Chapter 31: A Dragon Hatchling is Still a Dragon (1)

As the Blood Axe stealth unit scrambled to react, it was the oasis orcs who first sensed something amiss.

“Grrk?”

“Kree?”

Three orc sentries trembled uncontrollably. Despite their unexplainable fear, they spotted three human children approaching with confident strides. The orcs stumbled backward simultaneously.

“Graaah?”

“Kree?”

This made no sense to them. They were mere hatchlings, barely half-grown compared to the adult orcs, yet these young humans instilled an overwhelming dread within them. Orcs tend to be both brave and reckless due to their lack of intelligence, but even among them, snow orcs are known for being several times more savage than regular orcs. Yet here they were, retreating steadily without properly wielding their weapons.

Eventually…

“Aaaaaargh!”

“Graaaah!”

The terrified orcs began screaming, and their cries quickly spread throughout the village, enveloping it in fear.

“Kreeee!”

“Grrrrr!”

“Skreeeee!”

Chaos reigned supreme within the oasis orc village.

Louis grinned at this sight and uttered two short commands.

“Charge, twins!”

“I’m coming, Kani!”

“And I, Khan!”

Soon, the three young dragons commenced their slaughter of the orcs.

SKRAAAAAW!

GRAAAHHH!

Orcs’ screams echoed across the oasis, filled with terror, pain, frustration, and despair.

Pablo’s jaw dropped as he watched from afar.

“…?!” He was rendered speechless by what he witnessed. Who could blame him?

When Pablo first laid eyes on Louis and the twins, he didn’t think much of them. He simply assumed they were ordinary children. Even after learning that they were dragons, it never occurred to him how powerful they might be. After all, they were just young hatchlings who needed protection.

However…

“Ohhh…”

Their skills far surpassed his expectations.

…They’re incredible.

At a glance, both Louis’s holy magic and the silver-haired twins’ combat abilities seemed superior to Pablo’s own. The twins effortlessly cut down the orcs with lightning bolts shooting from their weapons, while Louis annihilated them using various types of holy magic. Despite being known as fierce predators even white-furred trolls avoided when gathered in groups, these snow-dwelling orcs were no match for the trio.

The so-called lawless orcs of the winter continent were swept away like rag dolls. Despite their reputation for fearlessness, these orcs fled in terror.

“Ohhh…” Pablo couldn’t stop exclaiming his amazement at the surreal scene unfolding before him.

Standing next to Pablo, Fin proudly chimed in, “See that?”

“But how…?”

Fin’s answer was simple and firm: “Because they’re dragons.”

There could be no better explanation than that.

Dragons—the most powerful creatures dominating every other species on earth. Moreover, beings driven more by instinct rather than reason felt overwhelming dread when confronted with a dragon’s might.

As they watched Louis and the twins effortlessly dispatching orcs, Fin continued his explanation. “Have you heard of how rats freeze up when confronted by snakes? That’s exactly what those orcs are doing now. No matter how brutal these creatures might be, their knees buckle at the sight of apex predators.”

“…”

“If they possessed more intelligence, perhaps they could overcome this fear, but with their pea-sized brains focused solely on hunger and lust, there’s no way they can handle the aura of noble dragons.”

“Oh…” Pablo seemed to grasp something from Fin’s words.

That makes sense! This must be it…! Even though he was observing them from afar, Pablo clearly felt the energy emanating from the trio. It gave him goose bumps all over.

The aura emanating from them was unmistakable and impossible to imitate by mere humans—ferocious yet majestic, it was the energy of dragons as described in legends.

People often referred to this phenomenon as…

“…Dragon’s Fear.”

“Yes, you can call it Dragon’s Fear. Since they’re still young, their power is limited like this, but once they go through their second hibernation period and fully mature… The orcs wouldn’t stand a chance just being exposed to that aura alone!”

Fin proudly puffed out his chest as if he himself were a dragon, leaving Pablo speechless at the sight of the children annihilating the orcs.

Is this what…dragons are truly like?

No prodigy from any renowned family could achieve such feats at such a tender age.

Even if they had been born sucking on the elixir of life while still in their mothers’ wombs, it would’ve been impossible to achieve such feats at this age.

Boom! Boom!

Kra-krrrk!

The explosions caused by Louis’s holy magic and the twins’ black magic were answered by screams from the orcs.

Skreeeeeee!

Graaaahhh!

Hell unfolded amidst the pristine white oasis.

Just then…

“C-Chief!” A group of several dozen people approached Pablo from behind.

Upon spotting them, Fin instantly vanished from Pablo’s shoulder. Moments later, the bandits reached him.

“Wh-what is going on here?!” Bandit No. 1’s jaw dropped at the surreal scene unfolding before his eyes. The other bandits who followed shared the same reaction, especially those who had escorted Louis’s group here.

“Th-those… What kind of monsters are they?” Bandit No. 1 couldn’t help but ask aloud.

