Boom!
Under Saga's astonished gaze,
a dazzling firework bloomed, illuminating the night sky.
Amidst the deafening roar, a mushroom cloud rose slowly, engulfing vast swathes of trees and causing widespread destruction.
Terrified hatchling dragons nearby were frozen in shock as the sweeping flames threatened to consume them.
At that moment, a legendary Silver Dragon, over thirty meters in length, appeared as if by teleportation. With a flap of its wings, a frigid air arose, freezing the mushroom cloud into a lifelike and magnificent form, while the fiery blast was simultaneously dispersed.
"Is that Yekaterina's breath?"
The origin of the mushroom cloud was in the direction Yekaterina had gone, and Saga remembered that her breath had a strong explosive quality from long ago.
"Why does this scene look so familiar? Is this nuclear fission breath?"
A chill ran through Saga's heart.
"Such a vast range of attack, even surpassing that of higher beings, and utterly destructive."
Saga thought to himself.
He couldn't help but ponder, comparing the power of Yekaterina's breath with his own Annihilation Breath, wondering which was stronger.
"My breath can't achieve such a wide range yet, but it can damage the scales of a legendary Red Dragon, and its potential is definitely not limited to this."
"Yekaterina's breath is also very destructive, but most likely not as much as mine."
"However, whether it's my breath or hers, at our current stage, the damage is severely excessive."
Saga mused.
The commotion caused by Yekaterina was significant, and after the flames subsided, the nearby hatchling dragons gathered around. Meanwhile, Saga, in the territory of the Four-Armed Behemoth, found a treasure chest at a conspicuous spot on the highest hill.
This hunting ground was reserved for hatchling and young dragons.
Every territory of higher beings had treasure chests as rewards for hatchling or young dragons that successfully hunted them. Of course, the rewards for the young dragons were much less than what their elders had to pay to the guardian dragons, and they were hard to come by.
Hunting higher beings was often a group effort among many young dragons.
As for those who hunted alone and succeeded, it might happen only once every few decades or even a century.
Without checking the contents of the chest, Saga stored it in a spatial crystal and flew towards Yekaterina's location.
The ground here was shattered and scorched, with traces of being licked by flames everywhere. The central area of the ground had even crystallized, surrounded by lingering flames and ashes.
Yekaterina stood amidst this scarred and broken land, her body swaying slightly.
Her scales were covered in cracks, radiating a destructive force that could extinguish life.
Phew. Yekaterina took a deep breath with effort.
Most of the radiating power was reabsorbed into her body, but a small part still leaked out through the cracks in her scales.
Saga frowned and descended.
The legendary Silver Dragon present stopped Saga, speaking softly:
"It's best not to approach Yekaterina right now. Her breath can harm the surroundings, and she can't control it effectively."
Meanwhile, Saga heard the whispers of the hatchling dragons.
"Yekaterina is so dangerous. If it weren't for the guardian dragon, she might have accidentally injured or even killed her kin."
"Accidentally? I think she did it on purpose."
"With such a volatile temper, she shouldn't stay on Metal Dragon Island."
"I've seen it with my own eyes. Wherever she goes, fish and shrimp die, seaweed withers, and during the hatchling competitions, she shows no mercy to her kin."
The surrounding hatchling and young dragons looked at Yekaterina with mostly fear and aversion in their eyes.
"She's a mix of Golden Dragon and Red Dragon blood, but she's nothing like a Golden Dragon, even more volatile than the Red Dragons I remember. This mixed-breed should be kicked off Metal Dragon Island; we don't welcome bad seeds with Red Dragon blood."
A young Golden Dragon muttered.
Suddenly.
A tremendous pressure descended without warning, and the young Golden Dragon, caught off guard, was pressed to the ground. Before it could rise, a dragon's claw stomped on its back with a weight as heavy as mountains, making it impossible to stand.
"What did you just say?"
Saga stepped on the young Golden Dragon's back and whispered.
The young Golden Dragon struggled to turn its head, wanting to curse at Saga for attacking it, but upon locking eyes with Saga's stern gaze, a chill rose in its heart, and it dared not speak out of turn.
"I, I—"
"Get lost."
Saga snorted coldly, moving his claw off the young dragon's back, and the latter hurriedly flew away.
Looking around, the hatchling dragons that met Saga's gaze quickly averted their eyes.
Ignoring the legendary Silver Dragon's advice, Saga folded his wings and flew towards Yekaterina.
The legendary Silver Dragon initially wanted to forcibly stop Saga from approaching, but it noticed an invisible barrier around Saga, shielding him from Yekaterina's destructive radiation, and it silently observed the two unusual young dragons with curiosity.
"They all fear me, my foolish brother, aren't you afraid?"
Yekaterina looked at the approaching Saga and said expressionlessly.
"Why should I be afraid?"
Saga replied indifferently.
"Because you should be, like all these dragons around us."
Yekaterina's voice was low.
"My foolish sister, don't compare me to ordinary dragons, otherwise, what joy would there be in defeating me?"
Yekaterina was taken aback for a moment, then slowly said:
"You're right. So, Saga, remember this, never fear me."
She paused, her tone heavy, "If one day I find you fearing me like the others, don't show your face to me again, or I will attack you without mercy."
Saga grinned and said:
"Me, afraid of you? Are you joking? That's the worst joke I've heard."
