Time passed unhurriedly.
On the Noah Continent, days and nights cycled regularly. Over a month had passed, and the night sky of the Far North Ice Field remained constant, with the galaxy slowly rotating in the velvety black sky.
Garon used the plane teleportation spell for the first time since his awakening to return to the Lava Sub-Plane.
Plane teleportation requires an anchor point for precise location, preventing random teleportation to remote corners of the plane.
Garon had many anchor points.
In the Lava Sub-Plane, nearly every territory and tribe of his kin had built statues of Garon, each marked by him, serving as his anchor points.
In fact, the Gem Teleportation spell, similar to plane teleportation, uses magic gems as anchors for simpler teleportation.
However, the cost is the destruction of the gem used as the anchor.
The Alpha Clan.
The Alphas, with a startlingly high proportion of mages, continued to thrive in this world of fire and scorched earth. Although the Lava Sub-Plane had changed rulers and they had become true dragon kin, their lives hadn't been negatively affected.
On the contrary, under Garon's encouragement and support, the population of the Alpha tribe was slowly increasing.
Of course.
Since time was short, the increase in the Alpha tribe was mostly in infants and toddlers. It would take a non-trivial amount of time for them to grow up.
The Alpha tribe was situated amidst volcanic rings, filled with towering, fiery red mage spires.
The area was suffused with the glow of fire elemental energy.
At a glance, the fiery red elemental light nearly covered every corner of the small tribe.
Between the closely packed houses and on the wide, flat streets made of limestone, one could even see toddlers, still unsteady on their feet, playing with small bright flames in their palms.
The little flames flickered in the children's hands.
At the same time, a formidable oppressive force descended, causing the flames to tremble, breaking into dispersed elemental energy.
The casters of Alpha noticed the disturbance in the elemental energy.
They looked up to the sky, their bodies surging with powerful magical waves.
However, upon seeing the familiar silver color and feeling the stronger yet familiar aura, the Alpha casters relaxed their guard, dissipating the fire spells they were preparing.
The forty-six-meter-long super-gigantic dragon passed through the teleportation gate, arriving above the Alpha tribe.
His dragon wings blotted out the sun, casting enormous and oppressive dragon shadows on the ground and buildings.
"Great Eternal Dragon, welcome back."
"Your dragon might makes mountains tremble and the heavens mourn."
Faced with such an imposing giant, the Alpha casters showed no fear, instead expressing their admiration and respect as kin.
"You've grown even stronger."
A gentle voice reached Garon's ears.
Sss, sss, sss. Turning his head, Garon saw clusters of flames coalescing into a tall, slender figure, like a blossoming flower of fire. A female mage in a fiery red robe emerged from the flames, stepping forward to greet Garon with a slight bow.
The higher the ring of a caster, the more they could feel the substantial oppressive force emanating from Garon. Anya was keenly aware of Garon's power; his immense growth in size alone was indicative of a significant leap in strength compared to before.
In front of Garon, under those dazzling platinum eyes, Anya's heart raced slightly, unavoidably nervous.
Garon looked at Anya, his gaze piercing.
In about three years, this female mage of the Alpha tribe had greatly improved in spiritual power and magical capacity, reaching the level of a nine-ring grand mage, very close to legendary.
To Garon's knowledge, Anya was only twenty-six years old this year.
A twenty-six-year-old nine-ring grand mage. "You've made considerable progress, just one step away from legendary status."
Garon nodded slightly, calmly speaking.
"It's all thanks to the magical knowledge you brought."
"Your gifts to Alpha will always be cherished by the Alpha Clan."
Anya responded.
The Alpha people generally had high magical talent, but they had long suffered from a lack of magical heritage, having not produced a legendary caster for a long time.
Garon had provided the Alpha tribe with some spellbooks from the Noah Continent.
These intelligent casters, upon encountering new magical knowledge, quickly delved into it despite slight differences in systems. They learned by analogy and benefitted greatly from these books, leading to a general improvement of one or two spell ranks among the Alpha casters.
Looking at Anya, now a grand mage, Garon had an idea.
He didn't want to put in the effort to develop legendary spells himself; he could let the Alpha casters do it instead.
Anya was exceptionally talented, and reaching the level of a legendary caster was only a matter of time for her.
Not just her, but there were also several other talented casting prospects in the Alpha Clan. With careful cultivation, in time, there would be several more legendary casters. The Alphas not only had a high proportion of casters, but their talents were also remarkably outstanding.
"These high-rank spellbooks might help you learn by analogy and break through to legendary status sooner."
Garon took out several high-ring shaping spellbooks from his dimensional space.
The Alpha fire mages' use of fire elemental energy was simple and crude, similar to shaping spells. Shaping spells were more suited to these one-track-minded casters and could help them.
Anya accepted the spellbooks, her face lit up with excitement, repeatedly thanking Garon for his gift.
Then, Garon asked Anya about the situation in the Lava Sub-Plane.
Anya reported everything she knew.
