Chapter Forty-Two: Within the Legends

This bumpkin acted so crudely, as if he wished he could rub his whole body against the dragon’s corpse a few more times. Even Ada, usually so cold and indifferent, couldn’t help but show his distaste at such vulgarity—his expression changed, his eyelids twitched, and he finally turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge this fool.

After dressing, even though Shaya was still covered in the stench of blood, he felt a bit more at ease. At least he had gained something—now invulnerable to blades and spears, his resentment eased a little. He grinned at Ada and said, “This dragon’s blood is really something. Rub it on your skin and it feels burning hot. Do you want to try—ah, I almost forgot, you’re a dragon yourself. You wouldn’t need this sort of thing.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help glancing at a certain part of Ada’s body.

Ada’s face grew darker. He snapped, “Enough! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have told you any of this! Dragon’s blood is a noble substance, and yet you—you use it for…”

Shaya rolled his eyes. “I fought tooth and nail to get here. I deserve at least a little reward for my trouble.”

He then remembered what Ada had said earlier and stroked his chin, eyeing the dragon before him. “You just said this dragon’s body is worth more than mountains of gold and silver?”

Ada snorted, narrowing his eyes as his tone turned peculiar. “That depends on whose hands it falls into. If it’s someone like you, it’s just a pile of bones. But if it’s a mage or someone knowledgeable…”

Shaya’s attitude softened instantly as he leaned in with a smile. “So, how exactly can it be valuable?”

Ada sighed, placing his palm on a patch of dragon scale. “Dragons are the mightiest creatures—everyone on the continent agrees. Their physical bodies are unparalleled, especially in terms of physical defense. Take their scales, for example: even the finest iron shields crafted by the best human smiths can’t compare. The dragon’s entire body is covered in these scales, making it like an impenetrable wall. Ordinary attacks can’t breach these countless shields! If she hadn’t been weakened, no group of mages could have forced her into such a predicament. As for you… the weapon in your hand is exceptionally rare in that it could pierce her scales.”

Weapon?

Shaya glanced at his fire fork. “You’re calling this thing a sword?” He couldn’t help but laugh. “You think my fire fork is a sword?”

Ada’s tone was serious. “Of course it’s a sword! What else could it be? A weapon that can easily pierce dragon scales—this is the first time I’ve ever seen such sharpness with my own eyes.”

He studied Shaya’s fire fork closely. “Such a treasure in your hands is truly wasted. Hmph! The shape may be odd, but in terms of sharpness, it lacks little compared to the legendary weapons famed across the continent.”

Shaya’s heart leapt. He gently stroked the fire fork, thinking: Could this thing really be some treasure left behind by the old man?

Ada sighed. “As for what it’s made of, I can’t say, but it’s definitely not ordinary metal!”

“Why not?”

Ada sneered. “Dragon’s blood is precious, but do you think it only makes you… as hard as iron?” As he said “as hard as iron,” Ada’s eyes flashed with anger, and he shot a hateful glare below Shaya’s waist before coughing to suppress his rage and continuing, “If it were an ordinary weapon, dragon’s blood would corrode it instantly! Dragons are the strongest beings on the continent—no race, at least not single-handedly, can match a dragon’s might. One reason is that humans, dwarves, elves—their warriors all use metal weapons. But aside from a very few extraordinary weapons, most are at a severe disadvantage against dragons. If you’d been holding an ordinary iron sword…”

He snorted. “Even if you had monstrous strength and could pierce dragon scales, once your weapon touched the blood, it would soon be corroded and softened! That’s why, in your human legends, every hero who dares challenge a dragon must first acquire an extraordinary weapon. Ordinary weapons can’t pierce dragon scales, and even if they could, dragon’s blood would ruin them.”

Shaya felt a twinge of fear.

Corroded? Damn! If dragon’s blood is so strange, could it corrode… that too?

He awkwardly touched his waist, but with Ada watching, he was too embarrassed to check any lower.

“Don’t worry, it only corrodes metal. That’s an innate dragon attribute—a magical force that strongly repels metals,” Ada said sternly.

Shaya swallowed hard, finally reassured. He looked up at the dying dragon. “So, by your logic… this dragon is enormous, with so many scales. If I stripped them all…”

A gleam flashed in Ada’s eyes. “Haven’t you ever heard of dragon scale armor?”

Dragon scale armor?

