Linley couldn’t help but feel helpless. How was it that Hadley’s nonsense roped him into this conversation as well?
“That magical beast is known as a ‘Velocidragon’, and is a magical beast of the seventh rank. It is incredibly powerful. Its entire body is covered in extremely hard scales, impenetrable to normal weapons. It is also armed with a sturdy, whip-like tail and with sharp claws. Those tough road stones and floor foundation stones were ripped apart like paper by its tail and claws. It was even able to breathe fire from its mouth, fire so hot that even the stones cracked apart,” Linley said truthfully.
All of the children listened quietly to Linley.
“Actually, all of you knew how powerful the Velocidragon was from the moment you saw it. No need for me to elaborate,” Linley said with a smile.
All of the older children nodded.
As soon as they had seen the Velocidragon the previous day, they had been scared stiff. Its huge body had seemed as massive as a mountain cliff, and those huge red scales on its body left nothing to the imagination with regards to how tough they must be.
“You hear that? I told you, that Velocidragon creature is really powerful!” Hadley began shouting loudly.
That youth named Faura glanced at him, and was about to say something.
“Uncle Hillman is coming.” Linley saw Hillman, Lorry, and Roger walking towards them from afar, and immediately spoke up. Immediately, all of the children calmed down and lined up in three groups in a very orderly fashion.
The empty training field immediately settled down. Only the footsteps of Hillman and the other two could be heard.
Hillman and the other two walked to the front of the three groups, facing the children. Hillman smiled and directly addressed what was on everyone’s mind. “Everyone should know about what happened yesterday, right?”
“We do.” Hearing Hillman’s words and seeing how relaxed Hillman was, all of the children immediately replied vigorously.
“Great.” Hillman’s facial expression suddenly turned serious. “That huge creature is known as a Velocidragon. The magus on top of the Velocidragon is incredibly powerful. But everyone should know one thing!”
Hillman’s gaze immediately sharpened as it swept across the face of each child. “Even that mysterious magus gained his power one step at a time, starting from the bottom ranks. In order to subdue that powerful Velocidragon, he had to spend many years of toil and hard work! If you guys want to subdue a Velocidragon of your own, to be as powerful as that mysterious magus, then all of you have to work hard without fail!”
“Every single person has the potential to become mighty. The only question is, are you willing to work hard enough at it?”
Uncle Hillman’s words were as clear and as hard as nails. His gaze was fierce and cold.
Immediately, all the children quieted down, but all of them still had their own imaginations running wild, and their gazes shone with their different thoughts.
“Now, time to do our morning exercises. Same as always – face the sun, and begin the ‘qi-absorbing exercise’.” Hillman crisply began the day’s program, and immediately the three groups of children began to practice the ‘qi-absorbing stance’.
Based on each squad’s ability, Hillman assigned them different exercises. Under the guidance of the three adults, each child studiously completed each exercise. Today, the training atmosphere was totally different. Almost none of the children complained of being tired.
Every single one of them had some fire in their bellies today, and they trained hard!
“…fifty…fifty-one…” Linley counted mentally as he laid horizontally on the ground, supporting himself with just the fingertips of one hand and the tips of his toes. His entire body was tense. He was in the middle of training through five-finger pushups.
This exercise could not only train his palm strength, it could also improve his finger strength and his elbow strength. This method was simple and effective.
If someone wanted to be a mighty warrior, normally they would have to practice cultivating battle-qi. The ability to cultivate battle-qi, in turn, was determined by how strong and sturdy one’s body was, as a stronger body would be able to enjoy a more powerful battle-qi.
“Since my body has dragonblood in its veins and is unable to practice battle-qi, my only option is to far outstrip everyone else in bodily strength.” Linley’s eyes were firm, and his fingers jutted into the ground, as tough and unyielding as old roots. He did one pushup after another, amazing many of the already-exhausted youths around him.
“98, 99…”
Linley continued to persevere.
“Morning exercises are over,” Hillman said in a loud voice, facing the children.
After saying these words, Hillman took a deep breath as he thought to himself, “What story should I tell them today?” Every day, when morning exercises were completed, Hillman would tell the children stories. This had turned into a routine.
“Uncle Hillman, we—”
A child’s voice rang out.
But just at that moment, halfway through the child’s words, Hillman, who had been looking slightly downwards as he collected his thoughts, suddenly felt a strange feeling. He lifted his head up. Right now, all three groups of children were all staring east, eyes wide and jaws dropped. Roger and Lorry had also turned to stare east, and their gazes were also filled with awe.
“Eh?” Surprised, Hillman couldn’t help but turn around and stare to the east as well.
In the east, not too far away, perhaps two or three hundred meters in the air, an enormous, ebony-colored dragon lay coiled in the sky, its body at least a hundred meters long. The enormous black dragon’s giant eyes were the size of cartwheels. Its sparkling black scales were huge enough to fill any man’s heart with dread. Its hundred-meter long wings were gently flapping, but each movement contained incredible power.
Magical beast – Black Dragon!
