Infinite Hunter

"This world doesn't have real dragons, and it's not a forgotten world, so this is considered a dragon." Cheng Yijiu touched the dragon's thorny skull—there were quite a few thorns, the ones in the middle growing upwards, while the ones on the left and right grew horizontally. Cheng Yijiu had never thought of becoming a dragon rider. He was now thinking about what to do after returning to Westeros or the trading cities.

There must be a war in Westeros now, and the trading city doesn't seem to be peaceful either. He remembered that there was a woman with a dragon or something, and it seemed that there was also a war during this period?

The ship finally arrived at a harbor in Westeros. Cheng Yijiu dragged the sloop from the sea to the shore and secured it with wooden blocks. This became his boathouse. When Cheng Yijiu walked a short distance to the shore, he found a road. "The road to the coast? I remember there was a small harbor where my ship passed. It will take about half a day to walk along the road." He lowered the cart from the boat and began to move forward along the road.

As expected, the roads in Westeros, a backward continent, were completely uneven. If Cheng Yijiu hadn't painstakingly crafted wheels with leaf springs when building the cart, it would have capsized long ago. He had left the baby dragon on the boat, and Cheng Yijiu didn't care whether the little creature wanted to escape or stay. Not far away were villages and towns, and fields growing wheat and potatoes. Seeing Cheng Yijiu in the lion skin, the farmers didn't flee immediately, but instead respectfully stepped aside.

Cheng Yijiu found it odd that no one tried to stop him along the way. It wasn't until he met the town guards that he realized his reputation as the Lion Knight had spread to the remote corners of Dorne. He had a unique image—cloaked in a golden lion skin, like a god. Cheng Yijiu had come here to buy daily necessities, including spices and salt, bacon, and flour. He also wanted to buy a horse and enough horse feed if possible.

The port was managed by a steward from a nearby earl's household. He came out to greet Cheng Yijiu and casually discussed the current situation on Westeros. "The War of the Five Kings?" Cheng Yijiu sighed. The people on the continent were fighting in chaos, with battles involving tens of thousands of people, but Dorne had not yet been involved in the war. Cheng Yijiu had a brief understanding of the war situation, but the steward didn't know much either.

The other party would definitely not try to win over Cheng Yijiu, because he was completely unqualified, but Cheng Yijiu could almost imagine that the earl here would come to visit him soon...

Chapter 27 Shedding Skin

Is it necessary to visit? Of course there is. So far, King Joffrey has not explicitly stripped Cheng Yijiu of his earldom, but he has reclaimed his fiefdom. Cheng Yijiu is now a landless nobleman like any other court noble. Most people would immediately defect to Joffrey's enemies, but Cheng Yijiu doesn't care.

This was originally done for King Robert to see. We're modern people, would we still be interested in medieval fiefdoms? Cheng Yijiu just wanted to complete the mission quickly and leave. It was good that he didn't get impatient and attack anyone in his current state. Cheng Yijiu used self-cultivation to comfort himself. He still had a chance, and that was when the Dragon Girl would strike back.

The local Earl of Dorne came to visit seven days later. Cheng Yijiu happened to be tidying up the boathouse. He opened all the ventilation holes to make it dry and cool inside and prevent mold from growing. The Earl of Dorne came with a whole team, but Cheng Yijiu received him in simple cloth.

The two sides talked for a while, and Cheng Yijiu made it clear that he had no interest in the War of the Five Kings. "Why should I get involved in a war between a group of dogs fighting for a bone?" Although it was not pleasant to hear, Cheng Yijiu said it and it seemed that the other party also agreed - Dorne is special in Westeros, and they are not completely the same as those in the north.

The other party seemed to appreciate his attitude very much. Cheng Yijiu had made an appointment with this person to have the port manager deliver supplies regularly, and he would pay for it. "I want to live in seclusion here for a while recently. If he can send me some news while sending food, I would be very grateful."

The Earl didn't find the baby dragon, but he curiously asked Cheng Yijiu if he had found any dragons. There was no need to hide this, and Cheng Yijiu told him about his voyage to Valyria, "Yes, I sailed to the Valyrian Peninsula, and I found a flying dragon..."