At once, Shaya’s eyes lit up! He’d heard of such armor, but only in legends—back at the Wildfire Town tavern, the bards had spoken of it… in a word: unmatched!

“The scales on a dragon’s back are the hardest; the belly scales are a bit weaker, but still far superior to the finest human-made armor,” Ada explained, pointing to Dora. “If you can get some belly scales and forge them into armor, it might not be a divine artifact, but it’s close.”

“Why the belly scales? Didn’t you say the back ones are the hardest?”

Ada looked at this greedy fellow with disdain. “The back scales are indeed harder, but that makes them nearly impossible to forge. Belly scales are a bit less tough, but can at least be worked. Still, even belly scales—only dwarves are said to possess the skills to forge such tough material. As for humans… There aren’t likely any smiths left on the continent who can do it.”

This irked Shaya.

Damn it! So I’ll have to lug a pile of dragon scales to the dwarves?

On the Wildfire Plains, dwarves weren’t hard to find, but if he strode into their lands, he’d never walk out again—he’d be lucky if his skull didn’t become one of their lacquered trophies!

Shaya deflated a little. “Fine, forget about the scales for now. Worst case, I’ll just strip them and sell them off. I’m not aiming to be some legendary hero, so I don’t need to break my back for a suit of dragon scale armor.”

Ada sneered. “You say that now, but once you grasp its value… If all it offered was hardness, it wouldn’t be so special. The key is, ordinary metal armor is hard to imbue with magic—most spells repel metal. Only the most skilled human alchemists can manage it, and there are few of those left. But dragon scales are different—a dragon is a magical creature by nature, and its scales naturally accept magic. Even a minor mage could easily enchant them. So a set of dragon scale armor is almost always top-tier magical defense gear.”

Shaya wiped his mouth, cursing, “Fine! You’ve sold me. If I get a chance, I’ll find some dwarves…”

But thinking of those famously bad-tempered, mighty dwarves, the bumpkin felt a little faint-hearted. After a moment’s hesitation, he pressed, “What else? You said a dragon’s whole body is precious—what else is there?”

“There are also dragon teeth,” Ada smiled. “Dragon teeth are unimaginably hard and sharp, especially the upper fangs—these can be made into dragon tooth swords or spearheads. The legendary dragon tooth swords and dragon lances were all made this way. But as for the crafting…”

Shaya grew irritated. “Yeah, yeah, I get it! Still need dwarves, right? Anything else?”

He was annoyed on the surface, but inwardly, he’d decided: once the dragon died, he’d pull out every last tooth.

“And then, there’s dragon hide,” Ada sighed. “Dora is an earth dragon, so her hide can be made into a robe that resists most earth-based magic, and offers some protection against other lower-level spells as well. It’s a magical defense garment.”

Shaya was truly tempted, but looked at Ada a bit sheepishly. “This… making a dragon hide robe doesn’t require a dwarf, does it?”

Ada chuckled. “Of course not. Dwarves are smiths, not tailors.”

Shaya breathed a sigh of relief, but was still unsatisfied. “And what else?”

“There’s also… dragon sinew!” Ada’s eyes sparkled, and his tone grew excited. “If you’re skilled with a bow, dragon sinew is the best material for a supreme bowstring. The hardest part of making a fine bow is getting top-quality string. Dragon sinew is tough, elastic, and magically imbued—no blade can cut it, yet it stretches perfectly. In legend, two of the three most famous bows among the elves have dragon sinew strings!”

A divine weapon?

Shaya’s face flushed, his eyes nearly glowing… Divine weapon! What did that name mean?!

“But…” Ada’s tone shifted, sighing.

“But what?” Shaya immediately sensed trouble. Every time Ada praised some dragon material, a “but” followed, and what came next was never good.

Sure enough!

“But dragon sinew makes a bowstring, not a whole bow. The bow itself must also be made from the finest materials. To match dragon sinew, you need to soak it in the legendary ‘elven tears,’ then use a rare dwarven red iron to forge the bow…”

Shaya felt like coughing blood.

Great! Even harder than making dragon scale armor! At least for armor, you only needed dwarves. For a dragon sinew bow, you had to involve the elves too!

“Hey! Are you messing with me?” Shaya protested. “Everything is ‘legend has it’ this, ‘legend has it’ that! You talk about priceless treasures, but not a single one is actually usable! All these things you say are ‘legendary’—where am I supposed to find all this legendary crap? Elven tears… Right now, it’s me who feels like crying!”