Black Dragons were ranked amongst the most powerful magical beasts in the world. The Black Dragon race were generally at least magical beasts of the ninth rank. Powerful members of this race could even reach the stage of being Saint-level combatants. But regardless of whether a Black Dragon was of the ninth rank or Saint level, it would indubitably be incomparably more powerful than the Velocidragon.
At present, the group of children and the three instructors were about several hundred meters away from the Black Dragon. To see a hundred-meter long Black Dragon from such a close distance is an awe-inspiring experience which simply can’t be explained with words.
The most terrifying thing of all?
On top of the head of the Black Dragon, a gray-robed man stood, arrogant in demeanor. The wind howled about him, but although the man’s gray robes fluttered a bit, he himself maintained a ramrod straight posture, as though he were a carved sculpture. His gaze was focused on a middle-aged, green-robed man who hovered in the middle of the air in front of him. The green-robed man wore a sword behind his back.
The gray-robed man mounted on the Black Dragon and the sword-bearing green-robed man were staring at each other.
Hovering in the sky!
Aside from wind-type magi who were able to use the seventh-ranked spell, ‘Soaring Technique’, only Saint-level combatants were able to stand and hover in the sky. The sword this green-robed middle-aged man bore on his back gave testament to his true status.
Warrior. A Saint-level warrior.
“A man in gray who was able to subdue a Black Dragon? And a Saint-level combatant who can fly?” The eight-year-old Linley was totally stunned, even after having witnessed the previous day’s amazing battle. Not only him; even Hillman, a warrior of the sixth rank, was totally flabbergasted.
“Saint-level combatants. Actual Saint-level combatants.” Hillman was mumbling, his entire body trembling.
Hillman, being a man who had been tested in trials of blood and death, was the first to recover and clear his mind. But even after recovering, Hillman still felt as though he were in
a dream. “Yesterday, a dual-element magus of the eighth rank came. Today, something even more amazing; two Saint-level combatants, and a Black Dragon! In my entire life, I’ve never seen anything so amazing.”
Hillman felt slightly dizzy.
Black Dragons were amongst the most powerful of magical beasts, at least ninth-rank in power. Someone who was able to subdue one was almost certainly a Saint-level combatant. And from the looks of it, the person facing off against him was also a Saint-level combatant.
This was ample proof that the gray-robed man was a Saint-level combatant as well.
Hillman and the others were hundreds of meters away from the Black Dragon. No matter how sharp their ears were, there was no way for them to hear the words being exchanged by the two parties.
Not knowing what was being said, they just watched, until suddenly…
“Roaaaaaaaaaaar.”
Suddenly, the enormous Black Dragon let out a furious roar as its two huge wings began to flap vigorously. It emanated a terrifying pressure, causing everyone, Hillman included, to feel their legs grow soft and to feel as though they couldn’t breathe.
“Is this dragonsfear?” Linley also felt as though his heart was being squeezed by a huge stone, making it impossible for him to breathe. Nonetheless, Linley felt extremely excited, and his blood was beginning to boil.
The Black Dragon was simply too powerful.
“Rudi! Don’t go overboard!” That green-robed man suddenly let out a powerful shout. The explosive sound of his words reverberated in the air as though it was thunder. Not only did Hillman hear these words clearly; every single person in the town of Wushan heard the words clearly.
Hillman paused. He mumbled the words, “Rudi? Rudi?”
But Hillman quickly realized what was going on. Rapidly turning around, he shouted fiercely at all the children, “Everyone, go home right now! Go home and hide! NOW!” Hillman’s loud roar and his urgent expression stunned every child present.
Hillman’s thought processes were very clear.
These two Saint-level combatants were obviously engaged in some sort of dispute. Apparently, they were about to come to blows.
When Saint-level combatants were about to engage in a fight, the children standing there watching the fight would not be able to protect themselves at all. The slightest side reverberations could kill all the children present. Saint-level combatants were reputed to have the power to shatter the heavens and obliterate the earth.
Even if that reputation was slightly exaggerated, they definitely did have the power to obliterate a city or a tall mountain.
“Quick, let’s move. Don’t stand there in a daze, move!” Hillman shouted loudly while shoving some children away.
Only now did the rest of the children awaken from their stupor. Although they didn’t understand why Hillman was pushing them to go back to their homes and wanted to continue watching the Saint-level combatants, Hillman’s awe-inspiring presence was still enough to send all of the children running speedily for their homes.
“Lorry, Roger, quick, take the six- and seven-year-olds back home. Quickly! If Saint-level combatants clash, when the side-effects of their struggle reach us, the aftermath will be…”
Hillman’s face was filled with urgency.
“Understood, Captain!” Lorry and Roger totally understood what their captain was thinking.
Lorry and Roger immediately turned around and lifted the children who were slow runners. They carried two in each arm and two on their backs as well. Hillman joined them as well, quickly beginning to pick up child after child.
“Linley, go home, quick!” Hillman, still carrying several children, shouted towards Linley, who was also running.
“I know, Uncle Hillman!” Linley replied loudly.
Although Linley was only eight years old, his running speed was on par with a fourteen-year-old’s. While running, Linley would often turn back to stare at the sky. That huge coiled Black Dragon and those two Saint-level combatants had fully captured his attention.
