Chapter 377: Chapter 340: Snatching Food from the Dragon’s Mouth

Raylo repeated the process, swinging his sword once more.

With a flash of silver light, the second Dragon Blood Fruit fell, and he caught it securely.

Two in hand!

The Black King’s draconic eyes had turned completely blood-red with fury.

It could feel that if this continued, the Treasure it guarded would fall entirely into the hands of this detestable human.

As Raylo rode Baofeng and charged toward the last Dragon Blood Fruit, the Black King finally made a decision.

It let out a roar filled with indignation and madness, its massive body twisting violently. It completely abandoned its defense against Sun, allowing the Golden Dragon’s mountain-splitting claws to dig viciously into its back.

"SCREECH!"

A teeth-grinding sound of tearing metal rang out.

A large section of its Black Iron Dragon Armor, along with the tough Dragon Scales beneath, was violently torn away. Dragon Blood gushed out like a fountain.

The Black King let out a pained grunt, but like a black cannonball, it brazenly broke through the entanglement of the two Domains and charged recklessly toward the crown of the Dragon Blood Ancient Tree.

Raylo’s pupils contracted slightly as he watched the enormous black shadow charge toward him, carrying with it boundless fury and an aura of destruction.

He knew that if he wanted to, he could have Coal Ball teleport again and definitely seize the last fruit before the Black King arrived.

But... watching the Black King’s resolute posture, willing to suffer grievous injuries just to protect the fruit, a thought flashed through Raylo’s mind.

’Is it worth making a mortal enemy of a Black Dragon with infinite potential, one I’ve already offended, all for a single Dragon’s Blood Fruit?’

The answer was no.

He already had two, enough for Moonlight to achieve her breakthrough.

’Greed is often the beginning of failure.’

’Besides, this Black Dragon could, to some extent, be a future ally for Black Stone Territory in the fight against the Nine-headed Demon Serpent of Jade Swamp.’

’One shouldn’t push things to the extreme.’

"We’re leaving!"

Raylo made a swift decision, giving up on the third fruit that was just within his grasp.

Almost at the same moment he gave the order, the Black King’s enormous head had already plunged into the treetop.

It opened its cavernous mouth, not to bite the fruit, but to swallow the entire branch it hung from—a branch as thick as a bucket!

"CRACK!"

The branch snapped. The Black King swallowed the last Dragon Blood Fruit, branch, leaves, and all. Only then did it begin to pant heavily, its eyes still burning with rage as it stared fixedly at Raylo, who was already ascending.

Raylo ignored its gaze, calmly circling in the air to regroup with Sun, Ed, and Marlin.

On the ground, the two Griffin King doppelgangers, battered by waves of suicidal attacks from the Kobolds, finally ran out of energy. They dissipated into a whirlwind of wind and lightning.

"ROAR!"

The Black King let out a low, indignant roar.

As the Dragon Blood Fruit entered its stomach, a surge of energy several times more potent than before exploded within its draconic body. It rapidly healed the wound on its back and even caused its aura to swell noticeably.

For a fleeting moment, it felt the urge to chase after them and tear the band of robbers to shreds.

But after glancing at the Golden Dragon, whose imposing aura hadn’t diminished in the slightest—and in fact seemed even stronger—the Black King suppressed the impulse.

Its reason told it that even if it gave chase now, it would gain no advantage.

’That shameless human with his endless schemes, and that Golden Dragon who is my equal in strength...’

’The tenacity of this duo is far beyond what I anticipated.’

After careful consideration, a flash of understanding lit up the Black King’s cold eyes.

’Without a reliable and powerful ally, I will never be able to defeat this human and Golden Dragon duo.’

’Next time, they might come for my head.’

It slowly lowered its massive head, its lava-like gaze sweeping over the fanatically cheering crowd of Kobolds below before finally landing on the Kobold Wizard.

Feeling the Giant Dragon’s gaze, the Kobold Wizard trembled all over, prostrating itself on the ground and shivering uncontrollably.

The Black King let out a low draconic hum, as if making a proclamation.

It raised a claw and, without hesitation, plunged it into the gap between the scales on its chest, tearing it open.

A beating heart was exposed to the air. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

From the heart, it forced out a single drop of... Heart’s Blood. This drop was a hundred times deeper in color than ordinary Dragon Blood and seemed to contain a dense, coalescing aura.

The drop of Heart’s Blood slowly floated out and merged into the chest of the Kobold Wizard below.

