Another Draw

Under cover of a vast, dense thicket, Sol led the two dragon hatchlings in a sharp turn to the left, veering off their original path in an attempt to shake the centaurs relentlessly pursuing them.

But to his surprise, the centaurs changed course ahead of them, as though they could see the future, and closed the distance even further.

The strange turn of events made Sol's heart sink.

Even if the centaurs behind them were seasoned hunters who could read the faintest traces of their passage, they should still have needed time to observe the trail.

Yet these centaurs seemed to have x-ray vision, as if his every move were taking place right under their noses.

Several more changes of direction completely confirmed Sol's suspicion.

Just as he struggled to make sense of it, a hawk's cry suddenly came from overhead, cleaving through the fog in his mind like lightning.

It's that feathered beast flying overhead! He had thought it was just an ordinary wild animal, but now that he thought about it, it had to be a hunting falcon trained by the centaurs.

Sol spared a glance upward. Sure enough, against the dimming sky, a tiny black dot was circling endlessly above them.

He clenched his dragon teeth, grinding them audibly. He wanted nothing more than to take to the air and burn the falcon to ashes with a single breath.

Unfortunately, hatchlings' bodies were not yet fully developed. Neither their flying height nor their speed could compare to those of these birds of prey, born to fly.

Only when they reached adolescence and awakened their various magical abilities might they be able to catch these nimble creatures.

Though the situation seemed hopeless, Sol gradually grew calm instead.

It was almost completely dark, and the vast majority of birds could not see clearly in the dark.

That meant they would soon be free of the centaurs' surveillance. At their current speed, there was no way the centaurs could catch them before nightfall.

Sure enough, as the sky grew darker, the peregrine falcon's eyes, which had evolved for bright light, became almost half-blind, unable to make out objects on the ground.

Its hearing was also extremely poor to begin with. Not only was it slow to react, but it could not pinpoint sounds accurately either, so it reluctantly began to descend.

The glowing white light flickering in the middle-aged centaur's eyes quickly faded as well. He raised his right hand, looking slightly tired, and caught his descending animal companion.

Then he took out some fresh mutton cut into thin strips and fed it to the peregrine falcon to replenish its spent strength.

"Those three hatchlings have remarkably sharp senses. They spotted us before we even got close. They're nothing like reckless red dragons-they're more like cunning green dragons."

Lunaris spoke with a touch of wonder as he gazed at the dark wilderness ahead. His pursuing steps gradually slowed until he finally came to a complete stop.

Centaurs did not have particularly good darkvision, nor did they possess the formidable endurance of true dragons.

Though he himself was strong enough not to feel very tired, the other centaurs had nearly reached their limits after running at high speed for so long.

Aira, whose horse body was crimson, paced over to Lunaris. Her snug leather armor outlined her graceful curves, and she carried a shortbow and quiver on her back.

She lifted a forehoof and stamped heavily on the ground. Her hard horseshoe struck a stone, sending sparks flying, and she said with some reluctance:

"Are we just going to let them get away?"

Lunaris shook his head, the night wind blowing his long hair like dancing tassels.

"We haven't seen the mother red dragon. It looks like those three hatchlings were abandoned. I'll have the rangers spread out and search the surrounding area in a bit. They won't get away..."

"D-damn it! They finally stopped!"

"Those four-legged bastards! One day, I'll burn every last one of them to ashes!"

Once they realized the centaurs had stopped pursuing them, the three hatchlings hid behind a protruding rock and took the chance to catch their breath.

Xisitana and Kalpu were so exhausted that their tongues lolled out, making them look just like fat dogs after a walk in summer.

Sol was in slightly better shape. His stamina had always been much greater than that of the other two hatchlings, and the vitality he had gained from loading the Mernos template had stimulated his deeper bloodline, producing a marvelous change.

He glanced at the enormous wheel in his mind. Thanks to Xisitana and Kalpu's contributions, his Mental Power Essence balance had reached eight points again.

Without hesitation, Sol exchanged points for a Dragonvein Crystal and, as before, smashed it against the rock behind him, breaking it into numerous fragments. He casually picked up two pieces and tossed them to Xisitana and Kalpu.

The sudden sound of breaking crystal caught the two hatchlings' attention. When they saw the "magic crystal" fragments flying toward them, they pounced like vicious dogs fighting over food.

After shielding the fragments firmly in their arms, they turned their reddened eyes on Sol, who was devouring his own pieces.

"Damn it! Just how much magic crystal are you hiding?!"

"Did you find a magic crystal vein or something?"

Sol glanced at the two foolish hatchlings. He had no intention of explaining and merely ordered them coldly:

"Eat the fragments. Right now! Immediately! Don't make me use my claws."

This was no time to be stingy. They had to keep their strength up at all times to deal with any unexpected developments.

Seeing the two hatchlings obey with pained expressions, Sol turned his attention back to the enormous wheel in his mind. Five points of Mental Power Essence turned into starlight and flew toward its outermost ring.

To improve his strength, the various creature templates were undoubtedly the best choice.

But endemic life, as the name suggested, might have some unique abilities, yet certainly had nothing to do with being "powerful."

Even a single draw for the lowest-tier monster cost a hundred points of essence. Relying solely on the emotions provided by the two hatchlings, who knew how long it would take to save that much?

He might as well spend it on the outermost ring and see if he could draw something from the multitude of miscellaneous items that could turn the situation around.

Five lights flashed like neon across the tens of thousands of small square slots, then stopped a moment later.

Pale blue text appeared at the bottom of Sol's vision:

Congratulations! You have drawn [Needleberry] [Large Barrel Bomb] [Goldenfish Scale] [Ivy] [Coal]. Withdraw immediately? Yes / No.

Sol began recalling what he knew about the items.

The Needleberry was a peculiar fruit with an oval pod full of fine, needlelike seeds. The seeds were as hard as iron and extremely sharp, and could even be used as buckshot.

The Large Barrel Bomb was a brown wooden barrel half as tall as a person, filled with powerful gunpowder and fitted with a trigger on top. It could be detonated by ignition or a violent impact, easily blasting huge rocks to pieces.

The Goldenfish Scale was, as its name suggested, the scale of a fish called a Goldenfish, and counted as a valuable ornament.

Ivy was a succulent whose sap was as sticky as glue.

Coal was a super fuel said to release more than twenty times as much energy as ordinary coal when burned.

Sol chose to withdraw the items, and ripples immediately spread through the air like waves on water.

Seven or eight nuts the size of ping-pong balls, a wooden barrel half as tall as a person, a golden scale the size of a child's palm, a green plant over half a meter tall with oval leaves, and a lump of pitch-black coal the size of a soccer ball appeared before him out of thin air.

Looking at the items, he could almost believe he truly had the Dragon God's favor.

A bold idea came to mind.