Chapter 10 Brothers in Adversity

Dragons are classified into three major categories based on their evolution.

First, there is the Ancient Sacred Dragon clan. Research confirms that these dragons existed and were the only superior race active in the human world. In the past 300 years, one of the most famous Ancient Sacred Dragons was the sacred dragon knight Halke, known for his role in the War of the Gods. His mount was the Ice Green Dragon, Temugelsai. Ancient Sacred Dragons can cast any magic above level 5 of their own attribute without incantations and can transform into human form. The only concern is that, despite being noble and supremely intelligent as adults, Sacred Dragons under 400 years old resemble human toddlers under the age of three, lacking rationality and filled with curiosity. They are very active and possess formidable but unpredictable destructive magic.

When the Creator God crafted the races, he also created mount dragons specifically for the gods. These dragons, like humans and elves, belong to a middle-tier race. After the Creator God's death, these mount dragons released long-suppressed emotions and roamed the mortal realm, earning the name "dragons." Dragons are highly intelligent and skilled in a particular type of magic, possessing immense destructive power. It is said that some races have mysterious divine or demonic bloodlines, allowing them to communicate with and ride mount dragons, earning them the title of Sacred Dragon Knights. However, research suggests that this bloodline is not hereditary, and occasionally, individuals from very low-tier races suddenly possess this noble bloodline. Currently, there are 5 to 10 Sacred Dragon Knights in each country on the continent.

The dragon cavalry currently serving as the main assault force in national armies actually refers to small land dragons. These are believed to be dragon subspecies, failed creations by the Creator God when making dragons. Although their abilities are weak, their survival skills are exceptionally strong, and they live all over the world. Occasionally, some land dragons possess simple magic, but they are more known for their fierce and swift impact. In open fields and hilly terrains, dragon cavalry are the nightmare of any other military unit during short-range breakthroughs.

Recorded in the seminal work "Dragon Cavalry: Their Relationships and Countermeasures" by modern military scientist Chi Yizi.

"Hehe," Bear panted heavily, struggling to climb up with nearly his entire body.

Then what entered Amy's sight was... "Ah—" Amy screamed and fainted.

The snow bear's abdomen, once covered in white fur, was now a blood-red mess with a half-meter-long gash, its intestines spilled out, no wonder it scared Amy so much.

"Wake up, wake up, food's ready, there's a beauty, come on, wake up," a dark-skinned boy kept patting Amy's head as she lay on the road.

"Luer, keep an eye on him, I'm going to the ditch to find some snow."

"Ah, it's freezing—" In his childhood, having been continuously tormented by Chi Hanfeng, Amy developed a syndrome from early morning snow and ice. Half-asleep, hearing the word "snow," he immediately woke up.

"Where's the bear?" Once aware, Amy immediately recalled the earlier scene.

"Strange, I haven't even fetched the snow, what are you shivering for? The bear was killed by you, you were amazing just now." said the dark-skinned boy curiously. "The female bear, I shot an arrow through its ears, killing it instantly. The male bear was clumsy and stepped on its own intestines, dying."

"Oh my, that scared me to death." Although Amy had woken up, he was so exhausted, tense, and terrified that he couldn't move.

"I'm Da Qingshan, Halke. Da Qingshan, what's your name?" The boy squinted his eyes, smiling as he extended his hand to Amy.

"Amy, Amy. Haber." Shaking the boy's hand, Amy sat up.

In the War of the Gods, which turned the human, celestial, and demon realms upside down, known as the "Human Dragon God," two of the three boys met in this scene. Later, whenever Da Qingshan mentioned this scene, if Amy was present, he would inevitably use the most powerful magic to wash him away—Today's incident was too embarrassing, never bring it up again.

"You were amazing just now, how does your sword emit magic?" Da Qingshan handed over the ice blade, looking at Amy with envy.

"This was left by my father. Weren't you passed out? How did you see my sword's magic?"

"Who said I fainted? Bears don't eat dead people. I figured you could hold them off for a bit, so I pretended to faint. When the bears focused all their attention on you, I got up and shot the female bear dead with an arrow." The boy looked innocent.

"Oh, don't do that again next time, you scared me. By the way, why did you snatch the bear cub? That was really dangerous." Amy still had lingering fears.

Halke Da Qingshan, 15 years old this year, hails from Xiaojiao Village on the western slopes of Longya Mountain, but is not from the Hami people. His ancestors moved here because of the low taxes in the Kingdom of Hami.

When he was just 9 years old, his parents and fellow villagers went hunting, accidentally entered the Green Dragon Terrace, angered the dragon clan, and most were killed in an avalanche triggered by a massive green dragon.

Very few people escaped back to the village, and Da Qingshan was told he had become an orphan.

