A Little Clique

After a month of ceaseless hunting and biting, the Feeding-Seizure Period finally came to an end. The Food-Sharing Period arrived, and Ochre Valley returned to its original rules.

At last, the hatchlings no longer had to bare their fangs and growl at one another the moment they met, fighting to the death over a scrap of food.

Their familiar lives returned. The Iron Dragons recovered from their injuries, and the Cobalt Dragons emerged from Sunken Hollow. The tense atmosphere loosened across the board.

Autumn was, fittingly, also the season of harvest.

The barley on the terraced fields had ripened, and the tobacco leaves in the fields were ready to be picked. The sky was high and vast, the sunlight warm, and the valley brimmed with vibrant life. Everything was so bright that it refreshed the heart and delighted the eye.

That afternoon, beneath the gentle sunlight, several hatchlings gathered in a circle by the lakeshore.

Their expressions were grave, their backs arched, every eye fixed on Xilong's claws like ferocious beasts about to pounce upon prey. Yet Xilong's foreclaw was steady, without the slightest tremor.

Under his companions' tense gazes, Xilong steadily placed the oval stream stone in his claw atop the precarious pile.

Silence fell. The dragons all held their breath.

The stack had already been piled into a tall tower. It swayed slightly, but in the end, it did not collapse.

Xilong let out a breath and slowly backed away, looking toward the Cobalt Dragon on his right.

"Trying to mess with me?"

Kेलaili's pupils widened. He carefully inspected the stream stone Xilong had placed, then snorted after a long while, tossed away the stone in his claw, selected another stone chip, and stepped forward.

After a month, Kelaili had gradually become familiar with the hatchlings. Compared with being an overlord in Sunken Hollow, he seemed more willing to come over here to play.

Whenever something came up here, everyone ran to trouble Xilong rather than seek him out. Kेलaili could come and go as he pleased, so he found it quite relaxing. Moreover, he and Moqi unexpectedly got along well and became close.

The stone chip in Kelaili's claw was exceedingly flat and thin, a treasured thing kept at the bottom of his chest. Forced into this by Xilong's scheme, he had no choice but to bring it out early.

The huge Cobalt Dragon weighed the tiny chip in his claw, moved close to the stone tower, and carefully pressed it atop Xilong's stream stone.

It held.

Cold light flashed in Kelaili's pitch-black pupils. He stepped back and stood still.

Moqi had originally been gloating over Kelaili's misfortune, but when he saw that the stone tower remained standing, his expression immediately fell. He picked through his own supply, caught between two choices.

In the end, he could only choose a relatively small stone and tentatively stack it atop Kelaili's chip. The moment he touched it, the entire tower collapsed in an instant, clattering across the ground.

"Good!"

The Thorn Dragon and Feather Dragons behind them all cried out in approval, erupting in cheers.

Moqi had no choice but to step forward and swallow the stone he had failed to stack. He had already eaten quite a few before this; after gulping down another pebble, he immediately grimaced in discomfort.

The other dragons came forward, tidying up the area as they each picked through the stones.

"Moqi, you're being so greedy today. Are you deliberately yielding to Jili?" Afterglow quickly finished selecting her stones, her feathers swaying as she spoke casually.

"I..."

Moqi rubbed his belly and sighed. "How about one of you trades places with me? I feel like standing behind those two is a little unlucky. Xilong is already rotten to the core, and Kelaili is even worse. This Cobalt-Blue Overlord looks slow and foolish, but he's actually rather crafty."

Kेलaili shot him a glance. "This is called wisdom."

"Then let's switch." Jili said.

Jili had originally been Afterglow's playmate. Since she had not taken part in the food-seizing actions, the others had not accepted her very readily. Everyone was somewhat reserved around one another, and she herself knew that if she wanted to blend in, she had to be more proactive.

However, apart from Afterglow, Xilong was also part of the reason she had drawn closer. She was somewhat fond of Xilong, and everyone knew it. Jili often stared at Xilong, and during the summer, she had even given him a jar of flower honey.

Yet hatchlings' feelings were always hazy and indistinct. Jili herself probably could not explain what she was thinking, and Xilong showed no particular reaction. He simply treated her as an ordinary friend.

"Then everyone should switch places. I'll stand here."

Afterglow walked to Xilong's right, separating him from Kelaili, those two bad seeds.

Afterglow did not come to play often. She seemed to have many things to do, and she always left halfway through playing without explaining herself. Sometimes, it left everyone baffled and rather disappointed.

