Chapter 411: True Dragon Mount

Lei En stood in front of the golden dragon's skull, gathering a red-and-white sphere in his hand.

Soon, the illusory sphere became solid, its surface shimmering with a hazy light; he threw the sphere into the golden dragon's forehead, immediately feeling a strong Willpower, yet the sphere showed no reaction, as immovable as a rock.

Half a second later, the sphere suddenly dissipated.

"Hmm?" Lei En raised an eyebrow; he had tamed thirty Flame Dragons this way, so he knew it meant the taming had failed.

Failure is normal; when his face is dark, it may take over ten attempts to succeed.

His taming experience is also considerable; he has discerned the pattern of the Pet Taming Master: the stronger the target's soul, the lower the success rate, and it also relates to his own soul strength.

When he first tamed Flame Dragons, it took an average of three to four tries to succeed.

Now he has already ascended to Legend; the two days ago he tamed seven newly discovered Flame Dragons, and because their souls were far weaker than his, they succeeded almost always on the first try.

The power of the Golden Three-Headed Dragon is far beyond that of Flame Dragons, so of course it cannot be tamed so easily.

Lei En had long prepared himself mentally.

"Again."

He gathered another red-and-white sphere, thrust it into the golden dragon's forehead, and, as expected, it failed again. He was not discouraged and patiently continued to try.

However, after a few minutes he had failed thirty times in a row, and Lei En's complexion turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Maybe the golden dragon possesses a 'Divine Will', making taming harder?" he guessed, so he switched to a red dragon skull and tried a dozen times without success; then he tried a black dragon skull and failed over twenty times.

Lei En was instantly helpless.

He scratched his chin, wondering if his luck was insufficient today.

"It can't be, my face isn't that dark…" Lei En, unwilling, kept trying, failing, failing, failing, still failing… As one sphere after another vanished, his mood grew worse, and he began to feel numb.

With his robust soul power, even after a fierce battle, the remaining energy was enough to form hundreds of red-and-white spheres.

But the continual failures made Lei En a bit anxious.

The giant dragon's soul gradually revived; with his resistance and Willpower, it would awaken after at most a dozen minutes of unconsciousness, and his Mirror Image cooldown hadn't finished, making it hard to control it again.

One attempt after another quickly reached a hundred, and his energy had dropped by a dozen points.

Failure, failure, still failure.

No change at all.

Lei En had to stop, noticing each taming lasted less than half a second before ending—clearly a problem. When he tamed Flame Dragons, even if he failed, it would affect the Flame Dragon's soul, entangling for a few seconds before a result emerged.

It would never be like now, where the sphere seemed like an egg hitting a steel plate, each ending the same.

It's as if the process was flawed from the start, predestining the outcome.

Lei En calmed down, his mind racing; his gaze examined the Pet Taming Master's interface carefully, opened the list of already tamed pets, and suddenly slapped his thigh, finally realizing the mistake.

The Pet Taming Master can only target mindless beings, such as beasts, aberrations, or fish, etc.

Giant dragons possess intelligence, can speak, have beliefs, and have developed their own civilization, once ruling the world, standing atop the world's peak; they are unquestionably an intelligent race, fundamentally different from beasts and aberrations, thus not within the pet category.

It's like humans cannot be kept as pets, and giant dragons are the same.

Not to mention trying a hundred, a thousand, even a million times—it's impossible to succeed!

"Damn, stereotypes kill people!"

Lei En only then realized that in his previous life he lived in a world inhabited only by humans, his thinking was limited, his definition of "human" differed, habitually excluding non-human beings from the intelligent race, and after crossing to Ai Lun E Si, he often didn't regard other races as "people".

Giant dragons, in both form and soul, are worlds apart from humans; his stereotype hadn't been corrected in time.

"How should we deal with this guy?"

Lei En was conflicted; taming was hopeless, signing a soul contract was also impossible. A soul contract requires mutual consent; the Golden Three-Headed Dragon likely sees him as a mortal enemy, and with a dragon's vengeful nature, it may never be resolved in this lifetime.

Even if the other side agreed, the contract couldn't be made; Lei En had already signed a contract with Ao Xi Li Ya, and a soul companion of the same type can only have one, not duplicate.

