Cloud Mist Technique allows the creation of a cloud of mist that obscures vision and perception, shielding from some spell detections. It's a spell-like ability that young white dragons can master, perfect for concealed movement. Garon grasped this skill even during his hatchling stage.
Now, his size was not less than that of a normal adolescent white dragon, in fact, slightly larger.
Without dispelling the Cloud Mist Technique, Garon circled above the Skullbreaker tribe for a while, carefully observing the situation of the tribe.
After about ten minutes, he imperceptibly nodded, confirming that the number of adult ogres was indeed as Uga had said, without falsehood.
After a moment of thought, Garon turned and left, but he did not head straight back to the Ice River territory. Instead, he searched back and forth within a twenty-mile radius centered on the Skullbreaker tribe.
He flew slowly, meticulously scanning the icy terrain below.
Garon was looking for a suitable ambush site.
Although dragons are naturally powerful, they do not prefer to expose themselves directly in combat. Instead, dragons enjoy launching sudden attacks from the sky or bursting forth from the ground.
Despite having scales and wings, many of a dragon's features are more similar to those of felines rather than reptiles.
As time ticked by, about an hour and a half later, Garon's body paused, a look of joy appearing in his eyes as he folded his wings, dispelled the surrounding mist, and dove downward.
Soon, Garon landed on a remarkably smooth ice surface, turning his neck to look around.
Beneath his feet was a lake covered in ice crystals, spanning several miles.
In the far northern ice plains, due to the cold environment, lakes like the one under his feet, with little to no flow, are prone to freezing. Only during the briefest warm periods of the year would the ice melt to reveal the water.
For a white dragon, this type of location is perfect for an ambush.
Because there had been no blizzards recently, the ground snow was not thick enough to conceal a dragon's body. With ogres detesting water, attacking from beneath the ice became the best option.
After landing on the ice, Garon cautiously shifted his body, surprised to find that the ice could support his weight.
Initially, he thought it was due to the hardness of the ice, but as he moved more smoothly and even ran for a bit, Garon realized he was mistaken.
He could move freely on the ice mainly due to the dragon's physical structure.
The moment Garon's dragon claws touched the ice, they generated a unique force that supported his body, and the scales on his claws increased the friction, allowing him to move freely on the smooth ice, even faster than on regular ground, as swift as the wind.
Walking on ice is a unique ability of white dragons.
A unique ability refers to one completely unaffected by spells, not impacted by anti-magic or magic-null zones. Garon's ability to walk on ice stems from his unique physical structure, similar to abilities like extended vision and dark vision, and is not a result of spells or supernatural powers.
After frolicking on the ice for a moment, Garon flapped his wings and soared back to the Ice River territory.
The round trip took several hours. If Uga Skullbreaker had intended to flee, he would have likely left the Ice River territory by now.
However, when Garon looked down from the sky, he still saw the familiar towering figure.
Uga Skullbreaker was sparring with the northern ice spirit Roy Ice River, shouting loudly like a tank charging towards Roy, causing the ground to tremble slightly with its movements, impressively loud.
On Roy Ice River's face, crafted from ice crystals, a semblance of apprehension appeared.
With a gesture, the elemental forces around him fluctuated instantly, and a series of ice spikes shot out from his palm like a machine gun, much stronger than the ice daggers he had shown Garon two months earlier.
Unfortunately, the dense ice spikes only caused Uga to grit his teeth in pain when they hit his tough, dark skin, leaving white marks but not truly penetrating.
Ogres have very tough skin, as tough as meat.
The ice spikes shot by Roy Ice River failed to inflict any real damage.
Seconds later, Uga Skullbreaker took big strides towards the northern ice spirit, grabbed Roy Ice River with one hand, and laughed heartily, saying in Giant tongue: "Little one, I win. You're far from beating the future chief of the Skullbreaker tribe!"
Roy Ice River did not understand Giant, but from its expression, it roughly guessed the meaning of Uga's words.
Although he lost, he was pleased with his increasingly strong abilities as a dragon-veined creature.
Before this, seeing an ogre would not have inspired any fight in him; he would have only been able to detour and avoid conflict
, but now he could put up a fight, albeit a challenging one.
Without conceding defeat, the entirely ice-crystal-formed Roy Ice River merely said in distress, "Put me down, I concede."
Ogres are very strong, handling several tons as if they were mere playthings. Held in its grasp, Roy Ice River felt like it could be crushed into ice shards at any moment, though as an ice spirit, it wouldn't die from being shattered unless its magic was exhausted, but it was still an unpleasant experience.
Uga Skullbreaker, unable to understand Common and unaware of what Roy Ice River was saying, just continued to laugh.
Roy Ice River was about to make some gestures to help the ogre understand when its expression suddenly brightened, its face filled with awe as it looked behind Uga Skullbreaker.
Uga's expression stiffened as he noticed the shadow extending over his own, and he slowly released Roy Ice River, then mechanically turned his neck to look back.
"True Dragon Lord, you have returned."
A smile squeezed onto Uga Skullbreaker's ugly face.
He was internally shocked, realizing that despite the True Dragon's massive body, its descent was completely silent.
Garon's face showed no emotion as he said, "It seems you get along well with my kin."
Uga scratched his head, sheepishly replying, "The other ogres in the tribe are too stupid. Your kin is as smart as Uga, I enjoy communicating with them."
Though they did not share a language, just through gestures and actions, Uga Skullbreaker found the northern ice spirits easier to communicate with than the ogres of his tribe.
He even harbored a strong desire to learn Common, to communicate with other intelligent beings.
Garon no longer paid attention to the ogre, looking instead at Roy Ice River, offering a word of encouragement: "Although you're not yet a match for the ogre, you have great potential for improvement. You will not be inferior to it in the future. Keep it up."
A simple encouragement brought a deep look of gratitude to Roy Ice River's face.
Encouragement from a True Dragon was not common.
Immediately, Garon gripped Uga Skullbreaker's shoulder with one claw, and with a shake of his dragon wings, lifted him into the air. The ogre's several-ton body trembled like a toy as he was swiftly carried high into the sky.