Chapter 254

Chapter 254

While the dragon cubs worried about the insufficient military funds despite having a large amount of funds, Bai Xiaoyu had to transfer another sum of credit points to F73 planet. The reconstruction of that planet required an enormous amount of credit points.

He sneakily checked his balance and couldn't help but join the cubs in sighing.

However, he didn’t sigh for too long, as he had grown accustomed to it these days. The most pressing issue now was the evolution of the dragon cubs, and this matter was tricky. He clearly remembered how the generals of the various dragon clans had reacted when they saw the insect forms of the dragon cubs, clearly intending to keep them in the Dragon Den forever.

In any case, he needed to inform the dragon clans about the situation of the dragon cubs.

What happened next would depend on the decision of the dragon clans.

After resting, the dragon cubs reluctantly rubbed against Bai Xiaoyu, messing up his already disheveled star network avatar, before continuing into the competition.

After seeing off the last dragon cub, Bai Xiaoyu quickly logged off to contact the dragon clans.

He had a group chat with the generals of the twelve legions of the dragon clans, which he had been added to not long ago. After sending his message, there was no response in the group for a while.

They were always busy, as was he. The group chat was usually most active when his energy boxes and various potions were ready, and almost everyone would be present.

After sending the message, he went back to his own tasks.

At that moment, there was a disturbance in the mental energy threads placed inside the cubs on F73 planet, and he immediately shifted his attention.

This shift startled him, as he saw several cubs being knocked flying.

Even though his mental energy threads protected them in time, they still couldn't avoid getting injured.

The opponent was a seven or eight-year-old child, with a cold and condescending gaze despite their young age.

He had seen this kind of gaze before; initially, the Little Prince's gaze was even more intense than this child's.

It was the feeling that everyone else was trash.

It seemed like a cold-blooded creature lurked beneath the child's human skin.

Well, the Little Prince was still like that now, but at least he hadn't shown that side in front of him anymore.

Except with Little Bai and himself, the Little Prince showed a completely different attitude.

The Little Prince was the Little Prince, and he was immediately on high alert. This human-like child was clearly a highly advanced Bug. His mental energy threads, divided into tens of thousands of strands, really couldn't help much.

Noticing the opponent preparing to attack again, the overly divided mental energy threads rushed out from the cubs' bodies, re-twining into one strand, deflecting the child's attack, and quickly throwing the cubs into the nearby wormhole.

The child didn’t even look at the cubs but instead regarded the mental energy thread with wariness.

Was this the mental energy of a hostile royal?

Bai Xiaoyu felt that the cubs had already fled deep into the wormhole and, after observing this fierce beast-like child, he immediately headed towards the wormhole entrance.

After all, the cubs were seriously injured, and he needed to check on them quickly.

His mental energy quickly returned to the cubs' side. Now, they were half-covered in scale armor, tense and shaking, still not having recovered from the impact the child had given them.

Bai Xiaoyu calmed them for a while before they gradually relaxed. He had already given them the potions he brought, and now they could walk with each other's support.

He stayed alert, but luckily, the child showed no intention of pursuing them into the wormhole.

After they returned to the main road, the other two teams of cubs had just arrived as notified. One team helped to escort the others, while the other team stayed behind to quickly destroy the branch tunnel, at which point Bai Xiaoyu finally breathed a temporary sigh of relief.

Now he finally had time to understand the cause of the incident.

It turned out that the cubs had accidentally discovered a branch tunnel leading to a new planet's wormhole. These were the earliest batch of cubs, each looking around eleven or twelve years old, already resembling young adolescents.

Generally, discovering a new wormhole must be reported, but this one branched off from an already discovered main wormhole. Usually, the main wormholes, in addition to the primary route to another planet, have other branches representing different locations on that planet. Recently, some cubs had awakened new skills, allowing them to stabilize and repair existing branches, though they couldn’t create new wormholes yet.

At the same time, they were very interested in damaged wormhole branches. Upon encountering this branch tunnel, they began to repair it while groping their way forward.

They originally thought it was a new entrance to the destination planet, but instead, they ended up on a strange planet, right in front of that child.

