radicalducati Chapter 18 New Habitat
Chapter 18 New Habitat
With their pursuers no longer close behind, the three fledgling dragons slowed their pace considerably.
Although they were supposed to be traveling, they were really just wandering aimlessly in the vast wilderness.
Every night, they would go out to hunt under the cover of darkness; and when the sun rose, they would find a secluded corner to hide in.
In the wilderness, danger is never absent. Besides centaurs, there are all sorts of other orcs and ferocious animals lurking everywhere.
Several times, Thor and his companions inadvertently wandered into the territory of other creatures, but thanks to their keen senses and quick reflexes, they managed to escape unharmed each time.
In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed. As time went on, Thor found himself able to perceive the omnipresent magical elements in the air with increasing clarity.
Those tiny, crimson dots of light, like fireflies, drifted around, becoming more intense the closer they were to the sun overhead.
Small, yellowish-brown specks of light occasionally seep out from the ground, looking like weathered sand.
These are fire and earth elements, two of the four fundamental elements that make up this world, which Thor continuously inhales with each breath.
Red dragons are not purely fire-attribute creatures; they also possess a significant amount of earth attribute.
When they reach adulthood or even old age, their long-term nests may spontaneously connect with the fire and earth elemental planes, thus forming active volcanoes.
With his enhanced perception of magical elements, his absorption capacity naturally increased as well, and the resulting chain reaction was that Thor felt his growth rate begin to accelerate further.
Now, he has reached a length of 11 feet from head to tail, although most of that is the length of his tail and neck, but his body looks as big as a young foal.
Although Sistana and Culp had grown to 7 feet tall thanks to the dragon crystals Thor occasionally shared, they looked a whole age younger when standing next to him.
As a price for his rapid growth, Thor converted most of his spiritual essence into dragon crystals and swallowed them.
This substance, formed from the fusion of ley line energy and ancient dragon life force, can indeed be considered a high-quality magic crystal to some extent.
If other true dragons saw Thor's wasteful way of eating, even if it wasn't their own property, they would probably be heartbroken and unable to breathe.
…………
As the weather grows colder, the wild grass on the ground has completely turned from a mix of yellow and green to a withered yellow, and in the early morning hours, a layer of silver frost may even condense on it.
Just before the snow fell, Thor and his companions finally found a low hilly area, with dozens of mud and rocky hills stretching out in a row, the tallest of which was probably no more than a thousand meters high.
But in any case, this place is much better than the endless wilderness. The surrounding vegetation is very lush, and there is a small lake not far away.
Since there is water, there must be life. Even though the red dragons don't need to drink water, this lake can still attract enough prey for them.
The three fledglings stopped a few kilometers away from the low hills.
Generally speaking, unique terrain tends to attract monsters to settle there, and there might be some dangerous creatures lurking in this hilly area.
They hid in a thicket of withered grass, using the tall, yellowed blades to conceal their bright scales, until night fell before crawling out again.
Thor shook the wings on his back. In just over two months, the torn wing membranes and broken wing bones had healed and grown even wider.
Now, with his wings spread, his wingspan has reached an astonishing 17 feet.
Fine, scarlet scales adhere to the surface of the wings, while the inner edge of the wing membrane displays a magnificent fiery blue hue.
With a flap of his wings, his 11-foot-long body was lifted off the ground by the reaction force of the airflow and the increasingly concentrated magic power within him, and he flew towards the distant hills on the night wind.
Generally speaking, low-lying mountain forests at this altitude do not contain overly powerful or ferocious creatures.
It was even less likely that aerial predators like griffins and giant eagles would gather, which is why Thor could confidently launch reconnaissance from the air.
The large wing membrane filled with air, allowing Thor to glide easily through the air like a large pterosaur. He maintained a low-altitude flight posture of two to three hundred meters above the ground, circling around the entire hill.
Some evergreen trees flashed by, and occasionally he could catch a glimpse of wild boars and roe deer. But when he looked toward the lake, his gaze suddenly sharpened.
There was a vast, gentle slope where, as the altitude decreased, water and mud mixed together, forming a small swamp.
In the part of this swamp near the mountains, there are traces of rough cultivation, and near the foot of the mountain, there are more than a dozen large holes with a diameter of nearly two meters.
"What kind of intelligent beings live here? Kobolds? Or goblins?"
Thor's pale golden eyes were fixed on the traces left by a campfire on the ground. His thoughts raced through his mind, but he couldn't guess the answer for the moment.
However, there is good news: there are indeed no particularly dangerous monsters in this hilly area, and the intelligent creatures living in the caves are obviously not strong beings.
Thor then returned to the bushes where Sistana and Kalp were.
The thought that he, as the leader, had to personally conduct reconnaissance filled Thor with inexplicable anger.
The moment he landed, his long tail lashed out, whistling as it struck the heads of the two baby dragons.
"Aww!" x2
The intense pain nearly made the two baby dragons jump up and roar at Thor.
"Damn it, Thor, what's wrong with you?!"
"Why are you attacking us!"
Thor responded with two more punches to the heads of the two baby dragons, saying...
"Shut up! As the boss, I don't need any reasons to act; you just need to obey unconditionally!"
Seeing Sistana and Calp's furious, red-faced dragon faces, and the notification of increased mental energy rising in their eyes, Thor finally felt a surge of pleasure.
He turned and led the two fledglings toward the low hills in the distance, running through the overgrown woods and heading straight for the highest peak.
After finding a suitable spot, the three fledgling dragons began to dig vigorously into the mountain. With the help of the real dragon's strong claws, they quickly dug out a not-so-shallow pit.
But then they encountered a problem: after the soft soil layer on the surface of the mountain was dug out, there was hard rock underneath, making it very difficult to dig.
In just a short while, the three baby dragons felt their claws were being rubbed raw and had to stop temporarily.
Fortunately, the cave had already taken initial shape and could be used as a place to live.
Exhausted from a whole night's work, the three baby dragons huddled together inside, still covering their bodies with the piled-up loose soil, as they welcomed their first dawn in their new home.