Chapter 1: Is This Really a Young Dragon?

“What in the world is going on?!” A young dragon stepped on the broken stones scattered all over the ground. With its bright eyes wide open, it flapped around in panic, looking at the empty surroundings. A mix of fear and some strange feeling completely flooded Zheng Yichen’s mind.

Looking at the broken stones all over the ground, he shook off the dust from his body and fell into a brief… contemplation. The broken stones definitely seemed to be something like eggshells, but who could explain what kind of egg-laying creature hatched from a stone? Some divine monkey?

No, no, the bigger question was why he ended up here, and even inside a petrified egg? Could it be… that he had crossed over to another world?

Feeling a slight itch on his back, Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but move a little. A pair of rock-black wings fully stretched out from behind him. He looked down at his hands, which had turned into claws, and pulled one of the unfolded wings to take a closer look. It was pitch black, with neat rows of fine scales. The color was exactly the same as the petrified eggshell.

A dragon?

The young dragon, now in a weird silence, simply lay down on the ground. Its eyes stared brightly at the sky as the sun began to rise. No matter what, things had already happened, and in many ways it felt… not bad?

Anyway, he should sleep first. If this was a dream, he should wake up soon. If it wasn’t a dream, then he would accept reality.

After waking up from his sleep, the sun that had just risen was already beginning to set. Looking at his claws, which were still not human hands, Zheng Yichen fully accepted his transformation. He patted his stomach, and a light feeling of hunger filled his mind. Well, of course, he was a newborn hatchling and hadn’t eaten anything yet. Not only that, but he wondered which irresponsible parent had left this young dragon in such a deserted place.

His gaze accidentally fell on some broken stones on the ground—these were the “eggshells” left behind after Zheng Yichen hatched. Staring at the petrified eggshells, he felt a growing desire to eat.

Never mind, if it made him hungry, even stones would be fine.

Crunching sounds echoed in the night…

“Stay alert, everyone! That sneaky dragon is nearby!” A middle-aged man, carrying a greatsword and dressed in mercenary gear, cautiously observed his surroundings.

“Hmm, Uncle Sander, no need to be so tense, right? That dragon hasn’t hurt anyone so far,” a young man following the middle-aged man said somewhat lazily. Compared to Sander’s well-trained body, the young man’s skin was pale and delicate. Besides the other guards, several other young men and women were the same. “Just lead the way properly.”

Useless teammates… Looking at the lazy attitudes of these noble kids, Sander felt helpless inside. How was he supposed to handle teammates like these? It was true that the dragon hadn’t hurt anyone so far. Because of that, over time, some young people had gradually grown bolder.

Especially for these noble kids, if they could see a dragon, it would be enough for them to boast to their peers at the Academy.

But the information these noble kids got seemed incomplete when they posted the bounty at the guild. That dragon might not have hurt anyone, but he robbed people!

Young dragons were usually looked after by their mother dragons. Before this young dragon actively hurt anyone, many people turned a blind eye. If they attacked without reason, they would have to answer to its mother. Dragons were at the top of the food chain in this world. There were dragon slayers, but more often, people got slain by dragons.

So, a mischievous but harmless young dragon was left to its own devices. As for robbery? Think of it as an admission ticket to the zoo. At the same time, it let those brave young people learn what real life was like.

Not only that, years of experience as a mercenary made Sander feel a chilling sense of being watched as soon as he entered this forest near the Tote Mountain Range. Something powerful had already set its eyes on them. There were no small animals moving around, not even a single insect. What was watching them was obvious!

Even a young dragon had the pressure of an apex predator… commonly known as Dragon’s Aura!

Whatever, when they came here this time, they had already expected this. They stored away all their valuables, and the most valuable thing on him was this greatsword. Thinking about the reward for this job, losing a greatsword was acceptable.

Considering all this, Sander’s guard relaxed a little. At that moment, a vine noose suddenly shot out from the trees, wrapped around him, and hoisted him up.

“The sneaky evil dragon that uses traps is here!” Compared to Sander’s embarrassment, the young men and women showed more excitement.

These idiots… Sander, now hanging in the air, opened his mouth slightly. Did they really think a giant dragon wasn’t a dragon? Calling it a sneaky evil dragon right in front of it basically insulted the young dragon completely. Even its mother might hear. Did they want to die faster?!

A huge dark shadow pushed aside the covering trees and walked out with the pressure of an apex predator. Its bright dragon eyes stared at the young men and women, who were now speechless. Two girls couldn’t withstand the pressure and simply sat on the ground. The dragon’s superior vision allowed Zheng Yichen to see faint wet marks on their light skirt armor.

Sander, hanging in the air, narrowed his eyes slightly. He stared in surprise at this dragon that seemed to be a Black Dragon. It seemed that compared to two months ago, this young dragon had grown several sizes bigger, almost catching up to some Juvenile Dragons. Do dragons grow this fast?!

“Stupid humans!!” It just felt cool to start with a roar like this.

“…”

“Sa-Sa-Sander Uncle, is that Dragon Language?” The girl among the three who hadn’t been scared onto the ground trembled slightly and looked at Sander, who was hanging in the air, her eyes full of pleading.

Sander shook his head. He was just an ordinary mercenary; how would he know what Dragon Language was? Whether it was or not, they couldn’t understand what the dragon said. Dragons usually could only speak after leaving their young stage, right? Was this really a young dragon?

“You guys… never mind.” Zheng Yichen extended a claw and flicked away a guard’s sword, then pointed to the ground nearby. Grabbing the collar of one of the girls, he lifted her up. As she screamed, his other claw casually swept over her body, and all her valuable items fell to the ground. Zheng Yichen continued speaking in Chinese, which they couldn’t understand. “It’s robbery time now…”