Chapter 4: Life Slips Through the Mouth
A robust Thief Dragon crept, surveying the ground littered with tooth fragments, most stuck in an unidentified, disgusting muck. Its eyes glimmered with human-like hesitation.
“Forget it, not like it matters.”
What were once habitual human murmurs now emerged as dry snarls from the Thief Dragon’s throat.
Indeed, this Thief Dragon was none other than Jié Jié, freed from his Hairy Spider form. Knowing that this territory was under the protection of a Great Thief Dragon, why wouldn’t he lean on such a “mighty tree”?
Still, caution was necessary. The image of another Thief Dragon casually dragged off by a Terror Tyrant as a blood bag was still vivid.
After collecting some relatively clean materials, Jié Jié tracked the Great Thief Dragon’s trail, eventually arriving outside its nest.
Thief Dragon societies are quite loose; even the Great Thief Dragon lacked much ability to command them. A group of Thief Dragons didn’t possess enough wisdom to scheme against an outsider either.
Honestly, these creatures could barely distinguish their own kind accurately. Jié Jié, transformed into a strong and healthy Thief Dragon, was always welcomed.
The unhealthy or sick ones often died off naturally. In Thief Dragon society, there’s no scheming, but also no sympathy or care. Those incapable of fighting for food would die too. Nature occasionally reveals its cruelty in unexpected moments.
Just like that Thief Dragon carried away by the Terror Tyrant, it received no response from its leader.
Only a few Thief Dragons approached, sniffed around the nest, then scattered. The battle-worn Great Thief Dragon resting nearby didn’t even glance at him. This was fine though; Jié Jié found another unoccupied corner to rest while observing the Great Thief Dragon.
It had suffered many wounds in its battle with the Terror Tyrant, a chunk of flesh bitten off its side, chunks of the Terror Tyrant’s teeth embedded in the bloody mess. Its white abdomen had flattened significantly; clearly, the Herbivore Dragon inside had been digested.
The Great Thief Dragon lay motionless, resembling a suspected taxidermy specimen at the zoo. However, the rise and fall of its body proved it was alive.
After staring for a while, Jié Jié stood up, gathering bones from the Thief Dragon’s nest, using them to complete the Totems of Herbivore Dragons and Crowned Dragons.
Suddenly, the Great Thief Dragon stood, its belly contracting, recovering its empty-stomach flexibility as it crawled outwards.
Apparently, it was going hunting again. More food would significantly aid its recovery, avoiding ulcers caused by hunger.
Jié Jié dropped the bone he’d been playing with like a building block and immediately followed the Great Thief Dragon, feeling the ground pressed down by the movement of the large monster.
It was the same coast where it had battled the Terror Tyrant before, but the Herbivore Dragons had already migrated due to the danger and would take time to return.
This time, the Thief Dragons led the way. Their greater agility allowed them to track the scent and find the Herbivore Dragons, encircling and hunting them, while the Great Thief Dragon acted as the main force entering later.
Since Jié Jié’s Thief Dragon form was healthier and stronger than the others, he naturally walked at the front of the group, behaving like a true Thief Dragon, occasionally slowing down to sniff and raising his head to observe the surroundings.
He suddenly stopped when they spotted a group of Herbivore Dragons drinking by the pond. The Thief Dragons scattered, preparing for an ambush without any need for commands or order.
It was unclear who first pounced from the trees, but the rest quickly revealed themselves. The encirclement was visibly flawed.
But it didn’t matter. The Herbivore Dragons were more chaotic, lacking even sentinels within their groups. Jié Jié wondered how such a species could survive.
Clearly, the Ancient Tree Forest was too lush and fertile.
The chaos of the Herbivore Dragons actually disrupted the Thief Dragons’ encirclement. More Herbivore Dragons started running, leaving behind the old, weak, and sickly, which were directly jumped on and bitten by the Thief Dragons.
Not all those left behind were old, weak, or sickly. Some young adults slowed down due to the chaos, shaking their tails and heads, managing to repel the Thief Dragons.
“Alright, every species has reasons and abilities to survive.”
Realizing his mistake, Jié Jié attacked from the shadows unnoticed, leaping onto the back of a young adult Herbivore Dragon.
His claws embedded into the Herbivore Dragon’s body, sharp teeth tearing at its neck.
Blood flowed from the slots carved by his fangs, the Herbivore Dragon violently shaking its body, trying to throw off the predator to avoid its inevitable fate.
But Jié Jié paid no heed. The scene was chaotic, the Thief Dragon’s senses far more complex than the Hairy Spider’s.
Collisions, shakes, pain, snarls, groans, and various pheromones of chaos—he ignored them all.
He kept tearing at the Herbivore Dragon’s neck, feeling the vibrant life slip through the wound, warming his tongue.
Sweet, a bit fishy, yet strangely enticing.
The Thief Dragon’s vertical pupils gleamed cruelly as he tore and swallowed, mixing blood, fat, and meat in his mouth.
When he tore off a large piece of meat, the wound deep enough to expose white bones, the Herbivore Dragon’s life left its body with the spray of blood.
The more complex flesh-and-blood body provided richer sensations. Jié Jié gnawed on the delicious meat in his mouth, feeling as if he had experienced a sort of rebirth.
But the sense of freedom dissipated with the approaching pressure. The Great Thief Dragon’s breath redirected his attention outward.
Seemed like he was the only one who single-handedly hunted an Herbivore Dragon. The others’ Herbivore Dragons were covered with multiple Thief Dragons, dragging them to near death simply through numbers.
And the Herbivore Dragon beneath him wasn’t untouched by other Thief Dragons; the struggles of the adult Herbivore Dragon had driven them off, and their location was rather secluded.
Looks like he needed to reassess the strength of regular Thief Dragons. Previous hunts were always initiated by the Great Thief Dragon, so such messy situations didn’t occur.
While observing the battlefield, Jié Jié devoured large bites of his prey.
Some Thief Dragons were attracted by the strong smell of blood here and predictably ran over to share his prey. He didn’t mind since he was the one who could secure the most food.
By the time the Great Thief Dragon arrived, its belly full and half an Herbivore Dragon still in its mouth, Jié Jié had already eaten until he was round and bloated.
Did a larger brain-to-body ratio really affect intelligence? Because Jié Jié noticed the Great Thief Dragon came from the direction the Herbivore Dragon herd had fled, unsure whether it was coincidence or deliberate ambush.
The Great Thief Dragon paused briefly to digest, then began marking its territory, extracting the last value from the Herbivore Dragon in its stomach. After creating space in its belly, it cleaned up the remains of the Herbivore Dragons uneaten by the Thief Dragons, then returned triumphantly to its nest.
