Chapter 20: with translation of chapter title

Snort~ sharp dragon claws scraped over the dragon scales, leaving deep marks on them.

Thick dragon blood seeped out from the shattered scales.

Huff, huff.

Hol's heavy breathing sounded; at this moment, its dragon body had many broken scales, and most critically, there were several horrifying claw marks where flesh rolled along its long neck.

It felt very tired, very exhausted. The young dragon facing it in battle saw it stop to rest, and also stopped.

Lai Ang felt its limbs going numb.

Continuously bursting at extreme speed and strength, this dragon body had already reached its limit.

Constantly releasing spells, its mental power was almost exhausted.

Body and spirit had almost reached their limit; if not for gritting its teeth, Lai Ang would have already collapsed to the ground.

At this point, even a newly hatched hatchling could defeat it.

"Hatchling, what's your name?" the black dragon Hol panted, squeezing out a question from its throat.

"Lai Ang. Lai Ang Xi Er Wa Na Si."

Lai Ang replied slowly. Its expression remained tense, the pale yellow dragon eyes icy and unchanging, as if it would erupt at any moment to strike the young dragon before it.

"Lai Ang." Hol cracked a smile, but that split the wound at the corner of its mouth further, a few drops of thick dragon blood falling; Hol didn't care, it said seriously, "You're strong, I, Hol Feicui, acknowledge you."

Taking Feicui as a surname? Lai Ang's heart stirred.

It seems Hol should be an 'orphan dragon'.

Generally, young dragons cared for by a dragon mother often take the mother's name or surname as their own.

This, to some extent, also indicates the hatchling's background and origin.

"Lai Ang, even if it's a draw this time, how about it?" Hol said in a low voice.

"." Lai Ang fell silent for a moment.

But Lai Ang's silence made Hol's heart sink.

Could this hatchling still have some strength left?

Hol, which originally had some other little thoughts, instantly calmed down, its tone unconsciously tightening: 'If we keep fighting, it won't be just a battle but a fight to the death. And within Feicui Academy, fighting to the death is not allowed; whoever breaks the rule must die.'

This is the rule set by the Green Dragon Queen Yisela.

You may fight, even if it becomes brutal and leaves you crippled.

But you must not involve life and death.

This is the bottom line.

Many powerful monsters and even dragons have crossed this line before—and without exception, they were all slain by the enraged queen.

From then on, this became an absolute iron law that cannot be violated in the Feicui Dream and Feicui City.

After all, under the Green Dragon Queen are all kinds of monsters and evil creatures.

If we didn't give them a bottom line and rules, who knows what chaos would ensue.

Today a gnoll slew a kobold; tomorrow a dragon, hungry or merely bored, might randomly devour several monster residents. Faced with the step offered by the black dragon Hol, Lai Ang, after a moment of silence, still nodded slowly.

"I agree. However——"

"What however?" Hol took a deep breath, staring at the hatchling opposite.

If the hatchling's next words would humiliate it, Hol would certainly not agree, preferring to fight again.

Even if Hol basically had no strength left to fight again.

"I want half of the Black Dragon Fortress." This was Lai Ang's decision after careful thought.

Hol's hard strength is considerably greater than its, letting Lai Ang attempt this battle again from scratch, it basically has little chance to fight to a draw. It is performing near its limit, while Hol at the start still had a bit of overconfidence, and combined with Lai Ang's truly frenzied and ferocious performance, the young dragon lord ruling the Black Dragon Fortress harbored some self-doubt.

It's just a hatchling, and even judging by size, it isn't large even among hatchlings.

Against such an opponent, Hol usually just needed to unleash its dragon might, and the other side's legs would go weak.

How could it possibly fight it to this extent?!

A bit of underestimation, plus doubts about its own strength, and Lai Ang's extraordinary performance, led to an outcome originally very hard to achieve.

Hol gazed deeply at the hatchling before it, then stepped back one step: "Good. Your strength is not inferior to mine; you indeed qualify to own half of the Black Dragon Fortress."

This suddenly arriving leader battle ended just as suddenly, with a special outcome.

One fortress, two leaders—this situation seems never to have been recorded in the Feicui Academy over so many years.

The watching young dragons looked at Lai Ang, as if wanting to memorize this powerful hatchling in their minds.

Black Dragon Fortress.

Every three days, the food sent from the Feicui Academy arrived.

Inner fortress, eastern side.

A black dragon hatchling three meters in length lay rather lazily on a blanket made from some monster's fur.

A sound came from the side door.

"Come in."

The side door opened, and a kobold in a black-and-white maid outfit walked in; behind it, two kobolds in black servant outfits jointly pushed a small cart.

"Your Highness Lai Ang, this is your food ration."

The female kobold in the black-and-white maid outfit spoke in Dragon Tongue, elegantly; after she finished speaking, the two male kobold servants behind her opened the cart's lid.

A whole golden-yellow, oil-dripping roasted sheep.

The aroma drifted into Lai Ang's nostrils, making it involuntarily secrete saliva.

"Is this a rock sheep?" Lai Ang asked in surprise.

Rock sheep are not ordinary beasts but monsters with spell-like abilities.

Although its rank is not high—only second tier, on par with wild oxen—and even in terms of combat power, rock sheep might still be inferior to oxen.

But at the same rank, magical beasts' flesh and blood are more delicious and nutritious than that of wild beasts.

If they could continuously feed on magical beasts' flesh and blood, the giant dragon would develop a bit faster.

"Yes, Your Highness." the kobold maid replied.

"Every three days?" Lai Ang couldn't help but ask.

"No." the kobold maid shook its head, but its subsequent explanation did not disappoint Lai Ang.

"Although Emerald City raises many rock sheep, they cannot be continuously supplied. As for the twelve... not, now it should be thirteen leaders, Your Highness, the academy provides sufficient magical beast meat every three days, but it cannot be certain that it is all rock sheep."

Lai Ang understood.

The kobold maid and the two attendants retreated through the side door.

Soon, terrifying chewing sounds came from within the huge chamber.

Burp~, chewing skin and bones, Lai Ang chewed and swallowed a rock sheep weighing over two hundred jin into his belly, his expression extremely satisfied.

"This kind of life is the correct opening."

Before, hiding in the river, eating ordinary fish, living in a simple dragon nest he dug himself, how could that compare to the luxurious treatment of staying in the Dragon Fortress?

Here, treatment and status indeed must be fought for with strength.

(End of chapter)