The Legendary Knight: Rise of the Primordial Dragon

Chapter 104: Battle of Territory

Alaric Bjorn was a Barbarian who had lived closer to beasts than to humans or even his own kind. Although one could only form a bond with a single beast, and Bjorn had Ace as his companion for as long as he could remember, he was still often surrounded by other beasts due to how deeply he understood these creatures. To him, they only seemed dangerous from the outside; unlike humans, they were actually pure and innocent at heart.

The beasts reciprocated the same love he gave them, causing those who looked at him to wonder if he had somehow formed bonds with multiple beasts.

Griffins, Rocs, Wyverns, no matter how dangerous the beasts were, at some point in his life he had conversed with them all. Even now, although Chloe’s Roc did not allow him to pat it, it still permitted him to sit beside it without aggression.

However, there was one beast that Bjorn had never managed to tame. Forget about taming, he had never even touched one. Yes, it was the Dark Unicorns.

He had only seen a single Dark Unicorn before in his entire life. He did not even know more of these mysterious creatures existed until Vlad arrived with one. He had been working as a professor at Arcane Academy for the past twenty years, spending more time in the open terrains on the other side of Grimveil Forest, yet he had never spotted a Dark Unicorn there before.

"Wh-where did ya find him?" Bjorn asked Vlad, stepping forward and finally snapping his mouth shut.

"Umm... in truth, it’s Shadow who actually found me," Vlad replied, glancing at the unicorn who still had not removed its gaze from Chloe’s Roc.

"That makes more sense," Bjorn shook his head, his thick braid swaying with the motion. He quickly closed the distance between them, taking a closer look at Shadow from every angle, circling the creature with wide, awe-filled eyes.

He desperately wanted to pat it but kept his hands firmly to himself. He knew better than to disturb the creature when it was locked in a territorial battle against another apex beast.

The higher Feral Beasts like Wyverns, Rocs, Qilins, and Unicorns did not engage in bloody battles for territory that would cause long-lasting or permanent injuries, even if they emerged victorious. Instead, they mutually agreed upon some other method that would not involve violence. As for Shadow and Chloe’s Roc, they appeared to be engaged in an intense battle of no-winking, since both of them had been staring at each other unblinkingly for several minutes now, their gazes like daggers cutting through the tense air.

"So hungry..." Chloe groaned, lying flat on the Roc’s back, her sleep abruptly disturbed by Bjorn’s loud, ear-splitting scream.

She lazily moved her arms around the Roc’s thick but surprisingly soft skin. "So soft..." she murmured drowsily.

She parted her lips, her mouth opening wide.

Chomp!

Her sudden bite felt like nothing more than a tiny pinch to the colossal Roc, but it was enough to make it blink its eye in surprise, breaking its intense stare-down with Shadow.

Shadow snorted with a smug sense of victory, its head rising high in pride while the long, silky hair on its neck swayed dramatically with the motion.

The Roc let out a small, indignant squeak at Shadow, as if demanding a rematch or complaining about being disturbed so rudely. Shadow only released another derisive snort at the proposal, as if laughing at the Roc and calling it a sore loser.

Max did not know what was happening, but the expressions Shadow was giving to the Roc somehow made even him feel annoyed. It looked awfully familiar to the look Vlad wore when he extorted credits from the students during Orientation.

The Roc seemed completely infuriated now. Its naturally high temper, inherited from being a Roc, was not helping in the slightest. It shook its back violently, causing Chloe, the very cause of its defeat, to tumble to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Ack!" Chloe gasped as her head hit the ground first. She slowly opened her eyes, fixing the Roc with a sharp, piercing glare. "Bad birdie!" she scolded, jabbing her index finger accusingly at the Roc.

The Roc snapped its head towards Chloe as if it was being wrongly accused. It let out a small, pitiful squeak, trying to explain that Chloe was the one who caused it to lose the territorial war. But Chloe was not one to listen to excuses.

"Behave, Chibi," Chloe scolded again, her eyes slightly narrowing into dangerous slits. Now the Roc seemed on the verge of tears, its massive head drooping low in defeat.

Everyone who was watching this exchange was left completely bewildered and exasperated. Even those who managed to form a bond with a Roc could not fully tame them due to their short, explosive temper. Yet, this Roc seemed completely at the mercy of Chloe, to the point that they actually felt bad for the poor bird.

"Ay have seen enough for today," Bjorn sighed, shaking his head before announcing loudly, "Two hundred credits to Vlad and hundred credits to Chloe each for performing stunningly in today’s lecture."

The announcement caused ripples of awe and jealousy to spread through the students like wildfire. Was he not already rich enough to receive two hundred credits like nothing? But then again, they could not question the reward given his unprecedented achievement.

He reached before the opening of the barrier through which they had entered and continued, "Move out in a single line."

"Professor, can we take our beasts with us?" a girl asked from the group, her voice hopeful.

"Of course not!" Bjorn instantly denied, his tone firm and unwavering. "It’s only the first day ya formed the bond with yer beasts. Ya must first increase yer trust with them. Moreover, this is the most comfortable place for them."

His answer obviously caused frowns and disappointment to bloom across the students’ faces.

"Nevertheless, ya’ll be allowed to take them with ya during missions from the second semester onwards."

The students began leaving the barrier in a proper, orderly line, their expressions a mixture of dejection and anticipation.

"Let’s meet soon, Shadow," Vlad said, tapping the unicorn gently on the back before moving forward.

Shadow gave a slight nod in acknowledgment and in the next second had already vanished from the area into thin air, disappearing with the same mystery and grace with which it had arrived.

"Aren’t you a scary one," Vlad teased as he reached beside Chloe. "I should behave myself before you, Chloe mama."

"Speaking nonsense again," Chloe scoffed, swaying her head to the other side with feigned disinterest, while Max just silently enjoyed the playful exchange between them.

Once the trio moved outside, Chibi spread its massive wings, casting long, ominous shadows across the ground, and flew away with a furious flap. Bjorn was already feeling bad for the other beasts whom Chibi was definitely going to bully just to vent out it’s pent-up anger.

He glanced back at the spot where Shadow had been standing just a moment ago and whispered softly as he walked forward, "So someone finally managed to tame the same species of beast that once The Legendary Knight mounted."