Atop the towering cliff, the Iron Dragon carved a jagged trail of claw marks across the ground before being hurled into the rock wall by tremendous force. Amid a thunderous crash, the cliff face fractured and collapsed, rubble pattering down.
Ladon shook his head. Blood Frenzy strengthened his body in every aspect; his chest roared like a furnace, and scorching currents of air blasted from between his scales.
With almost no sign of gathering strength, the Archaic Species merely sank slightly on all four limbs before immediately becoming a flashing black shadow. In an instant, she reached her opponent, leaping like a furious beast and tearing upward with savage claws.
Her opponent retreated, crouched low, and swung a claw.
Ladon crashed into the rock wall again, blood seeping between his fangs.
"That's enough for today."
Valyria withdrew her foreclaw. "Once you grow into adolescence, I probably won't be your match."
Ladon panted heavily. "The juvenile stage."
Valyria smiled, unconcerned. "Go do what you ought to do."
Ladon withdrew from Blood Frenzy. He stared at the Young Dragon's clawed toes in silence for a while, calming his breath and heartbeat before slowly walking aside.
"I know you prefer them over me."
Expressionless, Ladon said, "You designed such rules because you wanted to make them rise up, yet you don't dare truly send them to their deaths. In the end, it's still nothing but a farce. Heavy-Metal Dragons raised in an environment like this will never be able to compete with Exotic Dragons and Chromatic Dragons."
With that, he leapt down without waiting for Valyria's reply.
Valyria did not answer either. She walked to where Ladon had stood and gazed at the scattered scales and bloodstains around her, then at the claw marks in the ground and the cracks in the rock wall. She nodded lightly.
The autumn sunlight was pleasantly warm. At noon, Kobolds pushed flatbed carts, hauling cartload after cartload of butchered Kodo Beast meat into the gathering ground before running away and keeping their distance.
After entering the Feeding-Seizure Period, their lives had suddenly become very leisurely. They no longer needed to distribute food to the Dragon Hatchlings or clean up the scraps and chunks of meat in the gathering ground. Every day after sunset, many hatchlings would gather there; when morning came, the gathering ground would be cleaner than at any other time.
Ladon swept his gaze around. Just as usual, the hatchlings merely hid in the distance and watched in secret. None dared approach.
He shook his head and began eating on his own.
After a long silence, faint rustling sounded. Ladon shifted his pupils and saw a yellow-and-black Dragon Hatchling behind him to the right, cautiously inching closer.
A Lesser Dragon?
He sneered coldly inwardly.
Yet the Lesser Dragon did not stop. Though extremely cautious, it continued forward step by step, gradually entering Ladon's attack range. It looked as though hunger had driven it mad, leaving it unable to resist the lure of food.
Ladon narrowed his eyes. In his view, no dragon in Ochre Valley had the right to eat at his side. As for the food itself, he did not truly care about it; he had even left leftovers for the hatchlings as the Nurturer instructed.
Yet it still dared approach under such circumstances. That was undoubtedly a provocation.
Ladon raised his head, and the Thunderclap Dragon's footsteps stopped with it. As if sensing danger, it immediately turned and fled.
At the same moment, Ladon lunged out with brutal force.
The Iron Dragon lacked the Chrome Dragon's agility, but he was still incredibly fast. Driven by extreme strength, he was like a roaring war chariot, instantly streaking forth as a straight black shadow.
Yet Ladon's first pounce unexpectedly missed. The Thunderclap Dragon seemed to have guessed his trajectory; the instant it turned to flee, it suddenly shifted, changed direction, accelerated, and raced madly outward.
At the same time, other Dragon Hatchlings charged in from another direction, rushing into the center of the gathering ground at tremendous speed. One had already bitten down on a huge chunk of Kodo Beast meat and was dragging it away.
Snatching food from a tiger's jaws.
"Interesting."
Ladon reacted and abruptly wheeled around.
From the onlookers' perspective, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The dragons crossed paths for only a few short seconds—Ladon merely pounced, then immediately turned back.
The Chrome Dragon flung the Kodo Beast meat outward. There was actually a companion waiting behind it, dragging the meat away for it so it could retreat more easily.
But Ladon had already arrived.
Ladon stood roughly two and a half meters tall. He was no larger than the Cobalt-Blue Overlord, yet his ferocious presence far surpassed that of a Dragon Hatchling. The force of his descending pounce was like a mountain collapsing.
The Chrome Dragon's body tightened. It dug its clawed toes into the sandy ground, then used Finger-Bone Rebound to shift sideways in an instant.
Ladon descended through the air, both claws slamming downward onto the spot where the Chrome Dragon had just stood. The impact nearly made the ground tremble. Then, ignoring the backlash entirely, he immediately swept his tail sideways.
The Chrome Dragon lowered its body. In an instant, its chest, shoulders, and arms caved inward, while its clawed toes twisted together into spears aimed directly at that massive tail like an iron chain. As black and white crossed, sparks burst and sprayed.
There was no time to analyze the outcome of the clash. Their powerful combat instincts made them react at once. After their bodies collided, both sides almost simultaneously raised their heads and exhaled. A cruel freezing current and blazing lightning fire collided with a thunderous blast.
The deadlock lasted only a second. The next moment, the lightning fire completely overwhelmed the freezing current. Yet the Chrome Dragon seemed to have expected this result, using the time won through their exchanges to swiftly retreat.
"Ferrum."
Ladon watched that nimble, leaping back and murmured the other's name. Many times, while looking down from the towering cliff, he had seen Ferrum climbing another cliff.
Ladon looked around, the corner of his eye twitching as he saw the three dragons retreating in different directions.
Their plan had been to snatch food away beneath his very eyes. There was no denying that they had succeeded, and done well at that. It was even more interesting than Jelierion's encirclement.
But they had forgotten one thing: he was not a beast guarding its treasure, and the game would not end just because they had stolen the food.
In Tas was crossing Ironwood Forest, preparing to gather at Bay Lake.
He felt both excited and worried. The food-snatching plan had succeeded, but perhaps he had not done well enough, forcing Ferrum to exchange two blows with Ladon. He did not know how badly Ferrum was injured.
Just then, an enormous crash erupted ahead of him.
Ladon bounded over. He could only be described as falling from the heavens, crashing into the ground with savage force and sending swathes of Ironwood Forest collapsing beneath a massive wave of dust.
"Your coordination was good."
He slowly emerged from the smoke and dust. "But none of this is over yet."
In Tas tensed. "What do you have to say?"
"Valyria has raised you too well, to the point that you have no sense of danger whatsoever and not the slightest awe in your hearts. Did you think provoking a powerful being like this meant you would not have to bear any consequences?"
Ladon said, "I intend to kill you here."
There was little rise or fall in his voice, yet murderous intent bared its fangs between every word.
"What?"
In Tas's pupils dilated.
"I have already weighed Ferrum's strength. He has the right to live, but Lesser Dragons like you are worth less than nothing in my eyes."
Ladon said, "Don't talk to me about Lineage rules. Rules cannot stop me, because my value is great enough to disregard them. Now, you should kneel and beg me with your head lowered, praying for my forgiveness. Only then can you live."
Ladon's eyes gleamed savagely, like pools of flowing lava. In Tas felt an uncontrollable urge to kneel. Suppression from the Archaic Species' bloodline descended layer upon layer, and his body was issuing commands that he had to obey.
"No."
In Tas's voice trembled. Gritting his teeth, he gasped violently, then released a fierce low roar.
He was about to lose control, but before he did, In Tas moved first, taking the initiative to attack the majesty of the Archaic Species.
"I will not kneel to my enemy, no matter what you are."
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed around the Thunderclap Dragon, erupting in brilliant blazing light.
Ladon suddenly struck, seizing the charging In Tas. He looked at him twice. "It seems not everything Valyria raised was worthless trash. Good. At least you still have some dignity as a dragon."
He closed his massive claw, yet did not deliver the killing blow as he had claimed he would. He merely crushed the Thunderclap Dragon's bones, tossed him aside, and turned to leave.
Before you continue