Chapter 29: Glory
Facing the demon-like, invincible Dragonblood Warrior, the Saint-level Thunder Dragon and Golden Dragon suddenly felt a surge of fear!
Yes, fear!
They feared that Linley would kill them. The three Saint-level dragons had already realized that among them, the 'Golden Dragon', who was strongest in magic, clearly couldn't harm Linley, while the 'Tyrannosaurus Rex', who was strongest in pure strength, couldn't match Linley's speed at all.
As for the Thunder Dragon, encountering someone with defenses as freakish as Linley's was like meeting its natural nemesis.
"Will we die?"
The three Saint-level dragons didn't know what to do. They didn't think Linley would let them go, because at first Linley had held back, but later on, all three of them had unleashed their ultimate moves, attacking with the intent to kill Linley.
They had indeed tried to kill Linley just now. Would Linley let them off?
The three Saint-level dragons thought not!
But at that moment, an indifferent voice rang out. To their ears, this voice sounded like heavenly music: "Choose death, or serve me for a hundred years." Linley's dark golden pupils swept across the three Saint-level dragons. Perhaps his twelve years of quiet cultivation had made Linley less inclined to kill at the slightest provocation.
These three Saint-level dragons couldn't handle Linley. But they would still be effective against someone of Usono's level.
The Saint-level Thunder Dragon, Golden Dragon, and Tyrannosaurus Rex all breathed a sigh of relief. Being forced to serve for a hundred years was actually quite short compared to their long lifespans. Moreover, as magical beasts, they respected the strong. Linley had defeated all three of them alone.
Their submission wouldn't be a disgrace to their dignity.
"Master!"
The three Saint-level dragons lowered their noble heads before Linley. At this moment, Delia, Taylor, Sweeney, and Shasha in the distance had all ridden over on Bebe's back. The children were cheering excitedly. In their hearts, the powerful Saint-level dragons had ultimately bowed their heads before their idol, 'Linley'.
"Father, you're so amazing, wow. Three Saint-level dragons!" Taylor screamed excitedly.
Even the more reserved Shasha and Sweeney, upon seeing these three enormous Saint-level dragons, had their eyes shining with excitement. Bebe snorted, "You three stupid crawling bugs, you should have just surrendered earlier instead of fighting my boss."
"Hmph~~~" The three Saint-level dragons immediately glared angrily at Bebe.
Linley spoke up at this point, "This is my brother, 'Bebe'. He's also a Saint-level magical beast. But his strength is far greater than the three of you combined. Bebe's speed is comparable to yours, Thunder Dragon, not much different, but his defense and attack surpass even the Tyrannosaurus Rex's."
Hearing this, the three Saint-level dragons were completely dumbfounded.
Was there such a freakish magical beast?
Speed comparable to a Thunder Dragon, defense and attack more terrifying than a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Did such a magical beast... exist?
"You're a rodent-type magical beast?" The Saint-level Thunder Dragon stared carefully at Bebe, shocked. It murmured softly. They didn't doubt Linley's words at all. A powerhouse of Linley's level wouldn't lie in front of them.
Bebe nodded.
"But... but your fur is black, not purple-gold." The Saint-level Thunder Dragon couldn't believe it. "On the Yulan continent, the only Saint-level rodent-type magical beast is... the legendary Rat Emperor of the Dark Forest. The Rat Emperor's fur is purple-gold."
The place with the most Gorging Rats and Shadow Rats was the Dark Forest.
The 'Rat Emperor' of the Dark Forest was definitely an extremely powerful existence among Saint-level magical beasts. The Rat Emperor clan was extremely rare in number. But each one commanded countless Gorging Rats and Shadow Rats, and at the same time, their own strength was terrifyingly great.
"Purple-gold?" Bebe suddenly understood. "Oh, you mean my friend. He really is the Rat Emperor."
"A black Saint-level rodent-type magical beast, this..." The three Saint-level dragons couldn't comprehend it.
