Chapter 3

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 3: The Deceptive Combat Techniques

Perhaps sensing the dangerous aura of the golden giant dragon, Gold Coin, the fire dragon instinctively took a few steps back and nervously fixed its gaze on the opponent. One of its wings partially shielded its knight, Akka, in case Gold Coin suddenly attacked and harmed him. The rebellious spirit of the golden giant dragon is notorious among the dragon kin, making it one of the most dangerous dragon knight contract dragons.

Seeing the fire dragon’s actions, Gold Coin merely snorted and curled up, pretending to be asleep, too lazy to pay attention to the weakling.

Misael, the young fire dragon under a thousand years old, was still in its growing stage. It was hard to imagine that a creature with a naturally flamboyant nature, covered in ever-burning flames and sulfurous smoke, would sneak around like a thief. It was truly sad that this poor dragon had been led astray by Akka, trying to imitate the stealth techniques of shadow dragons, only to end up wasting its efforts.

Perhaps Akka was scolded terribly by Brother Geldael lately. The fire dragon knight spent his days thinking about how to compensate for the weaknesses of being constantly countered, and Morin could easily guess where Akka’s unusual behavior stemmed from.

“Morin, of course, you’re not afraid! The golden giant dragon isn’t fast, but its physical attack and defense are very high. Only black dragons can compete with it. These past few days, Brother Geldael has been training me hard, always saying that Misael and I attack too much and defend too little, making our power unbalanced and easy to exploit by opponents. So, I want to learn Geldael’s secret fighting techniques, which he uses to show respect to opponents. That’s the best way to disable them!” Akka, still radiating his "Nine Turn Sunfire Battle Energy,” removed his helmet, revealing his brown hair and youthful, handsome face—definitely a sunshiny lad that made girls scream. Yet his expression of bitter frustration was quite comical.

Dragon knights cultivate abilities that generally align with their mounts’ attributes to unleash their full powers seamlessly. However, there are rare cases where a dragon knight and giant dragon can form a pact despite differing attributes. A few lucky ones can create beneficial synergetic effects, such as wind and fire combinations or water and lightning combinations, which are incredibly powerful—not just a simple case of one plus one being greater than two. Still, this requires a high level of control over both attributes and mutual understanding.

Only when one’s skills reach a high level can they use their abilities appropriately in the right place at the right time to maximize effectiveness. Unless one has immense wisdom, overcoming the restrictions of incompatible attributes is like turning decay into magic.

Some giant dragons, for reasons unknown, don’t care about attribute compatibility and still desire to become human knights’ partners. In the thousands of years since, such cases have been extremely rare, with only a handful existing. Therefore, soul resonance becomes the foundation for becoming a dragon knight. Even then, it does not guarantee that one can truly become a dragon knight. Many “dragon knights” have been abandoned by their giant dragons, unable to control their mounts, ultimately forced to give up their dragon flutes.

Few people can handle such huge ups and downs. Many talented individuals who held the hopes of the masses become disheartened and fade into obscurity, lost to the annals of history.

It is evident that facing so many risks and uncertainties, being a true dragon knight is both glorious and respected.

Akka and his giant dragon partner, Misael, share the same attribute. Akka’s "Nine Turn Sunfire” battle energy complements that of the fire dragon, and the power of the dragon knight’s training is indeed progressing at an extraordinary rate, as rumors suggest.

On the other hand, Morin and the golden giant dragon Gold Coin form a rare light and gold combination. Morin’s mentor, dragon knight O’Hagan, was particularly astonished that Morin and Gold Coin could resonate under the dragon deity’s contract and form a knightly bond. In this world, besides the elemental energies of gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, light, and dark, there are also rare energy attributes like ice, poison, space, time, and blood. While light and gold are neither enhancing nor suppressing nor matching, they present a unique case in history. The number of dragon knights has always been small, especially those with differing attribute combinations, leaving little reference material. Most of these knights only find their unique power by feel, learning to navigate on their own, which Morin must uncover.

