"Awoooo~"
Jona Velli presented the spoils of war to Friel. Friel looked at the item in the white dragon claw, her dragon eyes narrowing.
She looked at Jona Velli and Gris, who had approached, then looked back at the item in the claw and asked.
"You two hunted this?"
Jona Velli danced with excitement, while Gris's voice trembled.
"Yes."
Friel narrowed her dragon eyes, lost in thought.
Then she stepped back and, meeting Jona Velli's confused gaze, said flatly.
"I'm not eating it."
No way. A High-tier Magical Beast, and judging by the size of the lion's head, it must have reached adolescence—at least Silver Rank.
One could imagine how much strength they had to expend to defeat this magical beast.
Besides, as a Red Dragon, she could hunt with her own strength if she wanted to eat. Furthermore, she was currently full and couldn't eat another bite.
Seeing that Friel didn't want it, Jona Velli looked aggrieved, but she was secretly overjoyed.
Eat it or don't. If you don't, I'll eat it myself.
Meanwhile, Gris had a greedy look on his face, knowing he could have another delicious meal for his next feeding.
Jona Velli and Gris returned to their respective sleeping spots. To prevent the Three-Headed Golden Lion's meat from spoiling and the spreading scent of blood from attracting other powerful predators, Jona Velli used Frost Breath to freeze it.
At that moment, Jona Velli felt a resentful gaze fixed upon her.
Following the gaze, she saw Gris staring at her longingly, his eyes seemingly saying—Aren't you going to leave a bite for me?
Jona Velli looked at the food in her claw, then at Gris, and with a flick of her hand, froze the whole thing.
Want to eat? Go catch it yourself.
Friel saw all of this. She silently lowered her dragon head without speaking, but the corners of her dragon mouth curled slightly... Time flew by like a shuttle, and five months passed in a flash.
Jona Velli, whose body length was now nearly five meters, arrived at the White-Scaled Goblin' cave. Upon entering, she saw a small ice crystal hut.
Sensing a familiar presence, the door of the frost hut was kicked open, and Fanny flew out happily, circling around Jona Velli.
Ice crystal powder scattered along her flight path.
"Jona Velli, Jona Velli, you're finally here!"
Jona Velli grinned with her dragon mouth and raised a claw. Fanny landed skillfully on the claw and said with a smile.
"Heehee, thank you~"
"Fanny, how has the production been lately?"
Hearing that Jona Velli only wanted to talk about such things, Fanny's mood dampened slightly, but she still spoke.
"Jona Velli, for the past five months, those Goblins have been mining iron ore. Under my supervision, they haven't slacked off for a single moment."
There was one thing Fanny didn't mention: she had deliberately increased the working hours of the White Phosphorus Goblins, leaving them little time to reproduce, so their population had only just passed a hundred.
Fanny puffed out her little chest, waiting for Jona Velli's praise.
"Mm-hmm, little Fanny is so good."
"Hehehe, so when can Jona Velli take me out to play?"
Fanny looked expectant; she was almost bored to death here. Her range of activity had always been limited to the vicinity.
Jona Velli continued to brush her off.
"Mm-hmm, very soon. I'll take you out after my next slumber."
"Then when is your next slumber? How long will it take?"
Jona Velli ignored the question.
"Let's go, I need to ingest some ore."
After saying that, Jona Velli turned and walked down into the mine. Seeing that Jona Velli ignored her, Fanny's mood dropped, but she still flapped her wings to follow beside her.
Entering the massive mine, she saw the Goblins diligently mining iron ore. Jona Velli nodded with satisfaction.
Very good, very motivated, very energetic.
"Er Pizi."
Hearing Jona Velli's call, the White Phosphorus Goblin Chief quickly finished his work, forced himself to perk up, and ran to kneel before Jona Velli.
"Great Master, is there anything you require?"
"Keep up the good work, and by the way, increase the reproduction efficiency."
"Yes, Great Master."
Dismissing Er Pizi, Jona Velli walked to the iron ore storage area, picked one up, and put it in her mouth.
Every so often, Jona Velli would come to eat iron ore to increase the hardness and defensive power of her dragon scales.
After eating until she was half full, Jona Velli said goodbye to Fanny and left the cave. She planned to take a stroll over to the Slumbering Forest.
Her dragon wings flapped as Jona Velli flew toward the east... Dogtooth Tribe.
A group of scrawny demi-human branch monsters covered in fine red scales moved through the eastern region of the Slumbering Forest.
Holding simple wooden tools, they arrived at a pit trap. Seeing that the trap had been triggered, the group of humanoid monsters let out excited cries.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Woof woof, Chief, it worked!"
A small, thin Kobold ran quickly to an elderly Kobold, gesturing excitedly and letting out happy barks.
Hearing this news, the cloudy crimson eyes seemed to clear up quite a bit, and his back no longer seemed so hunched.
His withered claws grabbed the thin Kobold's hand as he said excitedly.
"Quick! Take me to see, woof!"
Supported by two Kobolds, the old Kobold walked to the trap. Upon looking in, he saw a wild boar impaled by ground spikes.
This made him even more excited, and he couldn't help but bark.
"Woof!!"
The other Kobolds followed suit.
"Woof!! Woof woof!!"
"Great, this Winter Season will be a bit easier after all."
Although a wild boar was only five meters large, the Kobolds didn't eat much. If they ate sparingly, it should last them until next year.
While the Kobolds were cheering, a dark shadow swept across the sky, but it didn't catch their attention.
"Quick, pull this wild boar up before any unexpected changes occur."
"Woof woof!"
The group of Kobolds had clear roles and began to systematically pull the wild boar out of the trap.
After expending a great deal of effort, they finally moved it onto the ground.
Just as they were celebrating being able to survive this Winter Season, a loud crash was heard.
The Kobolds were startled and looked in the direction of the Kobold Chief.
The trembling Chief, thick snowy-white hind legs, a chubby white dragon body, and a ferocious, crooked-mouthed white dragon head.
A dragon! A True Dragon!
Silence. The scene fell into a deathly silence.
Jona Velli scanned the terrified Kobolds, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.
[Kobold: about one meter tall, with thick hind legs and relatively thin forelimbs equipped with claws.
They are extremely sensitive to light and emit a faint phosphorescence in the dark.