Akzi was not lazy; in fact, he was much more diligent than the average Dragon.
On the contrary, a certain female Dragon who spent all day in her cave eating, sleeping, and watching the younglings fight was like a thief crying'stop thief.' This female Dragon was lazier than even the most slothful of her kin, comparable to a forest sloth.
Since they hadn't been in these mountains long after following Carlit to establish a nest, they hadn't had time to find and subjugate suitable vassals. Moreover, most Dragons choose to acquire vassals only after reaching adulthood.
After establishing the nest, Carlit focused entirely on nesting in her cave to hatch Dragon eggs and sleep, so the task of hunting fell upon Akzi.
Akzi was responsible not only for Carlit's meals but also for the Young Dragons' food.
He also had to patrol the territories surrounding the Dragon Nest, confirm the boundaries of the Dragon Nest domain, and maintain the Dragon group's inherent territory. Since all the younglings had been born, the expansion of the group was only a matter of time.
The original territory spanned only about a hundred miles around these mountains. As the baby Dragon group grew, it would gradually become insufficient to support them, as every Dragon requires a vast amount of food to grow.
Even he was just a Young Dragon about to enter the adolescent stage; he knew very well how much territory was needed to sustain an ever-growing Dragon group.
Thus, Akzi could be called a model worker among the five-colored evil Dragons. He patrolled the territory every day. If he encountered a situation he could resolve with his abilities—which were close to those of an adolescent Blue Dragon—he would expand the territory accordingly.
If he couldn't, he would leave markings to warn the baby Dragons, waiting for the younglings in the group to grow up before breaking through those areas.
Akzi had no intention of calling Carlit. This wasn't out of fear of the Dragon leader's power or punishment.
Instead, as a "simp" Dragon, he didn't want Carlit to think he was being blocked by minor difficulties and needed to seek help. He didn't want to lose face.
So, he led the group of baby Dragons to a canyon formed by a fractured mountain range between his nest and Carlit's, then hurriedly left to continue his journey as a diligent laborer.
This canyon, split from the mountains, was not entirely disconnected. To the north, near the grasslands, there was still a thick stone wall connecting the cliffs, like a natural Siamese arch bridge.
To the south, bordering the forest, the canyon was completely severed, forming a gateway into the canyon. A stream flowed out of this gateway from a pond formed by a depression within the canyon.
The canyon might have been a bit narrow for adult Dragons, but for this group of baby Dragons, it was plenty spacious.
At least it was much better than being in the Blue Dragon leader Carlit's cave. From now on, the Young Dragons wouldn't have to worry about waking the sleeping elder Dragon when they played.
The lush green environment clearly satisfied the Dragon group. The baby Dragons scattered and began carving out caves on the mountain walls on both sides of the canyon.
They chose to use their claws on parts where the stone was soft whenever possible. Under their hard and sharp Dragon claws, the stone was easily excavated.
Blue Dragons liked to bury themselves in the ground, so the Blue Dragon most skilled at digging chose to dig his cave at the foot of the mountain wall, and his progress far exceeded that of the other Young Dragons.
The Black Dragon, who liked marshlands, originally wanted to settle in the canyon's pond, but that pond was to be the drinking water source for the baby Dragons.
If a Black Dragon settled in the water, it would pollute the source, making the clear pond water turbid and foul-smelling, eventually turning it into poisonous water.
Consequently, the Black Dragon was scolded by the others in Dragon Language, and it was quite nasty. He had no choice but to sheepishly follow the Blue Dragon's lead and become his neighbor.
Antagena, who looked like a green Emerald Dragon, shared the trait of her Green Dragon kin: she liked to magically accelerate the growth of trees in the forest and build nests in their massive canopies.
But as a baby Dragon, she didn't yet have the strength to build a nest alone, so she chose to dig a nest high up on the cliff with Klenaya.
As for the White Dragon, let's not mention him for now.
The nest Kalon chose was at the base of the cliff opposite the Blue Dragon, but he didn't like being buried in dirt. So, he had to honestly dig into the stone wall, carving out his cave bit by bit.
He planned to put some effort into it. After all, it was the first nest of his new life as a Dragon —his own home—so he naturally wanted to make it comfortable to live in.
First, he had to dig an entrance tunnel. Under his hard claws, the naturally soft stone was as weak as tofu.
With Kalon's powerful strength and the unparalleled energy of a Dragon, he soon dug through the mountain wall, creating a tunnel about ten meters long that he could barely pass through. Then he began to widen and heighten the tunnel so he could enter and exit the cave easily.
The second step was to dig two tunnels, each several meters long, branching left and right at the end of the entrance. Then, from those two connected side tunnels, he dug a ten-meter corridor straight into the mountain's heart, parallel to the entrance tunnel.
He then widened the corners of the corridor into oval shapes to avoid getting stuck later. Next was the most important part of the entire nest: his resting place.
