The canyon has long since returned to calm, leaving only traces from the brief battle just now. The remaining Ogre Warriors picked up the weapons of their fallen comrades from the scorched ground; these iron spearheads were precious to Ogres who didn't understand forging.
The arm of the Two-headed Ogre Sahai had already started to heal slowly. He was with the few remaining intact Ogre Mages, using Shaman Divine Skill to stabilize the Giant Demon's suffering Spirit.
A White Dragon with a broken tail was bleeding from its mouth and nose, dragged by the Ogre Warriors like a dead dog. This was the unlucky Gomot, who thought being at the front was dangerous, so he stayed behind the Juvenile Dragons, and now he truly found himself behind the Dragon Group.
Moergo excitedly directed the tribe's Warriors to transport those shiny stones and gleaming gold-tone ores from the Juvenile Dragons' Dragon Nest. Though Ogres had no concept of wealth, Moergo knew these items could be exchanged with greedy merchants for many useful things.
Orsus and his group only intended to watch the battle, so at the first reminder from the knowledgeable Mage, they withdrew to the back of the crowd with the Guards, avoiding detection by the Red Dragon during the battle.
The merchants looked upon the piled-up Gold Mine Jewelry being transported out from the Dragon Nest with joy but couldn't shake the regret in their hearts. These treasures could be exchanged for a heap of cheap cloth and damaged weapons, but the escaped Juvenile Dragons were too unfortunate a loss.
Those Juvenile Dragons were infinitely more valuable than their weight in gold—no, even weighing Dragons with simple wealth was foolish, especially that special Red Dragon.
That Red Dragon clearly had the embryonic form of a Domain. Even if Orsus was mistaken, the Mage beside him would not be.
The significance of an embryonic Domain was known throughout the Icaria World; it represented an Extraordinary level, above Legend, below Demigod—the unique ability of a Domain Strong Fighter.
It was a power strong enough to be called the pillar of a nation, a strength that could establish a country alone. Though Orsus and the Mage were not part of that high circle, they possessed substantial power compared to ordinary people, and they understood this concept.
Thinking of this, Orsus quietly asked, "Master Laksu, do you have confidence?"
Laksu, with a confident smile on his pale face, replied, "If you're asking me to capture that Red Dragon, I might not manage it, but with my ability, that Red Dragon definitely won't discover my Tracking Magic Mark."
Orsus's face lit up with a smile, praising, "Well done, Master Laksu. You're truly not to be outdone as a member of the High-level Mage Association. When the time comes, we'll need you to point these Ogres in the right direction."
"Not all Ogres are fools. After the lesson from this episode, they're not necessarily willing to provoke those Giant Dragons again," Laksu noted warily, glancing at the beautiful Giant Demon and Two-headed Mage lying on the long couch.
Every Mage possessed Spiritual Power many times stronger than ordinary people. Yet, Laksu felt his Spiritual Power before this beautiful Giant Demon as if he were an ordinary person facing a Mage; only the Mage's pride and his grasp of Magic Knowledge kept him from feeling fear, and he even wanted to study the Giant Demon.
"I will offer them terms they cannot refuse. As long as they can capture that Red Dragon for me, I will bring them the power of civilization, forging techniques, blacksmiths, seeds for planting, and farmers—all can be sold to them." Orsus smiled with confidence.
These were not problems for him; previously, he hadn't given these things to the Ogre Tribe partly because civilized world humans fundamentally looked down on these savage creatures. Besides possessing intelligence, these Ogres were no different from animals to him, and Orsus didn't want the Ogre Tribe to grow stronger—weakness was easier to control.
Another reason was the innate profit-driven nature of merchants. The more eagerly the other side desired something, the less it should be sold easily to ensure a good price.
"Also, Laksu, use your Raven to send a letter back for me—I need the power belonging to my family to support me. You should also send a letter to the Mages you're friendly with, but don't reveal this matter to them until they're nearly here, and my servant will inform them of the truth. After this is over, you'll receive your deserved reward, given the considerable number of Juvenile Dragons involved."
··········
A Red Dragon wobbled in the sky as if drunk, dropping blood traces along its flight above the towering trees. A long, thin wound ran from its lower waist to the front of its abdomen, so deep it almost revealed the writhing organs within.
Karon forced himself to endure the stabbing pain, both Spirit and flesh, with only one thought in mind—to keep flying forward, as far from the former Dragon Nest as possible.
His consciousness grew fuzzy, only allowing his muscles to move autonomously. Thankfully, the wound wasn't wide; under the Giant Dragon's robust recovery ability, it soon closed temporarily, preventing further blood loss.
Karon didn't know how long or how far he'd flown until he could hold on no longer, plunging down from midair.
His last thread of consciousness urged him to use his claws to dig out a makeshift burrow, not even managing any covering measures, before collapsing inside it, asleep.
Fortunately, the rainy season had arrived. Torrential downpours formed a water curtain connecting heaven and earth, covering the forests everywhere in a white blur, diminishing the Red Dragon's scent and blood traces until they were barely detectable.
Karon awoke after three days in the burrow. For Dragons, mental microtraumas had a far deeper impact than physical scars—over those three days, at least the larger half of the wounds had healed to almost free movement.
But mentally, Karon felt like a person suffering a hangover from counterfeit alcohol for days on end; his head was still groggy and occasionally painful, while the thoughts of his once lively Evil Dragon mind seemed too sluggish.
"Dammit," muttered the Red Dragon, accidentally swallowing muddy water that had flooded into the burrow. Karon quickly spat it out.
The rain was too heavy; once he loved listening to the sound of rain while lying in the burrow, now his mood was far from relaxed—the abundant rain was flooding the burrow, nearly covering his wings.
As one of the most nearly perfect creatures, Dragons had remarkable adaptability to environments; they could live freely on land, in the sky, or sea—such water couldn't drown the Red Dragon.
Still, the increasingly strong fishy scent in the burrow whetted Karon's appetite; he hadn't eaten in days, and every hint of smell was incredibly vivid to his senses.
During the Juvenile Dragon stage, bodies rapidly grew and developed, needing vast amounts of food—truly, half-grown boys can eat a man poor. Particularly, under the Superlimit State, Karon's stomach was growling with hunger.
The noise from the Dragon's stomach might sound to others like dozens of frogs croaking together, but outside in the downpour, no creature would stay outside its nest—even Dragons struggled to find prey.
"Why not take a bite?" Karon hesitated, gazing at the soft mud soaked by rainwater before him. It resembled glutinous rice cakes—tempting, with a draw Karon hadn't noticed before.
"Better not." Though Dragons had strong stomachs capable of digesting soil, it lacked nutrition for them. To satisfy hunger, one must turn into an excavator, digging a lot. Karon tried to distract himself from attempting despite craving.
Originally, after breaking through the Ogre's encirclement that evening, Karon planned to visit the Ogre's old nest by the reportedly rich Gulf. After all, he used to be skilled in all conversion strategies there.
Those coming to the Dragon Nest to besiege the Dragon Group must be elites from the Ogre Tribe; the powerful warriors left behind at the Gulf likely wouldn't be too many—a trip could yield significant results.
But injuries delayed him for days; heading for the Ogre's old nest now was a trap rather than a visit. "I wonder how Doss and the others are doing, although given the Dragon's mobility, if they escape to the prairie, they'll see everything with their eyes. Once the Juvenile Dragons want to flee, capturing them will be difficult."
Karon's mind swirled with various thoughts; his Spirit, exhausted by trauma, soon drifted off to sleep again.