Chapter 11 Slumber
White Dragon Mother landed gracefully, causing the ground of the Nest to tremble slightly. Her enormous, sleek Dragon Wings folded against her sides like a collapsible board. She looked at Brian with curiosity as he suddenly raised his fist and punched himself. Then, with a flick of her tail, she dropped an object.
With a thud, Brian's attention was drawn.
It was a massive, irregular ice crystal, twenty feet long and ten feet wide and thick.
Brian was slightly stunned and leaned in to inspect.
Inside the ice crystal was a large, snow-white, bear-like creature standing twelve feet tall. Its fur was pristine, devoid of any signs of struggle, indicating it had been frozen to death without a battle.
It was the Extreme Northern Bear... In the far northern Ice Field, it reigned as the apex predator.
These creatures were massive, ferocious in combat, and possessed Pseudo-magical abilities.
Pseudo-magical abilities were powers resembling magic but not true magic. They could be wielded without lengthy incantations, intricate gestures, or specific materials, relying solely on the user's innate abilities and instincts.
However, The Extreme Northern Bear was merely prey in the presence of the soon-to-be-adult White Dragon Mother.
After all, True Dragons were apex beings across various planes, commanding formidable dominance.
'So it turned out she was preparing food for us. The White Dragon Mother didn't seem so unreliable...' Brian thought.
She looked after them, but not entirely—a reflection of how the White Dragon Mother treated Newborn Dragons at this stage.
Soon, the White Dragon Mother took a few steps and settled on the rugged ice bed formed of ice crystals, closing her eyes for rest.
Seeing that the White Dragon Mother hadn't noticed the stolen treasure, Brian breathed a sigh of relief.
Having absorbed the energy from the Gemstone, Brian felt a sense of fullness throughout his body and was not particularly hungry.
Patting his belly, Brian turned and began gnawing on the frozen Dire Bear.
Despite not feeling hungry, he continued to eat.
The ice crystal encasing the bear was not as tough as anticipated, shattering upon entry like delicate snowflakes.
Brian tore a large chunk of Bear Paw Meat with one bite, mingling it with the fine ice crystal fragments.
The warmth of blood, the resilience of bear meat, the chewiness of tendons, combined with the crispiness of ice crystal fragments, surprisingly delighted Brian's palate.
He had expected a challenging, bloody taste, but it seemed that the unique palate of dragons could fully accept fresh Blood Food.
Soon, Brian became engrossed in his meal.
Dragons are gluttons; their appetite seemed insatiable. It wasn't until Brian had devoured both arms, rich in blood and flesh essence, consuming more meat than his own body size, that he finally felt satiated.
At this moment, a faint dragon's roar came from nearby.
Hill shook her head and slowly rose to her feet.
She felt perplexed, as if she had lost a part of her memory, and her head throbbed slightly.
However, Hill quickly pushed aside her confusion and eagerly rushed over at the sight of the food.
Brian found it amusing and was about to tease his Dragon Sister further when a wave of drowsiness swept over him, causing him to involuntarily shut his eyes, lured by the icy breath of the ice crystal bed.
Groggily, Brian climbed onto the White Dragon Mother's ice bed and snugged close, drifting into sleep.
Sensing Brian's approach, the White Dragon Mother opened her eyes and briefly contemplated lifting her Dragon Wings to shoo him away.
However, she lowered her Dragon Wings, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep slumber after a moment of hesitation.
Perhaps, this was her ultimate display of tenderness.
...
A week later, the blizzard that had lasted for nearly half a month finally subsided. The sky over the far northern Ice Field turned a pristine, clear blue, beautiful and unblemished.
However, the entire Extreme Northern World remained draped in silver, covered in snow, exuding an aura of desolate cold.
There seemed to be no sounds aside from the howling Cold Wind.
The high-hanging orange sun cast down light that was not particularly warm, giving the white world a faint golden edge, with golden sunlight visible everywhere.
Newborn Dragons grew rapidly, their physiques changing almost daily. A week after their birth, the Newborn Dragons' bones and muscles were already strong, with Dragon Claws and fangs beginning to show their power, allowing them to leave the Nest and attempt hunting.
Brian, Dragon Sister Hill and two other younger Dragon Brothers stood in a row at the edge of the Dragon's Lair Cave, looking down.
The White Dragon Mother had laid six dragon eggs, but two of them hatched into dragon beasts that did not inherit the Dragon Heritage. The White Dragon Mother had cruelly and mercilessly thrown them out of the Territory in front of the little Newborn Dragons, likely leaving them to die in the vast Ice Field.
Soft golden sunlight slanted onto the edge of the Dragon's Lair, refracting off the ice crystals and falling on the Newborn Dragons.
Hill's body had developed over the week, becoming more slender and powerful. The sunlight added a golden hue to her body, blending with her mirror-like smooth and bright scales, making her look quite beautiful.
Brian flexed his broad Dragon Wings, moving his now larger body slightly, pushing his siblings aside.
Having absorbed the energy from the magical Gemstone, he had been in a state of near-constant slumber for the entire week, growing rapidly and looking entirely different from Hill and the others.
A few hours ago, Brian woke up.
Upon discovering that he had been sleeping next to the White Dragon Mother, he felt a chill but relaxed when he saw that she was still motionless.
The White Dragon Mother remained in a state of deep, unmovable slumber, despite the little dragons' pushing and calling.
Brian thought she must be aware of the Newborn Dragons' calls but chose to ignore them, continuing her deep sleep.
One could never wake a dragon pretending to sleep.
The Bear Meat the White Dragon Mother had brought back was now completely eaten by the hungry Newborn Dragons, including Brian, who all felt their stomachs empty and growling.
They gathered at the entrance of the Dragon's Lair, a steep ice cliff a little over a thousand feet high, planning to leave and hunt nearby.
This couldn't be blamed on the White Dragon Mother for being irresponsible.
Adult Evil Dragons typically did not provide fully sufficient food for Newborn Dragons, offering only enough to sustain daily activities, forcing the restless Newborn Dragons to hunt small creatures themselves.
This trained their abilities, sharpened their claws, and strengthened their bodies.
Every adult Evil Dragon had gone through this process.
As apex predators, Newborn Dragons a week after birth, with their hard scales and sharp claws, already possessed the strength to fight against ordinary lions and tigers.
