The vortex in midair kept expanding, threatening to devour the entire sky above their heads. It exuded a deathly air. Dongfang Minghui and Toothless retreated step by step, yet it was like treading on thin ice: one careless move, and they pitched forward.
"Mother, hurry, go!"
"Roar-"
Toothless threw back her head and roared a warning into the distance, then caught Dongfang Minghui in her jaws and tossed her onto her back. Mustering all her strength, she charged into the headwind and raced away.
Once they passed beyond the two barriers, a great tree was uprooted by the fierce wind and swept into the vortex, vanishing in the blink of an eye. The streamwater beside the river churned wildly, droplets rising little by little, as though the entire river were about to be sucked away.
Dongfang Minghui clung tightly to Toothless's neck, her eyes narrowed against the gale. Through it, she could vaguely see the vortex looming like a great, blood-drenched maw, waiting for them to throw themselves into its net. She had no desire to gamble with her life. Even the Dragon God and Dragon Queen would probably be swallowed by a vortex like this. The entire Dragon Clan Lands looked ready to collapse; nowhere seemed safe. Perhaps the only safe place was the Dragon Clan's Forbidden Grounds.
"Toothless, hurry to Above Dragon Summit."
Toothless did not know the way at all. After she ran about aimlessly for a while, Dongfang Minghui finally corrected her course, and they found the right route.
"Little Ninth, Little Ninth."
"Ding Ding."
Ding Ding, however, remained as steady as a mountain. After finding Dongfang Minghui, it did not sit on her shoulder for once, but recklessly settled cross-legged on Toothless's forehead instead. "Little Ninth, I found you," it said fretfully.
Dongfang Minghui's first