Jona Velli was truly stuffed. She lay lazily on the ground, motionless, her round belly bulging high as one dragon claw rhythmically patted her abdomen.
"Burp~"
Jona Velli couldn't help but let out a comfortable burp as sleepiness began to well up in her body.
To be honest, she really wanted to just bask in the sun like this, lying comfortably on the riverbank for a beautiful sunbath.
Although she had been reincarnated as a White Dragon and, by habit, preferred cold places to sunbathing, Jona Velli's human soul and White Dragon soul had merged. Now, she didn't reject the feeling of warmth.
However, Jona Velli didn't much like being close to the scorching Red Dragon. After all, the aura around them was far too hot, making her dragon body feel uncomfortable.
Forcing down the drowsiness in her heart, Jona Velli grabbed the Stone-Claw Demon Crocodiles she had killed—one in each claw—and spread her dragon wings to take flight by sheer force.
Though they were a bit heavy for her, her physical strength was extremely powerful. Even if she couldn't compare to Friel right now, it didn't mean she was weak.
Thus, the white Hatchling Dragon, only three meters long, flew toward the upper reaches of the Sam River while clutching two Stone-Claw Demon Crocodiles that were nearly nine meters long.
With this heavy load, Jona Velli's flight speed was noticeably slower, and it took her half an hour to return to the Dragons Lair.
The moment she landed, she dropped the two crocodiles on the ground with a heavy thud.
'Phew~ Finally here. I'm exhausted.'
Jona Velli sighed inwardly, shaking her two sore White Dragon claws and stretching the dragon wings on her back a few times.
Sensing something, she stopped her movements and looked into the cave.
Inside, a pair of fiery-red vertical pupils was slowly approaching her. Jona Velli knew that the true master of this Dragons Lair had awakened.
Before Friel could even speak, Jona Velli hopped over to her and affectionately rubbed her round dragon head against Friel's chest.
However, she was pushed away by a disgusted Friel. Jona Velli wasn't annoyed; she grabbed Friel with one claw and pointed outside the cave with the other, gesturing frantically with an anxious look.
"Awoo awoo~ Awoo~"
"Awoo awoo~~ Awoo~"
Friel looked at the slightly excited Jona Velli and then glanced outside the cave. She had sensed the things Jona Velli brought back long ago.
Moving her Red Dragon claws, Friel walked outside the cave under Jona Velli's lead, and the two Stone-Claw Demon Crocodiles came into view.
Friel looked at Jona Velli with a hint of surprise.
"You caught these two Stone-Claw Demon Crocodiles?"
The white Hatchling Dragon proudly closed her eyes and puffed out her chest, looking as if she were begging for praise.
Friel naturally saw through her thoughts, and after a moment's hesitation, she spoke.
"Mm, you did very well."
Jona Velli was stunned for a moment by the praise. She hadn't expected this dragon to actually praise her, but she quickly acted satisfied and happily nuzzled Friel.
Friel pushed her away again.
"So, what's the matter? Did you just come to show off and get my praise?"
Jona Velli pretended not to understand, tilting her round dragon head in confusion. She then pointed at the Stone-Claw Demon Crocodiles, then at Friel, and finally patted her own small belly.
Friel understood her gestures, and the corners of her mouth curled into a wide grin.
"So they're to curry favor with the great Friel. It seems you're not too stupid after all."
Although Jona Velli felt disdain in her heart, she still happily nuzzled Friel on the surface.
This behavior worked well on Friel. She narrowed her eyes with pleasure and held her dragon head high, enjoying Jona Velli's actions.
But before long, Jona Velli could no longer resist the heavy sleepiness. Her movements grew smaller and smaller until she finally closed her eyes.
Looking at the White Dragon who had fallen asleep leaning against her, Friel surprisingly didn't push her away this time.
Her crimson dragon eyes gazed at the white Hatchling Dragon, which was stained with some blood, wondering what she was thinking.
Then, she grabbed the back of Jona Velli's neck with her left claw, a Stone-Claw Demon Crocodile with her right claw, and wrapped her thick, powerful Red Dragon tail around the other crocodile.
Though she was only a Hatchling Dragon, the well-developed muscles on her body were already faintly visible.
Friel dragged them into the cave by force and then fell into a deep sleep... By the time Jona Velli woke up again, the Stone-Claw Demon Crocodiles lying before her were already emitting a rotten smell.
She had intended to freeze them for storage, but she had forgotten.
Hunger left her no room for anything else; she opened her dragon mouth and dug in.
A dragon's stomach is like a furnace installed inside the body. Never mind a bit of rotten meat—even hard metals cannot escape the fate of being digested.
In fact, when some hatchlings are starving and the dragon mother is too lazy to go out and forage, they will choose to eat dirt and rocks.
However, such behavior is too shameful. Unless they are blacking out from hunger, almost no True Dragon would choose such a way of eating.
After barely lining her stomach so she wasn't as hungry anymore, Jona Velli felt that the slightly decaying crocodile meat wasn't appetizing at all.
Are you kidding? She wasn't a Black Dragon; how could she possibly like eating this kind of meat?
Her crystal-blue dragon eyes stared at the Stone-Claw Demon Crocodile. If she didn't want to eat this, she would have to go out and forage.
But as a dragon, she was naturally lazy. Moreover, Jona Velli had a bit of procrastination in her past life. Now that there was food in front of her, she was too lazy to move.
Thus, she only had one option left.
Opening her white dragon mouth, she released a fan-shaped Frost Breath, and the Stone-Claw Demon Crocodile in front of her was quickly frozen solid.
Looking at her masterpiece, Jona Velli narrowed her eyes with pleasure.
"Mm~ This should do it."
With that, Jona Velli began to eat, and after finishing her meal, she lay down to sleep again.
Jona Velli slept for four days this time. A familiar cramping pain came from her abdomen. For some reason, Jona Velli just knew she had slept for four days.
Jona Velli slowly woke up inside the cave and saw Friel lying there fast asleep.
Knowing the Red Dragon's personality well, she didn't dare disturb her. She slowly stood up and walked out of the cave with light steps.
This time, Jona Velli didn't choose the plains; instead, she wanted to take the opportunity of hunting to explore the surroundings.
And her target was the Slumbering Forest.
A White Dragon shadow flew over the forest. Every tree here was thirty meters tall, and this was only the outskirts of the Slumbering Forest.
After flying for a few minutes, her dragon eyes, which were more powerful than an eagle's, soon discovered two Camouflage-Grass Horned Deer.
One Camouflage-Grass Horned Deer was four meters long and three meters tall, while the other was smaller, only a little over a meter long—one could tell at a glance it was a fawn.
An introduction from her Inheritance Memory automatically surfaced in her mind.
[Camouflage-Grass Horned Deer: A solitary herbivorous magical beast. The fur on its body is pale green, just like small grass.]
[It can use basic innate magic—Wood Vine Entanglement. Its maximum growth limit can reach the Fourth Ring of Silver.]
[The buck's antlers are wide and thick, with dark green vines wrapped around them. Some older ones may have mushrooms growing on their antlers. They are highly aggressive with distinct features.]
[These deer are highly alert and incredibly fast, but their meat is delicious and very suitable as a pre-meal snack.]
[If possible, you can kill them by surprise. If you encounter a mother and child, I suggest eating the fawn in front of the doe. Their tragic cries paired with fresh fawn meat are truly incomparable. More importantly, maternal love will drive them to run back to protect the young deer. — Black Dragon Amos.]