Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Ronin had always relied on riding Carlos to travel quickly between places.

When landing in an unfamiliar area, he would usually use the Wind of Inquiry to scout things out. Just moments ago, for example, he had sensed no one in the Forest Land, so he was caught by surprise when someone showed up right after he landed.

“Carlos, are you all right?”

High in the sky, Ronin asked about Carlos’s injuries.

“Don’t worry, Master. It just hurt a little when I was hit. I didn’t suffer any other injuries.”

A Giant Dragon’s defense was incredibly formidable and couldn’t be judged simply by its Sixth-level status.

The old man hadn’t used any highly damaging attacks just now; Carlos hadn’t even lost a single scale.

Ronin relaxed and began to ponder the man’s identity.

’First, he can cast Wind’s Wings, which means he’s at least a Seventh-level Great Mage.’

’Second, besides using Magic, he can also use the Combat Skill Storm Blade. That means the old man is at least a Bronze Knight.’

The only person in all of Crystal City with such high attainments in both Magic and Fighting Qi that Ronin could think of was the master of this land—Bellora Silva.

Given that his great-grandson, Franz, was a practitioner of Magic and Martial Dual Cultivation, Ronin was quite certain of his guess.

’If that’s the case, then he’s a Great Magic Master, not just a Great Mage.’

’He’s a Count of the Kingdom and possibly the most powerful Mage on the Orland Continent. He wouldn’t just attack the moment he saw a Giant Dragon, would he?’

Ronin decided to leave Amethyst County first and figure things out later.

But when he glanced back, his heart sank.

The old man was following closely behind them!

Although they were several hundred meters apart, the distance was shrinking at a visible rate.

“Carlos, fly as fast as you can!”

Ronin shouted as he instantly cast Light Body Skill and Swift Magic.

This caused the Wind Element around the Giant Dragon to flow violently, making its entire body look like a comet with a long tail.

Carlos had also noticed they were being followed. Boosted by the two Magic spells, its speed surged.

“This kid!”

Bellora sensed the distance between them increasing and immediately realized the other party had sped up.

’I thought I could catch up easily, but I underestimated the Giant Dragon’s speed.’

He sensed the fluctuations of Wind Element on the Giant Dragon’s body and fixed his gaze on the young man on its back.

’Unless I’m mistaken, this kid didn’t use a Magic Scroll or draw any Magic Patterns, yet he cast two spells, Light Body and Rapid Speed, in succession. Could he be a Great Mage?’

Filled with questions and curiosity, Bellora began drawing a very complex set of Magic Patterns.

In an instant, with a low hum, a blurry afterimage of folding wings appeared on his back, as if his single pair of wings had multiplied. A powerful fluctuation of Mana emanated from his body.

SWOOSH!

The old man streaked across the sky like a beam of light, rapidly closing the distance they had just created. In the blink of an eye, he was right behind them.

“Youngsters these days are so impolite. You came all this way, but you’re leaving without even saying hello?”

Bellora smiled as a five- or six-meter-long Wind Blade appeared in front of him and shot toward Ronin at an even greater speed.

The Wind Blade tore through the air with a sonic boom. Ronin was secretly alarmed; he hadn’t expected his opponent to be so fast.

He threw a rapid series of punches, sending several fiery red fist imprints flying forward. They collided with the Wind Blade, creating a rumbling explosion.

Although a Wind Blade cast by a Ninth Level Great Magic Master was stronger than an ordinary one, it was still fundamentally a Second-level Magic spell and was easily neutralized.

Ronin was now certain of the man’s identity. He shouted, “Count Bellora, you attacked a guest in your domain without any reason. Aren’t you the one who’s being impolite?”

Seeing that escape was hopeless, Ronin communicated with Carlos through his mind.

The Giant Dragon swiftly twisted its body, executing a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in mid-air. It opened its cavernous mouth, and a special Dragon Breath of mixed ice and fire filled the sky.

Ronin quickly cast a spell, and a massive Fire Dragon followed the icy-hot breath, charging toward their opponent.

