The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

This chapter is an extra reward for the "Early Bird Bookworm Without Books to Read".

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"Oh-ho!"

"Oh-ho!"

"Oh-ho!"

The Little Fire Dragon flew excitedly in the sky, while Liszt sat on the ground, enduring the lingering smell of Smoked Grass, and crazily devoured Magical Beast Meat to replenish his nutrients and accumulate a bit of Dou Qi.

Crunch crunch, a piece of Magical Beast Meat with bone was chewed twice, he swallowed it without even tasting the flavor. His thoughts, however, were entirely focused on the Little Fire Dragon, "This guy is so excited, I wonder if it will release any hereditary infection of Magic Power?"

He didn't delve deeper; the thought passed quickly.

Then, he began to frown, noticing a serious problem, "Now that the Little Fire Dragon is newly born and has become a creature of flesh and blood, its body is not exactly large, but it is definitely not smaller than Loki, and it's only half the size of a Formless Dragon. There's no way to hide it."

A Fire Dragon with a body as large as a bull becomes even larger when it spreads its wings.

Liszt didn't know how to hide it.

Exposure was definitely not an option; once exposed, he believed it wouldn't take three days before people started targeting the Fire Dragon. Then, the Sapphire Duke would personally arrive on Black Horse Island riding the Sapphire Dragon. By that time, he would either have to ride the Little Fire Dragon and abandon his family business to lead a wandering life,

or he would have to obediently hand over the Fire Dragon.

Even Black Horse Island would have to be surrendered, given that it was the birthplace of the Fire Dragon.

"I will choose neither of these options... However, the more critical issue is, what exactly is my relationship with the Little Fire Dragon right now?" Liszt's brows were tightly knit.

As for hiding, it was not impossible. He could declare a certain area of his domain off-limits, erect walls, and block roads, allowing only himself in. The Little Fire Dragon could happily live inside. But the problem was what their relationship was and how to make the Little Fire Dragon behave and not wander off.

He had eaten his fill of Magical Beast Meat, and the Dou Qi began to slowly emerge.

His worry did not disappear but rather accumulated deeper and deeper. Watching the Little Fire Dragon still rolling and roaring in the sky, unable to contain its excitement, his expression was troubled.

Once upon a time, becoming a Dragon Knight was his greatest dream. Now he was not far from achieving it, but the biggest difficulty laid before him—the Little Fire Dragon had a hundred-year juvenile period. Even though a young dragon has fighting power, it certainly wouldn't be very strong, at least not enough to qualify as a Dragon Knight.

He also doubted whether the Little Fire Dragon would even allow him to ride and whether it might suddenly turn hostile and fly away.

...

A quarter of an hour later.

The issue of turning hostile could be put aside; the now tired Little Fire Dragon finally landed from the sky to the ground in front of Liszt. Its body was fully displayed before Liszt's eyes. Compared to the slender Formless Dragon, the Fire Dragon had a more robust build, with lines that exuded a tough beauty.

Its muscles were knotted, yet they didn't appear abrupt.

They always seemed just right, clearly containing boundless strength at a glance.

The scales were fine and dense, black with hints of red. In some parts, black was more intense, in others, red was more intense. On the triangular head, there were five dragon horns, symmetrically distributed. The central dragon horn was straight and long, while the horns on the sides were slightly curved and the eyes had blood-red pupils.

It looked somewhat intimidating, but upon close inspection, one could see the clarity and purity in its gaze.

"Oh-ho!"

The Little Fire Dragon stood on the ground, taller than Liszt, and opened its mouth to softly call out, seemingly greeting Liszt. This action and expression always made him feel that what stood before him was not a dragon but rather a child in dragon skin. Eye contact, tone, demeanor, all carried an intelligent aura.

Liszt rubbed his face to appear more amiable, and locked eyes with the Little Fire Dragon.

Then he reached out his hand and boldly touched the Little Fire Dragon's head, which was nuzzled towards him. The touch felt a bit rough, and the scales of the Little Fire Dragon were very hot to the touch.

"Little Fire Dragon."

"Oh-ho!"

"I want to ride you," Liszt said calmly.

The Little Fire Dragon immediately bared its teeth, making a fierce face. Coupled with its inherently menacing appearance, it indeed looked quite ferocious. However, its eyes betrayed it, only pretending to be tough, especially when it saw Liszt already walking around it, contemplating how to mount it.

The look in its eyes became even more frantic.

"Oh-ho!"

"Let me ride you; don't move. You have to know who it was that painstakingly hatched you, who fed you mouthfuls of Magic Power to raise you!"

The Little Fire Dragon stiffened its neck, showing its teeth and refusing to budge.