Cheng Yijiu described to him the current situation of Valyria, "The sky is covered by black clouds, and what illuminates the sky and the earth is the light of lava erupting from the crater of a huge volcano. Here in the ruined city of Valyria at the foot of the volcano, I found a dragon..." Cheng Yijiu said, and the earl and his entourage were already listening attentively.

"Something strange has happened in Valyria, and so has the dragon I saw." Cheng Yijiu finally recounted the process of how he slew the dragon, and in return he received exclamations and admiring gazes from the other party. They looked at the golden lion skin and the greatsword that had become legendary placed aside, "Is that the weapon for slaying dragons..." In the history of Westeros, this is probably the only warrior who killed a dragon with sword and strength. Just based on this one thing, Cheng Yijiu is enough to leave a lasting reputation in the history of Westeros.

He is now undoubtedly the best swordsman in Westeros, and the other party's attitude towards him has become more and more respectful. When the earl left, it seemed that he intended to go to other places to "brag". It is estimated that Cheng Yijiu's glorious achievements will soon spread throughout the entire continent.

Everyone knows that he left King Robert because he was going to kill the dragon, and when he returned to Westeros, everyone would ask him if he had achieved his goal? He did, instead of saying "I didn't find the dragon so I came back", and that's the legend.

The Count found no young dragon.

It was indeed difficult to detect, because the young dragon was in a state of suspended animation. When it grew to the size of a calf, it was on the upper deck of the ship, unable to move in the sun. It looked like it was dead, but it was hard. Cheng Yijiu even noticed a white film forming around its eyes.

"This looks more like shedding its shell. Does it shed its skin like a snake?" Cheng Yijiu was completely unaware of the dragon ecology in this world. The young dragon had been in this state for over seventy-two hours. Cheng Yijiu only confirmed it was "shedding" when he noticed no signs of decay or stench. The dragon's heartbeat was strange and difficult to detect.

The boat creaked. After a few days in the sun, the planks began to warp in the wet and dry areas. This was normal, and a little repair would be enough, or simply drying them out would be fine. Cheng Yijiu used a rope ladder to get on and off the boat. He was incredibly strong, and after using a few pieces of wood as rails, he single-handedly dragged the boat to a place above the tide level, then padded it with wood to level it.

Cheng Yijiu is now doing carpentry work and is preparing to use a wooden ladder instead of a rope ladder to go up and down. It is not high anyway. How high can the hull of a sloop be?

When he finished the wooden ladder, the dragonfly also showed signs of a change a week later. Its original black shell had turned gray in a week, and now cracks appeared. Cheng Yijiu heard the shell cracking, so he climbed onto the deck to see what was going on.

Cracks appeared on the dragon's back, extending all the way to its head and tail. A pink creature pushed its shell apart from the cracks and crawled out. This creature's horns hadn't shed, and its pink carapace was rapidly darkening and hardening as it came into contact with the air.

The calf's body expanded to the size of a full-grown cow, comparable to the largest brown bear in Westeros. The dragon gnawed away its shed shell in large mouthfuls. Cheng Yijiu, wearing a lion skin, wasn't afraid of the dragon, as he could sense its lack of hostility.

"This thing gives me the feeling of being more like a dog, the domesticated kind." Cheng Yijiu thought. The flying dragon looked even uglier after shedding its skin. Its face had completely become an elongated skull face, as if it was a hybrid of a human and the skeletons of horses, cows, and the like. Dry white hair also grew under its nose and jaw.

"Is this a mustache plus a goatee?" Cheng Yijiu also felt that it was getting uglier. However, the wings of the flying dragon were more developed, and it seemed that it could fly - things were just as Cheng Yijiu thought. The flying dragon spread its wings, flapped a few times, and after exerting force on its hind legs and jumping, it really flew up.

