Kelailli

Sunken Hollow, gathering place of the Cobalt Dragons.

This was a depression several meters below the valley floor. Underground river seepage kept it waterlogged year-round, and the bottom was silted with dark, nearly purple mud, dyeing the entire hollow a murky, drowsy hue.

Ordinary dragons did not much like such an environment. It looked gloomy, damp, and somehow unclean, and they generally wanted to stay far away from it.

But for Cobalt Dragons, it was simply perfect.

Cobalt Dragons were born liking to hunker down in low places, tucking their claws beneath themselves, soaking their scales in water, pressing their bellies against damp earth, narrowing their eyes, wrinkling their brow-scales, while a cold, sinister gleam seeped from their black pupils.

Mortals who did not understand them, upon seeing Cobalt Dragons like this, naturally assumed these huge, evil creatures were pondering some vicious and ferocious scheme, or brewing some earth-shaking conspiracy.

But only their fellow Heavy-Metal Dragons knew that, most of the time, Cobalt Dragons were not thinking of anything at all.

When they lay there, they simply lay there—purely daydreaming.

At this moment, seven or eight Cobalt Dragons returned one after another from various parts of the valley. Silently, they went to their accustomed spots and waded into the water. The entire hollow was so quiet that only the sound of splashing remained.

Until one Cobalt Dragon slowly edged closer.

"Kेलaili."

The pronunciation was low and heavy, carrying the thick nasal tone unique to Cobalt Dragons.

The largest Cobalt Dragon at the very center did not move.

"Kेलaili."

"Kेलaili."

"Kेलaili."

The Cobalt Dragons spoke over one another, repeating that name again and again.

"Mmh... what is it?"

The Cobalt Dragon curled up in the center finally opened his eyes. His huge body shifted and ground against the mud, his foreclaws extending from beneath him, as if a fossil had come alive from the silt.

His scales were a deep blue tinged with purple, so dark they nearly gleamed black. Only upon closer inspection did one realize that this hatchling dragon was nearly three meters long.

As an enormous species, Cobalt Dragons possessed the largest bodies among Heavy-Metal Dragons, even somewhat heavier than Iron Dragons. Yet their necks were thick and short, making their heads look rather inflexible.

But because of that, they also lacked one of dragonkind's crucial weak points.

On the other hand, although Cobalt Dragons had massive bodies, their membranous wings were smaller than those of other dragons. Against such a stark contrast, those wings looked like two tiny decorations pasted to either side of their backs.

All of this was the result of the specialized structure of the Heavy-Metal Dragon's Heavy-Metal Body.

Cobalt Dragons relied entirely on magic to fly and had nearly abandoned aerial combat. They poured all their potential into the rest of their bodies, developing terrifyingly durable organs. They were known as walking war fortresses.

For a dragon Lineage, Cobalt Dragons were extremely important weapons of war and thus highly valued. Only by forging an alliance with the Marsh Abyss of the southern continent had the Ashmark Lineage obtained this batch of Cobalt Dragon eggs and hatched them in Ochre Valley.

These hatchlings were regarded as links in the chain of the alliance between both sides. Once the eight Cobalt Dragons grew up, their loyalty would be shared by the Marsh Abyss clan and the Ashmark Lineage.

"There's some fresh news."

The Cobalt Dragons surrounded the one in the center and spoke slowly. "Xilong went to the Nickel Dragons' Shattered Stone Grounds yesterday. He fought five alone and won."

Kेलaili shook his head. Perhaps because he had been spacing out for too long, he seemed a little dazed. "Which Xilong?"

"The Chrome Dragon, Xiron Solax. The one who beat Hidorivi before. Turns out the Nickel Dragons had been using his name to cause trouble all along. We thought it was all real before."

Sentence by sentence, the Cobalt Dragons recounted how Xiron had taught the Nickel Dragons a lesson. The valley was not very large, and there were many hatchlings. Any bit of fresh news spread quickly.

"Five Nickel Dragons might be rather troublesome for a Chrome Dragon, but does that really need a special report?"

Kelailli muttered.

"Nickel Dragons truly aren't much, but Kelailli, didn't you say you would beat Hidorivi and Xilong sooner or later?"

