Dragon Mountain.
"Skreeee..."
A black-and-red young dragon fled desperately, dragging its injured wings as it fled for its life.
It flew crookedly through the air, as if a mere gust of wind could topple it.
Its vertical pupils glanced downward.
Jagged rocks jutted out across the mountains, and the desolate wasteland was void of any signs of life.
Ahead loomed a towering, pitch-black volcano, shrouded in clouds.
"Skreeee..."
The young black-and-red dragon's eyes flickered with unease. Sensing a rich concentration of fire elements, it beat its wings faster in a frantic attempt to reach safety.
This land was far better than the barren wastelands it had wandered through.
Especially after crossing over saltwater to reach this coastal land.
The climate there was freezing, completely unsuitable for a dragon's survival.
The little creature had traveled south, drawn by the scent of sulfur from Dragonstone Island.
But luck was not on its side.
The moment it set foot on the island, it encountered a ravenous, dragon-eating predator.
"Skreeee..."
Regret filled the young dragon's heart. Its vertical pupils locked onto a deep cave, stealing a quick glance backward.
In the next instant—
"Skreee!!"
The young dragon shrieked in terror, wishing it had two more wings to escape faster.
"Roar!"
The predator's green vertical eyes gleamed with mockery as it leisurely wove through the clouds. Its massive body cast a shadow that engulfed the young dragon completely.
The contrast between them was stark.
The young dragon seemed pitifully tiny, like a single scale peeled from the predator brought to life.
Terrified, the young black-and-red dragon pushed itself to its limits, desperate to accelerate.
The predator remained indifferent, its dragon maw curling into a mocking grin as it gradually fell behind.
It sensed a mental connection with its rider but ignored it.
This was a hunt, and hunting required proper form.
The predator intended to toy with its prey for a bit before deciding whether to finish it off.
The little dragon was just too small—barely even a snack.
It contemplated whether to let the young dragon live a while longer and hunt it again once it reached adolescence.
But news of a young dragon was bound to spread.
Given its rider's foolish personality, there was no way the rider would allow it to enjoy even a small treat.
To eat or not to eat—it was a tough decision.
...
The black-and-red young dragon fled madly, finally shaking off the predator's pursuit as it neared Dragon Mountain.
In a flash, it darted into a cave.
The narrow, cramped cave instantly plunged into darkness.
"Skreeee..."
The young dragon barely had time to catch its breath as it sniffed the air vigorously, searching for lingering dragon scents.
After a while, it confirmed the faint presence of such scents and chose a passage to follow.
"Skree!"
The young dragon let out a joyful cry, using its wings to crawl forward deeper into the cave.
Instinct told it this was a good place to build a nest.
Outside the mountain, there was a human settlement with herds of cattle and sheep.
Enough to keep it well-fed.
The only concern was the vicious predator lurking outside.
It wondered how the other wild dragons on the island had managed to avoid getting hunted after hatching and grow up safely.
Boom!
Suddenly, a massive dragon head crashed into the cave, causing the mountain to tremble and loose stones to scatter across the ground.
"Roar!"
The young dragon turned its head, only to see a gaping abyss of jaws gathering a ball of ghostly green dragon breath.
In the blink of an eye, it was unleashed.
Boom!
The misty, smoke-like green flames surged into the cave, spreading like a plague and generating a searing heat that melted the stone walls.
"Skree!!"
The young dragon screamed in panic, frantically flapping its wings to escape.
Rumble—
The pitch-black dragon's head jammed into the cave entrance, its hard scales grinding against the rock and knocking down chunks of debris.
Its ominous green eyes glowed coldly as it silently watched the fleeing young dragon.
Bang!
The predator braced its wings against the mountain, roughly yanking its head out, sending boulder-sized fragments flying in all directions.
Immediately after, its wing claws latched onto the rocky surface while its hind legs climbed skillfully, propelling it upward.
Dragon Mountain was enormous, with interconnected caves spreading in all directions.
The predator knew a wider tunnel that would allow it to burrow underground for rest.
"Roar!"
The predator gradually ascended to the mountain's peak, finding a secluded spot with an upward-facing entrance.
It stuck its massive head inside first, followed by its powerful body, broad wings, and long, sinuous tail.
The entire dragon disappeared into the cave.
...
At this time, Rhaegar was already on his way.