Even to him, it was clear that what these three kids were doing defied all logic. Only the word monsters could aptly describe their extraordinary feats. The guild members struggled just to handle one snow orc at a time, yet these children mowed them down effortlessly!

A chill ran up his spine as he processed this. It then dawned on him why only young children had been out and about despite the harsh winter weather.

I-I see now!

Their incredible abilities explained everything.

I-if we’d made even the slightest mistake, our heads would’ve rolled!

If that sword had been aimed at them instead of the orcs, their heads would’ve rolled and gotten buried under the snow by now. With this realization, Bandit No. 1’s eyes filled with admiration for Pablo.

“Like you said… Did our chief know all along?”

“What?” The unexpected question caught Pablo off guard.

Fin whispered something to him.

—Just go along with what I say. Of course.

“O-of course.”

“As expected, Chief!”

As the most powerful member of the stealth unit, Pablo could easily assess the children’s abilities. Bandit No. 1’s respect for Pablo grew even more.

His eyes twinkled as he asked, “Then those orcs were…?”

—I asked Louis for help.

“I asked them to help us out.”

“Wow, you’re amazing!” Pablo looked uncomfortable at Bandit No. 1’s praise.

“But seriously, what kind of monsters were those? What freaks…”

Hey, who are you calling monsters?! And what did you just say? Freaks? Are you looking to die?

“Who’re you calling monsters?! And what did you just say? Freaks? Are you looking to die?!”

“What?”

Dude, why’d you repeat that part too?!

“Dude—! I’m sor—!”

“Chief?”

“Ahem. Never mind.” As his vice chief stared at him strangely, Pablo hastily waved it off and changed the subject. “Anyway, these guys aren’t ones we can mess with, so make sure you keep our men in check!”

“What do you mean by ‘manage’? No one with eyes would dare mess with those monsters.”

“Well…” Pablo and the vice chief nodded in agreement.

Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t even consider challenging such creatures.

As Pablo and Bandit No. 1 continued their conversation, snow began to fall from the sky.

“Oh…,” someone from the stealth unit gasped.

Against the backdrop of swirling snowflakes carried on icy winds, the three children danced around effortlessly. Despite the brutal nature of the scene unfolding before them, it somehow felt beautiful. The bandits stood transfixed, mesmerized by this gruesome masterpiece created by the young dragons.

Pablo clicked his tongue for another reason entirely.

“Aren’t they getting tired yet?”

Despite having fought fiercely for quite some time, the hatchlings showed no signs of fatigue.

If it were me, I would’ve run out of Attribute Power ages ago.

As Pablo watched them tirelessly battle, his admiration for the dragons grew.

Time passed quickly. The humans finally snapped back to reality when the chieftain’s head flew high into the sky.

“Huff, huff… That was hard work.”

“Louis…I’m hungry.”

“Me too…”

Having completed their tasks, Khan and Kani plopped down next to Louis, whining about being famished.

Louis handed each of them a medicinal potion before turning to gaze at the humans standing far away from the battlefield. His cheeks simultaneously puffed up as he did so.

“Agh…! These bastards should’ve helped us instead of just standing there watching!” Fuming, Louis waved Pablo over to him as a summons.

Pablo nervously turned to Bandit No. 1. “Y-you keep an eye on these kids while I’m gone.”

“Sh-should I go with you?”

“…Really?”

“…Nope. Go alone.”

“You little… Fine then.”

“S-seeya later!”

Bandit No. 1 hastily bowed and saw Pablo off, worried he might actually take him up on his offer. Initially, it was meant as a polite gesture, but fear of Louis and the twins compelled him otherwise.

The other bandits felt similarly as they watched the children standing amid a sea of blood, gulping nervously.

Meanwhile, Pablo approached Louis like a dog greeting its master.

“You…you called for me?” Despite his huge frame, he bowed deeply and obsequiously to Louis.

Louis discreetly took note of this while handing out more elixirs to the twins.

“All right, I’ll be back soon, so you two take it easy here.” Seeing them too preoccupied with sucking on their elixirs, Louis quietly slipped away.

Okay, now that we’ve dealt with the big guy…

He whispered softly to Pablo, “Lead the way!”

“What? Oh, right!”

Leaving behind the children engrossed with their treats, Louis and Pablo quietly slipped away.

A few moments later…

“Here it is?”

“Yes! Just follow this path straight ahead!”

Louis and Pablo descended toward the entrance of the underground cave, cleverly hidden from plain sight. Despite being underground, they could clearly see the way forward.

However, there was one problem.

“Ugh!”

Pablo’s bulk blocked the narrow passageway, preventing him from moving any farther. He looked rather embarrassed.

“Ha-ha… It used to be easy for me to get through here when I was younger…”

The issue was Pablo had grown too big compared to decades ago.

Louis clicked his tongue. “Tsk. You stay here. It should be just up ahead anyway.”

“All right!”

Louis left Pablo behind and continued on his own until he spotted a small tree at the end of the tunnel.

The area was dimly lit and bitterly cold, making it inhospitable for most flora, but there stood a white tree with roots embedded in ice.