Chapter 513 - 505: Existing Only for Battle

Chapter 513: Chapter 505: Existing Only for Battle

"Ah! That ugly thing is here!"

Another youngling stretched out its short arm and pointed toward the grasslands. Mu Chen had been listening to their chatter the whole time, and following the young Armored Dragon’s gesture, he finally saw the one they called Xiaohai...

His first impression was that it was truly hideous... Its body was as black as charcoal, and its slightly plump figure resembled a turtle-type Magical Beast more than an Armored Dragon. Its back was somewhat rounded, making it look a bit stooped. On its back, just above the shoulder blades, grew two fleshy lumps that looked like tumors. They would occasionally expand and contract dramatically, which was quite disgusting to watch.

Its head was slightly larger than that of a normal young Armored Dragon. But where other younglings had a single protrusion on their heads, this one... had two tumors identical to the ones on its back, one on each side of its head. There was even one on the tip of its snout.

Its limbs, by contrast, were far thicker than those of a typical young Armored Dragon. Not only that, while other younglings had slender, short upper limbs, its were extremely robust, nearly as thick as its own legs. Because of this, its body was twice the size of even the strongest of the young Armored Dragons. All things considered, if it weren’t walking upright, no one would have ever classified it as an Earth Dragon-type Magical Beast.

This was him, the one the young Armored Dragons called... the stupid one, the one who could be bullied by a First-tier Magical Beast meant to be food...

’Is that really a young Lightning Armor Dragon?’

Watching its slow, stumbling gait, Mu Chen focused his gaze. What he saw shocked him. This incredibly ugly Armored Dragon Outsider was covered in injuries... Its body was so dark that the wounds were difficult to spot with the naked eye unless one looked very carefully.

It kept its head down, occasionally glancing up timidly at the young Armored Dragons sitting on the Lightning Armor Dragon’s back before quickly lowering its head again. In that fleeting moment, Mu Chen saw a myriad of emotions in its eyes... envy, hope, disappointment, pain, solitude, fear, loneliness, resentment, and even... despair...

’What in the world did it go through...? So young... Just how much suffering must one endure to have eyes so filled with such a mixture of emotions...?’

THUD...

WHIMPER...

With a soft cry, the stumbling figure fell right in front of Mu Chen and the other Lightning Armor Dragons. Its cry earned no sympathy from its kin—only ridicule and scorn.

"Look, look! That idiot Xiaohai fell again. As a member of this clan, I’m so embarrassed for it."

"Haha... Clan Leader, I’ve already reached Tier Two, but Xiaohai can’t even sense Primordial Qi."

"Clan Leader, why don’t we just drive him out? He doesn’t look anything like us, anyway."

WHIMPER... AWOO...

The crowd’s chatter was so loud it was impossible to ignore. Xiaohai, who had fallen to the ground, struggled back to its feet. It paid no mind to how clumsy its posture was or how thick the jeers grew. It simply got up without hesitation, then dejectedly turned and walked away.

How similar. It was all so terribly similar. He finally understood why he could read the emotions in this Outsider Armored Dragon’s eyes, why he could feel the hardship in this ugly youngling’s heart. It was because... their childhoods were perfect reflections of each other! In that creature, Mu Chen saw himself.

"Alright, you little ones. It’s time to go back to your parents and eat. If you keep sitting on my back, you’ll have to train on an empty stomach later," the Armor Dragon King said gently to the others, acting as if he hadn’t even seen Xiaohai leave.

As he spoke, the Lightning Armor Dragon King rose up, and with a swing of his giant tail, all the young Armored Dragons slid off his back in unison.

Hearing the Lightning Armor Dragon King’s words, all the young Armored Dragons bolted toward the Inner Valley as if, in their world, training without a meal was the greatest torture imaginable.

Watching the young Armored Dragons slowly disappear from sight, the Lightning Armor Dragon King looked worriedly in the direction Xiaohai had gone. He sighed and said, "Do you find that child very unique, and very... pitiful?"

Lost in his memories, Mu Chen was startled by the Lightning Armor Dragon King’s words. After all, the King’s expression had been one of indifference just moments ago. But now, it was filled with pity, sorrow, and a deep, lingering grief.

"Were you disappointed by my behavior just now? Did you think I was cruel?" The Lightning Armor Dragon King’s voice grew more sorrowful. He turned and said, "That is my older brother’s child..."

"!!"

Shock! Absolute shock! Upon hearing this, Mu Chen knew that behind this little creature lay a story that would surely astound him.

