Chapter 4: Lava Wrestling and Fouls
The Dragon Mother had spoken so nicely the day before about teaching them how to use their brains.
As a result, she didn't teach them the next day.
The third day, she still hadn't taught them.
On the fourth day, she was still sprawled on the giant rock in the middle of the lake, eyes tightly shut, her tail soaking in the magma, her breathing as steady as a dormant volcano.
But Livia knew with her toes—this old hag wasn't sleeping at all.
The Ancient Red Dragon's ears twitched slightly every few seconds, precisely aimed at that pitch-black hole deep inside the lair.
It was obvious she was keeping watch.
Carlos was so bored his fur was practically growing mushrooms.
He paced back and forth at the edge of the lair, circling like a donkey grinding grain, and in less than fifteen minutes, he had ground all the loose stones on the ground into volcanic ash.
After pacing, he stared blankly at the lava lake, glaring until his eyes almost caught fire. Suddenly, he sprang up with a 'whoosh,' his tail snapping loudly.
"I thought of a game!"
Sephira was concentrating on counting bones and didn't even lift her head: "What?"
"Lava Wrestling!" Carlos's voice boomed, shaking the cavern walls. "We fight right in the lava lake! Whoever climbs ashore first loses!"
Sephira finally looked up, glanced at him, then glanced at the churning, bubbling lava lake with temperatures over a thousand degrees. She expressionlessly lowered her head and continued counting: "Not going. I want to live."
Carlos immediately turned to Livia, face full of provocation: "You come!"
Livia was lying on the ground, chin resting on her forepaws, lazily flicking her tail: "Not going. Too boring."
"Are you scared?"
Carlos immediately moved closer, his nostrils almost touching her face. "Scared I'll pin you down and drown you in the lava? Just say so if you're scared, I promise not to laugh at you."
Livia's ears twitched slightly.
Provocation techniques didn't work on dragons.
But they worked extremely well on a human soul who, in a past life, had been told in an internet cafe, 'If you suck, don't queue for ranked matches.'
She slowly raised her head, staring at Carlos's infuriating dragon face. Two seconds later, she spoke lightly:
"Fine. Rules."
"Rules are there are no rules!" Carlos was already excitedly rushing toward the lava lake. "Whoever climbs out first is a loser!"
"Splash—"
He jumped directly into the lake. Lava splashed up, hitting the rocks on the shore and sizzling as if dropped into hot oil.
Livia slowly walked to the edge of the lake, staring at the rolling, orange-red liquid.
Red Dragons were naturally fire-resistant. Over the past few months, she had tested dipping her claws into the lava; it was about the same as a human soaking in a 45-degree hot spring—painful, but not fatal.
But the problem was—buoyancy.
Lava wasn't much denser than water, and it was sticky, creating enormous drag.
The most fatal part was her thin legs.
She looked down at her four slender legs, which looked like those of a skinny dog.
Then she looked at Carlos in the lake—that guy's legs were as thick as four stone pillars. Standing in the lava, he was as steady as if he were welded in place, grinning mockingly at her.
Livia took a deep breath and jumped in.
The first second in the lake, she knew: she was doomed, she had fallen for the trick.
The lava immediately submerged her belly. The heat enveloped her, making her feel comfortable, but her feet couldn't touch the bottom—not because it was deep, but because there wasn't enough buoyancy; her body kept sinking.
She frantically paddled with her four legs, barely managing to keep her head above the liquid surface.
Carlos was already three meters away, charging toward her like a prehistoric hippo, splashing lava that hit her face like a downpour.
"Come on, come on!" he shouted.
Livia quickly dodged sideways, her footing slipped, and her entire head plunged into the lava.
She thrashed desperately to surface, choking on a mouthful—
The taste shot straight to her skull. The smell of sulfur mixed with lava was like drinking a bottle of industrial alcohol mixed with chili oil; her throat burned fiercely.
Carlos had already reached her, raising a massive claw to strike down.
Livia dodged with all her might. The claw grazed past her ear, the heat wave stinging her eardrums.
She barely stabilized herself, her mind racing:
Wrestling.
In her previous life, the Northeastern guy living next door in her rented room in the urban village used to lecture her daily on wrestling techniques when he was drunk: leg sweeps, over-the-shoulder throws, rear naked chokes, crucifix locks... he boasted endlessly.
Today, let's try it.
Carlos charged again, opening his mouth to bite her neck.
Livia ducked her head, lunged forward, and her forepaw grabbed his front leg—a leg sweep!
She grabbed it!
And then... it didn't move at all.
Carlos's leg was too thick, like a tree trunk; she couldn't budge it.
Carlos looked down at her, confused: "Why are you hugging my leg? Are you trying to scratch an itch?"
Livia didn't waste words and immediately switched tactics—a rear naked choke!
She circled behind Carlos, her forepaws hooking hard around his neck.
The result... dragons don't have necks.
Her head connected directly to his shoulders. After hooking for a long time, she couldn't even find a seam, and she was simply flung off by a shake from Carlos.
Next attempt—crucifix lock!
She grabbed one of Carlos's front legs, leaned her body backward, trying to hyperextend the joint.
Carlos was completely bewildered: "You're bending my leg? What kind of hellish fighting style is this? Are you a sore loser?"
He casually slapped down with his other claw, pressing Livia entirely into the lava.
She struggled for a long time before popping her head out, her ears completely filled with lava, her head buzzing, and her vision darkening.
