Finding His Footing, Part One

Were Red Dragons truly fearless? The answer was clearly no! Otherwise, why had Sol hidden and fled from place to place in the days after his birth?

He was simply certain that these Blue Dragons did not dare actually kill him, and so he acted without restraint.

The young red and blue dragons soared through the sky like ferocious birds of prey, clashing violently from time to time.

Thanks to his more agile flight, Sol always managed to seize the initiative. He knocked one young Blue Dragon after another out of the air, though he, too, suffered numerous vicious wounds.

While they were locked in combat, the White Dragons, who had already been unable to contain themselves, immediately swarmed toward the food the others had yet to finish. They devoured it like starving ghosts reborn.

Two fists had never been a match for four. Even though Sol was far stronger than Red Dragons his own age, he inevitably began to lose ground against so many young Blue Dragons an age category above him.

When he collided fiercely with one of the young Blue Dragons again, the remaining three closed in from every direction. Their chests and bellies swelled, and blinding arcs of lightning flickered in their open throats.

"Damn Red Dragon, let's see how you like this!"

Three dazzling bolts of lightning shot from their mouths, accompanied by deafening, rumbling thunder and the pungent smell of ozone from the scorched air.

The Blue Dragon's breath weapon had the longest range and the greatest speed of all the Chromatic Dragons, leaving opponents no chance to dodge.

By the time Sol reacted, the branching lightning was already upon him. He only had time to wrap his great wings around himself before the bolts engulfed him.

Scarlet scales burst outward, dragon blood sprayed, and excruciating pain followed.

Thanks to the Red Dragon's greater elemental resistance compared to other Chromatic Dragons, Sol managed to avoid being knocked unconscious. But his muscles still went numb and stiff, and he plummeted uncontrollably.

"Sol, look out!"

"Damn blue lizards, all you know how to do is gang up on others!"

Just as he braced himself for a violent impact, he caught sight of two red shadows diving toward him at high speed.

Xisitana and Kalpu beat their wings with all their might and managed to grab Sol before he hit the ground. Though they failed to stop his fall and were dragged down with him by the tremendous force, they undoubtedly lessened the impact he was about to suffer.

Boom!!

A heavy crash rang out, sending yellow earth and dust flying in every direction.

Sol bared his teeth in pain. Seeing Xisitana and Kalpu sprawled nearby, he felt a flicker of surprise.

His two convenient blood relatives were stupid and weak, but unexpectedly, when it mattered, they had shown a little of a Red Dragon's fighting spirit.

"We finally knocked that damned bastard down!"

"Two more Red Dragons are here!"

"They're only two wyrmlings. Pay them no mind."

The excited roars of three Blue Dragons came from above. They folded their broad wings and dove down to press their advantage.

Sol shook his slightly dizzy head. A dull pain throbbed in his left wing; the wing bones inside had presumably broken in the fall, and he probably would not be flying again anytime soon.

Yet he showed no fear as the three young Blue Dragons descended upon him. Smoke poured from the corners of his parted jaws, spreading in every direction like mercury spilling across the ground.

"You two idiots actually dared to come help me. I'm a little surprised. I'll deal with the strongest one in a moment. You two hold off the other two first."

Xisitana and Kalpu arched their backs tensely, the scarlet scales on their bodies bristling outward. At his words, they instinctively retorted.

"Damn it! Who wants to help you? I'm only defending the honor of Red Dragons!"

"Don't think so highly of yourself."

Sol blinked dismissively, using the translucent membranes over his eyes to scrape the blood and dust from his pupils.

He had thought a vicious beating was unavoidable, but now that he had the help of these two convenient blood relatives, things might yet turn around.

From the beginning, he had never expected to live peacefully with these young dragons, nor had he ever intended to keep a low profile and develop in hiding.

He was not going to die anyway, so why should he avoid confronting them?

He might as well raise hell and throw one punch to keep a hundred from coming. That way, he could show his strength and obtain more Mental Power Essence.

The three young Blue Dragons swooped down, but when they saw the smoke surrounding Sol, they hastily checked their descent, their eyes full of wariness.

They had not forgotten how Zefiro had been blasted away earlier. If they plunged into the smoke and that despicable Red Dragon took the chance to ignite it, they would be in danger.

When Sol saw them stop, a vicious grin immediately curled his lips. He seized the opportunity to taunt them.

"Blue cowards, why don't you dare come closer? Are you afraid of me?!"

The young Blue Dragons circling overhead could hardly tolerate such arrogance. One of them forced himself to endure the emptiness within him and opened his mouth again, spitting out a twisting, threadlike bolt of lightning.

The spreading gas met the blue-white lightning and ignited with a boom. Roaring flames rose like a mushroom, and the shock wave sent dust billowing into the sky.

A fierce, scorching wind blew into the three Blue Dragons' faces, making them sway, but they still let out mocking growls.

"Nothing but a cheap trick. Let's see how arrogant you can be now!"

As soon as the words left their mouths, a ferocious red figure burst out of the dust raised by the explosion below.

Sol beat his injured wings with all his might, scattering drops of blood as he forced himself into the air and lunged straight at the largest young Blue Dragon.

The young Blue Dragon had never expected Sol to dare launch a counterattack. Sol slammed into him, his red-scaled claws gripping the Blue Dragon's body tightly as he opened his fanged jaws and bit straight at his long neck.

Panic flashed through the Blue Dragon's eyes, only to be replaced by ferocity. He swung his own claws and launched a fierce counterattack.

Red and blue scales flew in every direction, and dragon blood sprayed without end. The next moment, both young dragons fell from the air and hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Even then, they did not separate. They fought and tore at each other in a near frenzy, rolling back and forth across the barren dirt and gravel, leaving patches of blood behind.

"Virix!"

"Damn it! We're coming to help you!"

The sudden turn of events startled the remaining two young Blue Dragons for a moment. They beat their wings, trying to join the fight.

But two scarlet figures charged in from the side. Xisitana and Kalpu forced down their fear and blocked the two young Blue Dragons, roaring at the top of their lungs.

"I'm your opponent!"

"Don't even think about getting past us!"

At the sight of the two Red Dragon wyrmlings, each less than ten feet long, a vicious light flashed in the eyes of the two young Blue Dragons.

"You're just a wyrmling, and you dare stand in our way!"

"Then we'll deal with you first!"

The next instant, the red wyrmlings and the young blue dragons collided with a crash. Claws and fangs lashed out, sending blood and scales flying everywhere. Xisitana and Kalpu were immediately forced onto the defensive.

But Red Dragons had far greater vitality and physiques than Blue Dragons. Even at a disadvantage in size, they stubbornly held out for a while.

And in that brief delay, Sol had already raised his head from the young Blue Dragon named Virix, his open jaws dripping with blood.

His pale golden pupils had turned red with blood, and he glared fiercely at the two remaining young dragons nearby.