Ch. 34
Chapter 34: Breakthrough — The Dragon and the Foundation of a New Order
On the third day after sending off the messenger, the City of Miracles welcomed its first clear sky since the assassination attempt.
Sunlight dispelled the cold mist that had condensed over the wastes, gilding this city rising from the ground with a faint golden hue.
At the construction sites, clamor shook the heavens.
Thousands of subjects swung their tools with abandon across their respective worksites—ramming earth, laying bricks, felling timber, forging iron.
That surging energy seemed intent on completely overturning this land that had lain silent for a thousand years.
What drove all this was no longer merely work credits and that bowl of sweet potato soup that could fill one's belly.
Before the lord's tent, those eight corpses covered with white cloth, and beside them the gold coins worth ten times the consolation payment, had become a catalyst more effective than any whip.
Selling your life for the lord could truly mean death.
But the lord would also truly provide your family after death with enough dignity to let them live like human beings.
This simple, crude, yet utterly real logic penetrated deeper into hearts in this lawless land than any deity's doctrine.
The city's construction advanced by leaps and bounds, expanding at a visibly frenzied pace.
Yet as the creator of all this, Caesar's mood had not relaxed in the slightest with the city's prosperity.
He stood at the highest point of the watchtower, overlooking the embryonic form of the kingdom he had built with his own hands, his deep purple eyes filled with an icy gravity.
Reaper's head had been sent back.
A declaration of war written in fresh blood would inevitably provoke even more frenzied, more reckless retaliation.
That “dear mother of his” would never let this rest.
Yet his father had, not long ago, unexpectedly sent him a letter via hawk.
That cold man who viewed everything as a transaction had temporarily suppressed the family's direct retaliation, but his words about waiting until winter hung over Caesar's head like a sword of Damocles.
Winter…
Winter in the Wailing Wastes was every living thing's nightmare.
Food scarcity would turn those powerful magical beasts lurking deep in the wastes even more ravenous than the most crazed bandits.
A beast tide sweeping across the entire wastes was a bloody ritual that inevitably played out every winter.
With the City of Miracles' current pitiful defenses, forget a beast tide—even a single high-order magical beast would be enough to deliver a devastating blow.
He needed power.
Greater power, absolute power sufficient to crush all threats!
His current strength was at Knight peak. By relying on Dragon Scale Transformation he could withstand a Grand Knight's attacks and even catch them off guard with a counter-kill.
But this was far from enough.
Facing a true Grand Knight, someone at Roland's level for instance, he had no chance of victory.
He must break through!
“System, expand God's Eye's detection range. Target: search for solitary magical beasts Third-Order and above containing high-quality Magic Cores.”
Caesar issued the command in his mind.
【Command confirmed. God's Eye (Basic) range expanding, energy consumption increasing. Beginning scan…】
A pale golden light screen unfolded before him as a three-dimensional map with him at the center rapidly took shape.
Countless light points representing different resources flickered across the map, but Caesar directly ignored those ordinary light points representing minerals and plants.
His gaze locked deadly onto those red light points representing life.
Most were scattered First-Order and Second-Order magical beasts, like stars strewn across the wilderness.
Suddenly, on the map's northeast side, in a canyon region filled with jagged rocks, an abnormally glaring deep red light point leaped violently into his vision.
【Target discovered!】
【Name: Third-Order Peak Magical Beast - Crag Lizard】
【Status: Adult stage, extremely aggressive】
【Abilities: Petrified skin, acidic venom spray】
【Danger level: High. Its Magic Core contains pure earth-element energy and is excellent material for Knights breaking through to Grand Knight.】
That's the one.
A glint of the sharpness a hunter has when locking onto prey flashed through Caesar's pupils.
He descended the watchtower and strode directly toward the Black Dragon Guard's encampment.
Roland was drilling soldiers.
Seeing Caesar approach, he immediately stopped and strode forward to meet him.
“My lord.”
“Roland, prepare yourself. We're going hunting.”
Roland froze, then understood.
He glanced at the edge hidden beneath Caesar's calm exterior and asked no questions, only nodding heavily.
“How many men do we need?”
“Two people will suffice.”
Caesar's gaze swept over those soldiers currently drenched in sweat from training.
“The others will guard our home.”
Half an hour later, two swift horses galloped out from the City of Miracles' north gate and disappeared into the vast wilderness.
……
Boulder Canyon.
Jagged rocks, treacherous terrain.
The air was thick with a stench mixing sulfur and rotting flesh.