The smallest Cobalt Dragon edged closer to ask. Though smaller in size, he was livelier than the others.

"When did I say that?"

Kelailli, surrounded on all sides, felt somewhat uncomfortable. Seeing all the Cobalt Dragons crowd toward him, he helplessly shifted his body. "I said it while you were ganging up on me. I nearly forgot it myself. You actually believed that?"

"Of course I believe you." The smallest Cobalt Dragon took it for granted.

"I believe too."

"Believe."

"Yeah."

The other Cobalt Dragons echoed him one after another.

"Because you're our Cobalt-Blue Overlord." The little Cobalt Dragon said.

"Cobalt-Blue Overlord."

"Overlord."

"Grr."

Cobalt Dragons were born to live in groups. They would choose the strongest member of the group as the "Cobalt-Blue Overlord."

The so-called Cobalt-Blue Overlord was roughly equivalent to the leader of a dragon flock, possessing control over the group's territory, rights to distribute property, and rights over mates.

But unlike the leaders of other dragon flocks, the Cobalt-Blue Overlord could not directly command an army. Once the group clashed with the outside world or war broke out, the Cobalt-Blue Overlord could not shirk responsibility under the pretext of governing territory or sitting behind the lines to command. He had to lead from the front and enter battle at the first moment.

This was a responsibility he could not cast aside.

Whenever Cobalt Dragons gathered together, a Cobalt-Blue Overlord would naturally emerge. Yet there were no adult Cobalt Dragons in the Ashmark Lineage, so Kelailli Beilivi could only take the role, since he was the strongest among the hatchlings.

"Kelailli."

The Cobalt Dragons crowded even closer. "You're the strongest among us. Your scales are a layer thicker than ours, your claws are much harder than ours. If you tense your muscles, you can twist our teeth off. Even if we all bit you together, we couldn't bite you to death."

"That's because you're too weak."

Kेलaili rolled about, refusing to let them come any closer. "Compared to Iron Dragons and Chrome Dragons, I'm nothing."

"Have you tried?"

"You haven't tried."

"Try it."

The Cobalt Dragons began chattering all at once again. Kेलaili found the noise chaotic and irritating.

He truly had never competed against other dragon species. In truth, Kelailli's mind was fairly nimble, and it was not as though he absolutely wanted to reject his companions' wishes.

It was only that, one night half a year ago, while he was sleeping, he had vaguely seemed to hear someone singing.

From then on, Kelailli had constantly felt heavy and tired, with no strength at all to move. Apart from eating at the gathering grounds, he only lay sleeping in Sunken Hollow, never interacting with other dragon species.

He had told his companions about this, but not one had believed him. They either said he was lazy or teased him, claiming a devil was clinging to him and specially sucking away a dragon's blood and vigor, though none of the others could see it.

Yet as his persistent grogginess continued, Kelailli's body also kept growing. Recently, judging by his build, he had even surpassed Ladon, once the largest and strongest dragon in the flock.

Of course, Kelailli himself knew that there was still a vast gulf between him and Ladon.

"Why can Xilong challenge Hidorivi? Why can a Chrome Dragon challenge an Iron Dragon, but you can't? You clearly said the same thing."

The smallest Cobalt Dragon refused to relent.

"Chrome Dragons have something wrong with their heads. I don't."

Kेलaili grumbled.

Those words resonated with every Cobalt Dragon present. They nodded one after another, deeply convinced.

In the minds of Cobalt Dragons, there was indeed something wrong with Chrome Dragons' heads.

Even when they had nothing to do, Chrome Dragons always wanted to test whether they themselves were sharp enough. Whenever they saw anything, they wanted to poke it, stab it, make some destruction and trouble. They were truly dreadful creatures to get along with.

And in the Dragon Legacy of Chrome Dragons, Cobalt Dragons had an entirely different image.

Those fellows were stupid, lazy, and old-fashioned. They always wanted to retreat to ancient times when even dragons had yet to be enlightened. Clearly part of the evil camp, they could never do any proper evil. So long as there was somewhere beneath their bellies to lie down, they could peacefully lower their intelligence to the same level as a hippopotamus.