"Does that mean we have to kill it?"

The dragon's whole body is valuable; its dragon soul is priceless, but a living dragon is far more valuable than a dead one, and Lei En felt reluctant—such a fine mount, killing it would be a waste.

Ideally there would be a way to control the Golden Three-Headed Dragon without fearing it escaping or rebelling.

Lei En immediately recalled that in Titan Elder Suo Li Mu's exchange catalog he had seen an item called "Dragon Confinement Chain", which could subdue a giant dragon; once the dragon is bound, it can be manipulated at will.

A Dragon Confinement Chain costs two hundred pounds of source crystals; he now has enough source crystals, but there isn't time to exchange it.

"Even if we can only bind the dragon, that seems useless; we can't control it…" Lei En looked at the Golden Three-Headed Dragon, its dragon soul was fluctuating, a sign it was about to awaken, and thought, "Control, and remote control—what method can achieve that? The Dragon Confinement Chain won't work, something else…"

Suddenly, Lei En's eyes lit up, shouting, "Got it!"

He rummaged in his spatial ring, quickly pulling out a cyan metal ingot, only the size of a pigeon egg, very light, its density far lower than steel, yet its toughness and hardness far surpass steel; it is a very rare magical metal.

This is a Soul‑Taming Ring!

When Lei En was in the Death Forest Sea, he helped the Black Robe Duke's simulated avatar remove the Soul‑Taming Ring, which fell into his hands; after returning to Mo Du to consult his teacher, he learned this naturally formed metal is called "Yin Soul Bronze", light as a feather, able to merge with souls, and is extremely rare in Ai Lun E Si.

The Soul‑Taming Ring was forged by the Green Dragon King Zhan Qing; he didn't fully understand it then, but he recorded the runes etched on the collar's surface and interior.

Not understanding it then doesn't mean he doesn't understand it now.

Lei En activated the metal, the Yin Soul Bronze turned liquid, softened and flowed on his hand, and in just a few seconds returned to its former shape, becoming a thin collar.

Not only did its appearance restore, but the runes on the collar and its internal patterns were exactly the same as when it was on the Black Robe Duke's simulated avatar, emitting a faint strange magical pulse.

These are ancient dragon‑language runes, extremely obscure.

Lei En studied for a while; his phone library contained several dragon‑language rune texts, he opened a translation dictionary, the Multi‑core crystal also ran at full power, parsing the collar's rune principles; soon he had a clue, and within a few hours he should be able to crack it.

"How many hours?" he shook his head.

This speed was already very fast, even could be called divine speed, but still too long.

Moreover, the Multi‑core crystal consumes a lot of energy; Lei En's current soul power can't sustain that long, and he would have to pause to rest, drink a few bottles of Soul‑Returning Elixir, and probably won't have results until tomorrow.

At this moment the Golden Three-Headed Dragon's wing moved; it was about to awaken!

Lei En had a flash of inspiration, reached into the void and grabbed the Thunder God's Hammer, flashed to the dragon's back and placed the war hammer, then infused the hammer with lightning power.

The hammer's weight instantly surged, within seconds jumping from ten thousand pounds to one hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand, two hundred thousand… up to three hundred thousand pounds!

It was already heavier than the Golden Three-Headed Dragon, but still not at the limit.

Lei En continued to increase the weight, pressing the giant dragon's spine down into a depression; in its stupor it let out painful moans, and the terrifying pressure finally jolted it awake, making it notice the abnormality on its back. Instinctively it tried to roll over, but found that it could not stand up.

Bo Erqi was horrified to the point of panic, his three heads swiveling a full one hundred eighty degrees, and he saw Lei En on his back.

"What are you doing?" the giant dragon shouted in terror.

At this point, the Thunder God's Hammer weighed nearly one million pounds, equivalent to three to four times the Golden Three-Headed Dragon's mass, and the weight was concentrated on the relatively small war hammer, creating pressure beyond imagination. The broad dragon back sank inward, seeming ready to be split in two at any moment, and its wings could no longer exert force.

Bo Erqi felt as if a mountain were crushing him, and even breathing became unusually difficult.

