Establishing a Foothold, Part 2

"Yow! Those blue lizards really hit hard!"

"My butt hurts."

"Sol! We helped you out a lot this time. You have to give us a reward we're satisfied with!"

The three Red Dragons limped across the wilderness, slowly making their way toward their lair in the oasis.

Behind them lay a battlefield in shambles. Food scraps were scattered everywhere, and even the carts that had carried them had been reduced to wreckage, some still burning fiercely.

There had been no real winner in the battle with the Blue Dragons. Both sides had paid a considerable price, and nearly every dragon had been wounded.

But Sol glanced at the essence balance beneath the enormous wheel in his mind, which had reached 22 points, and felt the pain in his body lessen considerably in an instant. A faint smile of pleasure appeared on his face.

After this battle, those cowards who only knew how to band together would surely hate him even more, while the other young dragons would be wary of him and no longer dare to jump out and trouble him on a whim. He had finally established a firm foothold here.

"Hey! Are you listening to us?"

"We helped you out so much. Shouldn't you give us something?"

Xisitana's voice drew Sol's attention back.

He turned to look at the two wyrmlings on either side of him. Their wounds had curled open, their wing bones were broken, and their heads looked rounder than ever. They had clearly taken quite a beating.

These two cheap blood relatives of his had indeed performed fairly well today.

Sol thought for a moment, then reached a claw into the shadow beneath his wing. He exchanged for two Dragonvein Crystals in his mind and roared,

"Even without your help, I could have defeated those blue cowards.

But since you did play a tiny, insignificant part, I'll be merciful and reward you with these."

With that, he pulled his claw out from beneath his wing and casually tossed the crystals to either side. The two Dragonvein Crystals traced graceful arcs through the air, and Xisitana and Kalpu leaped up and caught them with precision.

Seeing their eyes light up as they tucked the Dragonvein Crystals securely between the folds of their wings, apparently intending to treasure them, Sol spoke in a somewhat malicious tone.

"Are you sure you want to keep them? Dragons have a natural ability to sense this kind of magic crystal.

Of the twenty-odd young dragons in this oasis, which ones can you beat besides those White Dragons? If you don't want them stolen or snatched away, leaving you to make wedding clothes for another dragon, eat them right now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he exchanged for a Dragonvein Crystal himself, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing it in great bites.

The smiles on Xisitana and Kalpu's faces had frozen.

Gaining wealth was supposed to be exciting and joyful for a dragon, but losing it again in the blink of an eye made their hearts ache so badly they could barely breathe.

But they also knew the truth was just as Sol had said. With so many young dragons around, they would probably have a hard time holding on to these magic crystals.

They might as well eat them. At the very least, they could feel the benefits of eating Dragonvein Crystals for themselves.

As a solidified condensation of the life energy of Elder Dragons and planets, Dragonvein Crystals could unleash a creature's potential. If they remained in a place rich in leyline energy for a long time, they could even undergo beneficial evolution.

And the potential of True Dragons went without saying. If their bloodline were traced back far enough, it could even be traced to the legendary Ninefold Dragon God.

Besides the boost from his creature template, Sol's long-term use of Dragonvein Crystals was another very important reason he could match other young True Dragons in size while still a wyrmling.

He watched his two cheap blood relatives painfully eat the Dragonvein Crystals held in their claws, their faces contorted as though they were swallowing poison.

A thoughtful look appeared on Sol's face. It seemed that wealth alone was what stirred the young dragons' emotions most.

After returning to the cave dwelling he had dug in the Gobi, Sol immediately collapsed spread-eagled on the ground. Pain came from every part of his body, as though he had been run over by a truck.

Fortunately, the regenerative ability of True Dragons was no empty boast. As long as no magical energy obstructed the wounds' healing, even the gravest injuries could mend on their own.

In just three days, Sol's broken bones had set themselves, and granulation tissue had grown over his torn muscles and membranes, joining them back together and leaving only pale pink scars.

Two days later, new scales began to grow over the pale pink scars. They were bright red and thin, noticeably different from his old scales.

But as time passed and various minerals slowly filled them in, it would not be long before they became identical to the old scales, with no discernible difference.

On the seventh day, Sol heard the melodious sound of the ox-horn again and immediately knew that the Kobolds and Half-Orcs had come to feed them once more.

Thanks to his excellent flying ability, he was still among the first young dragons to arrive.

His sharp gaze swept over the food piled on the carts. This time, he chose two adult wild deer.

A Red Dragon's physique truly was the strongest among all the Chromatic Dragons.

Sol swept a contemptuous glance over them and tore into the venison in great mouthfuls right in front of them.

After the previous battle, almost all the young dragons knew his strength and his crazy nature. Not one blind fool dared step forward and provoke him again.

Soon, almost all the flesh of the two deer had gone into Sol's stomach. His belly was stretched round, and he could not eat another bite.

Only then did Xisitana and Kalpu finally arrive.

Those two were, after all, an age category below the other young dragons. Their wings had not fully developed, and they could not even fly as fast as White Dragons.

Seeing that the food around them had already been claimed, the scales above the two wyrmlings' eyes instantly wrinkled. For a moment, they did not know where to put their claws.

They looked so lost, like kittens unable to get any milk, that Sol, leisurely picking his teeth nearby, could only shake his head.

Those two idiots were nothing like him. It was hard to imagine that the same blood flowed through their veins.

Sol then swaggered to his feet, swept his gaze around, and walked straight up to a young Green Dragon and roared,

"Green crawler, the great Sol has taken a liking to the food in front of you. Hand it over, now!"

The Green Dragon he had singled out raised her slender neck. The gaze in her hornless, snake-like head flickered a few times before she finally walked away without a word.

Although she was a little longer than Sol, she was nowhere near as thickly built.

Judging by this Red Dragon's ability to breathe poisonous smoke, her own venomous breath probably would not do much good either. If they fought, she would be the one to suffer.

Forcing a fight when she knew she could not win went against the survival wisdom of Green Dragons.

They preferred to endure and give way for the time being, then wait for an opportunity in the dark to deliver a fatal blow.