying away, as if she had obtained an ’Immunity Token’ for pranking Galos.

“What do I need to do? Go straight to the battlefield to kill the enemy?”

Red Silver Dragon Deborah blinked and asked.

Galos thought for a moment and said, “Like Vera, guard the Dragon Valley.” After a pause, he added, “The difference is, the Dragon Valley truly depends on you for defense.”

Once the battle officially begins,

the counterattack from the Golden Tooth Tribe will surely come.

Unlike the previous Bloodhoof Clan, the Golden Tooth Tribe, adept in alchemy industry, had a stronghold that was rock solid, making base swap tactics unsuitable.

As the pivot and core of the Molten Iron Tribe, the Dragon Valley holds extraordinary significance.

It cannot be straightforwardly relinquished meaninglessly; when Galos is out fighting, there needs to be a guard present to prevent unforeseen events.

The Red Silver Dragon is an excellent guard.

Even on a battlefield where weapons are drawn and it’s a fight to the death, her identity as a Metal Dragon cannot make the enemy hesitate. However, if she is at the Dragon Valley, mainly responsible for guarding it instead of fighting to the death, the situation is different.

“Alright, I will ensure the safety here.”

The Red Silver Dragon nodded.

Chaotic good is still good; her bottom-line principles, although flexible, intrinsically carry the nature of a kind dragon, and she is not too interested in a battlefield filled with blood and flesh.

Directly participating in combat is less appealing than taking on the responsibility of defense and guarding; just repelling the invading enemies is enough.

Then, time passed silently.

The Molten Iron Tribe was intensively preparing for battle.

Such multi-line battle tactics consume more of the commander’s mental energy compared to large-scale frontal battles, testing the commander’s ability to organize the overall situation.

After a day of rest, Iron Dragon Solrog had somewhat recovered from his spiritual energy exhaustion.

He issued specific instructions to the servant leaders at major strongholds, notifying them of all the details that needed consideration, so they understood their goals and tasks, and knew what to do.

Well-organized, carefully matched troops were poised for action.

The attacks on the riverbank strongholds of the Golden Tooth Tribe continued as usual, as a diversion.

In the blink of an eye, dawn was about to rise for the seventh time.

In the southeast of the Border Area, the Black Iron Plain.

The Golden Tooth Tribe’s main camp was located here.

The goblins here were not just green-skinned clowns tinkering with explosive potions.

They had established an extraordinary industrial domain, a style incompatible with the Border Area.

Spires of rusted iron and black smoke pierced the sky, the sound of grinding gears never ceased, tightly arranged alchemy workshops painted a picture interwoven with barbarism and precision in alchemy colors.

Perhaps still a bit immature.

But there was no doubt that the Golden Tooth Tribe’s alchemy industry had already taken shape.

Driven by black oil-powered wheels, thirty conveyer belts never stopped, each carrying alchemy golem components being assembled, with the most basic [Iron Welding Slave] [Flesh Ripper] golems being born here.

The goblin overseers wielded electrified whips, urging sharply next to the assembly line.

Their slaves were also goblins.

But unlike the small stature of ordinary goblins, they were a group of tall and burly [Bear goblins] with electric shock collars that appeared at first glance like giant bears standing upright.

Bear goblins are cousins of goblins; they are dull-witted but fierce and brutal.

In ancient times, bear goblins, due to their immense strength, were generally the upper rulers of the goblin tribe. But now, ordinary goblins have used their intelligence to enslave the bear goblins, making them slaves and even specialized in studying bear goblin breeding manuals.

The core of the tribe is the palace of the Great Workshop Master.

Unlike typical tribes, the most noble existence is addressed as the Chieftain.

The leader of the Golden Tooth Tribe is revered as the Great Workshop Master.

His palace is located at the center of the tribe, entirely forged from metal and machinery, with faint rune marks visible on it. The architectural style is rugged and imposing, revealing a sense of precise beauty amidst its primitiveness.

At this moment, within this metal palace, the Goblin Elders of the Golden Tooth Tribe were gathered here.

The leader looked no different from normal goblins, but he was dressed quite elegantly, wore a monocle on his face, and his magic robe was engraved with mechanical patterns of gears and levers. He sat on a high-backed chair cast from metal.

Great Workshop Master – Scott.

