The Dragon's Pact: A Princess for the Flame

Chapter 13 – Prepare food for Anna

As Su Nian watched the pack of mountain wolves nearly scared out of their wits, he hesitated no longer. If he waited until they really wet themselves, how would he eat them?

With a burst of incredible speed, he swooped down from the tree, wings flapping, landing right in front of the wolves. Before they could react, he sent one flying with a collision, then swiftly tore open the throat of another with a claw. Twisting his long dragon neck, he bit down on the head of a wolf trying to escape.

The corpse on the ground belonged to a Grand Knight, almost entirely devoured by the wolves. But Su Nian didn't mind; he only planned to eat the wolf legs anyway, so it didn't matter much.

After killing six mountain wolves, he gained 6 System Points. The remaining wolves finally snapped out of their fear, whimpering as they tucked their tails and fled. Su Nian let them go, not bothering to chase them.

If he killed them all, there'd be nothing left to eat. One shouldn't drain the pond to catch all the fish.

After a satisfying meal, Su Nian's body quickly recovered under the effect of his Basic Devour ability, soon reaching peak condition, even better than when using a recovery card.

Using a recovery card felt like taking a tonic—powerful at the moment but leaving a sense of emptiness afterward.

With his hunger sated, it was time to prepare food for the little Lolita.

Wolf meat was sour and tough, not tasty at all. Su Nian wasn't picky, but the little Lolita was different. Given the current conditions, he still hoped to provide her with something better.

If there was any meat in the forest that tasted best, it had to be rabbit meat. And given the little Lolita's appetite, one rabbit would be just right.

With this in mind, Su Nian set out to catch a rabbit.

Soon, a bizarre scene unfolded in Silvermoon Forest.

A Black Dragon over four meters long with a wingspan of seven to eight meters was crouching at the entrance of a rabbit burrow, tail raised high, peering inside with its long dragon head.

This was the den of a Tier 1 Blazing Rabbit, very dry inside and filled with active fire elements.

At this moment, a group of Blazing Rabbits huddled inside, trembling with fear. They could feel a fierce aura above them, a bloodline oppression that rendered them immobile.

But Su Nian was in a bit of a dilemma.

The rabbits had dug their burrow deep, with many twists and turns, making it difficult for him to reach them. He couldn't just dig up the earth; that would be too much effort.

If he breathed dragonfire into the burrow, the rabbits' fate would be complete corrosion.

Even if one or two managed to escape the dragonfire, they'd be so pitted and scarred that they wouldn't be edible.

If only he knew magic, Su Nian thought with some frustration.

But he was still just a Juvenile Dragon, and the dragon bloodline knowledge about magic would only unlock in his dreams once he became an Adolescent Dragon.

Searching through the dragon heritage knowledge in his mind, he found many descriptions of Blazing Rabbits.

These were Tier 1 magical beast rabbits, entirely white with red ears and tails.

They only knew one magic spell in their lifetime, the Fireball Spell, but their meat was exceptionally delicious. They were also quite large, with one Blazing Rabbit being as big as half a piglet.

Blazing Rabbits hated dampness, so they always kept their burrows dry.

To prevent rising groundwater from soaking their nests, they would bake and reinforce their burrows daily.

With this in mind, Su Nian's eyes lit up. He looked around and noticed a small stream not far away.

His dragon eyes shifted, and a plan formed in his mind.

The Blazing Rabbits wouldn't come out?

Then he'd flood them out with water.

Never underestimate a dragon's drinking capacity, nor try to guess the elasticity of a dragon's stomach, even if it's just a Juvenile Dragon.

Just as the Blazing Rabbits thought the terrifying creature above had left, the oppressive Dragon's Might returned, followed by heavy footsteps.

Outside the rabbit burrow, Su Nian waddled back from the direction of the stream.

His belly had swollen three times its size, and with his movements, one could almost hear the sloshing of water.

Su Nian estimated that he'd drunk at least half a meter of water, enough to easily flood out a group of rabbits.

