Dragons and Man (Part One)

“General Hadian, long time no see.”

The old Archbishop gazed at the middle-aged man lying on a lounge chair, eyes closed in rest, his hoarse voice carrying a unique familiarity.

Hearing the voice, the old man on the lounge chair slowly opened his eyes. Those golden pupils, seemingly hiding a ferocious beast, stared at the newcomer. Head Sister Zenora felt a distinct discomfort.

Being stared at by this man, she felt as if she was no longer a dragon, but prey being watched by a creature even more terrifying than a dragon.

The old Archbishop chuckled as he stood in front of the Head Sister, the chilling pressure instantly reduced by more than half, as if a wall was blocking the wind.

“Old friends meeting, is this how you welcome me?”

“I am merely an old dragon clinging to life, about to die. Why would you bring someone to see me, wasting time?”

Hadian slowly reined in the pressure in his eyes. The marks left by the wind and frost on his face were no less than on the old Archbishop’s.

“You can’t say that. This old immortal hasn’t returned to the Dragon God’s side yet, so how could you, a general, pass away before this useless old Archbishop?”

The old Archbishop said with a gentle smile, as if addressing an old friend, unhurriedly. At the same time, he glanced at Zenora behind him, who, understanding the hint, quickly left the courtyard.

“Now there is no one else here besides us.”

“Please sit down…”

Old General Hadian pondered for a moment, finally nodding.

“What do you want from me this time? Don’t tell me you, at your age, still want to mess around with those two foolish dragons from the Duke’s estate.”

“Hehe, it seems the Duchess has already sought you out. Fortunately, I’ve found the right person this time.”

The old Archbishop chuckled, stroking his beard, as if he had long anticipated this.

“It wasn’t the Duchess, but Duke Casimir himself who came. He wants me to return to service and help him establish a great achievement.”

Perhaps because only his old friend was present, the majesty and killing intent in General Hadian’s eyes vanished, leaving only the weariness and exhaustion of an old man.

“And did you agree?”

“That’s what I should be asking you. If I’m not mistaken, you should have just met that woman.”

Old General Hadian glanced at him askance, saying so.

“The Duchess demanded the Saintess be deposed. I neither agreed nor disagreed. She presented three charges against the Saintess, and I merely acted according to the rules.”

“Hehe, truly only your stubborn temper would do such a thing. My situation is similar, but I explicitly refused him. This old man is no longer a general, and I no longer wish to involve myself in the troublesome matters of Imperial power struggles…”

He closed his eyes tiredly, his voice carrying a plainness only the two of them could understand.

“I just didn’t expect their ambition to be so vast. Not only do they want to usurp the royal power, but they also want to swallow the divine power whole. I truly worry they might choke themselves to death trying to devour it all in one bite!”

Hadian opened his eyes with a cold sneer, his golden pupils full of sarcasm and disdain.

“I’m too lazy to discuss matters of the Dragon King. But regarding the Saintess’s position, relying on that thoughtless woman and her equally thoughtless daughter? If the Dragon God truly responded to her daughter, then I’d rather smash the Dragon God’s statue on the spot.”

“Such blasphemous words against the Dragon God, probably only you in this dynasty would dare to utter them, right?”

Facing Old General Hadian’s disrespectful blasphemy, the old Archbishop merely smiled indifferently, even joking on the spot.

“Perhaps the Dragon King’s position can indeed be decided by whoever has the bigger fist, but the Saintess’s position… I’m not clear about other past Saintesses, but this generation’s, her daughter can only be her…”

“Why do you say that? I recall Her Highness the Saintess’s relationship with you wasn’t exactly harmonious.”

The old Archbishop pondered.

“This has nothing to do with my attitude towards the Saintess. What I mean is, no matter what, I only recognize Aurelia as this generation’s Saintess. She is the heaven-sent Saintess, the one destined to sit in that position, no matter what. If you told me now that she is the child designated by the Dragon God, I would believe it without hesitation.”

Hadian narrowed his eyes, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

“Oh, it seems there are stories and secrets here that I don’t know.”

“Stop feigning ignorance, old man. You and I are both old immortals, but I know you best. In terms of fighting, ten of you couldn’t match one of me, but when it comes to feigning ignorance, you are a genius at it~”

“Hehe, I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”

“I know you came for this matter. Although it’s an old wound, if you wish to hear it, I don’t mind revealing the truth of what happened back then…”

As he spoke, Hadian’s thoughts seemed to be pulled back to that night, to that Gobi Desert, where a one-armed man, wielding a curved saber, forcefully tore through his hardened dragon scales and his domain of killing intent.

Beneath the Gobi Desert at night, the battle between dragon and man still raged…

Hadian was ordered by the Dragon Queen to kill the dragon girl, while Conde was entrusted by the Saintess to protect the dragon girl.

What seemed to be a battle with no suspense, under the brilliant, pale moonlight, after intense combat, both the one-armed man and the mighty dragon paid a heavy price.

Hadian looked at his body covered in saber marks and shattered dragon scales, his golden eyes, filled with the death of Bach, dared not show a trace of slack.

At the same time, opposite him, the man whose speed was unpredictable as a ghost or god was in an even worse state.

In the night wind, his clothes remained unmoving. Blood soaked the soft linen, and the congealed blood in the fabric made his clothes stiff like a cuticle.

A layer of blood scab had already formed on his body, yet his gaze remained calm, merely panting, and the air he exhaled carried a faint scent of sulfur.

With no expression, the man knelt on the ground, issuing a hoarse groan, liquid from his left arm and leaping sparks continuously seeping outwards.

“Surrender, Conde. I admit your strength, true name, and title match, but you are still human. There is a world of difference between dragons and humans; you cannot defeat me.”

In his vision, white flames leaped and forged the Dragon Soul Hell, Hadian’s proud domain. As a warrior, cultivating a domain was several times harder than for a mage.

A mage’s domain was mostly formed by the resonance of their most compatible element, combined with their mental state.

Warriors, not cultivating elements, naturally couldn’t leverage their convenience.

A warrior’s domain had no elemental attributes, only the imprint of their soul and a path uniquely forged by themselves.

Under the buff and consumption of the domain, Conde’s boasted speed could no longer create any advantage.

Those white flames consumed his spirit and blood energy. When both spirit and blood energy were exhausted, even the strongest warrior would only collapse.

Previously, the longest record of endurance within Hadian’s domain was by an Orc warrior, who lasted for an hour and 42 minutes before collapsing from exhaustion. Now, this man, born with talent, had already fought continuously for three hours.

Three hours of fighting had almost overdrawn his body. Three hours of fighting, even his lifeless alchemical arm was rendered useless due to the overload, yet he still hadn’t fallen…

Hadian admired this man, but orders were orders; no one could change the outcome.

“The difference between having a domain and not having one is the gap between an ant and a dragon. Give up, Thief Saint. As a gifted one, you cannot possess your own domain, and thus are destined to be unable to defeat me.”

Hadian said coldly.

He intended to use this final verbal warning to make this admirable man give up his futile struggle, but things always developed in ways that defied expectations…