Defeat the entire world with the power of one dragon!

Chapter 480 Dragon Vein Forces, Sleeping Premonition

The Wilderness of Sel, the Dragon Ridge Mountains.

The Red Iron Dragon's majestic body stands tall among the mountains, its wings folded at its sides, and its thick, long tail hanging down casually.

He lightly touched the ground with the tip of his tail, causing the earth to tremble slightly. As he breathed, hot air gushed out from his nostrils, forming two visible streams of breath that twisted and rose in the air like rolling heat waves.

At this moment, the red iron dragon lowered its head slightly, looking down at the scene below.

Dozens of meters in front of him was a slender yet upright figure.

Elvie, the Ranger General of the Kingdom of Aura.

She maintained the centaur's characteristic half-kneeling posture, her front half as elegant and upright as an elf, her hands clasped together in front of her chest; her strong hindquarters bent at the knees, her four hooves firmly planted on the hard ground.

At this moment, Elvie removed her armor and weapons, wearing only a simple white linen battle robe.

Her long hair danced wildly in the wind, revealing an elegant and beautiful face, yet also bearing the heroic bearing of someone who had led troops into battle.

What is most striking is the pair of pure white wings on her back.

At this moment, the wings were not fully spread, but rather slightly folded up like a cape, covering the sides of the horse's body, with the white feathers shimmering softly in the sunlight.

"Elvie".

Red Iron Dragon lowered his eyes to look at the men and horses, his voice deep and resonant like thunder in the distant mountains, echoing through the hills.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Elvie replied softly.

"Stand up and lift your head."

Elvie got up as instructed.

She raised her head until she could clearly look up at the dragon's face covered with hard scales and thorns, and see the unfathomable majesty contained in its vertical pupils.

However, in her eyes, there was no fear, only deep awe, even piety.

In fact, in the hearts of the people of Aura, the great Emperor Ignas was not only an emperor, but also a god walking among men.

He united the scattered tribes into a kingdom, and he led them from poverty to prosperity, from weakness to strength.

"In the initial raid on the Ash Plains and Ironwall Fortress, you seized the opportunity presented by the torrential rain and the enemy's laxity, breaching the city on a rainy night and laying the first cornerstone for victory in the war."

"On the eve of the final assault on the Unbreakable Wall, you led the Crimson Iron Cavalry to crisscross the land and harass multiple key locations at the same time, forcing Theo to divide his forces and keep him busy, which greatly relieved the pressure on various places."

"In the battle of the Green Mountain Range, among my subordinates, your performance was second only to Karu."

"."

Hong Tielong's voice was steady as he stated the facts one by one.

He made no attempt to hide the admiration in his eyes for Elvie.

This centaur general possesses the bloodlines of elves, pegasi, and centaurs, giving him immense potential.

Now, after years of being tempered by war, her life force has reached the limit of mortals, and she is not far from becoming a legend.

Once Elvie breaks through to Legendary status, he will gain another great general under his command.

She started as a magic warrior, and later also became a ranger. She was skilled in magic and swordsmanship, and was also a sharpshooter.

While she may be weaker than a pure war behemoth like Gluttony Karu in terms of pure direct combat power, there is no doubt that her skills are more diverse and comprehensive, allowing her more room to maneuver.

In particular, Elvie possesses divine attributes, a gift from the Pegasus bloodline.

When fighting evil creatures, her greatsword and arrows can deal massive damage.

Fighting against human kingdoms actually limits her true strength. If her opponents were other dragons, or demons from the abyss or devils from hell, Elvie would be a huge threat to them after her legend.

The red iron dragon slowly leaned forward, its massive head approaching Elvie, casting a shadow that completely enveloped the centaur.

"Elvie, my Ranger General."

"In the war that determined the fate of the kingdom, you demonstrated your worth, your bravery, your wisdom, and your loyalty—I saw it all."

Upon hearing this, Elvie's heart skipped a beat.

She took a deep breath and said, "To fight for His Majesty and to gallop for the glory of Aura is the greatest honor of Elvie's life!"

Red Iron Dragon stared at her silently, the centaur's silhouette reflected in its vertical pupils.

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke: "Very good."

"Then, Elvie, are you willing to offer your will and soul, and then be connected to me by blood, becoming both ruler and subject, and blood descendant?"

Elvie's pupils contracted slightly.

She understood what Hong Tielong meant.

The transformation of the dragon vein is the highest honor bestowed upon a dragon's followers, and also the deepest bond.

If it were many years ago, when she was forced to submit for the survival of her tribe, she would have hesitated or even resisted this choice.

The transformation of the dragon vein can indeed bring power, but what is lost is the complete self-will.

The souls and bloodlines of those transformed will forever bear the mark of the dragon, forever unable to truly be independent; the price is severe.
but now……

Elvie followed the Red Iron Dragon and witnessed firsthand how this giant dragon rose from the borderlands to become the Emperor of Aura. She witnessed the establishment of the first city on the wasteland, the promulgation of laws, and how the Kingdom of Aura grew into the powerful force it is today.

