Chapter 341: Chapter 245: Reception
The warriors lined up, and the Mount Dragons one by one transformed into adult dragons, gaining momentum before taking flight.
Finally, it was Long Yi’s turn, and Bajie flew out far, turning into an eighty-meter-long Demon Abyss Dragon. On its flat back was not a dragon saddle, but rather an entire row of soft seats!
"Come on, I’m taller, I’ll sit in the back, Ai Lin here, the three of you go up front."
Long Yi hopped onto Bajie’s back and began arranging the seating.
"Long Yi! What are you doing!"
Lin Qi roared out.
"Departing, of course!" Long Yi asked, confused.
"All Dragon Knights must ride their own Mount Dragons!" Lin Qi’s single eye turned red. Not only were they all sitting together, but they were even in comfortable seats! Were these bastards going on a trip?
At this moment, Mosquito looked at the Nine Mosquito Dragon on his wrist with extreme discomfort, feeling utterly desperate.
Yes, Mosquito’s Nine Mosquito Dragon was only two feet long even as an adult. Flying on it would be nothing more than a daydream.
"Is it really necessary? It is just a long journey after all, one more or fewer person won’t make a difference. I spent three nights making these seats." Long Yi said with a smile.
Oh, no, this bastard can’t follow orders! I take back what I said just now!
Lin Qi grinded his teeth and pointed at the row of seats on Bajie’s back: "Everyone must use their own Mount Dragon! Dismantle it now!"
Well, it’s an order so Long Yi had no choice but to follow. Dismantling the seats and throwing them far away, he ran to Bajie’s head where he had designed a unique dragon saddle.
Mosquito could only borrow the chef’s Hive Dragon, as Lin Qi would certainly not let Mosquito fly on a Two-foot Nine Mosquito Dragon.
"Let’s go!"
Long Yi shouted.
Bajie slowly began to rise, his immense wings causing a violent gale. Ai Lin also spread her wings, quickly catching up to Long Yi she then landed on Bajie’s head, standing in front of him.
Then, Wesley too mounted Observation Dragon’s back, while the chef and Mosquito both took flight as well.
"Stick-in-the-mud." Long Yi glanced back at Vice Captain Lin Qi, who was still in the process of summoning his Mount Dragon, and muttered grumpily.
"Well, the rules are the rules." Ai Lin said with a laugh.
"We’re going there for an exchange, which is essentially a competition. What happens if we don’t have the energy once we get there?"
"No big deal, right? Friendship first, competition second!"
Vice Captain Lin Qi’s White Dragon flew past from one side, outpacing Bajie and even performed an aerial stunt which is also part of the military exchange performance.
Xiaoyou, who was originally resting on Long Yi’s shoulder, suddenly roared when she noticed someone had overtaken them. Instantly, she transformed into an adult Shadow Dragon, flapped her wings twice, and caught up with Vice Captain Lin Qi’s White Dragon.
Seeing the Shadow Dragon coming from Long Yi’s direction, Lin Qi knew that Long Yi possessed a Shadow Dragon. Regardless of how widely traveled Lin Qi was, he was not very familiar with these Shadow Dragons. After all, these dragons have always been hostile towards Dragon Riders, and therefore, they were rarely seen on the battlefield. It has always been said that Shadow Dragons were fast, but no one knew exactly how fast they were.
Xiaoyou came beside Lin Qi’s White Dragon, suddenly opened her mouth, and called out ’Quack’. She then started to flap her wings continuously, and immediately overtook the others.
Although the White Dragon wasn’t known for its speed, it wasn’t slow either. Yet it was easily surpassed by Xiaoyou, which made it frustrated. With no intervention from Lin Qi, the White Dragon immediately flapped its wings and chased after. Xiaoyou, on the other hand, kept increasing her speed and started doing various stunts mid-air, flitting back and forth around the White Dragon. Despite the White Dragon’s desperate attempts to catch up, it couldn’t even get close to Xiaoyou’s tail.
However, from Lin Qi’s perspective, these stunts were seen in a completely different light.
These movements were definitely not randomly executed for fun!
Lin Qi stared intently at Xiaoyou’s movements; each flap of her wings and each roll in the air were meaningful!
Not just Vice Captain Lin Qi, but also the Dragon Knights up ahead watched intently. To get into the First Legion took more than just raw power - a sharp mind was equally important. Many of them attended Command College and had a natural understanding of battlefield strategy. But what amazed them was that Xiaoyou’s acrobatics deviated entirely from the usual tactics taught.
Those seemingly useless rolls actually allowed her to drop her speed to zero in the shortest amount of time! Moreover, those apparently careless flips let her swiftly direct her attack towards the enemy!
This was no laughing matter!
This was real combat!
Lin Qi watched Xiaoyou’s movements, and also pondered, if there was a Dragon Rider on top of that Shadow Dragon, how would he respond?
After much consideration, Lin Qi realized with shock that, excluding all other factors and solely judging based on their aerial maneuvers, he was utterly outclassed by the Mount Dragon!