“Don’t think that way, Akka! You’re a fire dragon knight, not a shadow dragon knight. Even if other elemental dragons try to imitate, they could never master Geldael’s unique skills! Brother Geldael’s shadow dragon naturally excels at stealth. There’s no one who can rival its ambush skills! That’s just for surprise attacks. But if you confront an opponent directly, you and Misael have a strong advantage! The strength of a dragon knight needs the combined wisdom of both the knight and the giant dragon; it cannot simply run wild with power. You and Misael should think hard about this. I believe the fire element should focus on attacking, attacking, and more attacking. The best defense is a good offense. If you keep hitting your opponent so they can’t retaliate, do you really need defensive strategies?” Morin kindly reminded Akka not to continue with such foolishness. To be honest, a fire dragon sneaking around like a thief was more like a comical clown, utterly humiliating for dragons. Morin could even imagine Akka losing his glory as a dragon knight for corrupting Misael.

Gold Coin, the golden giant dragon, kept its eye covered with one claw, feeling pity for Misael for having Akka as its knight. If only it could secretly eliminate Akka and liberate this poor little fire dragon!

The golden giant dragon Gold Coin sharpened its white fangs, contemplating whether to add a human treat to its diet.

Every dragon knight is a solitary being possessing supreme power, always keeping their abilities shrouded in secrecy. The more secrets one hides, the more they can turn those secrets into crucial trump cards in life-or-death situations. A dragon knight’s unique skills are often unknown even to their life partners, despite living together for ages—usually, colleagues in the same field avoid letting others know their secret techniques, wishing for others to remain vastly inferior.

If it weren’t for Akka being Morin’s friend from training camp and belonging to a noble family, sharing the luck of becoming a dragon knight, Morin wouldn’t have been interested in offering guidance.

The power and attributes of giant dragons come as a blessing from the gods, with no inherent hierarchy. The distinction of strength lies solely in how one wields it. Even with contrasting elements like water and fire, if one’s control reaches an awe-inspiring peak, they can achieve miraculous synergy.

“Morin, you’ve given me some insight. The old folks back in our clan only sleep and know nothing about educating the younger generation. They just say dragons don’t need to learn; their long lives will teach them everything they need to know.” The fire dragon Misael, who had remained silent, smiled gratefully at Morin. However, its sharp white teeth were anything but cute. It resembled a creature ready to devour someone. Turning its head towards Akka, Misael rolled its eyes exaggeratedly: “Akka, you’re such a brainless guy!”

Gold Coin, the golden giant dragon, was filled with sympathy for Misael. When knights choose giant dragons, don’t dragons also choose their knights?

Dragon knights are not just companions of giant dragons; they also guide their wisdom. Humans take only a few years to grow from childhood to adulthood, while giant dragons take at least a thousand years to mature. For the dragon kin, their long lives can foster a sense of aimlessness.

The knowledge and innate skills passed down through bloodlines are generally sufficient to ensure that dragons can survive and protect themselves. The dragon kin adopts a permissive approach, allowing each dragon to slowly learn and master everything, so they won’t feel lonely in their long lives.

“Misael, don’t say that about me! At least cut me some slack!” Akka said, visibly upset. Being ridiculed by his giant dragon partner in front of others was embarrassing, and even in front of his close friend Morin, he felt like a monkey, frantically waving his arms to defend himself, “I’m only doing this for both our sakes! Hehe, think about it; if Brother Geldael sees us suddenly using his shadow dragon techniques, wouldn’t that be awesome? So cool!”

“Ugh… what a foolish guy! Doesn’t he understand that opposing elements conflict with one another? Otherwise, the dragon kin wouldn’t have evolved into more than one or even an entire elemental type. Even dragons with dual attributes are exceedingly rare, appearing only once in a million years. Would such abnormal dragons even consider becoming mounts for little knights? They simply wouldn’t fit the range of contracted dragons!” Seeing Akka’s exaggerated gestures, the golden giant dragon Gold Coin buried its enormous head deeply in a pile of rocks with a loud thud, obviously shocked, as the hard rocks barely crumbled under the metallic dragon’s weight. Following that, Gold Coin sprang back up, extending sharp metallic sword-like blades from its wing, pointing them at Akka. Turning to Misael, it said, “Little fire dragon, do you want me to take out this ignorant knight with no common sense? Being with him is nothing short of humiliating for our dragon kin!”