Chapter 241: Lulance's Expectations

No matter what mental preparation Rulance had made, looking at the dragon at such close quarters now, he was still deeply shaken.

Its colossal frame, its hideous head, and its great tail like a steel whip carried an overwhelming sense of oppression;

there was also its coat of dense, ice-blue scales, their edges laced with red patterns as if it were bathed in blood, projecting violence and savagery to the world at every waking moment.

Rulance had seen plenty of magical beasts, both the massive and the monstrous, yet he had never encountered one that naturally carried such an aura of dread and sovereignty.

This pressure did not stem from a disparity in strength, but rather from a subtle, psychological conditioning.

It was like a mouse encountering a cat, easily frozen in pure terror.

Of course, to a Meteor Knight like Rulance who had seen the world, though shaken, he could swiftly master his composure, remaining far from frozen in paralyzed horror.

His magical beast, however—the Thunder Windchaser—was currently pacing in restless agitation.

Unsure whether it was better to flee or stand its ground, it could only emit uneasy, low whines, pleading with its master for aid.

Rulance offered a reassuring look, and perhaps through their soulful bond, the Thunder Windchaser gradually quieted down.

Carlos glanced at the stranger, "Master, I sense a very faint trace of dragon lineage in this beast!"

Its tongue flicked involuntarily; such a beast would surely taste delicious, but the creature's master was clearly associated with its own lord, so eating it was out of the question.

Ronin was somewhat surprised, not expecting the Thunder Windchaser to actually possess dragon blood, having assumed it was mere rumor from the outside world.

Rulance's gaze flickered; he could tell the dragon was communicating with Ronin, but he could not understand a word.

Yet of one thing he was absolutely certain: the achievements of the young man before him would never fall beneath his own.

"How did you tame it?"

"Carlos was rather weak at the time, so I seized the chance to climb onto its back, and after a frantic ordeal across heaven and sea, I conquered it just as it collapsed from exhaustion, then successfully sealed the contract."

It sounded nonchalant, but Rulance could hear the terrifying peril within the words.

Who among ordinary men would have the courage to scale a dragon's back and be carried across heaven and sea? It was a feat of near-certain death.

"You are brave, child!"

Rulance praised in admiration, "I am proud of your courage!"

His gaze returned to Carlos.

"Its size is a few notches smaller than the mightiest individuals among the griffins, though a griffin reaching tier six is already its absolute limit; your dragon's potential should far exceed that."

Ronin had seen the griffin squadron that escorted Blanche last time; most of those griffins were around tier-four magical beasts, smaller in size than Carlos.

However, Vice Commander Broll's tier-five griffin appeared virtually identical in size to the dragon.

The "mighty individuals" Rulance spoke of likely referred to griffins that had reached tier six, though Ronin had never seen one.

"Does that mean Carlos holds no advantage when facing a flock of griffins?"

Rulance looked contemplative, ultimately shaking his head, "Size comparison is only one aspect; the specifics depend on actual combat."

He looked toward the dragon's scales, "May I touch it?"

"Of course!" Ronin smiled.

Rulance stepped forward slowly, reaching out to touch the cold scales.

Carlos was never one to be affectionate with strange humans, but since its master permitted it, it could only exhale a displeased breath and allow the man to touch it.

Initially, it paid the old man no mind, but it never expected him to suddenly flick a finger; the massive force collided with the scales, producing a dull thud, and it actually felt a twinge of pain.

"Master, he..." Carlos began to complain.

Ronin gestured for it not to get worked up.

Rulance coughed twice; having just channeled a bit of battle qi, his whole body felt uncomfortable.

He stroked the scale he had just flicked; there was not the slightest trace of a dent.

"Its defensive power is excellent; even a tier-six griffin cannot compare to your dragon. What tier of magical beast is it?"

"It has just entered tier six."

Ronin hid nothing, "It was only tier five when I tamed it."

"To possess such formidable defense upon just entering tier six, it truly lives up to the legendary dragon race!"

Rulance could not help but sigh with emotion; magical beasts were truly favored by the heavens, needing neither cultivation nor tempering to be inherently stronger than humans in certain aspects.

"I wonder where its ceiling lies. It should be able to reach tier eight or nine, right?"

A tier-nine magical beast was an entity on par with human Grand Archmages and Blazing Sun Knights, something Rulance had never witnessed with his own eyes.

The dragons of legend should be capable of such a level, right?

Except, his estimation was still far too conservative.

Ronin said, "According to Carlos's inherited memories, it should be the offspring of a Legendary-tier dragon. By all rights, it should possess the potential to become Legendary-tier."

Rulance's pupils contracted. Legendary-tier!

He stared at the dragon before him in disbelief, his expression far more shocked than when he had first laid eyes on it.

Above the Blazing Sun lay the Legendary, but that tier was a concept found only in myth.

As far as Rulance knew, in the explicitly recorded nine-hundred-year history of the Oerlant Continent, only the first Emperor of the Empire was rumored to have reached the Legendary tier.

From the fall of the first Emperor until now, no Legend seemed to have appeared on the continent again.

And this dragon actually possessed the potential to become a Legendary-tier creature!

Rulance looked at Ronin, his gaze filled with an unprecedented intensity.

"Do you know what the Legendary tier signifies?"

Ronin focused his mind, "What does it signify?"

Rulance chuckled, his tone laden with deep meaning, "It means you can establish a nation."

He quickly corrected himself, "No, it should be said, an empire!"

Ronin's eyes flashed, "Just how powerful is the Legendary tier?"

Rulance shook his head; he was merely a tier-seven Meteor Knight, and though he had stepped into the ranks of the strong, he held only a vague concept of exactly how powerful a Blazing Sun Knight was.

The main reason was not his lack of information, but that the number of Blazing Sun powerhouses was too few, and he had never crossed paths with them.

"It is said that a Blazing Sun Knight can still potentially be slain by a combined force of lower-ranking knights, but once one ascends to the Legendary tier, a cataclysmic shift occurs; it is no longer something a simple siege can defeat."

Beneath the Legendary, numbers could alter the course of war;

once elevated to the Legendary tier, numerical advantage became utterly irrelevant.

Hearing such a description, Ronin's blood surged; he dearly wished to witness just what height the peak martial force of this world had reached.

"What you lack right now is time."

Rulance said, "What you lack is the time for your dragon to grow to the Legendary tier."

Hearing these words, let alone Ronin, even Carlos felt a bit embarrassed.

"Grandfather, you might not know, but Carlos is already over two hundred and sixty years old. Waiting for it to grow to the Legendary tier will likely be a matter of seven or eight hundred years from now."

Rulance froze, "A dragon's growth period is that long?"

The time it takes for a demon beast to grow from birth to the peak of its power varies greatly.

Some require only a few years; others span more than a decade.

Rulans knew the dragon’s extraordinary nature, and estimated a few decades, perhaps a century, would suffice.

Given Ronin’s aptitude, there was little doubt he would live well over a hundred years.

Yet he had never imagined that a dragon’s maturation period might stretch for centuries.

“Then it is my ignorance,” Rulans sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of regret.

Seven or eight hundred years—neither he nor Ronin would remain, nor even Ronin’s sons or grandsons.

“But with a sixth-rank dragon guarding your domain, I need no longer worry for your safety.”

He shed his regret, his gaze brightening once more with anticipation: “All you must do now is steadily ascend, cultivate your domain, and expand your influence. I am certain your future achievements will not fall short of mine!”

Though Rulans stood on the brink of death, his eyes burned with hope for what lay ahead—as if he already beheld the day the House of Wushan would birth a duke. (End of chapter)