Twelve warriors came flying out of the Baruch clan manor. As soon as they saw Hillman, they shouted at him. “Captain, Lord Hogg ordered us to come assist you!”
“Quick, take these children home!” Hillman immediately ordered.
“Yes, Captain!” The warriors hastily replied, and quickly began sending the six- and seven-year-olds to their homes.
“All of you, go home! Go home and hide! Protect yourselves!” Hillman shouted again in a loud voice.
Hillman possessed a great deal of authority in the town of Wushan. Upon hearing his words, many of the villagers who had been terrified at the sight of a Black Dragon knew immediately what to do. Right now, the entire town of Wushan had turned into a frenzy of activity. All of the children and all of the workers fled to their homes. At this point in time, the only thing which could protect them was the sturdy stone of their houses.
Linley directly charged into his own residence.
“Quick, hide in the cellar beneath the storage room.” Hogg was standing in the middle of the courtyard. Upon seeing Linley, he immediately ordered him in. The cellar beneath the storage room was the largest, sturdiest cellar within the Baruch clan manor. Anyone hiding there definitely would be able to survive.
“Yes, father!” Linley nodded repeatedly, and immediately ran in the direction of the storage room.
While running as fast as he could, Linley’s mind returned to the Black Dragon, its gray-robed rider, and the green-robed man. He couldn’t help but turn once again and look back at the eastern sky. Since all the buildings in the small town were fairly low in height, he could see clearly for hundreds of meters.
Right now, the Black Dragon was growling nonstop in a low voice.
“Dillon, if you are going to be so stubborn about this, then don’t blame me for my actions.” A cold voice emanated from the sky. Immediately afterwards, the Black Dragon began to let out a series of angry roars and belched smoky black fire from its mouth.
“Rudi, today I’m going to see exactly how powerful of a Saint-level magus you are!” the green-robed man shouted angrily.
9
Catastrophe
Clearly, the swordsman wearing green was named Dillon, while the gray-robed man was named Rudi.
The Black Dragon beneath the gray-robed man breathed out a huge plume of black flame, surrounding the green-robed man and swirling like smoke. Suddenly, the green-robed swordsman’s eyes shone with a fierce green light, and then his entire body was surrounded by a protective green aura, preventing the flames from injuring him in the slightest. At the same time, the ringing sound of a sword could be heard.
That ringing sound was even louder and more pure than the dragon’s roar, encompassing the heavens and the earth.
The green-robed man struck out with his longsword, and suddenly, a huge, indistinct sword tip spanning tens of meters in length appeared and slashed outwards into the air, fiercely attacking the gray-robed man. The gray-robed man stared coldly at that sword of light. Not moving in the slightest, he just constantly mumbled magical incantations.
“Is this the tip of a sword? The tip of an enormous sword?” While running to the warehouse, Linley was still watching with his head turned. “How is that gray-robed man going to block? Using the Black Dragon?”
“Crash!”
The Black Dragon didn’t block at all, and allowed the enormous sword-tip to come crashing down directly on the body of the gray-robed man. The man’s gray robes immediately exploded in all directions, but after having done so, a suit of shining protective battle armor was revealed underneath it. The battle armor was so shiny it was piercing to the eye, as though it were made of diamonds.
The sword-tip's collision with the battle-armor had actually done no harm at all to the gray-robed man.
“How is that possible?!” Linley was truly scared silly.
Since he wasn’t watching where he was running, Linley suddenly stumbled on a stone and went crashing to the floor
. But even on the floor, Linley was still continuing to watch that battle in the eastern sky. “What sort of armor is that? How could its defensive abilities be so strong?”
“Linley, hurry! Stop daydreaming!” Seeing Linley, Hogg couldn’t help but let out a furious roar.
“Yes, father!” Linley was startled awake. He immediately clambered to his feet and began running in the direction of the warehouse again.
“Rumble, rumble…” Suddenly, a terrifying sound could be heard from the heavens, followed by a terrifying screech which shook the entire town of Wushan. Linley couldn’t help but once again turn his head towards the eastern sky to take a look. That single glance stunned him once again.
The eastern sky had suddenly become densely filled with giant flying boulders, every single one of them the size of a house.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
All of those house-sized boulders were covered with flashing light the color of yellow dirt. They flew through the air at astonishing speeds as they struck like meteors towards the green-robed man. Every single stone had to be tens of millions of pounds in weight. Each one of the boulders was many times heavier and larger than the stones used by catapults in times of war.
Even the walls of a city would not be able to resist such a powerful boulder.
A single giant boulder carried such powerful force, but now, the entire sky was filled with them, as countless boulders were arcing towards the green-robed man. Every single person in the town of Wushan was stunned by the sight.
“Crash!”
As the first boulder struck the green-robed man, the amount of green light covering his body suddenly increased dramatically, transforming him into a green sun, emanating piercing rays of green light in all directions.
Countless boulders converged on the green-robed man, like drops of water in a rainstorm.
In the blink of an eye, it seemed as though he had become completely surrounded by boulders. The green light could now only be seen through tiny ‘cracks’ in that wall of boulders.
Coiling Dragon_Book 1 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 9