Bebe looked at Linley. "Boss, shouldn't we be heading back?" Since they had these three Saint-level dragons to serve them, they could go back and let Sweeney, Taylor, and Shasha activate the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline within them.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex's deep voice rang out. "Master, would you like to perform a soul contract?" A soul contract was the most effective way to control a magical beast. Since these three dragons had lost, they would naturally admit defeat, and they were willing to accept the binding of a soul contract.
"No need." Linley said calmly.
A soul contract?
According to what Linley knew, a person could have at most three magical beasts. If they wanted to subdue another, they had to dissolve a previous master-servant soul contract. Linley currently had two magical beasts. Even if he wanted to subdue another, he could only subdue one at most.
"No need?" The three Saint-level dragons were all surprised. A Saint-level magical beast delivered to his doorstep, and he didn't want it?
"I trust you." Linley said calmly.
The feeling of being trusted was very good.
"We three brothers will serve our master for a hundred years, and we will keep our word." At this moment, the three Saint-level dragons felt a hint of admiration for Linley in their hearts. Looking at the three Saint-level dragons obediently before him, Linley felt a surge of emotion.
He still remembered when he was a child, the first time his father took him to the ancestral temple and showed him the legends of the family's ancestors—
"Baruch, the first Dragonblood Warrior on the Yulan continent. At the city of 'Linnan City' in Yulan, he fought against an Ice Dragon and a Black Dragon, ultimately killing them both and becoming famous throughout the world. In the year 4579 of the Yulan calendar, Baruch fought the Nine-Headed Hydra Emperor on the northern coast of the continent. The sky and sea roared, cities crumbled. After a fierce battle lasting a day and a night, Baruch finally slew the Nine-Headed Hydra Emperor... eventually establishing the Baruch clan, with Baruch as the first clan leader!"
"Ryan Baruch, the second Dragonblood Warrior on the Yulan continent. In the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, he defeated and subdued a Saint-level Golden Dragon, becoming the Golden Dragon Saint-level Knight! In the year of the Yulan calendar..."
"Hazard Baruch, the sixth Dragonblood Warrior on the Yulan continent. His first battle was a fierce fight against the Saint-level magical beast 'Blood-Eyed Mane Lion' in the Sunset Mountains. He defeated the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, forcing it to flee in panic, and became famous throughout the world..."
Linley still remembered his father's expression at that time.
It was one of pride and honor.
Pride in his family's ancestors.
Pride in being a member of the Dragonblood Warrior clan.
But his father had carried a regret his entire life. He had always dreamed of reclaiming the family's heirloom treasure, and even more so, dreamed that... one day, he could restore the family's glory.
"Father, do you see this?" Linley shouted in his heart. "I, Linley Baruch, in the year 10022 of the Yulan calendar, alone in the Sunset Mountains, fought three Saint-level dragons and subdued them." This single record alone already surpassed the achievements of the family's ancestors.
In the history of the Baruch clan, the strongest Dragonblood Warrior. Linley was worthy of the title.
"If only my father could see this."
His father had spent his entire life trying to restore the family's glory. When Linley became a student at the Ernst Institute, his father had placed the burden of reclaiming the family's heirloom treasure and restoring the family's glory on Linley's shoulders. And today...
Linley had done it!
But his father could no longer see it.
"Let's go. Head back. The three of you, shrink down a bit." Linley sighed and then ordered.
Immediately, the three Saint-level dragons reduced their size, becoming about ten meters long, similar to Bebe's size. Bringing these three Saint-level dragons with him, Linley and the others began to fly rapidly back towards the direction of the Chaos Territory.
*******
Chaos Territory. Outside Baruch City, on Blackwood Mountain.
"Big brother, that move of yours was really impressive." Wharton's face was full of surprise. "You brought the three Saint-level dragons here and made them serve for a hundred years. From now on, if we have any more children, we won't need to go looking for Saint-level dragons anymore."
Linley smiled.
When he had made the three Saint-level dragons serve him for a hundred years, besides increasing the number of Saint-level powerhouses on his side, he had indeed also had the reason Wharton mentioned in mind.
