weddingnovel Chapter 9 Centaur
Chapter 9 Centaur
As dusk fell, the sky was painted with a gradient of colors from dark blue to orange-red. The low-hanging sun slowly sank into the distant hills, and the afterglow, like melting amber, gilded the withered grass with a warm golden hue.
A wild skink cautiously peeked out from a crevice in the rocks. Its grayish-brown body served as its natural camouflage, and its black eyes darted about as it carefully searched for food to fill its stomach that day.
At sunset, when many insects are active, a grasshopper on a grass stem quickly caught the skink's attention. It leaped forward and accurately snatched the grasshopper in its mouth.
Just as the skink was about to enjoy its meal, a slight tremor suddenly came from the entire rocky hill. The small stones seemed to be dancing, and a huge iron hoof came down from the sky, instantly crushing it into mincemeat.
Looking up from the iron-black hooves, one sees a strong horse's body, but instead of the horse's head, there is a robust male body on its neck.
With muscular arms, a longbow slung over his shoulder, and scimitars and javelins hanging from either side of his lower body, he was clearly a centaur ranger.
Not long after the centaur appeared, a large cloud of dust rose up along its path, resembling a galloping yellow dragon.
More centaurs began to appear on the low hill; a rough count revealed that there were probably dozens.
Their upper bodies were all nearly naked, muscular men, while their lower bodies were equine bodies in shades of brown, black, gray, yellowish-brown, or even striped or spotted.
Due to the lack of iron in the wilderness, or rather, the lack of skilled craftsmen among the centaurs, they did not wear armor, only simple protection on their hooves and chests.
Even so, when these terrifying creatures charge, the power they generate is by no means weaker than that of a well-organized heavy cavalry unit.
An exceptionally tall centaur stepped out from the ranks and asked the centaur who had arrived first.
"Still no trace of that red dragon?"
He has a pure white coat with silver tips, which is extremely rare among horses, making him look as if he is draped in the bright moonlight.
Unlike ordinary centaurs who are nearly naked or simply wrapped in animal skins, their upper bodies are draped in a white linen robe, through which one can vaguely see silver armor.
A blanket embroidered with intricate patterns was draped over the white horse's back, and golden anklets adorned its calves.
The centaur, when asked, shook his head, placed his right hand on his chest, knelt on one knee in a gesture of respect, and replied with an apologetic look in his eyes.
"Sorry, Lunaris, it flew too fast, I couldn't catch up."
However, I found this; it should be nearby. If I search carefully…”
After saying that, the centaur opened its left hand, which had been clenched into a fist, and in its broad palm lay a broken red scale.
…………
It has been almost a week since Chiliel returned from her injury.
Although the Red Dragon has always been known for its brutality and cruelty, leaving the world with the impression of a mindless brute, and their behavior seems to reflect that.
But this is simply because their inherent greed and arrogance often overwhelm their reason, leading to irrational behavior.
However, when faced with a situation that truly threatens their lives, even the most arrogant red dragon will regain its caution.
Therefore, during her recovery period, Chiliel tried to minimize going out. Even when she went hunting, she did so at night, taking advantage of the cover of darkness.
The purpose of doing this is to avoid being targeted by other dangerous hunters when injured.
Only today did her injuries fully heal. As soon as night fell, she rushed out of the cave, her wide wings billowing with the night wind and magical elements, and quickly disappeared into the distance.
Thor, who witnessed the whole thing from a corner, didn't know whether his adoptive mother was going to seek revenge or do something else. He just hoped she wouldn't cause him any trouble.
When the red fledgling dragon stepped into the moonlight, it became apparent that it had grown significantly larger than it had a week ago.
The length from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail has increased from 7 feet to 8.5 feet. The bulge on the top of the head has risen again, and a small protrusion has appeared on the scales along the spine.
The abundant energy from the dragon crystal caused his body to develop rapidly, making him vastly different from Sistana and Calp, who were still not even 7 feet tall.
Even the short wings on his back now look much more harmonious.
This is thanks to the fact that he has been flapping his wings whenever he has free time over the past week.
When a part of the body frequently consumes energy, the body will naturally supply it with more energy, allowing it to grow faster and develop more.
This clumsy method did improve Thor's gliding ability considerably, but he still couldn't fly freely.
This may be because the magic power within him is not enough. After all, red dragons only awaken their first real magic when they reach infancy.
To acquire the ability to fly long distances, one would probably need to reach infancy.
"I wonder what I'll get with the first biological template. Among the environmental creatures, there don't seem to be any particularly strong species."
Thor glanced at the huge wheel in his mind. His mental essence balance had reached 9.14, which would probably be enough to make a draw tonight at 10 o'clock.
Then, he leaped down from the platform at the cave entrance. The cool evening breeze blew in his face, making a loud rustling sound as he flapped the membranes on his wings, and began searching for his prey for the day.
His enhanced gliding ability allows him to search farther distances, and his pale golden pupils, like those of an owl with night vision, are completely unaffected by the darkness.
Thor only dared to glide freely near the mudstone hills where Daenerys's cave was located; otherwise, even with the cover of night, certain ferocious birds of prey that preferred to be active at night might take his life.
He would land on the ground to rest for a while every 10 minutes or so before flapping his wings and taking off again.
After some time, a pair of twitching ears suddenly caught Thor's attention in the dense grass under some bushes.
So he began to descend, taking advantage of the night wind, and silently approached.
Once it got close enough, the wings spread on its back retracted slightly, and it plummeted downwards.
The whistling wind startled the alert prey below, and a fawn sprang up from the ground, trying to escape.
But a pair of sharp, outstretched claws, using the force of the fall, had already firmly landed on its back. The fawn's spine could not withstand the impact and broke instantly. Its internal organs were pierced by the broken ribs, and blood gushed from its mouth and nose. It was motionless in an instant.
"I'm in luck today, I caught a big one, I'll have a good meal again."
To prevent the smell of blood from attracting other animals, Thor couldn't wait to start eating voraciously, tearing off chunks of meat and swallowing them whole without even chewing.
A young dragon can eat almost its own weight in food at a time, and by the time Thor's belly begins to swell, there is hardly any prey left on the ground.
He left one of the hind legs uneaten, instead carrying it back to the cave with his claws.
The faint smell of blood quickly caught the attention of Sistana and Calp. When they looked over with red eyes, they saw Thor slowly licking the strips of flesh off his leg.
Seemingly noticing their gaze, the red fledgling, which was a size larger than them, turned its head disdainfully and spoke arrogantly.
"You two stupid fools, you didn't catch any prey again today?"
"Why don't you kneel down and beg me? Maybe I'll take pity on you and give you a couple of bones."