The child immediately released their aura, clearly showing interest in taking them as subordinates.

In fact, if the cubs had shown submission at that moment, they could have avoided the conflict. However, since they had already been subdued by the dragon cubs, and with the recent heightened sense of crisis from the dragon cubs frequently showing up in front of them, the cubs had already implicitly chosen their side.

So they resisted.

The conflict between the two sides happened within seconds of meeting. It was so fast that even Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy threads couldn’t react in time, and the cubs were sent flying.

Now, Bai Xiaoyu checked the injuries of the cubs. After drinking the restoration potion, their bodies were fine, but they were still listless. Besides being suppressed by the opponent's powerful aura and bloodline level, their mental energy had almost been shattered.

Several bottles of top-tier mental energy restoration potions were poured down, and they were sent to the newly established children's hospital. Bai Xiaoyu slowly helped repair their mental energy with his mental threads, and only when their drooping mental energy antennae perked up did he let them rest.

The children's hospital had only recently been established. With the arrival of batches of cubs, many parents had moved their entire families to this planet, and the hospital had gradually grown in scale.

The children's hospital was almost open 24/7 because of the cubs' combative nature. During their evolution, the cubs constantly wanted to devour and fight. Even with potions and restoration devices within the teams, those seriously injured still needed to spend a few days here.

Unlike other species in the star system, the injury rate of these cubs during their instinct-driven growth was hundreds of times higher than that of ordinary beings.

Looking around now, most of the cubs were injured, yet they still couldn’t resist throwing a few punches at each other.

The parents couldn’t stop them. If they really prevented the cubs from hunting and evolving on neighboring planets, the cubs would become irritable and even stall their third transformation. If left unchecked for too long, their instincts would become uncontrollable, leading to dire consequences.

Even more concerning was their instinct to fight if they didn’t submit.

When they fought, they fought with all their lives, which was why the hospital was always busy.

The parents sighed, and Bai Xiaoyu, far away on another planet, also sighed.

Not to mention the issue of consuming large amounts of potions daily, even with divided groups, the cubs were still young and had limited medical knowledge and skills. Besides using restoration devices and potions, they couldn’t even bandage wounds properly. If the restoration devices and potions were missing, they would just have to endure.

It was really a headache.

Of course, this wasn’t the only thing causing him a headache. He had already guessed that there was a 90% chance that the child was a high-level leader on the same level as the dragon cubs. For this reason, Little Prince and Little Bai specifically swept through the wormhole with their mental threads, ensuring there were no other wormholes leading there and destroying the branch tunnel again to temporarily ease their worries.

However, not only could the cubs repair wormholes, but as pure Bug, the other side could as well. Even though a wormhole completely destroyed by a prince was basically irreparable, encountering the other side meant they were in this star region, either near or far.

Since that child was a high-level leader, discovering the cubs here and wanting to subdue them meant that as long as they continued to expand, they would eventually meet.

Seeing this, Little Bai came over and shook Bai Xiaoyu's hand. "White Papa, don’t be afraid. He’s already clashed with your mental energy. That little leader doesn’t dare to come over now."

Little Prince snorted with his arms crossed. "Even if he dares, he won’t be leaving. Instead of worrying about these, you should think about how to bring those guys out of the Dragon Den. Otherwise, they will get stuck in their third transformation."

This made Bai Xiaoyu even more troubled, just as the group replied.

It was General Ba Rui from the Fifth Legion.

"There's no way we can let the dragon cubs leave the Dragon Den, nor can we allow them to complete their third transformation into their Bug form."

Indeed, that's the case.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the reply and turned to ask the two cubs beside him, "What happens if they get stuck in the third transformation?"

Little Bao shook his head, "I'm not very clear on the details, let Egg Yolk explain."

Little Prince tilted his head to look at him, his soft hair and slightly round eyes turning dark. Though his ten-or-so-year-old innocent and adorable appearance contrasted with his particularly cold and ruthless tone, he said, "They'll be basically failures. They're useless, unable to evolve, lacking strength, and will eventually be taken out by the next supreme leader. You might as well write them off. You should pay more attention to this batch of eggs you're hatching."

