Chapter 154: The Dragon's Nest
Elsewhere...
Two Red Dragons crossed paths mid-air in a violent blur, the shockwave of their passing kicking up a gargantuan pillar of seawater from the ocean below.
"ROAR!"
The elder Red Dragon let out a thunderous, bifurcated roar. His massive wings beat against the atmosphere, forcing a sudden halt mid-flight. He unhinged his jaw, and in a heartbeat, a searing torrent of Dragon Breath erupted. The inferno transformed the sky into a river of crimson flame, the temperature so high that the very air began to shimmer and distort into a heat-haze.
However, the younger Red Dragon did not evade.
He mirrored the gesture, his own throat glowing with the buildup of concentrated Fire Prana.
BOOM—!
The two streams of fire collided in the sky. The elder dragon realized, with a jolt of alarm, that his own flames were being pushed back inch by inch. He immediately severed the breath, performing a desperate barrel roll to avoid the backlash.
But the youth gave him no window of respite. The moment he stopped his breath, he dived. His talons, sharp as enchanted obsidian, slammed into the elder's neck, pinning him toward the waves.
The elder dragon roared in indignant fury, but his frame was suppressed by an overwhelming physical weight. He could not break the hold.
"I... I YIELD!"
He forced the words out, his eyes burning with the sting of humiliation. He was a veteran powerhouse, five centuries into his prime, yet he had been dismantled by a "hatchling" who had only just reached maturity.
The young Red Dragon released his grip and ascended, letting out a long, echoing shriek of triumph toward the heavens.
ROOOOOOAR—!
The cry vibrated through the stone and salt of the entire Dragon Nest. Below, the gathered drakes and hatchlings erupted into a feverish cacophony.
"Lord Ignius has won!"
"Absolute dominance! That makes seventeen victories in a row!"
"To possess such Od after only a hundred years... he is the pride of our bloodline!"
Ignius folded his wings and made a slow, deliberate descent onto the Great Platform at the center of the Nest. His scales shimmered with a brilliant, aggressive crimson under the sun—each plate was flawless, radiating a youthful, lethal edge. He was nothing like the elders, whose scales had grown dull and brittle, looking like weathered river stones.
"Does anyone else dare to challenge my edge?"
Ignius scanned the perimeter, his voice dripping with an arrogance that felt like a physical weight. The surrounding Great Dragons looked away, none of them daring to meet his gaze.
It wasn't a joke. The kid was barely a century old, yet his strength was already at the summit of Tier 6 Peak. He was faster, stronger, and more volatile than dragons who had spent five hundred years basking in the sun. No one wanted to be his next training dummy.
Ignius let out a dismissive snort and turned toward his private lair. Behind him, the cheers of the young ones continued to echo.
"Lord Ignius is so cool!"
"I'm going to be just like him someday!"
"Hah! In your dreams, lizard-breath!"
The corner of Ignius's mouth curled. Gods, being worshipped feels good.
One hundred years. It had taken him a mere century to reach a height that others required a millennium to achieve. A genius? No. He was the Dragon of Destiny.
Returning to his lair, Ignius sprawled across a hoard of gold coins and radiant gemstones, closing his eyes for a well-earned nap. The dragons' homes were built upon a massive volcanic island in the center of the Great Sea, known to the world as the Dragon's Nest—a sanctuary of ancient power. The island was riddled with thousands of caverns, each the sovereign domain of a Great Dragon.
Ignius's cavern was one of the most opulent. It was vast, strategically located near the island's thermal core, and provided a perfect view of the ritual grounds. He had carved this place out with his own claws.
Just as he was drifting into sleep, the rhythmic, heavy thud of footsteps echoed outside his cave.
"Ignius. Step forth."
A deep, resonant voice vibrated through the stone. Ignius snapped his eyes open, a flash of irritation flickering in his pupils. He rose and walked to the entrance.
Standing there was a gargantuan Black Dragon. This was one of the High Elders of the race: Basaka.