At first, the dragon's movements were quite clumsy, and it could only soar no higher than twenty meters—a strenuous task for such a massive flying beast. As a hunter, Cheng Yijiu suspected that this dragon, like other giant birds, must rely on strong updrafts to glide freely. If it relied on its own strength, it would have to expend considerable effort climbing to gain altitude.

Cheng Yijiu stood on the deck with his arms folded, watching the young dragon learning how to fly...

Chapter 28 Growth

The young dragon learned very quickly, and after just a few circles, it was already flying with relative ease. As it flew, Cheng Yijiu saw its first breath—a flame, burning the ground and leaving a trail of burns. "Oil-based liquids, the temperature should be around a thousand degrees," Cheng Yijiu thought, feeling the heat and observing the color of the flames.

Then the young dragon unleashed a second breath, a misty, corrosive one. The wafting scent confirmed it was a potent acid. It had no significant impact on the ground—the soil was sandy and clayy, and the slight acidity was quickly absorbed and gradually neutralized. This area was constantly exposed to sea breezes, perhaps even battered by waves long ago, and the soil had long since become salinized, neutralizing the acid in a short amount of time.

Accompanied by strong winds, the young dragon landed - its movements were very clumsy. If it hadn't landed on relatively soft sand, it would probably have fallen headfirst and broken its neck. Even so, the flying dragon still fell on the beach and shoveled up sand all over the sky.

The dragon was later discovered by the harbor guards who were delivering food and supplies as agreed. They saw a dragon flying in the sky and screamed loudly. If Cheng Yijiu hadn't shown up in time, they would have abandoned the carriage and fled. When they learned that this was a little dragon hatched from the dragon egg that Cheng Yijiu had obtained after killing a dragon in Valyria, they also revealed an incredible look - this is a dragon, how many years have Westeros not seen a dragon?

Originally, they believed that only the bloodline of the Dragon King could control dragons, but Cheng Yijiu's outright declaration that he had no Valyrian blood in him made people wonder—maybe I could own a dragon too? By this time, word of Cheng Yijiu's return to Westeros had spread, and all sorts of rumors were circulating—the common thread being that he had slain a dragon. Cheng Yijiu had become a legendary hero of Westeros, just like those heroes of hundreds and thousands of years before.

Now, the story of his possession of a flying dragon has spread, and even more people are admiring this Lion Knight. Cheng Yijiu has heard many stories that have made him laugh and cry. The War of the Five Kings has entered a fierce battle, and each side wants more allies to join. Recruiting such a powerful knight to join the fight—even if he is actually alone, but he has a dragon—is definitely a good idea.

The young dragon was indeed quite obedient to Cheng Yijiu's orders—this guy seemed as smart as a dog. But riding a flying dragon into the sky? Sorry, Cheng Yijiu didn't trust this flying dragon that much yet—not that flying dragons had any "hatred," but he was simply worried that if this guy was actually a "lunatic," wouldn't that be bad?

Now, Feilong didn't need Cheng Yijiu to feed him much. He could catch his own fish, had a big appetite, and even shared his catch with Cheng Yijiu. "He's a really good dog," Cheng Yijiu said. Visitors kept coming—every side of the War of the Five Kings had sent people to visit Cheng Yijiu since his dragon was revealed. Of course, King Joffrey stood no chance—Cheng Yijiu would kill him if he saw him.

Cheng Yijiu really disliked this little guy. In his opinion, he was just a freak born of inbreeding, a pure twisted villain, and a despicable piece of trash. As for the other four kings, Cheng Yijiu was too lazy to talk to the King of the Ironborn. However, he was quite kind to King Robert's two younger brothers and the envoys sent by the King of the North.

In reality, they were all the same. Cheng Yijiu had no interest in joining either side—why? Sell his martial arts? If that were the case, he would have become an earl long ago. Why would he live in a houseboat by the sea like he did now? The main focus of every visitor was the dragon—although there were rumors that the remnants of the Dragon King had also obtained a dragon on the other side of the sea, this black dragon had actually appeared before their eyes.