Bellora used the Wall of Sighs to form a natural barrier.

Although it successfully blocked the breath attack, it couldn’t withstand the power of the Fire Dragon Devouring Heaven and shattered with a CRASH.

Bellora frowned slightly and was forced to change his flight path, dodging to the side.

This maneuver put several hundred meters of distance between them.

With one successful hit, Ronin’s confidence swelled, and he prepared for a second attack.

He quickly drew the Magic Patterns for Wind Roar.

Just as the spell was about to complete, Ronin mentally commanded Carlos, ’Get ready with Flame Breath.’

Carlos spat out high-temperature Flame, which spread out under the effect of the roar.

With the powers of wind and fire complementing each other, the combined attack was far more powerful than the sum of its parts.

Bellora snorted. He hadn’t expected his opponent to take the initiative. As he flew backward, he drew patterns in the air with both hands simultaneously, unleashing the Eighth-level Wind Attribute Magic, Oppression.

In that instant, the space ahead seemed to solidify under immense pressure. If an ordinary person were trapped inside, they would likely be crushed to death on the spot, coughing up blood.

Ronin and Carlos’s joint attack was also torn to shreds by the Oppression Spell.

Instantly, a thousand meters up in the sky, a storm erupted, throwing the surrounding clouds and air currents into chaos.

Ronin ducked behind Carlos’s neck.

The power of the Eighth-level Magic was greater than their attack, but when the remaining aftershock struck Carlos, it only made the dragon’s body sway. It couldn’t inflict any substantial damage.

At that moment, Ronin realized that with Carlos’s support, he was still at a disadvantage against a Great Magic Master, but it wasn’t a completely one-sided battle.

He looked at the old man in the distance, wondering, ’If I can get close to him, can I use my Combat Skills, which have the Power of Conquest, to turn the tables and kill him?’

’He’s also a Knight, but he definitely hasn’t reached the Meteor Level.’

’As long as someone doesn’t possess the Power of Conquest, a Meteor Knight has an insurmountable advantage against Gold Level Knights or even those of a Low Level.’

But just as Ronin was getting eager to try, the old man spoke.

“All right, kid from the Wushan Family, you can lower your guard.”

The Wind Element swirling around Bellora gradually calmed. “I just wanted to see your strength. I meant no harm. Speaking of which, your grandfather, Lurans, and I are friends.”

Ronin didn’t let his guard down. “No harm? You attacked me repeatedly. If I weren’t somewhat capable, I’m afraid you would have knocked me out of the sky.”

Bellora laughed heartily. “If I had really wanted to kill you, I would have just used the Ninth Level Magic, Destructive Storm, not Oppression.”

The Ninth Level Wind Magic, Destructive Storm, was a massive spell capable of covering an area five hundred meters in radius.

Once the storm formed, a dense barrage of wind blades would shred any enemy caught within it to pieces. Its power was several tiers higher than that of Oppression.

If he had really used that spell, even if Ronin and Carlos hadn’t died, they would have been gravely injured.

Bellora stroked his white beard and explained,

“At first, I thought a masterless Magical Beast was invading my domain, which is why I attacked right away. I just didn’t expect a Giant Dragon to have a master.”

He wasn’t lying about that. The moment he first saw the Giant Dragon, Bellora had been both delighted and shocked, so much so that he had completely overlooked Ronin, who was right there.

It wasn’t until Ronin stood up that he realized this Giant Dragon was not without a master.

Ronin still kept his distance. “To be honest, your words aren’t very credible.”

Bellora laughed again. “I have no reason to kill you. Even if I wanted to take this Giant Dragon for myself, I’m not as lucky as you and your grandfather to possess a legendary Magic Beast Contract Scroll.”

Without a Contract Scroll, it’s impossible to make a Giant Dragon accept a human as its master.

“A dead Giant Dragon is still a treasure trove, but I don’t like to engage in such short-sighted business. So…”

He looked at Ronin. “I would like to discuss a partnership with you, the Master of Dragons.”