Gris tilted his dragon head, looking puzzled.
"At the end of its rope? What's that mean?"
He understood 'deathbed struggle', but he really didn't get'spent force'; it wasn't recorded in his Inheritance Memory either.
Jona Velli curled her dragon mouth; he really was an illiterate dragon.
"Don't worry about that, just do as I say."
"Uh... alright."
To take down this lion, Gris reluctantly agreed.
"Good, then we'll charge together later. You distract him—just a feint—and I'll lead the attack."
Gris furrowed his brow.
"Why? Why are you the main attacker and not me?"
"..."
Can we have a little self-awareness here? You, the main attacker? With that pathetic attack power of yours, tsk tsk tsk.
She complained inwardly, but Jona Velli still nodded on the surface.
"Fine, fine, fine. Since you're so amazing, you attack then. Look at you, acting all capable."
"You!"
Hearing the disdain in Jona Velli's tone, Gris wanted to say something, but the words died in his throat.
"Tch~ The great Gris won't stoop to your level. Just keep up with my offensive rhythm."
"Fine, fine, fine."
Jona Velli looked indifferent. Then, the two Hatchling Dragons charged at the Three-Headed Golden Lion from the left and right.
The Three-Headed Golden Lion, having recovered slightly, prepared for battle.
When they were still ten meters away, Jona Velli suddenly shouted.
"Gris!"
Gris instinctively looked back, but that very movement caused his stride to falter. Jona Velli instantly lunged forward and grabbed Gris's tail.
Before Gris could react, Jona Velli swung him in a Thomas Flare rotation by his tail, using the momentum to hurl him toward the Three-Headed Golden Lion.
"Fire in the hole!"
And she fired a powerful Linear Breath directly at Gris's big backside.
Come on, let's clash.
At such close range and high speed, if you don't swat Gris away, prepare to be knocked silly by the impact. As for Gris, at most, it'll be a bit inconvenient for him to poop for a few days, but the high magic resistance of dragon scales would definitely prevent any serious injury.
If you do swat him away, even better—the high-penetration, high-power breath would be more than enough for you to handle. After all, you don't have the high magic resistance of a dragon.
Facing such a shameless and underhanded tactic, the Three-Headed Golden Lion didn't even have time to think before colliding with Gris, leaving it dazed.
Meanwhile, Gris's black backside took a direct hit from the Linear Breath. The powerful impact made Gris let out a pathetic wail.
"Yahhhhooo!!!"
In that moment, Gris, experiencing the sensation of being ass-blasted, seemed to see the Dragon Mother Tiamat smiling and waving at him from the Divine Kingdom, her gaze seemingly saying...
"Come, child. The Evil Dragon God Kingdom welcomes you."
The Three-Headed Golden Lion was knocked back. A white dragon shadow lunged in front of it, immediately opening its dragon mouth to bite into the neck of its main head, staining the brown mane red with blood.
Dragon claws like steel blades dug into the necks of the other two lion heads.
The fear of death made the Three-Headed Golden Lion struggle desperately, but it was all in vain. Jona Velli was like she was pinned to its body; no matter how it thrashed, it couldn't shake her off.
A minute later, with a loud thud, the golden lion collapsed weakly to the ground, its yellow vertical pupils filled with resentment.
It died just like that, killed in such a humiliating way by a Hatchling Dragon of a lower realm.
Seeing that the golden lion finally had no life left, Jona Velli slowly released her dragon mouth.
Her blood-spattered white dragon head lifted high. Looking at the dead Three-Headed Golden Lion, she peeled back her dragon mouth into a cruel smile, which, combined with her draconic appearance, looked even more hideous.
"How troublesome. However, before the great Jona Velli, any struggle is nothing more than a death rattle."
As she spoke, she extended her dragon tongue to lick the area where she had been bitten; after all this time, the wound had long since healed.
She wasn't in a hurry to eat the Three-Headed Golden Lion. After all, as a High-ranking Magical Beast, it had a very high mana content—to put it simply, it was more filling.
She looked at the Little Black Dragon slumped nearby like a dead dog and gave him a kick with her claw.
"Hey, stop playing dead. Get up and eat."
There was no response. Gris exhausted all his strength just to roll his dragon eyes.
There was no helping it; the aftereffects of being ass-blasted were too strong, and he still hadn't recovered.
Seeing him like this, Jona Velli awkwardly turned her dragon head away.
Hehe~ Guess I went a bit too hard.
But then, she extended her front claw, carved off a large chunk of meat, and placed it in Gris's mouth.
Her white claws grabbed his dragon mouth, opening and closing it to help him chew manually.
This large chunk of meat was quickly swallowed by Gris. With the intake of energy, his injuries began to improve visibly. Within a few minutes, he had mostly recovered, except for his backside, which still stung like fire.
As soon as he recovered, Gris prepared to settle the score.
"Cursed Jona Velli! I'm going to kill you!"
He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth, as a powerful white hind claw was already pressing down on his face, and an unfriendly glint flashed in Jona Velli's eyes.
"What did you say?"
"Qiaona..."
Bonk!
Jona Velli clenched her claw into a fist and slammed it onto Gris's head.
"If the hunt had failed, I wouldn't hold it against you for cursing me. But now that we've successfully hunted a high-ranking species magical beast, what should you call me?"
His pitch-black dragon eyes rolled as he calculated in his mind. Although she had used him and he had been injured, the meat of this High-ranking Magical Beast was delicious, and eating it would bring certain benefits.
Having thought it through, Gris put on a fawning, greedy smile.
"Hehehe~ Sister, you're my dear sister, hehe~"
"Oh~ You're not stupid for a Little Black Dragon."
Jona Velli smiled and released her claw. Gris quickly stood up, grinning.
"Um, Older Sister, can we now..."
Gris didn't finish his sentence, instead winking vigorously toward the corpse of the Three-Headed Golden Lion. Jona Velli nodded her dragon head, signaling that they could begin.
Gris immediately lunged beside the magical beast's corpse and began to feast greedily. Jona Velli slowly walked over and sat down beside him, beginning to eat gracefully.
"Follow me from now on, and I'll make sure you eat well every day."
"Mm-hmm."
"You have to be obedient. Do whatever I tell you to do."
"Mm-hmm."
Bonk!
"Hey, Older Sister, why'd you hit me?"
"'Mm-hmm' my foot! All you know is eating. I'm confiscating this leg."
"Nooo!"
"This Magic Core is mine. If you dare try to take it, I'll beat you to death."
"...On what..."
Bonk!
The figures of the two little Hatchling Dragons slowly receded as they immersed themselves in the feast... Jona Velli flew back to the Dragons Lair carrying a golden lion head and a hind leg, finding that Friel had returned long ago.
Ignoring Gris, who landed behind her, she hopped and skipped toward Friel with the lion head and leg, raising her dragon claw to wake her.
Sensing a dragon approaching, Friel lifted her dragon head, and the first thing she saw was a chubby dragon claw right in front of her.
She didn't even have to think to know who the owner of this claw was. Her dragon eyes moved up to see a face full of excitement—Jona Velli.