One day, I'll definitely (ノ_;＼( ｀ロ´)／get my revenge!

Turning around, Hera looked at Chaos.

Her crimson slit pupils narrowed slightly. She did not believe this male Green Hatchling could be a match for her.

Agatha was the only dragon in this Dragon Group she had any reason to fear.

"Then let's settle this the Chromatic Dragon way."

"Sure."

There was no reason to back down. Chaos gave a slight nod.

Red dragons were undoubtedly stat monsters as hatchlings, but he was no ordinary dragon either.

Feeling the streamlike flow of mana inside him, Chaos parted his Dragon Jaws slightly.

The hatchlings gradually scattered, clearing a space for the two dragons to fight.

Hera was a Red Hatchling, second only to Agatha in both strength and size. All the hatchlings approved of her challenging Chaos.

But there was an exception.

"Grrr~!"

White Chubby bent all four legs and crouched low, baring teeth at the Red Hatchling.

A claw covered in emerald scales rested on the round white head.

The narrowed white slit pupils relaxed and shifted upward, seemingly trying to see the claw overhead.

"All right, White Chubby. Go wait over there."

"Hmph~!"

White Chubby stopped baring teeth and bounded off to the side.

The space was now completely clear.

Chaos studied his opponent, who stood five meters away.

Hera was four meters long, her body only slightly smaller than Agatha's. Faint bulges of muscle were visible on her legs-not as pronounced as Agatha's, but definitely there.

She was a stat monster in miniature.

But he was no weakling either.

Chaos felt a little excited. Come to think of it, this was his first battle as a dragon.

"How do we start?"

"See this stone?"

He scooped up a stone and opened his claw to show Hera opposite him.

"Yes, I see it."

Hera nodded.

"I'll toss this stone into the air. When it hits the ground, we start."

"Fine by me, but..."

Hera parted her Dragon Jaws slightly. She had a pretty good idea where this male Green Hatchling had found the confidence to accept her challenge.

This green dragon had a great talent for spellcasting.

But no matter how talented he was, at the hatchling stage, this Green Hatchling could use only a few low-tier spells at most.

"Do you need me to back up a little farther?"

"No need. Get ready."

"Hmph. I hope you don't regret that."

Looking at the supremely confident Hera, Chaos felt that this was more like it. Confident and arrogant-that was how a normal Red Hatchling should be.

"Get ready."

With a flick of his claw, he tossed the stone more than ten meters into the air.

It took only a second or two.

[Clack~]

At the sharp sound of the stone hitting the ground, Hera moved instantly.

Her powerful hind legs kicked off, blasting a small crater into the ground where she had stood a moment before.

[Rustle~!]

Pitch-black thorn vines burst from the soil like a swarm of snakes, engulfing the charging crimson figure in an instant.

They intertwined and coiled, quickly forming a black sphere made entirely of thorn vines.

Chaos did not look at the bound Hera.

His emerald slit pupils narrowed.

The double emerald magic circle before his head split in two, expanding in an instant.

The expanded spellcasting circles began to overlap, turning two rings into four.

"Whoosh~!"

Crimson flames spilled out of the black Thorn Vines sphere.

Sharp claws covered in crimson scales pierced through the sphere. One brutally simple tug ripped an opening in the tangled vines.

[Crack, crack, crack~!]

A row of darker thorn vines broke through the soil, forming a circular wall around Hera.

Thorn vines kept bursting from the ground, each lunging at Hera like a snake striking its prey.

With one swipe of her crimson claws, the attacking vines shattered.

This time, however, a stabbing pain shot through her claws.

Hera looked down at them.

Numerous black thorns had pierced her crimson scales. They were not deep, but they hurt.

"Roar~!"

Hearing the furious roar from inside the thorn wall, Chaos's gaze remained calm.

Grow. Grow.

Mana flowed steadily through his claws and into the earth.

Fueled by his mana, pitch-black vines sprouted without end.

[Rip!]

A large opening was torn through the thorn wall.

A crimson figure charged out. Ignoring the thorns wrapped around her body, Hera rushed straight at Chaos.

Watching the Red Hatchling charge toward him, leaving a bloody clawprint with every step, Chaos could not help admiring her.

What a beast.

A true stat monster.

Only about three meters separated them, yet those three meters were impossibly far for Hera now.

As more and more thorn vines wound around her body, her charge slowed.

At last, she could no longer move at all.

Her vine-entangled claw stopped dead just centimeters from his emerald head.

Hera had once again become a thorn sphere, with only one claw and a pair of crimson slit pupils burning with defiance left exposed.

Hera stared at the Green Hatchling sitting before her. From beginning to end, he had not moved once.

I can't accept this...

I'm a red dragon. Why can't I beat a Green Hatchling?

How can the gap be this big?!

The heavy blood loss had drained all her strength.

The Green Hatchling before her began to blur into overlapping images. Was her vision going too?

[Thud~!]

The hatchling wrapped in a thorn sphere fell to the ground.

Chaos lowered his head to look at the fallen Hera.

It was over. He was the winner.

He raised his head high and swept his gaze over the watching hatchlings.

Who else wants some~!

Every hatchling Chaos looked at obediently averted their eyes. If even Hera was no match for him, they had even less of a chance.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Neither White Chubby nor Agatha looked away.

Chaos chose to skip right over those two.

One was unafraid, and so was the other.

After a sweep of his gaze confirmed that no hatchling dared face him, a feeling rose in his throat that demanded release.

His Dragon Jaws opened.

"Roar~!"

After the roar, the clogged feeling in his throat was gone.

That felt good.

With a thought, he willed it.

[Rustle~]

All the thorn vines began withdrawing underground, including those wrapped around Hera.

As the thorn vines retreated into the soil, Hera's bloodied body was revealed. Barely any of her scales remained intact. Puncture wounds left by the vines covered her body, but dragon blood no longer seeped from them.

I lost.

Hera was just about to push herself up with her claws when she saw the Green Hatchling suddenly lower his head.

As the loser, Hera silently abandoned the idea of getting up.

As the loser, she had no say either.

Time ticked by, minute after minute. After staring expectantly at the Green Hatchling for ages without him showing any intention of speaking, Hera grew furious.

Damn it, is this Green Hatchling humiliating me?

*One day, I'll definitely (ノ_;＼( ｀ロ´)／get my revenge!*