A terrifying giant beast over ten meters in body length, its entire form covered in scales as thick and heavy as granite, was presently lying atop a massive boulder in false sleep.
It was the absolute overlord of this canyon—the Crag Lizard.
Sunlight fell upon its grayish-brown scales yet reflected not a single glimmer, as if all light had been absorbed into that stone-like hide.
Suddenly, the lizard's massive eyes—like two pieces of cloudy yellow crystal—snapped open.
It had caught the scent of living prey.
It slowly rotated its enormous head, its cold gaze locking onto two tiny black dots at the canyon entrance.
The next second, its massive body slid down from the boulder at a shocking speed completely at odds with its size. Four thick, sharp-clawed limbs carved ear-piercing friction sounds across the ground as it charged straight toward Caesar and Roland like an out-of-control siege engine.
“My lord, watch out for its charge!”
Roland roared, gripping his door-plank-sized greatsword with both hands. Vigorous earth-yellow Battle Energy erupted instantly, forming a thick rocky barrier before him.
“Don't worry about me.”
Caesar's voice was exceptionally calm.
“Go left, harass its lower body, create an opening for me.”
Before his words finished falling, rather than retreat, he actually charged forward to meet that stampeding giant beast head-on.
Roland's eyelid twitched, but he had not the slightest doubt about Caesar's command.
He roared, Battle Energy flooding his legs. His form flickered as he flanked from the side.
“ROAR—!”
Seeing that small insect actually dare provoke it, the Crag Lizard let out an ear-splitting roar.
It suddenly opened its gaping maw and a stream of dark green liquid reeking of pungent acid sprayed out like a high-pressure water cannon!
Acidic venom!
Wherever the venom passed, whether hard rock or dead shrubs, all released hissing corrosion sounds as white smoke rose.
The instant before the venom covered the area, Caesar's figure shifted several meters to the right like a phantom, narrowly avoiding this lethal strike.
Just as the lizard spat its venom and entered a brief moment of stiffness, Roland, who had flanked to the side, seized his chance!
“Boulder Shattering Slash!”
He raised his greatsword high with both hands. Earth-yellow Battle Energy condensed to its peak, making the sword seem to have grown several times heavier.
Using his full strength, he brought the blade down viciously toward the lizard's thick hind leg joint!
“CLANG!”
A massive sound rang out, as if an iron hammer had struck an anvil.
Roland felt a terrifying rebound force transmit from the sword hilt, shaking his arms numb as his entire body retreated several uncontrolled steps.
On the Crag Lizard's leg, only a shallow white mark had been carved. A few scale edges showed slight cracks.
What a hard shell! Roland's heart sank.
Though this strike failed to inflict substantial damage, it successfully enraged the lizard.
It abandoned Caesar and suddenly swung its massive tail like a siege hammer, carrying an air-rending howl as it swept toward Roland.
Roland's pupils contracted. He immediately raised his sword to block.
“BOOM!”
His entire body was sent flying like a struck stone, launched over ten meters before slamming heavily into the canyon wall with a muffled groan.
The opening!
The instant the Crag Lizard's attention was completely drawn to Roland, Caesar moved.
His speed peaked instantaneously. Black-gold Battle Energy surged from within as a layer of fine black dragon scales gleaming with metallic luster rapidly covered his right arm and both legs.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he charged along the lizard's massive body, actually running straight up onto the lizard's back!
The lizard sensed movement on its back and began wildly rolling and ramming, trying to shake off this annoying little insect.
But Caesar's feet seemed rooted to its back. No matter how earth-shaking the movements beneath him, he remained unshakeable.
His gaze locked deadly onto a scale on the lizard's rear neck that was slightly dimmer in color compared to the others.
“Right here!”
Caesar took a deep breath. All his Battle Energy surged madly toward his right arm covered in dragon scales.
The scales on that arm grew ever deeper in color, as if they could devour all light.
He transformed his entire arm into an indestructible dragon lance and, aiming at that dim scale, thrust viciously downward!
“SQUELCH!”
This time, it wasn't the crisp ring of metal meeting metal.
But the muffled sound of a blade entering flesh!
The fist covered in dragon scales actually shattered that weak scale by sheer force, penetrated the tough muscle, and stabbed directly into the lizard's flesh and blood!
“ROAR—!!!”
The Crag Lizard let out the most shrill, most anguished roar since its birth.
Intense pain drove it into complete madness.
It abandoned all defense. Its massive body suddenly rammed toward the rock wall, trying to crush Caesar on its back into pulp.