Clearly, these were not instincts inherent to the Dragon Clan- if that were the case, his White Dragon wouldn’t be so helplessly inferior. This implies that these maneuvers derived from the Dragon Knights!
Long Yi!
Far away, the gigantic Demon Abyss Dragon flew steadily. Though Bajie’s wingbeats were slow, the dragon’s massive wingspan allowed it to move at a decent speed.
Above the dragon’s head, Long Yi leaned forward, murmuring something to Ai Lin.
Could these maneuvers possibly originate from Long Yi?
Lin Qi pondered in his heart.
Vice Captain Lin Qi was tempted to launch a surprise test, ordering his Dragon Knights to attack Long Yi. However, after careful thought, he ultimately abandoned this enticing plan. Firstly, Long Yi was not a member of his third Legion and had yet to officially enlist. It would not be appropriate if they accidentally injured him. Secondly, if Long Yi truly possessed such abilities, it wouldn’t be long before they were naturally exposed. There was no need to rush.
The Red Dragon Empire and the White Dragon Empire shared a sizable border. Being allies, they had symbolically stationed a little over a hundred ordinary soldiers there. These soldiers typically farmed and led peaceful lives here, rotating every six months, a rather tranquil existence.
However, today was different. The Red Dragon Empire’s welcoming squad had arrived here early. A hundred Dragon Knights, outfitted in the distinctive red armor of the Red Dragon Empire and draped with red capes, were like a sheet of flames from afar.
These warriors, who took pride in their fire-like demeanor, were as impatient as a blazing flame. It was still before the scheduled time, but some soldiers couldn’t wait any longer.
"Why aren’t those White Dragon folks here yet! Damn it, it’s so boring!"
"Haha, do those white pansies need to do their makeup before stepping out?! Hey, is my face white enough with this powder?"
"Hahaha!"
This side of the border housed the White Dragon Empire’s army. The soldiers adorned in white uniforms could only helplessly put up with their counterparts’ jeers. As regular infantry, there was nothing they could say to a Dragon Knight’s taunts, especially not when they were allies.
Finally, a series of dragon roars echoed from the horizon. The army of the White Dragon Empire had arrived!
One dragon after another flew in from afar. The sight of the eighty-meter-long Demon Abyss Dragon at the tail end was particularly striking!
"God damn it, the wait wasn’t in vain after all, it’s the Demon Abyss Dragon! It’s so massive!"
Appreciative murmurs spread among the welcoming party from the Red Dragon Empire, causing the soldiers on the White Dragon Empire’s side to puff out their chests with pride.
That was a source of true pride!
Leading the welcoming party was Cain, a big, burly guy with a full beard. Shirtless and covered in crisscrossing scars, he had been meditating silently amid his group. Hearing of the arrival of the White Dragon Empire’s troops, he immediately opened his eyes and roared,
"Up, lads! Let’s fly and welcome our esteemed guests!"
Dragon roars resounded one after the other. Dragons soared into the sky, flying off to meet their guests.
As the Vice Captain in charge, Lin Qi also flew at the front. Both sides had to follow an official protocol, Lin Qi was to submit a list of all his personnel for the other side to review and approve.
Of course, this was just formalities between two allied nations. A brief acknowledgment was enough. But the other side was reviewing the list much more carefully than usual. Moreover, it appeared that the group of Flying Dragons surrounding Bajie was growing.
Lin Qi watched in silence and asked Cain, "Does Long Yi require special review?"
Upon hearing this, Cain burst into hearty laughter. "Of course not! The lads are just very curious about the legendary Long Yi. After all, none of us have ever seen the Demon Abyss Dragon."
Lin Qi frowned slightly and retorted, "Cain, we’ve known each other for quite some time. Speak up if you have something to say. Don’t beat about the bush."
Cain laughed even louder. "Hahaha, Lin Qi my friend, I love your directness. You’re hardly like a White Dragon Empire man!"
Impatience flickered in Lin Qi’s one eye. "Spit it out!"
Cain surrendered jokingly. "Alright, alright, I’ll do as you say. The brothers had bad luck this time around, as we didn’t get selected for the exchange programme. So here we are, voluntarily taking up the duty of welcoming guests. This way, we brothers get the chance to spar with each other. We also get to see how powerful the legendary Demon Abyss Dragon is and how enchanting the Fairy Dragon truly appears...Hahahaha!"
Lin Qi stared at Cain. He knew this rascal was being honest-they had known each other for more than twenty years and understood each other well. "Let me give you a piece of advice, don’t say those words in front of Long Yi. Otherwise, I bet Long Yi will break the legs of your soldiers who whistle at Ai Lin."
Naturally, Cain too had been observing Long Yi. He didn’t know much about him. However, based on the enormous stature of the Demon Abyss Dragon, Cain knew that its rider had to be a formidable opponents. Most of the rumors about Long Yi in the Red Dragon Empire were unreliable. But one rumor had been proven true – the rumor of Long Yi’s Celestial girlfriend.
Almost everyone was eager to know what kind of formidable man had managed to woo a female from the upper plane.
From the looks of it now, Long Yi was at least not someone to be trifled with. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcomed to vote at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com.)
