Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Pick Elf’s Little Horns

”Hey, keep it up, Karon. You’re the best. Oh, Doss, you too, don’t get knocked down by Karon again.”

The Pick Elf flapped her wings, flying excitedly around the marked court, cheering loudly wherever Karon ran.

Recently, Riven often comes over to visit her new friends and has already gotten familiar with Karon and these Juvenile Dragons.

To her, staying here is way more fun than listening to the Pick Elves brag all day.

Of course, she ignores the fact that recently, the one boasting the most within the tribe is herself.

As the only creature currently able to enter the Dragon Nest without being a Giant Dragon, the Little Elf now has quite a high status among the younger generation of her tribe.

Riven likes spending time with Karon because she feels Karon is not like the stereotypically evil Five-Colored Giant Dragons, but more like the occasional visiting humans in the forest.

Karon is more ”humane,” in simple terms, Karon treats her friend equally, like a human, rather than looking down on all creatures like other Giant Dragons with arrogant equality.

Camid is very reserved but has the pride of a Giant Dragon; he won’t hold the Pick Elf in high regard just because of Karon’s attitude.

Moreover, among the Juvenile Dragons, there is a Green Dragon who likes to feast on various Elves and Little Elves, and every time Antajena looks at Riven, it always feels like she sees prey.

Fortunately, staying beside Karon gives a sense of security, otherwise Little Elf Riven wouldn’t dare come to the Dragon Nest.

Only the rather steady Blue Dragon Doss’s attitude isn’t as obvious as the other Giant Dragons, so his relationship with the Little Elf is more familiar.

Bang, Karon knocked over Blue Dragon Doss, landing on all fours, and the ball pressed under his paw rolled forward.

Red Dragon Kleyna chased forward to grab the ball, seeing Black Dragon Rosani from Karon’s team rushing to snatch the ball, immediately flicking it to the Green Dragon beside him.

Green Dragon Antajena had no intention of making contact with White Dragon Camid who came to defend beside her, but instead pretended to charge while kicking the ball out, right through Camid’s legs, to White Dragon Gomot originally trailing in the back.

But at this moment, Gomot was at the forefront of the attack, and the White Dragon easily sent the ball into the goal, shouting, ”Woo, we won.”

Four against three, they still narrowly won the match, so now it’s time to enjoy the victory; what’s important is that Giant Dragons love the feeling of winning.

”This isn’t fair, we have one less dragon.” The competitive Black Dragon Rosani was still panting a bit.

The confrontation between Giant Dragons in this match was quite exhausting, though Giant Dragons don’t sweat physiological fluids, only a faint mist rises on the surface of their bodies.

”Who says you don’t have Karon as an ally with super specification.” Blue Dragon Doss walked over slowly.

He and Kleyna have been the main force opposing Karon head-on in the field, and now they’re no better than Rosani, with white steam prominently spewing from their nostrils.

Green Dragon Antajena, who had been slacking off in the match, came forward, her pair of green eyes like transparent gemstones looking at the Red Dragon as she said, ”Yeah, Karon is stronger than all our Juvenile Dragons; it’s only fair that we’re plus one dragon.”

Recently, the Green Dragon has consciously begun to curry favor with the Red Dragon standing especially strong within the Dragon Group. It’s probably the nature of the Green Dragon species; they like to depend on strong ones from the same kind, and if there’s a chance to manipulate it, even better.

”Humph.” Young Female Dragon Kleyna snorted through her nostrils. It’s not that she’s dissatisfied with Karon earning the title of the strongest among Juvenile Dragons; she just feels a bit irked seeing Antajena praise Karon even if, usually, their interactions are harmonious.

Karon paid no mind to the Juvenile Dragons’ disputes; when there are many, differing opinions are inevitable, regardless of the species.

He walked cheerfully toward the Little Elf waiting on the sidelines, not because of Riven’s presence, but because he discovered through the exercise that his control over his body did indeed improve, and his physical response capability was honed as well.

It seems not only humans, but Giant Dragons also need regular exercise.

”Let’s go, Riven,” the Red Dragon nodded to the Little Elf indicating she could sit on his shoulder, ”I’m feeling quite hungry today, I could eat a whole Mountain Deer.” The Red Dragon chatted with the Little Elf, signaling White Dragon Camid to follow his steps with his eyes.

Karon recently discovered another use for Little Elves, which is to hunt for him.

The invisible Riven only needs to quietly approach the chosen prey and then use magic to put them into slumber.

When the prey lacks the ability to escape, Karon easily takes care of it and then happily prepares a special meal for himself.

