Hannah was still relishing the flesh and blood of the Rift Bear.

"This demonic beast's meat lacks decay; it doesn't taste very good at all!"

"It probably needs a bit of acid to corrode it a bit before eating."

Hannah chewed thoughtfully, musing to herself.

"It seems impossible to finish all this by myself, should I take some for Emily? She hasn't recovered from the scolding she got from the Dragon Mother last time."

"And, I'll need to cling to Saron's coattails more tightly in the future."

Whoosh—

Just then, an arrow shot out from the bushes in an instant.

Owww—

Hannah couldn't help but cry out in pain.

She didn't look in the direction of the attack, but instead quickly ran towards where Saron had left earlier.

The ground suddenly shook, and four or five stone pillars rose from the earth, trapping Hannah within.

Delia's arrow hit its mark precisely on Hannah's hind leg, and combined with Bill's earth magic, Hannah was trapped.

They knew that a young dragon couldn't fly, so all they had to do was immobilize it.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

Soros and his companions rushed out.

The Laurie brothers pulled out a huge net and threw it over Hannah, who struggled several times but only succeeded in tightening the net further.

Now, Hannah was utterly despondent.

"Saron, come save me!"

Hannah was well aware of her predicament and cried out desperately to her surroundings.

"Move out quickly!" Soros and Laurie lifted Hannah and quickly moved away.

Bill and Delia covered their retreat, with Delia feeling a pang of pity at the young dragon's cries.

"Delia, the black dragon is the most cunning and shameless of all evil dragons. Who knows how many innocent people will die at its mouth once it grows up. Don't feel sympathy for it!" Bill said rapidly.

Saron returned to the site of the Rift Bear's carcass only to find much of it had been devoured.

"It seems Hannah had a decent meal."

Suddenly, his nose twitched — something was amiss!

The olfactory senses of dragonkind are exceptionally sharp, and with Saron's high life-force value, his sense of smell far surpassed that of ordinary dragons.

Besides the scent of Hannah and the Rift Bear, there was an array of other potent odors.

Human footprints marked the ground!

Hannah was in trouble!

A dangerous glint flashed in Saron's eyes. Although Hannah might be a bit dim-witted, she was still a true dragon. She would be formidable once grown, and he intended to have her as part of his foundation.

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The distance to the Dragon Mother's cave was still a few kilometers, and Hannah's whereabouts were now unknown.

These humans dared to intrude into the territory of an adult black dragon, their strength unknown.

"What's that?" Saron eyed a nearby spot warily.

"Saron, it's me!"

Emily's petite figure emerged from behind the bushes, her eyes widening in astonishment at the sight of Saron — he had grown again.

He was now three or four times her own size. Why did he grow so much faster when they were all fledgling dragons?

"Emily, Hannah has been captured by humans. Go quickly and inform the Dragon Mother. I'll go find Hannah!"

Saron, seeing Emily's disheveled state, assumed she had just arrived and immediately instructed her.

"What! Hannah's been taken by humans?" Emily exclaimed in shock.

"If you don’t hurry, Hannah might never return!" Saron gave her a cold glance, and with a powerful flap of his wings, he swiftly followed the scent trail.

Though still unable to fly, his wings served to glide and accelerate his progress.

Emily, biting her lip, looked in the direction Saron had gone and then back at the beast meat on the ground before running towards the Dragon Mother’s cave.

The group fled frantically.

Soros felt this was the wildest thing he'd ever done in his life.

To think they'd stolen a whelp from the territory of an adult black dragon!

"Move faster!"

Every one of them was acutely aware of the gravity of their actions; they dared not rest, knowing well what fate awaited them if caught by the adult black dragon.

Hannah, having been subdued by a large dose of magical anesthetic, was now in a deep slumber.

"This job done, we'll rise above all," they affirmed to themselves with determination.

Only Delia's green eyes flickered with worry; unlike the others, she had faced the horror of an adult dragon before. The unassailable power of such a creature was something she would never forget in her lifetime.

She deemed Soros and the others' decision to venture into adult dragon territory and steal a dragon whelp as incredibly unwise.

After trailing them for a while, Saron's superior vision finally allowed him to spot the group. At this point, he was around five hundred meters away from them, hidden by the dense jungle foliage, unnoticed by his prey.

Drawing from the ancestral knowledge and the use of an identification spell, he assessed the strength of his adversaries. There was one Level 4 Earth Mage, one Level 5 Warrior, two Level 4 Warriors, and an Elven Archer.

Daring to encroach upon the lair of an adult dragon and even attempt to steal a dragon whelp with such modest capabilities?

Saron weighed the strength disparity between them and felt confident to engage. While waiting for the Dragon Mother would be the safer option, Saron knew that if she intervened, the spoils of the battle would no longer be his. One should not underestimate a dragon's covetousness for treasure; regardless of his contribution, the Dragon Mother would not spare him a single silver coin.

With this in mind, Saron began to prepare his move, and as if by fate, the group paused.

"We need a short rest, boss. We're almost out of the Crippling Forest, and this long-haul sprint is taking its toll on us!" Laurie wiped the sweat from his brow.

"We can't stop, we must make it to Caleni City quickly!" Soros hadn’t even spoken when Delia interjected decisively.

"But we're exhausted, and this dragon whelp is quite heavy," they complained, unwittingly halting their escape. Bill stepped forward, hoping to mediate.

But a glint of cold light flashed in Saron's eyes — the opportunity had arisen.

Strike the mage first in a group assault!

He surged forth like the grim reaper himself, his massive dragon head clamping down on Bill's neck and shoulder. A glow of earthy yellow formed a protective shield around Bill, but it shattered under Saron's fangs in less than a second.

By the time Soros and the others could react, it was too late — Bill's neck and left shoulder had disappeared without a trace. Blood sprayed onto their faces.

"Ah! Bill!"

"Damn beast!"

They couldn't believe that Bill was killed by a young dragon that had suddenly emerged. Even his defensive charm was of no use; it was effortlessly crushed by the dragon's teeth.

Soros took the lead, lifting the massive shield from his back and swinging it at Saron, while Delia drew her bow, loosing a continuous barrage of enchanted green arrows toward him. The Laurie brothers moved in from either side, attempting to flank Saron.

Saron swung Bill's corpse toward Delia in an attempt to disrupt her archery. His plan was to bypass the other three's attacks to target the archer — with the mage gone, the ADC was next!

But Soros wasn't going to give Saron the opportunity. Driven by rage, he unleashed his full strength, his silver-white fighting aura flaring as he hastened his pace, using his shield to absorb Saron's charge.

Boom!

Saron collided with the massive shield, sending Soros flying backward. However, Saron was unmoved, but this also halted his advance!