Hunting

Having learned their lesson, the two dragon wyrmlings no longer dared act rashly.

Sol narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, then gave his instructions in a quiet voice.

"Xisitana, circle around from the left. Kalpu, take the right and get upwind. Drive that bharal toward me."

"Don't talk to me in that commanding tone!"

"If it weren't for the food, I wouldn't bother listening to you."

The two wyrmlings grumbled under their breath as they parted the grass stems with their pointed snouts and edged forward.

Sol crouched low, hiding himself in the weeds as best he could, and waited patiently.

Time passed bit by bit. The two wyrmlings traced curved paths through the thick grass, gradually approaching the area upwind of the bharal.

A breeze swept past, and the slumbering herbivore suddenly raised its head.

There seemed to be a hint of danger in the air, making it uneasy for no apparent reason.

The small, nimble ears atop its head twitched constantly. Though its eyes, with their distinctive horizontal pupils, gave it a wide field of vision, the poor night vision common to herbivores prevented it from seeing everything around it clearly.

Just then, a faint snap came from upwind, as though some creature had stepped on a dry grass stem.

The bharal sprang without hesitation from the gap between the rocks where it had been lying and galloped in the opposite direction.

The rapid footfalls roused Sol. He fixed his gaze on the grass swaying ahead.

Closer! Closer still! The bharal was about to cross his position, but when it was still five meters away, it suddenly veered left and fled in another direction.

"Damn it! I've been spotted! What happened?"

Sol had no time to dwell on it. His short, powerful limbs drove against the ground, propelling his seven-foot-plus body after the bharal in relentless pursuit.

True dragons were formidable in every respect. Though their bodies resembled those of reptiles, their structure was closer to that of some kind of feline.

Thus, they possessed not only great strength, but also the ability to move quickly and accelerate explosively.

Although Sol had only recently hatched, he was by no means slow in a short sprint.

Besides, bharals were not herbivores known for running. Unlike antelopes, they were better at climbing steep rock faces.

The distance between them gradually narrowed. Once he was close enough, Sol sprang into the air and, lifted by the beat of his wings, pounced straight onto the bharal's back.

Sharp claws pierced the hide, allowing Sol to hold himself firmly in place. His flexible neck darted downward, and his great jaws, capable of opening more than ninety degrees, clamped around the bharal's neck.

Even accounting for all their magical and supernatural abilities, a dragon's bite remained one of its deadliest weapons.

Sol was only a little over seven feet long and closer in size to a young foal, but his bite force undoubtedly exceeded that of a crocodile of the same size.

The bharal fell to the ground and struggled wildly, but its throat had been pierced by fangs and its arteries compressed. Its brain soon stopped working from lack of oxygen, and it went completely still.

Sol rolled over and climbed to his feet, panting heavily through his bloodstained mouth.

The intense chase had not placed much strain on his body, but the mental tension had still left him feeling tired.

His stomach was already growling with hunger, so he did not rest for long. He turned and pounced on the bharal again, tearing into the still-steaming meat and wolfing it down.

To a dragon's sense of smell, the strong scent of blood was as sweet as candy, whetting its appetite.

"We got it! We got it!"

"Damn you, Sol, stop eating! Some of that is mine!"

Xisitana and Kalpu soon caught up from behind. As they watched Sol feast, their eyes seemed ready to glow red.

They moved to pounce without thinking, but Sol spun around and drove them back with a lash of his tail, warning them with a low growl.

"I caught it. It's my prey. What do you think you're doing?"

The two wyrmlings naturally refused to accept that. They lowered their bodies slightly and bared their teeth as they roared:

"How could you have caught it without our help?"

"Hand it over, or we won't go easy on you!"

Faced with the two wyrmlings' threats, Sol merely raised his head in disdain.

"You two losers still dare to run your mouths in front of me? Haven't I taught you enough of a lesson?"

But then he seemed to think of something. He grabbed the bharal's head with a claw, tore it off along with both racks of ribs, and tossed them to Xisitana and Kalpu.

"Since you did play a small, insignificant part, I'll be merciful. This is your reward. Eat!"

Looking at the bones with hardly any meat on them, then at Sol's condescending manner, Xisitana and Kalpu felt their anger surge.

Meanwhile, wonderful words such as "Mental Power Essence Fragment +1" kept appearing at the bottom of Sol's vision.

"You think you can fob us off with this garbage? What do you take us for?"

"Damn you, Sol! Hand over the leg under your claw!"

The two wyrmlings went around the dust-covered head and ribs, continuing to close in on Sol one step at a time.

But Sol simply picked up a leg and brought it to his mouth. Tearing into it, he said unhurriedly:

"You'd better think this through. Even together, you're no match for me. If you lose, you won't get even this little bit of meat.

"How about this? Whoever turns around and grabs that meat first gets all of it."

A struggle flashed in Xisitana and Kalpu's eyes. They had indeed failed to gain the upper hand in their previous two fights, and this time would likely be no different.

On second thought, if one of them could have the head and both racks of ribs all to themselves...

The two wyrmlings eyed their companion out of the corners of their eyes. Once a seed of distrust was planted, it would soon take root and sprout, growing into a towering tree.

The next instant, they both turned and pounced fiercely on the head and ribs on the ground.

"Let go! That's mine!"

"You lowly crawler, it's mine!"

In the blink of an eye, Xisitana and Kalpu were fighting, rolling together on the ground. Their earlier unity was gone.

Watching from the side, Sol could not help bursting into laughter, his pale golden eyes full of mockery.

"Two fools..."

While they fought, Sol ate faster, tearing off great chunks of flesh and swallowing them whole without chewing.

A true dragon's stomach was strong enough, anyway. There was no need to worry about indigestion.

By the time Xisitana and Kalpu came to their senses, the vast majority of the meat was already in Sol's stomach. All they could do was pick up a few scraps and bones.