Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon's Might-Chapter 5 - : Danger Approaching?

Gliding along the riverbed for quite some time and searching seriously, Leon indeed found numerous pieces of armor. However, they were mostly incomplete, either severely damaged like having a huge hole in the chest or outright crushed by some unknown powerful force, with skeletons still inside the armor. Some were even half melted away.

Could these be the armors left by adventurers slain by the Mother Dragon? Those melted armors seem characteristic of the Red Dragon; perhaps they were melted by the Flame Breath of the Red Dragon. Those corroded fragments might even be from the Red Dragon swallowing an adventurer and then excreting the remains incompletely corroded by stomach acid...

Regardless, he had found several suits of armor; it would not make sense if he couldn't find a single sword, even one corroded beyond recognition or a broken sword with only half remaining. Any sword would suffice.

What is that?

Leon had not yet found a sword when he came across a giant crocodile turtle, as big as a millstone, lying motionless on the riverbed. Its body was covered in aquatic plants, making it practically invisible unless looked at closely.

The giant crocodile turtle seemed a bit dull and slow, but in reality, it could accelerate dramatically and launch aggressive attacks on smaller creatures. Of course, the main point was that its bite was extremely dangerous, powerful enough to sever a human's torso.

Leon avoided the giant crocodile turtle, realizing that such a frightening creature hiding in the river meant he had to be much more cautious from then on.

Leon didn't know how long he searched until it was dark, with stars twinkling in the sky, and finally, he found a sword.

He bit down on the hilt and with a flick of his tail, he surfaced and slowly swam to the shore, spitting the sword out onto the ground.

The starlight was faint, and everywhere was pitch black, but it did not affect Leon who possessed Dark Vision. The sword blade had only specks of rust, clearly still usable, not breaking with a simple movement, making his arduous search worthwhile.

"First, I must bind it..."

The baby dragon muttered, looking down at the sword, stretching out a claw to grab it.

The claws of dragons are not suited for grasping. Although they can hold objects with their claws, this kind of grip is normally not precise enough to use tools, write, or wield weapons. Leon was no exception; he simply couldn't wield the sword properly while holding it.

But Leon was not in a hurry, for he knew this was just the beginning. He struggled to stand, using his hind legs and tail to maintain balance, then raised the sword high toward the sky, holding it to his chest, and began the Sword Control Technique. The first step to use the Sword Control Technique was to bind the sword.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Leon spent some time investing his will into the sword and bound it, feeling the sword as though it was an extension of his arm and wielded it with ease.

Blinking his eyes, Leon threw the sword in his hand back into the river, watching the Longsword disappear into the water. With a flick of his claw, the Longsword flew out of the river right into his hand.

The baby dragon looked down at the sword in his claw, pondering if this was some sort of connection similar to that of a Magic Knight's weapon bond? Using a Magic ritual to create a bond with a weapon means unless you are incapacitated, you cannot be disarmed of your bonded weapon. If that weapon and you are on the same plane of existence, you can summon the weapon to your hand as a bonus action during your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your grasp.

A Magic Knight nearly masters all weapon usage, with no need to consider proficiency. His binding obviously included part of the Contract Master's Blade Demon Contract, which meant he naturally mastered the proficiency of the bonded weapon, although it lacked the effect of being treated as a Magic Weapon during resistance.

Ultimately, if it were only this simple, it would not live up to the name of Sword Control Technique.

The baby dragon took a deep breath, gripped the sword hilt tightly, twirled it in a flourish, then pressed another claw against the flat of the blade, a bright light flashed across the sword, and then he tossed the sword into the sky.

The sword did not fall to the ground; it hung over the baby dragon's head, emitting a "buzzing" sound, as if it had bells attached.

Seeing this, Leon felt certain, and with a command of "Go" and a wave of his hand forward.

As he moved, the sword flew out like a dazzling strip of white silk.

Blessed with a quick mind, Leon made a circular motion with his two fingers pressed together, and the flying sword immediately circled in the sky like the strip of white silk.

Indeed, the Sword Control Technique was extraordinary, but even so, a short session left him feeling markedly dizzy and unable to continue.

...

That was something for when the Sun hung high in the sky.

Yesterday, after the hard work of digging a nest and searching the river for a weapon, and then practicing the Sword Control Technique, Leon had exhausted his strength. He slept for more than twelve hours straight before waking up. Glancing at the sword beneath him, he felt it was all worth it.

Isn't the reason many people choose to lie low because they put in a lot and get little in return? If there were returns, many would be willing to take a chance.

Setting those thoughts aside, Leon was truly famished, he reluctantly left his sword, climbed out of the nest, and jumped into the river to catch fish.

Leon ended his foraging quickly and returned to his nest, rolled around with his sword, and dreamt of a bright future... With his small frame, even with the Sword Control Technique, he had no way to deal with the Mother Dragon. He couldn't let the other side be out of reach, so it was better to return to reality and think about how to improve the nest.

Right now, the nest had only one entrance and exit, which would be problematic if confronted by an enemy. The encounter with the giant crocodile turtle in the river yesterday proved that the Mother Dragon's territory also harbored dangers. He wasn't being overly anxious for nothing.

One entrance and exit wouldn't do – at least three were needed, scattered in three different directions, hidden where no one would think to look. Perhaps behind a large rock, or disguised under rarely-seen lush shrubs... Maybe even concealed under the riverbed? As long as his nest was higher than the river surface, he wouldn't have to worry about backflow.

It was a major project, not something that could be completed in a day or two. It seemed better to focus on the simpler tasks for now.

Due to their scales and thick hides, a dragon's sense of touch is usually very poor. Thus, a dragon can comfortably sleep on a heap of uneven treasure, as long as it somewhat conforms to the dragon's curves. Yet, dragons are sensitive to pain, and anything that penetrates their thick hides and scales attracts their full attention.

However, the scales of a baby dragon are somewhat tender compared to an adult dragon, making their touch much more sensitive.

In such a case, firming up the muddy floor or paving it with pebbles could effectively make the nest more comfortable – work that was better suited for him.

Roar—

Suddenly, Leon heard a roar, the sound coming from the entrance of the cave.

Could it really be such a coincidence, speaking of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives?

Had danger arrived so soon?

He couldn't shrink back into his nest, that would be waiting for death.

With that thought, Leon reached for his sword, tightly grasping the hilt. Although he had eagerly learned the Sword Control Technique yesterday, and exhausted himself by playing it to the fullest, he had slept for a long time and, after a long rest, now felt fully recovered.

Draggling his sword, Leon headed towards the cave entrance.