Relying on their antiquated scales and bloated organs, they had not made the slightest progress for millions of years.

"A bunch of turtles."

That was how Chrome Dragons always described Cobalt Dragons.

"No matter what, since Chrome Dragons can challenge Iron Dragons, Cobalt Dragons naturally can as well. Kेलaili, you must defeat Hidorivi. He's no longer second, he's third now, and you need to turn him into fourth. Believe in yourself. We all believe in you too. You're the strongest. You can do it."

The Cobalt Dragons patiently coaxed him along.

"Stop lying to me."

Kेलaili grabbed the nearest Cobalt Dragon and tossed him far away. "You just want to watch me get beaten to death, so no dragon will compete with you for the spot in the center of Sunken Hollow."

"How can you say that?"

The Cobalt Dragons were somewhat embarrassed. "If you're truly afraid to fight Hidorivi, challenging Xilong would work too."

"I should challenge Xilong?"

Kेलaili was utterly shocked. "Before, I was joking. Now I'm sure—you really do want to watch me get beaten to death."

"We Cobalt Dragons are harder to kill than any other dragon species, and you're our Overlord. How could you die so easily? Chrome Dragons and Cobalt Dragons are known together as the sword and shield beneath the Iron Throne. Although Chrome Dragons look as though they can easily kill us, in truth, we restrain them too."

"Nonsense."

"It's not nonsense."

The Cobalt Dragons analyzed in deep, muffled voices, speaking slowly. "Chrome Dragon claws are sharp, especially that Xilong's. Every claw-toe is like a blade. Not to mention how he amputated the Nickel Dragons' limbs—even Hidorivi was slashed until his scales were covered in wounds."

The Cobalt Dragon who had been thrown away crawled back. "I watched that battle. Every time Hidorivi attacked, Xilong dodged aside. Even when Hidorivi took the initiative, he couldn't catch him. He was furious to death, charging about wildly outside the mine like an enraged bull. In the end, he exhausted himself so badly he couldn't stand, which was why he lost."

"But we aren't like Iron Dragons. We don't need to attack proactively. We don't even need to strike back. When Chrome Dragons charge at us and touch our scales or blood, they'll be pinched apart and corroded, contaminated."

"Chrome Dragons cannot withstand corrosion, and their bodies are frail. They have to cherish their scales, claws, and teeth. When attacking us, they will definitely be cautious and unable to use their full strength. That will instead drag the fight out longer, and the longer the tug-of-war lasts, the more favorable it is for us."

"We Cobalt Dragons fear nothing. The only thing we fear is Chrome Dragons older than us. Those are foes we can neither block nor escape. The dragons in Ochre Valley are all our age. There's nothing to fear."

The Cobalt Dragons offered plans and advice one after another, drawing on the information in their Dragon Legacy.

"Overlord, we really don't want to watch you get beaten to death. We only want you to show what you can do. We're Higher Species, after all."

The smallest Cobalt Dragon spoke with great seriousness. "We've heard that story too. When Xilong first fought Hidorivi half a year ago, he got beaten up as well. He hated it bitterly, returned to train hard for half a year, and only then defeated Hidorivi. Chrome Dragons aren't afraid of losing, and neither are we. Cobalt Dragons live longer than any other dragon. So long as we aren't killed, there's nothing to fear."

"Half a year ago."

Kेलaili finally opened his eyes. His black pupils flickered slightly. This time, he truly began to think.

He pondered for a while, then tucked his foreclaws back beneath himself. "But I lie in Sunken Hollow every day, and those dragons haven't come to provoke me. How am I supposed to open my mouth and ask them to fight?"

"Overlord..."

The Cobalt Dragons began to wheedle and pester him.

"I know you all want to look impressive too. After all, we came from the Marsh Abyss. We can't keep letting the Ashmark Lineage look down on us. Enough. Let's wait until after Dragonbirth Day. I can feel the burden on my body disappearing. The devil should be leaving soon. After that, I'll give it everything I have and fight a battle."

Kेलaili answered gloomily.

Then his expression changed, and he snarled fiercely, "But for now, all of you, get out of my way. The Cobalt-Blue Overlord needs to take an efficient nap."