After about ten minutes, the silver dragon left the Alpha tribe, directly teleporting to the Fire Dwarf Clan, the Lava Python Clan, the Flame Steel City, the Stone City Labyrinth, and other places.
Garon valued this land under the earth, rich in ore veins.
Soon, the leaders of different clans had reported the situation in the Lava Sub-Plane.
In summary, everything had been fine during his sleep. The Lava Sub-Plane, now with a unified lord, was developing orderly and systematically.
Lastly.
Garon visited the Scorchflame Mountain Range.
He needed to hear from the two red dragons who had come to the Lava Sub-Plane with him. These two subordinates were quite trustworthy.
Among the rolling black smoke and occasional volcanic eruptions, a range of volcanoes could be seen.
The land here was charred black, without a hint of green.
The sky above the Scorchflame Mountain Range was shrouded in thick dust and ash, and the air was saturated with the strong smell of sulfur.
The figure of the silver dragon appeared under the dark sky, its enormous body conspicuous in this world, like a silver sun, its presence formidable.
"Roel, Gresha!"
Dragon might rolled out, and the residual ash from the volcanoes paused momentarily.
Garon's deep voice, accompanied by his dragon might, instantly spread throughout the Scorchflame Mountain Range.
The creatures living in this range trembled under the awe-inspiring dragon might, as if burdened by a mountainous weight.
Fortunately, the dragon might came quickly and left just as fast.
After Garon released his dragon might, two excited and thrilled dragon roars, like muffled thunder in the clouds, rose from two towering volcanoes.
Two twenty-four-meter-long, super-large red dragons almost simultaneously flew out.
Their bright red scales, entwined with flames, burst through the black smoke and ash surrounding the volcanic crater, rapidly expanding in Garon's sight as they approached the silver dragon hovering in the sky.
"Roel greets you, my lord."
"You've grown even stronger."
"Your growth is unparalleled, your brilliance unique. It's an honor to follow you."
"."
Garon nodded at the two red dragons' compliments, his face calm, and asked, "Roel, Gresha, how do you feel about the Lava Sub-Plane?"
These two red dragons, compared to legendary dragons like Garon and Yuna, of course, grew much slower.
But in just three years, their growth in size, compared to the normal development of red dragons on the Noah Continent, had already far surpassed their age group. If they continued at this rate, the two red dragons had the chance to become legendary beings in their prime.
"We love it here."
"In this elemental sub-plane, our growth rate has nearly doubled."
The two red dragons replied, their faces showing genuine joy.
This world of fire and scorched earth was undoubtedly a paradise for red dragons.
Following Garon here, in hindsight, was the best decision they had ever made, a turning point in their dragon lives.
Next, Garon got straight to the point and asked about the Lava Sub-Plane's situation in the time they were there.
The two red dragons answered truthfully.
Like the other clan leaders, in the eyes of the red dragons, the Lava Sub-Plane was peaceful, with no notable incidents.
Upon learning this, Garon nodded and said, "I'm returning to the Noah Continent. If you wish to visit, you can come with me."
The two red dragons shook their heads vigorously. They had no one or anything worth reminiscing about on the Noah Continent. Moreover, having adapted to the sweet air full of fire elemental energy here, returning to the Noah Continent would only make them uncomfortable.
Garon felt he was a considerate lord.
The red dragons didn't want to go back, so he nodded and prepared to return to the Far North Ice Field alone.
In about ten days, Uribis would unfortunately encounter a legendary creature and be killed. He still had to meet this unknown legendary creature, so he didn't plan to stay long in the Lava Sub-Plane.
Garon himself still preferred the scenery of the Far North Ice Field.
The snow-covered white world was much more pleasing than the flame and scorched earth of the Lava Sub-Plane.
Chanting the spell and bursting with magic, Garon began constructing the plane teleportation spell.
Meanwhile, as the forming teleportation gate caught his eye, the red dragon Roel suddenly remembered the portal he encountered a year ago, thinking it necessary to report to Garon.
"My lord, I almost forgot."
"A little over a year ago, while I was out, I found an opening portal, which I destroyed with my dragon breath."
Garon: . He turned his gaze to the red dragon.
Roel looked embarrassed and lowered his head.
Garon interrupted the spell, his internal magic surging momentarily.
However, with his current physique, the backlash from interrupting the spell was minimal, easily endured.
"Next time something like this happens, inform me immediately!"
Garon emphasized.
The native creatures or organizations of the Lava Sub-Plane posed no threat to him.
But a sub-plane rich in magical metals and gems, if discovered by beings from other worlds, would likely evoke the same covetous greed that Garon had initially felt.
Anyone with a basic understanding of sub-planes knows what such a place signifies.
It represents endless wealth and resources.
The only thing to be wary of is visitors from other planes.
Garon himself was an outsider.
He knew what kind of beings to be cautious of.
The best method would be to seal the entire crystal wall of the Lava Sub-Plane, isolating it from other planes, but Garon didn't currently possess such spells. Such methods would be at least legendary spells and not of a low ring.
"What exactly happened?"
"Tell me the details."
