Evil dragon has a warm heart

Pulled up by Russell, Roland stood on the shattered ice cap, lost in a silent daze, completely unable to comprehend the duel that had just taken place.

He, the Great Knight who had always been hailed as a genius since childhood, had actually been defeated by his good-for-nothing brother who had only been promoted to Great Knight for a year and a Phantom Beast Knight for less than half a year—and it was done in a devastating, irresistible manner.

"Big brother?" Russell waved his hand, somewhat puzzled, wondering if he had knocked Roland silly.

It took a while for Roland to come back to his senses and brush away Russell’s waving hand.

Looking at the gentle and elegant Russell, it was hard to reconcile him with the forceful strike of thunderous fury he had unleashed just moments ago.

"I... I’m fine," Roland said, forcing a smile with difficulty.

"It’s good that you’re fine." Seeing this, Russell, worried he might have truly crushed Roland’s spirit, quickly tried to console him, "My talent in swordsmanship is such that even Grandfather admits he is no match for me. You underestimated me, big brother, challenging me soon after my promotion to Phantom Beast Knight."

"Your swordsmanship, even Grandfather is not its match?" Roland asked, shocked.

"Of course, I’ve sparred with Grandfather in pure swordsmanship and won by a move," Russell said, smiling slightly, quite proud of himself.

Count Merlin is the first person in the Shadowflame Duchy, a formidable warrior and extraordinary swordsman, yet he still lost to Russell, who had the augmentation of the Sword Butterfly Amber Bug. This showed that Russell was indeed the top sword master in the Shadowflame Duchy.

A knight does not necessarily rely on swordsmanship to unleash powerful combat strength; magic and Battle Qi martial skills can also exert tremendous power.

But swordsmanship is the most fundamental component of combat strength.

The sword!

It is not simply a type of weapon, but a skill, a powerful technique that leverages a weapon to express the strength of Battle Qi.

"To think that you could even beat Grandfather... No wonder I lost," Roland said, his words filled with bitterness, yet for some reason, his feeling of defeat seemed to have lessened, "But I won’t keep losing. Russell, once I solidify my foundation as a Phantom Beast Knight, we shall battle again!"

"Alright," Russell replied with a light smile, "but you’d better hurry in solidifying it, otherwise I might not be able to wait, you know."

Roland understood instantly and then put on a long face, "Uh..."

If he had to wait a few more months, Russell would likely become a Flying Dragon Knight. By then there would be no point in fighting; it’d be better just to admit defeat outright.

Once enveloped in Dragon Breath, a knight’s strength will soar to another level, one where even a fifth-layer High-ranking Phantom Beast Knight’s Prime Breath would not compare in quality or quantity to Dragon Breath—a Flying Dragon Knight completely overpowers a Phantom Beast Knight.

"Let’s head back; it’s rather cold on the Snowfield," Russell said as he turned to walk toward the Cold Spring Point.

One step behind, Roland watched Russell’s tall and upright figure retreating and suddenly thought of the question Russell had asked before.

Here I am standing before you, how much do I resemble the person I was?

"The old days..." Roland followed Russell, reminiscing bitterly, "Back then, Russell was just a little brother, but now... he’s even more like a big brother than me. It’s a good thing I was born six years earlier, otherwise, it would be hard to say."

He felt a twinge of regret.

Nobility indeed values orderly succession by age, but if the younger son is exceptionally talented and gains the recognition of the family’s Bipedal Flying Dragon, he has the right to challenge for the inheritance.

When Russell returned to the Ice Wall, Katie immediately went to greet him.

Before approaching, she did not forget to mock the Great Knights that came with Roland, "Now you understand, right? My lord’s peerless strength among his peers has been forged through battle after battle!"

She had seen it all with her own eyes.

In his territory, Russell could take on two at the same time, overpowering Eric and Grove, his strength unparalleled.

The Great Knight opened his mouth to say something but ultimately said nothing at all.

"Sir!" Katie bowed.

"Enough," said Russell calmly, "The sparring between my brother and me, win or lose, is of no consequence. Consider it a lesson in the combat methods between Phantom Beast Knights."

His words implied: keep it to yourselves.