Liszt quickly changed his strategy, his tone becoming more enthusiastic, "Little Fire Dragon, we are partners, companions who fight side by side. Fight alongside me, and together we will become mighty Dragon Knights. Do you know what Dragon Knights are? They are the pinnacle of power in this world, and no one can defeat a Dragon Knight!"

"Oh-ho!"

"You got that? Alright, then let me ride you," he said, attempting to mount.

The Little Fire Dragon immediately struggled, stepping back three steps and looking at Liszt warily, once again baring its teeth: "Oh ho!" Then it turned and leapt into the sky.

"Where do you think you're running off to!"

Discover stories at empire

"Oh ho!"

Having flown to a certain height, the Little Fire Dragon folded its wings and plummeted like an arrow to the ground, landing amidst the chaos of the dining table and began searching for food left by the Formless Dragons. The cows tied to the stakes hadn't awakened, and the Little Fire Dragon sniffed at one before munching away at the calf with a clatter.

By the time Liszt arrived, he saw the Little Fire Dragon eating beef while also using its wings to fan away the surrounding smoke, clearly disliking the scent of Smoked Grass.

An idea suddenly struck him, and he approached the Little Fire Dragon, saying, "Little Fire Dragon, these cows are mine, I don't permit you, you can't eat them."

The Little Fire Dragon didn't bother looking up, blood splattering from its mouth as it ate: "Oh ho!"

"If you eat my cows, you have to let me ride you!"

"Oh ho!"

"If you don't let me ride, then don't think about eating beef ever again."

"Oh ho!"

"If you let me ride, then I'll give you a cow every day!"

"Oh ho!"

No matter what Liszt said, the Little Fire Dragon was unwilling to let Liszt ride, leaving him with a pent-up frustration he couldn't release. Despite having spent all his accumulated Fire Dragon Magic Power to nourish this Little Fire Dragon, it wouldn't allow even a single ride.

He could only stand to the side, watching it rudely gnaw at the beef.

Meanwhile, he observed the Little Fire Dragon's back, where there was a flatter spot near the neck and shoulder blades underneath the scales, seemingly covering a single piece of bone.

This made him wonder, "This area seems to be a Dragon Knight's seat, its flatness seems perfect for sitting, and the narrow grooves seem just right for securing one's feet... Why does it feel like this part of the dragon's neck is specifically shaped for riding?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Without any information on dragons, he had to guess almost everything about them.

Before long.

The Little Fire Dragon gobbled down an entire cow, burped with satisfaction, and lazily licked at the jar of liquor beside it. However, after just one lick, it shook its head vigorously and stuck out its tongue, showing no interest in the liquor.

"Little Fire Dragon, are you going to let me ride you or not!"

The Little Fire Dragon was adamant: "Oh ho!"

Liszt's face darkened, wanting to discipline the Little Fire Dragon but feeling uncertain he could actually win—despite its size, the Little Fire Dragon radiated a Dragon Might just as overpowering as that of a Formless Dragon. Moreover, there was always a sense that flames were burning beneath it.

It was like a volcano waiting to erupt.

Perhaps this was the embodiment of an Elemental Dragon's strength—expressing the nature of magic power to its extreme, bringing about an unimaginable fighting force.

"Fine, you are stubborn. We'll discuss the issue of dragon riding later," Liszt tried hard to suppress his anger, patted its head, and felt the scorching heat.

The thought "Will it burn my butt?" flickered through his mind.

But the thought was fleeting and didn't interrupt his dialogue: "Your arrival brings not only flames but danger too. We are in the Duchy of Sapphire, home to a grown Sapphire Dragon that will not allow your existence. Therefore, you need to follow my instructions and hide."

Cocking its head.

It seemed not to understand, or maybe it did.

Liszt went on to detail his plan, intending to settle the Little Fire Dragon on Seagull Island, north of Black Horse Island, to keep its existence a secret. He also planned to have the Sea Sprite Ake meet the Little Fire Dragon, to help take care of it, provide it with food, and keep it from running amok.

Out of everyone, Liszt trusted the Sea Sprite Ake the most.

However, before he finished his lengthy explanation.

The Little Fire Dragon suddenly let out a fierce roar: "Oh ho!" Then, its body quickly transformed into a blaze and lunged at the unguarded Liszt—Liszt had no time to react, and it seemed as though a tremendous roar echoed in his ears. The flame that the Little Fire Dragon had turned into rushed into his body and disappeared.

No, not disappeared.

It transformed into a ball of magic power and converged at his chest.

Taken aback, he quickly shed his coat and cuirass, undoing his inner shirt. Looking down at his chest, where there had been only snow-white clean skin and no chest hair, a pattern of flames had now solidified, forming a lifelike Fire Dragon soaring in flight.

Even more astonishing was that the Fire Dragon pattern seemed to move.

The pattern showed the Fire Dragon opening its mouth without a sound, yet resounding familiarly within his mind: "Oh ho!"