TCPUAAV Chapter 46

 

Picking a time when Ruan Shiqing wasn’t around, Rong Heng finally dialed Hector’s comms.

 

After spending way too much time on his battleship with nothing to do, Hector was on the verge of growing mold.

 

So the moment he saw the background behind Rong Heng, his displeasure was obvious.

 

“How much longer am I supposed to stay in this forsaken place?”

 

“You can leave now.”

 

Rong Heng sent him the coordinates for B3024.

 

“Come here. I need you for something.”

 

That phrase—”I need you for something”—immediately put Hector on high alert.

 

His golden eyes narrowed in suspicion as he examined Rong Heng’s face.

 

“Tell me what it is first.”

 

If he didn’t, Hector had every reason to believe this bastard was setting him up again.

 

Rong Heng frowned, considering his words.

 

After a brief pause, he said, “It’s complicated. A dragon cub ran into some trouble. You need to come take a look. I’ll explain when you get here.”

 

Hector blinked.

 

“Another dragon cub?”

 

“Was I on the front lines for too long? Since when were dragon cubs popping up everywhere?”

 

“……”

 

Rong Heng refused to acknowledge his own bullshit.

 

There was no way in hell he was going to explain how he had made up a random excuse earlier.

 

So instead, his patience snapped—

 

“Just come and see for yourself.”

 

“Consider it repaying a favor.”

 

Hector hesitated, then sighed.

 

“Fine, I’ll head over.”

 

Even if there was a trap, paying off a debt wasn’t a bad deal.

 

He hated owing people.

 

Steering his battleship, Hector adjusted his course, heading toward B3024.

 

As he approached, he stared at the planet’s dull gray surface, deeply confused.

 

A garbage planet?

 

Why the hell would a dragon cub be here?

 

…Actually—

 

Why the hell was the crown prince here?

 

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

 

The whole situation felt off.

 

For a long time, Hector hovered between two thoughts—

 

(1) If I’m walking into a trap, I might as well get it over with.

 

(2) But this trap looks deep as hell. What if I never climb out?

 

Eventually—

 

With a heavy expression, he descended into the planet’s atmosphere.

 

The first thing Hector noticed about B3024 was the endless wasteland of trash.

 

Since Rong Heng’s comms weren’t working, Hector had to fly around piles of metal garbage for what felt like forever.

 

Finally, he left the junkyard, spotting a settlement in the distance.

 

Lowering his defensive shields, his sharp eyes immediately locked onto a black dragon.

 

The young dragon stood about ten meters tall, its scales completely black, with blunt, thick horns—clear signs of a young, underdeveloped dragon.

 

“Tch.”

 

Hector clicked his tongue.

 

So there’s another black dragon here?

 

That was unexpected, but not entirely surprising.

 

After all, if there was already a dragon cub, why wouldn’t there be a young dragon?

 

He landed his fighter jet, leapt out of the cockpit, and—without hesitation—shifted into his dragon form.

 

Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he charged straight at Heli.

 

*

 

A deep, resonant dragon roar thundered through the sky.

 

Heli, who had been clumsily practicing flying, flinched in shock.

 

Turning his head, he froze.

 

Descending from the sky—

 

A massive, terrifying black dragon, twice his size, was swooping down on him.

 

This new dragon had the same black scales as him—

 

But its body was stronger, its horns sharper, and its golden eyes gleamed dangerously.

 

Its wings spread wide, exuding an overwhelming aura of dominance—

 

A true apex predator.

 

Instinct screamed at Heli to run.

 

But—

 

Behind him were Nota and the little mermaid.

 

He couldn’t run.

 

He had to protect them.

 

Gritting his teeth, he stood his ground, spreading his own wings to make himself look larger.

 

Then—

 

He let out a loud, defiant roar.

 

Two dragon cries clashed in the air.

 

One was deep and powerful—a true adult dragon’s voice.

 

The other was higher-pitched, still youthful, yet filled with determination.

 

Hector’s excitement grew.

 

His wings adjusted, and he dove down faster—

 

Aiming to slam his horns against Heli’s.

 

This was just a greeting.

 

Among adult dragons, headbutting horns was the most common way to say hello.

 

Dragon society valued strength, and sharp, sturdy horns were a symbol of power.

 

When two dragons met, they would often test each other this way—an honest, direct method of communication.

 

Hector had taken one look at Heli and immediately liked him.

 

So, naturally, he headbutted him as a greeting.

 

Heli, not understanding this custom, only saw a giant dragon attacking.

 

With his little friends behind him, he had no choice but to meet the challenge head-on.

 

Tensing his muscles, he flapped his wings and charged forward—

 

Bracing himself as their horns clashed.

 

The impact was brutal.

 

The force from Hector’s hit was far greater than anything Heli had ever experienced.

 

Staggering backward, he barely managed to stay upright—but his head throbbed painfully.

 

Ow, ow, ow.

 

Heli resisted the urge to rub his forehead.

 

His horns hurt so much it felt like they were about to break.

 

This guy… hits way too hard!

 

Furious, Heli bared his fangs—

 

And spat out a stream of fire.

 

The flames nearly singed Hector’s face.

 

Startled, he hastily retreated, snapping his wings shut.

 

Then, frowning, he barked—

 

“Why the hell are you attacking me?!”

 

Heli, even angrier, roared back—

 

“You attacked us first!”

 

“That was a greeting! How is that an attack?!”

 

“You literally flew at me and slammed into my head!”

 

“I roared first! That was the warning!”

 

Hector glared, deeply offended by this young dragon’s lack of manners.