Red dragons were generally impulsive and careless. Although powerful, they were almost the easiest to deceive among the true dragons, naturally not inclined to think too much. Garon didn't overly blame Roel.
Under Garon's stern gaze, Roel slowly recounted the incident.
"Bring out that severed arm."
Following Garon's command, Roel flew back to the volcano and soon returned with a strangely shaped, half-arm, presenting it for Garon to inspect.
Garon was momentarily shocked when he saw the severed arm.
Because the arm before him, although damaged in many places by high temperatures, still had a clear structure.
The arm was entirely made of metal, with an advanced design, resembling a human arm, filled with a sense of mechanical beauty.
"Mecha?"
"Could it be from a main material world that developed technology?"
After the initial surprise, Garon calmed down and examined the metallic arm closely.
A few seconds later, he slightly shook his head, dismissing his initial thought.
The design of the metal arm had misled him.
After a thorough examination, Garon noticed intricate, winding patterns, filled with elemental energy. These were some kind of magical energy circuits, covering the metal arm.
"Seems like a magical construct, similar to a golem."
Garon thought to himself.
The metal arm was only the front half, about two meters in length.
From this, he deduced that the complete metal construct, if humanoid, would be about ten meters tall.
"A main material world with advanced magitech? Or perhaps an outer plane?"
Garon speculated.
Magitech, the use of magic to drive machinery, existed in the Noah Continent, but the products were crude and rudimentary, underdeveloped and disregarded.
Garon picked up the metal arm, his sharp dragon claws lightly grazing it.
Sss. He sliced open the metal casing like tofu, revealing the intricate internal structure.
"Looks like it is, compared to a golem, this is much more sophisticated."
Garon narrowed his eyes.
Roel mentioned the portal from a year and a half ago.
Red dragons were hot-tempered, and without any communication with the other side, as soon as the portal formed and before anyone entered, Roel destroyed it with a breath of fire. After that, there were no signs of an invasion from another plane into the Lava Sub-Plane.
Thinking from another perspective.
If Garon had opened a portal to another plane,
but had just reached out an arm and was immediately attacked, destroying the portal and severing his arm, he would be cautious but also hold a grudge.
Garon was vengeful.
Whether the individual or power behind this metal arm held grudges like him, he couldn't be sure.
"If it was an accidental connection to the Lava Sub-Plane, unaware of the situation here, that's one thing."
Facing a dangerous plane, a rational being wouldn't recklessly risk danger.
"But if they were specifically targeting the Lava Sub-Plane, knowing it's a place rich in mineral resources, that's more troublesome."
In that case, with no action for a year and a half, it's more likely not that they gave up, but that they're gathering sufficient force.
After some thought, Garon decided to face the challenge as it comes.
He instructed the red dragons to inform the leaders of each clan, asking them to be vigilant in the coming days, not to take any unusual incidents lightly, and to contact him immediately if they can't handle an attack from beings of another plane.
Cross-plane communication is challenging.
But not for Garon.
Garon gave the red dragons some time-marked crystals to distribute.
Once the crystal breaks, due to the attached time mark, Garon can sense it through the river of time, even across the crystal wall.
The native strength of the Lava Sub-Plane was not weak.
In the Elemental War, due to their strong life force, not many elemental giants died. Although there were no more legendary giants, a considerable number of elite elemental giants remained, along with over two hundred Alpha casters, including Anya, the nine-ring fire mage, and three other high-ranking fire mages.
Ordinary legendary beings would find it difficult to challenge this place.
So, Garon was relatively at ease.
He had encountered many legendary beings, but that was because he himself had reached that level and belonged to that circle. In reality, legendary beings are already the top individuals below the gods, quite rare, normally elusive, and not so easily encountered.
Garon deliberately used the future foresight spell again.
If it's an event that could significantly impact him, there's a high probability of foreseeing it in advance.
This ability allowed Garon to avoid many sudden accidents, making his growth more stable and smooth.
If he had the foresight ability earlier, whether it was Harris or the Avatar of the Wasteland, Garon could have prepared countermeasures in advance.
However, using future foresight in the Lava Sub-Plane didn't reveal anything noteworthy to Garon, just ordinary minor events. Yet, Garon didn't relax his vigilance because of this, as future foresight is random and might miss significant events.
After spending a few more days in the Lava Sub-Plane, Garon constructed the plane teleportation spell and returned to the Far North Ice Field.
In the howling cold wind, the super-gigantic silver dragon tore through space, appearing above the Ice Cliff territory, beginning to fly towards the Immortal Fortress.
However, to Garon's surprise.
As soon as he returned to the Far North Ice Field, he sensed a familiar draconic aura.
Rough, cold, and cruel – the aura of the Stone Tomb Serpent Dragon appeared in the Ice Cliff territory, moving restlessly below the Ice Cliff, seemingly waiting for Garon's return.
As soon as Garon appeared, the Stone Tomb Serpent Dragon, slithering nearby, took flight.
It had sensed Garon's presence.
"This guy, surviving a great disaster, didn't recover properly and came to me for what?"
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