He brewed for several seconds before laboriously spitting out tricolored dragon breath, but it had little power; Lei En flashed and dodged it.

"I advise you to lie still and not move; if you die from the pressure, you can't blame me."

Lei En appeared dozens of meters away, speaking with a smile.

He could control the Thunder God's Hammer's weight from afar; with a thought, thunder crackled on the hammer, unleashing bolts of lightning. The giant dragon, struggling against the crushing weight, could not even break through the holy light barrier, and was instantly shaken violently by the electricity, writhing in agony.

The current from the wound pressed out by the war hammer traveled straight into the giant dragon's body, producing a continuous electric shock paralysis.

Lei En observed the dragon's soul and confirmed that, under the electric paralysis, the giant dragon could not cast spells.

The only thing he feared was the Shadow Incarnation, which could turn the giant dragon into a shadow and let it escape the Thunder God's Hammer's crushing control; now he could be at ease.

The electric shock lasted several minutes; the Golden Three-Headed Dragon was already on the brink of death, gradually weakening and unable to bear the Thunder God's Hammer's weight. Once that breath was lost and the muscles gave out, the hammer could crush the dragon's spine in the next second, killing it on the spot.

Lei En halted the current on the war hammer.

Bo Erqi's three dragon heads were gasping heavily; he almost thought he was about to be crushed to death.

Still shaken, he looked at the war hammer on his back, and, recalling its origin, couldn't help but ask, "Human, is this the Thunder God's Hammer?"

Lei En gave no answer, focusing on analyzing the Soul‑Binding Circle.

"It must be!" Bo Erqi's eyes glittered. "Even if you don't say it, I know; this is definitely the Thunder God's Hammer!" He could hardly believe it— the Thunder God's Hammer, famed as the strongest weapon below a divine artifact, had vanished for over a thousand years, and now a mortal had obtained it.

"You know too much," Lei En said lightly.

The Golden Three-Headed Dragon was startled, then realized its perilous situation; Lei En, willing to expose his secret of possessing the Thunder God's Hammer, would not let it go easily.

"Count, what exactly do you want from me? Gold, power, or a soul contract?" Bo Erqi unintentionally changed his address to Lei En. The dragon's greedy nature led him to hatch a crooked scheme, its three heads constantly staring at Lei En, eyes darting about.

He thought his concealment was perfect, yet it did not escape Lei En's eyes.

The Soul Eye saw the Element of Shadow Incarnation flickering in the black dragon head, and Lei En immediately made the war hammer discharge lightning; the intense current made the giant dragon shudder again, emitting a painful roar.

Afterwards, every few minutes Lei En let the war hammer discharge electricity to paralyze the Golden Three-Headed Dragon, keeping his distance while parsing the Soul‑Binding Circle's runes in his mind.

At first, Bo Erqi's attempts to flee were preempted by Lei En, who punished him with longer electric shocks each time, each duration longer than the last.

After a few rounds, he became obedient.

After half a day he grew restless again, trying to coax useful information from Lei En with words; Lei En responded with several unapologetic electric shocks. This torment lasted the whole day; the Golden Three-Headed Dragon was exhausted, its body riddled with wounds, and its golden blood pooled on the ground forming a blood pit.

Lei En's power fluctuated; after several rests and drinking Soul‑Returning elixirs, he worked sleeplessly and finally deciphered the dragon‑language runes on the Soul‑Binding Circle, mastering its use.

It took two hours longer than he expected, but it was not too late.

"We can begin."

Lei En smiled, stepped before the Golden Three-Headed Dragon, and stared into its eyes: "Bo Erqi, speak your true name."

Using the Soul‑Binding Circle does not strictly require knowing the target's true name, but having it improves the control effect.

The red dragon and the black dragon heads remained still.

Only the golden dragon glared fiercely at Lei En, deep‑voiced, "You dare not."

A giant dragon's true name holds magical power and is never easily told; only its parents hear it once when the offspring hatches.

Lei En snorted coldly and increased the war hammer's current.

He had long seen through it; Bo Erqi was not the type to die rather than submit. He simply hadn't been pushed to the brink of death yet.

This was a perfect chance to leave a deep impression on Bo Erqi, lest he become disobedient later.

