And this big claw... was so warm.
Suddenly, the warmth above his head vanished. Agatha had withdrawn her claw.
She set her claw back on the ground and spoke.
"What do we need to do?"
"It's simple. Dig a channel through and let the water collect. When little fish and shrimp come in to feed, kill them. The smell will naturally attract those Kashi."
"All right, I'll get them to dig."
By unspoken agreement, both hatchlings ignored the awkward incident from just now.
Agatha walked toward the hatchlings huddled in twos and threes nearby.
Watching Agatha walk away, Chaos raised a claw and touched the top of his head.
In a freezing winter environment, staying close to Agatha might be a good choice.
He shook his head from side to side.
No, no, no. Why was I having such a strange thought?
Had I developed feelings for Agatha?
That couldn't be right...
The Red Hatchling, a size larger than the others, strode into the middle of the gathered Dragon Group and stopped, sweeping her gaze around.
Every hatchling her eyes landed on tacitly looked away.
Among Chromatic Dragons, strength ruled supreme. Clearly, none of the hatchlings could challenge Agatha at this stage.
One, two, three... twelve.
Not one more, not one less. Everyone was there.
After counting silently and confirming no one was missing, Agatha parted her jaws and spoke.
"Chaos has come up with a hunting method. If it works, it should let all of us eat our fill."
"Anyone who wants to take part, follow me."
With that, Agatha turned and left.
The hatchlings exchanged looks.
A small but plump Black Hatchling pushed herself up and followed.
Seeing this, the Green Hatchling beside her hurriedly got up and followed as well.
Loya sidled up to An.
Her round, emerald-green head pressed against An's.
"Hey, An, do you really trust that guy?"
An glanced at Luoya, who had followed her.
In terms of looks, her ally was beautiful, with glittering emerald scales and a slender figure.
Her emerald slit pupils looked exceptionally clear, too.
That was also why she had chosen Loya as her ally.
"It won't hurt to trust him this once. We won't lose anything anyway."
Hearing An say that, Loya immediately felt a little disgruntled.
"Damn it, have you forgotten that rotten guy stole our eggshells?"
"I haven't."
"Then why are you still doing what he says?"
"This isn't doing what he says, Loya. It's cooperation."
"But I don't want to cooperate with him."
Loya sounded quite petulant, instinctively lowering her voice until it was almost a mutter.
An heard her, of course, but chose to ignore Loya's complaints.
She knew Loya was only grumbling.
In their current situation, food was undoubtedly the most important thing. Only food could speed up their growth.
[Rustle~]
More and more dragons stood up. In the end, all twelve followed behind Agatha, without a single one missing.
Agatha led the Dragon Group back to Chaos.
"You direct them."
"Mm."
He nodded to Agatha in acknowledgment.
Chaos looked over the hatchlings.
Soon, he spotted two familiar dragons.
How did these two end up together?
Sure enough, those two familiar dragons were An and Loya, who had teamed up.
An remained unchanged as Chaos's gaze swept over her, but Loya beside her seemed less composed. Her body had already begun to crouch slightly.
Just as her belly scales were about to touch the ground, An reached out a claw and slipped it beneath Loya's belly.
An's claw slowly propped Loya's crouching body back up.
Only then did Agatha withdraw her gaze from Loya.
Chaos had had his fun teasing the little hatchling. It was time to work.
He swept his gaze over the hatchlings before speaking.
"Follow me."
The hatchlings obediently followed.
Chaos stopped roughly a third of the way down the pit's slope from the top.
Here would do. He raised his head and looked up.
The pit was about ten meters away. That distance should be enough.
He dug his right claw into the muddy slope and, under the hatchlings' gazes, scratched out a line about twenty meters long.
Once he finished drawing the line, Chaos pointed his dirt-covered claw at the ground ahead and looked at the hatchlings watching him expectantly.
"All right, dig forward along this line until you break through."
[Rustle~]
Agatha took the lead and began digging.
Digging through the soft soil along the riverbank was child's play for sharp dragon claws. In no time, Agatha had excavated a small trench a meter long.
With even Agatha, the strongest among them, taking the lead, the other hatchlings gradually joined in the digging.
A group of hatchlings digging together was undoubtedly quick. Before long, the water channel had begun to take shape.
Watching the hatchlings work, Chaos lay down on the spot without a shred of guilt.
He was a mage, after all. A mage used his brains. How could he be expected to do manual labor like this?
Besides, he was naturally frail. He definitely couldn't handle this sort of physical work.
The moment he lay down, that familiar drowsiness washed over him.
The hatchlings kept digging away with gusto.
They pushed the excavated dirt straight into the pit.
About half an hour passed like this.
"All right, stop."
It was Agatha who called out.
All the hatchlings obediently stopped digging.
Only a few meters of earth remained before the water channel broke through.
That was enough.
Looking at the nearly finished water channel, then at the mud-covered hatchlings, Agatha spoke.
"Go get some rest."
Their help was no longer needed. Agatha turned and strode toward Chaos, who was lying nearby, fast asleep.
Before letting the water in, she had to haul this slacker up to higher ground.
The Green Hatchling leaned her head toward the Black Hatchling.
"An, look. That guy really knows how to slack off."
"Mm."
An glanced at the Green Hatchling lying nearby, quietly lifting the tail behind her.
The tip of her dark tail lightly poked the soil behind her.
[~]
A small stream of water spurted from the soil. The surrounding earth began to heave, as though it might burst open at any moment.
"The water's about to break through~!"
Some hatchling shouted. An immediately spread her wings, grabbed her still-bewildered, clueless ally by the tail, and took flight.
The other hatchlings reacted quickly too. Those who failed to catch on were dragged into the air by their allies, just as bewildered as Luoya.
Splash!
The instant the hatchlings took flight, the earthen wall shattered.
A surging torrent gushed out.
Agatha, already halfway there, heard the rush of water behind her.
She glanced at Chaos, still lying nearby, fast asleep.
In an instant, she worked out the outcome.
Too late.
Even if she sprinted at full speed now, she couldn't carry Chaos away before the water reached him.
Her heavy wings, covered in fine red scales, spread and beat once, lifting her into the air.
She left without the slightest hesitation.
She knew getting swept up by the water would, at worst, make Chaos uncomfortable. He might not even suffer a minor injury.
[Splashhh~]
Seriously, why was it suddenly so noisy?
Couldn't these little hatchlings focus on their work?
Chaos put on his foreman's attitude, slowly opening his heavy eyelids and pushing himself up with his claws.
What greeted his eyes was a torrent racing toward him.
It was close. Right-in-front-of-him close.
Th-there were troublemakers!
Before you continue