This was to save face for his big brother, Roland.

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes, Mr. Russell."

Roland walked over, heaving a sigh of relief upon hearing Russell’s instructions to the two men. Obviously, he didn’t want anyone to know how badly he had been beaten by Russell.

Glancing at Russell, who entered Cold Spring Point with a calm demeanor, Roland felt an indescribable mixture of complicated emotions.

Fortunately, this was just a small interlude on their journey; after a night of sleep, the next day no one seemed to care, at least not superficially.

Two days later, the group of four left the Populus commercial road and entered the northernmost Warm Enclave of the Shadowflame Grand Duchy, the Populus Gobi. This Warm Enclave is a very rare Gobi desert, with oases only at the outskirts of the territory.

As the periphery of the territory had melting ice and snow, providing abundant water resources, only then could an oasis be formed.

The center of the territory suffered from water scarcity; even though the Rootline Family had built many canals, it was still hard to solve the problem of the Gobi’s unsuitability for crop cultivation.

Fort Poplar was located not far from the Populus commercial road.

Having changed into clothing prepared by Lady Meryl, Roland’s image was completely rejuvenated, with even his average features set off by the new clothes to appear somewhat lively.

"Russell, are you going to wear that outfit, aren’t you going to change into something new?" Having changed into new clothes himself, Roland became concerned about Russell.

Russell’s attire was a knight’s short shirt, a modified version of the tailcoat.

Once worn, it made a person look very spirited, but it definitely did not enhance his noble temperament as well as a traditional tailcoat would.

Moreover, after being on the road, exposed to the elements, Russell’s knight’s short shirt had also picked up some dust and had faded a bit.

"Big brother, are you sure you want me to change clothes?" Russell smiled, "I wouldn’t want to steal your thunder."

"What kind of talk is that? How would I mind you stealing my thunder... But if you don’t feel like changing, I won’t force you. Let’s go. After a hard journey, I hope we can get a good night’s sleep at Fort Poplar."

The party of four entered Fort Poplar and was soon met with a welcoming procession from the fort.

Baron Nuojiao Gewidas Bainroot and his wife, Mrs. Joanna, stood at the front gate, with their eldest son, Grungo Bainroot, daughter-in-law, Kunnila Sunflower, and daughter, Miss Gwyn Bainroot, and second son, Glontan Bainroot, standing to the left.

A group of male and female servants stood to the right.

"Welcome, Roland, Russell," Baron Gewidas said, greeting the two brothers with a smile.

Mrs. Joanna also smiled and said, "Our humble land is remote and cannot compare to the richness of Glowing Valley. I hope you won’t hold it against us."

"How could we? The Populus Gobi’s produce is plentiful, no less than Glowing Valley, and this place is also a habitable Warm Enclave." Roland responded very gentlemanly and appropriately, in matters of noble conduct, he surpassed Russell in ease.

Russell had no intention to show off, so he simply followed behind Roland, greeting briefly.

Then Roland embraced Grungo heartily. "Long time no see, Grungo. How have you been this past year?"

Both having served in the Dragon Blood Knights, as heirs to great noble families, they naturally had a good rapport.

Grungo patted Roland’s back, laughing, "Everything’s good."

Finally, Roland came face to face with Miss Gwyn, his nervousness evident as he greeted her, "Hello, beautiful Miss Gwyn."

"Hello, Roland," Miss Gwyn responded with a gracious and easy smile.

Russell took a careful look at Miss Gwyn, the refined lady who was to become his brother’s wife. Her appearance couldn’t be considered particularly beautiful, but she was agreeable in her gentleness.

With her golden locks complementing a pair of large eyes, she appeared very lively and vivacious, and her complexion was quite fair. It was only that her teeth weren’t particularly even. She seemed aware of this flaw too, thus when she spoke, she often didn’t open her mouth fully, resulting in muffled speech.

Yet, this degree of beauty paired with Roland was more than sufficient.

"Miss Gwyn, hello," Russell stepped forward to greet.

Even though his attire was somewhat inappropriate, his outstanding appearance and excellent demeanor completely overshadowed this detail. No one felt there was any breach of etiquette on his part; instead, they would inwardly remark—how handsome.