"AWOOOO!"

The Kobold Wizard let out a heart-rending scream. Its body swelled as if being inflated, its bones cracking under the strain. Its yellowish-brown fur quickly fell out, replaced by small, hard, black Dragon Scales.

With a series of "CRACKLES," its spine was forcibly straightened, its frame grew taller, its skinny limbs became thick and powerful, and the Kobold features on its face rapidly receded.

The simple Bone Staff in its hand began to twist and warp as it was steeped in Dragon Blood. The Magic Stone at its head flared with brilliant light, emitting an aura more than ten times stronger than before!

A terrifying aura far surpassing Tier Four, tinged with a hint of Dragon Mighty, rose from its body, growing stronger by the second.

A new and powerful Tier Five Domain Level existence was slowly being born on this highland.

The Black King watched this scene, a flicker of anticipation in its molten-lava eyes.

The wind howled in their ears.

「A few hours later.」

The silhouette of Black Stone Territory rapidly grew larger on the horizon.

Black Stone Castle.

"Land."

Baofeng tucked in its wings, diving down like a bolt of brownish-yellow lightning and landing steadily on top of the castle’s main keep.

Immediately after, a massive shadow fell as the Golden Dragon Sun folded its membranous wings. Its heavy body landed on the stone platform with a dull "THUD," and the entire castle seemed to tremble slightly.

Raylo swung himself off Baofeng’s back and patted its smooth Iron Feathers.

"WHOOSH!"

A wave of scorching hot air washed over him.

The Golden Dragon Sun’s head, larger than a carriage, moved closer. Its enormous, pale gold eyes stared unblinkingly at Raylo—or more accurately, at the "Minister of Logistics" on his shoulder, a creature that looked harmless but was actually carrying a Treasure.

The eagerness in its gaze was unconcealed, almost enough to set the air on fire.

The allure of a Dragon’s Blood Fruit was fatal to any Giant Dragon; even a Golden Dragon like Sun was no exception.

Raylo’s hair was tousled by its hot breath, and he sidestepped with some amusement.

"Alright, alright, I know you’ve been thinking about it."

He reached out and gave a light tap to the head of Coal Ball, who was playing dead on his shoulder.

"Coal Ball, hand it over."

Coal Ball’s body stiffened. The small black dragon squirmed, as if trying to find an angle to hide itself.

It knew, of course, what Raylo was talking about.

Raylo said nothing, just kept looking at it.

Man and dragon stared at each other, big eyes meeting small ones.

Finally, under Raylo’s unwavering gaze, Coal Ball was defeated.

It reluctantly opened its mouth. The space in front of it rippled, and a fist-sized fruit dropped out with a soft "POP," hovering in mid-air. The fruit was crimson red, and its surface seemed to flow with molten lava.

A rich draconic aura and an abundance of Life Energy instantly filled the air, making it feel several degrees hotter.

Sun’s draconic eyes lit up instantly, and its breathing grew a little heavier.

Raylo caught the Dragon Blood Fruit. It was warm in his hand, like holding a beating heart.

Just by holding it, Raylo could feel the Fighting Spirit within his body stirring restlessly.

Raylo weighed the fruit in his hand and glanced at Coal Ball again.

The little one immediately snapped its mouth shut, covered its belly with its front paws, and shook its head like a rattle drum.

’This little thing actually tried to embezzle one.’

Moonlight leaped gracefully from his other shoulder.

She landed without a sound.

She walked over to Raylo’s hand and tilted her head up, curiously observing the Dragon Blood Fruit with her pale gold, vertical pupils.

Her small nose twitched, sniffing the sweet fragrance in the air that was utterly irresistible to the Dragon Race. A light of longing gradually began to shine in her eyes.

It was an instinct that stemmed from the depths of her bloodline.

Nearby, Sun also noticed the little white cat.

Its massive head lowered slightly, and two puffs of hot air snorted from its nostrils as it curiously examined Moonlight.

It looked at the Dragon Blood Fruit, which emanated an alluring aura, and then at Moonlight, who was circling the fruit.

A thoughtful glint flashed in its golden draconic eyes.

Then, to Raylo’s slight surprise, Sun extended one of its giant claws.

The very same claw that could easily smash a city wall now seemed exceptionally gentle.

With the tip of its claw, it gave a light, careful push, steadily nudging the scorching hot Dragon’s Blood Fruit into Moonlight’s embrace.