Lu Cai ran very fast! He was not sure whether the dragon that just whined was talking to him but there were so many dragons coming from behind. If they thought he had hurt the silver dragon and were about to retaliate, Lu Cai would have no chance of survival. His instinct to avoid harm made him withdraw from the battlefield without hesitation. Lu Cai endured the pain in his body caused by the previous impact and quickly shuttled through the dense forest. He ran while looking back unable to help but wonder. Those magical creatures looked exactly like Western dragons. According to the Foundation's criteria their danger level should be A?
Or S?
Or... SSS?
No, didn't the Knights of the Round Table claim that Western dragons were completely extinct?
What the hell is this place?
Lu Cai hated things beyond his control but as it stands he stumbled here during a summoning, armed only with a useless old sword. There was nothing he could do but flee.
Who knew that as he took a step his heart would skip a beat.
Fuck!
A huge spring force lifted Lu Cai high into the air, catching him off guard and flipping him uncontrollably into a mesh barrier barely discernible to the naked eye!
"Hiss!!!"
An alien hissing sound accompanied by the vibrations of the mesh reached Lu Cai's ears.
The silk web was sticky, clinging to Lu Cai. He exerted all his strength to lift his head.
A giant, iridescent spider hung upside down above him, liquid dripping from its mouthparts along the web, threatening to spread to Lu Cai's arms.
Lu Cai's pupils suddenly constricted, and he growled hoarsely, "Leaving Fire!"
His hand seals trembled and flames shot out of his palms like a small phoenix!
The moment the giant spider saw the fire it retreated even faster than Lu Cai had just done. Lu Cai didn't pursue it. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and he controlled the Leaving Fire and turned to burn through the silk web.
Faster...faster...
He urged anxiously but the web was only half burned. Lu Cai had barely touched the ground when the Leaving Fire had already gone out.
The failed summoning array had nearly drained his spiritual energy and now he couldn't even burn the entire web.
He wanted to retreat immediately but half the web still clung to him dragging him down.
Data once showed that a web woven from pencil-thick spider silk could easily stop a Boeing 747.
And now, Lu Cai was entangled in this giant spider's web. He watched as the giant spider which had previously fled, returned with unwavering determination.
Lu Cai swallowed, his light brown pupils shrinking to a point.
The next second, the giant spider leaped towards him with astonishing resilience!
Lu Cai gritted his teeth, raised the worn sword in his right hand and at the cost of exhausting his energy, he covered it with a flimsy layer of reinforcement and thrust it hard into the spider's abdomen—
"Crack."
The old, worn sword, like freshly opened potato chips, broke easily and the broken end wasn't strong enough to even penetrate the spider's abdomen.
It was over.
In a flash, a strong gust of wind swept over. Lu Cai was unexpectedly calm, even closing his eyes.
To the comrades I didn't see in the end, I wish you will continue to bravely move forward in the darkness ahead... The will of humanity lives on.
But after waiting for a moment, instead of the expected excruciating pain, Lu Cai frowned and opened his eyes, then froze in shock.
Silver dragon wings obscured the dappled sunlight. The noble dragon extended a claw with seeming disdain, easily piercing the spider that was about to pounce on Lu Cai.
The giant spider so terrifying in Lu Cai's eyes, barely had the strength to struggle before its life was ended by the silver dragon's claws.
"As you can see, we noble dragons always stand above all living things."
"Whimsing."
Seeing the human finally open its eyes, Zeshia slowly lowered her claws even rubbing them against a nearby tree with disdain—disdain for the giant spider's sap staining her nails.
A beautiful and noble dragon couldn't have its flesh eroded, not even its nails.
But it seemed to Lu Cai that the dragon was fixated on him and it wouldn't stop.
He lowered his eyes, not intending to flee. Since the dragon had initially shown signs of communication and had seemingly saved his life, Lu Cai was willing to give it a try to see what it truly wanted.
Who knew, before he could even speak, that the silver dragon's golden pupils suddenly widened!
...like a small lantern.
Having seen so many bizarre and strange creatures, Lu Cai surprisingly found the dragon before him endearingly endearing, even though it possessed a certain cuteness that didn't quite match its majestic and noble appearance.
"Oh my goodness! Brave knight, your sword is broken!"
Lu Cai heard the dragon begin to whine again completely oblivious to the incomprehensible nonsense it was saying.
But it was clearly agitated, so Lu Cai didn't intend to further provoke it, silently taking a small step back.
Then Zeshia folded her wings and paced back and forth on her sturdy, slender hind legs. Her face covered in scales and bony protrusions, seemed troubled as she continued to whine:
"It's the first day we met! This isn't a good sign..."
Midway through her speech she caught a glimpse of the human's expression which seemed a little downcast, his eyes drooping, looking deeply saddened.
