Chapter 2

The corpse of the pig-headed fisherman would drift downstream with the river current; Sakavi had no immediate concern about his identity being exposed. But there were more than just one pig-headed fisherman; staying by the river remained a highly risky endeavor.

Sakavi had to find a place to hide before the villagers discovered him, rest and heal properly—and the goblin tribe mentioned by the fisherman was an ideal destination. Goblins reproduced rapidly and were weak, often preyed upon by various beasts.

According to the fisherman, villagers rarely hunted or gathered within the goblins’ range, while goblins occasionally raided the village. Thus, staying near the goblin tribe would let Sakavi perfectly avoid both beasts and villagers.

Normally, goblins were enslaved by dragons and loved following dragons to burn, kill, and plunder—but that applied to adult dragons, at least to adolescent dragons.

For Sakavi, still in the hatchling stage, strength alone could not subdue the goblin tribe. Goblins differed from dog-men; they possessed no dragon bloodline. Their enslavement by dragons stemmed purely from their preference for aligning with powerful beings.

Following the direction indicated by the fisherman, Sakavi walked for roughly three hours before spotting his own marker again—he must have gotten lost. Normally, goblins frequently roamed near the village, and the pig-headed chieftain occasionally led raids against them; a path connected the village and the goblin tribe.

But Sakavi did not know the boundaries of either side’s territory—he feared being spotted by hunters or surrounded by goblins—so he dared not walk on paths, only crawled through thickets.

Moreover, the wound on Sakavi’s shoulder emitted a bloody scent that attracted predators; many animals preferred walking along trails, so he must minimize contact with wild beasts as much as possible.

For the problem of being lost, he eventually found a solution: Sakavi decided to wait until nightfall, climb a tree, and mimic the roar of an adult dragon. Goblins, highly sensitive to dragons, would surely come to investigate if they heard it.

Then he could follow the goblins’ scent to locate them. As for why he didn’t simply track the goblins directly, Sakavi noted he might not survive encounters with other beasts or monsters drawn by the commotion.

Compared to daytime, goblins preferred nighttime activity, as it helped them avoid many aerial predators—but this did not mean they never appeared by day. In fact, many weak goblins, often robbed of food at night, chose to forage during daylight.

After Sakavi let out several strange, unnatural roars, he crouched on the tree, silently observing his surroundings. A normal dragon’s roar carried immense draconic pressure; a hatchling clearly lacked such power.

The distant goblins clearly noticed the anomaly. After about ten minutes, two suspiciously large heads emerged from the thickets far away.

After observing, one suddenly screamed in terror, dropped its spear, and fled backward. Its companion had just turned to run when a black shadow leapt from the tree, tackled it to the ground, and bit its throat.

Upon closer look, it appeared to be a jet-black leopard—more than a full circle larger than those from Sakavi’s home world on Blue Planet. The goblin struggled desperately but could not break free.

Once the goblin ceased moving, the leopard let out several roars toward Sakavi’s direction, then dragged the corpse away slowly. Watching the retreating figure vanish into the jungle, Sakavi finally relaxed his guard slightly.

Yet the shadows circling around were not limited to just that one; the leopard’s escape seemed unlikely—tonight would surely not be peaceful.

After the distant fighting faded, Sakavi followed the scent toward the goblin den. At the edge of a pine nut grove, he caught the unmistakable odor of goblins—a foul mix of decay, blood, and sewage.

It was hard to imagine any creature surviving in such an environment. Fighting back nausea, Sakavi crept silently toward the pine grove.

He wasn’t afraid of alerting the goblins—he feared drawing the attention of their hunting party. As the traditional enslaved race of dragons, goblins epitomized evil chaos with their bullying nature.

Facing a mere one-and-a-half-meter-long hatchling, their first reaction would likely be to swarm and attack. Goblins were omnivores, willing to try anything edible—but besides pine nuts and berries, their most common meals were small animals like rats.

One or two lone goblins posed no threat to Sakavi. Once most of the foraging goblins had left, he began his hunt. Goblins had extremely keen senses, and none who reached adulthood survived purely by luck—so he had only one chance to strike.

After repeated scrutiny, he finally selected a goblin that appeared not yet mature. Its skin was dirty, ink-green, clearly never washed; its ears were long and pointed, ragged like torn bat wings.

A mouth stretched to its ears, crammed with small, sharp yellow teeth; it was short and hunched, about seventy to eighty centimeters tall, arms so long they nearly dragged to its knees. It carried a ragged sack—stolen or looted—picking up pine nuts one moment, catching insects the next.

Children’s greatest traits were intense curiosity and a love of play. Exploiting this, Sakavi extended his tail, waving it constantly before the young goblin. The goblin, naturally drawn to the strange black object, approached.

The instant it lunged to grab the black tail, its owner bit its throat. After a brief struggle, the young goblin fell still.

Staring at the filthy little goblin, Sakavi mustered great resolve—but still could not bring himself to eat it. In the end, he dragged the corpse to a stream, washed it thoroughly, then reluctantly swallowed it—immediately, his stomach churned violently.

Now Sakavi had only one thought: who spread the lie that dragons ate goblins as food?

But survival demanded it. Even if repulsive, this was essential sustenance to survive the hatchling stage—who else but goblins were so easy to prey upon?

After eating, he needed to immobilize his fractured wing. Though magic existed in this world and healing was possible without splinting, without wings, surviving in this perilous forest was nearly impossible.

The method was simple: find a stick, place it atop the right wing, then bind the stick and wing tightly to his body with thin vines.

Though this method was far from effective and prevented vigorous movement, it was a viable solution under his current circumstances.

The presence of dragons altered the surrounding environment, making it more habitable—for example, black dragon habitats gradually became swamps, emitting an overpowering stench.

Sakavi could not remain here long; he had to leave before nearby monsters or unknown entities noticed the environmental changes.

In a place hostile to dragons, any mistake could be fatal. Yet a dragon’s condition directly affected its environment; a young dragon’s influence was subtle—but who could guarantee it wouldn’t be noticed at all?