Dragonstone Island.
Dragon Mountain, underground cavern.
"Roar!"
"Hiss...!"
Wormisor lay prostrate on the ground, blood trickling down its neck, letting out an enraged howl.
Silverwing stood by its mate's side, hissing repeatedly in vigilance, eyes fixed on the tunnel from which waves of heat surged forward.
The pungent smell of ash was drawing closer.
Rustle...
Footsteps echoed from within the tunnel, accompanied by the low rumble of a dragon's throat.
Wormisor and Silverwing stood together, prepared for battle.
Click!
A faint sound shattered the tense silence.
At that moment, a black-and-red dragon hatchling, curled up into a ball, spread its wings, sneakily observing its surroundings.
Seeing that no dragon was paying attention to it, it quietly climbed down from the stone bridge.
The heat spread quickly—the stone slab under its tail had already started to burn, forcing it to move.
As soon as the black-and-red hatchling scurried under the stone bridge, a sudden gust of wind swept in.
"Hiss!"
A grayish-white dragon shadow flashed by, charging straight into the underground cavern.
Wormisor and Silverwing simultaneously opened their jaws, releasing intertwined streams of golden and orange flames.
"Screech!"
The grayish-white dragon shadow merely spun once in midair, nimbly dodging the flames, and shot out of the underground cavern.
The stone bridge was a passage built by humans, but naturally, there was also a dragon-sized exit.
Outside the cavern lay a cliff halfway up Dragon Mountain.
The dragon burst from the cavern, greeted by endless mountains and lush green meadows.
"Roar!"
Wormisor ceased its attack, suspiciously eyeing the cavern exit.
It had made a mistake—this wasn't a food dragon species.
"Squawk?"
The gray figure hovered at the mountainside, poking its head out and letting out a sharp cry.
In its clear vertical pupils, fear and curiosity mingled.
Indeed, it had been forced to scout ahead.
The reason? Its small size made escaping easier.
Upon seeing the dragon outside the cavern, Wormisor realized it had been tricked and began climbing back onto the stone bridge, ready to strike.
Its mate Silverwing followed suit.
Two against one—advantage, us.
Suddenly, a thick scent of ash filled the air.
"Hiss—!"
A pair of green vertical pupils quietly appeared, followed by the sudden leap of a pitch-black dragon.
Thud!
The gluttonous beast slammed into Wormisor's chest, tearing through its abdominal scales with razor-sharp claws, engaging in a fierce grapple.
Caught off guard initially, Wormisor quickly adjusted its strategy.
Its hind legs kicked furiously to dislodge the predator while its gaping jaws aimed for the other dragon's neck.
Rip!
Sparks flew as sharp dragon teeth scraped against pitch-black scales.
Wormisor bit down harder, finally tasting blood.
"Hiss—!"
Within mere moments, the gluttonous beast jerked its head and rammed Wormisor aside, spewing forth a long-held stream of ghostly green flames.
"Hiss!"
Silverwing let out a piercing cry, spreading its silvery wings wide and lunging toward the gluttonous beast.
Old grudges and new—settled today.
"I've been waiting for this!"
Rhaegar's gaze locked onto Silverwing's fierce expression as he tightly gripped a whip in his right hand, swinging it with all his might.
The dragon-taming whip extended sharply, its black, barbed body resembling a sinister, flexible serpent.
Snap!
In a flash, the whip struck Silverwing's neck.
"Hiss..."
Silverwing cried out, its attack momentarily halting. A dark mark appeared on its green scales, as if bruised from a lash.
Rhaegar raised the whip again, issuing a commanding threat in dragon-taming language: "Stand down!"
His voice echoed throughout the cavern.
Silverwing, uncertain and wary, fixed its gaze on the whip, cautiously retreating.
It understood the dragon-taming language and felt the sting of the whip's lash.
The unfamiliar threat made it withdraw.
"Roar!"
Wormisor roared furiously, violently struggling and breaking free from the gluttonous beast's hold.