She fell silent then somewhat guiltily, whispered a soothing reassurance:
"It's nothing serious. A sword is merely a consumable piece of ore, unlike you and me, forged from flesh and blood by a resolute spirit. As long as our spirit lives on and our perseverance endures, these external losses are insignificant…"
It whimpered for a moment then noticed the human looking up at it. It puffed out its chest, refracting the sunlight across its body creating its most beautiful appearance—
I've been wanting to do this for a long time!
Ever since it knew a knight would descend from the sky to lead it away from Dragon Island it has found the most suitable poses for its appearance everywhere!
Lu Cai stared at him in surprise for a moment then realized that the dragon didn't seem hostile toward him and seemed to be trying to express something important.
It was just that its whimpering was incomprehensible.
Lu Cai hesitated, considering trying to communicate through gestures but as soon as he raised his hand a sudden sense of dizziness washed over him.
He stumbled twice, perhaps from the giant spider's sap...
The sunlight in his sight grew increasingly dazzling, reflecting an unreal light off its silver scales. The silver dragon's eyes widened and it visibly rushed towards him in panic.
He won't die, will he?
Lu Cai thought uncertainly before falling asleep.
*
It's true he won't die from just a bit of suffocation.
Lu Cai woke up dazed, nearly suffocating only to find himself engulfed in the silver dragon's embrace.
The enormous dragon's head rested on his shoulders. If he wasn't careful its sharp horns could pierce his head.
But the silver dragon held no murderous intent. Its eyes were closed and it slept even more soundly than he did.
Lu Cai: "..."
He shifted his gaze and found himself in a dry cave that looked like a dragon's lair. Outside, it was pitch black. Inside, there were piles of hay and some new shiny minerals.
The silver dragon held his broken sword amidst a pile of gems. To the uninitiated it might have mistaken it for some rare treasure.
The silver dragon's movements were a bit too abrupt and it seemed disturbed. Its long eyelashes fluttered, sweeping across Lu Cai's face. Lu Cai couldn't help but sneeze.
The silver dragon however, stood as still as a rock, showing no sign of waking.
Lu Cai: "...Hey."
Not awake.
This must be a pig.
As the two figures grew closer, Lu Cai's sense of danger gradually receded. He silently noted that Western dragons are prone to sleep.
He struggled to free his arm, pushed the dragon's head away, and tried to wriggle out of the silver dragon's embrace.
It didn't budge.
The scales on the silver dragon's back and sides were incredibly hard making it difficult to wriggle out. However, the scales against Lu Cai's belly were dense, warm and soft.
Lu Cai hesitated for a moment, then gently patted the silver dragon's cheek—a little prickly but the scales around its eyes were much better than those around its back and waist.
The silver dragon finally moved, a low humming rumbling from its chest that numbed Lu Cai slightly. Then its eyelids fluttered, revealing a pair of beautiful, vertical golden pupils.
"You're awake."
Whimsing...
Lu Cai paused, looking at the silver dragon in disbelief. He tentatively replied in his broken Latin, "Hello?"
The silver dragon still dormant and curled up, blinked at the words and nodded contentedly and tenderly at Lu Cai like a well-rested child. "Hello."
It really was Latin...
This dragon could speak Latin.
Before Lu Cai could grasp the point the silver dragon lifted its neck, stretching it as if contentedly asleep. Then it lowered its head and gently licked Lu Cai's cheek with its tongue:
"Welcome to my lair, my dragon rider."
Lu Cai stared, his eyes widening as if struck by lightning. His Latin was clammy...
No, this dragon's tongue wasn't good...
No!
Lu Cai finally escaped from the silver dragon's embrace trying to remain calm but unable to hide his trembling.
"Please, please take me... to the river, or the lake, anything will do..."
Zesia tilted her head in confusion feeling that her knight... seemed to have difficulty communicating.
It was a good thing that after encountering the human she had specifically asked Grandpa Ode for advice on how to communicate. Grandpa said that if it was a real knight he would definitely speak Latin. Zeesia wasn't sure whether the human before her could speak Latin or not.
But she glanced at the broken sword lying aside then at the human who had appeared here for the first time in hundreds of years and her heart was filled with an indescribable sense of abundance and warmth.
It had to be him.
She had been waiting and now he had arrived.
Although his speech was halting and there were many mistranslations it might just be a natural stutter...
Never mind, it's not picky. It's a noble dragon and we should treat all small creatures with tolerance—
Two-legged beasts, after all, have their flaws. For example, many dragon riders in legends are known to indulge in alcohol or to have indiscriminate mating with females. That's no big deal, eh.
All in all, he's his knight. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen!
Then Zeshia gracefully rose, her silver scales radiating a hazy, beautiful sheen in the cave shimmering with gemstones.
She walked over to Lu Cai and slowly lowered herself.
Lu Cai, nearly losing his mind due to the drool on his face, was momentarily unresponsive when he saw the silver dragon's movements even instinctively trying to retreat.
It wasn't until the silver dragon turned its head and nudged him that he realized it wanted him to ride.
Is this... a friendly custom among dragons?