Chapter 67: The Dragon Does Not Die

“Captain! Captain, what’s wrong with you?”

“Captain, wake up quick!”

The sailors were in a frenzy, their clamor, war cries, and horn blasts blending into a chaotic mess, turning the scene into utter disorder.

Richard, clad in armor, strode over to see what was happening, while Sophia hurriedly rushed back to don her own armor.

Amid the chaotic scene, Aurina looked at the fallen captain and shouted loudly:

“The gold coin pig is dead! Time to grab the money!”

Aurina had been stifled for too long.

Clearly, the fat-faced captain had gold coins, was weak, and was secretly sending messages.

Yet Richard wouldn’t allow her to take all his coins.

Not allowing it was one thing, but Richard always managed to stop her gold-grabbing antics.

For instance, last time she planned to sneak to the ship’s side under the pretense of playing in the sea, intending to burn a hole in the hull to slip into the captain’s cabin.

She got a knock on the head for it.

What a beast of burden, she thought.

In full view of everyone, Aurina raised the fat-faced captain with both hands, shaking him vigorously.

She shook him so hard that his chubby face rippled with waves of flesh, his tongue lolling wildly.

A few gold and silver coins inexplicably fell from his body, and Aurina gleefully opened her mouth, ready to flick out her tongue to snatch the falling coins.

Richard reached out and shut her mouth.

“No looting in the chaos!”

The gold and silver coins quickly vanished among the sailors.

Aurina glared up at Richard, letting out a threatening growl from her throat.

Richard raised his hand, showing his steel gauntlet.

Aurina’s eyes instantly cleared, and she set the fat-faced captain down.

He gasped for air, his eyes still spinning, then came to and said: “Thank you.”

Richard said, “Sorry, Aurina, she—”

The fat-faced captain’s eyes stopped spinning.

Realizing it was Richard standing before him, he immediately turned to face Aurina and said: “Thank you for the rescue. By the way, what time is it?”

At that moment, an enraged war cry rang out: “I’ll use your skulls as bowls!”

Aurina crossed her arms and said: “How pitiful, needing a bowl to eat. This king uses a basin.”

The fat-faced captain nearly jumped as he shouted, “Quick! Quick! Hoist the sails, throw the ballast cargo overboard! Toss as much as you can!”

Even before his orders, when the fat-faced captain had “fainted” from his fall, the sailors had already hoisted the sails, thrown cargo overboard, and the helmsman had steered the ship into the wind.

Though they couldn’t immediately shake off the North Peninsula men’s dragon ships, at least the terrifying dragon ships, which had scared the captain and crew out of their wits, were no longer closing in.

On the dragon ship, a chieftain nearly two meters tall with a red dragon tattoo, bare-chested and wielding a giant axe as large as a man’s head, was roaring at the ship.

Behind him, many North Peninsula men shed their heavy scale and chain mail, revealing their muscular torsos.

Tattooed with bears, dragons, and other fierce beasts, they looked utterly enraged, some even foaming at the mouth.

They brandished axes as big as palms and round shields.

At the ship’s stern, the fat-faced captain was personally manning the helm.

“Why are we running?” 

Aurina said discontentedly. 

“They actually have lots of valuable stuff.”

“Then why are you running?”

A proud dragon would never admit to being outmatched, she thought.

“Because I want you to fight with me,” Aurina said. 

“I get nine, you get one.”

At that moment, Sophia finally arrived, standing at the stern and glancing at the dragon ships in pursuit.

The North Peninsula men on the dragon ships were chanting in rhythm, their oars rising and falling, kicking up white waves.

“Lord, why are there so many North Peninsula men?” 

Sophia said. 

“Why are these villains in the seas near the capital, and in such numbers?”

“What are North Peninsula men?” 

Aurina asked, curious.

Richard said:

“It’s said the North Peninsula is cursed, or perhaps it was a battleground for ancient gods.

It’s a harsh, cold land, which has bred a group of bloodthirsty, cruel warriors.

They sail longships, raiding along waterways, and when they can’t rob, they trade.

These North Peninsula men look like elites.

I don’t know why there are so many here, but I think we should observe carefully.”

Sophia said, “I heard their shamans can summon storms.”

“Let’s hope that’s just a rumor,” Richard said. 

“I think we could try communicating with them first. Maybe there’s a misunderstanding?”

“Are you mad?” the fat-faced captain said, handing the helm to his first mate and walking over.

“They’re born demons, wanting to use our skulls as bowls.”

“Maybe they think this is just an ordinary merchant ship,” Richard said. 

“If they knew attacking us would cost them dozens or even hundreds of warriors, a smart chieftain would think twice. So, we need to communicate.”

The fat-faced captain said, “What are we waiting for?”

“At least let me figure out what’s going on and understand their culture.”

Sophia said, “Look, they’ve lowered their sails.”

Aurina, being short, climbed the mast to see clearly.

In the thin mist, the dragon ships had lowered their sails.

The “red worms,” bears, and other patterns painted on the sails fell as the sails were furled.

Aurina asked, “What’s painted on them? Red worms? Can you eat them? Richard, have you ever roasted them?”

Before she finished speaking, a gust of wind came from behind, fiercely kicking her in the back.

Richard quickly reached out to steady her, but Aurina had already hopped down from the railing, clinging to it.

The sails billowed, but they swelled toward the stern, against the ship’s direction.

The mast let out a terrifying creak, the immense force bending it nearly to the breaking point.

The ship’s speed visibly slowed, and the sailors had no choice but to lower the sails.

The dragon ships, having lowered their sails earlier, relied on rowing.