The predator staggered back a step, then spread its wings, ready to pounce again.
Its larger size and formidable defense gave it confidence.
In a one-on-one dragon battle, it didn't even need to maneuver.
Rhaegar sat on the dragon's back, without chains securing his waist, nearly falling off due to the swaying motion.
In a critical moment, failure was not an option.
Gripping the handle tightly with one hand and pressing his feet firmly against the saddle, he steadied himself.
"Hiss—Gah..."
The dragon whip was no longer pointed forward, and Silverwing, like an unbridled wild horse, stubbornly tried to rush in.
"Hiss—Gah!"
A gray shadow swooped in from outside, opening its mouth to unleash an enormous fireball, nearly two meters in diameter.
Silverwing failed to dodge in time. The fireball struck its head, almost knocking it unconscious.
"Hiss—Gah~"
As Silverwing regained its composure, a black-and-red young dragon shot up from below, spewing dragonfire at its wings.
The dragonfire was pitch black, leaving a small scorch mark on the silvery wing membrane.
It didn't burn through, but it was slightly charred.
Silverwing instantly flew into a rage, swatting the black-and-red young dragon away like an annoying fly before lunging at the gray shadow near the cave entrance.
The gray shadow was clever, knowing when to retreat.
In an instant, it darted out of the cavern.
Just as Silverwing reached the entrance, another massive fireball came hurtling toward it.
Boom—
Silverwing crossed its gleaming wings in front of its body, blocking the fireball, which exploded into countless embers.
"Hiss—Gah!"
With an enraged roar, the massive dragon squeezed through the entrance, leaving its nest for the first time in months.
Free from the underground cave, its enormous silver wings fully spread open.
Its green scales shimmered like a canopy of leaves, while its silver wings reflected light like two colossal mirrors.
At 90 years old, Silverwing had grown to an impressive 70 meters in length—an undisputed behemoth.
In sheer size, it lagged behind Dreamfyre, who had consumed Dragon's Essence, but it still surpassed third-generation giants like Sheepslayer and Korrakhs.
Suspended midair, the gray shadow was barely 30 meters long—not even half the size of its opponent.
A vertical pupil flickered toward Silverwing, and for a split second, it almost fled in terror.
Silverwing was truly massive, and its appearance was striking—a perfect blend of power and beauty.
Its only flaw lay in the area where its neck connected to its shoulder blades—two noticeable chunks of flesh were missing.
The work of the Devourer.
Even though the wounds had healed and fresh scales had grown over them, the depressions where muscle tissue was lost remained.
"Hiss—Gah!"
Silverwing's eyes burned with fury, its emerald-green scales gleaming under the sunlight as it pursued the ambushing gray-white wild dragon.
The gray shadow was much smaller but far more agile.
Before Silverwing could close the distance, it dove headfirst into the clouds, instinctively blending in.
Its gray-white scales allowed it to merge seamlessly with the mist.
"Hiss—Gah!"
Silverwing roared in frustration, unleashing a torrent of dragonfire into the clouds—an inferno of orange flames stretching over a hundred meters.
At that moment, hidden within a cloud above Dragonmount, a sneaky gray-white dragon head peeked out.
The gray shadow trembled, torn between fleeing and fighting.
Instinct warned it that the green giant was far stronger.
And yet, it wanted to prove itself.
During its adolescent years, the gray shadow had suffered repeated bullying from Sunfyre and relentless hunting by the Devourer, leaving it covered in scars.
By sheer chance, Rhaegar had saved it.
The moment Rhaegar mounted the Devourer and soared out of Dragonmount had been etched into its memory.
It had fled once before—losing a rider in the process.
But dragons have their pride. Overcoming their instincts is the greatest challenge.
A single thought ignited within it.
"Hiss—Gah…"
Reason won out.
With a determined roar, the gray shadow burst from the clouds, launching a fireball directly at the emerald giant.
It was no cowardly dragon!
(End of Chapter)