Looking at the thoroughly cooked magical beast meat before her, Nora opened her draconic eyes wide, gazing in disbelief at this younger dragon brother of hers who was willing to share food with her.
"Eat."
Kael flashed what he thought was a gentle smile.
Unable to resist the urges of hunger, Nora began tearing into and chewing the magical beast meat in front of her.
Her amber draconic pupils looked at Kael, who had already turned around, a hint of reliance actually welling up deep in her eyes.
Afterward, Kael pushed another piece of magical beast meat next to Carlos, who was playing dead on the ground.
Carlos raised his dragon head, staring in shock at the fellow before him.
"Carlos doesn't accept your charity! Even if I temporarily can't beat you today, I still won't acknowledge your status!"
An unyielding dragon face roared at Kael with its mouth open wide.
"Oh? Is that so? Then... I'll take the meat back—"
Before Kael could finish, Carlos—nearly driven mad by hunger—pounced on the chunk of meat and began tearing into it viciously.
Looking at his duplicitous older dragon brother, Kael shook his head and turned around to eat his own portion of food.
"Carlos, the day you beat me, I'll acknowledge you as the Red Dragon Emperor."
Gazing at the back of Kael, who spoke those words in a calm tone, Carlos viciously took a few more big bites of the boar meat beneath him.
Red dragons in the wyrmling stage had body lengths of only between 1.5 and 4 meters, half of which consisted of the dragon tail and neck.
Kael's length of 3.5 meters was already considered exceptionally well-developed for the wyrmling stage.
For them, this 4-meter-long molten-tusk boar was enough to fill their bellies twice over.
However, two dragons driven nearly mad by hunger plus one dragon that could never get full actually devoured the entire thing in a single meal.
With round, bulging bellies, the three little ones lay comfortably at the entrance of the karst cave, looking up at the star-studded night sky.
This was also the fullest, most satisfying day the two little red dragons—who had been starving continuously—had ever experienced.
"Carlos, I've always had a question. Why do you always call yourself the Red Dragon Emperor?"
Kael gazed at the red wyrmling beside him, whose eyes were squinched nearly shut into slits.
"Future! The future Red Dragon Emperor! In the future, I, Carlos, will definitely become the strongest red dragon and trample this world beneath my feet!"
When this topic came up, Carlos reacted as if triggered, wanting to stand up and argue with Kael.
However, his belly was far too full; after flailing his foreclaws against the ground several times to no avail, he gave up.
"But right now, you can't even beat me, you don't know how to hunt, and you don't have enough food. How are you going to become stronger in the future?"
Kael looked at Carlos, having formed his own plan in mind.
Carlos simply turned onto his side with his back to Kael, giving no answer.
"How about this? We duel once every five years. If you win, I'll acknowledge you as the Red Dragon Emperor and follow your orders.
"If I win, I won't ask you to call me anything special either. I only ask that you follow my commands during hunts.
"Of course, I promise I won't send you off to die or make you do anything dangerous."
Carlos turned back over, staring closely at Kael for a good while before saying:
"Fine! It's a deal. Kael, don't you dare regret this later."
Looking into those resolute draconic eyes, Kael smiled and nodded in agreement.
Having settled things here, Kael turned his gaze to the other side, toward Nora, who was counting stars in the night sky.
"Nora, what are your plans for the future?"
Nora had also heard the conversation between Kael and Carlos just now.
She lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Nora wants to learn Draconic magic first so I can eat my fill every day in the future."
"I'll take you two out to hunt later on. As long as you cooperate well, I'll strive to make sure everyone eats their fill every day. But, Nora, you have to follow my command. How about that?"
Kael asked the timid little red dragon in a soft voice.
"Okay! Nora will listen to you."
Nora turned her dragon head to the side, looking at Kael excitedly.
...
"Phew."
Having managed his family relationships, Kael finally let out a sigh of relief and looked toward the starry sky.
Starry sky, thank you for your blessing. I hope the days ahead will get better and better...
Silent thoughts echoing in his heart, Kael closed his eyes and began to enjoy his first peaceful sleep since coming to this otherworldly realm.
...
The next morning, just as the morning light crept over the rock walls of the extinct volcano, the three red wyrmlings emerged from the karst cave.
Kael walked in the lead, his scales still bearing the lingering chill of the cave.
He lowered his body, gesturing for Carlos and Nora to lighten their footsteps.
In the morning, Kael had already calculated things: all three wyrmlings were still at the First-Tier, so their first cooperative hunt would serve as a drill to pass along some hunting techniques, meaning their target's tier absolutely couldn't be high.
He and Carlos had larger body sizes and were the main hunting force, while Nora only needed to provide support from the side.
The three little ones arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Here, low bushes stretched into a continuous field, dead branches and dark green foliage tangling together to block line of sight.
Behind the bushland lay the dense forest.
However, Kael had no intention of entering it right now.
After all, mid-to-high-tier magical beasts were bound to be inside the forest, and their current selves were no match for them yet.
Kael carefully examined the tracks of other creatures beneath his feet, cross-referencing them with the knowledge from his draconic heritage, gaining a general understanding of the situation.
A fair number of boars roamed here—some ordinary, tierless beasts, and some magical beasts that had stepped into the First-Tier—making them perfectly suited for wyrmlings that could not yet fly.
Kael sensed the direction of the wind and searched along footprints extending toward the upwind side bit by bit.
This would both mask the scent of the three little ones and allow them to catch the scent of prey in advance.
The breeze passing through the bushland carried a mix of foliage, soil, and moss scents.
In the next moment, a strong, gamey beast stench burst into Kael's nostrils.
A sounder of boars was rooting up soil among the bushes, searching for food, entirely unaware that behind them in the thicket, three dragon heads were greedily observing their prey through gaps between the branches.
Kael pulled his dragon head back and assigned tasks in a quiet voice:
"Seven boars total: an adult boar and sow, both First-Tier, plus five piglets below any tier. We take out the threatening boar first."
Saying so, Kael glanced back at the wild boar, which had a body length of 1.5 meters and curved tusks reaching 20 centimeters long.
"Leave the piglets. We still have to survive here for a long time; until we determine how much prey there is, we shouldn't wipe them out completely."
Seeing both little red dragons nod, Kael began assigning specific duties:
"Carlos, your size is large. Flank around to the side in a bit and drive the boar toward me.
"Nora, hide on the other side. Once Carlos moves, use your dragon breath to disrupt the prey. Don't recklessly pounce while we're not right beside you.
"I'll ambush from the front."
Carlos flicked his tail impatiently, arrogance still lingering deep in his bones, but he kept last night's agreement in mind.
He didn't refute, quietly ducking into the bushes beside them.
Nora nodded as well, her slender body gliding silently into the shadows of the foliage as she held her breath.
Kael lay crouched in place, waiting quietly, the dense bushes concealing his form.
Before long, low grunts drifted over.
The wild boar rooted through the dirt, seeking to forage among the bushes.
Suddenly, as if sniffing out a scent, its coarse, hard mane bristled upright.
"Move!" Kael growled softly.
Carlos charged wildly out from the side bushes, roaring as he lunged toward the boar's hindquarters.
Startled, the boar instantly realized what scent it had smelled—a predator.
It bolted straight forward, frantically trying to escape, but this sent it charging right into Kael's ambush zone.
Adjusting his stance, Kael pounced out from the boar's front-flank, pinning the boar to the ground in an instant. His sharp claws clamped onto its neck, and his jaws bit into its vital point.
Behind him, Carlos also pounced forward, pressing down on the boar's hindquarters.
After a brief struggle, the First-Tier wild boar ceased moving altogether.
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