Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence-Chapter 246 - 240: That Old and Ugly Count of Black Stone Territory
About a minute later, the surface of the sea exploded with a BOOM. Sun burst into the sky, wreathed in a cloud of mist. Its golden scales glittered in the sunlight, and a brilliant rainbow arched behind it like a fantastical bridge.
Baofeng flew steadily onward, the azure ocean stretching out below.
After flying another two hundred kilometers, the sea ahead suddenly became lively.
Hundreds, even thousands, of enormous flying fish leaped from the water. They spread their fins, as vibrant as butterfly wings, and glided several meters above the sea, carving graceful arcs through the air.
Beneath them, massive dark shadows flickered in and out of view within the deep blue water. It was a school of Demonized Sharks, their cavernous mouths wide open as they chased the airborne prey.
It was a three-dimensional hunt, with the flying fish using the sky as their sanctuary to escape the deadly pursuit from below.
After another hundred kilometers, having flown past a few small islands dotting the sea, a cluster of black specks appeared in the sky ahead.
It was a group of pirates riding enormous Albatrosses, about a dozen of them. They were cackling as they besieged a young woman on a Dragon Eagle.
The Dragon Eagle beneath the young woman was extraordinarily majestic. Each flap of its wings stirred up a gust of wind, allowing it to nimbly evade the attacks.
But it was only one creature against more than a dozen Albatross-riding pirates, who were working in concert to steadily shrink its room to maneuver.
’This plot is a bit too cliché.’
Raylo stroked his chin. He didn’t rush forward. Instead, he had Baofeng lower its altitude and began watching with great interest from a hundred meters away.
The young lady looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a practical hunting outfit, her long golden hair dancing in the wind.
She was likely a Tier Two Intermediate Mage, but her combat experience seemed sorely lacking. She only knew how to use one move over and over: Spiritual Shock.
Invisible waves of Spiritual Shock emanated from her hands, striking the pirates.
The pirates who were hit would cry out in pain and sway in their saddles, and the Albatrosses they rode would fall into momentary disarray.
But for those battle-hardened pirates, an attack of this level was merely a nuisance, not a fatal threat.
If not for the fact that the Dragon Eagle she rode was a Tier Three Magical Beast, a full Tier higher than the pirates’ Tier Two Albatrosses, she would have been captured long ago.
The pirate leader was a burly man with a vicious scar on his face. He hadn’t joined the fight himself, instead directing his men from a short distance away, his eyes filled with greed.
The potent aura of an Earth Knight flowed around him. He was clearly intent on taking her alive, which was why he was playing this game of cat and mouse, wearing down the young woman’s stamina and Magic Power.
As the encirclement tightened, the young woman’s face grew paler.
She caught sight of Raylo’s party watching from nearby and, as if clutching at a final straw, hurriedly shouted.
"Warrior over there! If you help me drive away these pirates, Baisha Port is willing to offer ten thousand Golden Dragons as a reward!"
Her voice was clear, laced with a hint of desperation.
’Ten thousand Golden Dragons?’
Raylo raised an eyebrow.
’This young lady is quite generous.’
He could see the young lady was at her limit. He nudged his chin toward Sun, who had just returned from playing in the water and was busy shaking off droplets.
The Golden Dragon had been waiting impatiently. Upon receiving the order, it let out a joyful, low roar, its ten-meter-long body shooting forward like a bolt of golden lightning.
"Another fool who doesn’t know what’s good for them wants to join the fun!"
The pirate leader, Scarface, saw a "Little Golden Dragon" rushing over and snorted in disdain. He was just about to order his men to take care of it when he saw the streak of golden light had already plunged into their formation.
There was no earth-shattering magic, no violent Dragon Breath.
Sun simply circled elegantly in the air, its thick Dragon Tail sweeping out swiftly and ferociously.
BANG!
BANG! BANG!
Accompanied by a series of dull thuds and pained cries, the pirates and their birds were swatted out of the sky like flies. They spun and tumbled uncontrollably, tracing perfect parabolic arcs before plunging one after another into the sea below with a series of SPLASHES, sending up sprays of white water.
The whole process was as smooth as flowing water—clean and efficient.
In less than ten seconds, the sky was clear.
The leader, Scarface, was dumbfounded. He hadn’t even seen what it did, and his men were completely wiped out.
He glanced in terror at the "Little Golden Dragon" that was now staring at him with its golden eyes, then at the even more terrifying Storm Griffin King in the distance, and finally at the indifferent-looking young man on the Griffin King’s back.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. Without a second word, he yanked on his reins, wheeled his Albatross around, and fled, his speed more than three times faster than when he had arrived.
Sun seemed to want to give chase, but Raylo called it off.
With the trouble dealt with, the young lady named Avril finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She was breathing heavily as she patted her Dragon Eagle’s neck, calming its agitated mood, before guiding it over to them.
"Thank you for your assistance, Your Excellency."
She stopped in front of Raylo, her face still pale from the shock, but she did her best to maintain the etiquette expected of a noble.
"My name is Avril. My father is Marquis Orlando, the Lord of Baisha Port. May I ask your name, Your Excellency? Once we return to Baisha Port, I will be sure to reward you handsomely."
"It was no trouble at all. No thanks are necessary."
Raylo decided to have some fun with her.
"Besides, even without a reward, I’m obligated to help you."
Avril was a little confused.
"Why?"
"Because Marquis Orlando has already issued a notice to the entire West Coast."
Raylo said with a perfectly straight face.
"Whoever can safely bring the runaway Miss Avril back to Baisha Port, the Marquis will grant him Miss Avril’s hand in marriage."
Avril’s expression changed instantly, shifting from stunned disbelief to fury. A crimson blush flared across her cheeks.
"He... How dare he!"
Her voice trembled with rage.
"He’s really gone senile!"
Raylo watched her fuming expression and laughed inwardly, but he didn’t let it show. He simply made a calm, inviting gesture.
"We should be heading back, Miss Avril. I imagine the Marquis is very worried about you right now."
On the way back to Baisha Port, Avril’s anger clearly hadn’t subsided.
She rode her Dragon Eagle alongside Raylo, complaining indignantly about her father the entire way.
"He’s a domineering tyrant! What right does he have to decide who I marry? And putting out a bounty notice... What does he think I am? A piece of cargo?"
"And what’s even more infuriating, do you know who he wants to marry me to?"
Avril grew more and more agitated as she spoke, treating Raylo as a sympathetic ear.
"That Count of Black Stone Territory from the Northern Territory! Have you heard of him? They say he’s old, ugly, and cruel. And... and he’s a lecherous degenerate who keeps over a hundred young women he’s collected from all over as his playthings!"
