"Who's your brother? What scars are you talking about?"
Gris felt utterly baffled.
Jona Velli patted his shoulder with a tone of profound sincerity.
"It's fine, I'll protect you from now on. As long as you follow me, I guarantee you'll never want for food or clothing."
Gris showed a wary expression, never expecting the dragon before him to have such an ulterior motive.
"A True Dragon would never submit to anyone else!"
Her crystal-Blue Dragon eyes narrowed slightly as Jona Velli clenched her claws, the dragon bones cracking with a series of pops.
"I know you're very upset right now, and I sympathize, but that's no reason for you to defy me."
"What are you talking about? I'm..."
Thud!
Before he could finish, Jona Velli punched Gris on the head, the powerful force making him see stars.
"Say that again."
"The great True Dragon absolutely will not submit to..."
Thud!
"Again."
"The great..."
Thud!
"Again."
"I think you're a very good dragon, actually willing to take in a homeless dragon like me. I'm so touched, wuwuwu."
Gris said very compliantly, and Jona Velli, satisfied, retracted her claws and nodded.
"Good, the right choice."
A True Dragon would never submit to anyone else, but the one opposite was also a True Dragon, and a powerful one at that—so it didn't count as someone else. Thus, he hadn't violated his principles.
Hmm, yes, that's it. How could it be called submission between True Dragons? That's called cooperation.
Gris quickly convinced himself. Jona Velli had no idea what he was thinking; if she knew, she'd definitely give him a thud.
"Come with me. But a word of warning: when you meet the other one later, show your intent to submit. Remember, don't reveal my special nature; treat me as a normal White Dragon."
"You can try exposing it, but be prepared for the consequence of me hunting you down relentlessly once you're grown."
With that, Jona Velli walked up to a hunting Stone-Claw Demon Crocodile, grabbed it with a single claw, and soared into the air.
Gris was startled by her words. He didn't think she was joking—given the vengeful nature of Five-Color Dragons, it was entirely possible for them to hold a grudge over a minor matter and pursue someone endlessly.
But he was also horrified by Jona Velli's terrifying brute strength.
After all, among the Five-Color Dragons, Red Dragons rank first because their strength and intelligence are the greatest, though they are also the proudest and look down on other dragons.
Blue Dragons rank second because their strength is second only to Red Dragons, but they are also very arrogant.
Yet the strength displayed by this White Fledgling Dragon before him could probably rival that of the top Red Dragon, possibly even matching a normal Red Dragon.
Led by Jona Velli, Gris followed her as they flew to the Dragons Lair halfway up the mountain.
As soon as they entered, he saw a fiery red figure sleeping.
This put him on high alert—it was actually a Red Wyrmling!
The most temperamental and tyrannical, even the other Five-Color Dragons dislike dealing with them.
Moreover, judging by her size, she was definitely not a normal Red Dragon. A typical Red Dragon at the Hatchling Dragon stage might reach five meters at most, but this one was six meters long, seemingly close to seven.
Clearly, this Red Dragon had awakened some physical-type talent, and her overall talent was absolutely not low!
He never expected this White Dragon to bring him to meet a Red Dragon. If he had known in advance, he would never have come.
But strangely, White Dragons love ice and snow, while Red Dragons love blazing flames. How did these two end up together?
While puzzled, Friel slowly opened her eyes upon sensing an unfamiliar presence entering the cave.
"Roar!"
Just waking up, she wanted to exercise her vocal cords. Huh? What's up with this Little Black Dragon? Why does he look so on edge?
Friel's dragon roar just now had startled Gris, making every cell in his body tremble and every muscle tense up—it was purely instinctual.
In contrast, Jona Velli dragged the Stone-Claw Demon Crocodile and hopped over to Friel.
"Awoo awoo~ awoo woo awoo~"
Seeing the little fool run up to her, Friel raised a claw to stop the White Dragon head from rubbing against her.
Friel didn't pay attention to the extra Black Fledgling Dragon, prioritizing filling her stomach first.
After devouring the entire Stone-Claw Demon Crocodile, Friel felt about sixty percent full, then turned her attention to Gris.
Being stared at by those fiery red vertical pupils made Gris extremely uncomfortable, his dragon heart beating even more violently.
Friel walked up to Gris, looking down at him from above without any defenses—from the start, Friel hadn't taken him seriously.
In contrast, Gris was on full alert but dared not show any sign of initiating an attack.
"Explain. You know what I'm talking about."
Gris swallowed some dragon saliva and explained what had happened earlier, omitting the part about Jona Velli knowing the dragon language.
After hearing Gris's account, Friel glanced at Jona Velli beside her and found her quietly squatting, blinking her big, beautiful eyes.
"Do you want to keep him?"
Jona Velli nodded her round dragon head. Seeing this, Friel said no more.
"As you wish."
With that, Friel held her dragon head high and left the cave.
Only after she was completely gone did Gris finally deflate. As he relaxed, he realized his whole body had gone limp.
There was no helping it—the pressure from that Red Dragon was too intense. Even though she wasn't angry and had barely spoken, it still made him nervous.
"Tsk~ Look how scared you are. Really embarrassing for a Five-Color Dragon."
Jona Velli covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
"You!..."
Gris wanted to get angry, but the words died in his throat. There was no choice—he couldn't win in a fight, so he had to endure it.
"Ha~ I'm going to sleep now. Do as you please."
Saying this, Jona Velli walked to her sleeping spot and lay down her dragon body.
Reminded by Jona Velli, Gris now realized he was feeling very drowsy.
Finding a spot far from Jona Velli, he fell into a deep sleep... Crunch crunch crunch—
The pitch-black dragon head retracted, tucking into his own arm.
Crunch crunch crunch—
The noise didn't stop with his movement; instead, it continued.
Gris impatiently lifted his dragon head and saw the white Hatchling Dragon gnawing on the stone wall.
"Strange, isn't it."
A low voice sounded. Gris's pupils contracted as he looked toward the source and found Friel, who had woken up at some unknown time.
He was so frightened he immediately stood up, his scales bristling.
Friel wasn't surprised; after all, this was how normal Five-Color Dragons reacted upon seeing her.