The strong wind polished the Young Dragon’s dark iron-colored scales like coarse sandpaper, and every heavy flap of his wings stirred up visible air vortices in the night sky.
The forest below, illuminated by moonlight, was like a black sea of death, and the occasional howl of beasts was quickly swallowed by the whistling wind.
The Young Dragon’s dark red vertical pupils were like two searchlights in the darkness, scanning every possible fold of the terrain below while also occasionally looking back to estimate his distance from the City of Darkness, patiently using clouds to dodge potential gazes to ensure no one would discover his trail.
Even though his limbs began to cramp slightly from carrying the weight for so long, the Young Dragon still relied on a kind of near-instinctive intuition to lock onto a pitch-black cave entrance, almost completely obscured by withered vines and weeds, in a rugged, rocky mountain hollow.
The cave entrance emitted an old, earthy smell and a faint scent of sulfur; its location was extremely tricky, impossible to detect unless viewed from directly above.
[Mineral Vein Perception, activate.]
With the activation of this skill, he sensed that some kind of mineral seemed to be buried inside the cave, but as a newborn dragon, he couldn’t distinguish exactly what mineral it was; however, that didn’t prevent it from being a valuable hiding spot.
With a low, muffled sound squeezed from the depths of his throat, the Young Dragon folded his wings, and his massive body swooped down toward the darkness like an out-of-control meteorite.
At the moment he was about to hit the ground, his wide wing membranes suddenly opened to catch the airflow, and accompanied by spraying debris and a heavy thud, those claws covered in metallic luster finally stepped onto solid ground once again.
“Ugh…”
Chloe, the half-blood Dark Elves knight under his claws, rolled on the ground the moment she landed, dissipating most of the impact.
She didn’t have time to tidy her messy, beige side ponytail blown by the wind; her longsword was already drawn at the first moment, its blade tracing a warning semi-circle in the darkness.
Her red eyes vigilantly scanned the damp, cold rock walls around her, her body taut like a drawn bow, searching for any potential threat in this completely unfamiliar environment.
“Your Majesty, are you alright?”
Chloe did not look back, still maintaining her sword-wielding defensive posture, but her voice was very low, carrying a hint of irrepressible anxiety.
“Although it was a bit bumpy, it’s at least much better than staying in that blood-filled castle.”
Olga gracefully straightened up from beside the Young Dragon, gently patting the dust off the gorgeous black dress that covered her whole body.
This Dark Elves Queen looked around the abandoned mine cave, which was filled with a musty smell and the sound of dripping water; her long, narrow phoenix eyes flashed with a faint amber light in the darkness—the unique night vision ability of the Dark Elves.
“This… seems to be a mithril mine abandoned for a hundred years. The residual magic fluctuations around here are very weak; even low-level magical beasts don’t bother nesting here.”
Olga walked with an arrogant gait to a moss-covered rock, disdainfully kicked the broken bones on the ground with the tip of her shoe, and then turned around, looking at the Young Dragon panting at the cave entrance with an eye for inspecting goods.
“Although he is a rude beast, his eye for finding a hiding place is not bad.”
[Damn you, Olga. I didn’t provoke you or bother you; your mouth is truly poisonous.]
The Young Dragon rolled his eyes from the bottom of his heart.
The mouth of this Olga, who was skewered in the original story, was also insufferable.
However, the Young Dragon didn’t want to argue with this person either; his status interface showed that the stamina bar was 10/55 (-25 Long-distance heavy flight / Finding a stronghold).
[I have no energy left. Just born and I had to carry these two Dark Elves mares and run so far; it’s too tiring…]
On the other side, Chloe relaxed her vigilance slightly after hearing the Queen’s assessment; she sheathed her sword, but her hand still rested on the hilt.
The knight walked quickly to the cave entrance, moved a few huge rocks and dead tree trunks, and skillfully set up a simple shelter.
“This place is at least two hundred miles away from the Royal City; those human hounds won’t be able to sniff us out for a while.”
Chloe turned around, looking at the behemoth lying on the ground, spreading his dragon scales to dissipate heat, her eyes filled with a trace of complex emotion.
“But Your Majesty, this dragon… his growth speed is too weird. It seems that since we left the Royal City, he has already grown a size larger than when he was first born.”
“And his actions… just now when he was choosing a route in the air, he even knew how to use the clouds to avoid detection.”
Olga leaned lazily against the mine wall, her honey-colored fingers gently twirling the black hair by her ear, a cold smile full of desire for control curling at the corners of her lips.
“So what? The more intelligent a magical beast is, the more valuable it is to train.”
The Queen stepped toward the Young Dragon, an invisible pressure emanating from her—the unique aura of a superior.
“Whether it’s a Ferro-Dragon or something else, as long as he is in my palm, he is a tool for revenge. Don’t you agree, Chloe?”
“Yes, I was overthinking it.”
Chloe lowered her head, knelt on one knee, her tone restoring that absolute obedience and loyalty.
“As long as he can contribute to your great cause, the sword in my hand will tolerate his existence.”
[These two idiots…]
The Young Dragon, already lacking energy, cursed in his heart that the two really didn’t know how to show respect or gratitude, and then felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
Finally, the Young Dragon slowly fell asleep.