Bai Xiaoyu was rendered speechless and couldn't help but reach out to pinch Little Prince's cheek, which had a slight baby fat, "Little Breaker, what did you say? You've spent a considerable amount of time with the dragon cubs; you should treat them as friends. Besides, I'm asking about the side effects."

Little Prince slapped away Bai Xiaoyu's hand, "It's basically that they'll never grow up, enduring constant pain during transformation, unable to increase their strength, and so on. Some might even face life-threatening dangers."

Bai Xiaoyu paused in his actions, recalling the agony the cubs had experienced during their transformations, with the second one being significantly more intense than the first. The third transformation was needless to say.

Moreover, the dragon cubs bore half the bloodline of the dragon clans, with an innate desire to be strong. Whether it was formidable strength or physique, these were sources of pride for them. The possibility of life-threatening danger was the most severe issue.

Thinking this over, Bai Xiaoyu sent the side effects of the transformation to the group chat.

There was no response in the group for a long time.

For the next three whole days, the dragon cubs' mech competition in the star network became more intense with each passing day, reaching a winning streak of seven hundred.

Especially the cub of General Huang Meng from the Seventh Legion, a little dinosaur cub with a soft yellow body, a round head, and a sharp mouth. His extremely slender and delicate limbs made him appear the most harmless among the first batch of twenty-three dragon cubs, even more so than the eleven vice leaders.

However, his performance had drastically changed. From being the last of the thirteen leaders, he had rapidly climbed to the top within a few days, almost catching up to the achievements of the cub with 3S potential under Bai Qi's command.

The rapid increase in strength made Bai Xiaoyu feel uneasy.

Little Prince had mentioned that it would take them at least three months to enter the formal transformation period, during which they would need to engage in real battles and consume energy on the Bug breeding planet.

Those entering the third transformation period would experience a rapid rise in strength over a short period, becoming increasingly irritable and restless.

Now, watching Little Yellow Dragon go crazy in the competition, a cub who used to be unhurried and whose attacks were far less brutal than other cubs, was now fighting with a ferocity a hundred times more savage, nearly reducing his opponent to tears.

Bai Xiaoyu was startled and decided to talk to Little Yellow Dragon after this match, but the little guy went offline instantly.

He asked the other dragon cubs and found that the irritable Little Yellow Dragon had gone on a rampage and was taken away by the elder.

He couldn't help but reach out to General Huang Meng. When the video call connected, the general's lips formed a straight line, looking more serious than usual.

Bai Xiaoyu explained his intention, hoping to check on Little Yellow Dragon's condition.

Without much hesitation, General Huang Meng shifted the scene.

Little Yellow Dragon was seen rolling on the ground, chained by massive locks. Suddenly, he disappeared, and a bug cub with yellow-green scales appeared in front of him. After the second transformation, their colors and scales had started to change in different directions, though their general shape remained the same.

So, what he saw now was a yellow-green bug cub with horns and scales. The large yellow areas had been replaced by green.

The yellow gradually turned golden, becoming an edged pattern. The body, on the other hand, became greener, so green that it was emerald. For a moment, Bai Xiaoyu thought the little guy looked like a giant, writhing green ginseng with gold patterns.

However, the bug cub's piercing cries made him frown, "General Huang, I'd like to see the little cub, can I?"

Huang Meng shook his head, "No outsiders are permitted inside the Dragon Den."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Then can we take the cub out of the Dragon Den, to see him outside?"

Huang Meng: "The dragon clans have made a decision that no one can see the little ones at this time, including other dragon cubs in the future."

Bai Xiaoyu furrowed his brow even more tightly, just about to say something.

The Little Prince next to him could no longer hold back, his small eyes shooting fiery glares. "Is there any place you can't go? If you want to go, I'll take you there and we'll charge into the Dragon Lair!"

The usually obedient Little Bai also waved his small fists, shouting, "Charge! Charge! Charge!"

As soon as the two cubs finished speaking, instantly, other dragon clan generals joined in via video, all speaking in unison: "We heard you want to charge into the Dragon Lair?"

Feeling twelve pairs of eyes boring into him, Bai Xiaoyu was at a loss for words. "..."

