"Hmm...?"
Caesar leaned in to take a look.
It was a piece of rotten wood.
Half-buried in the soil, the exposed end was decayed and blackened, covered in moss.
He extended his claws and tore away all the surrounding vines.
The sound of the vines snapping was particularly loud in the silent forest.
As the obstructions were cleared, the outline of a dark tunnel entrance was revealed.
It was an abandoned mine shaft.
Above the entrance, several precarious wooden boards were nailed, painted with skull symbols and warnings written in a common tongue.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that the entrance was tightly blocked by collapsed rubble.
Cecilia deactivated her Transformation and sniffed around, while Caesar tapped on the stones with his claws... — Kotodama: Kamaitachi!
The signal bouncing back from his sonar organ was very pleasant.
It seemed this mine shaft hadn't collapsed very long ago.
Caesar's eyes lit up... he had finally found a way!
As long as he could clear this path, he might be able to avoid surveillance from the sky and slip out of the mountain range unnoticed.
The Earth Dragon was about to step forward and use Sand Tomb to slowly clear the rubble, when three familiar icy auras descended from the sky, causing his body to stiffen.
This is... ice element...?
Through the sparse canopy, three Frost Wyverns could be seen circling down from the sky... For example.
"Gan," "Will," and "Cure."
These three high-tier Sub-dragons were originally just performing routine patrols according to their master's instructions, bored out of their minds. Will, the most restless one, suggested taking a look around the edge of the mountain range.
"Gan, patrolling is so boring. Why don't we go catch a few humans to have as snacks?" Will yawned, exhaling a puff of cold air.
"Those two-legged beasts are so sneaky, digging around in our territory all day long. It's annoying to look at."
"Lady Ilena ordered us not to cause unnecessary complications." Gan's voice was steadier, but he didn't explicitly object.
Just as they were flying over this area, Cure, the one with the sharpest senses, suddenly noticed something unusual on the Ground.
"Wait... there's something down there. Such strange magic fluctuations!"
The three Sub-dragons looked down simultaneously, their gazes piercing through the trees, instantly locking onto the two figures in front of the abandoned mine shaft.
"An Earth Dragon... and the one next to it is... a Silver Dragon?" Cure's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
"It's them!"
The three Sub-dragons reacted immediately; weren't these the two targets on the Dragons Nest wanted list?
"Should we notify the other patrol teams?" Cure asked immediately.
"Notify them for what?" Will snorted excitedly. "Two Young Dragons, and the three of us can't handle them? Do you want to share the credit with other Dragons?"
Gan also felt Will had a point. Just two Young Dragons; with three Gold Rank high-tier Sub-dragons taking action, it would be as easy as reaching into a pocket!
It's not like they could get beaten by the other side...?
The three Sub-dragons looked at each other, all seeing greed in each other's eyes.
"Finish this quickly! Don't let them escape!"
Just as the three Sub-dragons reached a consensus and prepared to dive down, the blue Earth Dragon below suddenly stomped his foot violently!
"Boom!"
The Ground exploded, and dust soared into the sky, instantly forming a sand wall over ten meters high in the forest, completely swallowing the figures of the two little Dragons.
The three Sub-dragons were slightly stunned.
"Hmph, interesting." Seeing this, Gan, the leader, didn't take it to heart.
So what if they hid?
Before absolute strength, any struggle was futile.
There was no need to search; they just needed to unleash a round of indiscriminate Frost Breath at the forest below, freezing everything into ice sculptures to see where the targets could run!
...!
Amidst the swirling dust, Caesar had already quietly led Cecilia to a thicker ancient tree to use as cover.
Watching those three big lizards charging down like they were crazy, he cursed the entire household register of the True Dragon Imperial Court in his mind.
No escape.
The opponents were three Dragons—ice-attributed Sub-dragons of the same rank—and they could all fly.
For him, a Ground unit, this was extremely disadvantageous.
It wasn't that he couldn't fight at all. His Dragon Breath and Dragon Pulse could both perform long-range attacks. If push came to shove, activating the Sandstorm Domain or directly using the fire z-crystal could also forcibly suppress the opponents.
But the commotion from Sandstorm was too large and could easily attract more of the Dragon Clan. And after using a Z-Move, he would fall into a state of weakness due to mana exhaustion; if a new strong enemy appeared, it would be a dead end.
Of course, if the opponents really dared to let out a dragon roar to call their companions, then Caesar wouldn't care about that much; Sandstorm was his final insurance.
Fortunately, the Frost Wyverns in the sky didn't immediately call for backup.
Instead, the family of three charged down in a neat line!
The Sub-dragons seemed to be toying with their prey, unhurriedly spreading out and launching Frost Breaths from three directions simultaneously.
"Whoosh—"
The bone-chilling cold currents were like three giant white pythons descending from the sky, beginning to freeze the dust-shrouded forest below inch by inch.
Trees, shrubs, rocks—everything was rapidly covered in a thick layer of frost in the cold air, emitting crisp cracking sounds.
Freezing prey alive into ice sculptures was the hunting method Frost Wyverns enjoyed most. They were originally Dragons living in the extreme north; the mild climate of the Dragon Spine Mountain Range had suppressed them for too long, and now they could finally release their nature to their heart's content, appearing exceptionally excited.
But this also gave Caesar an excellent opportunity.
He didn't use the power of Terastalization himself; instead, he quietly placed that Fire Tera Crystal into a Storage Ring and handed it to Cecilia.
"Listen," Caesar lowered his voice, "use your Secret Art to transform into my appearance."
"Ah? Why am I the bait again..." Although Cecilia complained, she had long been annoyed by these three swaggering Sub-dragons.
Moreover, this was Caesar's command.
"Fine, fine... what about you?" The little Silver Dragon put away the Fire Tera Crystal with a worried look in her eyes.
"I'll provide cover for you!"
At this moment, Cecilia's tears were almost about to fall.
Even though this Earth Dragon was usually fierce and stingy, at a life-or-death moment, he actually... "Stop being moved! Hurry up and transform!"
"Oh, right!"
A surge of silver light distorted.
A second later.
A "Caesar" appeared on the spot.
Except this Caesar... had a slightly rounder belly, and his eyes were looking in different directions, exuding a clarity untainted by knowledge.
"Run!"
With a low growl from Caesar.
The "Fake Caesar" clutched the Fire Tera Crystal like a suicide squad member holding an explosive pack, howling as she charged out of the dust and sprinted toward the depths of the dense forest!
Her appearance immediately caught the attention of the three Sub-dragons in the sky.
"Trying to run?"
"Chase them!"
The Sub-dragons Will and Cure didn't even think twice, immediately splitting off to chase in the direction the Earth Dragon was fleeing, leaving only the leader Gan in place to monitor the dust area and prevent the other Silver Dragon from escaping.
Almost at the same time.
The real Caesar suddenly opened his dragons maw, aiming at the solitary Sub-dragon in the sky—
Dragon Pulse...!!