No good.
The difference in pure strength was too huge.
This guy had innate monstrous strength. He smashed half a wall on the first day after hatching, and now, half a year later, his head could collapse a mountain.
Fighting him head-on was pure suicide.
Carlos charged again with his mouth wide open, clearly intending to bite her head off.
Livia watched his movements, and a single word flashed through her mind:
Cheat.
She stopped dodging.
Just as Carlos rushed in and his mouth was about to clamp down, Livia suddenly spun around, swinging her tail in a full arc, and smacked him hard across the face!
"Smack—!!"
This tail whip was crisp and loud, landing squarely on the dragon's face.
Carlos's entire head snapped sideways. Not only did he miss the bite, but his body instantly lost balance and tilted to the side.
Livia used the recoil force from her tail whip to scramble desperately toward the shore, paddling madly with her four legs. She tumbled and crawled out of the lava lake, falling onto the shore rocks with a'splat,' gasping for breath.
Her whole body was dripping lava, and smoke was sizzling out from between her scales, making her look like a freshly roasted lizard.
Carlos, having finally stabilized himself in the lake, touched his face and immediately bristled:
"You fouled! You used your tail!"
Livia lifted her head, still catching her breath, and said righteously:
"You said the rules were—no rules."
"The rules are—" Carlos started to roar, but his voice suddenly caught.
Because the entire lair instantly fell silent.
The Dragon Mother had disappeared from the giant rock in the middle of the lake without anyone noticing.
And she had silently appeared in the shadows at the edge of the lair at some unknown time.
The eighty-meter-long Ancient Red Dragon stood in the darkness, her golden vertical pupils coldly fixed on the shore, first looking at Livia, then at Carlos in the lake.
The air solidified.
"Foul," the Dragon Mother's voice was terrifyingly flat.
Livia, still lying on the ground, was unconvinced: "The rules didn't say we couldn't use our tails."
"The rules were set by me," the Dragon Mother narrowed her eyes slightly. "Tonight's food portion will be halved again."
Livia immediately shut up.
Fine.
You're Mom, you decide.
You're an Ancient Red Dragon, you're awesome.
The Dragon Mother's gaze lingered on her for two seconds, then she said no more, turned, and crawled back into the depths of the lair. Her massive body disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the sound of her tail dragging across the rock fading away.
Livia lay on the ground, silently grumbling to herself:
Double standards, such blatant double standards.
If you can't handle it, don't play.
Carlos climbed out of the lake triumphantly, dripping lava. He walked over to her, squatted down, and grinned mockingly:
"Halved, huh? Going hungry, huh?"
Livia couldn't be bothered with the idiot dragon.
Sephira had quietly snuck over at some point and was squatting beside her, lightly scratching patterns on the rock with her claw.
Livia casually glanced over and was instantly speechless:
Written above in crooked Draconic script was:
Sister used her tail to slap face, Mother ruled it a foul.
Note it down, use it later.
Livia was silent for two seconds: "Why are you writing that down?"
Sephira looked up, her eyes as innocent as a little white rabbit: "Nothing, just writing it down for fun. What if it's useful later?"
She quickly wiped away the writing and crawled back to her own little nest, flicking her tail lightly.
Livia: "..."
This little sister has more hidden schemes than a volcanic fissure.
That evening, the food was indeed halved.
Carlos's portion: a whole roasted Rock Sheep, no one knew where the Dragon Mother had caught it. It was roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the fat dripping onto the rocks and sizzling, smelling so good the entire lair was filled with the aroma.
Sephira's portion: half a sheep.
Livia's portion: two legs.
She squatted in her corner, gnawing on the two dry legs, watching Carlos eat until his mouth was greasy. She silently vowed to herself:
One day, I will also give birth to such an annoying son, and I'll make him experience the taste of hunger every day.
Wait.
I'm a female dragon.
Give birth to a son?
She paused for a moment, looked down, and continued gnawing her leg. No need to think about it; the more she thought, the more ridiculous it got.
Just then—
A tremor suddenly came from the depths of the lair.
This time, it was closer than any previous tremor.
So close it felt like it was right behind the cave entrance.
Livia immediately stopped chewing and stared intently at the darkness.
The light from the lava lake couldn't penetrate it at all; she could only see utter blackness, like a giant open mouth.
Carlos also stopped, meat dangling from his mouth, staring blankly in that direction.
Sephira quickly hid her bones in her pile of treasure, her tail instantly taut, completely on guard.
The Dragon Mother's head slowly emerged from the darkness.
Her golden vertical pupils were fixed tightly on the depths of the entrance.
The tremor lasted for more than ten seconds, then stopped.
But this time, it didn't disappear completely.
After the shaking stopped, a very faint, very deep sound of breathing drifted out from the darkness.
The Dragon Mother didn't move.
The three young dragons dared not move either.
After a long time, the Dragon Mother finally withdrew her gaze, swept them lightly with her eyes:
"Finish eating, then sleep."
She turned and crawled back to the giant rock in the middle of the lake, lay down, and let her tail drop back into the magma.
Livia lowered her head to continue gnawing the leg, but her ears were standing straight up, monitoring the movements in the darkness the entire time.
That breathing sound was still there.
Very light, very distant, but undeniably real.
She finished the last piece of meat, licked her claws clean, and lay down.
Before sleeping, she had only one thought:
That thing is getting closer.
It won't be long before something happens.