She herself rose from an unknown ordinary cavalryman to a cavalry general commanding the Crimson Iron Cavalry, gaining honor, status, and the respect of her people.

All of this was achieved under the banner of the Red Iron Dragon.

Hesitation? Resistance?
No, that's all in the past.

Therefore, Elvie did not hesitate at all.

Her voice was firm and resolute as she declared, “My sword is only to guide the enemy's direction for Your Majesty; my iron hooves are only to trample the rebellious enemy for Your Majesty; my wings are only to carry Your Majesty's will and fly!”

"This body, this heart, this soul, this blood, already belong to His Majesty, to Aura!"

"Where Your Majesty's claws point, there my blade will follow!"

"Your Majesty, please grant me this honor!"

Galos gazed at the determination in her eyes and slowly nodded.

"as you wish."

The red iron dragon raised its front claws, and its sharp claws lightly slashed across its wrist.

Dark red dragon blood immediately gushed out, but instead of dripping to the ground, it began to burn the moment it left the dragon's body.

It was real flame, a deep, blood-red color, churning and twisting in the air, radiating astonishing heat.

The dragon vein transformation ritual requires the blood of a giant dragon as a medium.

For a creature like Elvie, who had reached the limits of mortal beings, the quality of the dragon blood required for transformation was extraordinary, so Garos directly used his own legendary blood.

He no longer cares about the loss of blood.

Besides his own immense life force, after the founding of the kingdom, all the kingdom's resources were directed towards him. He had ample supplies to recover from the losses, and more importantly, Elvie was worthy of such investment.

As time passed, more and more blood gushed from the wound on his wrist, and the burning blood flames grew stronger and stronger, eventually condensing into a huge fireball with a diameter of more than five meters in front of the Red Iron Dragon.

Inside the fireball, dark red blood churned like lava.

"The process will be painful, but I believe you can endure it."

Garros said.

Elvie held her head high and spread her wings: "I am ready, Your Majesty."

The next moment, the blood-flame fireball slowly drifted towards Elvie, completely enveloping her.

The flames, upon contact with her body, did not ignite her clothes, but instead penetrated directly into her skin, muscles, and bones, reaching deep into her soul.

"Uh……"

Elvie let out a muffled groan that she couldn't suppress.

It was a double burning sensation from both the soul and the body, a hundred times more intense than mere physical pain.

Her body tensed instantly, her wings spread wide, every feather trembling, her powerful limbs shaking violently, her hooves carving deep furrows in the ground.

Blood flames burned within her, transforming her body from the inside out.

call!
Clusters of flames burst forth from her pores, enveloping her entire body and burning fiercely.

Bones are being reshaped, muscles are being reorganized, blood is boiling, and the soul is being branded—this is a process of rebirth, a metamorphosis from mortal to dragonborn. Elvie gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her forehead.

She could feel her body cycling between death and rebirth, could feel unfamiliar power growing within her, and could feel something being built deep within her soul.

Aside from the initial muffled groan, Elvie didn't make any further sounds.

The resilience forged in war sustained her, enabling her to endure unimaginable pain. Despite her body trembling violently, her spine remained straight.

Hong Tielong looked away and began his daily workout.

The transformation of a dragon vein takes time, and the more powerful the creature, the longer it takes.

For someone like Elvie, it would take a considerable amount of time to complete the entire process.

Time passes day by day.

In the deep pit where Elvie was, the blood flames continued to burn fiercely. At first, the centaur's figure could be seen faintly in the flames, but by the third day, she was completely engulfed by the flames, and only a blurry outline could be seen. By the fifth day, even the outline disappeared, leaving only a continuously burning blood-red fireball.

The ground melted under the high temperature, forming a huge crater.

The surface of the pit bottom has a texture that resembles a mixture of lava and some kind of crystal, with dark red light flowing in the crystals, like magma surging in the earth's veins.

On the morning of the eighth day, the blood flames began to weaken.

Galos stopped practicing his magic and turned his gaze to the deep pit.

The blood flames that had been burning for eight days finally went out completely, leaving only a spherical, charred object at the bottom of the pit. Its surface was covered with cracks, and it looked like a fossil of some kind of giant beast or a charred giant eggshell.

At first glance, it seems as if an accident occurred during the conversion process.

But Galos could clearly sense that inside the charred shell, a powerful life energy was pulsating. That energy was more vigorous than Elvie's before her transformation, and it contained a distinct dragon-like aura, which was of the same origin as his.

Under his watchful eye, the charred shell emitted a slight cracking sound.

Click, click.

The cracks started at the top and spread out like a spider web.

As the cracks multiplied, the charred outer shell began to peel off, falling piece by piece to the ground and turning into black ash.

call!
A pair of enormous wings broke through the shell first, spreading out proudly and exposed to the morning sun.

The wings maintained a pure white base color, but the texture was completely different. The edges of each feather had a hard and sharp metallic feel, shimmering with an iron-black luster in the sunlight.

Her wingspan is nearly ten meters, and when fully extended, the shadow she casts almost covers half of the crater.

