Green Dragon

Caesar was awakened by the low growls of the hatchlings. The two little ones were bored out of their minds; aside from sleeping, eating, then sleeping again, fighting each other was one of their few amusements.

The hatchlings grew rapidly. Including Caesar, the three young dragons were now roughly the size of adult tigers. By the standards of Earth's carnivores, they were already formidable beasts.

But here, in this place, a beast the size of an adult tiger was hardly worth mentioning. The fish their black dragon mother caught were each larger than bison, and were probably stronger than these hatchlings.

So although the two hatchlings made quite a commotion, the black dragon mother found it utterly unremarkable. She merely lifted an eyelid, let out several indistinct grumbles, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Caesar was not annoyed at being awakened. The reward seemed to have been absorbed, and he probably would not figure out any deeper secrets of Black Dream anytime soon. So he simply put it aside for now, sat up with interest, and watched the two hatchlings' "battle."

The black dragons were still young, but their sharp claws and fangs and hard scales had already begun to take shape. It was even possible to glimpse the ferocious creatures they would become years from now. This was, after all, a duel between true dragons, something rarely seen. Caesar, already fascinated by this bizarre otherworld, found it even more interesting.

However, the vampire mosquitoes and flies that had lain quietly around them, waiting for an opportunity, suffered for it. The battle between the two true dragons was disastrous for the microorganisms in the nest. With the slightest misstep, they would be claimed by acid breath from nowhere and turned into a puddle of pus.

Thousands of mosquitoes and flies began to flee, escaping the nest in a strategic retreat. Several exceptionally swift flies streaked headlong past Caesar, who was closer to the entrance, but he quickly extended his right claw and gave a light pinch, catching three poor creatures.

Caesar's gaze flickered. No longer focused on the fighting hatchlings, he realized that although the so-called "Type I Dragon-Body Genetic Enhancer" had not made him drastically different from before, his instinctive movement just now proved that the shattered trophy in Black Dream had indeed affected him.

Caesar raised his right claw before his eyes and watched the flies struggling endlessly in his grasp. He had never been able to catch insects this fast before; otherwise, he would not have come up empty-handed whenever he tried fishing in the river.

"Speed and bodily control have improved. I just don't know how much stronger I've become. Too bad I don't have instruments for precise measurements."

Although he had not immediately undergone a complete transformation, Caesar was already extremely satisfied. From its name alone, he knew that this "genetic enhancement" would not produce instant results. Instead, it increased his potential, gradually raising the limits his body could reach in the future.

Caesar was descended from a black dragon. Though he did not know much about dragons, the knowledge he had inherited told him that black dragons could not be considered powerful among dragonkind. Among evil dragons, they ranked second from the bottom. Red, blue, green, black, and white dragons were nearly the weakest, to say nothing of the metallic dragons, whose magical attainments were far more astounding.

What made things even worse was that although he possessed a true dragon name, he was not a true dragon in the strict sense. He could not awaken innate talents or spellcasting abilities. So Caesar had always worried that even if he fought desperately, squeezing every last bit of potential from every cell in his body, the limitations of his dragon bloodline and talents would leave him nothing more than a useless weakling in the wider world.

Fortunately, Black Dream had come with Caesar as well. Its mysterious rewards gave him enough confidence.

"Hey, Ortolenso. Aren't you going to have a match with Blakeshia?"

The speaker was Garon Nefadixius Targaryen, his younger brother in the draconic sense. At that moment, the fellow was supporting himself on his hind legs, standing upright like an ape, completely unashamed of the large appendage swaying beneath his crotch as he boldly stood before Caesar.

Dragons had no sense of shame about such things.

"Mm... you lost to her?"

Caesar tilted his head away, avoiding the thing that was nearly poking him in the face, then turned to look at his sister. Not far away, the young female dragon Aileen Blakeshia was on all fours, staring at him with wide, hostile eyes.

Clearly, the young female dragon still remembered Caesar stealing and eating her eggshell.

"So vindictive."

Caesar muttered a few words. Black dragons were violent-tempered and held grudges fiercely; the young female dragon was practically a textbook example.

Interestingly enough, among the three hatchlings, the one who had developed the fastest and best was the young female dragon Blakeshia. Garon, the male dragon who had likewise awakened magical abilities, had never been her match and was always beaten down by her.

"Hmph, hmph." The young female dragon flapped her wings and gave her elder brother two low growls brimming with provocation.

"A hatchling's play, a contest..."

Caesar considered it, drew a deep breath on the spot, rose to his feet, and spread his limbs. "Come on."

He wanted to test just how effective the Dragon-Body Genetic Enhancer was.

However—

BOOM!!!

"Feeble and foolish black dragon, the great Sylvia has arrived. Get out of your nest." The voice came from above the canopy, and a tangible draconic might swept across the Marshland.

Under Caesar's astonished gaze, a colossal dragon with emerald-green scales descended from the sky. Its aura was overwhelmingly intimidating, and the hurricane raised by its beating wings nearly blew the young hatchlings over.

Its body was thick and powerful, every part packed with muscle. Its huge white fangs protruded from its mouth, while a sharp horn with a metallic gleam grew from its nose above those massive jaws.

"Green Dragon!"

The three hatchlings spoke in unison. Forests and swamps were not exclusive to black dragons; they were also the favored nesting grounds of green dragons. Friction over territory was hardly uncommon in tales of dragons.

ROAR!

This time, their black dragon mother, who had been lying prone in the Marshland, finally awoke completely. She let out an angry growl, tore free from the mud, and soared into the air with great sheets of sludge clinging to her.

"You dare trespass into my territory, Sylvia? Do you want war?"

It was the first time Caesar had heard his mother in the draconic sense speak. Her voice fit the image of a black dragon perfectly: hoarse and irritable.

As the black dragon's growl rang out, one slime monster after another crawled from the swamp, loosely raising their weapons. From several burrow entrances Caesar had never noticed before, densely packed kobold cave-dwellers also emerged.

Every adult dragon had more or fewer followers. These creatures lived beneath the dragon's wings and, when necessary, became their master's lackeys and enforcers. Yet before the enormous green dragon, most of these humanoids shrank back in fear, pacing anxiously without daring to advance.

That was a prime green dragon nearly four hundred years old, one with a name of its own. It was even stronger than their master. Kobolds were not particularly intelligent, but they did not want to throw away their lives for nothing.

Besides, the green dragon was not without help—

Across the lakeshore, ogres surged forward, filling the swamp. There appeared to be at least as many as a medium-sized tribe.

"Ha, your territory?"

Sylvia, the Emerald of the Green Capital, laughed mockingly. "I forgot to inform you: your nest has been requisitioned. From today onward, every forest and river here belongs to me!"

"Now, hand over your treasure, then take your squalling, milk-starved children and get out. Otherwise, hmph, hmph..." What followed went without saying.

"Dream on!"

The black dragon mother let out an enraged hiss. To any dragon, treasure was equal to its own life. No dragon could possibly compromise at a time like this.

Black dragons were no exception. So she roared into the sky and grappled with the invader.

"Then... what do we do?"

The three young hatchlings stared at one another, wide-eyed and at a loss.