With this thought, he approached the Blazing Rabbit's burrow, extended his dragon snout into the entrance, and with precise muscle control, compressed his stomach, releasing a torrent of water from his dragon mouth.

For dragons, vomiting wasn't an unpleasant sensation.

They could control any muscle in their body freely, and drinking a bellyful of water only to expel it didn't cause any discomfort.

Luckily, the Basic Devour ability had already digested the wolf meat in Su Nian's stomach, converting it into energy for his body. Otherwise, the scene might have been a bit disgusting.

The rushing water poured into the rabbit burrow.

Under the water pressure, a group of Blazing Rabbits, big and small, were soon flushed out from another exit, forming a brief fountain.

Moments later.

Watching the shivering Blazing Rabbits before him, Su Nian didn't kill the two large ones, only picking two plump little ones.

After killing them, he tied their long ears together and hung them around his neck.

Now, Anna's lunch and dinner were ready, and the fire-starting tool was also prepared.

That was another Blazing Rabbit juvenile.

With the dragon's powerful sensing ability, Su Nian discovered this Blazing Rabbit had good talent, capable of using the Fireball Spell three times a day, perfect for serving as a lighter.

With two dead and one live Blazing Rabbit juveniles hanging around his neck, Su Nian bid farewell to the grateful Blazing Rabbit couple, snorting and humming a tune as he returned to his lair.

But in the spot where he had just been sleeping, he didn't find Anna. Looking around, he saw Anna had woken up, huddled in a corner, hugging her knees, leaning against the cold rock wall with a face full of helplessness and sorrow.

Her eyes were a bit red, with tears glistening at the corners.

"Ah! It's... it's Mr. Dragon."

"You're back?"

Seeing Su Nian's return, Anna couldn't hide the joy and relief on her pretty face.

She wanted to stand up and run to the Black Dragon, but as she rose halfway, the heavy shackles pulled her down to the ground.

The shackles clanged against the rock, and Anna whimpered in pain.

She rubbed her sore knee, but her eyes remained fixed on the Black Dragon, as if afraid he'd fly away the next second if she looked away.

Su Nian's sudden departure had made her think she'd been abandoned as a burden in this cave.

Even though she was indeed a burden, she still longed for someone to accompany her in the last moments of her life. It was her final wish.

Even if that someone was a Black Dragon.

Fortunately, the Black Dragon she longed for had returned.

Su Nian dropped the three-eared Blazing Rabbits to the ground, crawled to Anna's side, and gently nudged her back to her previous sitting position with his dragon head.

He glanced at Anna's scraped knee with some heartache, suddenly remembering that dragon saliva could accelerate wound healing, and instinctively licked her knee gently.

"Oh... Mr. Dragon, you... it tickles..."

Anna shyly covered her skirt, feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason, even though the creature before her was a Black Dragon.

[Anna Hathaway's Affection +2, current Affection 22 (Friendly)]

Su Nian: (՞•Ꙫ•՞)ﾉ????

He glanced oddly at the blushing elf girl, then took two steps back.

The dragon saliva had formed a thin film on her knee, and according to dragon heritage knowledge, Anna's wound would heal completely in two hours, with the skin growing back nicely.

He stepped back to examine the shackles on Anna's limbs. He hadn't removed them before, not because he feared she'd escape, but because he couldn't. Many methods were feasible but risky.

For instance, with his immense strength and sharp dragon claws, he could indeed break or cut the shackles, but Anna's limbs would also be shattered by the force. Moreover, dragon claws weren't swords or scissors, making it hard to control the force during delicate operations.

Even using acidic dragon breath was out of the question. He couldn't control the spread of the breath, and forcing acidic dragon breath liquid from his respiratory organs was equally unfeasible.

He wasn't a syringe, unable to precisely control the amount of dragon breath liquid.

Like vomiting, he could only expel more or less, but not precisely five milliliters.

A cobra can't precisely control the venom it sprays.

Neither can a Black Dragon.

But the shackle problem needed solving eventually, leaving Su Nian, who cared for Anna, in a bit of a quandary.

Leaving Anna behind, he slipped away.