Chapter 108: Blood of the Dragon (2)

The first thing I felt upon opening my eyes was the soft warmth streaming in from the window, followed by a splitting headache.

The nausea churning in my stomach confirmed it: a classic hangover.

“Ugh…”

I groaned softly and pushed myself up.

I remembered stumbling around drunk, so I must have somehow made it back to the inn.

The dragon’s form was still maintained, meaning my heart’s circle hadn’t stopped rotating even while I slept.

Judging by the sun hanging high in the sky, it was probably lunchtime.

I rubbed my queasy stomach and headed down to the inn’s first floor.

“Ugh…”

The inn had a different atmosphere than yesterday.

The bustling crowd was gone, and only one person occupied the empty first floor.

A deep bamboo hat obscured his face, but the visible lines suggested he was male.

“Are you the Dragon Blood?”

The voice came from the man in the bamboo hat.

I was the only one around, so the question must be directed at me.

I frowned, but kept my mouth shut. “Dragon Blood” was probably what these beastmen called a beastman with a dragon form manifested outside their body.

“Not even worth answering?”

“There’s some misunderstanding…”

Before I could finish, the man threw off his hat and stood up. His face was revealed.

A sharp scar across his eyes was striking.

A pair of mismatched horns, one noticeably smaller as if it had been cut off, jutted from his unkempt white hair.

He was a white deer beastman.

He carefully touched the horn that caught my eye and spoke.

“Taebaeksan Severing Sword, Jongdo. I challenge the authority of the Dragon Blood.”

The man, who introduced himself as Jongdo, placed his hand on the sword hilt at his waist.

He looked ready to draw his sword and attack at any moment if I gave him the chance.

“I’m not a Dragon Blood…”

Jongdo’s aura sharpened at my words. The red tassel hanging from the end of his sword danced in the force of his energy.

He didn’t seem like he’d back down with words alone.

I’d taken on a beastman form to avoid trouble, but even greater trouble had found me.

This Jongdo fellow must have had some complicated history with beastmen called Dragon Blood.

How could I clear up this misunderstanding? As I pondered, Jongdo suddenly drew his sword.

It was the signal for attack. The moment Jongdo’s foot pushed off the ground, a sharp sword strike flew toward me.

It was a precise sword style, like the swordsmanship used by knights.

Clearly, it was a style that had evolved for fighting other people, rather than monsters.

It was fast, but not too fast to react to. I immediately drew my sword and deflected Jongdo’s.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the swords collided. Jongdo’s eyebrows twitched behind the flickering light.

In that instant, Jongdo’s sword, which had been suspended in mid-air, drew a strange curve and flew toward my neck.

Shhhhk!

Jongdo’s sword grazed my neck, but not a single scratch remained on my smooth skin.

The transparent mana barrier covering my entire body had protected me.

Jongdo immediately retreated, pointing his sword at me.

His slightly distorted expression showed that he was in trouble.

He adjusted his grip on his sword and muttered in a low voice.

“So… this much isn’t enough to pierce the Dragon Scale Armor…?”

“Dragon Scale…? What?”

“Haaah…!”

Jongdo didn’t answer my question.

He pushed off the ground again and swung his sword at me. Jongdo’s swordsmanship was unpredictable.

It sped up and slowed down, and sometimes it even seemed to freeze mid-attack.

It seemed like a feint to lower my guard, but it wouldn’t work on me.

I deflected Jongdo’s sword and frowned. It was a tricky sword style to deal with.

The difference in physical ability was clear, so I was dealing with him easily, but if someone with equal ability used this swordsmanship, I would have struggled considerably.

Actually, I didn’t intend to prolong the fight with Jongdo.

Since the difference in skill was so obvious, I didn’t think I could learn anything from him.

But after clashing swords a few times, I began to see the movement of mana that Jongdo was using.

His use of mana was efficient. Unlike the adventurers from across the sea who spread mana throughout their bodies, he used small bursts of mana to enhance his movements.

But that was it. I decided to finish things up and strongly parried Jongdo’s sword.

Clang!

“Kuuh…!”

The force sent Jongdo’s sword flying into the air, where it lodged in the inn’s ceiling.

Jongdo’s empty upper body came into view. I immediately extended my left hand, the one not holding a sword.

It was a light gesture, but the result was anything but.

The moment the mana I pushed into Jongdo’s body caused a reaction, he was blasted out of the inn with a huge shockwave.

I followed the ejected Jongdo outside and found the street, which had been full of residents, was now empty. Everyone was hiding, watching the fight.

There were too many eyes. I dragged the writhing Jongdo back into the inn.

