Chapter 25 Ogre
Looking around and seeing no other creatures nearby, Brian turned around, positioning his noble dragon rear over the freshly dug hole.
Next, he rested a Dragon Claw under his spiked chin, gazing thoughtfully into the pristine night sky, applying slight pressure while contemplating life.
Dragon excretion was like a bowstring releasing an arrow, forceful and direct.
With a thunderous sound, Brian's dragon face showed a hint of relief. He had eaten a lot, and a considerable amount of waste had accumulated in his body after absorbing the essential nutrients.
After a few minutes, Brian left behind a pile of precious dragon dung that would delight White Hounds.
He cleared his throat and turned away without looking back to brush a large amount of snow over to cover up the valuable dragon dung with his tail. He sighed. "There's no restroom in the wilderness, I have to make do."
Proper Evil Dragons occasionally defecated while flying high, sometimes hitting a lucky individual below, giving them a close encounter with the True Dragon's presence.
Although Brian had become a dragon, he still retained a shred of shame.
He felt that solving his biological needs in the wild was somewhat inappropriate. High-altitude defecation was something he couldn't bring himself to do, but there was no better solution for now unless he could one day sustain himself solely on the power of time or elemental energy without needing Blood Food.
He solved this thing in the icy river was the least noticeable and safest option, but Brian didn't want to one day find it in his own Nest.
Brian prepared to leave and return to his Ice River Territory after having relieved himself.
Just as he was about to depart, he sensed a presence approaching from behind. His eyes narrowed as he turned to look.
A nine-foot-tall roughly, burly humanoid creature was sneaking towards him. Upon being noticed by Brian, their eyes met when the creature froze mid-step, creating a tense atmosphere.
...
Tancred of the Conqueror was an Ogre from a small Ogre settlement of about forty individuals, the Bonecrusher Tribe.
As Tancred just reached adulthood, he needed formidable prey to prove his courage and strength to boast his muscles to other Ogres and to gain higher status and mating rights within the Bonecrusher Tribe.
Tancred always considered himself very smart.
Apart from the tribe's Chief, William, who could use magic, no other Ogre was smarter than him.
Tancred always felt out of place in a group of not-so-bright Ogres.
As for the smarter Chief, Tancred thought it was because he had two heads, while he only had one, so it was acceptable to be outmatched.
One day, as he watched Chief William casually connect with female Ogres and command other Ogres, Tancred had a bold idea.
If Brian had known his thoughts, he would have described them aptly.
‘I want to become Chief.’ This idea grew like wildfire in Tancred's heart.
According to the Bonecrusher Tribe's tradition, adult Ogres could challenge the Chief. Defeating the Chief meant becoming the new Chief. However, William was the strongest Chief in the tribe's history with a throne made of challengers' skulls.
Tancred wouldn't be reckless like other challengers. He planned to wait until the Chief grew old and weak before issuing his challenge. But first, Tancred needed to prove himself as a true adult Ogre by completing his coming-of-age ceremony.
"The mighty Tancred can even hunt a Giant Dragon," Tancred boasted to his tribesmen, leaving them in awe as he strode out of the tribe into the Ice Field.
Relying on his strong Ogre physique and much smarter mind, Tancred set traps and ambushed, killing many hunters on the Ice Field. But he was never satisfied.
Because Chief William had once killed an almost thirty-foot-long, barrel-thick Ice Storm Serpent, which was far more formidable than any of prey.
Until just now, Tancred saw a small White Dragon defecating a hundred miles from the Bonecrusher Tribe. He knew the power of True Dragons, even the weakest White Dragon.
It was the best choice for him to turn away and pretend not to see anything.
But the thought of his boast becoming a reality, the image of Ogres admiring him, and the favor of plump Ogre beauties... He decided to use his large wooden spiked club to ambush the small White Dragon.
If the ambush succeeded, he could achieve his dream.
'Bonecrusher Tribe's history will remember me, for I hunted a True Dragon upon reaching adulthood!' Tancred fantasized while cautiously approaching the small White Dragon.
He had just started to entertain the idea, not even taking a step forward, when he saw the White Dragon suddenly turn its head, its eyes filled with fierce killing intent.
As Tancred froze, his mind flooded with tales of Evil Dragons, which filled him with terror.
He forced a smile, saying to Brian, "Honorable True Dragon, I’m just passing by with no ill intentions."
As he spoke, he tried to hide the wooden spiked club behind him, but it was clear he was trying to conceal it.
...
Brian turned his head, his dragon body following suit, facing the creature before him.
He was nine feet tall nearly, humanoid, with dark, rough skin, a sturdy, muscular build, white pupils, black sclera, a stench, fangs, wearing crudely tanned animal skins, and holding a large, black wooden spiked club stained with dried blood.
The Ogre mumbled in a language Brian didn't understand upon realizing he had been spotted.
Dragon Heritage included only Dragon Language and Common Language. Ogres, being large humanoids, spoke Giant Language, which Brian didn't know.
The Ogre forced an extremely ugly smile after speaking.
Brain rasped, "That smile is hideous!"
He showed no kindness in the face. In an instant, he flapped his wings and closed the distance, unleashing a blast of frost breath.
Many believe Dragon's Breath is a common ability, a means of attack, like a tail sweep, wing flap, or some True Dragon magic. But this was a misconception.
Dragon's Breath was not an ordinary skill but a powerful, hard-to-resist signature attack that any creature must take seriously, akin to a finishing move.
Even adult dragons can't sustain continuous Dragon's Breath for long.
Brian started with a powerful move.
With Tancred staring in horror, the cone-shaped frost breath spread out instantly, encasing his body and freezing him solid within a thick layer of Ice Crystal.
