Chapter 92. William the Dragon Rider, A Few Years Later
It paused, then added, “If the other party refuses to behave, inject Mana into the scale. So long as you can hold on for three seconds, I will sense it myself. When that happens, I will tear open space and come to find you.”
William accepted the dragon scale with utmost solemnity. It felt warm in his hand, faintly pulsing as though it were alive. He quickly bowed and offered his thanks.
“Many thanks for the Grand Elder’s gift.”
“There is no need to be polite.”
The Grand Elder waved a claw, then turned toward Darwin, who was barely able to contain his excitement.
“Darwin, sign an Equal Contract with him. From now on, you will follow him and temper yourself in the outside world.”
“Really?”
Darwin jerked his head up, his enormous draconic eyes overflowing with wild joy. Then he bounced twice in place, his tail sweeping across the ground so energetically that the gold coins clattered noisily everywhere.
“That is wonderful! I can finally go out and roam the world, la la la...”
That jubilant display, so utterly at odds with his massive body, made the surrounding dragons turn their heads away one after another. Even the ghostly fire in the Grand Elder’s eyes seemed to flicker twice with faint helplessness.
Daenerys stepped forward and said to William, “An Equal Contract places no restraint on either side. It merely forges a bond. Darwin may still be a young dragon, but he already possesses Legendary Combat Power. With him by your side, ordinary troubles will not be able to get near you.”
Darwin had already rushed over impatiently and huffed a breath at William.
“Quick, quick, sign the contract. I cannot wait any longer to see what the human kingdom is like.”
Looking at the silver-gray giant dragon before him, who had been full of hostility toward him only moments ago and was now hopping about like a child, William could not help smiling inwardly.
Following Daenerys’s guidance, he completed the Equal Contract with Darwin.
A pale golden pattern of light appeared simultaneously on William’s wrist and on Darwin’s dragon horn, then vanished in a flash.
Once the Grand Elder saw that the contract had been formed, it waved a claw. “Daenerys, take them out.”
“Yes, Grand Elder.”
Daenerys left the palace with William and Darwin, who was still spinning in circles with excitement, and departed Dragon Island.
On the way back, the Red Copper Dragon under Daenerys’s control swept low across the sea below. Seeing Darwin chattering excitedly to William about something, it let out a scornful snort and spat a mouthful of dragon breath at the ocean, sending water exploding high into the air.
Darwin’s heart was so full of anticipation for the outside world that he could not be bothered to argue with it. He merely snorted once and sped up.
Passing through the clouds, the outline of the Kroll Kingdom gradually came into view.
When the two humans and two dragons arrived above the Royal Capital, the unfamiliar draconic might once again alarmed the royal palace.
This time, it was not only the Palace Knights who looked up in alarm. Several auras belonging to Legendary Combatants shot into the sky at once. A few heavily armored knights and Archmages hovered in midair, their eyes fixed warily on the heavens.
Yet when they saw William standing firmly atop the back of a silver-gray giant dragon, all of them froze in surprise.
However, the Royal Family Legendary Combatant responsible for the palace’s security was delighted instead.
The aura of that silver-gray giant dragon had clearly reached the level of Legendary Combat Power, and yet the Fourth Prince was riding it. That meant he had obviously formed a contract with it. Extraordinary—truly extraordinary.
The Legendary Combatants exchanged glances and instantly understood.
To have a Legendary giant dragon follow him, and to be personally escorted back by a Dragon Mother, the Fourth Prince must have gone to the legendary Dragon Island.
Their hearts shook. He had gone there and returned a Legendary Dragon Rider just like that? Since when was it that easy?
Darwin, meanwhile, seemed especially excited. He circled once above the royal palace, and the wind stirred up by his enormous wings made the palace lanterns below sway without end. Several of the legendary knights frowned to themselves, but for the sake of the Royal Family’s dignity, none of them dared say anything.
“All right, go down,” William said, patting Darwin on the neck.
The silver-gray giant dragon let out a soft cry and slowly descended onto the plaza in front of William’s palace.
William leaped down from the dragon’s back and looked at Daenerys.
“My thanks to Lady Daenerys for this journey.”
