Red Dragons Fear Nothing!

Watching the Blue Dragon wyrmling leave, Sol could not help letting a smug smile spread across his face.

Among the vast majority of evil dragons, bullying the weak and fearing the strong was practically ingrained in their bones. The more one gave ground, the more likely one was to be bullied. Only by constantly demonstrating strength could one earn their respect-or rather, their fear.

He glanced again at the essence balance beneath the enormous wheel in his mind and found that another two points had come in during that brief span.

Including the average of three points a day he had accumulated over the previous four days, and after deducting the cost of exchanging for Dragonvein Crystals and Coal, he had a little over eleven points left. At this rate, he could hope to save up a hundred points of essence within a month and draw a low-level monster template.

As Sol planned his future arrangements, he swallowed most of the flames surging in his throat, then slowly breathed the small remaining wisp onto the Great-Horned Ox beneath him.

The heat scorched its hide and fur, releasing the burnt stench of charred protein.

But to a Red Dragon's distinctive sense of smell, the odor was like the rich aroma of roasting meat undergoing the Maillard reaction, instantly whetting his hearty appetite.

The massive beast weighed one or two tons. Even with Sol's appetite, there was no way he could finish it in one sitting.

He tore off great chunks of beef and swallowed them without chewing. His elastic stomach and belly soon swelled until he looked as though he had stuffed a red ball inside himself.

Before long, he felt he could not eat another bite, yet more than half the Great-Horned Ox remained.

He glanced sidelong at Xisitana and Kalpu, who stood nearby watching him eat with longing eyes, then reached out with his sharp claws, tore off two large chunks of beef, and tossed them over.

He then turned his gaze to the other wyrmlings around him. The vast majority had eaten their fill and stopped, but some had failed to grab enough food and were still hungry.

Most of those were White Dragons. Because of their low intelligence and the limitations of their race, their Challenge Rating as hatchlings was only 2, while the other Blue, Black, and Green Dragons had a rating of 3, and Red Dragons reached an astounding 4.

As a result, the vast majority of White Dragon wyrmlings simply could not compete with wyrmlings of other colors and could only pick at the remains they left behind.

The lack of food, in turn, slowed their physical development, preventing their strength from keeping pace with the other wyrmlings and creating a vicious cycle.

Sol took a close look at the White Dragons he had previously disregarded.

They were about twelve feet long, with stocky, sturdy bodies covered in needlelike white scales. Their heads were large, crowned with interlocking bone plates and scales that extended backward like a blade.

Come to think of it, among all the Chromatic Dragons, White Dragons were actually closest to Red Dragons in build. Their colors and attributes, however, were entirely different, and their strength was worlds apart as a result.

The overlapping old and new scars on these White Dragon wyrmlings and the ribs faintly visible beneath their bellies showed that life here had not been kind to them.

After all, they were creatures suited to life on polar glaciers, yet they had been forcibly abducted to this scorching Gobi desert. With the other wyrmlings suppressing them on top of that, how could life be easy?

"These idiots probably can't provide much more Mental Power Essence than the Boarfolk. How pitiful!"

Sol reached out his claws again, tore a large chunk of beef from what remained of the Great-Horned Ox's carcass, and tossed it to the weakest of the White Dragons.

The White Dragon first took a wary step back, but then it could not resist the temptation. It darted forward, snatched up the beef in its jaws, and ran.

It looked just like a stray cat, making Sol burst out laughing.

"Interesting! How interesting! Do you idiots want to fill your bellies? Then let the great Sol grant your wish! Aha! Ha! Ha!"

His wild laughter was still echoing through the air when his whole body became a mass of leaping flames, lunging viciously at the Blue Dragons that had surrounded him earlier.

"You blue lizards were barking pretty loudly before, weren't you? Then let me see what gave you the courage to bark at me!"

A Blue Dragon that was eating was caught off guard and sent flying, tumbling head over heels five or six times before coming to an undignified stop.

Sol had already grabbed the half-eaten camel leg it had left behind. With a hard swing, he tossed it to the White Dragons waiting outside for scraps.

These white-scaled creatures were not very intelligent, but they had a beastlike cunning. One of them pounced forward in an instant, snatched up the camel leg, and dashed toward the nearby oasis.

"Damn you, what are you doing?!"

The furious roar of the Blue Dragon whose food he had taken came from behind him, but Sol paid it no heed. He had already turned and lunged at another Blue Dragon that had surrounded him earlier.

The two monsters, both sixteen feet long and the size of full-grown warhorses, crashed into each other with a heavy boom and rolled about, fighting.

Seeing this, the White Dragons waiting outside began to stir. The hunger in their bellies made them a little bolder.

Before the first Blue Dragon could charge over, Sol bent his powerful hind legs and kicked out, striking the Blue Dragon he was fighting in the belly and sending it flying more than three meters.

Having broken free, Sol did not rush to leave. Instead, he took a deep breath and beat his broad wings rapidly, charging at high speed toward a group of Blue Dragons gathered in another direction.

The Draconis Fundamentum in his body began to work. Having consumed large quantities of Dragonvein Crystals and Coal, Sol possessed far more mana than Red Dragons of his age. It poured continuously into his upper stomach and erupted up his throat.

Flames gushed from his open jaws like a tide. At first, they were no more than a thin wisp, but in the blink of an eye they became an enormous cone of fire more than ten meters long and three or four meters wide.

How could the gathered Blue Dragons have imagined that Sol could unleash such a terrifying breath attack? Unable to dodge in time, they were swallowed by the flames one after another.

As Sol charged forward at high speed, a long river of fire was left across the ground.

Roars and screams rang out one after another. The Blue Dragon wyrmlings touched by the dragon breath scrambled onto the ground and rolled over and over, finally managing to use the sand and soil to put out the flames on their bodies.

The scales on their bodies, once as smooth as sapphires, had turned charred black. Some had even cracked, and the pain made them shriek.

"Damn Red Dragon, I'll kill you!"

"You brought this on yourself, so don't blame us for ganging up on you!"

"Don't let him escape! Catch him! Break his wings and knock out his teeth one by one!"

Furious roars resounded across most of the oasis as the Blue Dragons beat their wings and shot into the sky, pursuing Sol relentlessly.

Watching the notifications of increasing essence pop up before his eyes, Sol could not help curling his lips into a fierce grin.

His wings, far larger than those of an ordinary Red Dragon, beat to provide powerful propulsion. The intricate wing bones, muscles, and fascia also allowed him to perform difficult aerial maneuvers like a bat.

A Blue Dragon with a charred face charged at Sol, its eyes red. But just as it reached him, the Red Dragon ahead twisted strangely and appeared above it in an instant.

Sol's long, powerful tail then lashed down like a steel whip, striking the base of one wing. Piercing pain hit the Blue Dragon, and it immediately lost its balance and plunged headfirst.

"Red Dragons fear nothing!! Let me show you blue cowards what true power is!!"