Translator: AnubisTL
"As you wish, Mother."
"But let me be clear: I may cause you a great deal of pain, and I will offer no apologies for it."
Garos chuckled darkly. His massive wings snapped open, casting a shadow that surged like a black tide, swallowing the surrounding light.
He stepped back with measured strides, each footfall sending a tremor through the hardened earth as he cleared enough space for the impending "family reunion."
Simultaneously, a heart-stopping aura of dragon might radiated outward. The familiars watching from a distance trembled, their legs turning to jelly.
"All of you, fall back! Get away from here!" Leticia commanded.
The terrified familiars, feeling as if they'd been granted a royal pardon, scrambled backward, desperate to put distance between themselves and the two dragons whose escalating power brewed like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Come, Garos," Leticia roared, her voice churning the air into visible shockwaves. "Let me see just how much you've grown in these past few decades."
Clang, clang, clang—!
As she growled, the iron-gray dragon scales covering her body—as heavy and thick as fine steel armor—seemed to come alive. They grated against one another, producing a bone-jarring metallic screech like ten million swords being drawn from their scabbards at once.
The moment her words fell, Leticia launched a thunderous assault.
BOOM—!!!
The Iron Dragon's immensely powerful hind legs kicked off the hard rocky ground.
A colossal force erupted instantly. The solid rock shattered like a fragile cracker beneath her dragon claws, sending stone fragments flying in all directions!
She beat her wings, her body launching forward like a cannonball, charging relentlessly toward the Red-Iron Dragon before her.
As she charged, she raised her right claw, coated in heavy steel scales.
Quasi-Spell Skill—Steel Dragon Claw!
A dense, dark light, flowing like liquid metal, surged and shimmered across her right claw. The entire limb radiated an immense weight, as if it were an indestructible weapon.
Facing this ferocious, battering-ram-like steel claw, Garos raised his own hand-claw almost simultaneously.
No dodging, no fancy maneuvers—only the most primal, direct frontal clash.
CLANG—!!!!
The moment the two dragon claws, brimming with immense power, violently collided, a visible shockwave erupted, sweeping across the surroundings.
A deafening metallic clang, like two colossal hammers smashing together, exploded through the air.
Searing sparks erupted from the point of impact, scattering like fireworks.
The entire valley trembled, humming with the force of the blow.
In that instant, Leticia's pupils constricted. She felt the staggering power transmitted through Garos's claws—a force far beyond her expectations.
Her battle-hardened instincts kicked in immediately.
With a low growl, she planted her powerful legs firmly into the ground, her body rising like two steel pillars as she surged to her feet.
Using the upright stance to absorb part of the impact, she lightning-fast retracted her right claw, which was still tingling from the shock.
Her movements flowed like a tide.
Leticia's dragon claws instantly transformed into two steel whirlwinds, tearing through the air. She unleashed a series of strikes, now several times faster than her previous, ferocious lunges.
Left and right, her claws became a continuous blur of steel.
The massive iron talons left behind a haze of afterimages, as if she were simultaneously launching a storm of attacks covering Garos's head, neck, chest, and abdomen.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The frenetic metallic clashing, as dense as rain drumming on banana leaves, erupted once more. Garos had risen to his hind legs without hesitation, displaying an astonishing agility that belied his massive, burly frame.
His claws flashed like lightning as he met Leticia's onslaught—a curtain of steel and cold light.
For every ounce of ferocity and speed Leticia poured into her strikes, Garos countered with an equal measure. Between the two dragons, a chaotic web of glinting claws crossed, collided, separated, and clashed again in a blinding blur.
The air shrieked with the unending, piercing ring of metal on metal.
Such speed! Such precise reactions!
Leticia was inwardly stunned. She had never expected Garos's colossal, muscle-bound body to possess such agility and neural responsiveness. She realized she was gradually falling behind his attack rhythm.
Tactical Intellect!
Without a moment's hesitation, she activated a long-prepared spell. Her gaze instantly turned as calm and profound as a frozen lake.
An invisible tactical model seemed to materialize within her field of vision.
She analyzed every minute shift in the Red-Iron Dragon's center of gravity, every surge of power through her shoulder muscles, and the exact arc of each claw strike—all as if they were unfolding in slow motion.
Through this near-omniscient, detached perspective, she could parry and counter with a speed and precision that far surpassed mere instinct.
This Iron Dragon Maiden has definitely taken certain combat classes, Garos thought, a glint in his eye as he silently cast Inspection.
Adult Iron Dragon, Life Grade: 17
The results showed that Iron Dragon Leticia was at the exact same life grade as he was—17.
Facing a fellow Grade 17 adult dragon who was clearly a multi-class expert with extensive combat experience, Garos cast aside his casual attitude and decided to get serious.
Zzzzzzt—!
With a deep breath, lightning as brilliant and dense as liquid gold erupted from his massive dragon body. His frame instantly swelled, his muscles surging in size.
Then, after a single, lightning-fast exchange of claw strikes...
Garos's massive right claw, wreathed in golden lightning and brimming with explosive power, seemed to shatter the very constraints of space. It tore forward with a momentum that threatened to crush all in its path, striking violently at Leticia's relatively vulnerable midsection.
Shield Parry!
Leticia reacted with blinding speed, stepping back half a pace as she crossed her broad dragon wings in front of her. A dense, heavy black light instantly shimmered across the wing membranes, transforming them into two colossal tower shields as she attempted to block and deflect the crushing blow.
Yet, the moment his claw met her wings, she felt an overwhelming, irresistible force surge through her. The defensive black light that had solidified on her wings shattered like fragile glass.
Shield Parry failed.
The sheer, unadulterated power coursed through her entire body. Leticia's massive dragon form was sent hurtling backward, thrown like a projectile from a catapult. She stumbled and skidded across the ground, plowing a deep furrow nearly a hundred meters long before she finally managed to halt her retreat.
"Terrifying... such pure, absolute power. It even surpasses that of an adult red dragon."
(End of the Chapter)
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