---
"Screech!"
Gray Shadow sped forward at full speed, quickly arriving near Dragon Mountain.
Just as he was about to approach, he was startled by the scene before him.
A massive jet-black dragon was climbing the mountain with slow but powerful movements before finally disappearing into a cave within the mountain.
Crack!
Its thick, long tail casually swept across the entrance, shattering the surrounding rocks. The tail, as agile as a black serpent, vanished into the darkness.
Rhaegar sat steadily on his dragon's back, watching the scene unfold.
There was no denying it—when a dragon's body grew to a certain size, it underwent a fundamental transformation.
Dragon Mountain towered high, reaching an altitude of over three thousand meters.
Yet in the presence of the Devourer, it was nothing more than an insignificant "hill."
"Gray Shadow, let's go."
Rhaegar took a deep breath, preparing to teach that wicked dragon a lesson.
How dare it ignore his telepathic connection?
Audacious!
Gray Shadow tilted his head. "Screech?"
It was as if he was asking, You expect me to take on a Devourer alone?
Rhaegar patted the dragon's neck, laughing in exasperation at the cowardly response. "Hurry up, I wasn't counting on you anyway."
Buzz...
The compass in his arms trembled slightly, its needle spinning uncontrollably.
There were too many dragons inside Dragon Mountain, making it impossible for the compass to distinguish which one it was tracking.
Rhaegar lowered his guard and pulled out his treasured dragon-taming whip, scanning his surroundings while holding the compass.
The compass required dragon blood to activate.
To track a specific dragon, he needed something that carried its scent.
Realization dawned on him. He scraped a bit of dirt from between his fingers—dirt tainted with a young dragon's blood.
Buzz—
The compass immediately steadied, its needle pointing firmly in one direction.
On its surface, a matching engraving appeared.
Two enormous dragons lay sprawled on the ground, seemingly in deep slumber.
Between them, a trembling young dragon cowered, entangled in a web of blood-red lines, as though terrified of its own kin.
Rhaegar examined the image closely and deduced that the two massive dragons were Vormisol and Silverwing.
The compass was truly fascinating.
With just a dozen engravings of dragons, it could use a web of crimson veins to form hundreds of different symbolic messages.
"Screech!"
Gray Shadow flapped his wings and chose a concealed cavern, carrying Rhaegar inside.
---
### Deep within Dragon Mountain
Whoosh—
Scorching breath filled the air, its heat reverberating through the empty cave.
The Devourer's vertical pupils gleamed as it slithered across the ground, relying on its keen sense of smell to track the young dragon's scent.
Suddenly, its movements paused.
"Screech—!"
The Devourer roared, its massive body surging forward as it excitedly lunged into a dark tunnel.
A few hundred meters away—
In a narrow passageway, water trickled from cracks in the stone, echoing with an intermittent drip, drip sound.
A black-and-red young dragon crawled cautiously, flinching nervously whenever a droplet struck the ground.
Dragons hated water.
Yet, in the sweltering environment of Dragon Mountain, moisture lurked in the dimmest corners.
The young dragon continued hiding as it moved forward. Suddenly, the tunnel widened before it.
The steep, jagged terrain gave way to a long stone bridge.
The bridge stretched into the darkness, carrying a heavy scent of sulfur—
And the stench of dragon dung.
The young dragon hesitantly crawled along the bridge, its vertical pupils filled with unease. Every few steps, it glanced nervously behind, terrified that the Devourer might catch up.
Click!
Its hind leg slipped, crushing a loose rock beneath it.
Silence!
The cavern was pitch black—utterly still, as though death itself loomed.
The young dragon glanced around, confirming no immediate danger. It exhaled deeply.
Scared me to death...
For a moment, it thought it was done for.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a wave of scorching breath washed over it, searing its fragile scales.
The young dragon instinctively recoiled, its entire body trembling.
Clatter!
The grinding sound of shifting stones. The heavy stomp of a massive creature.
The young dragon was petrified, staring straight ahead.
From the darkness, the sinister outline of a dragon's head emerged. The faint shimmer of its scales flickered ominously.
"Screech!!"
In an instant, the dragon lunged forward, its head tilting upward as it spewed a torrent of golden dragon fire—magma-like and searing.
And that wasn't the worst of it.
