Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1201: Chapter 1200: Dragon and the Ticket

Byron suddenly remembered his younger days—earlier than when he became a Knight, earlier than when he became a mercenary, and even earlier than when he was a Swordsman Apprentice.

Those were his youthful years when he had once done something that still seemed quite remarkable today—while herding cattle for his family, he climbed onto the back of a bull and used a long nail to stab the bull’s back, fantasizing for the next three minutes about being a brave knight attempting to tame a vicious dragon.

Ah, what could be more exhilarating and thrilling than such a feat, except for the ten days he lay in bed afterwards?

Well, there was something—when the bull beneath him was replaced by a real, furious female dragon.

Byron couldn’t quite remember how he ended up on the ground. He only recalled a series of violent shakes, sudden ascents, consecutive aerial spins and loops, deafening roars, and a "landing" more memorable than falling off a bull’s back. He felt pain all over, yet miraculously, he had not broken a single bone. Upon realizing he was still strong and as he stood up from the ground, he found himself facing the slowly descending head of a Red Dragon.

A pair of magic-glowing amber eyes stared intensely at him, close enough to see his clear reflection in their pupils. The Red Dragon’s nostrils flared slightly, revealing a terrifying grimace, her lips curling into a snarl exposing a mouth half a meter wide. Byron was certain he saw smoke and flames rising from her mouth, and recalling what he had just done on this lady’s back, he instinctively took a half step back: "Asharena, calm down! I didn’t mean to just now..."

"Left side or right?" the Red Dragon’s deep, displeased voice came from above, although it seemed slightly calmer.

Byron blanked: "What do you mean left or right?"

The amber eyes contracted slightly, and a stream of fiery flames dripped from Asharena’s lips: "Where you threw up, was it on the left side or the right?"

"Uhh... left side," Byron quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, but then hurriedly corrected himself, "No, it was on your right side, next to the right shoulder blade..."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw the Red Dragon lady before him suddenly lift her head high, her slender neck, covered with fine scales, bending back to its limits. Her mouth, fuming with smoke and sparks, aimed at the part of her back she couldn’t see. Then this lady took a deep breath, and with a "whoosh," the scorching Dragon Breath erupted, flames flowing through the mechanical edges and seams of the Wings of Steel, burning away everything that didn’t belong there.

Byron stared in shock, his head tilted upwards, and suddenly remembered a passage he had read in a book during his early years. It was a treatise on dragons written by a scholar named Sharmar Xel, titled "Outline of Dragon Slaying," which explicitly stated the deadly weakness of dragons lay on their backs. If one could successfully stand and secure themselves on a dragon’s back, even a relatively weak "Dragon-slaying Warrior" could have the opportunity to overtake a dragon, gaining supreme honor and treasures...

Now he was sure, the scholar’s later execution by the local church for "bewitching people" was not entirely unwarranted...

While these jumbled thoughts circled in his mind, the Red Dragon’s breath attack had ended, and Asharena swayed her neck left and right before slightly lowering her head again to look at Byron: "Is everything burned clean?"

"Uhh... I can’t see... but I’m sure it’s all clean; your aim was spot on," Byron said awkwardly and nervously, trying to muster a smile, "Anyway, I’m really sorry for earlier, are you... still angry?"

"Don’t mention the word ’spit’!" Asharena first growled in annoyance, then shook her head and muttered, "Okay, I’m not angry anymore. I’m already a mature lady and won’t hold a grudge with you."

"That’s good, that’s good," Byron scratched his head, his gaze landing on Asharena’s massive form, "You better change back into human form; this form isn’t convenient for moving around in the city..."

Before he finished speaking, and before Asharena had time to react, a rapid whistle suddenly echoed from the street corner not far away. Both one human and one dragon turned to look and saw a Sheriff in a black uniform pedaling a two-wheeled cart towards them, shouting and waving his arms: "You two! Don’t think about leaving! Stay right there!"

Byron was momentarily startled, and the Sheriff had already ridden up to him. This uniformed young man with a Sheriff’s hat, equipped with riot control Magic Transmission Terminals on his waist and arms, squeezed the brakes, stopping the vehicle with a "squeak," and nimbly jumped off, fearlessly tilting his head to look at the somewhat stunned Red Dragon: "It was you flying over from the sky just now, violating the flight regulations within the city area, don’t you know! You landed so quickly that our air control didn’t have time to take off and intercept you..."

