The beasts in the core region of Ochre Valley had basically all been eaten by the dragon hatchlings. If they wanted to find large prey now, they had to keep heading toward the outskirts.
In Tas was not as agile as a Chrome Dragon, but his hunting instincts were excellent. He could track scents continuously, sketch maps in his mind, and calculate the range of a prey's movements.
Relying on that ability, In Tas spent half an afternoon lying in wait and successfully spotted a wary mountain goat.
The Thunderclap Dragon pounced, clean and decisive, biting it dead on the ground.
Though the hunt had succeeded, In Tas did not immediately gorge himself. Instead, he carried the mountain goat in his jaws and jogged all the way back along the hills, leaving behind a scattered trail of blood.
After passing the servants' shantytown, Bay Lake, and Ironwood Forest, he circled around to the other side of the foothills. Down another gentle slope, a nest hidden beneath the rocks came into view.
Ferrum stood outside the nest, slowly spreading and raising his right wing before gradually lowering and folding it back in. He repeated the motion over and over. His fractured bones had already reconnected and healed; what he was doing now was rehabilitation training.
The Thunderclap Dragon set down the mountain goat and stared straight at him with a pair of gray-white eyes.
The gaze was piercing, but Ferrum did not mind. He simply stopped his movements and turned to the Thunderclap Dragon. "In Tas, why are you here?"
"I told you, my hunting instincts are good. If you are willing to guide my training, I can hunt for you."
The Thunderclap Dragon spoke without much fluctuation in his voice. "Your wing membrane injury is severe. You need more food."
In truth, they had known each other for some time.
Two months earlier, Ferrum had finished climbing and was squatting in a corner chewing on a Rust Rabbit. He had snatched the rabbit from Moqi as an extra meal after training. Somehow, it was more satisfying than raw meat.
Amid a rustling sound, the Thunderclap Dragon appeared before him.
In Tas lowered his head to Ferrum in greeting, then stated his purpose. He said he had observed Ferrum for a long time and wished to follow him in training from then on.
Ever since hatching, Ferrum had constantly moved between Eaglebeak Cliff, Bay Lake, and Ironwood Forest. The other dragon hatchlings had seen plenty of him. With dragonkind's intelligence, a little deduction was enough for them to guess what he was doing.
The dragon hatchlings had differing opinions about Ferrum's daily training. Some discussed it in private, some scoffed at it, and of course, some wanted to learn and imitate him.
Moqi, for instance, initially found it novel and fun, so he planned to try it with Ferrum. Yet after only half a day, he cried that he was exhausted and refused to continue.
The other dragons who wanted to learn and imitate him were more or less the same.
That was simply the nature of dragons. Their bloodlines were noble and their minds exceptionally sharp. From birth, they knew they were destined to stand at the top of the food chain. Even if they were defeated, it would only be by dragons with greater gifts and stronger bloodlines.
Thus, to most dragon hatchlings, this kind of training was nothing but needless suffering. Just like the tooth-grinding tasks assigned by the Nurturer, they were equally unwilling to persist.
Ferrum had seen plenty of hatchlings eagerly imitate him, only to give up halfway through. Therefore, he was neither particularly welcoming nor deliberately distant toward In Tas's approach. He merely said,
"What I do is all very basic. There is nothing much I can teach you. Since you know how to observe, watch from nearby a little more. Once you understand it, just follow along and do the same."
From then on, Ferrum was no longer alone. Looking up from the bottom of Ochre Valley, one could often see a Thunderclap Dragon following behind him, studying and imitating the Chrome Dragon.
Stumbling and staggering.
"I already told you, I never taught you anything, so you do not need to hunt for me either."
Even today, Ferrum still shook his head. "Take it back and eat it yourself."
The Thunderclap Dragon stood rigidly, silent and unmoving.
Ferrum glanced at him and knew the fellow's stubbornness had surfaced again. Moqi's assessment of the Thunderclap Dragon as "a bit simple-minded" actually had some truth to it.
Still, without that stubbornness, the Thunderclap Dragon would not have been able to endure such hardship. He had always followed behind Ferrum and imitated him. Even when injured and bleeding, he had never complained of pain, hardship, or exhaustion.
Of all the dragon hatchlings who had tried to replicate Ferrum's training, only the Thunderclap Dragon had persisted the longest.
Ferrum was not the sort to put on airs. Seeing that In Tas was unwilling to leave, he considered it for a while before stepping forward.