Moreover, under Cheng Yijiu's order, these people can even observe the dragon from a very close distance, and even touch it if they are not afraid. The dragon's scales are hot, as hard as obsidian but with a frosted feel. Cheng Yijiu did not agree to any king's recruitment. He heard from the Dornishmen who came to visit that in King's Landing, King Joffrey was so angry that he lost his composure and asked Cheng Yijiu how dare he refuse his recruitment. "He should rush over immediately and kneel before me to beg for forgiveness!"

After hearing this, Cheng Yijiu was not angry at all. He even wanted to laugh, because the little devil of the Lannister family - this one Cheng Yijiu had never seen before, but the little devil scolded his nephew, "Shut up. This kind of talk is meaningless, and the king can't do whatever he wants!"

Joffrey ultimately lacked the courage to drag the Imp out and behead him... The White Kingsguard was now considered the worst of all time, with many of them practically nameless. Even these few combined couldn't compare to the Lion Knight. Even a very good swordsman like Jaime had to admit he wasn't as good as Cheng Yijiu—when King Robert was still alive, he'd been disarmed by Cheng Yijiu several times in training, never winning.

And now there are rumors that Cheng Yijiu has slain a dragon and even brought back a flying dragon. As a simple guard, James cannot compare with him. Fortunately, he can compare with command ability - if he has it.

Time passed, and the dragon's growth was incredibly rapid—perhaps this creature grew rapidly during its larval stage, only to slow down once it reached adulthood. Just a month had passed, and the dragon was already consuming half its body's worth of fish daily. Now, it was once again in its "pupa" state. "It's time to molt again," Cheng Yijiu thought. Perhaps after this molt, it would finally be big enough.

Sure enough, two days later, the pink dragon once again emerged from its torn shell. Stretching its body, it measured over twenty meters from head to tail, and its head was fully formed—a black dragon with a skull face. Unlike a true dragon, it crawled on all fours. Cheng Yijiu still didn't want to ride the dragon into the sky, but he was now in a situation where he had to intervene.

That was because a fleet appeared from the sea, and the port manager and the local Earl of Dorne asked Cheng Yijiu for help...

Chapter 29 Attack

Sailing along the coast of Dorne was the Ironborn fleet, and the local earl exclaimed in disbelief, "Hasn't this bastard's target always been the North?" It is almost common knowledge that the King of the Ironborn's goal is to land on the continent, and his target has always been the North. I don't understand why he suddenly came to the South, and it seems that he is preparing to land?

Of course, this might just be a squadron from the Iron Islands. They didn't look like they were coming to sue for peace, and certainly didn't look like they were entering the port for supplies—and of course the local earl wouldn't allow them to enter the port for supplies. Not to mention that the small port simply didn't have the capacity to accommodate so many ships.

The fleet was aggressive and looked more like they were planning to plunder the port and the surrounding areas, making a quick buck and leaving. Thanks to the years of peace in Dorne, where no enemy had penetrated its hinterland, Dorne was actually quite wealthy, and there was a high probability of making a fortune just by plundering.

Seeing this, Cheng Yijiu sighed. He didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing at all, but since he was already in it, there was no way he could avoid it. So he whistled, and a black flying dragon soared into the sky from the woods behind him, flapping its wings in the air.

The flying dragon didn't seem to be moving fast, flapping its wings widely but slowly, but it was actually flying very fast. The flying dragon circled above Cheng Yijiu's head, and Cheng Yijiu pointed at the fleet not far away. He could see the chaos on the ships, many of which had clearly deviated from their routes. If nothing unexpected happened, there would be at least four or five collisions.

It was then that Cheng Yijiu heard Feilong's roar for the first time. "It sounds a bit like a whistle," was his comment. "It's really a stupid dog, just like Erha." As Feilong began to attack, Cheng Yijiu made his comment with a wry smile.

The dragon clumsily chose a flanking attack, probably because the side of the ship looked the largest. Its attack began spitting fire from a great distance, but it took a while for it to reach its target. "What a waste of resources," Cheng Yijiu observed.

