novelraw Chapter 241
Chapter 241
Chapter 241: Pureblood, Silver Dragon, Young Dragon
The sky had just begun to brighten when the merchant caravan set off again in a grand procession.
A hundred carriages started simultaneously, their wheels turning and kicking up clouds of dust.
The silence of the mountain forest was shattered, birds in the woods took flight, and small animals foraging on the slopes scattered in fear.
Inside the carriage, Lucia lay motionless on the wooden planks.
She lifted her clothes, revealing her fair, round belly. Her long, sturdy dragon tail extended from her side, occasionally slapping the floor.
The young girl’s soft body swayed from side to side with the movement of the carriage like a small boat adrift. ‘Ahh~’
Xia Li sat on the long wooden bench, hugging the Demon Repelling Sword, his arms crossed over his chest as he dozed.
Today was the second day…
Taking a carriage for a ‘honeymoon’ was not a comfortable method of travel. Xia Li had initially thought it would be at least similar to a ship, stopping and starting, at least the scenery would be good.
But now…
Forget Lucia being bored, even Xia Li himself was getting restless.
Perhaps he could try another way to enter the city?
Xia Li pondered, his fingertips tracing the patterns on the hilt of the Demon Repelling Sword.
Every time he rubbed it, the sword would shimmer with a faint blue light.
After returning to Azure Continent, it wasn’t just Lucia the dragon who was eager to try her wings, but also the Demon Repelling Sword that Xia Li had left on the balcony for half a year to be weathered by the wind.
Speaking of which, Lucia was now at her peak.
Judging by the strength of her magic, if she couldn’t enter the Royal Capital peacefully, she could always do it forcefully.
If all else failed, they could intercept a noble’s carriage on the way and rob… borrow some magic items.
That’s what this dragon used to do, right?
Why not let her do something bad?
Xia Li was now a magnanimous Brave Hero, and sometimes he could choose to turn a blind eye.
“Hmm?”
Just as Xia Li’s thoughts were wandering, considering other solutions.
The carriage wheels gradually slowed down and came to a complete stop.
It had only been two hours since the last time they had stopped to let the horses graze.
The weather was clear today; they shouldn’t be resting so frequently.
Could it be that some Mixed-Scale Dragon magical beast or something was blocking the road again?
Xia Li lifted the curtain and curiously looked outside.
In the middle of the mountain path, he saw a group of men in uniform.
The old coachman, leaning on his cane, took off his hat and, with a friendly smile, chatted with the group.
The group wore light armor, mainly in red and white tones, with metal helmets on their heads.
They held dark red spears, their armor emblazoned with a lion’s emblem on the chest, and a sunflower carved on their backs.
Judging from their uniform attire, these men were well-trained, regular soldiers.
‘Lion’ and ‘sunflower’…
Xia Li quickly thought of the common currency of the Lyon Empire.
These men should be the Lyon Empire’s army.
From the old coachman’s fawning expression, it could be seen that this army held a high status.
Perhaps they were some kind of Royal Guard.
“Damn it, it’s them again. Good thing this time we’re only carrying livestock, not fruits and vegetables, otherwise we’d be losing a fortune…”
The old coachman’s negotiation was not going well. He put on his fur hat, his face grim, and returned grumbling.
“What’s wrong?”
Xia Li called out to him.
The old coachman stopped and, seeing that the speaker was the wealthy man from the lead carriage, his impatient expression softened a bit, and he said with a forced smile.
“Elite Knights of the Royal Capital… They said they found valuable prey in the canyon ahead, their men are hunting inside, and they told us not to approach and disturb the prey.”
Hearing the old coachman’s words, Xia Li pondered for a moment and asked.
“What prey?”
“I’m sorry, we don’t know what kind of prey… But I heard from the Knight-Captain that it seems to be a dragon.”
The old coachman paused, feeling that this was not some unspeakable secret, so he lowered his voice and continued.
“A dragon that they value so much… I guess it’s very likely a pureblood giant dragon.”
“A pureblood giant dragon?”
Lucia also poked her head out from the window.
Overhearing this, she was no longer sleepy.
Forget Xia Li, who had never seen a pureblood giant dragon in his life.
Even Lucia, a dragon who had lived in Azure Continent for over a hundred years, had not seen many purebloods of her kind.
