Su Nian darted out of the cave, greeted by the chilling embrace of the night.
The wind howled fiercely, and thick clouds loomed in the distance, brewing an impending storm.
The moon retreated wearily behind the clouds, leaving the world in utter darkness, with only a few stars standing watch in the sky.
Dragons' vision worked much like night-vision goggles, except the background appeared in shades of red. This unique trait allowed Su Nian to clearly detect moving life forms in the pitch-black night.
Nighttime was the hour of predators.
And in this seemingly ordinary forest, Su Nian was undoubtedly one of the most lethal.
Scattered at the cave entrance were traces of blood and scales—his own. They served as a stark reminder to stay vigilant.
Su Nian's dragon face twisted in a frown.
He thought to himself that this cave could no longer serve as a safe haven. Once his body recovered, he would have to find a new lair to avoid human soldiers tracking him down through these traces.
In a modern world devoid of magic, tracking someone was already a precise science. In this world brimming with extraordinary powers, tracking would likely be even easier.
Besides, to be honest, he wasn't particularly fond of his current damp and gloomy lair.
He needed to act quickly.
With this thought in mind, Su Nian controlled his dragon body and, with a swift "whoosh," darted into the jungle.
Thanks to his sharp vision and keen sense of smell, he quickly spotted a lone deer.
This wasn't a meal prepared for little Anna but for himself.
His intentions were crystal clear.
In half an hour, he would enter a state of weakness. Without sufficient food, this period of vulnerability could very well lead to his death from starvation.
Thus, he needed to fill his stomach first before finding some berries for Anna to stave off hunger.
The innate Dragon's Might of his species naturally radiated outward, without the slightest awkwardness. Su Nian was becoming increasingly familiar with his new body.
Dragon's Might was one of a dragon's most formidable weapons. For creatures of lower tiers, it instilled an overwhelming fear, as if they were facing their ultimate predator.
For those with weaker wills, Dragon's Might could even exert a paralyzing effect, akin to immobilization.
The deer appeared to be injured, already severely weakened. Under the oppressive force of Su Nian's Dragon's Might, it collapsed to the ground, trembling.
Without hesitation, Su Nian lashed out with his tail, leapt forward on all fours, and clamped his jaws around the deer's neck.
Warm blood gushed out, soothing Su Nian's long-starved stomach.
The pungent scent of blood filled his mouth. At first, it was slightly nauseating, but he quickly adapted.
Su Nian began to savor the taste of raw meat, the blood in his mouth turning irresistibly sweet.
He tightened his grip on the deer's throat, drinking deeply of its lifeblood.
Just then, a rustling noise came from behind him, followed by low, mournful howls.
The bushes parted as three silver-gray wolves leapt out, their eyes wary as they alternated their gaze between Su Nian and the deer.
Su Nian didn't release the deer's throat from his jaws.
"Roaaar—"
Facing the three ill-intentioned wolves, a surge of violent emotion filled his mind, prompting him to let out a low, guttural growl.
The scene reminded Su Nian of the dog his grandfather had when he was a child.
Good grief, was he... guarding his food?!
The absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on Su Nian. The problem was, he found it incredibly hard to suppress this instinct!
Su Nian's Dragon's Might was undoubtedly effective. These wolves were clearly starving, their eyes glowing green, saliva dripping from their mouths.
Had it been any other creature, they would have pounced without hesitation. But Su Nian's presence exerted a bloodline-level suppression on them.
Even in their dire hunger, they hesitated to approach.
Ding! A new system sub-function has been unlocked. The host can now view the basic data of living beings in a digitized format.
Silver Moon Wolf: Level 25 (Tier 3 Magical Beast, Levels 21-30)
No wonder they dared to challenge him—they weren't just relying on numbers; they were fairly strong.
But Su Nian was a dragon.
Even as a Swamp Black Dragon, considered the second weakest among dragon species, he was far beyond the reach of ordinary magical beasts.
Before the Silver Moon Wolves could make a move, Su Nian dropped the deer from his jaws. His throat swelled slightly, and a stream of corrosive Acidic Breath spewed forth, engulfing the wolves.
The black dragon's Acidic Breath was ink-black, highly corrosive, and carried a certain level of toxicity.
Ordinarily stored in a liquid form within a special sac in the throat, the acid was expelled under the contraction of muscles when needed.
Truth be told, Su Nian wasn't particularly fond of his Acidic Breath.
It lacked the grandeur he associated with being a dragon. Shouldn't a dragon be breathing fire, for goodness' sake?
"Hiss—"
Despite Su Nian's disdain for his breath, its effects were undeniable.
Anything touched by the breath—plants, grass—withered and blackened rapidly, emitting wisps of smoke and a foul acidic odor.
The breath spread wide, and the Silver Moon Wolves bore the brunt of it. Though they tried to dodge, they still got splashed with the acid.
Their flesh corroded rapidly, their once glossy fur turning patchy and uneven. The searing pain elicited pitiful howls from them.
At that moment, Su Nian moved.
Dragon breath required time to recharge. Having weakened his enemies, Su Nian now turned to physical combat.
His sharp dragon claws dug into the ground as he lunged forward. His tail swung side to side to maintain balance, while his long neck coiled back, ready to strike.
In mere moments, Su Nian closed in on one of the Silver Moon Wolves.
His front claws sank deep into the wolf's flesh. Dodging its retaliatory bite with a deft twist of his neck, Su Nian clamped his jaws around its throat.
With sharp, hooked teeth and immense biting force, he tore through the wolf's neck.
Being his first time, Su Nian overdid it, nearly ripping the wolf's head clean off.
This sequence of actions seemed ingrained in Su Nian's muscle memory, executed almost instinctively.
With one Silver Moon Wolf down, the remaining two posed little threat.
Witnessing Su Nian's ferocity, they attempted to flee. But how could they outrun a Swamp Black Dragon with wings?
They were quickly caught and dispatched.
When the skirmish ended, the surrounding bushes were in utter disarray.
Following his dragon instincts, Su Nian dragged the deer and one of the wolf carcasses up a tall tree.
After a bout of ravenous feasting, he finally felt a semblance of fullness in his empty stomach.
Time was running out.
Su Nian ignored the two wolf corpses left on the ground.
Darting through the forest, he relied on his bloodline memories and the system's information to locate some human-edible berries.
He then rolled in a stream to wash off the blood scent, followed by a tumble in the grass to mask his scent with the aroma of leaves, before cautiously returning to his lair.
Of course, Su Nian wasn't doing this for appearances.
This was a survival tactic ingrained in his black dragon instincts, a method to make his lair safer.
He brought back the berries, only to be met with a new problem.
Su Nian discovered that Anna, who had been in decent condition when he left, was now curled up in a corner of the cave, covered with bear fur, unconscious and barely clinging to life.