Chapter 423: Garon: "Heh heh heh, you think you can escape after offending this dragon?"

"Lord Dragon, thank you for your response."

"When I was captured after the chaos, I thought I was going to die."

After the chaos left, Garon released the suppression of the Purgatory Dragon's mental will. Shaken, the Purgatory Dragon regained its senses and spoke to Garon with awe in its mind.

"The Abyss has become increasingly dangerous and chaotic recently. I think I should temporarily head to the Dragon Court or the Prime Material Plane," said the Purgatory Dragon apprehensively.

Although it was an ancient dragon and ranked among the upper echelons of demons in the Abyss, it was no match for a demon lord, especially one like the demon lord after the chaos. It would be powerless if encountered.

Garon did not communicate much with this member of the Dragon Court.

"Both the Dragon Court and the Prime Material Plane are far safer than the Abyss," Garon stated calmly.

He then sternly warned, "After you leave the Abyss, I do not want any creature to know about my communication with the demon lord after the chaos."

Hearing Garon's serious words, the Purgatory Dragon was immediately alert.

Although its will was suppressed during Garon's communication with the demon lord after the chaos, and it was completely unaware of the contents of their conversation, the mere fact of an ancient demon lord secretly communicating with the head of the Dragon Court was not something it should know.

"I understand."

"Lord Dragon, to prevent any accidental disclosure of information, please erase this memory of mine," the Purgatory Dragon said, not just making a verbal promise, but actually requesting Garon to do so.

Impressed by the Purgatory Dragon's prudent request, the millennia-old dragon had not lived in vain.

After the Purgatory Dragon completely lowered its mental and spiritual defenses, Garon easily erased that memory and inserted a false memory in its place, then quietly withdrew his will.

The dark red light shone down through gaps in the dense canopy overhead, illuminating the Purgatory Dragon's scales.

Purple and red intertwined and changed together.

The Purgatory Dragon looked up, initially confused about its surroundings.

"What was I here to do again?"

After a moment of confusion, it remembered, "Ah, right, I came here to see the grandeur of the Twelve Trees before leaving the Abyss for the Prime Material Plane."

Thinking this, the Purgatory Dragon flapped its wings.

Its deep purple body was swept away by the wind towards the nearest giant tree and gradually vanished from the spot.

"With this transaction, I have an additional ace up my sleeve that can be used at a critical moment."

In the depths of the Eternal Hall, within the vast dragon's nest.

A pair of platinum dragon eyes slowly opened, their deep gaze containing a hint of amusement.

The silver dragon stood up, shook its increasingly strong and broad wings, dislodging some gold and silver jewels that tinkled as they fell.

With a thought, several mystical runes were constructed out of thin air, then disappeared into the air, merging with the surrounding space.

Under the influence of the mystical runes, a spatial rift connected to the metallic world gradually appeared.

"My lord, what are your commands?" came the emotionless, indifferent voice of the Mechanical Grandmaster.

"Escort this item to the Myriad Abyss Plains, and ensure it arrives without fail," Garon placed the last section of the scepter into the spatial rift, directly transferring it to the metallic world under the care of the Mechanical Grandmaster, while specifying a precise coordinate on the Myriad Abyss Plains.

"As you wish," the Mechanical Grandmaster replied succinctly and powerfully.

"How is the mechanical legion developing in the Abyss?" Garon asked with a narrowed gaze.

Soon, the Mechanical Grandmaster relayed the latest situation of the legion. Garon quickly gained a comprehensive understanding.

The demonic blood war army in the Myriad Abyss Plains was vast, and as the first layer of the Abyss, it was primarily demon territory. Despite a constant stalemate with the devils, the demons still held a slight advantage, bolstered by numerous blood war mercenaries.

The mechanical legion, although developing well with more bases and even some capable of matching large demonic fortresses, lacked the strength to decisively influence the ongoing conflict, barely managing to enhance the devil's blood war army's advantage.

"The main issue is the lack of quasi-divine power," concluded the Mechanical Grandmaster.

Its most powerful creations were still only demi-god level, including various models of mystical angels, mechanical dragons once piloted by Garon, and recently, demons based on Abyss-native materials and forged into mechanical demons.

There were many types.

But without exception, all were only of demi-god level.

In small-scale conflicts, the mechanical legion was invincible, but whenever a demon lord appeared, if there was no corresponding devil general to aid, even large mechanical bases could not defend themselves

 and would be destroyed as easily as being crushed.

This increased attention from the demons.

To date, four top-tier bases capable of forging demi-god level mechanics had been precisely destroyed by demon lords.

On the other hand, the devil generals, having seen the various advantages of the mechanical warriors, also recognized the significance of the mechanical legion to the devil's blood war army, a top-notch force. However, they could only protect the mechanical bases close to the devil's lines; if too far away, they couldn't provide timely support, and recklessly leaving the main lines to penetrate deep into enemy territory was also risky for the devil generals.

Not long ago, a devil general, while aiding a mechanical base, encountered attacks from three demon lords simultaneously.

It returned to the devil's lines with significant injuries.

After this, the mechanical legion's bases far from the devil's lines found it even harder to receive protection.

