Made peace with it, made peace with it

Agatha tilted her head to look at Chaos beside her.

"Recovered yet?"

Chaos flapped his wings behind him, carefully checked how he felt, and gave a slight nod.

The ache in his wings was gone.

"Then let's go."

With that, the big little girl released her claws from the rock wall. Her body fell a few meters before her crimson wings spread, carrying her back into flight.

Watching her fly away, the remaining hatchlings began releasing their claws from the rock wall.

One by one, they fell, then took flight.

"Hmph-da~"

Chaos looked at White Chubby beside him.

"I'm fine. Let's catch up."

"Hmph-da~!"

White Chubby obediently let go and joined the flight.

Chaos released his claws too, spreading his wings in midair to steady himself and trailing at the very back of the Dragon Group.

He didn't want to come last in stamina either, but what could he do with this damned innate buff stuck on him?

"Don't feel down, Chaos. Your bloodline talent is in spellcasting. I'm sure you'll be stronger than all these roundheads someday."

Feeny's clear voice came from atop his head.

Chaos knew Feeny was trying to comfort him, and it did warm his heart.

"Thank you, Feeny."

"Hehehe, we're friends. No need to thank me."

They flew continuously for nearly another hour.

His vision began to blur, and his wings seemed to have lost all feeling.

[Huff, huff~!]

Mist kept pouring from the two large nostrils on his emerald-green head.

"Should we take a break?"

Hearing Chaos's breathing grow heavier and heavier, Feeny grew a little worried and fluttered up on her tiny wings.

The Dragon Group ahead had already flown some distance away.

At that moment, Chaos seemed to have been abandoned, with no dragon paying him any attention.

But a closer look would reveal that the Dragon Group had slowed to a crawl compared with their initial pace.

So dizzy. Everything's so blurry.

I want to sleep.

Just then, a faint coolness spread across his belly.

That coolness dispelled the haze brought on by his exhaustion.

He lowered his head to find a round white dragon head tilted up, looking at him.

"Hmph-da~!"

"Oh, it's you, White Chubby. Thanks."

White Chubby was now carrying him entirely on its back, and he reached out with both foreclaws to hold on to its neck.

"Hmph-da~!"

With a roar and a beat of its thick, chubby white wings, White Chubby instantly picked up speed.

That burst of speed soon brought them back to the Dragon Group.

Once they saw the White Hatchling catching up, every hatchling cast subtle glances at the figure sprawled on its back.

Agatha, who was leading them, glanced back without a word and continued guiding the Dragon Group onward.

Chaos simply ignored the looks around him.

I've made peace with it. Made peace with it.

So I'm physically weak. I was born that way.

As for the hatchlings looking down on me, who cares? None of them can beat me anyway, except Agatha.

White Chubby helped me, so I'll protect White Chubby in the future.

It's that simple!

The Dragon Group gradually picked up speed, returning to their original cruising pace.

With Chaos on its back, White Chubby stayed right at the rear of the Dragon Group.

But from what Chaos could tell, White Chubby seemed to be handling it with ease.

He could tell from White Chubby's even, almost perfectly steady breathing.

White Chubby must have awakened some talent that boosted its stamina.

No wonder it can eat so much.

It's chubby all over.

His claws unconsciously squeezed the soft flesh on White Chubby's neck.

The round white head twisted back into a peculiar U shape to look at Chaos.

"Hmph-da?"

"Nothing."

Meeting White Chubby's gaze, Chaos offered an explanation.

He had simply squeezed the soft flesh on White Chubby's neck without thinking.

Just then, Feeny fluttered ahead on her little wings and planted her hands on her hips.

"I didn't expect you to be so capable, White Chubby."

White Chubby clearly enjoyed the compliment; even its white slit pupils widened.

"Hmph-da~"

Its young voice carried unmistakable pride.

"You really don't know how to be modest, do you, White Chubby?"

"Hmph-da, hmph-da~"

Its round head, already facing forward again, lifted slightly.

"Hmph, since you helped Chaos this time, I'll let it slide."

After resting for around ten minutes and recovering his strength, Chaos resumed flying on his own.

After roughly another half hour of flight, they reached the end of the Underground River.

The calm underground lake lay like a mirror. Tall, smooth rock walls encircled it, and across from the cliff was a broad stretch of riverbank that served as dry land.

We're here. This place looks exactly like it did in the hourglass revelation dream.

He folded his wings and set his claws down in the middle of the bank, looking toward the shoreline ahead.

Rustle~

A scorching presence approached from beside him.

Feeling the added heat beside him, Chaos drew his gaze away from the bank and turned to Agatha, who had come to his side.

"Do you need a break?"

"No. Let's get started."

Chaos declined Agatha's suggestion. He wasn't all that tired yet.

Besides... who said he was going to set up the Water Snake Formation himself? He was only responsible for giving orders, not doing the work.

As for who would do the work...

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the hatchlings resting on the ground in the middle of the bank.

Dragons had keen senses, and the hatchlings soon noticed Chaos's blatant scrutiny.

Quite a few hatchlings showed disdain for the gaze of this "weak" Green Hatchling.

Some even bared their sharp dragon teeth in warning.

Chaos ignored those hatchlings' provocations.

These hatchlings had clearly misunderstood something. His physical weakness had indeed been exposed, but his magic power...

Put it this way: what had once been a tiny trickle had become a small stream four meters long.

If he needed a unit of measurement, he could now cast the Thorn Magic he had used against Hera five times.

Clearly, getting this group of hatchlings to behave would require a little finesse.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Agatha beside him.

Although Agatha had already severed one of Bamokangla's tentacles, he hadn't witnessed it himself.

So, to be on the safe side...

"Are you confident you can withstand its attack?"

At Chaos's question, Agatha gave a slight nod.

"No problem."

With that confirmation, Chaos raised a claw and pointed toward the shoreline.

"That thing is probably watching us from underwater right now. Go to the water's edge and pretend to drink. It'll definitely attack you."

Agatha understood Chaos's intention at once. As it happened, she also needed this opportunity to show the hatchlings what strength meant.

To teach them how to behave.

"Mm."

With a nod, Agatha turned without the slightest hesitation and walked straight toward the bank.

Noticing Agatha heading toward the water, all the hatchlings fell silent, their eyes fixed on her back.