Zither Emperor Volume 3 Chapter 15.3

Chapter 15 – Advancing to the Finals (III)
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“Yin Zhu, let’s have a competition,” Sura exclaimed, full of zest.
“Competition? What competition?” Ye Yin Zhu looked curiously at him.
Sura elaborated, “Let’s compete to see who can get to Milan city first. It’s approximately one kilometer from here to Milan city. Let’s see who get to the city gate first, how about it? At first, I feared that your body wouldn’t be able to handle traveling such an extreme distance to the city walls every day for work. You practice martial arts, however, so I’m not worried – you’re body is well tempered.” As he spoke, Sura eagerly bounced lightly in place.
Ye Yin Zhu quickly shot a glance at the distant walls of Milan city. Laughing, he replied, “Sure.”
“Start!” Sura smiled craftily. Not waiting for Ye Yin Zhu to properly react, his body leapt forward. Not even adopting a starting position, his body moved gracefully like a phantom. In the blink of an eye, he was already 10 meters ahead.
As the Bamboo Dou Qi in his body began circulating little by little, Ye Yin Zhu urgently chased after Sura with an air of haste. Yellow Bamboo Level Two was equivalent to Intermediate Level Green Rank dou qi in profoundness and purity, allowing him to be capable of sprinting from beginning to end while maintaining his speed. Amazingly, he quickly discovered that, despite his best efforts, he couldn’t help but see Sura’s figure gradually pull further ahead. Sura’s speed was really like an illusion. In merely a few breaths of time, he was so far ahead that he appeared as only a distant shadow.
Fast! What was the real rank of Sura’s strength? Ye Yin Zhu’s heart was currently brimming with suspicion.
For warriors, a distance of a kilometer could actually be described as very short. This was why the city wall of Milan city could be seen from the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. By the time Ye Yin Zhu reached Milan city’s gate, Sura was already there waiting for him with a smile. His face wasn’t flushed nor was he gasping for air. It appeared as if he had nothing to do.
“Sura, you’re really fast,” Ye Yin Zhu said sincerely. Although Sura cheated in the beginning, he knew it was definitely impossible for him to keep up with Sura, even if they started at the same time.
Sura smiled and said, “It’s not that I’m fast; you’re just extremely slow. Come on, let’s enter the city.”
The distant sun had just risen above the horizon when they arrived at Milan City, which seemed as if it was just rousing from its slumber. Unlike the bustling city that Ye Yin Zhu had arrived at previously, there were very little people out on the streets at this time.
Sura seemed to be unusually familiar with this city as he walked around and pointed at the nearby buildings. He elaborated to Ye Yin Zhu, “Look, over there is the magic equipment store. That place isn’t somewhere just anyone can go. Although their products aren’t that great, their prices are ridiculously high. Only the nobles can go there and buy stuff. Over there is the Warrior Guild. As long as you registered as a Milan Empire warrior, you can go and measure which color your dou qi has reached. People can then receive a corresponding rank emblem from the guild. … Over there is the family restaurant that Milan City is relatively well-known for. Very many nobles like to eat there. Wow, look! Over there is the Dragon Cavalry station. The reason why Milan City is the best in the country has a lot to do with the three Dragon Cavalry brigades stationed here. Besides Milan, no other country can have so many Dragon Cavalry troops in their capital.”
Ye Yin Zhu looked in the direction Sura pointed at, and saw a wall of equal height to the city walls separating a courtyard from the rest of the city. He couldn’t see how big the courtyard was from the outside. In the middle of the wall was a gigantic gate, exceeding 10 meters in height. The width of the main gate was not much smaller than the city gate. The most striking feature, however, was the dragon cavalry sitting in front of the gate atop their tamed dragons.
Foreboding, thick black armor completely covered the Dragon Cavalrymen, and each of them held a five meter long dragonspear in front of them. As the rising sun shone down on the sharp tips, they released a faintly cold light. They all sat atop gray earth dragons. Near three meters in height and five meters in length, these huge creatures seemed to be emitting an intangible aura of viciousness. The thickness of the black dragon scales could just be seen from this angle. Although there were only two Dragon Cavalrymen, they still resembled two killing machines.
“Sura, what are those dragons? How come I haven’t seen them before?” Ye Yin Zhu asked in a low voice.
