Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  Baiyi knew that people felt they could easily ascertain the disparity between dragons and humans. This fact was because the power levels of different individuals always seemed very obvious at first glance. For example, the Third Walker could be easily identified from its abilities to control thunder and lightning, and its ability to command the attention and loyalty of lower beings 1 . However, there were some weaker dragons that were incapable of triumphing over a goat in battle; in this scenario, the goat of the Alpine Barbarians. If that was the case, then the power level of those mixed-blood dragon beasts, such as the lindworms, was better left to the imagination.

  The reason why none of the Void Walkers would boast about slaying a dragon was because of how weak most dragons were. They could only boast if they managed to slay a dragon with the caliber of the Third Walker.

  The dragon that Baiyi and the girls were staring at was, obviously, what the other dragonkind would describe as “an idiot”—else it wouldn’t have dared to intrude on a territory guarded by dragon knights. This strength of this idiotic dragon was at the level of common beasts—with no affinity for mana manipulation to boot. All this dragon, and most of its kind, could do was overpower other creatures with their natural strength and size, which was a physical feature common amongst dragonkind.

  This was the reason why this dragon would take on a skycruising ray, even though skycruising rays don’t taste as good as normal stingrays in the ocean.

  Nevertheless, no matter how hard one tried to downplay this idiot, it was still a dragon. The fear of dragons had long since been deeply encoded into the genetic memory of skycruising rays, so the mere sight of an approaching dragon was enough to get the “Hammerhead Shark”—the ride Baiyi and his girls were currently riding—to consider pumping out all the air stored in its empty body so that it could sink into the ocean; this was its natural flight response to a predator.

  That was the only defense mechanism that a wild skycruising ray had against predators. The only reason why this ray had not done that yet was because of its many years of domestication. This ray had been trained to never abandon its human riders.

  At that moment, despite the black dot drawing closer and closer, the proudly-trained skycruising ray still put its riders ahead of its own fear, doing its best to bring them as far away from danger as possible.

  Of course, the ray’s body still trembled as if it was being jolted by a taser. Mia laid down on her belly and cooed, “W-w-why a-a-a-re y-y-ou sh-sh-shaking s-s-so m-m-much, Sh-Sh-Sh-Sharkie?” Even her question came out jittery due of the ray’s shivering.

  “M-maybe, it’s b-b-b-because of th-th-that?” Laeticia pointed at a black dot—no, the figure had become a black silhouette at that point—cruising towards them at high speed. At that point, anyone could easily make out the features of the approaching beast; it really was a dragon.

  “Wh-what is-s-s tha–aaargh! Whyyyyy……Thatsh…… realleh……hurtsh!” Attie was just about to ask a question when the ray’s shudder made her bit her tongue. Tears were rolling down her cheeks from the pain.

  Only the ever-knowledgeable Tisdale knew exactly what they were facing. She huddled closer to Baiyi and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, making evident the fright that she felt.

  “Sir, is that a dragon?” she cooed meekly. “Is it gonna hurt us?”

  ‘ A smart lady like you already knows that I’m right beside you, right? So, why would you ask something like that? Do you honestly think your master can’t finish off such a lizard? ‘ Baiyi thought to himself. ‘ Jeez, you just wanted to ingratiate, didn’t you? ‘

  However, he still patted the girl’s back to assure her.

  ‘ Must I really deal with that thing? ‘ Baiyi eyed the girls’ expressions and noticed unnatural red flushes blooming on their face.

  It seemed like it couldn’t be helped. He lifted his finger reluctantly and started condensing his mana.

  \r \r \r

  However, at that same moment, from the stratosphere, two shadows flashed past, ripping through the clouds like arrows.

  Upon seeing the incoming shadows, Sharkie, their skycruising ray, stopped trembling. It gave a cry of relief and joy as the shadows came to as stop right in front of the dragon.

  The dragon knights had arrived.

  Two enormous dragons surrounded the intruder. Then, they began flying circles around it. As Baiyi watched, the intruding dragon was enveloped by an invisible net, and just as quickly as it was captured, it was dragged away from the territory by the knights, like a pig being dragged off to a slaughterhouse.

  ‘ Solved a threat even without going to battle? ‘ Baiyi’s felt his respect for the Dragon Knights grow after seeing their technique. Unlike Baiyi, the girls, however, understood less of the situation. Their face was blank as they watched the threat get taken care of in a manner of seconds.

  Baiyi got the girl to gather around him, and he began to tell them the backstory of these marvelous Dragon Knights.

  When the common folk talked about dragon knights, they usually referred to the Brotherhood of Fire Wyverns. Although the former title of this particular band of knights was a little too hammy, they were no pushovers. The Brotherhood of Fire Wyverns were the most ancient and the greatest army of dragon knights in the entire realm, and every Gouvian kingdom had their own dragon knights. Whenever dragon knights were ranked by the fables of their exploits, everyone would agree that first place would go to Rodrithelia Empire’s Brotherhood of Fire Wyverns.

  Dragon knights were few and far between. If a power had a thousand dragon knights at their beck and call, the power would be considered shocking. This was because that individual would need to undergo long years of training in order to train an individual capable of holding the dragon knight title. Additionally, the individual’s dragon would need to undergo the same grueling amount of training. This way, both rider and mount would reach the apex of their fighting ability. Forming a dragon knight army was far harder, more expensive and required a longer time than what was needed to form mere griffin riders, dragonhawk riders, bat riders, chaos riders, or even omniknights 2 . A dragon rider was definitely not something that any random Daoist from a wuxia novel would be capable of becoming.