As the young dragon cowered in terror before the bronze behemoth, another dragon's head silently emerged from the opposite side of the stone bridge.
This one was green.
Its slender neck twisted slightly, revealing two glaring scars.
Further below, hidden within the cavern depths, was the massive body of the beast—its defining feature: a pair of silver wings.
After Vormisol's deafening roar, his vertical pupils burned with the fury of being rudely awakened. He snorted heavily.
Boom—
The gust from his exhale alone was like a storm, blasting the young dragon off its feet and sending it tumbling.
"Screech?"
Silverwing glanced at his mate before slowly lowering his neck. His massive, bell-like pupils locked onto the trembling young dragon.
The black-and-red dragon lay sprawled on the ground, its vertical pupils flickering with fear and unease.
It was too small.
So small that, in front of the two massive dragons, it was hardly even the size of a single dragon's tooth.
Silverwing became interested, spreading its wings as it climbed along the long bridge, nudging the young dragon with its snout.
Beneath the bridge was a chaotic pit filled with dragon dung and the remains of cattle and sheep.
This place was where Vomisor and Silverwing used to rest. The bridge had been constructed decades ago by King Renrui and Queen Alisanne to allow riders easy access to mount the dragons.
It was now abandoned and unused.
"Hiss—Crack!"
Silverwing provoked the young dragon several times, finally igniting its fury.
The black-and-red young dragon swiftly darted to the side, lifting its tail high before releasing a blast of black dragonfire aimed directly at the green dragon's eyes.
The dragonfire was as dark as the night, resembling a pillar of flame.
"Roar!"
Silverwing quickly shut its eyes. The dragonfire hit its eyelids but caused no injuries—only humiliation.
Enraged, Silverwing opened its massive jaws, ready to swallow the young dragon whole.
"Shriek!"
The black-and-red young dragon let out a desperate cry, powerless to resist.
Silverwing pressed in closer and closer, sticky dragon saliva dripping from its teeth, ready to tear into the fresh young dragon.
At that critical moment—
"Dragonfire!!"
A commanding voice echoed, imbued with magical authority that brooked no defiance.
"Hiss—Crack!"
A ghostly green dragonfire followed the voice, filling the entire underground cavern.
Silverwing was just about to bite down when the flames rushed into its mouth, nearly suffocating it.
"Hiss—Crack!"
Silverwing let out a pained, pitiful wail, shaking its head violently to extinguish the clinging flames. It staggered backward, swaying on the brink of collapse.
"Roar!"
Vomisor roared in fury, ignoring its injured mate as it charged out of the cavern and into the tunnel.
Caught between several massive dragons, the black-and-red young dragon was utterly terrified. It folded its wings tightly around itself, curling into a blood-red ball.
"Vomisor, stand down!"
At the tunnel's end, a young voice once again spoke the language of dragon tamers.
A massive black dragon, as dark as coal, crawled forward slowly. Its green, vertical pupils radiated reluctance, and faint flames flickered from its dragon maw.
This was the Gluttonous One.
Once again, it had been found and subdued by its rider.
Rhaegar sat upright and solemn on the dragon's back, moving steadily toward the underground cavern. In his hand, a compass hummed softly, while a dragon-taming whip hung loosely by his leg.
Upon entering Dragon Mountain, he had contacted the Gluttonous One immediately.
The great beast beneath him had initially tried to resist, but a few strikes from the whip soaked in cold water had quickly corrected that attitude.
"Hiss…"
A gray shadow sneaked along behind them, furtively watching the imposing Gluttonous One. Its vertical pupils showed visible nervousness.
When its gaze swept past Rhaegar, the tip of its tail trembled involuntarily.
The memory of that whip still lingered—it looked painful just thinking about it.
Thankfully, after punishing the Gluttonous One, Rhaegar wouldn't be whipping it.
"Roar!"
Vomisor burst out of the tunnel, its massive head shattering the surrounding rock walls. Its exposed fangs radiated wild and untamed ferocity.
The Gluttonous One halted, its green eyes flashing coldly. Its long, scarlet tongue flicked across its maw.
"Behave."
Rhaegar forcefully shifted his weight, kicking the black dragon's scales with his right foot to warn the defiant beast.
Then, his gaze fell on Vomisor.
With a casual flick of his wrist, the dragon-taming whip gracefully uncurled.
Crack!