Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Red Dragon

”I wonder what Karon is going hunting for this time, all secretive,” White Dragon Gomot grumbled while nestling in the Dragon Group, eyeing Black Dragon Rosani’s rear.

”Maybe he’s discovered some powerful monster and wants us to help take it down.” Black Dragon Rosani casually flapped his wings. Ever since he missed the opportunity in their first hunt for the Wild Boar King, he’s been keen on proving himself, not wanting the Dragon Group to see him as a weak dragon.

”What are so many kobolds doing down there?” Rosani spotted the distant gathering of the Dogman Tribe. ”Karon isn’t planning to use the Dragon Group just to wipe out these weak kobolds, is he? I could handle this sort of thing on my own.”

”If so, ah, shining golden mines! I can smell the thick scent of treasure. Karon, did you bring us here just to kill off these vile kobolds and reclaim the treasure?” The greedy Antajena’s sharp eyes spotted piles of gold and various ores stacked like small mountains.

There were also some crudely refined gold ingots, neatly stacked in various sizes. By the small mounds of gold, several baskets filled with jewels made from various gemstones, the kobolds’ hobby, were set in wooden frames.

The shadows of the Dragon Group’s mighty wings approached swiftly under the sun. On the ground, the terrified kobolds knelt in fear amidst the overwhelming presence of the dragons, some of the more timid even wetting the ground in panic.

The Dragon Group landed before the kneeling kobolds, the dust rising to obscure the small statures of the kobolds, but the dragons didn’t care. Every dragon’s eyes brimmed with greed, looking at the pile of treasures on the ground, even Akzhi.

He had never seen so much gold before. This was the treasure accumulated over countless years by a nearly thousand-member strong Dogman Tribe, treasures created from endless searching and digging beneath the plains. Even among adult Giant Dragons, such a hoard was rare.

Greed born of the Evil Dragon Bloodline consumed the mind of the Giant Dragon. Uncontrollably, Akzhi walked towards the gold piled high, his claws crushing two terrified kobolds beneath him into paste without a second thought.

”You better stop, Akzhi. These are my beloved, and I will not allow you to harm them. This is also my treasure, and you’re not allowed to touch it.” The warning voice of the Red Dragon sounded from behind.

Roaring, Akzhi, his mind clouded by greed, fiercely turned and howled, ”I am the Young Dragon of the family, nurturing you little ones. You belong to the family, and these treasures should be under my control and distribution. Anyone who disagrees, I’ll take them down, and their share will be gone.”

The Juvenile Dragons similarly driven by greed swarmed, their minds clearer, angrily retreating a step. Facing the threat of Young Dragon Akzhi, they temporarily lacked the ability to resist.

Karon didn’t retreat but advanced, stepping forward with eyes fixed on the frenzied Blue Dragon, uttering each word, ”Akhzhi, blinded by burdensome greed, show me your so-called strength here. Let’s see if you are qualified to rule my treasure. If I lose, the treasure is yours. If you lose, then submit to me, proclaim me as king!”

The frenzied Akzhi became even more agitated instantly, lightning flashing between the nostrils of the Blue Dragon, controller of the storm and lightning in the skies. He took to the air, his voice chilling, ”Come on, Karon, seems the little dragons’ flattery has made you lose your way. I’ll give you this chance to challenge me, prepare for death, I won’t hold back.”

”Karon,” Doss, full of concern, stopped the Red Dragon ready to take to the sky. The Blue Dragon, known for wisdom among the Evil Dragons, claimed wisdom, and though Doss, a Giant Dragon who also revered strength, looked down on those who relied on brute strength, he admired Karon’s ability to restrain the chaotic bloodline of the Evil Dragon. Hence he liked and respected the rational over the wild Red Dragon.

”Time is on your side, Karon. We can temporarily leave the treasure with Akzhi, and when we grow stronger, we can take it back.” The Blue Dragon knew the Red Dragon’s power far exceeded his own, never having a battle that demanded his all, but in his eyes, not yet able to contend with Akzhi.

”Yes, time is on our side,” the other Juvenile Dragons chimed in, their greed subsiding. Even though dragons grow to be more powerful with time, when they become powerful enough, Akzhi too would be stronger, but they were a small group, stronger in numbers, and none of the Juvenile Dragons believed they would ever be weaker than Akzhi.

Only the bull-headed young female dragon Kleyna snorted fire sparks, her battle-hungry Red Dragon’s blood urging her to take a heavy step forward, ”Or we can rush him now and take him down. Karon, just give the command, and I will follow you into battle, never retreating.”

Karon let out a thunderous laugh, his thirteen-meter wingspan stretched wide as he stood upright, looking down joyfully at the few Juvenile Dragons surrounding him: ”You know, I’m very happy today, and I really want to know what level I can reach if I give it my all.”

”Your task is to guard my treasures!”

The booming laughter of the Red Dragon gradually turned frantic, the nascent Evil Dragon Blood was no longer suppressed, the uncontrollable frenzy and destructive desire surged with the bloodline, the deep red and golden scales of the Giant Dragon shone with dazzling brilliance, and the heat emitted from the gaps in the scale armor transformed into a magma-like aura enveloping the giant beast. The rapidly surging magic power within the patterns turned the dragon’s broad wings into a pair of red-hot iron wings, and with frenzied laughter, the Red Dragon shattered the ground beneath him, soaring into the sky.

