The Real Attack

Xilong looked at Moqi. Quite a few of his scales had been torn off, exposing bare skin beneath. They hung all over him in a disorderly mess, and he drooped his head like a limp seal. He looked both pitiful and hilarious.

Keeping a straight face, Xilong asked, "How did you end up like this?"

"If you want to laugh, then laugh."

Moqi shot him a glance and said gloomily, "I went to ask Nurturer. It turned out that when she first punished me, she only meant for me to guard the drying shed for three months. But later, she got busy and forgot all about it. That left me squatting there for half a year for no reason, and Leijieduolei, that bastard, caught me there."

"Leijieduolei?"

Xilong crouched down and considered it. "He spent time lying in wait at the drying shed just to pick a fight with you?"

"Yeah. He still remembered that I mocked him before. He says he's an Iron Dragon, but his heart is smaller than a needle's eye."

Moqi shook his head. "I was actually fine, but that Thunderclap Dragon came out of nowhere and got beaten badly by Leijieduolei. In the end, he was even coughing blood."

"In Tas. That was the name Nurturer gave him."

After briefly introducing him, Xilong asked, "Did Leijieduolei say anything after fighting you?"

"He said that even if the Thunderclap Dragon and I attacked together, we still wouldn't be enough."

"Anything else?"

Moqi wagged his head. "That was it."

"You're lying."

Xilong narrowed his eyes at Moqi. "After I defeated Leijieduolei, the other Dragon Hatchlings never stopped mocking him. He must have been unwilling to accept it. We're brothers. He even remembered you mocking him before, so would he really say nothing to you about the thing weighing most heavily on his mind?"

"Um..."

Moqi hesitated for a while. He had not planned to repeat those words, because Xilong had recently been immersed in his own world, always coming and going alone. Moqi did not know whether Xilong wanted to fight Leijieduolei.

What if Xilong didn't want to get entangled with the Iron Dragon anymore?

Wouldn't passing on the message be like putting him over a fire to roast?

But now Xilong's gaze bore down on him, almost like Nurturer's stare. Moqi realized he could not hide anything at all.

"Leijieduolei said that half a year had passed, and he'd completely had enough."

Moqi sighed. "Actually, that guy is pretty pitiful too. Just because he lost that one fight, he's been stuck with the nickname of the dragon pack's disgrace. Even when he cornered me, he knew not to interfere with my duties. If he truly wanted to cause trouble, he could have..."

"Look at you, beaten until your nose is bruised and your face swollen, and you still have the mood to sympathize with other dragons."

Watching him ramble on, Xilong could no longer hold back his laughter. He stood up. "I'm going to find Leijieduolei."

"Huh?"

Moqi froze, then hurriedly got up as well. Studying Xilong's expression, he hesitated. "How about... we forget it?"

"I know your strength has advanced by leaps and bounds lately. You can definitely beat Leijieduolei easily, but his two brothers really aren't easy to provoke. Just looking at them makes your heart tremble."

Moqi spoke cautiously.

"Yeah."

Xilong nodded in agreement and said quietly, "Leijieduolei has always dwelled on his earlier defeat. So have I. He wants to defeat me and wash away his shame, while I want to defeat his brother Hidorivi. I've waited a long time for this day too."

Moqi looked at his sharp, imposing body and saw the cold gleam cast by those bone spikes in the shadows. After thinking for a while, he still lacked confidence. "Xilong, Hidorivi... is currently the second-strongest in Ochre Valley."

"Second? Second in what?"

"The strength rankings."

Moqi described it vividly. "Those Iron Dragons do nothing all day except fight. You fight me, I fight you. They fought for an entire year and came up with a strength ranking. Hidorivi ranks second. He's second among the Iron Dragons, so naturally he's also second among all the Dragon Hatchlings."

"Hidorivi is second. Who's first?"

"Jelierion is first. That's why I said they aren't easy to provoke."

Moqi bared his teeth. "Of those three brothers, Leijie is the only useless one. The other two are truly formidable."

"That's not right. Shouldn't Ladon be first?"

"Ladon isn't in the rankings."

After thinking about it, Moqi said, "I haven't seen him in a long time. I heard he doesn't play with the Dragon Hatchlings anymore. He's learning how to fight from Nurturer."

"Learning to fight is good. I want to learn too."

Xilong replied, then nodded again and made up his mind. "No matter what, I'll defeat Hidorivi first."

"There's one more thing."

Moqi reminded him, "The three of them are Ember Scars, after all. They'll eventually become the masters of this land. If we truly anger them, our days in the Lineage may not be easy in the future."

Xilong looked at Moqi for a few moments, then vigorously rubbed his head. "We aren't Chromatic Dragons. In the world of Heavy-Metal Dragons, where would all that scheming and intrigue come from? It's only a fight. Don't overthink it."

"All right, then!"

Seeing that Xilong's stance was firm, Moqi's attitude made a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. He sprang up at once. "This is maddening! Today, we have to beat them black and blue! Whether it's Leijieduolei or Hidorivi, from now on, whenever they see a Chrome Dragon, they'll have to lower their heads! I know where they are. I'll take you there right now!"

Sunlight slanted across the gravel ground. Outside an abandoned mine, Dragon Hatchlings sprawled in twos and threes, swaying their tails and basking in the sun in bored idleness.

Even from far away, one could smell the charcoal-burning scent that clung to the Iron Dragons.

As they drew closer step by step, Moqi gradually became nervous. But when he thought of Xilong beside him, he immediately gathered his courage, lowered his head, and led the way straight inside.