Meanwhile.
As Yekaterina's condition improved slightly, the legendary Silver Dragon landed and cast a spell to heal her. As the cracks in her scales healed, the destructive radiation she emitted decreased again.
"Thank you."
Before the powerful elder, Yekaterina put away her pride, as dragons generally respect the strong.
The legendary Silver Dragon smiled and said:
"No need to thank me, because your father will reward me."
Healing injured young dragons from hunting also earned rewards.
Soon after, Yekaterina also found a treasure chest in the territory of the Flame Lion and stored it in a spatial crystal.
Spatial crystals were precious, and young dragons could hardly obtain them on their own.
This was given to Yekaterina by the Golden Dragonfather.
The young Silver Dragon and the Golden Behemoth, having hunted their targets, were drawn by the commotion here and had just arrived.
Looking at Yekaterina and then at the scarred land around them, the Golden Behemoth remembered its past duel with Yekaterina, where it ultimately lost to her breath.
"Stronger than before, the power is astonishing."
The Golden Behemoth thought to itself.
"Wow, Sister Yekaterina, did you cause all this destruction? That's amazing."
"It's a pity, a pity I didn't get to see you use your breath."
The young Silver Dragon exclaimed in admiration.
"There will be a chance."
Yekaterina said calmly.
She looked at Saga and asked, "Saga, what prey did you hunt?"
Saga chuckled and pulled out the treasure chest.
"A high-ranking Four-Armed Behemoth, this is from its territory."
"Not bad, you haven't let me down." Yekaterina also took out a treasure chest, lifted her chin, and said.
The young Silver Dragon and the Golden Behemoth exchanged glances, then each took out a rhino horn from the Armored Rhino and a heart scale from the Feathered Serpent.
"To hunt high-ranking beings alone and succeed, truly two monsters."
The gap between a sixth and seventh rank being was not small.
The leap from mid to high rank involved a significant increase.
"I don't know how Saga hunted successfully, but Yekaterina's biggest reliance is her breath, and after my targeted training, I have a way to dodge her breath and a chance to win."
The Golden Behemoth thought silently, still hoping for a chance to redeem itself.
"Sister Yekaterina, Brother Saga, you both successfully hunted high-ranking beings, so who is the winner of this hunting competition?"
The young Silver Dragon asked.
Saga and Yekaterina looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Of course, it's me."
Yekaterina raised her head and said, "Look at the destruction I've caused. Can you match it? I won."
Saga shook his head and said, "Of course I can, and besides, I wasn't injured during the hunt."
He stated confidently, "It's not dawn yet, the hunt can continue, but if it weren't for the legendary Silver Dragon healing you, you'd be unable to continue hunting, while I definitely can."
Yekaterina wanted to retort, but what Saga said was true.
"Damn it, I was injured by my own breath. If I could control the intensity of my breath better, I would definitely be the winner."
She said unwillingly.
Yekaterina's breath's power was not fixed; she could overload it, increasing its power without regard for consequences, but this also harmed herself.
"But there are no ifs."
"Remember, you owe me a favor."
"I won't make you lick my paws. I need to think about what I want you to do for me."
Saga said cheerfully.
"Hmph."
Yekaterina snorted, her tail sweeping a nearby rock into dust to vent her emotions.
"You're both too strong."
"If it weren't for the existence of that monster, the Glorious Golden Dragon, one of you might actually have a chance to win the young dragon championship."
At this moment, the young Silver Dragon, Ilyag, blinked and said.
The Glorious Golden Dragon?
The performance of hunting high-ranking beings, which seemed less impressive than this Glorious Golden Dragon in the young Silver Dragon's words, made Saga narrow his eyes and ask:
"Who is the Glorious Golden Dragon? Is it that strong?"
The Golden Behemoth spoke in a low voice:
"I've heard of it too."
"The Glorious Golden Dragon, Hyperion, an Outsider Golden Dragon with the talent to rapidly grow by absorbing the power of the sun, getting stronger by basking in sunlight, also known as the Son of the Sun."
"Like Yekaterina, the Glorious Golden Dragon is a hatchling champion, and when it reached the young dragon stage, it made it to the finals of the young dragon competition, narrowly losing to a fifteen-year-old Silver Dragon. It was said that it was just a bit short of victory."
"At that time, the Glorious Golden Dragon was only six years old, and that was eight years ago."
An Outsider Golden Dragon that could absorb the power of the sun, Saga had a premonition that this Hyperion, known as the Glorious Golden Dragon, would be a formidable rival.
The young Silver Dragon's next words confirmed Saga's feeling.
Ilyag thought for a moment and said with envy:
"The Glorious Golden Dragon is recognized as the strongest young dragon, now fourteen years old. Not long ago, its direct elder took it to bathe in the Stellar Realm's sun, and it has reached the high seventh rank. It specifically returned to the Sea Dragon City to compete for the honor of this young dragon championship."
"The Glorious Golden Dragon, Hyperion, is considered the most likely to win seven consecutive age groups, becoming the first seven-time champion in the history of Sea Dragon City."
From hatchling to mature dragon, there are seven age group competitions for the championship of Dragon City.
"Also, in the entire history of Sea Dragon City, it is the first dragon to ascend to high rank during the young dragon stage."
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas