"Leo, how strong do you think he is?" Standing between the horns of the red dragon as they flew through the sky, Dragon Knight Bernard asked his mount through their mental connection. He stole a glance back at the black-haired, golden-eyed youth standing on the dragon's back, gazing down at the ground below.
"What do you think? He slapped me so hard it swelled my face, and that wasn't even in his dragon form. Do you really need to ask me how strong he is? Don't you have a clue?" A voice filled with frustration echoed in Bernard's mind. "That slap hurt like hell. You owe me ten Fire Element Crystals as compensation."
"Who told you to roar at him?" Bernard didn't sympathize with his dragon at all. He was already making calculations in his head. "So, he's an ancient dragon. If I could ride him, my strength would soar, and I might even use his power to break through the legendary barrier."
"Are you dreaming?" The red dragon, Leo, responded with disdain, sensing his rider's thoughts. "If you hadn't found me when I was young, you wouldn't even be standing on my head. And now, this guy has already entered the ancient dragon stage. Don't even think about forming a Dragon Rider contract with him."
"Leo, do you think if we teamed up, we could take him down?"
"What? Are you planning to take him by force? You must be dreaming! He slapped me into submission in his human form. If he turned into his dragon form, he could crush us with a single claw. And besides, he's a spellcasting metallic dragon."
"What if you became a legendary red dragon?" Bernard asked, unwilling to give up.
"I don't know. Do you even realize how strong he is? He might be an ancient gold dragon. If that's the case, even if I became a legendary red dragon, I'd still get beaten down."
"An ancient gold dragon!" Bernard's eyes gleamed with ambition.
"Stop dreaming and focus on supplying me with resources. If I become an ancient dragon, I won't be any weaker than a gold dragon. So why are you wasting your thoughts on this?"
"There's actually one way to try. If I could get my hands on an ancient dragon now, my strength would advance to another level, and I could even attempt to expand my territory."
Standing on the dragon's back, Muria glanced at the flamboyantly dressed knight ahead of him, then continued to survey the neat rice fields below. The orderly fields arranged in squares brought him a sense of peace.
…
"Lord Moo, this is my Thorn Castle. What do you think?" Soon, the Dragon Knight led Muria to a city. At its center stood a castle with a mage tower and several floating gardens—features that, to Muria, were overly ornate.
"Not bad!" Muria gave a decent evaluation of the castle. It was at least visually appealing, though in terms of scale, it didn't compare to his Wind King Castle. In the Wind King Castle, Muria could freely reveal his Titan form, and even so, his castle had three underground levels and nine above ground. The grandeur of the Wind King Castle was something this knight, with his smug expression, could never imagine. To Muria, he was nothing more than a country bumpkin.
"Oh." Seeing Muria's indifferent expression, the Dragon Knight looked disappointed. He hadn't seen any awe. He remembered when he first built this castle, the surrounding subjects had been in awe. He had even delayed the development of his territory significantly to build this purely ornamental castle.
"This is hilarious! You actually expected your castle to impress an ancient gold dragon? Have you forgotten how long he's lived, how many grand buildings he's seen? To him, your little castle is probably no better than a peasant's thatched hut is to you," Leo the red dragon mocked his rider through their mental link, displaying the innate malice typical of an evil dragon.
"So, in his eyes, I'm just a country bumpkin?"
"What else could you be? What do you think you are in a dragon's eyes?"
"I'm a five-dragon knight, and you're one of my mounts. If I'm a country bumpkin in his eyes, then you're just a bumpkin's mount, which makes you even worse."
"Hmm, there's another dragon's presence here." As they arrived above the castle, Muria stood in mid-air. The Thorn Castle was built on two intersecting mountain ranges, with part of it suspended in mid-air. Within this space, Muria sensed a faint but familiar aura.
Soon, under Muria's gaze, a massive sapphire dragon, glowing with blue light, poked its head out from beneath the castle and looked up at him.
"A sapphire dragon!" Muria glanced at the Dragon Knight beside him. "So, you have more than one dragon."
"It's all thanks to fate's favor," Bernard replied modestly, though Muria could see the pride in his eyes.