If he were a flying dragon, he would enter the attack route from the tail end, or if his flying skills were superb enough, he would drop vertically to attack and then pull up, and he would not have to be afraid of the counterattack fire from the ship - these guys have crossbows at the bow, catapults in the middle of the ship, and only a small crossbow at the tail.

Needless to say, the trebuchet was completely useless against a flying dragon, and the crossbow's accuracy was abysmal—a flying dragon could fly at speeds of at least 140 to 150 kilometers per hour, completely ignoring any opposing firepower when launching an attack. It wasn't an automated close-in weapon, so the chances of hitting a flying dragon with a manually wound crossbow were close to zero.

It is impossible to achieve this accuracy by using density compensation. If a dragon is hit by this kind of crossbow, it only means that it is really time for it to die.

The damage range of ordinary human-held crossbows during air attacks is also limited. Moreover, the flying dragon has heavy armor and can directly approach to within 20 meters and spray - don't worry, the crossbow gunner will never wait until this time to fire.

So this flying dragon was indeed a timid novice. Fortunately, the dragon flame was still very useful. It was hot and sticky. If it got hit by it, the ship would definitely be doomed. A single contact would cause a blazing fire, and the temperature would be at least 1,500 degrees. How could a wooden hull possibly withstand it?

The two ships began to turn into torches, and in the panic, the fleet had a serious collision. The two fire ships easily created three other fire ships, and of course there were also warships that were severely damaged in the collision and began to sink. As the dragons flew around the fleet, the entire Ironmen's sea raiding fleet was destroyed.

So the Ironborn were just Ironborn; they were neither Vikings nor Anglo-Saxons. They were defeated when faced with a stronger opponent. The dragon's third breath was acidic. It had already exhausted its reserves of oily, incendiary fluid, and would be unable to spit fire for at least a while.

The acid breath was less damaging to ships than fire. While acid corroded metal quickly, it corroded wood more slowly—primarily dehydrating and carbonizing the wood. However, for the Ironborn pirates on deck exposed to the breath, it was probably even more terrifying than fire.

Amidst unprecedented screams, the pirates watched as their skin and their companions' bodies rapidly rotted and fell away, along with wisps of hair. Soon, they were skinless, and then the flesh fell off their bones. The strong acid corroded them so quickly that even the exposed bones began to soften and disappear...

Such a horrific situation surprisingly didn't kill people so quickly. They wouldn't die from corrosion, but from respiratory burns caused by inhaling strong acid, followed by suffocation after alveolar burns. This was a "painful and slow" way to die. The black dragon flew like this three times, spitting out three bursts of strong acid breath, but it could no longer continue.

The Ironborn fleet was doomed. The undamaged warships outside the attack range quickly turned and fled, while the dragon continued to circle, clearly interested in those hit by the acid. This dragon was likely to descend to the deck to feed, and Cheng Yijiu felt it was likely to become a cannibal.

Cheng Yijiu blew his whistle again, calling the dragon back. The dragon was somewhat uncooperative, but eventually it spread its wings and flew back. The massive dragon landed in front of Cheng Yijiu, lowering its skull-like head. Its thick, knobby horns rested against Cheng Yijiu, and its beard touched his hand.

Everyone on the shore who had witnessed this all stared at the flying dragon in awe. Now they had a very direct understanding of how the Dragon King Valyria had conquered the entire continent of Westeros hundreds of years ago. With such a creature under human control, what castle could not be conquered?

And I heard that the three-headed dragon of the Dragon King was bigger and stronger than the dragon in front of him.

The Ironborn fleet consisted of approximately fourteen ships. Five escaped, while the remaining nine were sunk. The acid-corroded vessels remained afloat, but no one would tow them back for reuse. Those Ironborn who managed to jump into the sea and swim to shore were lucky enough to survive—shortly. They were executed in batches within the next half hour—at Cheng Yijiu's suggestion. Keeping them alive was useless and too dangerous, as the harbor's defenders were far too undermanned.

There were over 200 of these escapees, and the Earl could muster only about 500 soldiers from the entire Earldom, not even that elite...

