Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 177: Chapter 72: Slicing the Divine Spirit_4

Moreover, in the future, many humanoid races, including humans, will become citizens of the kingdom under my rule. Maintaining a humanoid form can sometimes make it easier to gain acceptance. After all, when a massive Red Dragon glares at you with its cold, slit pupils, it’s hard for anyone not to have some terrifying thoughts.

This was Karon’s final concession for the sake of his kingdom.

The trees in the orchard of the Dragon Group are all very tall, two to three times larger than their counterparts in the wild. It’s unclear how many strange things the Green Dragon Antajena and the Jackal Wolfman Yougu have buried beneath the orchard over this period.

Karon’s towering body stepped into the orchard, slightly frowning. Even in his current humanoid form, his six-and-a-half-meter height felt somewhat constrained.

And the six-and-a-half-meter humanoid form is the minimum limit when the Red Dragon changes to human form. In this form, Karon can exert most of his power.

Although Karon’s original form doesn’t appear as clumsy as other Dragons, a smaller body also means increased flexibility. It’s safe to say Karon’s strength is hardly restricted now.

This is also the minimum limit of transformation skill that Karon is willing to employ; he is reluctant to sacrifice his power just to assume a humanoid form, as he sees it as a shortsighted act.

A thought stirred within him, and the newly awakened heart energy pulsed between his flesh and bones. His body gradually shrank further, proportionately reducing until it reached about three and a half meters, at which point Karon realized he had reached his limit of control.

Crack, Karon’s clawed hand clenched tightly, sensing the power in this form, slightly reduced from before but not significantly diminished.

In the realm of Dragon inheritance, there are two types of knowledge, Transformation Skill and Variation Technique. Transformation Skill allows Dragons to morph into any creature form they’re familiar with, while Variation Technique lets them freely enlarge or shrink their bodies.

However, Variation Technique is much more challenging than Transformation Skill, and not every Dragon possesses the knowledge of the Variation Technique.

Yet the transformation Karon achieved was not through the Giant Dragon Transformation Skill, but by using his own heart energy to control his flesh and blood.

This power, born from the unity of Karon’s flesh, mind, and spirit, is exceptionally magical. Based on his experience, he found that the reaction of heart energy was even faster than the Bronze Certificate that once belonged to the noble Will Clarence.

The Seed of Power that the Bronze Certificate represents can react as quickly as thought, an extraordinary speed far surpassing the time it takes for a Mage to manipulate magic power, outline the spell model, and then cast magic. This is one reason some Warriors can face Mages.

But the heart energy Karon possesses acts almost instantly, moving as the mind wishes, needing no reaction time. Its release is even faster than the Red Dragon’s bloodline talent skills, possibly because this power originates from between the mind and spirit.

”Tsk, it seems I’ve uncovered a remarkable ability,” Karon mused as he wandered the orchard, experiencing a different visual perspective, feeling unfamiliar as he had grown accustomed to seeing the world through Dragon-shaped sight.

He walked down the shaded avenue into the depths of the orchard. These shaded paths were once trodden by Juvenile Dragons and were still wide enough for the current Karon.

In the depths of the orchard stood a tall stone pavilion, where Juvenile Dragons used to rest. Now, for Dragons, the pavilion’s purpose is simply for scratching their scale armor, a mere backscratcher.

Karon’s gaze fell on the stone pavilion. Two people were seated at the rough stone table — a young Squinting Mage Xiuse and the Countess Batorri, with a beautiful face, crystal-clear green eyes, and short black-red hair.

A male Pick Elf was flitting about nearby, accompanying them, as two glasses of sweet-scented honeyed fruit wine were placed before them.

”Ah, it’s Lord Karon,” the Pick Elf noticed Karon’s figure and quickly came to greet him. These magical creatures identifying individuals by unique auras made it easy for them to recognize Karon’s true form.

”Go on, get me a glass of honeyed fruit wine too, an extra-large!” Karon waved the Pick Elf away.

The Squinting Mage Xiuse and the short-haired Countess Batorri stood up as well. Xiuse, seeing Karon’s humanoid form, finally widened his squinting eyes slightly, exclaiming, ”Karon, you truly are a magic genius, a Red Dragon capable of mastering the Transformation Skill in youth, how rare!”

The Countess Batorri performed a noble etiquette towards Karon and spoke, ”Good day, esteemed Master of the Dragon Clans!”

Karon nodded calmly. He held no fondness for the Squinting Mage. Even though they had cooperated before, having been tricked by a Mage before, he had little enthusiasm for the Mage until he could not settle the score.

”Quite rare, after all this time, Xiuse, you still haven’t learned to open your eyes when speaking, it’s disrespectful to others!”

Towards the Countess Batorri, his attitude was slightly warmer, replying, ”Good day, lovely lady.”

The typically calm Squinting Mage’s face suddenly resembled someone constipated, while his neck swelled up a bit. Beside him, the Countess Batorri burst into laughter, watching with amused interest as her clever brother experienced an unusual embarrassments.