Asharena hadn’t encountered such a situation before; the authoritative Dragonborn lady was puzzled. She looked at Byron beside her, hearing him also question the young Sheriff with confusion: "Since when was flying prohibited here? I remember this area in South City District allows Dragonborn low-altitude, low-speed flying, and this square is a temporary landing site..."

"Last month!" The Sheriff retrieved a small notebook for issuing fines from his pocket and spoke irritably, "Before we allowed Dragonborn to fly within the city, but there were too many flying recklessly, causing noise disturbance, coupled with recent construction for high-rise buildings in the city center. Now, all areas going inward from the Inner City District prohibit flying and landing—if you want to fly, do so above eight hundred meters, quickly pass through, and for takeoffs and landings, use the specialized landing pads on the outskirts."

While speaking, the Sheriff quickly wrote a lot on the little notebook and then raised the contents of the fine, facing Asharena: "Take a look yourself—unauthorized flying and landing, not opening the communication device resulting in the air control division’s inability to warn and direct, releasing Dragon Breath within the city violating fire safety rules, and loud yelling seriously disturbing the peace—Lady, your voice was so loud it was like thunder; I could hear it two blocks away. It’s all written down; if you have objections, appeal at the South City District Sheriff’s office, no objections, sign, pay the fine, and then go register with air traffic control to see how they’re going to handle it."

Asharena lowered her head, struggling to read the tiny fine slip’s contents in front of her snout, both massive eyes almost squinting together. After the young Sheriff finished reading, she pulled her gaze back, her mouth twitching uncontrollably, then turned her eyes with an unusual expression to Byron standing beside her, whispering under her breath, "Think of something quickly, aren’t you a high-ranking officer of the Empire—this situation should be manageable, right?"

Byron’s expression became even more peculiar hearing that. After brief thought, he shook his head: "I don’t want to ruin the rules by using my identity in such a situation. I’ll pay your fine, and I’ll accompany you to the air control..."

While speaking, he started fumbling through his pocket for his wallet, ready to immediately pay the fine—to swiftly have this zealous young Sheriff register and leave. Afterward, he could accompany Asharena to report to air control. Fortunately, for now, this young man hadn’t recognized his identity, which was a blessing amidst misfortune. Truth be told, even the usually least concerned "Sir Byron" cherished his reputation, not wanting the entire city to know by tomorrow that "the Naval Commander, upon returning home on his first day, was escorted to the Sheriff’s post along with his transportation for violating numerous civil regulations..."

However, there are always unexpected happenings in the best-laid plans, especially as Byron’s luck seemed off all day. He had just taken his wallet out of his pocket when a familiar voice, with a certain mechanical synthesized texture, suddenly emerged from the alley not far away: "Dad?! How come... so it was you and this Dragonborn flying over earlier?"

This voice instantly made Byron shiver, and soon he saw Pea’s figure appear in his sight. She was coming towards him with an excited expression, talking incessantly even before reaching him: "Hey! Dad, why are you back today? Didn’t I figure you still had a day or two? And why didn’t you send a Magic Web Communication before coming home? Who is this Dragonborn? Did you come together from the north? You don’t like flying, right? You said you’d rather ride a horse than be a Dragon Cavalry... Oh, by the way, did you get the message I sent you earlier? Since you’re home early, then later on..."

Pea’s voice, relying on the magical device she’s wearing, continued non-stop, with her thoughts flowing without needing to breathe or rest. She chattered all the way to Byron, and even then didn’t stop. The mechanically synthesized voice, devoid of emotional fluctuation, was unaffected by her running, much like having five intoxicated Ambers speaking together. Byron opened his mouth several times to interrupt, but to no avail, until the young sheriff next to them exclaimed in surprise, causing Pea to pause momentarily.

"Miss Pea?" The sheriff looked surprised, his voice slightly elevated. As one of the patrol personnel in the area, he was evidently not unfamiliar with Pea living there, "You... wait, is this your father?!"