This is much more convenient than the Red Dragon hunting for himself. The scales of a Juvenile Dragon are too conspicuous, making them famously noticeable.

Weak creatures run away at the sight of him, and even powerful creatures can’t defeat him. His hunting abilities aren’t as good as those of the fierce beasts, let alone the Pick Elf who has a 100% success rate.

Fortunately, Pick Elves aren’t like some vegetarian Elves, Riven also enjoys eating meat, especially after tasting Karon’s barbecue.

The barbecue isn’t particularly special; Pick Elves can also make it, but Karon is a Red Dragon. His fire control ability is naturally gifted for grilling, achieving a crispy exterior and tender interior, with an even charred flavor as a basic skill.

The Little Elf who tasted its sweetness even proactively offered to help the Red Dragon hunt, with the price being a leg, regardless of what the prey is.

Yes, Riven likes to gnaw on a leg, which she learned from human merchants. She always felt that gnawing on a large leg would taste better, especially if she had a drink to go with it.

Unfortunately, Pick Elves don’t know how to brew alcohol, as for Karon, he’s a dumbo Dragon who only knows how to eat and waits for the Pick Elves to feed him.

Chatting with Riven aimlessly, Karon, walking through the forest, even had the feeling of being kept, with the cost being just a small barbecue meal.

This made Karon’s dragon face flush a bit, but fortunately, he always kept the secret safe with White Dragon Camid, other dragons didn’t notice this undignified situation for a Dragon.

However, thanks to Riven’s feeding, Karon has felt his development speeding up in the past two months, and he’s now already four meters long.

With his talent for Superlimit State growth, Karon’s powerful digestive ability as a Giant Dragon has improved even further, requiring twice the amount of food as other Juvenile Dragons, something Akzhi’s rationed feeding couldn’t satisfy.

If it weren’t for Riven, Karon would either risk hunting for himself or simply use his robust dragon stomach to digest earth. Thus, Karon had a more friendly attitude towards the Little Elf who became more helpful.

”Wow, Karon, your horns are so beautiful.” Riven gazed longingly at the sturdy pair of horns on the Red Dragon’s head, her little hands seemed restless, truly wanting to touch those dragon horns with spiraling patterns.

Weak ones admire the strong, and this is true for the Pick Elf species as well. They enjoy making friends hoping to gain the friendship of the strong.

In Riven’s eyes, the dragon horns on the Red Dragon represent the power and majesty of the Giant Dragon, something she knows she can’t possess, making her envy even more intense.

With the aesthetic standard of valuing strength, the horns of the Giant Dragon are indeed filled with the beauty of power and savagery.

Karon turned his head, his large dragon eyes glaring at Riven, with a look that clearly said, ”If you dare to touch, I dare to bite.”

Of course, Karon didn’t care about the dragon horns representing a Giant Dragon’s dignity being untouchable, but he wouldn’t show it.

Even among friends, there needs to be a sense of boundaries; I can be nice to you, but you can’t overstep the limits.

”Well, I just really admire your dragon horns,” Riven’s restless hands retracted, her round little face looking a bit dejected.

”Why don’t Pick Elves have horns on their heads? I wish I had a pair of beautiful little horns.”

The Red Dragon was both amused and bemused by the Little Elf’s words. He’s seen hand enthusiasts and foot enthusiasts before, but never a horn enthusiast.

Karon stopped, gestured for Riven to stand in front of him with his left claw, then carefully pinched off two wildflowers at his feet with two claws and placed them on Riven’s acorn hat one on each side. He then clapped his hands and smiled casually: ”There, now Riven, you have your own pair of horns.”

Riven gingerly touched the two fragile flower stems adorned with a few green leaves on her head. The Elf Dust behind her sprinkled lightly, drawing the dew from nearby trees and plants with Magical Power, slowly gathering it into a small, ever-shifting mirror.

The Pick Elf looked at herself in the mirror, seemingly appearing quite different, as a blush spread rapidly across Riven’s previously droopy face, making her delicate features radiant with vivacity.

With a whoop, she held onto the flowers on her head and joyfully flew up and down around the Red Dragon. After several such loops, she suddenly seemed to remember something, rapidly flying away, with the Elf Dust trailing behind her morphing into a tail flame, leaving behind her joyful shouts.

”Karon, come quickly, I found your favorite mountain deer, and there’s a whole herd of them. I’ll pick out the two plumpest ones for you.”

Karon gave a mysterious look to the White Dragon and then followed along unhurriedly.