This was a malevolent dragon that worshipped Tiya Sixi, so its methods had to be ruthless.

"Ah… human, I swear to Tiya Sixi that the pain you give me today will be repaid a hundredfold one day!" the Golden Three-Headed Dragon roared in agony, its four claws gouging deep scars into the ground, to no avail.

Lei En simply added more weight to the Thunder God's Hammer.

In the dragon's lair, lightning thundered, mingled with the giant dragon's frantic curses; it hurled every vile insult it could think of at Lei En.

Lei En was calm as a breeze, while Bo Erqi's talent for cursing paled in comparison to his power.

Having lived through the internet information explosion, what kind of troll hadn't he seen online? Even a random Zaunian's insulting skill could fling Bo Erqi eight streets away; by contrast, Bo Erqi's crude words were practically compliments.

This electric shock lasted longer than any previous one, and Bo Erqi's curses gradually grew faint.

Lei En, however, did not stop there.

As the war hammer grew heavier, threatening to crush the spine at any moment, the dragon's six eyes, amid pain, finally showed fear and remorse. The golden dragon opened its mouth, its breath like a thread, and said, "Balagas Paralandask Naisario."

"What?" Lei En turned his head. "Speak louder, I can't hear."

Bo Erqi's mental defenses had completely collapsed; with his last ounce of strength he shouted his true name loudly, then cried, "Stop it quickly, I really can't endure any more."

"Consider yourself sensible," Lei En said, nodding with satisfaction.

He lightened the Thunder God's Hammer, stopped the electric shock, flipped his hand to produce the Soul‑Binding Circle, infused it with soul energy to activate the collar's runes, and loudly intoned: "Balagas Paralandask Naisario, you shall forever submit to me, your master—Ryan Augustus's command; from now on, your soul belongs to me, your body serves me, your Willpower obeys me…"

As Lei En chanted the incantation, the runes on the Soul‑Binding Circle in his hand lit up one by one.

"Soul‑Binding Circle! Where did you get it?"

The Golden Three-Headed Dragon recognized the object in Lei En's hand, instantly became terrified, struggled desperately and screamed, its three heads frantically slamming the ground, even its voice trembling; snot and tears flew everywhere, engulfed in extreme fear and despair.

He tried to exhale dragon breath to attack Lei En, but his chest was pressed tightly by the war hammer, leaving no strength to spit out.

Lei En ignored the Golden Three-Headed Dragon's desperate resistance; his soul energy kept outputting, the electric charge plummeted rapidly, and the Soul‑Binding Circle in his hand grew brighter, turning into a ball of cyan light after half a minute.

He released his grip; the collar turned into a cyan beam that entered the golden dragon's forehead.

The Soul Eye saw the cyan beam pierce Bo Erqi's soul, forming a curse‑like rune that lurked deep within, similar to the Blood Soul Curse. The souls of the three dragon heads were all affected; the hysterical giant dragon first calmed, its body convulsed for minutes, and finally settled into peace.

"It's successful."

With a thought, Lei En caused collars to appear on the three necks of the giant dragon.

He can sense that the Golden Three-Headed Dragon's soul is under his control; with a single thought he can make its soul suffer torment, completely losing its ability to resist. The Soul‑Guiding Ring does not affect Boleqi's will; it still retains its own thinking, only its life and death are manipulated by others.

This thing is much like the tight‑binding headband on Sun Wukong.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Lei En praised with a sigh, waved his hand to lift the heavy pressure of Thunder God's Hammer, letting it drift into the void.

Boleqi remained motionless, not even willing to open his eyes.

Lei En knew he was playing dead, kicked his head, and threatened, "If you don't get up, you'll taste the feeling of soul torment."

Saying that, he activated the runes of the Soul‑Guiding Ring.

The Golden Three-Headed Dragon's whole body trembled, feeling more painful than an electric shock, comparable to a soul Tear; he struggled to rise and shouted angrily, "Stop it! Human…"

"What do you call me?" Lei En asked coldly, increasing the torment of the Soul‑Guiding Ring.

Boleqi clenched his teeth but could only endure a few seconds before giving in, finally bowing his head reluctantly and whispering, "Master, please stop, I know I've erred."

