Taming the Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon

Leibulus had been deeply troubled lately. It all began three months ago. Back then, he had lived quite comfortably. Whenever he was hungry, he would catch a few low-level magical beasts for a hearty meal; whenever he was thirsty, he would drink his fill from the little river beside where he slept. He had come to the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range for safety, to this place inhabited only by low-level magical beasts, so that he could safely reach adulthood before returning to slaughter his way back to his original home. But that life had come to an abrupt end three months ago.

He vaguely remembered waking up hungry that day and preparing to hunt a few low-level magical beasts for a good meal. The moment he left his den, though, he ran into an idiot. Yes, an idiot. He had already mercifully decided not to kill him, yet the fool still charged at him with a loud roar. Giving him a massage.

As he thought of this, a roar suddenly came from beyond the forest. Leibulus immediately stormed out of the woods and let out a roar of his own, telling that guy who always pestered him that he was not afraid of him.

Bolan had been very happy lately. Ever since meeting that Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon, he had gained a long-term sparring partner. Though he did not understand why this Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon was somewhat different from the savage creature described in the books—rather lazy, and rather timid.

Over the past three months, Bolan had changed greatly. His white warrior's outfit was gone, replaced by a pair of beast-hide trousers. His once white, shoulder-length hair had become jagged and uneven, like interlocking canine teeth. The tip of his once-sharp longsword had broken off as well. Yet when Bolan fixed his gaze on someone, the sword intent in his eyes seemed capable of piercing straight through them. His whole bearing had become remarkably striking, and his once-poor combat experience had been thoroughly remedied.

In the past, even with ten parts of strength, he could only exert seven. He had not seemed like a Level 8 warrior at all. Now, however, after three months of life-and-death battles with the Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon, he could draw eleven parts of power from ten.

Moreover, in his human form, he was only a step away from breaking through Level 6 and becoming a Level 7 warrior. Once a Dragonblood Warrior broke through Level 7 in human form, transforming into Dragonblood Warrior form would allow him to directly enter the realm of a Level 9 warrior.

Furthermore, Bolan's swordsmanship had reached the realm of Heavy as Light. This was what he had gained after his previous battle with that Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon. The Dragonblood Secret Manual stated that "Heavy as Light" and "Light as Heavy" belonged to the same level of attainment. Most of the Baruch Clan's ancestors had reached this level. The next realm, "Momentum," was the momentum of heaven and earth itself, a realm that belonged to Saint-level experts.

Bolan now had what it took to defeat this Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon. He intended to use the momentum gained from defeating it to push his human form to Level 7 in one stroke.

"This time, I'll definitely defeat you, you stupid dragon!" Bolan roared!

"Roar!" The Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon opposite him roared back, meaning, What are you bragging about?

After three months together, the man and dragon could more or less understand what the other was saying. So whenever they met, they always started by taunting each other.

Before long, Bolan and the Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon, Leibulus, collided. Bolan's battered longsword thrust directly toward Leibulus, while Leibulus extended his sharp claws to meet Bolan's blade head-on.

Boom! A tremendous crash rang out from where the sword and claws collided. Leaves scattered in an instant, and even the huge boulders nearby were blasted backward. Then laughter rang out from the center of the battlefield. Bolan laughed. "Stupid dragon, let's stop testing each other. Let's go all out and have a proper fight. This time, I'll beat you into submission!" The Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon, Leibulus, answered with an angry roar.

"Sword One!" Bolan shouted. Having fought Bolan many times, Leibulus immediately swung his right claw and cast the Level 8 darkness spell, Darkness Shield. This strike tore a gap directly through the Darkness Shield, leaving Leibulus astonished. Last time, Bolan's Sword One had only made the Darkness Shield shake violently. This time, it had broken straight through, and Bolan still seemed to have plenty in reserve. As expected of the Fiend from the clan legends—his improvement is terrifyingly fast! Leibulus clicked his tongue inwardly.

"Haha, stupid dragon, my Sword One is stronger than before, isn't it?" Bolan laughed smugly when he saw that his strike had broken Leibulus's Darkness Shield.

Leibulus ignored him. With a sweep of his dragon claw, he dispelled the Darkness Shield. His body turned into a streak of black light as he charged toward Bolan. Seeing this, Bolan went all out as well, turning into a streak of white light as he collided with the black light once more.

"Sword One!" Amid countless shrieks of tearing air, it collided wildly with Leibulus's claws!

Sword shadows flashed, claws tore through the air, and their roars accompanied their repeated collisions. The surrounding boulders and towering trees suffered endlessly. Though Bolan held a slight upper hand, he still failed to secure a true victory.

Half a day later, Bolan and Leibulus finally separated. Both were covered in blood. Bolan's longsword had been reduced to nothing but a hilt in his hand. Across from him, Leibulus's dragon scales were shattered all over, two or three of the spikes on his back had snapped, and his dragon face was bruised and swollen. He had none of the majestic bearing he had possessed when they first met, and looked pitifully at Bolan.