"Lord Muria, these fruits were just picked from the orchard. Please enjoy them." Ten servants carried a massive fruit platter, large enough for a human to roll around on, and placed it in front of Muria. The platter was filled with various strange and exotic fruits, each one shimmering with a visible, radiant glow.
"Mmh!" Muria picked up a fruit that looked as if it were carved from amethyst and took a few bites before swallowing it. The surrounding servants couldn't help but show a hint of envy in their eyes. They were ordinary people with a bit of talent, but they knew the value of these fruits. Each one could change their lives, yet they didn't dare to touch even a single one.
These servants were well aware that these fruits were highly prized. Even the owner of Thorn Castle, Lord Bernard, a dragon knight who had been granted the title of marquis, was reluctant to enjoy them freely. He would only pick some to share with Lady Ake, the sea elf, on holidays or special occasions.
But now, these rare fruits were being offered to Lord Muria without hesitation. The servants couldn't imagine what kind of person Muria must be to warrant such favor from Bernard, who was destined to be a ruler.
The servants couldn't comprehend their master's actions, but neither Muria nor Bernard cared about their thoughts.
Muria sat at the dining table. Besides the enormous fruit platter, various delicacies made from powerful beasts were also being brought to him continuously.
"Hurry up and eat, hurry up and eat," Bernard, dressed in golden armor, was anxiously watching Muria eat from a secret chamber in Thorn Castle. His eyes were fixed on a particular fruit in the platter that emitted a faint, multicolored glow. Hidden among the other rare fruits, this one seemed rather ordinary.
It seemed as if Muria was deliberately toying with him. As Muria ate, this multicolored fruit kept rolling down, eventually settling at the bottom of the platter. The process left Bernard in the secret chamber with a deep sense of anxiety, almost driving him to rush down to the dining room and force-feed the fruit to Muria.
However, the dragon knight restrained himself. He watched expectantly as Muria finally picked up the multicolored fruit from the dwindling platter, seemingly unaware of its significance, and casually chewed and swallowed it.
...
"So this is the taste of the Forbidden Dragonheart Fruit, a sinful fruit nurtured by dragon blood?" Muria smacked his lips and savored the flavor after eating the multicolored fruit. He had recognized it the moment he saw it, as the memories of the golden dragons had records of this fruit. It was one of the strange plants the world produced in response to dragons.
However, this fruit was only effective on ordinary dragons. It had little effect on dragons with strong bloodlines and none on ancient dragons. To Muria, it was just a tasty snack.
"This fruit tastes pretty good. What's it called? Is there any more?" Muria asked the elderly butler serving him. According to the servants' gossip, this butler had been following Bernard since the dragon knight was still a nobody.
"Lord Muria, these fruits were collected by my young master from various places in the wild. Many of them don't even have names yet, so this one is probably among those unnamed fruits. If you like it, I'll instruct the servants to bring you more from the orchard later." The old butler responded with a smile, acting as if he knew nothing.
Muria made no comment on the butler's reply and continued enjoying his meal. Little did he know, his calm demeanor had a profound impact on Bernard, who was watching from the secret chamber.
"I was hesitant to deal with you before," Muria's expression remained indifferent as he savored the food, "but now you've handed me the leverage to crush you. Don't blame me for being ruthless later."
"He's eaten it, but why isn't there any reaction?" Bernard stared intently at the screen in front of him, which clearly displayed everything happening in the dining room. Muria's expression was as normal as ever, with no signs of dizziness.
Bernard almost thought it was an illusion, but he could have sworn that Muria had glanced in his direction for a brief moment. However, when he looked again, there was nothing unusual.
As time passed slowly, Bernard grew increasingly anxious. But despite his desperation, Muria did not collapse as he had hoped. In his frustration, and unwilling to accept failure after such an investment, Bernard decided to take a risk. He had three more Forbidden Dragonheart Fruits brought to Muria.
Under Bernard's watchful gaze, Muria casually ate all three of the priceless fruits, chewing each one thoroughly before swallowing. And yet, there was no reaction whatsoever.