"Please, enter the castle. I've already notified my servants to prepare a feast for you." After calming his two dragons, Bernard invited Muria into his castle.
Inside the Thorn Castle, the knight hosted a banquet in Muria's honor, offering various foods and fruits that he considered the most precious. These were presented to Muria as if they were nothing, encouraging him to taste them.
During the banquet, as Muria sampled the delicacies, Bernard subtly probed about Muria's plans. When Muria mentioned that he wanted to explore the area, Bernard immediately invited him to stay at the Thorn Castle, which Muria accepted.
In the days that followed, Muria stayed in Thorn Castle, where he was treated like a king. Whatever he wanted, he got. Rare fruits and meats that Muria enjoyed were served to him daily as if they were ordinary fare.
To facilitate Muria's exploration of his territory, Bernard even provided a carriage drawn by flame-winged dragons, allowing Muria to tour the Thorn Lands. Bernard also ordered officials in each city to give Muria the highest level of reception, and sometimes he even personally chauffeured Muria, acting as a tour guide with such eagerness that Muria began to feel a bit embarrassed.
Initially, Muria had planned to overpower Bernard, seizing control of his well-managed territory. But now, with Bernard treating him so well, Muria felt reluctant to make a move.
As time passed, Muria continued to stay in Thorn Castle, thoroughly enjoying himself. With over 1,600 servants catering to his every need, he found that no other race could match humans in luxury.
Even while staying here, Muria still took time each day to handle the affairs of Synapse, as space and distance did not hinder his remote control.
However, after finishing his duties with Synapse each day, Muria would explore the Thorn Lands, and he soon discovered that the information given to him by the Storm Giants was inaccurate. Bernard had established not just nine cities in this desolate peninsula but thirty-two, with another eighteen under construction. The knight's ambition was impressive, earning Muria's admiration.
"Quite the capable farmer, this one!"
Though Bernard was competent, one thing about him slightly irked Muria: his extreme narcissism. During his tours of the Thorn Lands in the flame-winged dragon carriage Bernard had prepared, Muria noticed that in every city, Bernard's name and deeds were well-known. Even in taverns, legendary tales crafted by Bernard were being spread. From the oldest residents to the youngest children, almost everyone knew his name.
Muria couldn't help but wonder just how narcissistic one had to be to spend so many resources promoting oneself so that everyone in one's territory knew their name. Considering the territory's development level, roughly equivalent to Earth's medieval period, with only slightly better sanitation and the protection of extraordinary powers, it was clear Bernard had spent a fortune on self-promotion. In all his travels across many continents, Muria had never seen a ruler go to such lengths.
But Bernard's narcissism didn't stop Muria from admiring the well-tended fields, plantations, and cities he had built in this barren land.
Gradually, Muria realized that Bernard's influence wasn't limited to the land; it extended into the sea as well. The Thorn Lands included some coastal cities and parts of the ocean.
…
"An ancient dragon indeed, with an appetite to match! The fruits and meats he eats daily alone cost thousands of gold coins. It's like feeding a gold-devouring beast."
While Muria was inspecting the coastal area, Bernard sat in Thorn Castle, reviewing the accounts presented by his steward. The more he read, the darker his expression became.
The fruits Muria ate came from a garden of rare plants, each of which was worth a fortune in the outside world. Bernard had painstakingly collected these plants from the wilderness, and their fruits, even the least valuable ones, were worth at least a hundred gold coins.
Despite this, a whole platter of these precious fruits was brought to Muria daily, even though Bernard himself had never indulged so extravagantly. But to please Muria, he had no choice.
As for the meats, Bernard's elite knights ventured into the wild daily to hunt just to satisfy Muria's appetite. In the few days Muria had stayed, Bernard had already lost three of his elite knights—warriors he considered seeds for his future kingdom.
If this extravagant spending had yielded results, Bernard could tolerate it. But when he realized that despite all his efforts to please Muria, the dragon's attitude hadn't changed since their first encounter, he began to entertain some darker thoughts.
"Fate, please bless me once again!" After much deliberation, Bernard took a brilliant, shimmering fruit from his spatial ring and made up his mind
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