A frigid glint, and a shower of substantial sparks erupted from Celine's Dragon Scales.
I, however, was not surprised by this outcome.
I was well aware of the formidable hardness of my own Dragon Scales; being of the same True Dragon species, Celine's scales would not be significantly weaker than mine.
In such a scenario, achieving victory by inflicting injury upon the opponent would prove more arduous.
Holding this thought, my slender draconic form evaded Celine's enraged blow with extreme agility.
I, possessing the inherited memories of an entire world, commanded considerable combat acumen even in my nascent state.
Before comprehending Celine's true strength, I would not elect to confront her—nearly half again my size—directly.
On the other hand, Celine possessed orthodox Draconic Clan inherited memories, and this portion of her memory, aside from the fundamental status of the Dragon Clan and some rudimentary magical knowledge, was entirely devoted to combat.
This is the paramount reason why the True Dragon species can assert themselves as overlords beneath the sky.
There is a saying circulated within the Dragon Realm: the optimal time to hunt a young dragon is whilst it is still ensconced within its shell; once born, it transforms from prey to predator.
Therefore, upon noticing my hit-and-run tactics, she comprehended my intentions.
She sneered.
Celine suddenly unfurled her wings and, with a gentle flap, ascended from the ground.
The flesh of a True Dragon is exceedingly dense, and correspondingly, their weight is substantial.
The fleshy wings upon their backs are insufficient to support their mass.
Therefore, the flight of a True Dragon actually relies on an innate, inherent flight magic; the role of the wings in flight is, in truth, only a minor component.
More significantly, the wings function like limbs, employed for combat and hunting.
Thus, when I relied solely on my fleshy wings to achieve flight, Winters had realized my lack of elemental affinity.
Similarly, Celine had also discerned this.
Facing her airborne assault, I possessed only two choices: one, to engage in aerial combat with her; the other, to remain grounded and await an opportunity.
The former, without magical assistance, meant I, who could only rely on my fleshy wings, would not only be less agile than her in the air, but my wings would also become my most conspicuous vulnerability.
If I chose to remain on the ground, I would be at a distinct disadvantage when facing aerial attacks.
Celine's dazzling golden vertical pupils stared intently at me below.
What would I choose?
Seeing Celine take to the air, I swiftly recognized these realities.
Similarly, I also realized that the orthodox Draconic Clan inheritance memory must contain combat experience; otherwise, Celine could not have reacted so expeditiously, discerning that aerial combat was my weakness.
So, my choice was... to run.
Powerful limbs, sharp claws, and flexible joints allowed me to run with a sensation of skimming the ground, like a silver bolt of lightning.
Seeing me flee, Celine was visibly stunned for a moment, then sneered.
Although my speed somewhat surpassed her expectations, no matter how swiftly I ran, can I outpace flight?
Naive.
With a flap of her wings, Celine soared towards me at an exceedingly rapid velocity, the light elements gathering around her imbuing her with a somewhat sacred aura.
But no one would doubt the violent power contained beneath this sanctified veneer.
I naturally noticed Celine pursuing me.
My eyes flickered, and I abruptly halted; in an instant, I transitioned from extreme motion to extreme stillness.
The joints of my limbs emitted cracking sounds due to this abrupt maneuver, and my muscles tensed as a consequence.
But I disregarded these sensations; I merely raised my head, looking at Celine who had just flown above me, who was also regarding me with a look of astonishment.
I grinned, and then the power accumulated in my limbs suddenly burst forth.
I leaped upwards like an arrow, reaching a height even exceeding Celine, who was airborne.
Then, I spread my limbs, tightly clutching Celine's body, and we two dragons plummeted to the ground together in a violent collision, sending up copious amounts of gravel.
The muffled thud of our impact made the other three dragons watching from the side feel their teeth ache.
With a muffled groan, Celine looked at me pressing down upon her, her eyes blazing with anger, and her sharp draconic claw, glinting coldly, raked towards my cheek.
But the next second, it was firmly blocked by my own.
Feeling the enormous force from her claws, Celine's expression changed; my strength was even greater than hers.
It was difficult to imagine that such potent force was contained within my seemingly slender draconic frame.
Realizing this, Celine began to struggle violently.
With comparable strength, such entanglement would only prevent her from leveraging her advantages.
She had to fly again.
As long as she could achieve flight, with adequate preparation, she would definitely not be brought down by me in the same manner again.
But how could I grant Celine another opportunity to take off?
Faced with her struggles, I tightly entangled her, affording her no chance, while my sharp claws continuously landed upon her body, creating showers of sparks.
Seeing this, Celine's eyes also turned crimson, and she too scratched and bit at me.
But aside from the embers, neither of us lost even a single Dragon Scale; only large patches of sparks flew.
The other three wyrmlings looked at this scene in utter astonishment.
They had envisioned Celine defeating me in a crushing manner, and they had also imagined me, as the weaker party, barely achieving victory against Celine.
But the scene before them was something they had never conceived.
We two dragons were actually evenly matched.
Not only that, but considering I was atop Celine for most of the encounter, I actually held the upper hand.
Looking at us entangled together, still biting at each other, they did not know whether they should intervene and separate us.
This was no longer a battle.
But soon, they no longer needed to grapple with this dilemma.
Even though True Dragon species are powerful, we were, after all, wyrmlings who had just broken our shells, and our physical stamina was limited.
After tangling for a short while, we two dragons lay prone, panting heavily.
I glared at Celine with resentment.
I had imagined many scenarios, but I never thought that merely confronting Celine would exhaust my strength.
In this situation, forget about beating the four wyrmlings to tears; if I truly fought them all, I would probably be the one crying.
The ideal is often far removed from the stark reality, which aptly described my situation.
It seemed that desiring a Dragon Den solely for myself was still a long and arduous aspiration.
On the other side, Celine looked at me and gradually calmed down.
True Dragons are proud.
Although they covet victory and pursue it relentlessly, they disdain to conceal failure.
And for Celine, not defeating me constituted a failure.
Striving to stand, Celine raised her neck high, still in that proud posture, but the exhaustion in her eyes rendered her appearance somewhat disheveled.
"I concede I underestimated you.
Here, I solemnly apologize to you.
I am sorry."
As she spoke, Celine's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"However, I shall remember this defeat.
Next time, I will undoubtedly be the victor."
Afterward, Celine turned to look at me.
"I am not qualified as the leader to accept your challenge after this defeat.
However, if you insist on challenging me, I shall still be happy to oblige."
After saying that, Celine took a deep look at me, then slowly walked away towards the depths of the Dragon Den.