If not for the villagers helping him with a handful of rice here and a deer leg there, Da Qingshan would have long been part of the vast mountain range. Children from poor families grow up fast. To fill his stomach, Da Qingshan started digging snow mouse holes and shooting snow hares with small arrows at the age of 10. As he grew older, he began hunting with the village adults.

Three years ago, two snow bears migrated to the village outskirts. Most snow bears prefer living by the sea, hunting sea beasts, but these two bears inexplicably moved to this inland area far from the sea and often attacked villagers and livestock. Several large-scale hunts failed to harm them. This time, Da Qingshan saw them taking their cubs out to hunt. While the big bears were distracted, Da Qingshan grabbed the cub and ran.

"Hehe, look," Da Qingshan proudly showed Amy the result of sliding down the mountain on a snowy slope during his escape—the seat of his pants was completely torn. "I was planning to bring them to the post station, where soldiers should be able to kill them."

The two boys had the same destination. Amy was heading to the Longya Mountain post station to wait for his teacher, and Da Qingshan wanted to sell the bear cub there. Da Qingshan skillfully drew his dagger, skinned the entire bear, and chopped off its paws, finally extracting the bear gall.

"The bear's dead, and you're still so cruel, cutting it open?" Amy was particularly puzzled.

"The bear hide can be sold for money, especially that of a snow bear, which is rare; bear paws are very delicious and fetch a high price at the post station. As for the bear gall—you see, the gall from a bear killed in a rage is much larger than one caught in a trap. It can be sold for more money."

As he spoke, Da Qingshan expertly collected some dry branches, ignited them, and evenly spread the ashes over the inside of the bear hide for a simple tanning process.

The next afternoon, the two boys arrived at the Longya Mountain post station. As Da Qingshan predicted, everything sold for a very good price—200 gold coins, enough to support an ordinary family for 10 years.

Da Qingshan was a generous boy and treated Amy to a big meal. With Amy's insistence, Da Qingshan stayed to wait for Chi Hanfeng and Lei Ge.

It was still quite cold during the early summer nights on the icy continent. The howling north wind swept snow through the Longya Mountain pass, and under the shelter of a leeward eave, Amy and Da Qingshan huddled closely together. Wanting a place to chat but fearing spending money on drinks, the two sleepless boys found themselves chatting outside.

"Woo-woo," a little green dog poked its head out from between Da Qingshan and Amy's legs, looking happy.

Amy told Da Qingshan about his Uncle Chi and Teacher Lei Ge, about swimming in Snow Moon Lake, and training in the forest. Da Qingshan listened intently; he never knew water could be warm. Growing up, Da Qingshan had never gone swimming.

"Ah, it's freezing—" The next morning, a shriek woke Da Qingshan, who was still lazing in bed. He saw two new people and a giant snow wolf in the room. An old man dressed in rags and a handsome man holding a large basin smiled, speaking in a pleasant voice to Amy, who had just jumped up from the bed: "Finally found you, son." The ragged old man's gaze was clearly drawn to Da Qingshan and Luer, who were peeking out from under the covers.

"Well, well, let me see what I've found," the old man chuckled, looking at the bundle. "Little guy, what's your name?"

"Da Qingshan, Halke. Da Qingshan."

"Not you, I was asking this little green cutie." The old man continued smiling.

"Oh, it's my puppy, it's called Luer." Seeing is believing; Da Qingshan finally understood Amy's closest people were quite eccentric. He resolved to leave after breakfast.

"Hehe, yes, yes, a puppy indeed." The old man maintained a fawning smile: "Have you formed a pact with this puppy?"

"What pact?" Da Qingshan was puzzled.

"Young friend, how about this: your puppy won't be fully grown for another 400 years. Keeping it is of little use to you. Why not give it to me," the old man kindly suggested, gazing into Da Qingshan's big eyes. "As an exchange, how about this: if you wish to learn magic, I'll teach you and ensure you become a royal mage. If you want to be a knight, well, this young man beside me can teach you. You see that great white wolf? That's a phantom beast, capable of flying. In a year, I'll help you borrow a little phantom beast and make you an imperial phantom beast knight."

The other three people reacted strongly, except for Da Qingshan.

"Sigh," Amy let out a long sigh. It takes three days to learn bad habits, three years to learn good ones. After only a few days apart, Teacher Lei Ge had been led astray by Uncle Chi. Another phantom beast borrower emerged. Who knows who will claim the phantom beast next year; two are already being plotted against.

"Hey, hey, I refuse. I'm also a dignified imperial knight. You say I should take a disciple, just like that? That would be a huge blow to my reputation," Chi Hanfeng protested angrily.

"Ha!" Luer, just poking its head out from under the covers, cleared its little throat and spat a heavy gob of green saliva at Lei Ge's feet.