Chapter 20 | They Called Me the Dumbest Dragon, So I Paused Time and Built an Empire

Gris was in significant pain from the fall, but he was a dragon after all; even a fall from such a height was not a major issue.

With a dragon claw pressing against his backside, Gris slowly stood up, still cursing under his breath.

"F*ck, that damn..."

Before he could finish his curse, he felt a wave of coldness. Stiffly turning his head, he saw the nine-headed golden lion standing right in front of him.

Gris's expression froze, a forced smile appearing on his pitch-black dragon face.

"Hi~ how are you?"

The golden lion's lips curled back, making Gris shudder uncontrollably.

"I'm fine, thank you. And you?"

Before Gris could even respond, a voice like a demon's whisper followed.

"Where is your mother?"

Gris's dragon brain worked at high speed, and he suddenly pointed toward the sky—the place where he and Jonavili had been just moments ago.

"Up there!"

Hearing this, the three-headed golden lion trembled all over and instinctively looked up.

The sky was vast and clear, with blue sky and white clouds; indeed, it was a beautiful sunny day.

However...

Looking left and right, he saw no sign of a dragon.

The three-headed golden lion looked back at Gris and realized the little black dragon had already started running into the distance. Only then did he realize he had been played.

"Roar!"

A loud lion's roar rang out, and the golden lion's speed was several times faster than Gris's.

Gris ran for his life, but the distance between him and this magic beast was closing at an extremely rapid pace.

"Damn it! Damn it all! That cursed Jonavili!!"

From the fall, Gris's dragon wings had been broken; with his recovery rate, it would take at least a minute for them to mend.

"Roar!"

The golden lion was six meters long, while Gris was only a little over two meters. Trying to escape its pursuit was like a fool's dream.

Although Gris was a bit slow, he knew that if this continued, he would definitely be caught.

"Damn it, damn it!! I'll take you down with me!"

Gris suddenly turned around, his mouth gathering an Acid Breath which he sprayed at the three-headed golden lion.

A yellowish crystalline shield appeared in front of the lion, easily blocking Gris's attack.

The highly corrosive Acid Breath began to dissolve the shield, but the progress was slow—essentially useless.

Looking at that yellowish shield, Gris's heart sank. This was the three-headed golden lion's innate ability, Protective Aura. Judging by the color of the shield and the lion's fur, it likely had earth element affinity.

The three-headed golden lion leaped forward, pouncing toward Gris. Gris instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike.

A thick, yellowish lion tail whipped out like a lash. Gris could not dodge in time; his black dragon scales were shattered, and bright red dragon blood flowed from the wound as he was sent flying, crashing into the ground.

Gris cursed internally, but the injury made him even more cautious. However, he understood that if this continued, he would never survive the next attack.

The three-headed golden lion turned its body, looking at Gris playfully. It was in no hurry to kill him, instead walking toward him with slow steps.

Gris forced himself to stand up, growling in the lion's direction.

"Roar..."

"A sense of powerlessness, like a kitten hissing."

In the three-headed golden lion's eyes, this little black dragon was already a meal on a plate, making its heart leap with excitement.

There was no helping it; every part of a dragon was a treasure. Dragon blood could enhance bloodlines; for humanoids, being baptized in dragon blood could turn them into dragon-blooded warriors, draconic sorcerers, or other types of dragon-kin.

Dragon bones could be crafted into dragon-bone swords and the like, while dragon scales could be made into dragon-scale armor and other magical equipment.

For magic beasts like itself, dragon blood could strengthen their bloodlines and, with enough luck, even elevate their life-tier.

Thus, a dragon was undoubtedly the best material for advancement, but also the hardest to obtain—after all, their strength was formidable.

But now, this incredible opportunity was right before him; how could he not be excited?

Just as his thoughts were wandering, a white wyrmling was already low to the ground, slowly opening her dragon muzzle.

In the next second, a blue-white Frost Breath erupted from her maw. Primal instinct allowed the three-headed golden lion to dodge reflexively.

The linear breath that should have exploded his head hit his right shoulder instead. A massive bloody crater appeared where it struck, and freezing frost instantly formed over the wound.

The sheer power of the attack sent a wave of fear through him, followed immediately by a surge of boundless rage.

He looked furiously toward the source of the attack and found a white wyrmling with her maw already open. Jonavili shouted immediately upon being discovered.

"Get him!"

Before the lion could react, the injured Gris's body moved faster than his mind. His already prepared dragon frame shot forward like an arrow from a bow, biting down hard on the lion's head.

"Roar! Aaaagh!!"

The immense pain caused the golden lion to scream in agony.

Seeing him exposed again, Jonavili opened her white dragon muzzle, and a highly piercing linear breath shot out once more.

It hit the lion's paw. The fresh wave of pain drove the lion into a state of total fury.

Before a roar could even escape its throat, Jonavili had already lunged to its side. Her powerful dragon claw slammed into the bloody crater on its right shoulder, flipping it over onto the ground before she followed up with another breath. Gris took the chance to scramble away.

The three-headed golden lion instinctively activated its Protective Aura, the yellowish barrier blocking the incoming dragon breath.

Before it could catch its breath, the two wyrmlings were already in close quarters, their sharp dragon teeth biting into its body. Jonavili was even more brutal, specifically targeting its existing wounds.

Fortunately, the three-headed golden lion's realm provided a significant advantage. Even under such a fierce assault, they could not finish him off immediately. Instead, he found an opening and bit down on Jonavili.

The seemingly hard scales were like paper before the massive lion teeth, which instantly breached her defenses.

However, her awl-like dragon tail slammed into the lion head that was biting her. The sheer force made him instinctively let go, and Jonavili used the opportunity to pull back.

Seeing Jonavili leave, Gris also quickly disengaged.

Taking a brief moment to rest, the golden lion looked at the two dragons with fury and spat a curse.

"Despicable!"

Faced with its words, the two dragons did not care. Jonavili had heard far filthier insults in her previous life; the lion's words had zero effect on her.

As for Gris, being a black dragon, calling him despicable was practically a compliment in disguise.

"Gris, do you trust me?"

Hearing Jonavili's words, Gris instinctively showed caution. He couldn't help it; this girl was always setting him up. She was even more of a dog than those manipulative green dragons—truly a scumbag.