Sura said, “That’s a type of earth dragon called Maginot Iron Dragon. Maginot is a term from an ancient language meaning indestructible. Although this earth dragon is only rank 4, its defense is highly famous among the earth dragon race. Due to their thick scales, normal attacks can’t inflict harm to them at all. They are also considered to be one of the Dragon Cavalry’s main pillars of strength with specializations in frontal attacks and defense. The other is an Earthbound Swift Dragon. Even though these two types of dragons have the lowest rank in the Dragon Cavalry Army, they are actually the most abundant. Of course, in comparison to that Green Dragon you prevailed over yesterday, a Maginot Iron Dragon is trash.”
“Oh? Is a Green Dragon really that strong? It seemed very common,” Ye Yin Zhu remarked noncommittally.
Sura unhappily replied, “Idiot, the Green Dragon you prevailed over yesterday was a growth-type magical beast; it still wasn’t fully matured. In regards to strength, it is not much stronger than the Maginot Iron Dragon. But once it matures in the future to rank 7 or 8, even your Divine Music Division’s Dean Nina would find it difficult to deal with, not to mention you. Remember, that’s a genuine Gigantic Dragon, not a tamed one.”
“If a genuine Gigantic Dragon is so powerful, why doesn’t the Dragon Cavalry Army still use tamed dragons?” Ye Yin Zhu displayed his innocence yet again — or his naturally idiotic purity, so to say.
Sura rolled his eyes. “What do you think a Gigantic Dragon is? It’s not easy to tame a Gigantic Dragon. The number of Gigantic Dragons have never surpassed four on this continent. Not only are the majority of Gigantic Dragons extremely prideful, they won’t acknowledge humans unless it is for a special reason. If a human possesses a mature Gigantic Dragon, they can become a Dragon Cavalry Commander or dragon mage, which is the elite of every country. Gigantic Dragons are also a symbol of strength. In the Dragon Cavalry Army, only the Gold Star Dragon Cavalry Commander and Violet Star Dragon Cavalry Commander can possess a Gigantic Dragon. In fact, there are many strong dragons among tamed dragons, but they are extremely rare. If every tamed dragon’s ability was unique, it would basically make it impossible for the configuration of the Cavalry Army to function. As a result, tamed dragons will be selected from the relatively common races, making it relatively easier to pick. For example, the Earthbound Swift Dragons and Maginot Iron Dragons are typical choices.”
While the two of them were chatting, the gate of the Dragon Cavalry barracks suddenly opened, screeching against the ground. A huge body took a step forward and emerged from inside the gate, extending a meter long, lustrous golden crystal horn out. Close to four meters in height with a huge, ten meter long body, the imposing and violent aura it produced was the kind that inflicted a suffocating pressure upon people. With a beautiful, dazzling silver armor, a dragon that was larger than the average cavalrymen’s dragon by two meters, and a thick, significantly heavier dragonspear, it gave the rider, without exception, an honorable rank and formidable strength.
“Ah! It’s him.” Ye Yin Zhu recognized the rider, as he had met him while traveling to Milan City — it was the Silver Star Dragon Cavalry Commander, Viscount Ao Si Ding.
Ye Yin Zhu saw Ao Si Ding, but Ao Si Ding didn’t see him. The huge Golden Crystal Tyrant Dragon King fully occupied over a third of the street. Taking a heavy step towards the west city gate, Ao Si Ding left with a somewhat unsightly expression. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“You know him?” Sura’s voice as he questioned Yin Zhu was somewhat strange.
Ye Yin Zhu nodded and clarified, “I first met him on my journey to the institution. He was awfully tyrannical and demanded that we hand over the gnus of our mercenary company for his dragon to eat.” He had already mentioned to Sura about how he accompanied the Iron Brambles Mercenary Company to Milan.
Sura said with a grave look, “Yin Zhu, I’m afraid that you’re in trouble. It looks like Ao Si Ding is heading towards our institution.”
“Trouble? What trouble? What does him going to the college have to do with me?” Ye Yin Zhu asked in puzzlement.
Sura glanced at him and explained, “You still don’t know anything! I’m telling you, you’re in trouble because Ao Si Ding is that little witch Luo Lan’s eldest brother. You injured Luo Lan and her Green Dragon magical beast yesterday.”