Humiliation

The Nickel Dragons moved.

As pack-dwelling Evil Dragons, the Nickel Dragons had developed extraordinary coordination through long years together. They needed no commands or communication. As the first Nickel Dragon sprang up, the others pounced after it, no more than half a second apart.

Nickel Dragons were a small dragon species, far smaller than the medium-to-large Chrome Dragons. As Dragon Hatchlings, they were only around one and a half meters long, yet every one of them was agile, like a wolf pack.

They darted across the uneven gravel, gray-white shadows weaving through one another as they closed in from all directions.

Fangs, claws, and dragon tails barbed like venomous scorpions.

Bido, the leader, charged at the very front. The black patch on his head swelled purple, his ferocious visage fully exposed. He pounced fast and viciously, fangs aimed straight for Ferrum's throat.

Ferrum abruptly turned amid the shadows closing around him.

There was no earth-shaking commotion. Bido only saw the Chrome Dragon flicker like a ghost before him, and the dragon-shaped outline in his vision vanished at once.

His pounce struck nothing but empty air. The fangs that had been aimed at a throat lost their target completely.

Then a cold, savage claw-edge swept straight down beside his cheek.

Bido's eyes flew wide. He had only just landed, but without a second thought, tucked his head in and rolled across the gravel, barely dodging it.

Even so, the sharp claw tips still raked across Bido's face, carving a long, deep wound.

Blood immediately gushed out, smearing over his entire face.

So fast.

Bido's heart clenched. This was his first time facing one of the valley's strong. Such swift claws, such sharp talons—if that blow had landed, would it not have sliced open his throat as well?

As that thought crossed his mind, Bido's expression changed at once. An inexplicable terror rose within him. This felt completely different from the usual fights between Dragon Hatchlings. This guy... was he actually trying to kill them?

"Chrome Dragons are the most evil Heavy-Metal Dragons. They delight in slaughter and revel in destruction."

A description from the Dragon Legacy surfaced in his mind.

Bido shook his head, forcibly suppressing the panic in his heart. So what if it was a Chrome Dragon? No matter how vast the gap between dragon species, they were all only Dragon Hatchlings now. One against many was no real threat.

A five-Nickel-Dragon encirclement—forget a Chrome Dragon, even if an Iron Dragon came, they would dare take a bite out of it.

"Roar—"

Yet before Bido could snap out of his thoughts, he suddenly heard a shrill howl of pain.

One Nickel Dragon had rushed forward too eagerly. Before its companions could take their positions to cover it, and with no one drawing the Chrome Dragon's attention, it still tried to force an attack.

It paid the price immediately.

Ferrum's claws were too fast and too precise. Bido had not even seen how they came down. He only heard a ripping shhk, like a grimly gleaming blade flashing past and slicing through leather without resistance.

The approaching Nickel Dragon could not dodge in time. Its gray-white foreclaw had only just extended when a colder claw-edge severed it at the root.

Its sharp right claw was cut clean off, every claw toe sliced away in an instant. The wound was smooth as a mirror, exposing stark white bone stumps within as blood spurted like a fountain.

Only after crashing to the ground did the Nickel Dragon let out a hysterical wail.

How could a Dragon Hatchling endure such pain? Its strength collapsed in an instant, and it could not even crawl back up.

"Watch... his claws!"

Bido's voice was vicious, almost ground out through clenched teeth.

But while Ferrum focused on attacking, the opening at his back revealed itself.

A Nickel Dragon leaped straight onto Ferrum's spine, stepped on his membranous wings, and savagely bit at his cervical vertebrae. Hooked fangs pierced his scales and sank into flesh.

This Nickel Dragon was very clever. Before Ferrum could turn around and bite it, it immediately leaped back and escaped. Having landed a successful strike, it showed no hurry to press its advantage.

Thin streams of blood trickled down.

It was Chrome Dragon blood—deep red and scorching hot—running along bright scales before dripping into the filthy, chaotic Shattered Stone Grounds.

The Nickel Dragons immediately erupted in sharp hisses.

They had no time to pity their fallen companion. Instead, they all became wildly excited. Just as Bido had said, so what if he was a Higher Species? He bled all the same.

The so-called second of the dragon pack was, in the end, merely a record of single combat. Once one truly fell into the chaos of a battle, roaring and fighting to the death, who would win and who would lose was still unknown.

The Nickel Dragons let out low growls, all staring into Ferrum's eyes, hoping to see panic and fear within them.

The moment Ferrum showed such an expression, they would know they were about to win this battle.