Caesar's eyes turned cold. His arm suddenly yanked outward!
A fist-sized Magic Core the color of earth-yellow, seemingly constructed from the purest crystal, was violently torn from the lizard's body along with large chunks of flesh and blood!
Having lost its Magic Core, the Crag Lizard's life force drained away like a breached dam.
Its enormous body crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, raising clouds of dust.
Those cloudy eyes rapidly dimmed.
Caesar landed on the ground. Looking at the still-faintly-pulsing Magic Core in his hand and feeling the pure earth-element energy contained within, his face showed no joy whatsoever.
He immediately sat cross-legged and pressed that warm Magic Core directly against his chest at his heart's position.
The energy within the Magic Core, as if finding an outlet, transformed into a violent torrent that surged madly into Caesar's body along his arm!
Caesar's body jerked violently. Blood vessels across his entire body instantly bulged, his skin turning crimson as if about to burst from that massive energy.
He clenched his teeth desperately, guiding this energy to assault that invisible yet truly existing barrier within his body.
Once, twice, ten times…
That barrier was as solid as a divinely forged city wall.
Just as Caesar felt his body approaching the edge of collapse, the Sword-Devouring Dragon tattoo brand at his heart position suddenly erupted with brilliant dark red radiance!
An even more ancient, more domineering devouring force surged from the brand, instantly enveloping, compressing, and refining that violent earth-element energy!
“BOOM!”
A thunderclap seemed to sound in Caesar's mind.
That impregnable barrier, before the devouring power of the dragon bloodline, shattered like paper!
A black-gold Battle Energy more than ten times purer and heavier than before erupted like a volcanic explosion from his dantian, instantly flooding through his limbs and bones!
His skeleton crackled and popped. His muscles tore and reorganized. His entire aura surged at a terrifying rate!
【Ding!】
【Congratulations to Host for successfully breaking through and advancing to Grand Knight!】
【Dragonkin bloodline further awakened, physical qualities comprehensively enhanced! Innate Dragon Scale Transformation defensive power strengthened!】
【Detecting energy overflow during Host's breakthrough, meeting dragon egg hatching conditions…】
【Dragon egg beginning to hatch!】
Caesar's eyes snapped open. He could clearly feel the dragon egg within him that had signed the Symbiotic Blood Pact frantically absorbing the energy overflowing from his breakthrough. Across the eggshell surface, countless fine cracks were spreading at incredible speed!
“CRACK… crack…”
The crisp shattering sounds were particularly clear in the silent canyon.
Under Roland's shocked gaze, an egg pitch-black throughout and covered in dark gold magic patterns appeared from thin air before Caesar.
Shell fragments fell away piece by piece.
A small wet head, entirely pitch-black, poked out from within the shell.
It curiously shook its head, flinging off the egg fluid, then opened those molten-gold vertical pupils filled with pure curiosity.
It saw Caesar at first glance.
That was the scent engraved in the deepest part of its soul.
“Yah?”
The little creature let out a soft, dependent cry, then on still-unsteady limbs stumbled and crawled to Caesar's leg, affectionately nuzzling Caesar's pant leg with its small head covered in fine scales.
Caesar looked down at this newly born life. That heart that had grown ever colder and harder from his breakthrough softened involuntarily for a moment.
This was his dragon.
A companion belonging to him alone.
But immediately, a more practical problem presented itself.
How to hide it?
A dragon hatchling, no matter where it went, would be enough to drive the entire continent into frenzy.
Just then, the system notification sounded again.
【Detecting newly generated unit hatchling dragon, soul-bound relationship with Host exists.】
【System space Dimensional Warehouse function upgraded! Now capable of housing bound-state living units.】
A flash of wild joy crossed Caesar's eyes.
He extended his hand, gently stroking the hatchling's head as he silently commanded in his mind.
“Go inside.”
The next second, the black hatchling still affectionately nuzzling him suddenly became translucent and vanished from that spot in an instant.
Within Caesar's system space, in a corner of the previously empty warehouse, there now appeared a black little creature curiously surveying its surroundings and occasionally yawning.
Perfect.
Caesar slowly rose to his feet, feeling the unprecedented powerful strength within his body, then glanced at the safely settled hatchling in the system space.
He raised his head, gazing toward the direction where the City of Miracles lay.
The power of a Grand Knight.
A hatched dragon.
Now, he finally had a little bit of confidence to face that “winter.”
He turned to the still-dazed Roland and showed a cold smile.
“Roland, it's time we returned.”
“The hunt has only just begun.”