Chapter 30 The Future

All the Ironborn sailors were killed, including many boys as young as thirteen or fourteen years old. These children's first legitimate job in life was robbing at sea, and from the beginning they regarded piracy as normal. Therefore, they were beyond help, and the only way to save them was to send them to death quickly.

It’s okay to kill all the Iron Men captured at sea; they have enough blood on their hands.

Cheng Yijiu made the proposal, but he didn't participate in the killing himself—his sword wasn't worth killing such a fellow. He didn't even watch the slaughter, but returned to his boathouse early. Ultimately, he only made a suggestion, and whether the local earl was willing to implement it was entirely up to him—and now it seems he was very wise.

Later, news came that the Battle of Midgard had taken place. It was originally a battle between Duke Stannis and the old lion Duke Lannister, but a third party, Duke Renly, also intervened. The three parties engaged in a melee until Stark, the King of the North, joined the battle.

In the end, the three parties in the battle retreated separately. Stark, who assisted Stannis, intervened last and suffered the least losses. Lord Renly led the Highgarden army to retreat in time and the losses were not too great. The Lannister family suffered heavy losses, but Stannis almost lost all his land forces - he was defeated.

The subsequent mobilization only managed to gather less than 30% of the army, and it now seemed likely that Lord Stannis would be the first "king" to withdraw from the War of the Five Kings. King Joffrey was a laggard on the Lannister side, and after Lord Lannister's army suffered heavy losses, King's Landing seemed to be in danger.

The armies of the King of the North and Renly are approaching King's Landing, but the Starks have a problem: the King of the Ironborn has shown signs of landing in the North, a move orchestrated by Lord Lannister. As a result, Cheng Yijiu has received more visitors, as he is likely the only person in Westeros who still owns and can "control" dragons.

He himself was known as the Swordmaster, and his personal strength was undoubtedly at the top of the list. Stannis certainly needed such a strong man, as the Mountain's repeated assaults with a small number of elite troops had a significant impact on him during the battle. Although the damned giant himself was wounded and nearly all of his elite infantry were killed, he successfully disrupted Stannis's battle line, allowing him to break through the Lannister army.

If Stannis had a powerful swordsman who could withstand the Mountain's attack or even kill him, there would be no way the Lannisters could win. And there are dragons... If a dragon appeared on the Lannister front, breathing fire, Stannis might have already taken the head of Lord Lannister.

Unfortunately, Stannis failed to gain the loyalty of the Lion Knight. Now Stannis is willing to pay any price - but he can no longer afford it. He must return to Dragonstone to lick his wounds. Now is Renly's time to be proud.

Does Renly need the Lion Knight? Not really, since he also has the loyalty of the Knight of Flowers. In a cavalry assault alone, the Mountain wouldn't necessarily be a match for the Knight of Flowers. But the Lion Knight's dragon is something everyone needs.

Cheng Yijiu touched the dragon's head, but he didn't kill it with his sword. Now it seemed that his chance to complete the task did not lie with the black dragon he had tamed. Instead of killing his own tamed dragon, why not kill the dragon of the Valyrian Dragon Queen and let her black dragon launch a sneak attack? Combined with his own swordsmanship, he should be able to kill a dragon?

Still unsure, but there is hope.

A constant stream of people came to visit Cheng Yijiu, representing all four factions except the Ironborn, eager to gain the Lion Knight's membership. They offered not only gold dragons but also fiefdoms as rewards—after all, as long as one won the war, one could get as much fiefdom as one wanted.

However, Cheng Yijiu declined all their offers to recruit him. He would rather live in a boathouse by the sea with simple food than follow their wishes and move into a huge castle with his dragon and enjoy the care of hundreds of servants. Even without shedding its skin, the dragon was growing at an incredible rate. If there wasn't enough food at the seaside, Cheng Yijiu didn't know where to find enough food for it.

One cow a day is probably the minimum. Now the flying dragon has grown to twenty-five or twenty-six meters, but it is still skinny - this kind of flying dragon seems to be like this, and its weight does not exceed eight tons according to Cheng Yijiu. When taking off, it definitely does not rely solely on muscles.