Immediately afterwards, the outer shell shattered completely, dispersing into black dust in the air.

At the bottom of the deep pit, a new life form stretched its body and slowly stood up.

Elvie still retains her centaur form, but her overall appearance has changed significantly.

Her upper body still retained its elfin, graceful lines, but was now covered with a layer of firm and powerful muscles, like steel that had been forged through countless trials, containing explosive power, and her skin had a healthy wheat color.

On either side of her forehead, a pair of horns broke through her skin and grew upwards in a winding manner.

The horns are steel gray with a metallic sheen, and their elegant yet dignified shape adorn her head like a crown.

On the key parts of the forearms, shoulders, and legs, patches of fine, neat, iron-black dragon scales grew.

These scales do not cover the entire body, but are instead adorned on vital areas like finely crafted armor plates, such as shoulder armor, arm guards, greaves, and chest armor, providing extra protection without compromising mobility.

Of all the changes, the most striking is her wings.

The edges of the pure white feathers gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, suggesting they could be used for both flight and as weapons; the edges of the feathers were sharp enough to cut through steel.

The elegance of an elf, the tenacity of a centaur, the holiness of a pegasus, the coldness of an iron dragon... all these qualities are harmoniously unified in her.

She looks like a work of art created for war, possessing both power and beauty, majesty and elegance.

In contrast, the Dragon Vein Gluttonous Demon Karu is more like a savage and primal war beast, full of pure destruction and oppression.

Elvie raised her head and looked at the red iron dragon.

This time, her gaze still held reverence and piety, but with an added sense of closeness rooted in blood, an absolute loyalty based on soul and lineage.

Then, she lowered her head and bent her forelegs.

"Ervy, the Dragonborn, greets Your Majesty."

Her voice became deeper and more magnetic than before.

"I wish to be Your Majesty's sharpest claws and swiftest wings, until eternity."

Galos nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

He could clearly sense Elvie's current state. Her life energy had reached a new peak, but her aura was somewhat unstable, like a volcano about to erupt, containing immense power yet restless.

This means that, having already approached legendary status, her body and soul entered a critical state after being stimulated by the transformation of the dragon vein.

Maybe a few days, maybe a few months, maybe a year or two.

But in any case, it won't be long before she achieves a breakthrough.

This is good news for Galos.

“Break through to Legendary status as soon as possible,” Red Iron Dragon said. “It’s within your reach, just one last small step away.”

Elvie replied respectfully, "I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's expectations."

Galos raised his head and looked at the distant horizon.

The sun had fully risen, and golden sunlight bathed the peaks of the Dragon Ridge Mountains, casting a warm hue on the iron-gray rocks.

He had a premonition that he would begin his next slumber in ten to fifteen years.

Normal adult dragons usually begin to sleep around the age of 170, and when they wake up, they are basically in their prime.

But Galus's situation is different.

His slumber always begins earlier than that of his kind, and his slumber period is longer than that of other dragons.

This allowed him to level up much faster than normal dragons, but it also meant that he needed to be more careful in managing his affairs during his slumber.

Once you reach the legendary level, leveling up becomes much more difficult, and the dragon's growth rate slows down accordingly.

A single period of dormancy, within a certain age group, often results in only one level of advancement.

However, Galos himself is extremely self-disciplined, and with the support of the entire kingdom's resources, his growth rate can rival that of those short-lived legendary species.

"I should be able to reach level 25."

Galos made his own assessment.

For a legendary dragon like him, such predictions are usually accurate based on his understanding of his own situation.

Level 25, Advanced Legendary Tier.

This is a threshold, and although it doesn't involve the same life-essence transformation as when an ordinary person breaks through to become legendary, it's not something that can be easily crossed.

However, given the intensity of Garus's training, coupled with the large amounts of black oil, gems, and other resources he consumes almost daily, the probability of him directly crossing this threshold after falling into a deep sleep is very high, and he will not be stuck.

This is the greatest benefit of establishing a nation.

As the Emperor of Aura, with the nation's resources poured into him, he possessed growth conditions unimaginable to ordinary dragons.

During its slumber, the Kingdom of Aura needs more legendary figures to oversee the kingdom, deter external enemies, and maintain stability.

Although it is merely asleep, not dead, and can awaken to fight when necessary, and even while asleep, the dragon's subconscious can still think and maintain a certain level of awareness of the outside world, ending its slumber means ending a rare opportunity for growth.

The dormant period is crucial for dragons, as it is a process of profound transformation of body and soul.

Even the most composed metal dragon, if forced to awaken from its slumber by external influences, will become enraged and seek revenge.

Galus had to consider all possible scenarios and the troubles he might encounter during his slumber.

In any case, the more legends the Kingdom of Aura has, the better. Their existence can provide a layer of protection for Garos while he sleeps, and for the kingdom itself.

"After Elvie's legendary status, I wonder if she will be able to obtain the traits under the Dragon Throne."

"If I could, even while I was asleep, I could still sense and observe the changes and circumstances of the kingdom through her and Karu."

Red Iron Dragon thought to himself.

He will know the answer soon.

(End of this chapter)