 

“Young dragons these days have no sense of tradition, You should be honored I greeted you properly.”

 

Despite his irritation, Hector really liked this little dragon.

 

So, after taking a deep breath, he lowered his stance slightly—

 

“Fine.”

 

“Let’s settle this properly. I’ll even let you have three free hits.”

 

??????

 

Who wants to fight you?

 

Good little cubs like them never fight with anyone.

 

Heli rolled his eyes at Hector, ignoring him completely. Instead, he turned away, telling the little mermaid and the fox cub, “Let’s go play somewhere else.”

 

Only then did Hector notice the two smaller figures hiding behind Heli—

 

A merfolk cub and a nine-tailed fox cub.

 

Wait.

 

This was a garbage planet, right?

 

Had the nine-tailed foxes and merfolk fallen so low that their young were now being discarded with the trash?!

 

Doubtful.

 

But still, Hector couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

 

So he trailed after Heli, refusing to let it go.

 

“You’re a dragon,” he said, his tone full of disapproval. “Why are you hanging around with foxes and merfolk? They’re sneaky and manipulative. Be careful, or they’ll turn around and accuse you of kidnapping them!”

 

The strong should be with the strong.

 

What’s the point of playing with weaklings?

 

Heli stopped in his tracks.

 

He turned around and shouted angrily—

 

“You’re sneaky and manipulative! Your whole family is sneaky and manipulative!”

 

This is a dragon cub with a very limited vocabulary.

 

The little fox was also furious.

 

Climbing onto Heli’s head, she gained the height advantage, put her hands on her hips, and glared down at Hector.

 

“If you keep following us, I’ll call 09 and have him blast you into roasted dragon!”

 

The little mermaid, equally annoyed, slapped the emergency button on his cart.

 

If he pressed it, 09 would receive an alert and rush over immediately.

 

The cubs had tempers too.

 

Hector, caught between amusement and exasperation, raised his wings in surrender.

 

Alright, fine.

 

Even if he didn’t like foxes and merfolk, he wasn’t about to argue with children.

 

So he backed off a few steps to show that he wasn’t following them anymore.

 

Satisfied, Heli huffed at him before marching off with his friends.

 

Once they were far enough away, he climbed onto a tall pile of metal junk and prepared to practice flying again.

 

Today, he was out specifically to practice flying.

 

Last time, when his mind was hazy, he had flown purely by instinct.

 

But now that he was fully conscious, he couldn’t fly at all.

 

Even walking still felt awkward.

 

Clenching his paws tightly, he spread his wings.

 

He had to learn how to fly!

 

That way, he could take Daddy, Yuebai, and Nota on a flight through the skies!

 

Just imagining it made him feel so cool!

 

Taking a deep breath, Heli opened his wings and prepared to jump.

 

The little mermaid and the fox cub cheered him on.

 

Meanwhile—

 

Hector, who had secretly followed them, watched in complete confusion.

 

…What the hell is this little dragon doing?

 

This was the most baffled he had ever been.

 

More confused than in the past year combined.

 

Hidden behind a different pile of junk, he watched as Heli jumped off the ledge—

 

And promptly crashed face-first into the ground.

 

His wings had flapped wildly midair—But instead of flying, he had fallen in a perfect arc.

 

Smack!

 

The two tiny cubs immediately rushed over to check on him.

 

Heli, groaning, struggled to his feet.

 

After dusting himself off, he shook his head at them—then started climbing the junk pile again.

 

……??????

 

Hector watched, completely dumbfounded.

 

Is this really a dragon?

 

How does a dragon… not know how to fly?

 

And why was he only learning now?

 

What the hell had he been doing as a hatchling?

 

The young generation of dragons is really getting worse and worse.

 

Hector sighed, shaking his head.

 

Then, without any real effort, he lifted off the ground and hovered effortlessly above Heli.

 

“Want me to teach you?”

 

His voice carried a teasing edge.

 

Arms crossed, he floated in the air, looking completely at ease.

 

Heli, gripping his paws tightly, felt his face heat up.

 

Fortunately, he had scales covering his face.

 

Otherwise, this would have been very embarrassing.

 

Still, he glared at Hector—then turned away and continued practicing.

 

Hector had intended to tease him a little more—

 

But just then, his comms buzzed.

 

Rong Heng had sent him a message.

 

[What are you doing?]

 

Hector, confused, responded—

 

[Met a young dragon. Chatting with him.]

 

He had so many questions for the prince.

 

But before he could send them, Rong Heng shot back another message—

 

[Come to this location. Someone will tell you what to do.]

 

“……”

 

Fine.

 

Deleting his previous messages, Hector glanced one last time at the struggling young dragon.

 

Shaking his head, he sighed dramatically—

 

“I have something to take care of. I’ll teach you next time.”

 

With a wave of his paw, he turned and headed back to his fighter jet.

 

After Hector left—

 

Rong Heng stepped out from the shadows.

 

Earlier, when Hector had first called, Rong Heng had been with the cubs, so he hadn’t answered.

 

Later, when he found a chance to call back, Hector had ignored the call completely.

 

So he had given up and gone back—

 

Only to arrive just in time to see Hector bullying the young dragon.

 

He already knew Hector was unreliable.

 

But this was beyond expectations.

 

It had barely been an hour.

 

And somehow, Hector had managed to offend all three cubs.

 

Another confirmation that dragons are, indeed, dumb as hell.

 

---

 

Hector is a big bully without even realizing it. Thankfully there’s an even bigger bully (Rong Rong) to reign him in lmao

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~