Pureblood dragons have a very low reproductive rate.
The purer the bloodline, the more powerful the abilities… and the more powerful the dragon, the less willing they are to reproduce.
The process of reproduction, whether for female or male dragons, consumes a lot of energy and stamina.
Coupled with the fact that dragons are naturally emotionally distant and lazy, unless they truly find a compatible mate, very few pureblood dragons are willing to sacrifice their time to lay eggs.
But there are many races that covet the powerful abilities of dragons.
Not only humans, but even some intelligent demon races, they all want to strengthen their offspring, so they will try their best to mate with dragons.
After mating, the next generation continues to mate…
And so, strange and bizarre mixed-scale bloodlines emerged.
Over time, the dragon bloodline was further diluted.
Now, the number of pureblood giant dragons existing in Azure Continent… Lucia estimated, no more than twenty.
“Pureblood giant dragons are so powerful, can those Elite Knights defeat them?”
Lucia asked in a tone of watching a show and eating melon seeds.
She was not optimistic about those humans.
Even with enchanted weapons in hand, it was still very difficult to defeat a pureblood giant dragon…
Unless they were cheating like Xia Li.
Otherwise, this kind of hunting in an enclosed environment was completely self-defeating.
“If it were an adult, those people wouldn’t provoke it so easily… So, I guess it’s a young pureblood dragon.” The old coachman replied.
“Oh, a young one.” Lucia’s voice was surprised.
This time, her expression was not feigned.
Lucia turned her head and looked at Xia Li with questioning eyes.
A pureblood giant dragon.
A young one.
Xia Li liked pureblood dragons so much; he must be curious, right?
And, he had been talking about collecting material to write his novel lately.
But…
If Xia Li showed any curiosity about another pureblood young dragon, Lucia would still be a little jealous.
“Young dragons are very valuable, and if it’s a young pureblood dragon… then the price would be astronomical, likely priceless.”
The old coachman clicked his tongue and shook his head, his eyes filled with envy.
In his view, capturing a pureblood dragon and bringing it back, forget about enjoying his old age, he could even be directly granted a noble title by the empire, ensuring his descendants would be well-fed and clothed for generations.
Unfortunately, that kind of thing was not something a small merchant like him could get involved in.
“I heard about it a few days ago when I was in Taro City…” The old coachman began.
“It’s said that the young dragon trapped in the forest is a pureblood silver dragon, and it even has a bounty on it.”
◈◈◈
He finished speaking with a regretful tone, then shook his head and bowed slightly to Xia Li and Lucia in the carriage.
“So, I apologize, my guests, I’m afraid this trip will be delayed for two more days…”
“It’s alright, we’re not in a hurry.”
Xia Li’s voice was calm, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his thoughts drifting away.
“And also, that…”
The coachman didn’t leave immediately. He rubbed his hands together, his fingers constantly rubbing the pigeon-egg-sized gemstone on his right thumb. A look of embarrassment appeared on his smiling face.
“Our itinerary is calculated not only by distance but also by days… You know, we provide corresponding services, dinner and hot water, and we can help guests solve any physical or mental troubles…”
“So… about the payment, we might need to trouble you to add two more days’ worth.”
The old coachman said with an embarrassed smile.
Xia Li glanced at him.
Putting on an act.
This phrase perfectly described the expression on his face.
In fact, Xia Li knew very well that if he wasn’t carrying a sword and looking somewhat capable, this old coachman wouldn’t be so polite to him.
If he had appeared weaker and was with a beautiful and delicate young girl like Lucia, forget about being a wealthy noble lady and her guard, the old coachman, with so many servants and mercenaries on his carriage, would have probably robbed them blind.
He simply couldn’t assess Xia Li’s abilities, and coupled with Xia Li’s strange clothes and unfathomable appearance, he chose the most conservative method, willing to follow the rules of the transaction.
Xia Li looked at the old coachman with cold eyes.
He had important matters to attend to and didn’t want to get entangled with this profiteer.
The price they had previously agreed on was three gold coins per person per day.
Now the delay was two more days, so for both of them, it would be twelve gold coins.
Xia Li didn’t lack this small amount of money.
He took the gold coins out of his pocket and tossed them out the window.
The old coachman’s eyes lit up, not minding whether the other party’s payment method was insulting or not. He directly knelt down and picked up the gold coins one by one from the ground, then stuffed them into his pocket.
