After some consideration, Caesar decided to take the two hatchlings with him. It wasn't driven by any emotional attachment; he simply wanted to have two extra allies after weighing the pros and cons.

The road ahead was uncertain, and the young hatchlings were in a dangerous situation. The jungle was filled with dangers, but forming a small group not only made them a bigger target, but also significantly increased their fighting capabilities, much like a wolf pack.

In this place, strength was the only guarantee for survival.

Besides, Ghalon and Blackscale were not burdens. They were true dragons, and with Caesar, who had been genetically enhanced, even as young dragons, they were far superior to most creatures.

However, if they found it unpleasant to be together, Caesar wasn't willing to compromise. He would seize the opportunity to leave when the situation stabilized. There was no need to settle for something that didn't make him happy.

He believed that the other two hatchlings felt the same way.

Caesar couldn't understand one thing: why was the black dragon's marshland nest suddenly taken over by the green dragon?

Logically speaking, their black dragon mother was well past the age of indiscriminately laying eggs and had carefully chosen the nest location only after ensuring that there were no threatening creatures nearby during her pregnancy.

Where did the green dragon come from? And why did the black dragon never know of its existence?

After traveling a few miles away from the marshland nest, Caesar finally understood. The green dragon's interest in the treasure was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. The real reason for its long journey was the damn weather.

It was currently the dry season, with the temperature continually rising. The intense sun from the other realm was particularly scorching, causing the riverbeds to dry up rapidly, leaving cracked mud patches.

The temperate rainforest gradually transformed into yellowed hills covered with withered trees.

To find a habitable environment, the green dragon had to migrate, and the damp and dark marshland nest of the black dragon became its target.

The two hatchlings let out uneasy roars, naturally repulsed by the dryness. The temperature here reached over forty degrees, which didn't pose a direct threat to dragons but certainly made them uncomfortable.

But they had to endure it. They couldn't go back; the moist place they once knew had been taken over by the green dragon. As territorial and vicious as the evil dragon was, it couldn't tolerate the presence of hatchlings that didn't belong.

The hatchlings now faced their first challenge after leaving their black dragon mother.

"Ortolonzo, what should we do next?" Ghalon asked, playing with the newly acquired toy—a black-shelled beetle.

Hearing the question, Blackscales also instinctively looked at Caesar. Despite his reputation for stealing eggshells and running away, she could tell that Caesar's thoughts and actions were more mature than those of the two hatchlings.

Interestingly enough, Caesar, although yet to awaken his innate talents, seemed to possess his mother's qualities to a greater extent. When he was serious, he exuded a calm power that made them subconsciously hold some expectations for him.

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"Call me Caesar," Caesar said.

In reality, in the naming conventions of dragons, terms like "Caesar," "Ghalon," and "Eirin" were more like symbols, while "Ortolonzo," "Nefadys," and "Blackscale" were their actual names.

However, he had a clear bias against long lists of names and preferred others, both human and dragons alike, to call him Caesar rather than using his true name.

"Alright, Caesar, what should we do next?" Blackscales corrected herself, not wanting to waste time on formalities and waiting for his decision.

"First, the outside world is dangerous, unlike our previous fishing game. Since we've decided to stick together, we must be responsible for each other's actions and not allow any mistakes or luck," Caesar said, with a serious expression that was difficult for a hatchling to maintain. His head was large, and when he was serious, his whole face looked puffed up, making him seem adorable.

But Ghalon and Blackscales nodded. They understood better than Caesar that survival in the wild was difficult for hatchlings without the protection of their parents. The highest mortality rate for dragons occurred during the hatchling and young dragon stages— the former due to weakness and the latter due to recklessness.

This was also why they chose to follow Caesar. In fact, most hatchlings made similar choices at this stage, forming groups to live together. Although it didn't result in a significant increase in combat capability, it provided some assurance among themselves.

"Very well," Caesar acknowledged, using his claws to scratch the soil and furrowing his brow (dragons don't have eyebrows). He wrote the word "water" in the sand with dragon language.

Dragons were indeed magical creatures, but even with their formidable abilities, they couldn't escape their most basic physiological needs: water and food.

Caesar didn't feel it after the genetic enhancement, but the two other hatchlings clearly felt thirsty. Even for robust dragons, this was the case. In such a situation, they would be instinctively drawn to a water source.

In the dry season, in the barren hills, finding a water source also meant finding food.

"Understood," Ghalon nodded. Their primary concern was finding a place to nest, which also couldn't be separated from the issue of water.

After reaching a consensus, Ghalon immediately spat out acid, corroding the black-shelled beetle before swallowing it, then flew up into the sky to search for traces of rivers and lakes. Blackscale also flapped her wings, preparing to join the search behind Ghalon, but Caesar stopped her.

"There aren't many blind spots here. It wouldn't be very effective if we all search together. You can take over when he comes down."

As Caesar expected, the once fertile forest was gradually withering, with large sections of trees decaying. The rivers that used to support countless creatures now appeared as vast dried riverbeds.

Fortunately, after searching for nearly half a day, they finally found a lake.

To call it a lake was an exaggeration; it was just a slightly larger waterhole. These were not oases; they were shallow drinking troughs in the vast wilderness.

But it was enough to make the young dragons overjoyed. This waterhole was sufficient for their daily habitat. Caesar was right; it was the peak of the dry season, and the desire to quench their thirst would attract a constant stream of animals. Many creatures circled around the waterhole.

As long as they could establish themselves here, they wouldn't go hungry during the entire dry season.

Although they preferred fish and aquatic creatures, at this point, the hatchlings had no choice but to endure and survive. "Oh!"

The hatchlings cheered, eager to dive into the waterhole, quench their thirst, and roll around in the mud, covering their bodies in muck.

But Caesar's expression grew serious. This place didn't belong to them yet. Where there was prey, there were also predators. His vision was better than that of the other hatchlings, and he noticed large crocodiles lurking in the water, as well as the traces of thorny-tailed lions and terror wolves among the overgrown wild fields.

They had arrived too late.

The giant crocodiles, scorpion-tailed lions, terror wolves, along with hyenas and jaguars, had already claimed this territory. The feast was already full, and there would always be another hungry mouth waiting to fight over every drop of blood.

Even without the presence of an adult black dragon, even a young dragon alone would have to flee from these predators with their tails between their legs.

But Caesar and the others were just young hatchlings.

Although the other predators could sense the threat, they still circled around, unwilling to leave this food-rich land.