Unfortunately, the mechanical legion's expansion required constant resource exploration, meaning they could not just stay near the devil's lines.

For the smaller mechanical bases, the demons did not pay much attention.

But now, once a mechanical base reached a certain scale, it attracted the attention of demon lords, leading to precise and destructive attacks from them, and survival was difficult.

Again and again, they rebuilt, and again and again, they were destroyed.

This was the embarrassing situation the mechanical legion faced in the Abyss at the moment.

On the Myriad Abyss Plains, the mechanical legion, unable to withstand attacks from demon lords and barely able to defend their bases, faced a bottleneck.

Garon nodded lightly, then casually inquired, "So, you can only create demi-god creatures?"

There was a pause as if the machine had faltered, then the Mechanical Grandmaster continued in its emotionless, rational voice.

"My lord, my mechanical creativity has no limit. What limits me is the availability of resources and materials, as well as the micro-dissection studies of quasi-divine creatures."

Garon curiously asked, "All your soldiers are mechanical. What effect would studying the flesh-form of quasi-divine creatures have on your mechanics?"

The Mechanical Grandmaster explained, "What you call flesh, I see as machinery, just extremely intricate machinery that differs fundamentally in material composition from what I currently specialize in."

It continued in a flat tone, "If you wish, I can shift my research focus and create flesh-formed machinery."

To this response, Garon saw a scholar whose capabilities were being questioned, defending themselves.

He wasn't surprised.

The Mechanical Grandmaster was a fusion of the soul of an ancient Emaskian emperor and mystical treasures.

Beneath its cold, rational exterior, it had a faint trace of emotion.

"That sounds interesting, but I don't have the time for you to start over from scratch."

Asking the Mechanical Grandmaster to give up its deep research into metal mechanics to start studying flesh mechanics might be something to try in the future, but it was not a good idea at the moment.

"My lord, as you can see, the mechanical legion has reached a bottleneck," said the Mechanical Grandmaster.

"To break through this bottleneck and further develop, I would like to begin research on higher-level quasi-divine powers."

"Therefore, I would like to request the use of the military merits earned by the blood war army," the Mechanical Grandmaster stated formally.

Garon's gaze shifted slightly, asking, "You want to use the military merits to exchange for what?"

Fighting for the devils, against the demons.

Every demon the mechanical legion killed, every demon fortress they destroyed, accumulated military merits, and Garon had not yet decided what to exchange them for, so he had never used them.

After all, military merits were valuable.

Accumulating enough could even earn the intervention of a lord of the Nine Hells.

This was explicitly stated in the terms of the blood war contract, recognized by the lord of the Nine Hells.

"Higher-level quasi-divine creature remains, as well as the various advanced materials I need," the Mechanical Grandmaster said simply.

"The least would be the remains of a lesser quasi-divine creature. With all the military merits the mechanical legion has accumulated so far, after exchanging for the remains, there would be hardly anything left."

Garon quietly pondered this.

He understood that the Mechanical Grandmaster wanted to use the study of higher-level quasi-divine creatures to break through its current technological limits and create true divine-level machinery comparable to lesser quasi-divine powers.

After a few seconds, the silver dragon lifted its chin slightly and said, "You may freely use one-third of the military merits. The rest will remain untouched."

One-third of the military merits would allow the Mechanical Grandmaster to exchange for some sufficiently advanced materials.

At the same time, Garon grinned and said, "As for the remains of quasi-divine creatures, it would be a waste to use military merits for that. I'll provide them myself, especially since I want to deal with a troublesome individual."

During the scepter retrieval battle

, Garon's main opponent was the demon lord after the chaos, but he was equally matched with it. However, due to the interference of the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows, a creature lurking in the shadows, Garon was slightly disadvantaged, which irritated him even more.

The master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows.

This demon lord, who had irked Garon, dwelled in the eighty-ninth layer of the Abyss, the Shadow Seas.

Previously, Garon had been considering how to crush the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows, making it pay for its meddling.

Pick on the soft ones, and since the contract with the demon lord after the chaos would keep it from being Garon's enemy for a long while, seeking revenge meant targeting the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows.

However, killing a demon lord was not something that could be easily accomplished.

The master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows was a demon lord of the Shadow Seas, but the actual ruler of the Shadow Seas was not it but belonged to the ancient and unfathomable Obirith demon lord, the Deep Sea Ancient God Dagun, a creation of Dagun's experiments, strictly speaking, a subordinate of Dagun.

"Dagun. From what I understand, it is a sage, rarely making enemies for itself."

During the ancient war between order and chaos, the demon lord after the chaos invited Dagun to participate, but it was refused. Furthermore, in the alternating wars between the Tanar'ri and Obirith demons, the battles among the demon princes, Dagun had never participated.

It always stayed silently in the depths of the Shadow Seas, engaging in its own secretive activities.

Unless provoked, Dagun seldom acted in the Abyss, hence it seemed mysterious and unpredictable, but because it occasionally displayed terrifying power when crushing demon lords who offended it, it was considered highly powerful.