“I understand your anger, guest, but rest assured, I will definitely take good care of you and safely deliver you to the Royal Capital…”
The old coachman changed to a humble attitude again, bowing and scraping as he spoke.
Xia Li waved his hand.
“I have things to do these two days and won’t be staying with the caravan. I won’t ask you for the price difference for food, drink, and lodging… But in return, if I haven’t returned before departure, you wait for me here. I’ll settle the price for the delay later.”
“Huh? Okay…”
The old coachman only heard half of what was said, but after hearing Xia Li say he would add money, he agreed without a second thought.
Based on his charging model, the longer Xia Li delayed, the more he would actually earn.
He could easily charge the remaining commoners in the other carriages by using the excuse that ‘the Royal Elite Knights wouldn’t let us pass’.
“Guest, where are you going… It’s dangerous to leave the caravan in this wilderness.” The old coachman asked with a concerned smile.
“We’re just going for a walk in the woods.”
Xia Li’s answer was perfunctory.
He jumped off the carriage and turned to carry Lucia down as well.
Lucia patted her long skirt and proactively put on her backpack.
Xia Li slung on his Demon Repelling Sword and his bag, took Lucia’s small hand with his other hand, and turned to emphasize to the coachman.
“Remember, wait for me before leaving.”
“Okay, no problem…”
The coachman nodded respectfully.
◈◈◈
Xia Li walked briskly ahead.
Lucia trotted behind him, the odds and ends in her backpack bouncing with her running rhythm, making a crisp clinking sound.
“Xia Li, Xia Li, we’re not taking the carriage anymore?”
“This road is on a cliff, with only one exit. The road is blocked now, the carriage can’t go forward.” Xia Li said without turning back.
Lucia thought for a moment and continued to ask, “Then are we going to walk? It’s still a long way from here to the Royal Capital of the human empire… Or, you can ride on my back!”
Xia Li slowed down to wait for the short-legged little dragon, turned around, smiled, and said.
“Not riding now, we’ll ride later.”
“Okay, okay,” Lucia pursed her lips and promised.
“I’ll definitely fly slower this time, I guarantee you won’t get dizzy…”
“It’s fine.”
Xia Li waited for the short-legged little dragon to catch up to his pace before continuing forward.
“Getting dizzy from riding a dragon is probably the same as getting carsick. I’ll get used to it after riding a few more times… And, there’s a saying, I don’t know if you’ve heard it, people who get carsick don’t get sick when they’re driving. Why don’t you let me drive the dragon, maybe I won’t get dizzy anymore.”
“Drive the dragon?”
Another new word.
It was the first time Lucia had given someone a ride, she really didn’t understand the reasoning behind this.
Looking up at her Dragon Knight, Lucia didn’t hesitate much and nodded in agreement.
“Okay, I’ll let you drive next time… If I let you manually adjust the direction, you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable, just like driving a car.”
As Lucia spoke, she touched her forehead.
Although there were no horns visible there, she still imagined it when Xia Li said he wanted to drive the dragon.
It was… quite embarrassing for a dragon.
The phrase ‘drive the dragon’ sounded very improper.
Was she being tricked by the stinky Brave Hero again?
“Are you also concerned about that young dragon?”
Xia Li asked.
His way of thinking was different from that of the love-struck dragon.
His mind was fully occupied with analyzing the situation at hand.
Xia Li had actually thought of many possibilities.
He searched his mind for keywords: young dragon, pureblood, silver dragon…
There weren’t many dragons that met these three conditions.
This young dragon not only matched in age and scale color, but even the area where it frequently appeared also matched the little dragon in Xia Li’s memory.
Although he had never seen it with his own eyes.
But, he had heard about it countless times from Lucia’s memories.
Not only had he heard about it, he had even personally written down her story.
“I am a little concerned.”
Lucia nodded slightly.
The Brave Hero really did care about other dragons.
Jealous!
But jealousy aside, Lucia still wanted to witness the pureblood young dragon that the humans were talking about.
And, according to that old coachman…
The pureblood young dragon was even the same color as her.
…What a coincidence!
If she could really meet a young dragon of the same color as herself, Lucia would definitely act like a big sister in front of the young dragon and personally teach her the ways of being a dragon!