Faraway Dragon Island lay in the deepest reaches of the Abyssal Sea. This had once been one of the battlefields of the Holy War a thousand years ago. Black seawater battered the island ceaselessly, and not a single sea beast could be found within a thousand li. This was dragon territory, forbidden ground to all other living creatures.
Dense black clouds gathered above Dragon Island. Lightning webbed the sky, and curtains of rain covered every corner of the island, forming a vast white veil. Calling it an island almost felt inadequate; it was more like an immense private domain.
After all, every dragon in Azerik lived on this island.
Dragons did not care whether it was day or night. They only cared about sleeping. Every dragon had its own territory and curled up deep inside a mountain cave to hibernate. Across the vast Dragon Island, there was nothing but the sound of wind and rain, like a lullaby, while all the dragons slept beside their treasures.
Only one dragon was awake.
That dragon was Xilier.
Xilier was an enormous golden dragon and the current chieftain of the dragon race. In his true form, he coiled atop the tallest mountain and stared into the torrential rain as he heaved his one-thousand-and-seventy-ninth sigh of the year.
He was worried. So worried he could not sleep.
His thunderous sigh rolled across the sky, merging with the rain and wind before rumbling into the ears of every dragon on the island.
“Chieftain Xilier, if you keep disturbing my sleep like this, I’m running away from home!” The black dragon Kaluo, who had endured him for a very long time, finally roared in exasperation. His voice traveled for dozens of li, thick with impatience.
Xilier ignored him and sighed again. By now, his heart was as still as dead water.
No cub had been born in a thousand years. Dragon Island was now full of old dragons with thick hides and sturdy flesh, and the race was already approaching extinction. How could he not be anxious? Dragons had always had low fertility, but after the Holy War, it was as if they had been cursed. A thousand years—an entire thousand years—and not a single cub had been born.
He had long ago summoned the entire race back to Dragon Island and brainwashed them for the sake of the great future reproductive plan of the species—ah, no, educated them. Yet even after all his effort, there was still no cub. Xilier had not heard the lively, milky little voice of a dragon cub in far, far too long.
Dragons naturally loved pleasure. At first, the old dragons had been delighted. They were all of the same race, their compatibility was excellent, and when they returned to their true forms, they could still do the happiest thing in the world. During that period, Xilier practically stared at all the female dragons with shining eyes.
He had especially high hopes for the loving emerald-dragon couple.
But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Whether they were deeply in love or merely making do as partners, no cubs were born.
For a while, Xilier sighed more often than anyone else. Eventually, the female dragons began keeping a respectful distance from their chieftain, because no one could tolerate a dragon staring at their belly from morning to night, even if that dragon was the chieftain.
Later, when nothing came of it, the dragons grew lazy again and returned to their ordinary lives.
Truthfully, they found it strange too. They had worked this hard; surely it should not have been impossible to produce a cub. Could there actually be something wrong with their abilities? The male dragons developed a strangely delicate sense of self-doubt over the matter, but they were too embarrassed to discuss it with the others and could only swallow their questions in silence.
Their inability to produce cubs was definitely not their own fault. Hadn’t every other dragon failed too?
“Do I really have to let them go outside?” Xilier murmured, his brow furrowing deeply. He only wanted pure-blooded dragons. He truly did not want mixed-blood offspring. The Holy War a thousand years ago had already dealt their race a devastating blow. Now he only wanted more pure-blooded dragons to be born.
What in the world was he supposed to do? Xilier sighed again.
The black dragon Kaluo, who lived on a nearby mountain, finally could not bear it anymore. He roared and formally issued Xilier a notice. “I’m running away from home!” He had had enough of the chieftain’s sighing. He wanted one peaceful, quiet night’s sleep, and no one was going to stop him!
Xilier did not even lift an eyelid.
The black dragon spread his wings and flew into the sky, his thunderous roar shaking all of Dragon Island.
A frost dragon poked its head from its cave and watched, thoroughly accustomed to the sight, as Kaluo flew back down while cursing under his breath. Then it yawned and pulled the mountain of gems beneath it a little closer.
“Xilier, when exactly are you taking down Dragon Island’s protective barrier?” Kaluo angrily lashed his tail, smashing the entrance of his own cave into a mess.
Xilier turned his face toward the sky at a melancholic forty-five-degree angle. “Kaluo, you’re an adult dragon now. You’re not as cute as you were when you were little. Acting spoiled doesn’t suit you. Only adorable cubs can wag their tails and play with mountains. You’re too large. You’ll make the mountain collapse.”
Kaluo nearly choked with rage. He spat out a breath of dragon fire and bellowed furiously, “What part of me isn’t cute now? I’m cute as hell!”
The flame dragon laughed without restraint. “Kaluo, you’re already this old. Why are you still so bad-tempered?”
“Sala! Say that one more time and I’ll beat you up!” Kaluo immediately redirected his fury toward the flame dragon. “I’ll beat you until your teeth are scattered all over the ground!”