In this battle, Karon chose to abandon all technique and awareness, surrendering his body to the frantically roaring Evil Dragon Blood, wanting to defeat his enemies with sheer strength and physique, and then trample them underfoot.

Karon disregarded Akzhi who held the advantageous position, charging directly toward the Blue Dragon that had long been ready in the sky, hoping the Blue Dragon would also dive down. Even though the Red Dragon was powerful, at the Juvenile stage it was impossible to confront a Blue Dragon that had surpassed the end of the Young Dragon stage head-on in strength.

Such physical collision might cause the Red Dragon to fail in dodging and plummet swiftly, possibly sustaining serious injuries. But he would also seize the opportunity to tear down the more agile Blue Dragon in the sky, and then tear him apart with fangs and body.

But the Blue Dragon towering in the sky, upon seeing the crazed eyes, the wings turned to fire wings, and the demon-like Giant Dragon encased in magma aura charging upwards, could not help but feel a sliver of hesitation and wavering in his heart. This was not the intimidation from Dragon Power, but aura blooming from the depths of his heart overshadowing the Blue Dragon’s mind.

Just hesitating for that split second, Akzhi missed the opportunity to strike, forced to dodge the Red Dragon’s onslaught by shifting his form, while the Blue Dragon opened his mouth, a long-prepared Lightning Breath traversed through the air, bringing the ozone scent of scorching air in its wake.

The Lightning Breath, like actual lightning, neared in the next second, at a speed hard for the naked eye to react to. But the Red Dragon’s gaze was locked on Akzhi’s figure all along, and as Akzhi opened his mouth, the Red Dragon had already reacted, whoosh, an intensely concentrated flame transformed into a fist-sized fire pillar shot from Karon’s mouth, the swift fire pillar making a thunderous sound as it ripped through the air.

The Young Blue Dragon’s Lightning Breath was far stronger than a Juvenile Red Dragon’s Flame Breath, but the Red Dragon before him was not comparable to ordinary Juvenile Dragons. The magic flames contained within the concentrated fire pillar kept burning away the power of the Lightning Breath, and the two dragons’ breaths were unexpectedly evenly matched in the air for a short period.

The Blue Dragon had no choice but to flap his wings to dodge the advancing assault of the Red Dragon trying to approach him, simultaneously increasing the intensity to suppress the Red Dragon’s Flames with his breath. He realized he could not be the first to withdraw his breath now, otherwise, he’d not only endure the strike from the Flame Breath but also allow the Red Dragon to take the opportunity to get close and gain the upper hand.

But he could not keep dodging like this indefinitely, so the annoyed Blue Dragon, while maintaining its breath, began chanting in Dragon Language from his throat. This was his awakened magic spell, a treasure found in the Blue Dragon’s heritage, the Lightning Cage. (Giant Dragons possess specialized breathing organs, and their flexible tongues and unique throats enable them to chant Dragon Language and release magic while breathing.)

The Red Dragon’s sturdy, bulging Dragon Horns also began to glow, as magic power rapidly gathered, the soaring high temperature scorched the air, a fireball formed between the six branched Dragon Horns, and with its bright flame color and scorching heat, it charged towards the chanting Blue Dragon.

The Blue Dragon closed his eyes, maintaining the Lightning Breath, boom, the explosive flame disrupted the Blue Dragon’s chant and also interrupted the standoff between the two dragons’ breaths.

The flames from the exploding fireball hadn’t yet dissipated when the Red Dragon seized the opportunity to break through the barriers of the flames, reaching before the Blue Dragon, extending his forepaw covered in scale fragments cracked by the fireball to firmly grasp the Blue Dragon’s slender neck. The power from the awakened ancient bloodline erupted, the Domain of All Things Turn to Ash emerged, the searing temperature that intended to burn everything shrouded the sky, making the air ripple with heat.

The Blue Dragon, coming to his senses, felt the suppression from the Red Dragon’s Domain, the magic that was usually readily available around him was also being burned, and within the domain, it slowly turned into a Magic Desert, leaving only the power belonging to the Red Dragon.

Akhzi struggled fiercely, the power of a Young Dragon could not be entirely suppressed by Karon. The Blue Dragon’s sharp claws tore through the Earth Element protective layer covering Karon’s chest and abdomen surface, then ripped apart the Metal Element adhered on the scales forming an exterior armor, and finally broke through the sturdy Red Dragon scales. But the strength of the claws ended there, only making a few seemingly large but actually shallow cuts on the Red Dragon’s body, from which the scorching hot Dragon Blood oozed out, igniting the anger of the Evil Dragon Blood.

The wounded Evil Dragon’s rage surged, opening its massive tooth-filled maw to bite down on the Blue Dragon’s moving left front claw. The fierce dragon head twisted left and right, brutally biting and tearing off Akzhi’s left front claw. The gushing Dragon Blood splashed onto Karon’s face, mixing with the Red Dragon’s Blood, dripping from the high altitude, while the agonized wailing Akzhi was also yanked down by the enraged Red Dragon, crashing heavily from the high skies.