Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Dragon Group’s First Hunt (Part 2)

The reason he asked the juvenile dragon for its opinion is that giant dragon hatchlings typically only venture out to explore the surroundings of the dragon nest during their juvenile stage, when they already have some ability to protect themselves.

Juvenile dragons usually just sleep and play in the dragon nest. Although he wanted to optionally take the juveniles out for hunting to train the Dragon Group’s teamwork, he still needed to respect the dragons’ wishes.

Since Karon, the young dragoness Kleyna, and Blue Dragon Doss had successively entered a deep sleep, the Black Dragon and White Dragon could no longer play games and were already bored.

Thus, it was decided to go hunting in the forest with the Red Dragon, and the robust, uncharacteristically juvenile Karon gave them considerable confidence and security.

Green Dragon Antajena, nestled in the mountain cave, always curious and yearning for the forest like no other juvenile dragon, poked her head out upon hearing the juveniles’ decision and shouted, ”Take me along, Karon! The forest is my domain, I will be of assistance.”

Karon nodded in agreement, leading the Dragon Group flying towards the forest outside the gorge. The scales of the juveniles were too conspicuous, making them easy targets for prey.

The tall and dense forest could shield the prey’s view but couldn’t block the sharp eyes of the giant dragon. The forest was well-suited as a hunting ground for the juveniles.

Karon wasn’t leaving the dragon nest for the first time. With the guidance of Little Elf Riven, who acted as the pathfinder, he was quite familiar with the nearby forest.

He decided to hunt only within a range of a few dozen miles around the dragon nest, which is considered very safe.

Extremely powerful ferocious beasts and high-level creatures were either driven away or killed by Blue Dragon Akzhi, and if anything happened that he couldn’t resist, a loud cry for help would quickly garner support from the Great Dragon resting in the nest.

The juvenile dragons spread their wings in the sky, searching onward in a triangular pattern.

Along the way, the juveniles’ sounds of ghostly wails were abundant, clearly excited by the first hunt and rare outing of the Dragon Group, and Karon had no intention of stopping them; he also wanted to howl a few times.

The forest, unsuitable for Great Dragon hunting, was bustling with beasts, especially because of the chaos caused either by the juveniles’ howls or the unrestrained impact of Dragon Power on the forest.

Deer scattered in panic, wolves gave up their hunt, terrified by the noises, birds settled on trees alarmed and dispersed, sloths fell from the high branches, and bears hurriedly dove into the caves.

Lowering his head to seek a target, Karon even saw a few rabbits that had stunned themselves by crashing into trees.

But these weren’t Karon’s targets; he was meticulously looking for his prey.

A black wild boar over six meters long was grunting, using its thick and long tusks to dig out root vegetables from the ground, with its white beard-like hairs dirtied by the soil and its giant body covered in coarse black tangled fur.

A thick mud armor, formed by mud mixed with resin, covered its body; this was a Wild Boar King that had entered the ranks of ferocious beasts.

The herd under the leadership of this Wild Boar King was about two hundred strong, leisurely feeding around the Boar King.

The pigs were completely unwary while feeding, for their leader was the mightiest creature in this low-lying hill area, with all intruding enemies being pierced by the Wild Boar King’s massive tusks and then shared among the herd.

A gust of wind blew by, bringing a dangerous scent that made the earth-digging Wild Boar King suspiciously raise its head, its small eyes beginning to search for the source of the danger.

The next moment, the dangerous scent descended from the sky. Juvenile Dragons formed a circular formation, wings flapping sluggishly, hovering three feet above the ground. The hunting instinct made all juvenile dragons lock their gaze on the herd’s leader.

Before the Dragon Group could act, the danger-aware Wild Boar King urgently howled, evading the robust Red Dragon and driving the herd towards what appeared to be the weakest Black Dragon, while the Wild Boar King, protected by the herd, began a frenzied charge.

The momentum of the pig herd’s advance startled the Black Dragon, who quickly ascended, allowing the herd to pass, while simultaneously spewing a mouthful of acid at the massive Wild Boar King.

The weak acid from the juvenile dragon hit the Wild Boar King’s thick mud armor only eliciting a slight sizzling sound, without breaking the mud armor.

Seeing this, Karon roared furiously, took off, and chased toward the Wild Boar King within the herd.

The usually slow-reacting White Dragon Camid suddenly lunged from mid-air, sharp dragon claws sweeping past, slicing through the Wild Boar King’s hind leg, piercing the mud armor and leaving a scar on the Wild Boar King’s thigh, a thin stream of blood oozing from the wound.

But that injury was insignificant to the massive Wild Boar King, with the ferocious beast’s awakened spell-like thick Mud Armor shielding much damage, so it kept its head down and charged forward heedlessly.

Green Jade Dragon Antajena arrived just in time, urging her innate abilities, and vines clinging to trees suddenly twisted into tendrils, actively entwining the Wild Boar King’s running hooves.

Yet the Wild Boar King’s power was something even Karon dared not confront directly; it wouldn’t be subdued by a few vines, only causing a slight stumble.

White Dragon Gomot was a beat slower than the Green Dragon; he managed to spray Dragon Breath, the cold breath unable to freeze the beast’s running pace but solidifying into a thin layer of ice beneath the Wild Boar King’s feet, causing the beast’s forelegs to slip and kneel to the ground.

Then Karon’s attack arrived, with strong muscles exerting force, sharp dragon claws sweeping past, effortlessly piercing the mud armor, opening a wound on the Wild Boar King’s back, exposing the white spine wrapped in pink muscle.

Then he tore a piece of flesh, kicked on the wailingly crawling Wild Boar King attempting to flee again to gain momentum and flew up.

The Black Dragon, now aware, promptly spat poison at the Wild Boar King’s eye, blinding one of them.

The panic-stricken Wild Boar King darted left and right, but the coordination between the juvenile dragons gradually became harmonious, with ice and vines hindering its escape pace.

Karon and Camid’s sharp claws continually bled and shredded its flesh, while the Black Dragon frantically flapped its wings, attempting to fly up front and spew acid again.

Before it could run a few miles away, bang, the exhausted Wild Boar King crashed down unable to get up anymore, only having the strength to grunt lying on the ground.

Landing, Karon approached the ferocious Wild Boar King, biting through its neck, and the hot blood flowed into Karon’s hungry stomach, instilling a sense of satisfaction in him.

Karon suppressed his urge to feed, using sharp dragon claws to open up the giant beast’s abdomen, pulled out the still slowly beating heart, and handed it to White Dragon Camid, the best reward for Camid’s bravery.

Camid happily growled, taking a bite of the gigantic heart.

Only then did Karon summon the juvenile dragons to come forward and share the massive creature, while he occupied the abdominal area and began eating. Now was the time for the Dragon Group to relish their prey, the juvenile dragons’ feast had commenced.