Kalon hollowed out the stone wall behind the left and right tunnels to form a massive circular cave, so that both tunnels connected to it.
The ten-meter-thick stone wall in front of the cave became a wind-blocking screen. This way, the ventilation was good, and it also blocked the view of anyone trying to peer into the cave from outside.
Finally, Kalon used the earth element he controlled to tamp down and level the soil on the floor, then used his Dragon breath to dry the cave.
He then scorched the uneven stone walls, which were covered in claw marks, to turn them into smooth surfaces. The melted stone and minerals within turned into high-temperature liquid that flowed down the walls, coating the hard, flat black-and-yellow floor with a layer of crystalline light.
Thus, after more than half a month, the little Red Dragon's nest was finally completed. Kaloncurled his limbs into a ball and lay on the floor, which still radiated a bit of heat. He let out a comfortable breath, enjoying this unique moment of tranquility. In this moment and place, it actually felt like home.
---
"Damn it, Camid! Can you take that stupid head of yours out from behind your big ass and use it for once? You fucking passed the ball to the wrong Dragon! We're on the same team as Dos!"
The clever White Dragon Gemot, using what he considered the most elegant curses he'd learned from Kalon, grumbled and scolded his brother, whose reactions were always a beat slow.
While moving sideways to try and block Klenaya, who was charging with a round metal ball, he was inevitably sent flying to the side. He and the Blue Dragon Dos, who had fallen behind Klenaya, stared at each other as they watched the little female Dragon put the ball into the goal.
"Woohoo! We won today, right? I finally won once!"
The emerald-green Antagena cheered and turned to ask the Black Dragon excitedly.
Poor Antagena; ever since Kalon had 'invented' this sport—a mashup of rugby and soccer—she had never won.
When Kalon wasn't acting as the referee, whichever team the most powerful little female Dragon, Klenaya, was on usually had the upper hand. And unlucky Antagena was always on the opposing side.
The Black Dragon Rosani also nodded happily. "We won. We just have to wait for Kalon to announce the result."
"Very good. Twenty-six to ten. The Right-Hand Team wins," announced Kalon, who was squatting outside the field acting as the referee, as he clapped his claws.
"Klenaya, Antagena, and Rosani, you will have priority feeding rights for tonight's dinner. Klenaya, as the most outstanding performer, will receive a heart as a reward."
Listening to the cheers and dejected sighs of the baby Dragons, Kalon felt a bit proud. He hadn't created this activity just for entertainment.
On one hand, it consumed the younglings' usually exuberant energy, preventing them from causing trouble and making them easier to manage. It also trained their physical coordination and reaction speed. He had even changed the original oval rugby ball to a round one to train their claw dexterity and strength.
On the other hand, it was to train the Young Dragons' cooperation and strengthen their group consciousness, facilitating future group hunting and combat.
Of course, the most important part was that Kalon was always in the position of the Dragongroup's implicit referee. Rewards and punishments came from his hands, all of which reinforced the impression that Kalon was the Dragon who made the final decisions in the group.
Getting the naturally unruly Dragon group used to following Kalon's decisions was his way of domesticating them. This subtle influence was something difficult to achieve through mere displays of power.
He hoped that one day, when he had enough power to face Akzi and Carlit, these baby Dragons would subconsciously obey him and follow him against their enemies.
This was Kalon's plan. He couldn't stay under Carlit's command forever. He had the innate ambition of a Dragon to rule others, but also the human tendency for strategic planning.
Especially after absorbing the information left in his mind by that vortex, he knew he would have even more talents and means in the future. That was Kalon's confidence, even though he was still figuring things out now.
Kalon took flight, heading toward the top of the cliff, and landed beside the Blue Dragon Akzi, who was watching with great interest.
His three-meter body next to the nearly eleven-meter-long Akzi was like a kitten in front of a human. Kalon lowered his head to show respect to the model worker Akzi.
"A very interesting game. Even I want to join in,"
Akzi nodded. His experience was far greater than that of these recently born baby Dragons, so he didn't treat this exceptionally talented Red Dragon hatchling as casually as the others, though he still looked down on him.
"With Lord Akzi's great strength, you would undoubtedly be the ultimate winner," Kalon complimented, his flattery skills activating naturally.
"You have managed these baby Dragons well, saving me a lot of trouble." The Blue Dragon Akzi turned his head calmly to look down at the Red Dragon, who was complimenting him but showed no expression, and said: "Perhaps I should give you some reward."
Kalon was silent for a moment, then suddenly opened his mouth and smiled. "Does Lord Akzi intend to reward me with some gold coins? I don't have any treasures of my own yet."
The Blue Dragon Akzi also fell silent. After a long while, he spoke: "I don't have many gold coins either." He then spread his wings and flew away, though his wing accidentally knocked the expectant Kalon into a summersault.