However, Xilong knew some of the inside story. The Feeder thought highly of Feather Dragons and often summoned her to ask questions, learning about the Lesser Dragons' situation.

Later, because of the Gray Dwarves' smuggling incident, the Feeder became wary and guarded, no longer fully trusting the dependents and deliberately adding another layer of surveillance. Thus, whenever it was time each day to transport supplies in and out of the valley, Afterglow had to disappear and patrol the skies.

"You come to the front. If you keep playing like this, I don't think you'll need dinner tonight."

In Tas told Moqi, "Let's switch places once more."

"Fine, fine, then let's do that. Again, again!" Moqi brightened.

The Stone-Swallowing Game began again. The early stages were fairly easy: they only needed to take a stone and stack it on top. No one needed to hold their breath, and they could chat for a while as they played.

In short, this somewhat strange little clique came together like this. Every kind of dragon was there—True Dragons and Lesser Dragons, scales of every color. Within Xilong's Fate Starry Sky, one projection after another lit up.

At first, Leijieduolei came to play a few times as well. But after completing the exchange of combat techniques, the Iron Dragon had no reason to remain here. Leijieduolei also felt that he had little presence among them, so he gradually stopped appearing.

"Come to think of it, isn't the Feeding-Seizure Period almost here again?"

Moqi scratched the scales beneath his chin. "Some time ago, every day felt hard to get through. I didn't expect time to pass so quickly after entering the Food-Sharing Period. In just a few days, that fellow Ladon will jump out again."

"We should think of something," In Tas said.

"We cooperate smoothly now. If all we want is to seize food, there won't be much of a problem. But being chased around and beaten by Ladon all the time, getting injured and bleeding—it really doesn't sit right with me."

Afterglow said this, then looked at Kelaili. "Overlord, wouldn't you say so?"

Kेलaili knew that if he was called Overlord in Sunken Hollow, it usually meant the Cobalt Dragons wanted to egg him into doing something. But when these fellows called him Overlord, they were purely teasing him.

Would a Feather Dragon be the one Ladon grabbed and beat? He was the only one getting injured and bleeding, all right?

"It truly doesn't sit right with me."

Kेलaili said, "But there isn't any particularly good solution."

"Ladon is always running wild and acting like a tyrant. Everyone is actually dissatisfied with him. Perhaps we can join forces with other dragons and knock him flat on the ground."

Moqi proposed, "I can invite the other Chrome Dragons. They may not all come, but there should be a few willing to join."

"The Lesser Dragons are united. We can come too." Afterglow declared.

"The Tungsten Dragons fear the Iron Dragons and Ladon, but I know they actually respect Xilong as well."

Jili said softly, glancing at Xilong. "If our side has enough momentum, perhaps the Tungsten Dragons will be willing to help."

"I can command the Cobalt Dragon group."

Kेलaili pondered for a while. "But having enough numbers does not necessarily mean having enough fighting strength. I know the Tungsten Dragons' strength. Even if I do not act, they still cannot defeat the Cobalt Dragon group. We cannot count on the Lesser Dragons for much either. Once Ladon flies into a rage and enters Blood Frenzy, I fear they'll all scatter like birds and beasts."

"Indeed."

In Tas unexpectedly did not mind the Overlord's belittlement of the Lesser Dragons. Instead, he nodded seriously. "When I faced Ladon, he had not even entered Blood Frenzy. His bloodline suppression alone was enough to make me feel fear. Even if we swarm him together, there must be someone strong enough to hold the line at the front."

"When all is said and done, if we want to overthrow Ladon, it still depends on what the Iron Dragons want, on what Jelierion intends to do."

Kेलaili said, "The Iron Dragons are ultimately the strongest dragon species in the valley, and Jelierion is the strongest among the dragon group. Only he has a chance of uniting the dragons and commanding every hatchling."

Everyone discussed it in turns, putting forward suggestions only for them to be considered and rejected. Their spirits gradually sank. Xilong silently listened to their discussion and did not speak from beginning to end.

The stone tower collapsed once more. The Stone-Swallowing Game was interesting because it did not depend solely on nimble hands and careful minds; it was equally affected by the environment and turn order. If one was unlucky and a strong wind came when it was one's turn, no one could stop the stone tower from collapsing.

"You all keep playing. I'm going to work at the logging yard for a while."

Xilong went forward, ate the stones, and withdrew from the hatchlings' game.

He went around Bay Lake and entered Ironwood Forest, but did not stop at the logging yard. Instead, he turned downward along the mountain foothills and arrived at the abandoned mine where the Iron Dragons lived.