With a swipe of his claw, the Chrome Dragon split the mountain goat cleanly in two.
"Come."
He crouched down and nodded to the Thunderclap Dragon. "Since you have already carried it here, there is no point in refusing anymore. Let us divide this goat. We will each eat half."
In Tas's eyes flickered, but he remained silent.
"You caught this prey. You should naturally have a share. If you do not eat, I definitely will not be able to eat either," Ferrum added.
In Tas was finally persuaded. He moved a few steps closer and sat down beside Ferrum.
The Chrome Dragon crouched while the Thunderclap Dragon sat upright. Together, they shared a mountain goat. For a while, the scene became quiet, with only the slow sound of chewing remaining.
A rugged path stretched out from beneath the gentle slope, and the sun was warm in Ochre Valley.
Kobolds pushed carts along the mountain road. Dragon hatchlings shrieked as they chased and fought one another. Tobacco leaves rustled in the drying sheds, millstones creaked as they turned, axes rose and fell heavily in the logging yard, and Gray Dwarf women hid at the lowest reaches of the stream, quietly washing coarse cloth.
After a long while, In Tas stared at Ferrum's foreclaws and finally could not help asking, "Can you... teach me Finger-Bone Rebound?"
"No wonder you carried a mountain goat over."
Ferrum laughed. "So that was what you had in mind."
"I..."
Hearing Ferrum say that, the Thunderclap Dragon abruptly spat out the mutton in his mouth. His expression turned anxious as his claws scraped restlessly at the ground. He shook his head while stiffly curling his tail, as if he wanted to say something but could not get the words out.
"What is there to be embarrassed about? It is only proper to prepare some gifts when asking someone for guidance."
Ferrum looked casual. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "This is not some great secret. I can teach you. But why do you want to learn it? Or rather, is there some reason you have been training with me all this time?"
After two months together, this was the first time they had spoken honestly.
"I..."
In Tas choked up again. He struggled to organize his words, and only after a long while did he say, "I... do not want to be bullied anymore."
"I hate those Nickel Dragons. They are vicious. Every time they see us, they throw stones at us, or simply rush over and bite us. Whenever we find fruit or food, they come over and snatch it away. If they cannot take it, they smash it to pieces. They even destroy our nests at the slightest provocation..."
Ferrum listened and nodded slightly. "Nickel Dragons really are much like Chromatic Dragons."
It was as though In Tas had opened a floodgate. He went on in one breath, "And the Iron Dragons and Chrome Dragons. Though they rarely interact with Lesser Dragons, I can understand the looks in their eyes. There is undisguised contempt in them. I cannot stand that look, like they are looking at livestock."
"When we first met, you helped me drive off Leijieduolei. I was grateful, but I was still unwilling to accept it. I said that if they hit me, I would definitely hit them back. That was true. Even now, I still really want to hit them back myself."
"I climbed the mountain to find you not because you were powerful, but because I had watched you for a very, very long time and discovered that you were different from the other Heavy-Metal Dragons. I thought you might be willing to speak with me, might be willing to give me guidance. I do not know why, but I simply had that feeling. I did not want to miss the opportunity, so I took the initiative to climb to the mountaintop and find you."
After the Thunderclap Dragon finished speaking, Ferrum thought for a while before asking, "Will you eat the goat leg?"
In Tas froze, unable to understand why he was asking, then shook his head.
Without the slightest courtesy, Ferrum cut off the goat leg from In Tas's portion, took it over, and stuffed it into his mouth. He crunched the bones apart along with the meat and chewed slowly.
"Your reason is good. I believe you. But do not think that training behind me every day means you will be able to crush rocks with your claws like I do. That is not realistic."
As he ate, Ferrum said, "We Heavy-Metal Dragons are born with a unique Heavy-Metal Body structure, and it continuously mutates and reinforces itself as we grow older."
He spread his foreclaw out before In Tas for him to inspect.
"The heavy-metal keratin claws of Chrome Dragons, along with our powerful high-density bones, are things other dragons do not possess."
"My Finger-Bone Rebound relies on the hardness of my finger bones and keratin claws. Only because they can withstand nearly a ton of recoil can I execute the sudden dodge."
"If Lesser Dragons imitate it rigidly and exert force as I do, never mind whether your strength is sufficient—you would first shatter your own clawed toes."
Before you continue