Beneath the Red Dragon

Clang, clang, clang,

The massive claws clashed and intertwined with one another, like steel claws colliding, emitting sparks and metallic sounds, as the two enormous dragons with the same colored scales suddenly stopped, facing each other.

Female Red Dragon Kleyna panted heavily, the shattered scales on her right shoulder as precisely cut as if a skilled human warrior had sliced them with a sharp enchanted sword, neat and without any excess incision.

"Whew, no more fighting," the female Red Dragon spit out two breaths of flame angrily from her mouth, burning against the magic shield of the opposite Red Dragon, yet the shield blocked it, preventing the scorching flames from closing in on the other dragon’s scale armor in the slightest.

"I keep improving, but the gap between us only grows larger, Karon,"

Kleyna beat her long tail in frustration, making the hard, flat ground echo with bangs, "What do I have to do to keep pace with you? I’m really sick of the feeling of being left behind and powerless."

Every dragon received individual guidance from Karon, who also passed on methods of meditation to control dragon blood and ways to strengthen mental willpower to the dragons in the dragon group.

Karon always enjoyed seeing his companions grow together, which did not pressure him but rather fueled his motivation.

Kleyna, the female Red Dragon, didn’t particularly like exploring magic. She preferred to use her body to destroy enemies, often sparring with Karon in close combat techniques during privates sessions.

But Karon’s sub-brain cluster was initially born for this purpose, gathering many combat techniques and information. Karon, whose fighting skills have gradually become self-contained, always managed to defeat Kleyna effortlessly, not relying on greater strength.

As a result, after each battle practice, Kleyna would always feel profoundly impacted. However, this bullheaded female dragon’s greatest strength was her bravery and tenacity, never backing down despite defeats.

"Oh, Kleyna, you’ve done well enough. Today, you even broke through three layers of my magic shield, just a little more, and you could’ve touched my scales,"

Karon smiled, baring his long fangs, stretching his dragon claws upwards, with the remaining three fingers curled closed, index finger and thumb touching, making a gesture.

Kleyna looked helplessly at the magical spiritual light swirling on Karon’s glistening scales, generating layers of magic barriers anew.

Layer upon layer of magic barriers enveloping him tightly, like layers of energy armor adhered to his scale armor. These energy armors not only protected his body well but also isolated the emission of his aura.

Kleyna could not even smell the dense scent of sulfur and magma unique to Red Dragons from Karon. "Are you mocking me or praising me," the young female dragon complained, shaking her head, the dragon horns on her head gently nudging away Karon’s dragon claw covering her head.

This action always made Kleyna feel as if she were a sister being comforted and cared for by Karon, a feeling she somewhat disliked.

But Kleyna’s gentle gesture didn’t deny Karon’s dragon claw, as Karon, like stroking a small dog, fondly rubbed Kleyna’s head.

"Growth requires time and effort, Kleyna, and the reason I’ve grown faster than you is that I’ve spent more time and effort, though my outstanding talent plays a substantial role,"

The relationship between Karon and Kleyna had been peculiar since they were young.

Karon felt that, being born first, he was rightfully the older brother, thus, after learning to control his dragon blood, he always showed more leniency toward Kleyna, perhaps due also to a compensatory mindset from having been too harsh in their youth.

The female Red Dragon Kleyna also set her sights on dominating the dragon group, turning it into a goal of surpassing Karon, a nearly impossible and extremely challenging aspiration, believing herself to be the elder sister, thus always harboring some rebellious thoughts.

Yet when Karon genuinely made a decision, this female dragon, like White Dragon Camid, never considered right or wrong and steadfastly supported Karon’s decisions.

"You’re strange, Karon, you’ve been like this since childhood. Even the most ambitious giant dragon wouldn’t be as diligent as you are. In our dragon’s eyes, it’s almost like you’re harshly punishing yourself,"

Female Red Dragon Kleyna squinted, slightly pushing away Karon’s heavy dragon claw and said, "Liking to delve into magic knowledge is already seen as pathological in the eyes of most giant dragons, with an unflattering nickname—Spell-Devouring Dragon—prepared for strange dragons like you,"

"And you exceed even that degree. If it weren’t for you not having filled your scales with spells, I’d suspect you’ve caught that disease and passed it to the dragon group,"

Kleyna lifted her head, looking up into Karon’s tranquil eyes, "Sometimes, I even doubt there’s a giant dragon’s soul in your body!"

"So what," Karon’s eyes remained completely unmoved, as calm as the deepest lake on a prairie, unaffected by the wind.

"So the dragons in the dragon group are waiting for your decision, haven’t you noticed? The impending dormancy period is making every dragon restless, it’s an instinctive restlessness inherent to every life, particularly inevitable for dragons. After they pass the dormancy period, they will need to start choosing their mates."

Kleyna angrily pressed her dragon horn against Karon’s robust chest, exerting great effort to push the giant Karon half a step.

She shouted loudly: "Before you, our most esteemed monarch, set a goal, the dragons in the dragon group dare not and cannot choose their mates. Antajena has complained to me many times. No matter how she tries to please you, you’ve given no definitive response,"

"However, the Green Dragon you disregard is seen as a beautiful gemstone in the eyes of other dragons. You should express your intentions and not let the dragon group remain apprehensive and uncertain of your meaning!"

"Look at Black Dragon Rosani, twisted by his restlessness into obsession with those little mares, something even dragons aren’t that interested in!"

To be honest, such a topic could only be openly discussed and warned by Kleyna with Karon directly, as any male dragon daring to raise this question with Karon would be seen as challenging the master of the dragon clans’ right of mate selection.

Even if the relationships in the dragon group had gradually evolved to resemble a large family, they remained dragons nonetheless.

Karon finally realized he had invested so much energy in other areas that he had overlooked these rather obvious issues.

But the matter of Black Dragon Rosani couldn’t be pinned on him, Karon firmly stated, "Rosani’s behavior is his own peculiarity, cannot be blamed on me, and regarding Antajena, my lack of response is the clearest response."

Karon provided his answer, "I view Antajena as a sister who likes to overthink but is actually somewhat naively foolish, and I have no subjective inclinations towards her as a choice."

Kleyna accepted this answer, although the concepts of sister and brother held particularly little significance in the hearts of these Five-Color Dragons.

"What about me, Karon? I am stronger than the Green Dragon, and my lineage is more distinguished too," Kleyna gently pressed her dragon horn against Karon’s chest, lifting her head, her slender neck entwining between Karon’s strong neck.