Daenerys smiled faintly. “Little William, I should be the one thanking you. Ah, and remember what I told you. If you encounter difficulty, use the Reverse Scale to contact me.”
With that, she rode her own giant dragon into the sky and quickly disappeared beyond the horizon.
Darwin, meanwhile, curiously sized up the surrounding palaces and said to William in the dragon tongue, “So this is where you live? It is far flashier than the caves on Dragon Island, though it is a bit small.”
William smiled helplessly, already knowing that this young giant dragon was likely going to cause no small amount of trouble in the Royal Capital.
Kroll II’s figure soon appeared at the far end of the plaza. His steps were steady, but there was no hiding the trace of delight on his face.
Pand had already reported the news on the way over, saying that the Fourth Prince had brought back a Legendary giant dragon.
But as soon as Kroll II drew near, he saw the silver-gray giant dragon scraping at the flying eaves of a nearby side hall with its claws, scattering roof tiles all over the ground. From the look of it, it was actually trying to tear the hall down and turn it into a nest.
William was just about to step forward and stop it when Kroll II pressed down on his shoulder.
“Do not stop it.”
He walked forward and looked up at Darwin’s enormous body. Not only was he not angry, he actually burst into hearty laughter.
“It is only a palace. If it wants to tear it down, let it tear it down. I will have someone build you an even more spacious nest instead, with obsidian and gold coins laid across the floor. What do you think?”
Darwin stopped what it was doing and tilted its head as it sized up the human king. Seeing that his tone was sincere, a trace of surprise flashed through its draconic eyes, only to be replaced at once by excitement. It let out a howl in agreement.
William was somewhat stunned, but Kroll II turned to look at him.
“The value of a Legendary giant dragon far exceeds ten palaces.”
“From now on, Darwin’s food will be fully supplied by the Royal Family treasury. Three fresh meals a day of Magical Beast meat and magic crystals. He will not be slighted in the least.”
William nodded and agreed, then followed Kroll II into the palace. After dismissing everyone else, Kroll II looked at him, his eyes carrying a measure of satisfaction.
“On this trip to Dragon Island, you won the favor of the dragon race and even brought a Legendary giant dragon back with you. It seems your gains far exceeded expectations.”
He paused, and his tone grew heavier.
“With Darwin out in the open to keep watch, those people will have to think very carefully before trying to make a move again.”
“Oh, and as for the people on the Royal Clan’s side, I have already made arrangements. Within half a year, they will all ‘die of illness.’”
William replied, “I leave everything to Father King’s arrangements.”
Kroll II patted him on the shoulder, said nothing more, and turned to leave the palace.
Over the next few years, the Royal Capital appeared calm on the surface, but the struggle in the shadows never ceased.
The first changes came from the borders.
The three great Dukes suddenly submitted a joint memorial, claiming that the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom in the west had been moving its Legions frequently and might be planning something unusual. They requested that the Royal Fifth, Royal Seventh, and Royal Eighth Legions stationed near the Royal Capital be transferred to the western border for defense.
After pondering the matter for several days, Kroll II agreed.
But immediately afterward, when the Dukes proposed once more that William’s Ninth Legion be transferred to the Goblin Secret Realm in the west to suppress the goblins, who had fallen into a strange and inexplicable riot, Kroll II rejected the idea with rare firmness.
He would rather dispatch the Royal Second Monster Legion instead.
The three Dukes argued with the king for half a month and even tried to pressure him with the “safety of the border,” yet Kroll II never relented. In the end, the matter came to nothing.
Anyone with eyes could see that the king was deliberately preserving the Ninth Legion, and preserving William as well.
Not long afterward, news spread from the Royal Family: the First Prince had formally married the Twenty-Third Princess of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom.
The wedding was held on an extraordinarily grand scale. The Silver Oakleaf Kingdom even sent a prince as part of the bridal delegation, and the two kingdoms signed a whole series of trade and military alliances.
On the surface, this marriage alliance seemed to have stabilized the situation on the western border, but quite a few people muttered privately that the First Prince’s growing closeness to the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom might not necessarily be a blessing for the Royal Family.