69novels Chapter 1 Red Dragon
Chapter 1 Red Dragon
Looking westward from the human realm, one can see a long, winding road. Following this road further and further, one will enter a vast and boundless wilderness.
This is the territory of monsters, with boundless wilderness, towering mountains, vibrant forests, and inland lakes that stretch as far as the eye can see.
A black-feathered, red-beaked eagle swept across the vast plains, its golden pupils fixed on the red and green grass below, searching for prey to fill its belly, before finally landing in an unnamed mountain range.
Looking up from the foot of the mountain, near the summit of the highest peak, you can see a large cave with wisps of smoke drifting out and a pungent sulfurous odor filling the air.
Chiriel Solaris Burning Nest... lies quietly in its nest. As a young red dragon, it laid its first clutch of eggs 22 months ago, and now it is time for them to hatch.
Not far in front of it, there was a fire pit surrounded by rocks, where the unburnt charcoal emitted high temperatures, baking the four giant red eggs around it and keeping the temperature above 100 degrees Celsius.
Just then, one of the oval eggs suddenly shook, followed by a crisp cracking sound. Spiderweb-like cracks then appeared, and a round head poked out from inside.
…………
The darkness, the cramped space, and the feeling of being tightly bound from all sides caused the young man to instinctively struggle.
Pushing his limbs against the ground and forcefully pushing his head upwards, the not-so-sturdy barrier shattered instantly, the surroundings suddenly relaxed, and a unique scent filled his nostrils.
He opened his eyes somewhat groggily, only to find himself in an unfamiliar environment. He was surrounded by dark brown stone walls, and in front of him lay a crimson "mountain range".
As he gradually regained consciousness, when he could clearly see the shape of that "mountain range," his pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart almost stopped from shock.
That's not a mountain range at all; it's a ferocious beast covered in scales and horns.
It had a body length of over 17 meters and a wingspan of nearly 23 meters. Its body was covered with crimson scales that shone with a metallic luster, and a pair of backward-curving horns grew on its head. It was clearly a red dragon that only appeared in fantasy stories, and it was staring intently at me.
This is where?
Who am I?
What happened?
The three questions of life came to mind. Seeing that the red dragon in front of him seemed to be getting impatient, its charcoal-red pupils narrowed slightly, and its mouth split open, revealing snow-white fangs.
In that instant of inspiration, a powerful impulse suddenly surged within him, and he immediately roared:
"Sol Heliozog Esmerald Sunfire Throat..."
As the dragon's true name was roared out, the young man instantly felt the somewhat tense atmosphere around him ease, and the ferocious red dragon in front of him lazily lay down again.
Only then did he realize that he had been reborn as a red dragon cub, and the red dragon in front of him was the mother of this body.
However, this discovery did not bring him any peace of mind.
As the most powerful and brutal of the five chromatic dragons, red dragons have never shown any affection for family. If it weren't for Tiamat's punishment for carelessly abandoning dragon eggs, probably more than 90% of red dragons would choose to ignore the eggs they lay.
This situation also exists among other five-colored dragons, to the point that the hatching rate of five-colored dragon eggs is far lower than that of metal dragon eggs.
Even if they successfully hatch, they don't take good care of their offspring. They often just give them a perfunctory treatment and then drive the cubs out of the nest.
This results in an extremely low survival rate for the five-colored dragon cubs. The survival rate for blue dragons is around 50%, while that for green, white, and black dragons is around 40%, and the survival rate for red dragon cubs is less than 30%.
Recalling this information he had seen somewhere in his past life, the young man shuddered and became even more cautious.
Covered in wet slime, Thor crawled out of the eggshell and began to examine his body.
It is about a meter long, about the size of a small foal, with a big head and a short neck. Its body is covered with a layer of tender red scales, and two soft, fleshy wings are attached to its back.
Even a creature like a true dragon, which is at the top of the food chain, is still very weak when it is first born. Its claws are not sharp enough, and its scales have not yet hardened. The only thing that can kill is probably its mouthful of fangs.
What is the first thing a newborn cub does?
Recalling the animal documentaries he had watched in his previous life, Thor realized that he should lick the slime off his body first.
This was something the mother beast should have done, but given the red dragon's personality, there was no need for him to even think about it. He could only twist his flexible neck and lick his body greedily.
Once his body had mostly dried, he turned his attention to the broken eggshells on the ground and began to gnaw on them.
These eggshells serve as both a protective layer for the dragons before hatching and their first meal after hatching, containing not only abundant energy but also various precious substances and trace elements.
It can activate the young dragon's body, providing the energy needed for initial growth and development, allowing the scales and claws to harden rapidly.
Perhaps it was because his sense of taste had changed, but the eggshell, which he thought would be very unpalatable, tasted exceptionally delicious in Thor's mouth.
Before he knew it, all the eggshell fragments scattered on the ground had gone into his stomach. Feeling the drowsiness gradually rising, he did not fall asleep, but turned his head to stare at his brothers who had not yet hatched.
The remaining three dragon eggs began to shake, and with a crisp cracking sound, countless cracks appeared.
He dragged his bulging belly, tiptoed over, picked up a fallen shard, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
Soon, the remaining three chicks also hatched one after another. Two of them successfully called out their long and tongue-twisting real names, but the remaining one remained silent.
Chiriel's eyes narrowed dangerously. She hadn't expected that her first clutch of eggs would contain such a low-grade dragon beast.
Without the slightest hesitation, she stretched out her giant claws, grabbed the newborn dragon, and turned to leave the nest.
The three baby dragons watching this scene were terrified and dared not move.
When two of them were awakened by hunger and began to eat the eggshells according to the instructions in the Dragon Legacy, they discovered that many of their own eggshells had disappeared without them noticing.
This enraged the two baby dragons, who immediately turned to look at the "thief" beside them.
Thor, still clutching an eggshell in his paws, showed no embarrassment at being caught red-handed. He swaggered over and stuffed the eggshell into his mouth, then defiantly let out a burp.
Because he knew all too well that red dragons were powerful, irritable, arrogant, and unruly... and among their many traits, there was no concept of kinship.
From birth, the cubs in the same litter are already in competition, with no room for sentimentality, so they will naturally strike first.