Chapter 121: Wings of Ashes

At noon, the sunlight was dazzling.

Garon flew towards the location of Mount Carol, which he had learned about from the Duke of Thorns, under the bright sunshine.

After the terms of their deal were agreed upon, the Duke of Thorns gathered his men that very night and prepared coins, gems, and spellbooks for Garon, delivering one-third of the coins and gems as a deposit, as well as a year's worth of tribute in coins.

The spellbooks needed some time to be copied and printed.

At this point, if Garon took the payment and left without looking for trouble with the red dragon, neglecting the Mosha Duchy from then on, the Duke of Thorns would be helpless.

They did not sign a contract.

The Duke of Thorns wanted to sign a contract, but Garon refused, not wishing to be bound by a contract, so the deal was merely a verbal promise.

The red dragon's lair held considerable wealth, and Garon felt he could make some extra money.

After all, having come to the south only once in three years, it seemed wasteful to return directly to the far northern ice plains without making the most of the energy spent on the journey.

The air flowed past his wing membranes, creating a hunting sound of vibration. Garon looked down, and after half an hour, a dark brown mountain and a desolate, withered forest reflected in his eyes.

Mount Carol, an eight-hundred-foot-tall extinct volcano.

The red dragon mentioned by the Duke of Thorns lived around this dead volcano.

Red dragons, true dragons of the fire element, preferred such hot and scorching environments.

When a red dragon reached the ancient dragon level, its residence would turn into a mountain range of flames, and vortices connecting to the fire elemental plane could even emerge around its lair, allowing fire elemental creatures to enter the prime material plane.

"This is the place."

Garon looked down at Mount Carol, his eyes catching a glint of light.

He activated his detection magic, but it only revealed vast red fire elemental auras; he could not precisely locate the red dragon's position.

A dragon's scales have powerful anti-magic properties, which greatly conceal elemental auras, making it difficult for spells to detect the presence of a true dragon.

However, although Garon had not yet seen the red dragon, just by looking at the unique environment of the area and the faint dragon aura in the air, he could confirm that a fire-elemental true dragon resided here.

After a brief contemplation, Garon shook his dragon wings, unleashing a tidal wave of dragon might that swept towards the dead volcano.

Whoosh!

His dragon might had become so potent that it manifested as a circular ripple in the air.

The creatures inhabiting the dead volcano, upon encountering his dragon might, all stiffened, silenced by fear. Those strong enough to resist the pressure of dragon might struggled to raise their heads, their eyes filled with fear and caution as they looked up at the silver dragon circling in the sky, its body blocking the sunlight.

Garon released his dragon might and quietly waited a few seconds.

He could not precisely locate the red dragon's lair, so he simply greeted it with his dragon might, forcing it to show itself.

However, Garon was surprised that, after waiting ten seconds, which should have been enough for the other to feel his dragon might and check the situation, there was still no sign of the red dragon.

Garon's gaze shifted, and he no longer waited, retracting his dragon might and diving downward.

Like a silver meteor, his body carried a hurricane-like force, plunging towards the ground in an instant.

Boom!

The moment his limbs touched the ground, the earth shook violently, kicking up clouds of dust and smoke.

With a sweep of his dragon wings, the wind dispersed the dust, revealing Garon's unblemished figure.

He frowned slightly, surveying his surroundings.

It was clear this was a true dragon's territory; the air in every inch around him carried a subtle dragon scent.

However, the red dragon was not home.

"Not home... could it be?" Garon blinked and then steadied his mind, shaking his head slightly.

He was not a dragon who liked to sneak around. The only time he had ever stealthily taken something was when he was newly born and couldn't resist the allure of a magical gemstone, and he had returned it later.

While Garon was looking for the location of the other dragon's lair, the ground around him trembled violently, followed by chaotic footsteps. Soon, a number of fiery red figures appeared around him and began to encircle him subtly.

They were creatures with a faint trace of dragon lineage.

Belonging to the red dragon's kin.

Most of them were four-meter-long fire lizards with rows of fierce spines on their backs, resembling a fearsome lizard, but their bodies emitted intense heat.

There

 were also some hunched over but muscular, dark-skinned humanoid creatures with two fangs protruding from their lips.

Trolls.

Trolls were as big as minotaurs or ogres, with bulging, firm muscles on their exposed arms and legs, and they emanated a barbaric, bloodthirsty scent.

Due to undergoing dragon vein transformation, these trolls were also covered in some scattered red scales and radiated intense heat.

"This is the territory of the great lord of the volcano, the Wing of Ashes, the spreader of disaster, the fierce red dragon!"

"Unknown true dragon, please leave this place immediately!"

An old troll with a rough hand holding a long staff stepped forward, looking up at Garon with a wary and defensive gaze as he issued the order to leave.

Troll wizard Garon's eyes moved, not expecting to encounter a troll wizard here.

Troll wizards were rarities among trolls.

Trolls, known for their cruelty and recklessness, had strong regenerative abilities, even capable of healing severed limbs. Although they were intelligent beings, they were generally not very smart and relied on physical combat.

However, just like ogre magi, troll wizards occasionally emerged within troll tribes.

As the smartest among a tribe of fools, a troll wizard generally served as the leader of the troll tribe, guiding the ordinary trolls and receiving their respect and affection.

In addition to the troll wizard and a significant number of fire lizards, there was also a creature that even Garon took note of.

A deep-red tyrannosaurus.

Its legs were robust and massive, its arms sharp yet comparatively small against its body, and its gaping maw filled with terrifying fangs.

"Tyrannosaurus... a deep-red tyrannosaurus."

Garon marveled.

This was his first time seeing a dinosaur in person, though he had read about them in the monster manual.

On the continent of Noah, dinosaurs existed. Although they were called "dragons," they were not considered dragons, not even drakes, because they lacked any dragon lineage.

Dinosaurs were a type of beast.

Pterosaurs, triceratops, tyrannosaurus... the deep-red tyrannosaurus was an unmistakable giant beast, immensely large.

In appearance, the deep-red tyrannosaurus resembled the ancient tyrannosaurus as hypothesized on Earth, except it was much larger.

Its total length from head to tail was thirty-one meters, and the ground trembled as it moved.

Because it stood on two feet, its shoulder height was over ten meters when upright, appearing several sizes larger than Garon, a super-sized true dragon.

Above the super-sized stage, there was the giant size.