So He Wanted Them All!

The Red Hatchling that climbed ashore clearly had no interest in talking. After giving him a cold glance, she turned away, found a spot, and lay down.

Judging by her belly, already bulging into a round ball, well, she had eaten her fill.

Chaos looked away. One glance was fine, but staring would be rude.

He had no intention of provoking this Red Hatchling.

They were all in the same cavern now, and judging by this underground river, they probably had no way to reach the outside for the time being.

Their only option was to stick together for now.

They would work together to find a way out first.

Once they found an exit, he could take White Chubby along as his meat shield. With the skies high and the wilds vast, he could fly wherever he pleased.

He withdrew his gaze and closed his heavy eyelids.

His vision shifted to the three Perceptive Vines.

The water below had turned murky, muddy water mingling with blood.

The prey, plentiful at first, had dwindled.

Several hatchlings chasing a single fish was now a common sight.

Whoever caught it got it. None of the hatchlings dared to fight.

Because the big dragon girl was watching them.

[Splash~]

The sound seemed to have come from behind.

The Perceptive Vines slowly turned around.

Behind the large net woven from thorny vines, a three-meter-long Kashi approached.

At some point, a whole school of Kashi had gathered behind the thorny vine net.

A Kashi only three meters long pressed its head against the thorny vine net and peered into the pool. Yet it did not seem interested in what was inside. Instead, its gaze settled on the eyeballs of the Perceptive Vines.

Could these things be interested in the Perceptive Vines?

A thought surfaced in his mind.

Let's test it.

The Perceptive Vines extended toward the Thorn Vines net.

The instant they drew close to the Thorn Vines, the Kashi in front of the net moved.

With a flick of its tail, its fang-filled mouth tore through the Thorn Vines in a single bite, then snapped toward a Perceptive Vines eyeball.

Just then, a noticeably larger Kashi darted in front of the one trying to bite the Perceptive Vines.

Squelch!

A burst of spray erupted from the surface, tossing the headless Kashi into the air.

The Red Hatchling raised her head and stared in confusion at the spray bursting from the channel's mouth.

At the sight of prey, she instinctively pushed herself up.

But a moment later, the headless Kashi floating on the surface was dragged underwater.

The large Kashi bit off all three Perceptive Vines eyeballs in one gulp.

Having lost all three views, Chaos opened his eyes again.

He looked toward the blood-red water at the channel's mouth, his Dragon Jaws parting slightly.

He seemed to have found bait better suited to the task than live fish and shrimp.

But why do these lousy Kashi love the Perceptive Vines' eyeballs so much?

What do Perceptive Vines have?

Life force.

Perceptive Vines gather all their life force in their eyeballs.

With the answer clear in his mind, his grin widened again, exposing his sharp, gleaming white teeth.

A perfect little scheme took shape in his mind.

He pushed himself up and walked to the water's edge.

"Agatha."

[Splash~!]

Hearing his call, Agatha poked her head out of the water.

Agatha looked at Chaos on the bank.

"I've found bait better than fish and shrimp. Have all the dragons come ashore."

Agatha nodded gently from the water, then submerged again.

Soon, the hatchlings began climbing ashore one after another.

Before long, fifteen hatchlings, including Agatha and Chaos himself, stood on the bank.

Most of the hatchlings had yet to eat their fill, so they stared at Chaos after coming ashore. Agatha had called them up, but underwater, they had all heard that it was this Green Hatchling who had asked her to do so.

"Hmph~"

White Chubby nuzzled against Chaos.

Feeling the cool touch against his scales, Chaos glanced at the belly of White Chubby, who had settled beside him.

It was bulging. Given a little more time, White Chubby probably could have eaten her fill too.

That was a somewhat unexpected result.

After all, many of the hatchlings had caught little during this roundup. Their bellies barely showed any bulge, making it clear they were still hungry.

After coming ashore, White Chubby had walked up to Chaos and extended her round head toward him.

He pushed White Chubby's nuzzling head away with a claw.

Chaos stepped forward beneath the hatchlings' collective gaze.

Perhaps because their meal had been interrupted, there was no shortage of displeasure in those eyes.

Let them be displeased. It's not like these hatchlings can do anything to me anyway.

"We're done hunting little fish and shrimp."

"Now it's time to switch targets."

"Kashi. That's our new prey."

At the name Kashi, all the hatchlings quickly caught on, their round heads turning toward the underground river in unison.

"Do you have a way to lure Kashi into the pool?"

It was not Agatha who asked, but a Green Hatchling.

Chaos looked at the Green Hatchling who had spoken. She was a complete stranger to him; he did not even know her name.

"I'll lure them with Perceptive Vines. You're a green dragon, so you should understand how that spell works. Perceptive Vines concentrate life force in their eyeballs, and that's exactly what those Kashi underwater need."

The allies grouped around the three Green Hatchlings in the Dragon Group all cast questioning looks at them.

Clearly, they wanted to confirm whether Chaos was telling the truth.

Each kind of Chromatic Dragon had its own elemental specialty. Red dragons excelled at fire, blue dragons at lightning, Black Dragons at curses, white dragons at ice, and green dragons at life magic.

Two of the Green Hatchlings nodded gently.

Under An's gaze, Loya also gave a rather reluctant nod.

She did not want to help prove that nasty Chaos right.

With his claim confirmed, all the hatchlings turned their eyes back to Chaos.

"Then can you summon enough Perceptive Vines to lure the Kashi?"

Chaos glanced at the Black Coal Ball who had asked and gave a slight nod.

"Yes."

"I can summon enough vines."

He certainly could summon them, but... he would not work for free. In return, he needed these hatchlings to offer something in exchange.

His Dragon Jaws parted in a grin, undisguised greed gleaming in his emerald slit pupils.

"But... I also have one condition."

"The meat from the Kashi we hunt can be your payment, but all the Magic Cores must go to me!"

Magic Cores were a shortcut to increasing his maximum mana. For a dragon whose very bloodline relied on spellcasting, they were undoubtedly the best way to improve his strength early on.

So he wanted them all.

Hearing that, the hatchlings' pupils instantly narrowed into thin lines.

Their gazes toward the Green Hatchling grew colder in an instant.

The second Red Hatchling in the Dragon Group turned her head toward Agatha.

"Agatha, do you agree to his terms?"

Every hatchling immediately looked at Agatha. They were not blind; they could all see that she had deliberately looked after this male Green Hatchling from the very beginning.

Agatha swept her gaze over the Dragon Group, finally resting it on the Red Hatchling who had questioned her.

She remembered every hatchling's name, including the one before her.

"Hera, I have no objections."

"If Chaos truly has that kind of strength, then he can do this."

Among Chromatic Dragons, strength reigned supreme.

Agatha's meaning was already clear: if they refused to accept it, they could settle things the Chromatic Dragon way.

They could challenge Chaos.