Seeing that the Red Hatchling, which had been expelled from its nest, didn't flee but rather charged at them, the three ogres immediately burst into ecstatic, goofy laughter.
This Red Hatchling looked like a True Dragon, but its current size suggested it had been abandoned soon after hatching, still small enough to be wandering alone.
Although even a lone Red Hatchling was dangerous, capable of spitting lethal flames if cornered, two ogres working together had captured a White Hatchling Dragon in the past. And now...
There were three of them!
This was a gift from nature!
The ogres instantly looked up, letting out a thunderous battle roar. "BADONA!!!"
But as soon as the battle began, the ogre whose face David had latched onto emitted a painful, blood-curdling scream.
David used all four claws as well as the hooks on his wings, like fourteen sharp daggers constantly thrusting in and out of the ogre's relatively soft flesh in its supraclavicular area, neck, and back muscles. His Dragon Kiss—a mouth bristling with sharp teeth—clung ferociously to the ogre's crown, a fierce growl emitting from his throat.
Though most of the claw strikes were too short to penetrate the ogre's thick layer of fat, blood and flesh still splattered everywhere. The thick, half-finger-width skullcap was slowly and brutally pried from its cranium, looking exceptionally gruesome.
The ogre, out of an instinct for survival, tried to pull the red Monster off his face, but the Red Dragon's tail was bound tightly around his neck like the most rugged steel cable, impossible to dislodge.
As he grew weaker, he realized something. Instead of trying to push David away, he clung more tightly to David's hips. Struggling to breathe, he growled laboriously, "NAGA! MADADONA!"
Two remaining ogres pounced from both sides. One of them even lifted a stalagmite, ready to swing indiscriminately at friend and foe alike. Seeing this, David exerted force in his neck, ruthlessly tearing off the ogre's crown. The talons on his two wingtips, like a pair of sharp dinner knives, then stabbed into the brain, churning it into chaos.
After its brain turned to mush, the ogre's grip weakened, but it still clung on, its dying howl echoing towards the sky.
David then fiercely pushed with his hind legs. His previously relaxed tail instantly tensed, stabbing into the ogre's mouth and exiting through the back of its neck. In the moment of withdrawal, his flexible tail tip hooked the hyoid bone, pulling it straight out through the ogre's mouth!
This time, he could no longer utter the word 'butt'.
The ogre, oblivious to the cause of his demise, had his brainstem smashed to the ground by his companion's stalagmite.
As David landed, he swallowed the piece of skullcap. With his tail tip, he twirled the noticeably swollen hyoid bone before the two ogres. Then, with a look of slight disdain, he casually threw it aside.
The ogre brothers, witnessing their comrade fall and their failure to fulfill his last wish to "kill it," watched the Evil Dragon that caused their brother's death openly taunt them.
How could they tolerate this!
"SATAN! DONAGA!" the two enraged ogres roared, charging at David once more.
But David, having already achieved his objective, had no desire to continue this meaningless struggle with these two buffoons. He smiled at the two ogres, licked the blood from his snout, then lowered his body, turned, and darted away. Using all six limbs, he sprinted like a desert iguana racing to find a mate.
He wasn't planning to simply flee.
He planned to find a place to lie in wait first.
To recover whatever little strength he had left, and to track these two buffoons from the shadows.
According to draconic lore, ogres, if able, generally wouldn't abandon the corpses of their kin. Instead, they would bring them back to the tribe for a ceremony witnessed by the elders.
They would chop off the heads of their deceased kin, and the body would be shared for consumption among all the tribe members.
The skull would then be boiled in a pot and its contents consumed entirely by the warrior who brought it back.
It was said that by doing so, there was a chance for the dead kinsman to grow out from one's neck.
Of course, dragons scoffed at this ogre custom and 'legend.'
Because in most cases, it was utterly futile.
But in a handful of instances, a second head truly grew.
This only happened if the ogre's ancestors had a history of producing two-headed offspring.
It was similar to how human genetics for twins worked: if the trait became dominant in a generation and the ogre consumed nutrient-rich brains, POOF! A new head emerged.
Hence, David was confident that they would not miss this 'opportunity' to supplement their diet with protein and lecithin.
Carrying a load as heavy as their own bodies, they couldn't possibly move fast.
Most importantly, they would need to use both hands to carry it!
So by lying in wait on a higher vantage point like a hill or a tree, he could pounce when they relaxed, achieving a double kill and enjoying the spoils of three prey all by himself. What joy that would be!
However, while David was eagerly anticipating his first ogre tasting, his mouth watering so much that drool hung two inches from his jaw, a growling sound of hunger rang out.
It wasn't his own!
Suddenly alert, David saw a denuded tree trunk swing straight at his chest from behind a nearby tree.
David had already backed away swiftly, trying to dodge in the first instant.
But this sudden strike was heavy and powerful.
Too late!
David could only spread his forelimbs, folding his wings in front of his body.
The dragon wings were already broken, after all.
At times like this, the dragon wings could break further.
But the forelimbs, absolutely not.
They were meant for fighting for his life!
BANG!
CRACK.
At that moment, David even clearly heard the splintering groan of his wing bones.
Then, the entire dragon was sent flying out of the dense forest. As he was about to smash into the frozen earth, David flipped in mid-air, landing on all fours, tearing four fierce claw marks into the frozen ground.
"MOTORTOTO! SATAN DO NEGO! DONOR GATA!" The joyous shouts of the two ogres David had encountered earlier came from nearby.
David took a deep breath. His wings hung limp at his sides as he raised his head. Before him, an ogre, significantly larger and more robust than the others, slowly approached, carrying a bare tree trunk. Behind this massive ogre, four more stepped out, flanking him!
Seven against one!
A multi-directional assault.
Would he regret his impulsive actions from before?
If it were the him from his previous life, who couldn't see the road ahead yet had to choose to continue carrying the burden... Most likely, yes.
If he had applied himself at school, studied hard... If he had mustered up a little Courage during his school days to have a simple and naive romance... If he had stuck to his choices after graduation, instead of following his relatives' arrangements to enter a sunset industry that, while not easy, was a dead end...
But there were no such things as 'what ifs' in life, and no pills for regret. To stand by one's choices, and to bear the consequences of those choices, that's all.
As for regret? Regret my ass! The concept didn't even exist in the Red Dragon's dictionary!
Either go berserk and kill the enemy, or go berserk and die trying! Just do it!
And besides, if he really fought with all he had, who's to say he would be the one to die?
Perhaps it was due to some hormonal surge within his draconic body. When he had faced that fatal blow earlier, adrenaline had flooded his system. He hadn't felt much pain, even though he had no idea how many bones in his wings were broken.
Instead, because of the unprecedented surge in his will to fight, his muscles tensed, his heartbeat thundered like drums, and his vision became clearer than ever.
This feeling... It wasn't bad at all...
Damn, he suddenly found himself somewhat falling for this thrill of skirting the edge of death...
It was a bit addicting.
David watched the ogres. They rhythmically struck their tree trunks, faces etched with hunger, as they slowly advanced. He cracked a ruthless smile.
RUMBLE...
As his chest and abdomen involuntarily tightened, his ravenous stomach roared with Greed.
"I..." David began, slightly twisting his stiffened neck, a sigh-like groan escaping him. "Am so hungry..."