New Home

After lurking in the tiger's territory for ten days, Jose figured the Human Allied Forces had mostly withdrawn. Only then did he set out with his White Dragon underling to search for a new home.

Over those ten days, he had used the map given by the Black Dragon to make detailed plans for the future.

Abandoned mines were hard to come by, but cliffs could be sought out deliberately.

To the north lay a great river called the Volga River. The Volga River originated in the Karakoram Mountains, passed through the Gloomy Forest, and flowed toward the sea. The canyons along its banks would be a good choice. He could dig a cave into the cliffside, while Kashi could live in the river along the way.

Of course, Jose would not go to the river's main channel. Competition there was too fierce, and intelligent creatures were active there as well. What he sought was a steep canyon along a tributary, preferably closer to the Karakoram Mountains.

The Ancient Dragon-level Red Nest Matriarch had an extremely strong sense of territory. The powerful carnivores within her domain had either been killed or subdued.

Though she had now fled in defeat, her lingering prestige remained. For a while, no predators would likely dare enter the Karakoram Mountains, giving Jose a relatively peaceful period to grow.

For a Dragon Hatchling, nothing was more precious than a peaceful period of growth.

The journey passed without incident, and he was fortunate enough to find a satisfactory new home.

It was a canyon nestled between two mountains and beside a river. On one cliff wall was a natural cave. Its entrance was hidden and narrow, while the interior was neither too large nor too small, more than enough for him to live in.

Its safety was also guaranteed. The cliff face was a sheer ninety degrees to the ground, as if carved by blade and axe. Looking up from below, one would never spot the cave entrance. The surrounding terrain was steep, there was not a soul within a hundred miles, and there were no signs of powerful creatures nearby.

The river beneath the cliff was crystal clear. Animals often came to drink at its banks. So far, he had spotted wild goats, wild boars, sika deer, and leopards. Hunting would be very convenient.

"This place is good. We'll settle down here. Kashi, go find yourself a place to live too, but don't stray too far from me."

"O-okay."

Kashi flew down toward the river below. As a water-element true dragon, the White Dragon preferred living near water.

Jose also began tidying up his new home. First, he leveled the cave floor, then snapped off the stalactites hanging overhead so he would not bang his head on them. After that, he polished a platform before the cave entrance to make takeoffs and landings easier.

At that point, the cave had the basic functions of a home.

But the otherworldly visitor was not satisfied with that.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would be living on this cliff for a long time. Defense, escape routes, comfort, and other factors all had to be considered.

He flew out of the cave and observed the terrain around the canyon. A new cave blueprint gradually took shape in his mind.

No sooner thought than done. He flew back into the cave, faced the rock wall, and raised a hand to inspect his sharp claws.

Then his sharp claws pierced the rock wall. He clenched hard, and amid a series of cracking sounds, he gouged out a boulder as large as a millstone. Saying Dragon Claws cut through rock like tofu was a slight exaggeration, but it took very little effort.

He raised his hand again and examined his claws. There was not the slightest sign of wear on them.

Dragons were top-tier extraordinary beings. Their horns, scales, claws, and other body parts were tougher than gold and iron. Combined with their terrifying strength and precise biological control over their own bodies, they excavated rock more efficiently than professional machinery.

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

Jose worked with even greater enthusiasm.

After spending most of the day on it, the new lair was finished.

If the old lair had been a poor man's tent, then the new lair was a modestly furnished house.

Entering through the opening in the cliff led to the original lair, which he had converted into a living room. At the end of the living room was a passage slanting upward. Another turn at the end of that passage led to the new bedroom.

To prevent anyone from breaking into the lair, Jose had carefully prepared a trap.

He had specially polished a round boulder and placed it in a recess beside the end of the upward-sloping passage. The moment he discovered an intruder, he could immediately push out the boulder. It would roll down the passage and crush the enemy, ultimately blocking the narrow passage entrance, while he could calmly escape through a backup route.

Even a cunning rabbit had three burrows, and Jose had prepared three emergency passages as well. Two were located on the cliff face, their exits blocked with rocks and concealed with vegetation. The third passed through the entire cliff, with its exit opening into the forest on the far side.

"If I had spellcasting ability and magical materials, I could add some magic traps. Unfortunately, my abilities are limited right now, so this will have to do."

The finished Red Dragon lay on the floor of his new home to rest for a while. Beside him sat a pyramid-shaped pile of red stones, iron ore excavated during the digging process.

The cliff where he lived contained a small iron mine. The vein was not large, and its iron content was low, but it was enough as an occasional snack.

From time to time, Jose picked up a piece of ore and tossed it into his mouth. The hard rock cracked and shattered between the Dragon's constantly closing jaws, making crunching sounds like beans being chewed. The iron ore was ground into powder and swallowed.

It tasted fantastic!

Yeah, right!

Ugh!

Eating raw meat no longer caused Jose any adverse reaction, but iron ore made him rediscover the meaning of nausea. The powdered ore clung to his throat, impossible to spit out or swallow, leaving his mouth unbearably dry.

So uncomfortable~.

After a while, he finally got rid of the dry feeling in his mouth.

"This is completely self-inflicted torture! I hope those unreliable ancestors weren't fooling me!"

Jose huffed angrily. The reason he ate iron ore was because the Dragon Heritage recorded that a dragon's scales, bones, and other body parts contained large amounts of metallic elements. Eating gold, silver, copper, and iron could effectively improve the defensive strength of its scales.

Therefore, even though he knew iron ore tasted awful, he was still willing to eat some.

As the sun set, brilliant red clouds filled the horizon. Jose lay on the platform before the cave, stretching his head over the cliff to look down at the river below.

After migrating, digging, and working all day, his stomach was empty. He planned to randomly select a lucky animal drinking water and grant it the honor of becoming one with him.

He saw a brown wild rabbit dart out of the woods to drink.

Too little meat. Bad review.

After waiting a while longer, a sturdy adult black goat emerged from the small grove across the river. The black goat poked its head out of the grass and warily looked around. Finding no danger, it stepped over the smooth pebbles toward the rushing river.

A target worth hunting!

Jose rose to his feet and leaped from the cliff. His dragon wings folded tightly against his sides as he allowed himself to free-fall. The wind roared past his ears, and the scenery on either side rushed backward.

Twenty meters above the ground, he abruptly spread his wings. His descent slowed instantly, and he glided toward the black goat drinking with its head lowered.

The setting sun stretched his dragon-shaped shadow across the ground. The shadow enveloped the terrified black goat. It turned to flee, only to be tightly seized by Dragon Claws descending from the sky and inevitably carried into the air.

His wings hammered the air as Jose soared upward with the black goat in his grasp. He traced a graceful arc back to his lair, leaving only panicked bleats echoing among the cliffs.

Thanks to Dragon Slayer Swordsaint for the 104-coin donation. By the way, where did that 4 come from?