Chapter 10: Pressure

On the murky swamp surface, Lai Ang, with half his head protruding, looked at the forest to the north that had become ruins, and fell silent for a moment.

After observing his surroundings, Lai Ang did not go onto the ground but silently sank into the swamp, returning to the Dragon Nest.

The anxiously waiting Ai Di and Sai Jia hurried over.

"I saw no enemies; outside is very quiet." Lai Ang informed the two young dragons of what he had seen outside.

"Should we move? I feel this place is too dangerous." Ai Di held back for a moment, then gave this suggestion.

Lai Ang glanced at Ai Di, knowing it was correct.

The Dragon Mother has vanished without a trace, and no one knows how she will fare.

If the Dragon Mother lost, it cannot be ruled out that the enemy who defeated her will search this area.

It is not necessarily to find this group of young dragons, for the enemy may not know the Dragon Mother gave birth to them.

But the wealth the giant dragon left in the Dragon Nest—wouldn't the enemy be tempted? Although Lai Ang, Ai Di, and the three of them know that the wealth their mother gathered is meager, even poor among adult dragons.

But the enemy may not know the Dragon Mother's wealth; they will likely think the Dragon Nest left a great amount of treasure. "No, at least not now." Lai Ang shook his head, rejecting Ai Di's suggestion.

In response, Ai Di gave a doubtful look, but still waited for Lai Ang's explanation.

After all, without the Dragon Mother, Lai Ang is the most prestigious leader dragon.

If Lai Ang does not take the lead, the odds of Ai Di and Sai Jia, the two young dragons, surviving outside would drop greatly.

This point, even the simple-minded Sai Jia understands.

The two young dragons looked at Lai Ang, awaiting explanation.

Lai Ang expressed his view,

"Two reasons: first, the warning our mother left before departing, telling us not to leave the Dragon Nest. I believe she would not casually play with our lives."

"Another reason is that we are too weak, lacking any means to conceal our aura, and we are unfamiliar with the forest's layout. If we wander about like this, it would be normal to be devoured by a powerful monster at any moment."

Faced with Lai Ang's explanation, Ai Di also calmed down, knowing the elder brother's words were not false.

At this point, going out is indeed extremely dangerous.

While staying in the Dragon Nest, at least they are familiar with the surrounding environment.

Even if that enemy defeated the Dragon Mother and returned here to search the Dragon Nest, the Nest's location is quite concealed.

Unless the opponent is a powerful spellcaster whose mental power can scan to a depth of a hundred meters into the Dragon Nest.

"The battle traces are sword marks; the opponent is likely a warrior." Lai Ang said calmly.

"Wait a while longer; if Mother still does not return, we will go out to hunt, and food is currently sufficient." Lai Ang surveyed the two dragons; Ai Di and Sai Jia nodded, agreeing with the elder brother's plan.

Returning to his dwelling in the Dragon Nest—actually a simple nest lined with a dozen or so pieces of wild ox hide.

Given that their lives are not guaranteed, Lai Ang does not care much for these external comforts.

Lying on the soft, thick hide, Lai Ang fell into contemplation.

"I need a spell to conceal my aura, and another spell for detection."

Lai Ang had already prepared for the worst outcome—the Dragon Mother's defeat.

In that situation, the safety of their hunting naturally lacks the Dragon Mother's rear guard; they can rely only on the three of them.

The aura‑concealing spell is needed for outdoor hunting.

The detection spell, meanwhile, can observe dangers all around.

Soon, Lai Ang selected two spells from the Black Dragon's inheritance.

First‑ring detection spell · 【Mage's Eye】

First‑ring aura‑concealing spell · 【Breath Barrier】

As early as several months ago, Lai Ang's mental power was sufficient to learn a first‑ring spell, and on his panel he had also learned a first‑ring spell 【Water Shield】.

However, this first‑ring defensive spell is still at the initial zero level, i. e., just the beginner stage.

After all, there is only one auto‑training slot, so Lai Ang naturally first engaged in auto‑training of Black Water Battle Qi to quickly increase strength and promote bodily development.

During his remaining free time, Lai Ang also often used the auto‑training slot to hone his mental power.

In Lai Ang's view, mental power and physical body are the two core foundations.

Spells are merely for self‑protection and safeguarding the Dao.

But now the situation is different, so decisions naturally must change. First survive, then talk about other things.

"Master these two first‑ring spells as soon as possible." Lai Ang took a deep breath, focused his mind, and began to analyze the detection spell, Mage's Eye.

Time flowed slowly.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed.

The food stored in the Dragon Nest had already been exhausted several days earlier.

And the Dragon Mother still had not returned.

Under unprecedented pressure and effort, Lai Ang successfully grasped the first‑ring spell Mage's Eye to the entry level.

【First‑ring spell · Mage's Eye】

【Level: 0 (0/20)】

Looking at the spell displayed on his panel, Lai Ang finally let out a breath of relief.

Thereafter, his mental power utterly exhausted, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He slept for half a day.

After waking, Lai Ang called Ai Di and Sai Jia over.

"Let's go, go hunting." Lai Ang said, without a word of nonsense.

The two young dragons, already starving, naturally would not object—or rather, they had wanted to go out a few days earlier, but Lai Ang had stopped them.

"Mage's Eye!"

After chanting for nearly twenty seconds, Lai Ang finally released this first‑ring detection spell.

Suddenly, an illusionary eye the size of a head appeared before the three small dragons.

"Go." Under Lai Ang's mental control, the Mage's Eye flew out of the Dragon Nest, passed through the swamp, and finally stopped above the swamp's water surface.

"Is the maximum control range about a hundred meters?"

Lai Ang, inside the Dragon Nest, thought to himself.

That was enough.

After all, he was just a Zero Rank beginner; as his rank increased later, the control range should be able to grow.

"Let's go."

The three small dragons left the Dragon Nest and began swimming upward above the swamp.

At the same time, that illusory Mage's Eye continually rose toward the sky.

When the three small dragons emerged from the swamp, the Mage's Eye had already reached a height of a hundred meters, looking down and encompassing several kilometers within its view.

Through the Mage's Eye's connection, Lai Ang seemed to have a second perspective.

"To the east, there are traces of the Mighty Ox."

Soon, Lai Ang located the prey through the Mage's Eye.

In this swamp forest where the Dragon Nest is located, the two most abundant wild beasts are the Second Rank Mighty Ox and the First Rank Burrowing Rabbit.

The Burrowing Rabbit yields too little meat and likes to burrow, so Lai Ang and the three of them dislike hunting this prey.

One hour later, in the eastern forest two kilometers from the Dragon Nest.

Two Mighty Ox carcasses lay on the ground.

Beside them, Lai Ang, Ai Di, and Sai Jia bore many wounds; Lai Ang's injuries were lightest, with scattered broken dragon scales, while Sai Jia was worst injured, having a broken dragon claw.

To settle the battle quickly, the three small dragons chose to clash head-on, and as the strongest, Lai Ang naturally bore the brunt.

If it were only a single Mighty Ox, with an ambush Lai Ang could easily defeat it unharmed.

But without an ambush, directly clashing head‑on with two Mighty Oxen and needing a quick victory, sustaining minor injuries was inevitable.

After all, they had surpassed a rank.

"Let's go, back to the Dragon Nest."

(End of chapter)