Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jose’s strong limbs moved alternately on the forest floor that was covered with rotten substances, while a strong wind whistled by his ears. He ran at full speed and did not dare to stop for a moment. Entering the forest did not mean that it was absolutely safe. He had to get as far away from the battle zone as possible, the farther the better.
After running for a long time, the sounds of battle became inaudible, and there were no enemies in the sky. He finally heaved a long sigh of relief.
“Okay, Cassie, we’re safe for now. Good luck to you too.”
With that said, he walked quickly into the distance, thinking about where he should go next.
He had not thought about where to go, but he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see the White Dragon creeping up behind him.
“Why are you still following me?”
“The… the loot.” As he spoke, Cassie’s folded wings loosened, and the loot clipped between his wings and back clattered to the ground.
Jose didn’t even look at the loot but stared at Cassie.
White Dragons were known as the disgrace of the Five-Colored Dragons because they were stupid, but their nature as a dragon was not lacking. They were greedy, cruel, enjoyed hoarding, and so on. Cassie’s actions violated their nature.
After a few days together, Jose had learned more about Cassie.
Although this temporary ally often stuttered and did not know how to judge the situation, he had a beast-like intuition when it came to fighting and survival.
“Speak, what is it?”
“Can… can I continue… following you?”
“Why are you still following me?” Jose raised his brows. “The Red Nest is gone, the mission is gone, and Yaligos is gone. Our alliance is over.”
“You… you’re smart. I can… survive if I go with you.”
Jose frowned as Cassie’s words evoked his concern. He was worried about the biggest problem of survival now.
Young dragons had the highest chance of dying prematurely. Without the protection of their mother, young dragons could easily be hunted by other predators in the wilderness. If it were not for the difficulty of survival, why would his Red Dragon siblings sign a protection contract that was equivalent to selling themselves?
He began to consider the possibility of teaming up with Cassie to survive.
The White Dragon was very weak. Although Cassie was two or three years older than him, he was only two-thirds his size. This number might be a little vague, but the difference was something like Yao Ming and Pan Changjiang1.
But no matter what, Cassie was a true dragon with an inheritance. Having one more companion was better than fighting alone.
“Alright, in principle, I agree to continue with our alliance.”
“Thank… thank you. From now on… I… I’ll listen to you.”
Jose nodded in satisfaction.
Cassie might not be intelligent, but he was obedient and did not fight for control. That was one of the reasons Jose decided to bring him along.
Of course, the main reason was that Cassie had proven himself to be a reliable partner in the previous battle.
Afterward, the two dragons discussed the specific terms of the alliance and swore in the name of the Evil Dragon God Tiamat.
After swearing an oath and dividing the spoils of war, the two dragons hurriedly set off.
“As I… carry… carry my luggage~ The moment I left home, I knew that in real life, there are too many special things…” Jose mimicked Cassie as he used his wings and back to clip his spoils of war tightly, humming a song as he continued his escape.
After leaving the Red Nest, he felt relaxed!
He decided to escape from the territory of the Mistress of the Red Nest.
After all, the chances of encountering experts in this region were too high. The former enemies were still enemies now, while their former companions might not be friends anymore.
In addition to intelligent creatures, there were also many strange beasts that had mastered magic power in the Tedanol Continent. These beasts that surpassed common sense were collectively known as supernatural beasts. All kinds of supernatural beasts formed the greatest source of danger in the wild.
Due to the nature of living creatures, there were almost no wild supernatural beasts within the radius of the Red Nest’s forces.
After an entire day of running, the two dragons had already arrived at the border of the Red Nest’s territory. They did not dare to continue running and instead walked on foot with less movement, observing their surroundings as they walked.
Jose looked up at the sun. It was about four in the afternoon. The sun would be setting in two or three hours.
“Cassie, if we can’t find a place to stay before dark, we’ll find a hole in the low-lying belt ourselves. If time permits, we’ll hunt to fill our stomachs.”
Indeed, the priority of finding a place to stay was more important to Jose than filling their stomachs. They would not die if they starved for a night, but wandering in the dark would cause huge problems. Powerful predators often had the habit of going out at night.
Due to the striking red scales, it was very difficult for a Red Dragon to hide itself in any environment, especially at night in the forest. A flash of bright red in the dark environment was simply telling the other predators your location, so they had to try their best to avoid spending the night directly out in the forest.
These were the survival strategies stored in the inheritance of each dragon. They were precious experiences that generations of ancestors had personally gone through, and Jose did not have any intention of ignoring it.
The two dragons carefully searched the forest, not letting go of any clues.
Suddenly, Cassie noticed something unusual about a tree dozens of meters away and said, “Look… look there!”
Following the direction his companion had pointed, Jose saw a pine tree, its trunk straight and tall, its bark rough.
There were many such pine trees nearby. There was nothing special about them, except the marks on the trees.
The two dragons walked closer to take a better look. There were crisscrossing claw marks on the tree trunk that were about two meters away from the ground. These were scratches that marked the territory, and they were very fresh.
Seeing the scratches, Jose could not help but think of cat scratches.
“This should be the work of a large feline. If we were to calculate it according to the size of a domestic cat, this big cat is at least five meters tall and four meters long.”
After Jose gave his judgment, he turned to his companion and said, “All cats like to shed their hair. Search the surroundings to see if there is any shed hair, footprints, or feces. Oh right, don’t leave my sight in case something happens.”
“O—Okay.”
The two dragons searched the surroundings and found some hair that the large feline had dropped.
Jose placed the collected hair in front of his eyes and observed carefully. The hair was yellow and black. This was the fur of a tiger.
He could not help but heave a sigh of relief. It was normal for a tiger to have such a large body. If it was a small- or medium-sized feline like a lynx with such a large body, he would have to be more vigilant. Animals with abnormally large body sizes were most likely supernatural beasts.
“Split up and search for the tiger’s cave. If we’re lucky, we’ll have food and accommodation for today.”
The two dragons were quite lucky. After searching for a while, they heard the sound of snoring. Following the sound, they found the hole where the tiger was hiding.
The tiger, a beast that had no natural predator on Earth, was far from the top rank in the food chain in the magical world. Both Jose and Cassie were confident they could win.
Hard scales, sharp claws, strong muscles, and dragon breath were their trump cards.
To be on the safe side, Jose decided to take action himself as he was stronger.
He reined in his draconic aura and tiptoed closer to the hole. The soft rot on the ground absorbed his advancing footsteps very well. It was not until he was 10 meters from the hole that the tiger realized something was wrong.
The moment the snoring stopped, the predator no longer hid its presence. It leaped up and sent a torrent of dragon fire straight into the hole.
Roar!
A painful tiger’s roar was heard, and the sound intensity started decreasing. In the end, it became a weak wail, and soon, there was no sound.
After he stopped spewing flames, Jose walked into the burrow and saw his dinner not far from the entrance to the cave. It was a tiger that had been burned so badly that its original appearance could not be seen.
The tiger had been very vigilant and reacted very quickly. The moment it sensed that something was wrong, it had rushed towards the cave entrance. Unfortunately, its enemies were too strong.
The sharp dragon claws cut open the carbonized skin, revealing the translucent fat that was connected to the bright red muscles. The fat was extremely tempting, greatly increasing the dragon’s appetite.
“Thank you for the meal. Let’s eat.”