novelraw Chapter 5 Going Out
Chapter 5 Going Out
"Do you intend to live by eating stones forever? Even the lowest worm doesn't live like that!"
We are the Red Dragons! Noble, powerful, and brutal, only the freshest flesh and blood are worthy to be our food!
Look at the vast forests and plains outside the cave; countless prey await our hunt…
…………
Thor stood on a protruding rock in the cave, his upper body upright, waving his short, thick forepaws, and was giving a passionate speech to Sistana and Kalp.
He was really fed up with eating stones. It would be fine if he hadn't eaten any other food since birth, but he had eaten wild boar scraps a while ago.
The aroma of flesh and blood lingered in his mind for days afterward.
The Dragon Mother would go out every two days, but each time she would return empty-handed after eating her fill. She didn't even give the three baby dragons a chance to scavenge for trash, let alone take care of them.
Thor had had enough of this hunger and hardship, and finally decided to go hunting on his own.
However, despite the adult red dragons' arrogance and domineering presence, their fledgling stage is arguably the most miserable of all true dragons.
Metal dragons, needless to say, will all take good care of their offspring, and neutral gem dragons and terrestrial dragons will not be left unattended either.
Among the five chromatic dragons alone, the blue dragon treats all the young dragons as its own property and usually provides them with some care. The price is that once the young dragons grow up, they need to risk their lives for it.
Black dragons that prefer to live in swamps, green dragons in forests, and white dragons in glaciers and snowfields are born with a layer of camouflage that helps them better survive their fledgling stage.
But the red dragon is different. Its bright red scales are extremely eye-catching in nature. Not only will prey run away when they see it from afar, but it will also attract the attention of dangerous predators more easily.
This results in the vast majority of red dragons hiding in underground caves and surviving by digging for insects during their hatchling stage.
Thor didn't want to eat insects, not at all. He only wanted to eat meat, to eat meat in big mouthfuls.
However, the success rate of hunting alone as a young dragon is too low, and it is not easy to escape when encountering dangerous creatures.
To this end, he went so far as to encourage Sistana and Calp to go out with him.
After all, there's a saying that goes something like this: I don't need to run faster than a bear, just faster than my companions.
If a person encounters a tiger in the wild, they will almost certainly die. However, if three people are together, there is a greater chance that one or two of them can escape.
…………
"Did I get born into the wrong family? Maybe a green dragon would be more suitable?"
With their thoughts racing, Sistana and Calp, under Thor's influence, soon also expressed their intention to go out.
So the three fledglings, who were already starving, did not wait long and quietly crawled out of the cave that night under the cover of darkness.
Their natural dark vision allows them to see clearly even in dim light.
Looking down from the platform protruding from the cave entrance, the first thing that catches the eye is a large area of low hills, covered with lush vegetation and overgrown weeds, belonging to a type of earthen and rocky hilly area.
Judging from the yellow and green intertwined grass leaves and the grass seeds that bend the stems of weeds, it can be roughly determined that it is autumn.
This is good news for the three baby dragons. In order to prepare for the upcoming winter, their prey will accumulate a thick layer of fat, making their meat plump and delicious.
The flight of a true dragon is less about flapping its wings and more about a magical ability, with the wings playing only a supporting role.
So even though the wings of the three baby dragons were not fully developed and appeared very short compared to their body proportions, they could still glide for long distances.
Without the slightest hesitation, they leaped off the platform at the cave entrance, gliding along in the cool evening breeze until they finally crashed into a dense patch of grass in the distance.
Don't be fooled by the fact that a seven-foot-long hatchling sounds big; most of that length is made up of the neck and tail, while the torso is probably only about three feet long, smaller than a large hunting dog.
So they easily hid in the bushes, moving stealthily and searching their surroundings.
One of the benefits of Daenerys Targaryen's existence is probably that her fierce aura has deterred many predators, making the entire low hills free of any particularly dangerous creatures.
As they parted a thicket of weeds, under a plant resembling reeds, the three fledgling dragons discovered a gray creature with long ears, crunching on a grass stem—it was a wild rabbit.
"Good luck, wait for us..."
Thor's eyes lit up, and he was about to have the two young dragons work together to flank them when, unexpectedly, two bright red figures suddenly darted out from beside him.
"This prey is mine, and no one can take it from me!"
"Damn Culp, he's mine!"
The sudden sound startled the ever-vigilant hare. Its long ears twitched, and with a powerful push of its feet, its entire body transformed into a flowing gray shadow, disappearing into the distant thorns.
The two fledglings couldn't stop in time and crashed headlong into it. Even with their scales protecting them, they were still pricked and bled.
Before they could even struggle to their feet, Thor had already clenched his claws into fists and slammed them hard into their foreheads.
"You two idiots, you can't even catch a rabbit, and you have the nerve to call it your prey?!"
After saying that, he grabbed the two baby dragons by the neck, pulled them up from the ground, and shoved his round head forward, staring fiercely into their eyes.
"Remember, all the prey belongs to me. You can only eat after I've had my fill, understand?!"
"Why...!"
"Impossible! Don't even think about it!"
Sistana and Kalp were instantly enraged, and twisted their bodies, ready to fight back.
However, their size disadvantage prevented them from breaking free from Thor's claws. Instead, they were grabbed by the neck and had their heads slammed against the ground several times.
"How dare you talk back! It seems you completely disregard me, your elder brother. My size, strength, and intelligence are reasons enough for you to believe I am bigger, stronger, and wiser than you!!"
After another chaotic battle, and having given his foolish younger brother and sister a good talking-to, Thor looked at the tiny subtitles floating in his eyes and couldn't help but feel a surge of pleasure.
Although these two guys are stupid, clumsy, and have terrible personalities, they can be given a piece of their mental essence once they catch their prey.
After all, generating mental energy also requires energy consumption; how can one have sufficiently intense emotions on an empty stomach?
…………
After unifying the team through force, Thor, with two young dragons, began searching for new prey.
They moved slowly from downwind to upwind, which not only prevented them from revealing their scent but also allowed them to utilize the dragons' naturally keen sense of smell to expand their search area.
The wilderness is never short of prey; what it lacks is the means to catch them.
After some time, the night breeze brought the three fledgling dragons the scent of prey: a ibex lying in a crevice in the rock, almost blending into the stone.