Luna

(Note: The orc tribe's name mentioned earlier has been changed to the Stone Crow Clan.)

In Caesar's imagination, an orc tribe should have been something akin to a human lord's castle—a settlement of intelligent beings with towering tents, altars and bunkers, and quite a few watchtowers standing around its perimeter.

However, as he watched the orc children nearby desperately grinding stone axes and bone spikes, Caesar knew he had been wrong.

And wildly so.

The Stone Crow Clan's settlement lay at the foot of the hills, situated in a relatively flat basin. Yet as far as the eye could see, there was only untamed wilderness. Apart from a few wooden frames built from tree trunks for drying hides, there was nothing else to indicate that intelligent creatures lived here.

The orcs wrapped themselves in animal hides, ground stone into weapons, kept company with wolf packs, and lived in naturally formed or casually carved stone caves.

They were practically identical to primitive people from the Stone Age.

Watching the orcs sit sprawled on the ground, tearing into raw meat, and smelling the rank stench of undried hides, Caesar could not help questioning whether his decision had been wrong. Was forming an alliance with an orc clan like this really the right choice?

These guys live even more like beasts than dragons do.

Caesar sighed inwardly. No wonder Blakeshia and Garon had been unwilling to associate with them. If he had known from the start that the Stone Crow Clan was in such a state, he probably would not have signed an alliance pact with them either.

What a loss.

Fortunately, dragons had an extremely sluggish sense of time. To orcs, twenty-five long years were enough to raise a newborn generation into formidable warriors, but to dragons, it was no more than the time it took to sleep a few times.

To be honest, the arrival of a black dragon had initially caused quite a stir within the clan. Many orcs could only imagine what dragons looked like through their ancestors' descriptions, and few had ever seen one with their own eyes. Seeing such a huge true dragon for the first time, they could not help feeling excited.

But as time passed, the orcs grew used to him. After all, as the most barbaric and warlike race, they had hunted quite a few bizarre monsters in the primeval forest. Though Caesar was a true dragon, he was still merely a creature of this world, breathing the same air as them. There was nothing so extraordinary about it.

Besides, life in the wilderness placed immense pressure on the tribal orcs. They had to grind and repair weapons, wash and dry furs, store water in stone vessels, preserve food, and so on. Thus, aside from the children, who still remained curious about Caesar, the other orcs took a few looks and then dispersed.

It was not that they had no wariness toward an outsider. Rather, the old chieftain had already explained that this black dragon had signed a divine covenant with the Stone Crow Clan. Any act that violated the oath would bring divine punishment. Out of trust in the shaman and reverence for the gods, the orcs buried their vigilance deep within their hearts and did not show it too openly.

With no one bothering him, Caesar was more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet. He did not stand on ceremony at all, skillfully using his claws to carve out another enormous cave atop the mountain where the orcs dwelled. After spending a little while smoothing out the surrounding area, a crude nest was complete.

Caesar folded his dragon wings and crawled into his newly made nest.

Then he opened his mouth.

A dragon's tongue was somewhat similar in structure to that of a reptilian lizard. Though it could not reach half the length of its body like a lizard's, it was far more intricate. Dense nerves within it allowed dragons to freely control their tongues, twisting them into all kinds of shapes.

So when Caesar opened his closed mouth and controlled his tongue, which had originally been curled into a ball, to gradually straighten, the Forest Fairy wrapped and hidden within it was revealed. At last, she was slowly placed on the ground.

Before awakening magical power, many young dragons used this method to collect and transport treasure, and sometimes food as well. Caesar had thoroughly studied his own body back then, so he was quite adept at similar methods of wrapping and carrying things.

Caesar lowered himself, laying his neck flat on the ground. Without saying a word, he simply stared straight at the Forest Fairy.

Five minutes later—

A faint tremor ran through the little one's body. After a brief pause, the Forest Fairy seemed to regain consciousness. She quickly rolled over onto her back and began coughing painfully.

"Cough, cough..."

After choking twice, the Forest Fairy finally regained control of her body. She struggled to sit upright, waving her arms as she tried hard to pat her chest.

As expected.

Caesar thought to himself that many creatures in this world entered a state of suspended animation after suffering fatal injuries. All their vital signs vanished, and only after some time would they awaken. It was an instinctive protective mechanism of their bodies.

In the primordial ages of antiquity, many weak creatures used this method as cover in hopes of escaping predators.

However, as the ages changed, more and more carnivores began eating dead prey as well. The protection offered by suspended animation lost its original meaning and was gradually eliminated.

He had not expected the Forest Fairy to retain such an ancient mechanism.

But this little one had truly trapped herself this time. If she had faced another black dragon instead of Caesar, her suspended state would only have stirred its appetite even more. The Forest Fairy would have been swiftly corroded by acid, then become a black dragon's meal.

The little thing gradually stopped coughing and looked over her body, still unable to figure out where the foul-smelling liquid coating her had come from. Then, without meaning to, she caught sight of the enormous, vicious, ferocious head before her.

Her memories from before she had passed out immediately became clear.

The Forest Fairy quickly scooted backward, opening her mouth wide as if about to scream.

"Shut up! Or I'll eat you." Caesar bared his fangs.

The little one's voice caught in her throat. Still not recovered from the shock, her reaction was somewhat sluggish. Clearly, she did not yet know that she had already been eaten once.

"Ooh-hoo, ooh-hoo."

The little one was so tiny that Caesar had to lean in very close to make out the expression on her face. The Forest Fairy let out a series of soft, meaningless cries, then pleaded quietly, "Don't eat Luna."

"Your name is Luna? A Forest Fairy?"

Caesar was not quite sure.

"Luna Balanwei Tiyaroper Aufuknisitan Lanfuni Kelaipixiya Stingniao..."

A string of chaotic names spilled from the little one's mouth.

As expected of a Forest Fairy, Caesar curled his lip.

This race's naming method was unique in the entire world. Under the Forest Fairies' naming rules, their own name came first, followed by their parents' names, then their grandparents' names... and so on, tracing even back to their ancestors' ancestors.

To Forest Fairies, their names were their family trees.

"Stop, I get it."

Caesar waved a claw, cutting off the little one's chattering. This was practically torture. Nearly every Forest Fairy could recite her full name for an entire day, continuing until she could no longer remember it all herself. Forest Fairies took pride in remembering their complete names.

"Are you done?"

Forest Fairy Luna stopped talking, then became lively, her four wings beginning to flap. "Mr. Dragon, does that mean you promised not to eat me? Can I leave now?"

"No."