"Elder," Ignius said, giving a shallow, perfunctory dip of his head. He was arrogant, yes, but he wasn't a fool. Basaka was an ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years; he had practically raised Ignius. Furthermore, Basaka was only a few centuries away from becoming an Ancient Dragon (Tier 7). Once he crossed that threshold, he would be a candidate for the Dragon Throne.
Basaka scrutinized the youth, a glint of approval in his old eyes. "Your progress is commendable. Your Od is stabilizing well."
"My thanks for the praise, Elder." Ignius kept his tone polite, but inwardly, he was rolling his eyes. Of course it's commendable. I'm a prodigy.
Basaka seemed to read the thought, letting out a dry, rattling chuckle. "Do not let pride blind you, boy. The history of our race is a graveyard of 'geniuses.' The only ones who reach the end are the ones who understand Awe."
Ignius shrugged. Old lizards love their lectures. I'll just listen until he gets to the point.
Basaka didn't linger on the philosophy, shifting to the mandate at hand. "The Season of Gestation (Spring) has arrived."
Ignius paused. The breeding season. Dragons were a potent race, but their reproductive cycle was skewed; most offspring were born as "Dragon-Beasts"—feral, mindless creatures with none of the wisdom or magic of a True Dragon. Only a tiny percentage were born pure-blooded. Every year, the Nest held a massive culling and migration.
"You are assigned to the transport detail," Basaka stated, his tone brooking no argument. "You will escort the year's brood of Dragon-Beasts to the continent."
Ignius frowned. "Me? Why? That's menial labor. Can't we just send a couple of common adults to handle the herd?"
Basaka looked at him coldly. "It is a rite of passage for every dragon who reaches maturity. You will see the world beyond the salt."
With that, Basaka turned and departed. Ignius stood at the entrance, his mood souring.
Still, he thought, the continent might not be a total waste. He'd heard rumors of interesting things out there: human stone-cities, the foundries of the Dwarves, the Elven forests... and the legends of hidden treasures.
Ignius's eyes brightened.
Treasure!
Dragons followed the scent of gold like a moth to a flame. His vault was magnificent, but a dragon could always use more "shining history" to sleep on.
"Fine," Ignius muttered, his spirit lifting. "I'll treat it as a vacation."
"I might as well see for myself just how pathetic those insects on the mainland really are."
He returned to the depths of his cave to pack. He was going to deliver a herd of mindless beasts, but he had no intention of coming back empty-handed. It would be a stain on his reputation if he didn't bring back something legendary.
Three Days Later.
A group of a dozen adult dragons gathered on the obsidian sands of the island's beach. Behind them were hundreds of Dragon-Beasts—smaller, feral creatures with zero intellect, driven purely by hunger and instinct. They were to be dumped onto the continent to serve as the new apex predators of the natural ecosystem.
Ignius stood at the front of the line, his wings slightly unfurled to catch the morning light. He looked radiant. The other dragons watched him with a mixture of awe and wariness. Even among his own kind, he was a predator.
"DEPART!"
The lead dragon, an old Red, let out a bark and took to the sky. The others followed suit, Ignius snapping his wings open and catching a thermal. The Dragon-Beasts, driven by a collective mental command, followed the wake of the flight, a dark cloud of scales moving toward the western horizon.
Ignius flew at the very head of the formation, his heart thrumming with anticipation.
The Continent.
He'd heard it was populated by weaklings. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs... garbage that couldn't even survive a single puff of Dragon Breath.
But he'd also heard there were "Heroes" out there. Mysterious powers and ancient hidden factions.
Ignius revealed a sharp, toothy grin.
Strong opponents?
Perfect.
He wanted to test the limits of his edge against this world.
"Unless the Dragon King himself awakens... I am invincible."
It wasn't a boast. It was a conviction. He would ensure the entire continent learned the name of the dragon who brought the world to its knees.
Ignius.
The greatest genius of the Dragon's Nest.
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