"Are you interested in hearing Xiaohai’s story?" The Armor Dragon King took a few steps toward the center of the meadow, turned around on a small hill, and sat down in a very human-like manner. Without waiting to see if Mu Chen wanted to listen, he began to speak on his own.

"To talk about Xiaohai, I must start with his father, my older brother. He was the most unique member of our Lightning Armor Dragon clan and a once-in-a-generation genius. Even among the powerful Demon Beast Races of the entire Holy Beast Mountain, he could be called a peak Overlord. At the very least, a half-baked Magical Beast with my level of Cultivation could only ever look up to him."

"Heh..." Seeing Mu Chen standing there in a daze, the Lightning Armor Dragon King gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Are you surprised? Surprised that I am the Clan Leader of the Armored Dragons and not him, right?"

"Indeed. My older brother, Xiaohai’s father, was the true Clan Leader of our Armored Dragon clan. However, he was also the most irresponsible Clan Leader our clan has ever had! What made him special was that he was different from all other Lightning Armor Dragons. He... liked to live alone! His immense power and talent caused his confidence and arrogance to grow by the day, and he soon became dissatisfied with our clan’s way of life on Holy Beast Mountain. He felt it was too comfortable, too harmonious. Deep down, he possessed a warlike nature that no one could match!"

"So, he abandoned us! He left us! He began to challenge every powerful Magical Beast on Holy Beast Mountain all by himself! For hundreds of years, his life was nothing but battle after battle, nothing but bloodshed and injury! As time went on, more and more powerful Magical Beasts fell to his claws, which in turn led to more and more powerful Magical Beasts wanting him dead! After all, on the peaceful and harmonious Holy Beast Mountain, all the Magical Beasts were pursuing a life of peace and tranquility! But my brother’s appearance shattered their pursuit! He himself was an Outsider! And an Outsider must be prepared to be eliminated!"

Hearing this, Mu Chen couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath! He could never have imagined that a Magical Beast raised on Holy Beast Mountain would possess such an intense will to fight—so strong that it could forsake its own clan’s rules and people! But the story wasn’t over, and Mu Chen intended to listen carefully to the end. After all, he still hadn’t heard anything directly related to Xiaohai yet.

"However, my brother was only seeking the thrill of battle, so before every fight, he would always declare, ’I am a Lightning Armor Dragon who has forsaken his clan. This battle is for me alone!’ It is because of this that our clan has been able to develop peacefully to this day, without any of the enemies he made ever attacking us."

The Lightning Armor Dragon King sighed. "This life continued for several hundred years. His power allowed him to defeat nearly half of the powerful Magical Beasts on Holy Beast Mountain, one after another! He also managed to escape countless ambushes and assassination attempts by his enemies. He reveled in the thrill of this cycle of fighting and fleeing."

"But the good times didn’t last. One event completely changed everything in his life... After being wounded in a battle, my brother, my powerful brother, was finally schemed against and cornered by countless Magical Beasts and enemies. He was pushed to the brink. This time, his opponents had clearly made incredibly detailed plans. Advancing meant facing the insurmountable wrath of ten thousand beasts! Retreating meant a ten-thousand-foot cliff with no escape! My brother... had no hope of getting away!"

"Refusing to die a coward’s death, my brother resolutely chose to clash with the myriad beasts. He charged in and out of the horde seven times, slaughtering hundreds of elite Magical Beasts! He didn’t even seem to notice when the beast army tore off his right arm. Nearly every Magical Beast that saw him retreated, not daring to stand and fight against him! His valor and ferocity finally provoked the powerful Holy Beasts standing behind the Demon Beast Army! Seeing the wavering morale of the beasts, they could no longer stand by. Disregarding their own dignity, several Holy Beasts charged out at once and struck my brother, who was already a spent force. They shattered his bones, and one of the Holy Beasts even snapped off his Thunder Vortex Horn—the ultimate symbol of a Lightning Armor Dragon’s power!"

"’Defeated! But glorious in defeat!’ Those were the last words my brother said after he stopped resisting!"

The Lightning Armor Dragon King’s face was filled with pride, and his words were passionate and inspiring! As he spoke, Mu Chen’s mind seemed to conjure the scene from that day! The expression and words of that Lightning Armor Dragon, standing at the pinnacle of Holy Beast Mountain, became vivid in his mind’s eye.

"But... it would have been better if my brother hadn’t said that! After he spoke, one of the Holy Beasts actually stopped its claws and did something that all Magical Beasts would despise! It! It actually kicked my dying brother off the cliff! It wouldn’t even let him die a glorious death in battle! Instead, it made him look like he was running away!