Yet with dragons watching from every side, Ferrum merely slowly twisted his neck. His breathing was long and steady, and his gaze held neither pain nor panic.

It even seemed to reveal a hint of...

Excitement?

There was no time to sense the emotion he revealed, because Ferrum moved on the very next second.

He no longer waited in place. Instead, he began hunting in reverse, charging without the slightest hesitation into the tightening encirclement formed by the four Nickel Dragons.

"Roar!"

The Nickel Dragons roared in response.

Within the Shattered Stone Grounds, dust billowed, dragon shadows intertwined, and sprays of blood scattered in every direction.

The Nickel Dragons' fangs, claws, and tail spikes gradually left more and more wounds across Ferrum's body.

Yet as time passed, the Nickel Dragons discovered in horror that the wounded, bleeding Chrome Dragon had not shrunk back under his injuries. On the contrary, he grew more unrestrained and more savage.

Ferrum neither hissed nor roared. He simply pressed his offensive forward calmly. Of course he was wounded, but he traded those wounds for even fiercer attacks.

When a Nickel Dragon bit him, he tore off a piece of its flesh. When a Nickel Dragon clawed off a piece of his flesh, he cut it open outright.

Amid the heavy stench of blood, the Chrome Dragon raised his head to breathe, leaped and lunged, and raced forward with a howling rush.

"N-no more fighting."

Ferrum had never feared them, so the only ones who could fear were the Nickel Dragons.

This Nickel Dragon could not help but be afraid, because apart from Bido Xinoz still standing in the rear, every companion around it had already fallen—and it itself was currently caught in Ferrum's claws!

"No more fighting!"

It screamed in a distorted voice. "Boss Ferrum, we surrender! We surrender! You can do whatever you want, whatever you want!"

But it was already too late.

Ferrum held that Nickel Dragon, twisted and sliced, cutting apart all of its wing membranes before tossing it aside.

Like throwing away a gray-white rag, he did not look at it again.

The Nickel Dragon hit the ground, gritting its teeth in agony. The wound was not especially severe, yet blood spread into a huge pool in an extremely short time, while the pain was beyond description.

Clack, clack.

Ferrum tightened his powerful hind claws, gripping the gravel firmly.

With that support, this Chrome Dragon actually rose upright, walking across the ground on only his two hind legs.

Clack, clack.

Ferrum's form was agile. He slowly shook the blood from his claws, tilted his head, and examined the last remaining Bido Xinoz.

He walked sideways at an unhurried pace, as though strolling through a courtyard.

His body was covered in streaming wounds, blood flowing without end, yet his gaze was like that of a fierce beast inspecting a flock of sheep.

No, he was simply a mad demon entering his slaughterhouse!

"Demon..."

Under his terrifying gaze, Bido broke completely. He no longer had any strength to resist and could only shriek incoherently, "You are a... demon!"

"Demon?"

Ferrum thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. "In the world of Chrome Dragons, an Evil Dragon should be a name like demon or natural disaster. It should inspire respect, fear, and even hatred. The one thing it must never inspire is contempt or disdain."

"You do not count as Evil Dragons. You are merely a pack of lackeys."

He suddenly surged forward, seized Bido by the throat, and lifted the entire Nickel Dragon into the air.

The last scrap of fighting spirit in Bido's heart was snuffed out. He did not even dare resist.

Until Ferrum drove his heavy-metal keratin claws into his skull.

"Roar."

Indescribable agony struck. Bido's entire body tensed as he let out a shrill roar, his tail whipping wildly behind him while he flailed all four claws with all his strength, scratching at Ferrum.

But Ferrum remained utterly unmoved. He merely pressed his claw down calmly, cold gold flowing through his eyes.

"Ah—"

Bido trembled like chaff in a sieve, screaming without end.

The other Nickel Dragons watched the scene, their bodies shaking as well. Some of them had not yet lost the ability to move, but cowed by Ferrum's sheer presence, they did not dare step forward.

Only after a considerable while did Ferrum finally release his claw toes and toss Bido onto the ground.

Bido howled in agony, his body curled into a ball like a boiled red shrimp, then twisting like an earthworm. He could not hold any posture at all and wished he could burrow into the ground.

"I'll be taking this."

A bone fragment bounced between Ferrum's claw toes. He had actually gouged off the black patch on Bido's head together with a small piece of skull.

"From this day forward, if I hear you muttering my name again, then when we can leave Ochre Valley, I will kill every last one of you lackeys."

Ferrum walked away, gradually receding into the distance. "That is a Chrome Dragon's promise."