Garon already knew from his communication with the demon lord after the chaos that the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows was merely coveting the benefits promised by the demon lord after the chaos, willing to risk offending the dragon god to assist the demon lord after the chaos.

This matter did not involve the Deep Sea King.

In the eyes of the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows, since it stayed in the Abyss, even if it offended Garon, the dragon god, Garon couldn't reach the Abyss to do anything to it.

The eighty-ninth layer, the Shadow Seas, apart from having Dagun, the ancient god, was also adjacent to the eighty-eighth layer, the Brine Marshes.

The Brine Marshes were once the territory of the demon prince Demogorgon, now belonging to the King of Worms.

Thus, Garon could not recklessly go to the Shadow Seas to assassinate the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows.

This would only trap him in danger, and not even the Time Reversal of the dragons could guarantee his safety.

"In that case, it's time to lure the snake out of its hole," the silver dragon grinned.

Thinking of the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows at this time was partly because of what the Mechanical Grandmaster had told him.

The Myriad Abyss Plains was the largest battle zone in the never-ending bloody war, without a doubt.

Many demon lords, although not physically present in the Myriad Abyss Plains, had subordinates there constructing fortresses and forming legions as part of the demonic blood war army.

The master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows was one of them.

The Myriad Abyss Plains, due to the entangled warfare between demons and devils, along with various foreign blood war mercenaries, was never under complete demonic control.

For non-demonic beings, going deeper into the Abyss, like the Shadow Seas, was increasingly dangerous.

Garon dared not venture into the Shadow Seas, but he was not afraid to go to the first layer, the Myriad Abyss Plains.

"Collect information on the demon fortress of the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows, and dispatch troops to attack it."

With the goal of ambushing the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows, Garon and the Mechanical Grandmaster communicated and quickly developed a detailed plan to lure the snake out of its hole and ambush it.

"If it doesn't show itself, the mechanical legion's assault should be able to break through its demon fortress and collect some interest."

"But if it dares to show itself, heh."

The dragon's jaws, with their sharp teeth, gleamed coldly.

After some time, Garon and the Mechanical Grandmaster concluded their communication.

Whether it was collecting information on the demon fortress of the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows, assigning tasks to the mystical engineers, or assembling forces to attack the demon fortress, all these required some time to complete and definitely couldn't be done in a moment.

Thus, Garon temporarily put aside the affairs of the Abyss.

Once

 the preliminary work was ready and the plan officially started, the Mechanical Grandmaster would naturally contact him.

"Ah, if only I could go with you to kill that damn demon," said Yuna as she emerged, accompanied by the sound of rustling, and a scattering of gold and silver jewels like droplets around her, while she shook her head, flinging off a few jewels from her crown.

The silver dragon turned its head, speaking gently, "The Abyss is too dangerous for you, I can't bear to see you get hurt."

Under Garon's sweet words, Yuna's expression immediately brightened.

She pounced on the silver dragon, knocking him to the ground, then extended her nimble tongue and vigorously licked his faceplate as a reward.

After playing for a while, Yuna blinked, her pale purple eyes reflecting Garon's increasingly massive form, and hesitated before speaking, "Garon, in the heritage of our power dragons, there is a method recorded for exponentially increasing one's strength."

"I want to try it."

Garon's gaze shifted, looking at his partner, "What method?"

Yuna carefully chose her words, "Star Core Tempering. It involves diving into the core of a large planetary world, resisting and drawing power from the planet's core to enhance one's own power energy."

"According to the records, this was created by our ancestors and is the most efficient method for power dragons to increase their strength."

Garon's draconic face furrowed, "That sounds quite dangerous."

Yuna nodded, "Indeed it is dangerous, but don't worry, during a young clan member's first star core tempering, there will be powerful elders assisting and protecting them, so normally there shouldn't be any major problems."

Under Yuna's gaze, the silver dragon swished its tail, "I respect your decision."

"But, when you undergo the star core tempering, I also want to be there."

Even though Yuna mentioned the presence of powerful elders, Garon was still worried.

If an accident occurred, he could at least provide some assistance.

Yuna quickly nodded, "Then it's happily decided."

Garon asked, "When do you plan to start the star core tempering?"

If it was to start immediately, he would need to instruct the Mechanical Grandmaster to postpone the plan against the master of the Shallow Shores of Shadows.

Yuna thought for a moment, then pondered, "At least a year from now. Before I start, I need to sleep for a while to bring myself to the peak perfect state."

For dragons, a year was actually quite short.

But this period was enough for Garon to implement his plan, so there was no need to call off the Mechanical Grandmaster.

"Alright, you sleep well then," Garon said.

Immediately, Yuna's body wriggled and burrowed into the deepest part of the dragon's nest, burying herself with layers of gold and silver jewels, falling into a quiet slumber.

In the now silent dragon's nest.

The silver dragon closed its eyes, and all the data related to resonant spellcasting surfaced in his mind.

This powerful spellcasting method, derived from the Alphatian Empire, was something Garon wanted to try modifying himself. Previously unsure, but after ascending to a lesser quasi-divine power, with significant enhancements in all aspects, Garon felt he might be capable of it.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT