Empire's Dragon Duel

"Hey, hey, hey, eldest son, can you hear me? Well, even if you can, you can't reply to your old man. I'll just assume you heard me."

The moment the Shadowbinding Stone shattered, Lonzell sensed a shadow instantly engulfing both himself and Vomysor. But clearly, the shadow had no killing power, nor was it some bizarre curse. After all, his blood had given no warning.

Vomysor also conveyed the meaning of, What the hell happened? But I don't seem to feel anything.

Lonzell had no idea how he could sense such emotionally rich meanings from a dragon. Maybe he was special? Forget it. He had no interest in dwelling on that now. All he wanted to know was what else his father had left behind.

Then he saw something strange.

The shadows obscuring his sight faded, and his vision suddenly opened up. Then Lonzell received another emotion from Vomysor. What the hell is this now?

Vomysor was flying steadily through the air. Ahead lay a clear sky, and through the clouds, Lonzell could see vast plains and rushing rivers below.

A massive army was marching along the river. Lonzell narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the banners and appearance of the troops below. He adapted quickly and immediately realized that he might have fallen under some sort of illusion, though it did not seem particularly dangerous.

"Eldest son, this is a family heirloom. Your grandfather and great-grandfather both treasured it dearly. At first, your old man had no idea what it was, but later, a shadowbinder from Asshai recognized it. Who would've thought those mages who toy with life and shadows could create something like this? This Shadowbinding Stone contains the shadows of many Valaerys family ancestors fighting atop dragons throughout history. Some are human, and some are dragons."

Cleorius's voice paused.

"If you're lucky enough to tame an adult dragon, this Shadowbinding Stone will shatter immediately and release the shadows of your ancestors, allowing you to experience fighting atop dragons as they once did, or take part in Valyria's noble dragon duels. Our ancestors used this magical item to train younger family members who had successfully tamed adult dragons, so they could quickly become true Dragonlords and warriors. Heh, who knew you'd be so lucky, kid? You can actually experience it in this world. Sigh. Enough talk. Get ready to begin. Even when Valyria still existed, this was a precious treasure."

Lonzell's thoughts broke free from his father's rambling. The army on the riverbank also came into clearer view. These warriors had olive skin and jet-black hair, slender builds, and dark eyes filled with boundless fervor beneath their determination. These brave soldiers wore iron armor, carried excellent weapons, and possessed soaring morale. Many people in strange attire stood by the river as well, powerful magical fluctuations blanketing the entire army.

"The Rhoynar army?" Lonzell recognized the origin of those warriors.

Roar!

Vomysor suddenly noticed something and let out a roar. Lonzell turned around and saw the entire sky filled with dragon cries.

Dragons emerged from the clouds one after another. Some were no smaller than Vomysor, some were smaller but equally ferocious, and others were even larger. The largest among them was twice Vomysor's size.

That dragon took the lead and dived down. The Dragonlord on its back, whose face could not be seen clearly, blew a horn. Lonzell gripped the bone spike tightly as well. "Vomysor, dive."

Vomysor folded his wings and dove after the other dragons.

The Rhoynar mages began chanting. The river surged backward, and an enormous quantity of water rushed into the sky, forming a colossal waterspout between mortals and dragons.

Dracarys!

Countless dragonfire cries rang out at once.

The largest dragon was the first to unleash pale dragonfire, smashing it fiercely into the waterspout. The river water evaporated, and white mist that blotted out the sky instantly engulfed heaven and earth.

The Rhoynar archers raised their bows and fired arrows infused with water magic at the dragons in the sky. Lonzell felt as though someone was guiding him step by step. He smoothly controlled Vomysor to evade the arrows while pouring dragonfire into the waterspout.

Three hundred dragons breathed fire at once. Even if they drained every drop of the Rhoyne, they could not stop this disaster that resembled divine punishment. Lonzell watched Vomysor's flames rip through the waterspout, which had already been completely vaporized. The lingering flames surged onward, instantly reducing a group of Rhoynar beneath the mist to ashes.

The same scene played out all across the battlefield. Yet the scattered and burning Rhoynar still bravely raised their bows, arrows, and spears, trying to teach the Dragonlords in the sky a lesson.

What they received in return was even more dragonfire.

Lonzell carefully guided Vomysor in circles through the air, occasionally breathing down a few blasts of dragonfire. He did not go anywhere near a range where arrows might strike him.

In truth, quite a few dragons were breathing fire from this distance. Only the truly fierce dragons dared to chase down the Rhoynar almost against the ground.

After circling and burning dozens more Rhoynar soldiers to death with dragonfire, Vomysor spread his wings and soared high. At that moment, Lonzell's vision blurred, and the scene changed once more.

This time, they arrived above one of Valyria's towers. Another brown dragon, no smaller than Vomysor, was circling in front of them. The rider on its back was shouting something, but Lonzell could not hear a word.

Then that dragon lunged at Vomysor.

"A dragon duel?"

The familiar step-by-step teaching began again. Lonzell skillfully gripped the bone spike he treated as a handle on a dragon saddle. The instant the other dragon pounced, Vomysor suddenly dropped. The opposing dragon hurriedly flapped its wings several times and came to an abrupt stop.

Vomysor raised his head. Almost the instant the brown dragon hovered in place, he shot vertically upward, then twisted around amid the shouts of the opposing Dragonrider and viciously pounced at the brown dragon's head. His claws struck directly at its skull, leaving a long wound across its head.

"Vomysor, dragonfire."

The brown dragon refused to yield. It took Vomysor's claw strike head-on, then turned its head and breathed out a blast of dragonfire. It collided explosively with Vomysor's flames in midair. Blazing dragonfire scattered, and the Dragonrider on the brown dragon below shut his eyes against the falling rain of fire. Though its master could not directly command it for the moment, the brown dragon still raised its claws and collided violently with Vomysor's in the air. They clawed at each other, leaving scratches on one another almost simultaneously.

The two dragons spiraled downward like this, their surging dragonfire almost constantly blasting toward each other's heads.

"Vomysor, attack its belly."

At that moment, the brown dragon, which had been pinned below all along, exposed a fatal opening.

It exposed its chest and belly.

Vomysor seized the chance to knock aside the brown dragon's claws with one swipe, then slashed down fiercely. Several savage wounds immediately split open across the brown dragon's belly.

But the brown dragon's claws left wounds on Vomysor as well, though they were not as deadly as the ones Vomysor had inflicted.

The injured brown dragon howled in pain, while its Dragonrider shouted desperately.

"Vomysor, attack its neck."

Vomysor roared, and his vicious dragon head snapped downward.

Scalding blood sprayed through the air.

Vomysor clamped his jaws around the brown dragon's neck.

Everything began to blur once more.

First update check-in. I just got back from outside, sorry, sorry.

There'll be another chapter around 11:45.