Chanting their slogans, they surged through the waves against the wind, ignoring the floating cargo the merchant ship had cast off.

“Do something quick!” the fat-faced captain shouted. 

“Heroes! You two slew a dragon, surely you can slaughter them all!”

“I hope we can drive them off.”

“What do you mean, hope?” the fat-faced captain said. 

“You killed the Dread Dragon. I heard its wings could cover the entire sky—”

“Exactly!” 

Aurina said, puffing out her childish chest proudly. 

“Before the great Red Dragon King of Kings, these dragon ships are just little green worms crawling on the sea.”

“Well said,” the fat-faced captain said. 

“Then you must despise these evil, cruel North Peninsula men who’ve slaughtered followers of the good gods. You could easily wipe them out, right?”

Sophia looked to Richard, who typically assessed the enemy.

Richard shook his head and said, “No, if they don’t retreat, we’ll be overwhelmed by their numbers.”

The fat-faced captain, incredulous, said, “If we make it to shore, I’ll proclaim your one-handed divine deeds everywhere and offer a cow as a sacrifice.”

“You’re misunderstanding. It’s a matter of insufficient strength.”

The fat-faced captain bent down. 

“Three cows!”

The war cries drew closer.

Richard shook his head. 

“No, we don’t have the strength.”

The fat-faced captain straightened up, cursing loudly, “How are you so weak? How did you even slay the dragon?”

“I’ll overlook your provocation for now,” Richard said, drawing his longsword to calm the captain down. 

“If their five hundred men fused into one, I’d have confidence. But among those five hundred, there’s no one named ‘Heart’ or ‘Artery’ that I could kill to make the rest fall.”

The fat-faced captain shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

He still couldn’t comprehend why Richard, who slew a dragon, was helpless against the North Peninsula men, but for the sake of the sword’s edge, he decided to cool down.

“There’s no time,” Richard said. 

“Sophia, cast Water Walking on me. I’m going to meet their chieftain.”

Sophia immediately clasped her hands and said, “May the Lord cleanse your sins, making you pure and unsinking upon the water.”

Light shimmered around Richard as he vaulted over the side.

Aurina commented, “What’s he doing, pulling stunts like that? What a fool.”

With that, she spat a puff of fire at the pigeon in her hand, gave it a shake, and produced a roasted squab.

The fat-faced captain suddenly remembered the root of the trouble was Aurina and said, “Why did you have to steal his pigeon? Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

Aurina glanced at him. 

“Poor fat bug that can’t fly.”

Below, Richard’s clear voice rang out.

Aurina immediately leaned over the railing to see how her nemesis was handling the situation.

Only Richard walked across the waves, his steel armor gleaming as if he were a god, single-handedly intercepting ten dragon ships.

“Please stop pursuing us,” Richard said.

“We’re guarding this ship. If you keep chasing, many will perish. Why not let us offer ransom as a sign of respect for your martial prowess?”

“Go to hell, tin can!” the red dragon tattooed chieftain stood and cursed. 

“Today, I’ll use your blood and skulls to wash away my shame!”

So it’s not about money, but dignity? 

Richard thought.

The red dragon tattooed chieftain pointed angrily and cursed, “You little bastard, I’ll chop off your head and use it as a brazier!”

Following the chieftain’s pointing finger, Richard saw Aurina sitting on the helm deck’s railing.

The wind blew from behind, repeatedly lifting her fiery red hair.

Her legs were pressed together, slanting, her white skirt fluttering to outline their shape.

In that moment, much of her childishness faded, replaced by a womanly charm.

Yes, she’s more like a little beauty than a girl, Richard thought, distracted.

Aurina was chewing, her cheeks slightly puffed, a bird’s leg dangling from her mouth, wobbling as if it were the dying struggle of a doomed pigeon.

She swallowed the pigeon, looked at Sophia beside her and said: “What did he say?”

“The wind’s too strong, I didn’t catch it either.”

Richard snapped out of his brief distraction, his gaze falling on the chieftain’s mangled hair.

He could guess what happened.

Aurina, swimming in the sea, saw the chieftain preparing to eat a hot roasted pigeon on the damp ocean and stole it.

As a chieftain, he likely ruled his tribe through fear and strength.

Having a little girl steal his roasted pigeon wasn’t just a humiliation—it threatened his authority.

Richard was about to devise a plan when the dragon ships closed in to spear-throwing range.

The red dragon tattooed chieftain raised his hand, launching a spear like a bolt from a crossbow.

Richard raised his sword, slicing the spear in two.

The spearhead spun through the air, landing on the deck in front of the fat-faced captain, who trembled with fright, his fat quivering.

In a panic, he roared downward:

“Northern barbarians! Before you stands the dragon-slaying hero who killed the Dread Dragon Orbus! Stop coming!”

After shouting, he felt less afraid.

As long as Richard acknowledged his identity as a dragon-slaying hero, they’d surely be safe, right?

After a brief silence on the dragon ships, the shaman roared, “Nonsense! Dragons do not die!”

“The Dread Dragon is immortal!”

Their war cries erupted, thick with battle fervor.

Richard sighed, realizing he’d guessed correctly.

This was a North Peninsula tribe that revered the Dread Dragon as their totem, with countless generations of myths tied to it.

Revealing his identity only enraged them further.

The red dragon tattooed chieftain raised his giant axe and roared, “Dragons do not die, but dragon-slayers do! Let us brew wine with their blood!”

The chieftain crushed the skull goblet in his hand and pointed at Richard. 

“I’ll use your skull as my new bowl!”

The North Peninsula men’s battle fervor intensified, their rage growing wilder.

The dragon ships rode the wind and waves, surrounding the nearly halted merchant ship.