Predation

“Roar!!!”

The Beast Dragon’s roar echoed throughout the entire castle.

The powerful dragon’s might, like a tsunami, swept everything before it. Merely its existence at the top of the food chain was enough to make the Kobolds, who could only survive by hunting small creatures, tremble uncontrollably.

Then, the slaughter began.

Dragon bloodlines carried their combat techniques. Even though it had been confined within a magic array since birth, this Beast Dragon could still skillfully and efficiently use its sharp claws, fangs, and tail as weapons, like a seasoned warrior, unleashing a storm of death.

Its steps were powerful, and with every swipe of its claw, it could tear several Kobolds apart, stuffing them into its mouth like snacks.

Most of the Kobolds fled in panic, but the gates on all four sides of the courtyard were already shut, and the path they had entered was blocked, leaving them nowhere to escape.

Only a few Kobolds mustered the courage to fight back, but their inferior weapons and weak physical strength made it impossible for them to penetrate the dragon scales; even making a scratch was a luxury.

At this moment, the Beast Dragon was merely feeding, not hunting.

Over three hundred Kobolds were enough to fill its stomach, which had been empty for hundreds of years.

Caelan stood far away, observing the Beast Dragon’s hunting behavior, and couldn't help but sigh that even in its degenerated state, its combat power was still terrifying. He was once again grateful that he hadn't become its enemy.

“But I might not be so lucky in the future… I need to find a way to improve my own strength.”

Amidst the Goblins’ screams, Caelan seriously pondered his future.

In this world, improving oneself was simple: training.

Whether it was running, high jumping, sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, or meditating, any form of training could improve one’s various attributes.

The extent of these attribute improvements would be affected by each person’s talent. For example, if someone had a talent for magic, their magic power would increase faster when they performed related training. The same principle applied to other attributes.

Besides attribute improvement, a more crucial aspect was the improvement of skills.

For instance, martial arts, magic, and special abilities. These capabilities would not directly reflect on level and attributes, but they could genuinely enhance combat power.

For example, a level 5 ordinary person, after professional training, might be stronger in actual combat with a weapon than an untrained level 10 monster.

Attributes, abilities, weapons, and equipment, perhaps even magic-imbued items, all combined, constituted a person’s overall strength.

If he wanted to improve his strength, he had to understand where to start.

First, attributes… The Previous Demon King’s collection seemed to have some books on training. Previously, he couldn't read them due to insufficient literacy, but now that he was becoming more familiar with the Demonic language, he could shift his focus slightly towards this area.

Caelan’s immediate priority was to figure out which direction he was best suited to develop in. If he had more talent for physical prowess, then meditating all day would not be a good direction.

Then there were abilities, which he would consider after attribute growth.

As for weapons and equipment, to be honest, most of the valuable items in the Demon King's City were gone. The best set of armor was currently on the Previous Demon King, but it was custom-made for his physique—it's worth mentioning here that the Previous Demon King was nearly three meters tall, had four arms, and a single horn—Caelan couldn't wear it at all.

If he had money in the future, perhaps he could go to a nearby town and commission a craftsman to make a set.

—However, knowing where there were towns was also a problem.

Finally, magical items… The Chaos Encyclopedia was undoubtedly a top-tier magical item, but one could never have too many of such things. There were still many areas in the Demon King's City that he hadn't explored; he had only reached the second underground level at most. Perhaps there would be treasures like the Chaos Encyclopedia that previous people had missed and not taken.

However, such treasures were rare and could not be forced.

First and foremost, he still needed to solidly improve his basic attributes.

If Caelan were to choose himself, a physical path relying on physical prowess and combat skills would naturally be a very stable route. However, since he had come to a world with magic, being able to cast world-destroying forbidden spells was also a tempting option.

Imagine, standing alone on a desolate plain, facing an army of thousands, then with a raise of a hand, a powerful grand magic descends from the sky, and countless enemies instantly turn to ashes…

“Roar!”

Another satisfied roar from the Beast Dragon interrupted Caelan’s daydreaming. He looked closely and saw that the Kobolds in the courtyard had been almost completely wiped out.

Only a few scattered ones were still alive, but they had basically lost the strength to resist.

One Kobold, noticeably larger than the others, held a spear in both hands, pointing it towards the Beast Dragon. It was covered in wounds, its head was bloody, but it hadn't fallen yet.

But at this moment, the Beast Dragon had already noticed it.

It raised a claw, ready to swat it down.

“Hey, wait, spare its life!”

Caelan quickly called out.

A monster that looked different from the others might be an elite unit; killing it directly would be too much of a waste.

Keeping it to add to the Chaos Encyclopedia, it would likely have more strength for work than the other Kobolds.

Hearing this, the Beast Dragon lowered the claw it had just raised. Instead, as it turned, it wrapped its tail around the Kobold and threw it out.

The Kobold leader’s body slammed heavily against the wall, then fell back to the ground, completely devoid of the strength to stand up.