Chương 244: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 244 - Gold Merit Knight (1)

The dragon blood and the girl's self-repair mechanism seemed to have produced an indescribable chemical reaction. Her whole body began convulsing violently. The violent energy within the dragon blood started stimulating her limbs to regrow. And because too much dragon blood had fused with her own blood, her originally human blood was also being assimilated. Her entire body was undergoing bizarre changes. If this had been an ordinary person, they probably would have already turned into a mindless monster by now.

But the girl before him was clearly different. It would still take time for her to wake up. But soldiers had already surrounded them. They held shields and longswords, and the eyes beneath their visors were full of panic and vigilance. Facing an invader, protecting the princess, standing at the front lines, these were conditioned responses formed through long training, and also their duty as warriors. But that did not mean they were not afraid.

No one could pound their chest and claim they felt no fear at all when facing a giant dragon. Not even a hero could. The overall commander of these soldiers was a knight in gray, matte-finished armor. The greatsword in his hand and the armor on his body were obviously heavier than those of the surrounding soldiers, and intricate patterns were carved into them. As the core of the colosseum's security force, his strength was naturally not weak.

He was a genuine Black Merit Knight, and his power was also slightly stronger than the princess's. Having lived to this age, he had already experienced countless battles, whether fighting magical beasts or surviving the kind of battlefield that was a meat grinder. And yet, looking at the Black Dragon before him now, this brave and battle-hardened warrior still felt a deep sense of helplessness welling up inside him.

Setting aside the Black Dragon's overwhelming presence, just one of its claws was already wider than the greatsword in his hand.

"Ca... captain, do we, do we attack?" A shaky voice came from beside him. Young. Fearful. He knew who it was. A rookie who had only just joined the team. Only seventeen years old. But he had real talent with the sword, so he had been kept at his side and trained as a personal guard.

"Attack?... Attack, of course we attack." The Black Merit Knight's gaze swept over the Black Dragon's body as he searched for a weakness. But in the end, he sorrowfully realized something. This strange Black Dragon was covered head to toe in Iron Armor, armed to the teeth. Only its eyes were left unprotected. But how difficult would it be to strike the Black Dragon's eyes? This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

He fell silent for a moment, then made a few hand signals to the soldiers around him, ordering them to approach slowly and draw the crossbows at their waists, waiting for an opening to shoot at close range. As for him, he intended to test how hard the Black Dragon's scales were. Once everything had been arranged, the soldiers moved into the 50-meter range around the Black Dragon as ordered. The Black Dragon, which had been focused on the "corpse" on the ground, finally turned its gaze toward them.

It was like being stared at by death itself. All the soldiers could not help but tremble. Every hair on their bodies stood on end under the extreme premonition of danger.

"Raise the crossbows and aim!" The soldiers' minds were already blank, but their bodies reacted instinctively. They aimed at the Black Dragon's only weakness. They had practiced this too many times.

"Fire!!" The Black Merit Knight roared, and then, amid the rain of crossbow bolts, he charged at the Black Dragon with an attitude of willing sacrifice. A true leader never stood behind everyone and just gave orders. He had to take the lead himself. Only then could he gather back the courage of the soldiers that the Black Dragon's draconic might had crushed.

"Ridiculous! Arrogant! This is your offense against a great dragon, you lowly worms!" Su Nian raised his dragon head and looked down at everything around him. Those crimson-gold dragon eyes looked like firewood burning fiercely. He could completely ignore the incoming crossbow bolts. But the little girl beside him could not. If he left her alone, she might be caught in the crossfire and turned into a pincushion.

"ZunHaalViik!" The Dragon Shout that stripped weapons was unleashed. Although Su Nian had only descended through an avatar and inherited only part of his attributes, even the weakened version of the Dragon Shout was more than enough. The incoming crossbow bolts seemed to suddenly lose all their momentum. Their speed slowed and slowed, until they reached a critical point, then wobbled downward and fell like rain. As for the charging Black Merit Knight, the longsword in his hand clanged to the ground.

His armor was no exception, and in fact came off even faster than if he had taken it off himself. At that, everyone was stunned. As elite guards of the colosseum, before becoming official guards they had to study all kinds of monsters on the continent. Dragons were among them. The monster bestiary also recorded some of the Dragon Shouts dragons could use. But those Dragon Shouts were usually elemental abilities. They were much stronger than a mage's magic, but they still remained within the realm of understanding.

A Dragon Shout that stripped an enemy's weapon, though, was something they had never seen before. This ability was too broken. They already were no match for the Black Dragon. Now even their weapons had fallen to the ground. What were they supposed to fight it with? Even if they could put their armor back on after the Dragon Shout's effect wore off, wearing armor on a battlefield full of danger was no different from courting death. Su Nian did not care whether the soldiers were dumbfounded.

After stripping away the incoming bolts, he had already spat a mouthful of scorching dragon breath downward. Raging, searing flames surged out wildly, seeming to burn even the clouds at the horizon red. Molten fire whipped up a hurricane. Many soldiers were blown away outright, spinning through the sky until they gradually vaporized into flying ash. The Black Merit Knight could do nothing about it.

He could only watch helplessly as the soldiers he had painstakingly trained died in the dragon breath, including that young recruit he had been especially optimistic about.

"Damn Black Dragon!" His eyes went bloodshot as he snarled the curse. The weapon-stripping effect finally ended. He bent down and snatched up his sword again.

"Die!!" Grief and fury turned into boundless power in his hands. The Black Merit Knight charged forward a few steps and swung down with all his strength, the strike landing squarely on the Black Dragon's hind leg. CRACK Metal rang out. Sparks exploded. The greatsword in his hand was directly shattered into two pieces by the Black Dragon's hard scales. The Black Dragon seemed to notice the commotion. It turned its head, its crimson-gold dragon eyes narrowing slightly.

The Black Merit Knight could read contempt and mockery in them. Dragon breath was already gathering. Magma dripped from the corner of the Black Dragon's mouth, burning through the colosseum floor. At this critical moment, heavy hoofbeats suddenly came from the direction of the colosseum entrance, like muffled thunder. Su Nian glanced over and saw a knight clad in black heavy armor. The knight rode a strange monster that was neither quite horse nor quite dragon. A red cloak flapped violently behind him in the wind.

In his hand was a giant spear over three meters long. The spearhead flashed with cold light, and the grip was wrapped in black cloth strips that swayed back and forth in the wind. He charged into the flames, driving his mount forward. Faster and faster, until he was in full gallop. The hoofbeats became a continuous roar. As if they were about to trample the sky itself to pieces. ➤ Next: Gold Medal Knight (2)