Beast Dragon

Speaking of the Demon King's City, what else could one imagine besides the Demon King clad in a pitch-black armor?

Caelan thought there must be a fire-breathing evil dragon, which could be red or black.

The one in front of him was dark brown.

But that lizard-like head, it was definitely a Dragon.

Caelan scratched his Skull Head, staring wide-eyed at the Dragon's eyes.

For a moment, the scene fell silent.

Caelan made his decision without hesitation.

"Charge!"

He gave the order to the Skeleton Soldiers beside him, then turned and ran.

No matter what, this was not an enemy he could deal with right now.

Although that Dragon didn't look very big... its head was about the size of an ox's, but that was a Dragon!

If it unleashed a Dragon Breath, he would instantly meet the Previous Demon King and demand why he put such a monstrous thing here.

Was it trying to mess with his mind?

Before running back, Caelan meticulously left a Skull Head at the entrance, hoping it might trip the Dragon if it chased him out.

Caelan quickly sprinted to the corner, turned, pressed himself against the wall, and secretly peeked out with half his head, looking towards the main entrance.

The inside of that large door was pitch black, and soon, creaking sounds emanated from within.

It was clear the Dragon was enjoying its meal.

However, he waited for a long time afterward, but no further developments occurred.

It didn't chase him out, nor was there any other movement.

—Was it going to sleep again?

Caelan opened the Chaos Encyclopedia and saw that the pages for the three Skeleton Soldiers that had been sacrificed were gone, which meant they were completely dead, the kind that couldn't be resurrected.

It seemed even the Undead couldn't resist a Dragon's stomach.

He certainly wasn't as tough as the Undead; he probably wouldn't last half a second in a Dragon's mouth... Forget it, the Demon King's City reconstruction plan was shelved for now, time to prepare Plan B...

Caelan was thinking this, and just as he was about to turn back, he suddenly heard a long cry.

Roar—

The sound wasn't powerful; instead, it was like a summons.

It sounded friendly, without any hostility.

...What's going on?

Caelan stroked his chin.

Could it be that this Dragon wanted to lure him over for an extra meal?

"Too bad, you're not a Dragon girl, and I'm not into Dragons, so that won't work on me."

Caelan shook his head and was about to leave.

Another long cry.

This one even carried a hint of pleading.

"Hiss..."

Caelan took a sharp intake of breath, scratched his Skull Head again, and then stroked his chin.

"...Damn it, if I don't go check, I'm afraid no one will be able to sleep later."

He steeled himself, gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and walked towards the main entrance.

He quickly reached the entrance again.

By the light of his torch, he saw the Dragon's head still there, looking at him expectantly.

It was then that he noticed a huge magic circle on the ground, emitting a faint glow.

The Dragon was right in the center of the magic circle's light.

With the torchlight, Caelan finally saw the astonishing sight before him—

The Dragon's body wasn't large, only slightly bigger than a bear; its entire body was sprawled on the ground like a large lizard; a pair of clearly atrophied wings were pressed against its back, and its long neck stretched forward.

The magic circle enclosed it.

There were some traces left beside it, looking like remnants of a meal.

This Dragon couldn't be very old, and it had probably degenerated into a Beast Dragon due to years of starvation; there were many fragments nearby, which, if examined closely, closely resembled Dragon eggs from books, but they varied in color, indicating there wasn't just one egg.

And there was only one Dragon here.

The other Dragon eggs might have been eaten by it before hatching, or after hatching they became its food.

This Beast Dragon was the core of this magic circle.

Seeing Caelan approach, the Beast Dragon was clearly very happy and let out another cry; Caelan could even see a smile on its ferocious face.

It seemed to interpret Caelan's action of sending the Skeleton Soldiers as feeding.

Its cries were a request for more food.

He certainly didn't have enough food to give it, and the Skull Head was an important combat asset that he needed to keep.

However, looking at the Beast Dragon before him, Caelan had an idea.

"You understand what I'm saying, right? Nod if you do."

According to historical records, Dragons possessed extremely high intelligence, with much knowledge embedded in their genes; even a malnourished Beast Dragon should be no exception.

Sure enough, after Caelan finished speaking, the Beast Dragon quickly nodded.

"Good. Alright, I have a suggestion..."

Caelan paused, choosing his words carefully.

...I can release you and promise to never let you starve again, but you must not resist anything I do next, alright?

After speaking, Caelan looked nervously at the Beast Dragon.

His plan was simple: to collect the Beast Dragon into the Illustrated Handbook.

As long as a monster was inside the Illustrated Handbook, time would stop flowing, and it would fall into slumber, thus no longer feeling hungry.

Once Caelan had sufficient food, he could release it again... or let it hunt for itself, either way, it wouldn't starve.

More importantly, this would also directly destroy this large magic circle, saving Caelan a lot of effort.

For Caelan and the Beast Dragon, it was a win-win proposition.

The Beast Dragon, whether it had also thought of this or simply yearned for freedom, nodded without hesitation.

"Good... Then pay attention, and whatever you do, don't resist..."

Saying this, Caelan opened the pages of the Chaos Encyclopedia facing forward...