Dragons were creatures with powerful territorial instincts. Although Dragon Hatchlings nominally possessed no property, after occupying the place for so long, the Iron Dragons had already regarded the abandoned mine as their territory. Seeing outsiders approach, they immediately turned their gazes toward them.

"Don't take another step forward."

An Iron Dragon nearby shifted from a sprawled posture to standing, shaking dust from his body as he stared at the Chrome Dragons. "You two came here. Is there something you want to say?"

"I'm looking for Leijieduolei."

At the mention of that name, the Iron Dragons let out several low snickers. But Xilong did not pause and continued, "And his brother, Hidorivi Jinheng."

The Iron Dragons stopped laughing, their expressions changing slightly. The Iron Dragon blocking the way glanced at Xilong twice, then stepped aside and opened a path.

"Xilong Solax."

Hidorivi strode closer, passing the Iron Dragon in front. He was tall and carried himself with steady composure. Compared to his kin around him, his limbs were visibly thicker and stronger.

"I remember your name. I heard you've been working hard this whole time. Now that you've come barging in here, are you planning to challenge me again?"

"Hidorivi!"

Another Iron Dragon's voice rang out from not far away. Leijieduolei emerged from Ironwood Forest and growled, "He came for me."

Hidorivi turned his head. He stared at Xilong for a while, then looked at his brother and shook his head. "You can't do it. Let me."

"No."

Leijieduolei's attitude was resolute. "I'm the one who drew him here. I've waited for this moment for a long time. Today is the day I wash away my shame. Before everyone's eyes, I'll prove to all dragons just who is the disgrace of the dragon pack."

Leijie rarely defied him like this. Hidorivi narrowed his eyes, and the scales on his face twitched slightly.

But after a moment of silence, Hidorivi finally nodded and gave his brother the opportunity, stepping to one side.

Under his lead, the other Iron Dragons slowly retreated as well.

"You've said everything you needed to say."

Xilong stood tall and nodded at Leijie. "Fight."

"Roar!"

Leijieduolei roared and charged forward at once. His heavy body trampled the earth, and the scales all over him crashed together with booming clangs.

Xilong flashed forward, cutting in close along Leijieduolei's side. At the instant they crossed paths, the Chrome Dragon's tail and foreclaws shot out without warning, seizing the Iron Dragon's forelimb at the height of its charge. They twisted together with all their strength.

Leijieduolei's bite missed. He was immediately tripped, unable to resist the tremendous momentum of his own body as he pitched uncontrollably forward.

The Chrome Dragon followed close behind. Almost at the same instant Leijieduolei hit the ground, Xilong's clawed toes pressed against the back of his neck.

The metal-like keratin claws pushed forward, instantly splitting scales and piercing skin. The sharp tips drew a faint trace of blood before stopping.

"You lost," Xilong said.

Leijieduolei was already stunned. The moment he fell, his vital point had been pinned. An icy sting spread across the back of his neck, as though invisible frost had enveloped him.

This was the first time he had experienced the Chrome Dragon's agility and sharpness. No Chrome Dragon had ever been this fast before, nor had one ever pierced an Iron Dragon's scales and skin in an instant.

His pupils trembled in disbelief.

"The duel hasn't begun yet!"

Leijieduolei shouted, "I wasn't ready! I only wanted to change positions just now. That wasn't my real attack."

In the end, he was still only a Dragon Hatchling...

Xilong found it rather amusing, but he did not argue. He withdrew his claws and released Leijieduolei.

"Fine. Then I'll give you another chance."

He slowly retreated to the opposite side and said, "If you lose this time, let Moqi beat you up to vent his anger."

Leijieduolei climbed up from the ground and shook off the grit and dust on his body. He drew a deep breath. He neither roared nor charged. Instead, he lowered his center of gravity, fixed his gaze on Xilong's face, and carefully approached one step at a time.

"Don't stare at his face. Watch his claws." Someone offered a reminder.

The two dragons faced off for a moment. Then Leijieduolei suddenly exerted force. This time, he did not charge recklessly. He feinted with one claw, making a noise in the east while attacking in the west. His true strength gathered in his shoulder blade as his full weight came crashing down.

Xilong dodged the claw strike. Seeing Leijieduolei's body press down on him, he advanced instead of retreating. He pounced low along the ground and slipped beneath the Iron Dragon's membranous wing.

Leijieduolei's shoulder slam missed. In the instant his center of gravity tipped forward, Xilong had already arrived behind him, closing in on the Iron Dragon's body again like a maggot clinging to bone.

Xilong's foreclaws climbed onto the Iron Dragon's neck and back, his elbows bracing against the spine as he pressed down fiercely.

Leijieduolei's neck creaked. His balance had already been unstable, and under the Chrome Dragon's full strength and entire weight, his four claws could no longer hold him up. His legs went weak at once, and he dropped to his knees, kicking up a great cloud of dust.

Xilong stood atop the Iron Dragon and looked down at him, his tone calm. "What do you say?"

"I..."

Leijieduolei mumbled indistinctly, "I..."

"I lost."

He was so ashamed that he did not even dare meet the other Iron Dragons' eyes. After admitting defeat, he hurriedly pulled himself out from under Xilong's feet and ran off to one side with his head hanging low.

"Remember to go find Moqi."

Xilong's voice came from behind him. Leijieduolei's body trembled, but there was nothing he could do. He could only flee away even faster in dejection.