Gurgle!
Her stomach protested again.
Hunger made Samantha's stomach twitch and convulse, extremely uncomfortable.
She whimpered, lowering her head to gnaw on the unpleasantly damp earth, increasingly missing the times under the Dragon Lady's protection. Even if she had to be oppressed and bullied by Galos every day, it was still better than the current precarious life, eating dirt to stave off hunger.
"Galos... should I go plead for him to take me in?"
Samantha suddenly remembered what Galos had said when he left.
Though unwilling to admit it, she was well aware that Galos was smarter and stronger than her, and likely living a better life.
"Even if it means completely following Galos' commands and orders, it's fine. After all, I never liked using my brain much anyway."
Samantha no longer wanted to wander aimlessly.
Yet, she couldn't let go of her inner pride and arrogance.
"No, impossible. I am a Red Dragon, destined to stand at the pinnacle of the world. How can I be so easily defeated by the wilderness? I can't let Galos look down on me!"
Samantha gritted her teeth, stood up from the muddy water, and cast aside the thought of following Galos.
"I'm too hungry, I need food, real food, not dirt or bark."
Samantha took a deep breath and trudged heavily through the rain curtain.
Iron Pine Hills.
The rain cleared away, and the air was filled with scorching heat again. Humid water vapor steamed up from the needle forest, pooling into shallow, rainbow-hued ponds in the low-lying areas. Broken fir tree branches lay across the mud, their severed ends oozing amber-colored resin.
Galos lay on a giant rock on the hillside of the hills.
Golden sunlight fell on him, casting a radiant glow on his scale armor.
He unfolded his wings, enjoying the comfort of the sunlight on his body, lazily squinting his eyes, unwilling to move.
Considering Galos' diligence and self-discipline, such leisure time was relatively rare, but he understood the importance of balanced work and rest, knowing the dangers of going to extremes, and while pursuing evolution and strengthening himself, he allowed himself some relaxation during idle times.
The previous storm had lasted for a week.
During that time.
With the wilderness being generally dry, rainy days were rare, so Galos cherished the rare rainy days, bathing in the wind and rain while repeatedly using the Dark Gold Tail Ring to train himself. Once he ran out of energy, he'd immediately recharge with electricity before continuing the training, repeating this cycle over and over. However, he also remembered the dangers of the wilderness, inserting rest in between to conserve energy and avoid exhausting himself excessively.
And after being washed by the storm and tempered by lightning.
Over these days, Galos had lashed away all his buffer scales, and had not grown new ones yet, revealing a layer of cracked and dented, potholed and mottled black-red scale armor, looking as though he had gone through intense battles.
As for the results.
Aside from not knowing how much his lightning resistance had increased, Galos also felt a slight, tingling sensation resembling electric shock in the muscles beneath his dragon scales and skin.
And this was also a sign of gradually adapting to evolution.
Basking in the sun, Galos' tail dangled outside the rock slab, gently swaying, while he shifted his position so the sun could shine on his belly.
Until noon, when the sunlight became most intense and scorching.
Galos had not set out to hunt.
He decided to give himself a day off, letting Möbel go hunt for food instead.
"A little more rest."
Galos yawned, closed his eyes, and continued basking, drowsy with sleep.
Suddenly.
His nose twitched, as if catching a scent, and he opened his black Dragon Eyes.
——A familiar scent drifted through the air.
The Red Iron Young Dragon propped himself up, lifted his head and gazed into the distance.
Meanwhile.
Samantha staggered through the muddy and damp ground of the wilderness, her already half-damaged right dragon wing bearing more wounds, with several poisoned feathered arrows still hanging on.
She flapped her dragon wings while running, attempting to fly.
But after several tries, her damaged wings and fragile body couldn't support her ascent to the sky, leaving her only able to dash on the ground.
Behind her, dozens of Goblin Wolf Riders pursued relentlessly.
The gray giant wolf's claws pounded through the mud and water, sprinting quickly, gradually closing the distance between them.
Samantha gritted her dragon teeth, gazing ahead at the densely growing fir trees on the hills, with a hint of hope in her eyes.
"Almost there, almost there."
"I hope Galos is still here, I hope he can forgive my past ignorance and wildness."
Even if it meant becoming Galos' follower, lowering her proud head, and completely obeying this brother, Samantha accepted it.
After enduring hardships, she had deeply realized.
Dignity could not allow her to survive in the wilderness; she had been too naive.
In reality, whether it was Iron Dragon Lady or Dragon's Legacy, they all mentioned that it is not easy for young dragons to survive alone and requires extreme caution and vigilance. Yet, arrogance and hubris are born with the Dragon Vein. Young dragons who haven't weathered storms always believe they can easily conquer the world.
However.
Dragon Lady and legacy knowledge couldn't teach it.
But cruel reality could.
On the first day of the storm, Samantha had the idea to follow Galos, but at the time, she still held arrogance in her heart, unwilling to relent to the wilderness.
Bathed in the wild wind and rain.
Samantha tried to hunt, to use food to replenish her energy, to improve her injuries.
But events turned out contrary to her wishes.
Creatures surviving in the wilderness, whether intelligent beings or beasts, have their own survival principles. With Samantha's poor hunting skills and weak body, all hunts ended in failure.
If not for the Dragon Race's inherent resilience.
If it were other creatures enduring such hardship, they would be barely hanging on to life.
After gnawing on tree bark and dirt a few more times, Samantha finally acknowledged herself, deciding to follow her strong and wise brother.
Unfortunately.
The initial goblin tribe Samantha encountered had been tracking her, hoping to turn the Red Young Dragon into alchemy materials. After a period of pursuit, a group of Goblin Wolf Riders discovered her trail, following and gradually spotting the young dragon.
"The distance is close enough, archers ready!"
Among the goblin riders on gray giant wolves, several drew their ironwood longbows to their maximum, fitted with arrows engraved with tiny runes and coated with poison.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three feathered arrows tore through the air with piercing whistling sounds, shooting toward Samantha.
Samantha's ears twitched, sensing the danger from behind, and she awkwardly rolled away.
Two feathered arrows missed, embedding deeply into the moist ground, entirely from tip to tail. Another lodged into Samantha's hind leg, the armor-piercing arrowhead broke through the dragon scales, and the metal arrow shaft trembled slightly, emitting faint metallic vibrations.
The stabbing pain was secondary.
More dire was the poison carried on it, corroding and spreading.
Samantha was now far too weakened.
If at her peak, this amount of poison wouldn't have affected her at all.
Samantha felt her last bit of strength slipping away, her steps slowing, her body as heavy as a mountain, while the nearby Iron Pine Hills seemed as distant as the horizon.
If given another chance.
Samantha would undoubtedly cling tightly to her brother's thigh, rather than foolishly trying to prove herself by surviving alone.