“Then come on! Who’s afraid of you?” Sala also spat out dragon fire, blasting it straight back at him.
“Enough, enough, Kaluo, Sala.” The emerald-dragon couple hurriedly tried to mediate. Dragon Island, which had been quiet for so long, instantly became lively.
Xilier finally turned his gaze toward the noisy dragons below and muttered, “If only it were a group of adorable cubs making all that noise.” He was thoroughly tired of looking at these dragons who had been adults for ages. All he wanted now was a fragrant, milky little cub. If one truly appeared, Xilier felt he could even give it the supreme treasure he had hoarded from a pope’s crown, the “Glory of Light”!
While the dragon chieftain was lost in thought, a frightened, uneasy, milky little call suddenly echoed from the deepest part of his dragon soul.
“Awoo~”
Xilier slowly blinked his enormous eyes. At that moment, he seriously suspected he was hearing things. Countless times after waking from sleep, he had wished that one day he could hear the soft little voice of a cub.
At the same time, the dragons who had been arguing below fell instantly silent. Every one of them stared at the others in disbelief, pupils contracting violently.
Holy hell! Had a cub really just called out to them in a milky little voice through the depths of their dragon souls?!
Because dragon cubs were exceedingly rare and took so long to mature, no other race knew that the dragon souls of cubs and adult dragons could connect with each other. Of course, under ordinary circumstances, cubs would never connect to them, because cubs either did not know how or simply had no idea such a thing existed. Only when their lives were threatened would instinct automatically make the choice for them and seek contact. If a cub’s call appeared in their minds, it meant the cub had been so frightened by mortal danger that its still-immature dragon soul had begun to charge around blindly, seeking the protection of adult dragons without regard for anything else.
“Chieftain, the cub may be in danger!” The emerald dragon Ailusha reacted instantly out of maternal instinct. Her entire body trembled with excitement. A cub had truly called to them just now! Dragon God above, had the god finally shown mercy to them once more?
Xilier felt the faint remnants of that milky little voice in the depths of his soul and finally confirmed that he was not dreaming.
At that moment, he no longer cared to wonder why there was still a dragon outside who had ignored the summons to return. He only knew that one of their cubs was wandering outside, and it was a cub that had not been born for very long.
“ROAR!!!”
The barrier over Dragon Island finally shattered. The enormous golden dragon spread his wings and shot into the heavens, plunging into the clouds. His colossal body moved among the pitch-black storm clouds, his wings blotting out the sky and casting the nearby sea into shadow. His crushing aura forced every sea beast for thousands of li to dive instantly into the deepest waters. His furious roar pierced through everything and resounded across the skies of Azerik like the wrath of thunder itself!
It was a warning to every wicked creature that dared harm a dragon cub.
The black dragon Kaluo, the emerald dragons Ailusha and Jieke, the flame dragon Sala, the frost dragon Jialuo, along with the wood dragon and the spatial silver dragon, all awakened from their sleep. They followed their chieftain into the air and roared together.
“ROAR!”
………
At that moment, every high-ranking race in Azerik was awakened by the furious roars coming from distant Dragon Island!
Xilier landed and immediately began assigning tasks. Some dragons would have to go out into Azerik and search for their cub.
“Xilier, I want to go.” Kaluo raised a hand, his tail whipping excitedly behind him.
“Chieftain, I want to go too,” Ailusha hurriedly volunteered. “I’m a female dragon. I’ll be very good at taking care of it.”
As soon as she finished, Jieke added, “I’ll go with Ailusha.”
“Chieftain, you should consider me.” The frost dragon released a breath of dragon air, instantly freezing the surroundings. “I can take the little dragon cub ice-skating anytime and anywhere.”
………
The surrounding dragons clamored noisily. Xilier frowned and thought for a while before ultimately sending the emerald-dragon couple and the black dragon Kaluo ahead first.
“Wait.”
A cool voice suddenly cut in. Kaluo looked over and saw the spatial silver dragon, who rarely spoke.
“No way, Yin. Don’t tell me you’re going to fight me for this too?” Seeing Xilier turn toward the silver dragon in thought, Kaluo immediately wailed, “When we go out this time, I promise I’ll listen to Ailusha. Whatever she says goes. I’ll definitely bring the little cub back to Dragon Island nice and chubby.”
“No.” Yin smiled with flawless elegance. A fingertip sliced through the air, opening a small spatial crack. From it, he pulled an extraordinarily, extraordinarily long scroll and handed it to Kaluo.
“This is the payment the human race promised us during the Holy War. Remember to collect it. Consider it money for buying the little cub some gifts.”
“And while you’re at it, those human empires owe us quite a lot of gold, silver, and jewels. So many years have passed. Remember to collect interest from their descendants too, understood?”
“Hmm, let me think. Thirty percent interest should be enough. After all, we are a merciful and magnificent dragon race.”
Kaluo stared at the silver dragon, who looked as holy as an angel, and nodded firmly. “Got it.”
Then the three dragons departed.