  Every seasoned dragon knight was a force to be reckoned with. When they banded together, they formed a power that could even change landscapes.

  Other realms never picked on Gouve precisely because they were afraid of the dragon knights’ wrath.

  According to the Thane—the 20th Voidwalker—the dragon knights of Gouve and the Divine Warriors of the Alpine plains 3 were the two strongest armies he had ever met. They were the creme of human fighting forces. Yes, to the Thane, they were even stronger than other famous elites like the Rohserlian Sorcerers, the Moloch War Druids, and the Replica Army created by the Association of Blacksmiths, who were trained with the goal of achieving the same level discipline and leadership skills as the dragon knights.

  “My own awesome army, the Black Inquisitors, were the creme of the elites, but even they paled in comparison to the dragon knights…… I always wonder: if I had recruited these dragon knights under my wing, what could have possibly stopped me from ruling the entire realm?” the Thane had once asked Baiyi.

  ‘ Right. Your cheap knockoff of the Church’s brand. They had the gears, the resources, the training, and the discipline; however, your subordinates didn’t have none of these guys’ stamina!’ Baiyi had concluded inwardly back then, treating the Thane’s words as a joke.

  The girls were amazed at the stories. They had eager expressions on their faces. It was as if they were hoping to meet the knights face-to-face. Laeticia, however, wondered out loud, “How can they be compared to the Church’s Paladins? I always believed that the Church’s Paladins were the most powerful people in the world……”

  ‘ Excuse me, dear Laeticia, but the most powerful person in the world would be Yours Truly, ‘ Baiyi thought.

  Laeticia’s expression was filled with admiration, and one look at her was enough to dissuade Baiyi from bursting her bubble, hard, so Baiyi opted for a smoother reply. “The Paladins are formidable, but they don’t have a dragon……”

  Honestly, the Church’s Paladins—also known as the Guardians of The Holy City—never even made it to the Thane’s list, but they probably had the most fashionable armor, which may explain their popularity with girls.

  “I see. So, if the paladins rode on dragons, they would be even more unstoppable! Right?” Laeticia replied innocently.

  What are dragons to you? My Little Ponies? Baiyi was speechless. He decided to indulge himself in the girls’ newfound interest, so he said, ” Well, if we get the chance, we can visit the dragon knights, too. 4 ”

  After that incident, the skycruising ray resumed its slow flight towards their destination.

  In the beginning the girl was spirited enough to chatter and enjoy the scenery, but as more time passed, lethargy started hitting them and not long after, the girls fell asleep atop the ray.

  Baiyi moved the girls closer to his side. As he watched their peaceful expression, he somehow felt calmer.

  It was late in the afternoon when the skycruising ray finally reached their destination. It was a planetary-sized floating island situated close to sea level, where the famous Rodrithelia Empire was situated.

  The girls woke up by themselves as soon as the ray docked. Apparently, being close to sea level meant that the Rodrithelian climate was hotter than a typical summer day. When they had just reached the island, the girls were still in their winter garment!

  No one had the time to marvel at the fact that every island actually had a different climate. The girls hurried into the changing room provided by the carriage service. A while later, they re-emerged in their previous summer outfit of short, cute skirts.

  “Wow, anytime we come to this realm, we would have to prepare different set of clothes!” Mia stuck out her tongue as she pushed her dishevelled black hair to the back of her neck. She even fanned herself with her hand.

  “That’s why people agree that it is challenging to stay in this realm, ” Baiyi replied, leading the girls on their tour of the capital city.

  The island was almost as big as a continent. The capital city was just as large as the major cities back in Isythre, undercutting any tourist’s knowledge that they were, in fact, on an island. Even the architecture in this city was similar to those found in Isythre, so the girls felt almost as if they were back home.

  A close inspection revealed the fact that the city was young, however. The buildings looked even newer than those in Arfin city.

  “This wasn’t where the Capital City used to be, actually. It used to be on another island,” Baiyi explained in a low voice.

  “But why? The altitude here is lower, and the climate is warmer. Why didn’t they start their empire from here?” Tisdale asked in curiosity.

  “It’s exactly because it’s low in altitude. Back then, this island wasn’t safe……” Baiyi replied back in a low voice.

  As if to prove his words, the mana above the city suddenly began vibrating.

  It was so intense, even the two girls who did not practice magic, Attie and Laeticia, noticed the vibration. Instinctively, they looked up……

  Water. Or more specifically, a tsunami. A tsunami towered above the island’s sky; its shadow robbed the city of daylight as it rushed over, threatening to envelope the whole island. The city, which until a second ago had been lit by beautiful sunshine, instantly darkened.

  The sudden shift to an apocalyptic setting easily set off the girls’ instinct to scream, but Baiyi calmly held their shoulders.

  The tsunami hammered down, but it hit an invisible dome above the city, releasing a low but loud growl, akin to the heartbeat of a leviathan. Whitewater thrashed and enveloped the city, making it seem as if the entire island had submerged into the ocean bed.

  Then just as quickly as it came, the wave was gone. The sky and the warm sunlight were visible once again, as if nothing had happened.

  “Th-th-! The-the-the!” Poor Mia could not get over what she had just witnessed. She could not finish her sentence and could tighten her grip on Baiyi’s elbow, pointing at the sky above the city in horror.

  Baiyi smiled. “Now you know why it was previously uninhabitable, yes?