"There must be some mystical power." This was Cheng Yijiu's assertion. He was waiting for the arrival of the woman with the dragon, and of course, he was also waiting for his black dragon to pass its rapid growth phase. As long as the black dragon stopped eating so much, he could really leave here and go to the mainland to wait for the woman's arrival - after all, Cheng Yijiu didn't think she would detour south to land in Dorne.

The black dragon ate less and less each day, and its scales grew darker and less shiny—it looked mature. Cheng Yijiu also began to avoid those who kept visiting him, as he would probably have to ride the black dragon away. So, although he was reluctant, Cheng Yijiu still began training to ride the dragon.

The most suitable place for riding a black dragon is where the neck and shoulders are connected. There are no thorns here, and a relatively flat depression is formed. This place is just right for installing a special dragon saddle. The design has been given to the local earl, who has been asked to find a craftsman who can make horse harnesses to make it.

Before that, let this black dragon fly freely. The black dragon with a skull face was indeed a little too scary. It was different from the Valyrian dragons in the paintings that have been passed down to this day - those dragons had majestic horns and looked very powerful and ferocious, while Cheng Yijiu's black dragon was just terrifying.

The black dragon's intelligence is almost as high as a dolphin's. Apparently, its size isn't in vain; with a large enough brain, it naturally becomes more intelligent. Cheng Yijiu is currently training the dragon to understand his commands—in Chinese, of course, rather than Valyrian or Westerosi, which are actually variations of Italian and English...

The training seemed to be paying off. The black dragon flew and circled according to his commands, launching attacks. Cheng Yijiu also understood the black dragon's firepower reserves. Its sticky burning oil was secreted by glands in its body, where it was stored was unknown, but it could support it for about six short breaths, and the longer breath that burned a line could support it for about three.

It will then slowly start to secrete again, and with sufficient food, it will be fully replenished in about eight hours. Acidic breath can last for over three minutes, and recovery is also faster, taking two hours.

Chapter 31 Employment

The craftsmen worked quickly, quickly crafting a dragon saddle according to the dimensions Cheng Yijiu had given them—a saddle made of multiple layers of cowhide, wood, and metal. The saddle had a backrest for Cheng Yijiu to lean on, and the entire saddle was spacious and comfortable, much more comfortable than a horse saddle. Cheng Yijiu stretched his feet forward, landing squarely on the stirrups extending from the front of the saddle.

The entire dragon saddle was secured with two thick leather straps wrapped around the dragon's sternum. Four more leather straps were attached to the saddle to secure Cheng Yijiu to it—at least he wouldn't be thrown off when the dragon did a roll. The same went for the weapons, which were secured with special locking straps.

Cheng Yijiu finally tried riding a flying dragon for the first time. He climbed onto the dragon's back, sat in the saddle, fastened his seatbelt, and tapped the dragon's neck with the pole in his hand to signal his readiness. "This takeoff was extremely bumpy," Cheng Yijiu thought. Fortunately, things got much better once he was airborne, but it was definitely not as stable as flying. In Cheng Yijiu's opinion, unless you reached a high altitude and started gliding, it would definitely be a very unstable flight.

Controlling the dragon wasn't difficult. Generally, it flew on its own, using a long pole to indicate its direction and target. The key was getting used to it; after a few attempts, the dragon would generally understand Cheng Yijiu's commands. "This thing has a pretty good IQ," Cheng Yijiu said of the black dragon. However, timing attacks was a bit of a challenge. Cheng Yijiu could only indicate its target and control its distance, leaving the dragon to handle the attacks on its own.

This certainly wasn't what Cheng Yijiu had hoped for. Having reached this point in his training, he packed up his belongings—mostly clothes, armor, weapons, and money—and strapped them to his dragon's back before taking it for a test. The Ironborn ship would be a good target. Afterward, he might wander the continent until the Valyrian army returned.