This finally crushed Bernard's hopes, and he completely abandoned any thoughts of confronting Muria. At this point, he truly understood what it meant to face an ancient dragon—something beyond his reach.
The fruits that could easily incapacitate a dragon were nothing more than a change of flavor for an ancient dragon like Muria. This reality instilled a deep sense of respect in Bernard, who now treated Muria as an honored guest to be worshiped.
As time flowed like water, the giant legion's advance brought them closer to the Thorn Territory, all because of Muria's presence. And the harbinger of the giant legion's arrival—the beast tide—also reached the Thorn Territory.
Beasts, driven by instinct, flee from creatures they cannot oppose. Under the onslaught of the giant legion, the fierce beasts that once inhabited the Dragon Peninsula began to flee in all directions.
So, as the giant legion approached the Thorn Territory, wave after wave of beast tides assaulted the land, and this was just the beginning.
"Lord Muria, the beast tide is attacking my territory. I humbly request your assistance in defending it." Due to the vast defensive lines of the Thorn Territory, even though Bernard had the strength to resist the beast tide, he was stretched too thin. Thus, he turned to Muria, whom he had been treating as an honored guest.
Bernard hoped that this powerful ancient dragon would help his territory survive this disaster, thus making all his previous investments worthwhile.
"Sure." Muria readily agreed to the dragon knight's request. Muria already considered the Thorn Territory his own and would not allow a beast tide to ravage this well-developed land.
"However, there's no need for me to act personally." After a moment of thought, Muria took out a crystal-clear dragon scale, about the size of a washbasin. He inscribed a few runes on the scale in midair and then handed it to the expectant Bernard.
"Carry this dragon scale and patrol your territory's borders. The beasts will naturally avoid the Thorn Territory."
"What is this?" Bernard asked, puzzled as he looked at the crystal-clear scale. If it were golden, he would have assumed it came from Muria himself, but this one was green.
"This is an ancient dragon scale, you fool. And it's from a green dragon, too. Damn it, I knew this guy was a monster." An anxious voice filled with fear echoed in Bernard's mind, coming from his contracted red dragon, with whom he shared a telepathic bond.
"Thank you, Lord Muria." Despite knowing that this was an ancient dragon scale, Bernard still harbored doubts. If an ancient dragon personally patrolled his territory's borders, he would have no trouble believing that no beast tide would dare to invade. But a mere scale? What could that accomplish?
With a mixture of skepticism and hope, Bernard took the ancient dragon scale and, riding his red dragon, patrolled the borders of his territory. Then, something remarkable happened. Wherever they passed, any panicked beasts that tried to enter the territory would flee in terror, unwilling to set foot in the Thorn Territory.
Facts spoke louder than words. Regardless of Bernard's thoughts, the truth was that his territory was no longer in danger of being overrun by the beast tide. With his territory safe, Bernard began to ponder other matters.
What had caused this beast tide? What had driven these beasts from their original homes and sent them fleeing towards his territory? What was chasing them?
Driven by intense curiosity and a sense of unease, Bernard left his territory, riding his red dragon into the heart of the beast tide. There, he captured a golden sword lion, a giant feline beast with intelligence rivaling that of humans, and began to question it.
"What are you so afraid of?" The dragon knight, high above on his red dragon, asked the golden sword lion, which was cowering on the ground like a small kitten.
"The giants are coming." The golden sword lion, having grown up on the Dragon Peninsula, had never encountered humans, but it had seen the terrifying red dragon. Thus, it held great reverence for the creature that could ride a dragon.
"What giants?" Bernard's heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly asked.
"Giants as tall as mountains, with skin as white as the clouds in the sky. They drive packs of wolves and lead massive griffins, marching in a line and capturing us." The golden sword lion responded with a trembling voice, "No one can stop them, not even dragons. I saw with my own eyes how they captured a dragon in their siege. I advise you to flee while you still can!"
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