A small boy, seeing Zhuogeng sitting and eating and drinking like a person, broke free from his mother's embrace to get a closer look. But his mother yanked him back and slapped him hard on the head.
"Don't disturb a True Dragon while it's eating!" she scolded. "Aren't you afraid it will swallow you whole?"
The boy, terrified, burrowed into his mother's arms.
Hearing the commotion, Zhuogeng, having finished his meal and wiped his snout clean, glanced at them. He flapped his massive wings and swooped over their heads, sending the mother and child flat on the ground.
Having taught the little brat a lesson, Zhuogeng continued his search for roasted meat. He was now the size of a large pony, with a wingspan of over six meters. The meager portions he'd found earlier were barely enough to fill the gaps between his teeth—they didn't even make him feel a quarter full.
After savoring the tender, savory roasted meat, he'd lost all desire to hunt sheep himself. Why bother when he could just eat ready-made meals? The plains were overflowing with sheep and horse meat.
It was the Dothraki's lunchtime. Zhuogeng soon found a larger Khalasar—a hundred tents, with seven or eight roasting pits. He repeated his usual tactic: scattering the crowd and feasting alone.
When Zhuogeng snatched the meat, some men reached for their bows, but Kao quickly stopped them. Seeing Zhuogeng's gleaming black scales, they knew their arrows would likely bounce off his defenses. Killing him would be impossible, and worse, it might enrage the True Dragon, potentially leading to the slaughter of their entire small Khalasar.
Zhuogeng, thoroughly enjoying his meal, had long noticed their furtive movements. He wasn't worried about arrows; with his current defenses, only his eyes were vulnerable. Ordinary arrows couldn't harm him.
*What? Back door? What's the point of a tail if it's just for show?*
Observing the Khalasar's modest clothing, Zhuogeng concluded they weren't particularly wealthy. After devouring five entire roasting racks, he spread his wings and flew off in search of his next target, a benevolent food thief.
He raided three more grassland Khalasars before finally feeling full. Not a single Khalasar dared to attack him, which made him feel rather smug. He sighed in contentment, "Ah, the life of a dragon is truly wonderful!"
Yet he also felt a twinge of shame. His appetite was growing, and mere raiding wasn't enough to satisfy him. But continuing to steal wasn't a sustainable plan.
For a mighty True Dragon to go around robbing fat sheep would tarnish his reputation. Next time, he decided, he'd bring some Goldshine or Silvershine Coins to pay for his meals. Then he could eat with a clear conscience.
Feeling quite full, Zhuogeng flew back to the Dragon Mother's fleet, needing to digest his meal along the way. Once he arrived, he fell into a deep sleep.
Unbeknownst to Zhuogeng, after he left, the True Dragon Sightings gradually spread throughout the entire grassland.
The Dragon Mother, Daenerys, was already accustomed to Zhuogeng's tendency to wander off. She knew he had a voracious appetite and refined tastes, and that the ship could never satisfy him. She allowed him to hunt on his own, unaware that this time he hadn't hunted at all, only focused on stealing food.
When Zhuogeng woke up the next morning, he stretched lazily and realized he had grown significantly, now the size of a full-grown horse. His private cabin was so cramped that he couldn't even spread his wings.
"Hmm?" Just as he was about to leave to stretch his legs, Zhuogeng suddenly discovered a new inherited ability in his mind: Transformation.
The moment he saw "Transformation," Zhuogeng immediately thought of the skill from his King of Glory game. Had that come with him? And become an inherited ability?
*Could it be that I can transform into a human form?* Zhuogeng's heart raced with excitement. Although he had largely adapted to his dragon form and looked forward to his future as a True Dragon, wouldn't it be even better to switch between dragon and human forms? And... *and be able to have sex with beautiful women...*
*A perfect life!* Zhuogeng fantasized about his ideal future and used a small amount of Magic Power to activate the Transformation.
*Pfft!*
What was that? As the faint smoke dissipated, Zhuogeng stared at the familiar, tiny body and silently asked the heavens, *Where's my human form? Where's my glorious life?*
*Why am I back to being a newborn? This skill is still such a pain!*
After sitting on the ground, covering his face with his wings for five minutes, Zhuogeng finally came to his senses. He hopped up, flapped his wings twice, and assessed his diminished body. His strength was about a third weaker than his adult form, and his defenses, claws, and teeth were proportionally less sharp.
He waddled out of the ship's cabin in tiny steps. The bright sun illuminated the sea, making it sparkle with light, while Rhaegal and Viserion soared freely in the sky above.
"Living the good life, huh?" Watching the two dragons' carefree flight, Zhuogeng suddenly flapped his wings and shot toward the green dragon, Rhaegal, like an arrow from a bowstring. Though his strength hadn't diminished much, his reduced size and weight had doubled his speed. Rhaegal had no time to react before he slammed into her belly.
"Ugh!" A long wail erupted from Rhaegal's neck as the impact nearly made her regurgitate her last meal.
"Such a lax guard... no wonder she was ambushed and killed by that giant crossbow. I need to make them more vigilant from now on."
Without pausing after the initial strike, Zhuogeng dug his claws into Rhaegal's scales, then darted to her neck and tore into her.
Rhaegal only reacted after being struck, turning to bite at Zhuogeng, who easily dodged.
Seeing Zhuogeng, Rhaegal froze. How could this little one look so familiar? And his scent was just like their usual tormentor.
Before she could figure it out, Zhuogeng swiped at her head again. To be bullied by such a small dragon, and to have him climb onto her head—how could she endure this?
Forgetting all about his scent, she thrashed her massive head violently, trying to shake Zhuogeng off and teach him a lesson. But Zhuogeng's sharp claws dug into her dense scales, clinging tightly.
Viserion, who was nearby, heard Rhaegal's screams and flew over. Seeing Zhuogeng, he also froze. He didn't know where this creature had come from, and its scent filled him with both loathing and fear. He hesitated to attack.
"What a coward," Zhuogeng thought, seeing Viserion frozen in place. He immediately understood Viserion's hesitation. Releasing Rhaegal's scales, he charged at Viserion.
Forced to act, Viserion felt the familiar sensation of being trained by Zhuogeng. But this time, it was completely different. In the past, he and Rhaegal would have cornered Zhuogeng, their claws tearing flesh and their jaws dripping blood.
But today, Zhuogeng was as slippery as an eel, evading his grasp time and again. He even managed to land a few hits, making him wince in pain.
"The dragons are fighting again," the sailors and crew watched from the deck, basking in the sun. This had become a major source of entertainment on their monotonous journey.
"Who are they fighting?" Someone noticed something was amiss. Usually, it was a three-way battle, with the black dragon Zhuogeng taking on the other two. But today was different: the green dragon and the golden dragon were fighting a tiny creature.
Too far away to make out the details, they could only see a large black dot darting back and forth between the two dragons. The dragons, unable to look in both directions at once, roared in fury and shrieked in pain.
"It's an outsider!" Seeing the aerial combat, Aggo, a Bloodrider, immediately rushed to report to Daenerys. Upon hearing the news, she hurried out of her cabin.
"Impossible!"
Watching the fierce battle, she could hardly believe her eyes. The sky belonged to dragons—what other flying creature could possibly challenge them?
Yet this creature was so small, yet so agile and ferocious, tearing at Rhaegal and Viserion, who shrieked in agony.
"Aggo, can you shoot him down?"
Regardless of what the creature was, if it threatened her dragons, Daenerys decided to take him down first.