"Big brother." Wharton was extremely excited. "I feel now... that our Dragonblood Warrior clan is about to restore the glory we had thousands of years ago. Didn't you tell me that Hodan said our clan once had dozens of Dragonblood Warriors?"
Linley nodded. "Right. Thousands of years ago, our Dragonblood Warrior clan must have used this same method to create quite a few Dragonblood Warriors. Dozens of Dragonblood Warriors gathered together... The Four Ultimate Warrior clans, dominating the Yulan continent, was indeed no empty boast."
How glorious the clan was back then. Just imagining it was enough to guess.
"Unfortunately, our Dragonblood Warrior clan's fertility isn't good enough." Wharton sighed.
Indeed, Linley's grandfather, for example, only had one son, Hogg. And Hogg only had two sons, Linley and Wharton. Consider that some families could have seven or eight children. But the Dragonblood Warrior clan was clearly different.
Linley and Delia, aside from the initial pair of twins, hadn't had any more children to this day.
"Heaven has already favored us enough. If we had more children... then there would be no room for anyone else on the Yulan continent." Linley said with a smile. Wharton also laughed. Indeed, people couldn't be too greedy.
Linley instructed, "Wharton, have the three children, Sweeney, Taylor, and Shasha, prepare. Tomorrow, we will activate the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline within them."
...
Activating the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline was a major event. The next day, Black Roo and Bebe obediently stayed on Blackwood Mountain. The three Saint-level dragons, knowing Linley's orders, didn't object at all. A little bit of blood was nothing to these three massive Saint-level dragons.
That bit of dragon blood was nothing at all.
At this moment, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Thunder Dragon, and Golden Dragon had all shrunk in size and were watching the three children, Taylor and the others. Linley smiled at the three children. "You need to know, the dragon blood you drink first to activate the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline has a big influence on your future transformations."
"For example, me. The dragon blood I drank back then was from a Spiked-Back Iron-Armored Dragon. That's why my back, elbows, and even my forehead have spikes like the Spiked-Back Iron-Armored Dragon. And my speed is also relatively fast, influenced by the Spiked-Back Iron-Armored Dragon." Linley explained in detail. "Think carefully about which one you choose."
Taylor, Shasha, and Sweeney were all thinking.
The three of them could choose the same one or different ones. Having one Saint-level dragon give a little blood for the three children to drink was absolutely effortless.
"Taylor, which one do you choose?" Delia smiled at her son.
Taylor carefully examined the three Saint-level dragons, finally fixing his gaze on the most domineering-looking 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'. "I choose the Tyrannosaurus Rex. So powerful. I like it." Taylor's words made the Tyrannosaurus Rex very happy. "That's right. I, Prequette, am the strongest."
"I choose the Golden Dragon." Shasha's clear voice rang out. "The Golden Dragon is so beautiful. Its scales are so smooth, like they're all made of gold."
"Beautiful?" Linley and Delia exchanged a glance.
Their precious daughter had chosen the Golden Dragon for this reason. The Golden Dragon also seemed quite pleased. In the past, being asked to give a little blood was an insult, but now their master was Linley. The child choosing them meant they liked them more.
The dragons were also proud and didn't think they were inferior to the others.
The Saint-level Thunder Dragon immediately looked at the last one, 'Sweeney'. Sweeney's face was still very refined. He smiled faintly. "Then I'll take the Thunder Dragon."
In truth, no matter which one they chose, the dragon blood they drank first had some influence, but the main factor was still the 'Dragonblood Warrior bloodline'.
"The three of you, put the dragon blood into these three small wooden buckets." Linley pointed to the side, where there were small wooden buckets large enough to fill a person's stomach. But these small buckets were nothing to the dragons. The Golden Dragon very straightforwardly tore off one of its own scales.
That golden dragon scale was immediately placed above the wooden bucket. A drop of blood, the size of a human head, dripped down, instantly filling more than half of the small wooden bucket.