"Hmph…" Lei En ceased the control; Soul Eye saw that Boleqi only softened his words, while his inner hatred burned even hotter, his soul color turning blackish red, so he warned, "If there is another time and I detect any intent to resist, I will show no mercy."

Dealing with a vicious dragon cannot be soft‑hearted, or the backlash will bring unbearable regret.

"Yes, Master." Boleqi lowered his brows obediently, showing no trace of hatred on the surface, while the three dragon heads forced a flattering smile.

Lei En wasn't afraid that he might suddenly turn and bite him, and waved his hand, "Rest a while, heal your wounds, and leave with me."

Boleqi cast a holy light spell; beams of golden light flashed, the wounds healed at a visible speed, his body rapidly shrank into a human shape, becoming a strangely handsome, robust wildman.

Lei En had seen his wildman form; a metallic collar now hung around his neck, rather eye‑catching.

He thought for a moment and said, "Hide the Soul‑Guiding Ring."

The Soul‑Guiding Ring can be concealed; Boleqi dared not disobey, letting the collar gradually fade and sink beneath the skin, looking much more normal.

Lei En walked around the dragon's nest twice but found no treasure, and asked, "Where did you hide the gold you took from Baron Ba Keli's vault?"

"Master…"

Boleqi instinctively looked at the pocket at his waist, his face wailing, and shouted, "This is the treasure I barely managed to collect; may I keep it? I heard Master is the Earl of Glamorgan, surely you won't mind a little money…"

Lei En guessed his treasure was hidden in some spatial equipment; seeing his snot‑filled, tearful state, he thought not to press too hard. This dragon had just lost its freedom; taking its treasure again might force a desperate, all‑or‑nothing fight.

"Fine, I was only asking, not after your treasure." He abandoned his previous intention.

Boleqi rejoiced, "Thank you, Master."

Lei En sensed his soul color shift, the red‑black lightening a bit, hostility and hatred receding, and he couldn't help but laugh and cry; in the giant dragon's eyes, treasure mattered more than freedom.

Hmm, this can be used later to write a piece, easing the tense relationship.

One man and one dragon rested in the nest for half a day; Lei En's soul power fully recovered, Boleqi's injuries were also almost healed, though his wounds were severe and would need ten days to half a month to fully recover, temporarily not affecting flight.

"We should go."

Lei En drew his Arcane Flood Staff and opened a teleportation gate.

He had just learned that Boleqi's nest lacked the usual dragon entrances; it only had a hidden slit that could be passed through in human form.

Emerging from the teleportation gate, Boleqi looked toward the nearby mountains, his gaze falling on a clear lake at the foot of the hills, a hint of lingering affection in his eyes.

Lei En did not urge him.

"Master, I've kept you waiting too long." Boleqi explained gloomily, "This is my first nest; I've lived here for over a hundred years. Every time I wake from sleep, I bathe in the lake below, then enjoy a lovely picnic by the shore. I don't know if I'll ever have a chance to return."

"There will be." Lei En said lightly, "I've built a fortress on the edge of the Shi Jie Shan Mai; there is a teleportation array there, not far from here. With my permission, you can return."

Boleqi's face brightened, "That's wonderful."

"When outsiders are present, call me boss and keep the secret of Thunder God's Hammer." Lei En reminded, glancing toward the sky.

"Yes, boss!" Boleqi, being very considerate, revealed his true giant‑dragon form and bowed his dragon head.

Lei En leapt onto the neck of the golden dragon in the middle, patting the scales beneath his feet with his palm.

Three dragon roars shook the surroundings.

The sail‑shaped triangular dragon wings flapped violently, magical currents surged, lifting the massive dragon body into the air, breaking through the clouds; the clear sky stretched endlessly, dragon scales reflected a dazzling golden light in the sun, like a golden sun streaking across the high sky.

At that moment, a thought flashed through Lei En's mind.

He had once been a false dragon rider, often ridden by dragons and never seeing the light; now he finally became a true dragon rider, able to ride dragons openly and blind others with his brilliance.

Ao Xi Li Ya is the lover, Boleqi is just the mount!

Today's two chapters together exceed ten thousand words; that should count as three watches, right?

(End of chapter)