The young man finally realized, visibly stiffening for a moment, then looked at Byron, whose expression was woodenly giving up on thinking, with an exceedingly complex and tense gaze. After hesitating half a day, he finally managed to stammer out, "You... hello, Lord Byron, I didn’t recognize..."

Byron finally slapped himself on the forehead and sighed long, as Asharena, who had been observing the fun with interest since earlier, swayed her long neck and revealed a broad, toothed grin half a meter wide: "Oh ho—"

Pea, unaware of what had just transpired, simply shifted her attention to the young sheriff: "Ah, Mr. George, you certainly haven’t met my dad, but I think you’ve seen him in books, shows, or maybe some portrait, right?"

"Well... I didn’t make the connection right away," the young sheriff said a bit awkwardly, "I never expected to run into someone so significant..."

"Okay, okay, let’s not discuss this," Byron, feeling increasingly overwhelmed, hurriedly interrupted the conversation between the sheriff and Pea, quickly reaching into his wallet for money as he spoke, "I’ll pay the fine first, alright? Then I’ll settle at home and report to the air traffic later... rest assured, I’ll definitely go, and so will the lady next to me..."

The sheriff immediately looked a bit flustered: "This... if I had known earlier..."

"Lucky for you that you didn’t know earlier! Lucky for you that you know now!" Byron said, both crying and laughing, "Finish your job quickly, kid, I don’t want to stand here any longer, the whole block probably knows what’s happening now. I can see people gathering at the corner of the street."

The sheriff, after a moment’s reflection, quickly took the fine money and nodded: "Ah... all right! Lord Byron! I’ll... I’ll sign the paper now..."

Meanwhile, Pea looked curiously at Asharena, who was watching the scenery, then turned to Byron: "Dad, what’s going on? I feel like the atmosphere here is more than just about illegal flight and landing... And is this Dragonborn actually a lady? I’ve never seen her! Is she a friend of yours? Can you introduc—"

Seeing that Pea was about to start rattling off again, Byron broke into a cold sweat, waving his hands repeatedly: "We’ll talk about it at home!"

Then he turned his head towards Asharena: "Are you planning on just watching the fun? Hurry up and change back—you’re already making enough of a scene here!"

Ashareena hummed in her throat, her mood clearly brightened. She casually moved her limbs, and a huge light screen emerged out of nowhere, enveloping her massive body—amidst the flickering lights, the dragon’s form quickly faded.

Watching the figure in the light screen, Pea widened her eyes with surprise: "Oh—"

The red-haired Dragonbranded Witch emerged from the light screen. She approached Pea with a smile, waving at the slightly dazed little girl: "Hello, I know your name is Pea—your father often mentions you. You can call me Asharena."

...

In the Cecil Palace, on the second floor study room draped with blue velvet carpets, Amber emerged from the shadows and nimbly leapt in front of Gawain’s desk: "Byron’s back, and it seems there was a bit of a ruckus over there."

"A bit of a ruckus?" Gawain raised his head from the pile of documents in surprise. He was aware that Byron was expected to arrive in Cecil Castle today, as he had received a report from Northport earlier, but he was more curious about the "ruckus" Amber mentioned, "What kind of trouble did he get into this time? Normally, it shouldn’t be that bad; he’s been pretty steady these past two years..."

"He returned with Asharena—oh, the report mentioned this before," Amber said casually, "It’s nothing major, just that a foreign Dragonborn isn’t familiar with local regulations, and then Byron got detained with the dragon..."

Gawain: "..."

He hadn’t expected Byron, who hadn’t been back for over a year, to cause such a commotion upon his reappearance. How should he put it... truly one of the oldest jesters of the Cecil Clan...

Amused and annoyed, he shook his head, thinking it wasn’t too big a deal, and just then, a knock suddenly came from the door, interrupting the conversation between him and Amber.

The door of the study opened, revealing Betty’s figure—she was slightly out of breath, looking as if she had run all the way.

"Master... Your Majesty!" The maidservant supervisor nearly misspoke as soon as she started, quickly organizing her thoughts before continuing, "Miss Melita from the Dragonkin has arrived, saying she brings important information about Talronde... related to the Wilder Clan."