“Kuh, kuh… As expected of a Dragon Blood…”

Even as he writhed, Jongdo kept muttering the title “Dragon Blood.” I dumped him in a suitable spot, grabbed a chair, and sat down.

“Hey, mister.”

“…”

“What exactly is a Dragon Blood?”

“Asking about Dragon Blood in front of a Dragon Blood? Are you trying to humiliate me…? But that is the right of the victor… I will accept the price…”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what you know.”

Jongdo groaned softly and began to explain about the Dragon Blood.

They were descendants of the dragons that appeared in myths, and their innate power was on a different level from ordinary beastmen, so they had been the rulers of this land for a long time.

“So you think I look like I’m from that Dragon Blood lineage?”

“The arrogance of demanding that a loser extol the greatness of your innate lineage is fitting of a true Dragon Blood…”

“I’m telling you, I’m not a Dragon Blood.”

“You continue to humiliate me…!”

Jongdo, who had been writhing on the ground, suddenly stood up and knelt before me, bowing his head.

“Cut it off…!”

“Cut off… what?”

“Cut off my neck or my horn, one or the other. The victor has the right to take the loser’s pride and life…”

Sobaek had said that animal body parts like tails, ears, and horns were very precious to beastmen.

Some even valued those parts more than their own lives.

I looked at Jongdo’s horn with a strange expression. Judging by the cut mark, it must have been much larger before.

Could it be that this person had challenged a Dragon Blood in the past and had his horn cut off?

If so, why hadn’t the Dragon Blood cut off the entire horn?

Questions remained. I frowned and asked Jongdo.

“Why wasn’t that horn cut off completely?”

“It’s the arrogance of the Dragon Blood. Even after winning, they don’t take your life or cut off all of your pride. They inflict a terrible sense of defeat, a sense of despair, and then enjoy those who come to them for revenge…”

“That’s a nasty hobby…”

I sighed and sheathed my sword. Cutting off horns or taking lives was part of beastman culture. I didn’t need to follow it.

Of course, I wasn’t forgiving Jongdo for suddenly swinging his sword at me.

His method was wrong. If he wanted revenge, he should have gone after the person who cut off his horn, not me.

“Aren’t you ashamed?”

“Ashamed…? What do you mean?”

“I’m not a Dragon Blood, and I didn’t cut off your horn. So why did you come to me?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t tell me you thought you could win because I’m a little girl?”

Jongdo lowered his head without a word. It seemed I’d hit the nail on the head. I turned away and said,

“You told me to take your pride, but there’s nothing left to take.”

I turned to head back to the inn’s second floor, but then I heard a soft groan and a chilling snapping sound behind me.

I glanced back and saw Jongdo sitting on the ground, breaking off his own horn.

I packed my things and quickly left the inn on Nightmare.

Since I’d been seen walking around as a Dragon Blood, even if I returned to my human form, I was sure to get caught up in something troublesome.

After gathering my mana and returning to my human form, I left the city with Nightmare.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have revealed my dragon form…

They say that even the earliest regrets are still late. That was true.

After leaving the city, I was constantly attacked.

Even though I was in human form and not Dragon Blood form, the attackers didn’t hesitate to swing their swords at me.

Most of the attackers had horns or tails that were cut off, and some had only one animal ear left.

These were attacks by people, not monsters.

They didn’t come during the day. They focused on attacking when I was trying to sleep late at night.

“It’s a Dragon Blood!”

“She’s alone! The rumors were true!”

The attackers weren’t alone.

There were at least two of them, and blinded by revenge, they didn’t seem to realize how strange their actions were.

At first, I drew my sword and fought them myself.

But after a day or two, I quickly grew tired from the constant attacks.

The attackers didn’t wait for my body and mana to recover.

So, I had to take out other means of attack instead of swords and magic.

“There are three this time.”

Clop- clop-!

I stroked Nightmare’s mane as I rode on its back and whispered in a low voice.

Then, long crystal stones rose from Nightmare’s back.

I picked up the three crystal stones that had grown and pulled back the string of my short bow.

When the taut string reached its limit, I released it.

Thwiiing!

The quickly shot crystal stones drew strange curves and pierced the bodies of the beastmen hiding in the forest.

“Guh…!”

“Kuh…”

“I, ggrrr…”

Nightmare and I quickly rode away, leaving behind the small groans coming from the forest.

After passing through the red maple forest, a huge river with a deep channel appeared.

It seemed impossible to cross by normal means. But it wasn’t a problem for me and Nightmare.

Nightmare ran through the sky and jumped over the river.

It was the third day since I left the city. I was finally able to escape the beastmen’s attacks.

Only then did I get a good night’s sleep.