A flying dragon is definitely faster than a horse in the sky, and flying in a straight line means it can avoid many detours. Cheng Yijiu controlled the black dragon to fly north along the coastline, and he could also let the black dragon go to find food on its own. They flew at an altitude of more than a thousand meters, and people on the ground could not see them unless they paid special attention. Cheng Yijiu wrapped himself in fur, hiding his face behind the leather, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. "If I had known this would happen, I should have brought goggles."

As they neared the north, Cheng Yijiu saw the majestic Stone City, the Lannister city, carved entirely from a massive rock. Dragons flew over the sea, and Cheng Yijiu wondered if anyone in Casterly Rock had spotted the dragons soaring over a thousand meters from over ten kilometers away. Continuing north, he saw Ironborn ships on the sea, all heading north.

Cheng Yijiu randomly picked a ship and tapped the dragon's neck with a long pole. With the sudden increase in wind force, the dragon dived down. Cheng Yijiu didn't pay much attention to the expressions of the Ironmen on the ship - they couldn't see clearly from such a distance. When it was about thirty meters away from the ship, Cheng Yijiu ordered the dragon to breathe fire. The speed was not fast at that time, so the dragon flew over the mast of the ship, leaving the sailboat in flames.

Ships struck by dragon flames were doomed; the viscous, burning liquid and intense flames would completely incinerate any structures on the sea surface. Cheng Yijiu circled the dragon, sending four Ironborn warships to hell in just two minutes. Then, aided by the thermals created by the burning ships, the dragon began to ascend. From hundreds of meters in the air, Cheng Yijiu observed his triumph from above.

After circling once, the flying dragon flew away, leaving behind the burning ships and the panicked fleet. Cheng Yijiu also relied on the coast for his nighttime rest. Flying dragons are warm-blooded creatures, and at night, the gaps between their wings served as a perfect cover for Cheng Yijiu's sleep. Sometimes, Cheng Yijiu would enter the town, and he would not let the flying dragon hide from people's sight. The flying dragon would circle over the town, then land outside the town to release Cheng Yijiu.

The Lion Knight would walk into the town—no one would stop him; they all knew him. Even if they hadn't seen him in person, they at least recognized the gleaming golden lion hide. Cheng Yijiu would stay in the city, wash his clothes and himself, and buy some food and drink. Not surprisingly, in the third city he stayed, he met a vassal of House Stark, the King of the North.

As the giant dragon landed outside the city, and the knight in a golden lion skin leaped off, clutching a bag and carrying a greatsword, Count Manderlay ordered his guards to greet Cheng Yijiu. Beside him stood a tall female knight. Cheng Yijiu approached, her hand on her chest, and bowed slightly to the Count. "Please allow me to enter your city and rest for a few days," he said.

Of course, Lord Manderly wouldn't refuse. He even held a ceremony at the city gate to welcome the powerful Lion Knight. Afterward, the female knight beside him announced her name, "Lady Daisy Mormont, from the House of the Earl of Bear Island." Cheng Yijiu knew that this female knight was the bodyguard of Robb Stark, King in the North, and the heir to the Lord of Bear. But why had she come here instead of guarding the Young Wolf? One could probably guess why.

They still had to try to recruit Cheng Yijiu, the Lion Knight. Not only was he brave, but he could also control a flying dragon—a skill previously reserved for the Targaryens, a Valyrian. Cheng Yijiu didn't look like a Valyrian, and the fact that he could control a dragon was a miracle—but he was already a miracle, and that wasn't enough.

"Oh, I have no intention of becoming a vassal of House Stark. But I wouldn't mind accepting the Stark offer, for example, to attack the Ironborn fleet." Cheng Yijiu declined the offer, but accepted the offer. It wasn't just the Mormonts present; Robb the Young Wolf wasn't far away, and he was approaching with his guards and a thousand-man army. Robb was fed up with the Ironborn king's constant raids on the North, and he planned to solve the problem once and for all—at least to prevent him from landing for two or three years.

On the third day, the Young Wolf Lord arrived with his army, and the powerful nobles and generals in the North saw a living dragon for the first time.

Chapter 32: The King of Light