How did all twelve generals show up?

The two cubs quickly stood in front of Bai Xiaoyu, blocking the generals' gaze.

The Little Prince, with a fierce expression, said, "What's with the staring?"

Little Bai mimicked the Little Prince, humming and glaring back.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the two agitated cubs, asking, "Can we really do this?"

General Chi Yan, with a face full of disbelief, said, "You really intend to do it? With your tiny build and those two cubs tagging along, how can you even think about it?"

"Chi Yan." Zi Tian, the boss of the twelve generals, spoke, and immediately, General Chi Yan fell silent.

He turned to look at Bai Xiaoyu, observing him in his purple-black uniform for a moment before suddenly saying, "It's possible."

Bai Xiaoyu was a bit stunned. "Really?"

Zi Tian continued, "The Dragon Lair cannot be entered by outsiders unless invited. However, those with strength can move freely in and out, and we certainly welcome them. But in the past tens of thousands of years, only those who passed the mandatory trials could enter and leave under their own power. Do you still wish to charge in?"

Thinking of the dragon clan's massive size, for once, Bai Xiaoyu hesitated and asked, "What are the conditions for a dragon clan invitation?"

Chi Yan paused. "You can't transfer the invitation to someone else."

The moment he appeared in the dragon clan, everyone would know by tomorrow.

Bai Xiaoyu turned back and saw that it was indeed the so-called Big Black who had come in with food.

At this point, Zi Tian spoke again, "As long as you can enter and leave the Dragon Lair freely, you can take Little Yellow Dragon wherever you want. This condition applies to all dragon cubs."

The other generals were stunned, but Chi Yan was the first to react. "Zi Tian, you..."

Noticing the seriousness in Zi Tian's eyes, Chi Yan bit back his sarcastic remark.

However, thinking about it, Bai Xiaoyu probably couldn't move freely in and out either. Even with these two cubs, they weren't fully grown and posed little threat. But thinking about Little Yellow Dragon's condition, he fell silent.

Deep down, he felt a glimmer of hope.

Forget it. The odds of getting out alive are slim.

Bai Xiaoyu, hearing this, looked up sharply.

The dragon clan was giving him a chance, and also a chance for the dragon cubs. If he seized this opportunity, he might have a chance to take the dragon cubs away.

Zi Tian added, "You've probably witnessed how the dragon clan handles things. Are you really ready to charge in?"

Bai Xiaoyu recalled how even a gentle tap on his shoulder from Xiao Lü left him breathless, but his physical condition had improved significantly, allowing him to endure a few more blows.

He nodded.

Zi Tian: "Feel free to use any means necessary and bring in reinforcements if needed."

He paused, his gaze shifting past Bai Xiaoyu to the person behind him, "But there's one person you can't rely on."

Just as Bai Xiaoyu was about to nod, the Little Prince erupted once more, "Without this guy, the two of us can still get him in and out seven times."

Both Zi Tian and Bai Chen nodded, leaving behind a parting phrase: "Watch out for accidents; the dragon clans are notorious for holding grudges—don’t end up squashed like a seaweed pancake. Breeder Bai, best of luck."

The Little Prince felt like biting someone.

Next was Chi Yan, who lightly patted Bai Xiaoyu's shoulder in a gesture, his tone even somewhat excited, "Make sure you're fully equipped; my clan's strongest warriors are eager to 'welcome' you. Good luck!"

The other generals echoed Chi Yan’s excitement, greeted Big Black, and then logged off.

Lastly, it was Little Yellow Dragon's father, Huang Meng, "Bring plenty of medicine."

Bai Xiaoyu couldn’t fathom their excitement, not knowing that no member of the Bai Family had ever challenged Dragon Island before assuming their role in ten thousand years. Certain families must challenge the Dragon Den before taking office, such as the Bai family.

The Bai family has always passed the test through generations, while your Bai family has always failed.

Kid, your father, your grandfather, and every ancestor going back eighteen generations were all tossed out.

The other half of the Twelfth Legion’s command was taken by the Bai family. If you’ve got what it takes, come and claim the rest.