He was the true master of all Alchemy Workshops and also the highest-ranking alchemist in the Golden Tooth Tribe.

In the council hall, eight goblin elders, also alchemists, sat on either side, each with varying traces of alchemical modification, such as smooth metal arms, a third mechanical hand extending from the shoulder, or expressionless, rigid iron faces.

In the most common development route for alchemists,

through alchemical modification and assimilation with metal and machinery, completely separating from their flesh, one path was widely known as Alchemy Ascension.

As an alchemist’s rank increases, if they are inherently weak-bodied creatures, they often choose the path of Alchemy Ascension, undergoing alchemical modifications to gradually break free from the shackles of their flesh.

The advantages are that alchemists, after modification, experience substantial enhancements to their lifespan, combat capabilities, and so on.

The downside is, losing the body congruent with their soul can cause soul problems; the alchemical modifications influence their mindset, making it increasingly mechanical and rigid, slowly losing the inspiration for progress. The higher the degree of modification, the more severe these problems become.

It is said,

the first interstellar spaceship created by the Elf Empire’s Naoxir, with its advanced intelligence, was essentially a high-ranking alchemist who had lost their soul.

Back to the topic at hand.

The Great Workshop Master also underwent alchemical modifications, but his techniques were more adept, leaving no visible signs.

“After a month of negotiations with the Poison Tail Tribe, we have temporarily reached a peace agreement.”

One of the goblin elders with a crystallized eye modification spoke.

The Poison Tail Tribe, one of the four major tribes of the Border Area, consists of Snakefolk. Their tribe includes the most mages and shamans among the Border Area, and they excel in voodoo curses and the like. The bloodthirsty and brutal snake-man warriors are also numerous.

Among the four major tribes,

the relationship between the Poison Tail Tribe and the Golden Tooth Tribe is the most hostile.

The Snakefolk enjoy hunting goblins, using them as food.

Before the Golden Tooth Tribe discovered the Black Oil Field and rose, they suffered greatly at the hands of the Snakefolk. Almost all contemporary goblins have ancestors who fell prey to the Snakefolk.

Goblins are creatures with long memories.

However, in the face of wealth and resources, they can suppress their hatred and become farsighted.

In the eyes of goblins,

the other three tribes are short-sighted and don’t understand the importance of trade and economy.

Several years ago, a trade-savvy goblin elder devised a monopoly plan.

They aimed to manipulate trade, monopolizing the resource exchanges with the Federation, and gradually develop an economy-driven suppression of other tribes towards becoming the King of the Borderland and even establishing a goblin nation here as part of the Federation.

To monopolize the Estonian River banks in the Border Area, controlling trade,

the envoys of the Golden Tooth Tribe traveled between various tribes, promising benefits, ceding interests, negotiating meticulously to smooth over obstacles from other tribes.

They focused on the future, not hesitating to invest momentarily.

As long as the monopoly plan succeeded, other tribes would repay them many times over later.

Including when envoys were sent to the Molten Iron Tribe; the original intent was to pave the way for their monopoly plan.

However, at that time, due to the Red Iron Dragon slumbering, the Molten Iron Tribe had been retreating continuously for many years. In the goblins’ eyes, they appeared weak and insignificant, so instead of using inducements, they used threats directly.

Things backfired.

The Molten Iron Tribe’s firmness exceeded their imagination.

Now, they had even launched a direct counterattack on their riverbank outpost.

Yet, these are not the most crucial issues.

The most important thing is,

“The Molten Iron Tribe understands the importance of economy and trade, and they are rising rapidly. For our monopoly plan to succeed, we must eliminate them.”

The three-handed goblin elder said in a low voice.

“Aside from our Golden Tooth Tribe, no other trade-savvy tribe should exist in the Border Area.”

“They would take away our Gold Coins! This is unforgivable.”

The goblin elder with the metal arm nodded in agreement.

“We have reached an agreement with the most dangerous Poison Tail Tribe and signed a Magic Contract. Now is the time to concentrate our forces and eliminate the Molten Iron Tribe.”

Another goblin elder’s eyes gleamed as he said:

“Those Dragon Race, their body parts are top-tier alchemy materials. If we can enslave them and use Dragon Breath to fuel our furnaces day and night, it would greatly enhance production capacity and quality rate.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep