Chapter 34: Outline of the Six Dragon-Slaying Techniques

Chapter 34 6. Dragon Slaying Technical Outline

After finishing their meal, the two Duruchi nobles continued their journey.

"Perhaps I should dress more simply?"

Walter looked at him and said cautiously, "My Lord, even if you were to wear nothing but a tattered, thick leather kitan, they would still recognize you at a glance."

Dacus looked at Walter in surprise.

The market had finally arrived. Rather than a market, it was more like a bazaar held in a massive open space; during wartime, it served as a gathering point for armies and supplies, and in peacetime, it became a marketplace. The bazaar was teeming with low-end slave traders, commoners, pirates, pickpockets, and various gang members, while several city guards patrolled incessantly to maintain order.

The market was currently at its busiest time of the year. The goods were all looted from various corners of the world, presenting a dazzling and diverse array of items. Cages in the market were filled with Duruchi, Norscan Northerners, and human slaves, as well as all sorts of beasts. Dacus even saw a War Hydra in the distance performing a demonstration of swallowing a Duruchi whole; a hapless soul standing at the very front of the crowd to watch the spectacle was pushed forward by those behind him.

"Good heavens, it's like an old lady wandering into a treasure market—what an eye-opener."

"Walter, have you been here before?"

"No, My Lord. This is my first time."

Dacus had been here once when he was eight years old with his cousin. That unreliable cousin had presented him with an Arabian magic lamp, telling him there was a genie inside, and if the genie appeared, he could make ten wishes!

But back then, the boy only had one wish: he hoped his mother could return to his side to accompany him. However, as he grew older, he gradually understood that this wish could never be fulfilled.

He had once asked his cousin about it, but his cousin had stammered, saying the lamp might be broken. That magic lamp had been polished to a shine by him and still sat on his bedside table today, placed next to a crystal ball.

Since then, he had come running here every year, most frequently before winter, always scavenging for strange and peculiar things. If he liked something, he would take it, while the family guards and attendants following behind were responsible for paying.

The current Dacus was also curious about this place and had come to take a look.

Walter was also looking around, his eyes filled with novelty. There was a dedicated auction house in the noble district that held regular auctions; none of the city's elites would wander down here for no reason.

Dacus wandered about, carrying a large-scale Silence aura and a small-scale Repulsion aura. A scene of a stolen wallet? Non-existent. No Duruchi would walk into the "Three Swords" zone without cause, unless he wished to return to the embrace of Aes Haye.

"Tell me if you see anything you like."

As he spoke, he turned back to see Walter pausing. Following Walter's gaze, he saw a somewhat attractive female Duruchi slave being sold with a tag. Dacus was instantly speechless.

"Holy crap, his heart is truly massive. He almost died this morning, and now he's thinking about women again."

Dacus called out to him, "Walter! What are you looking at?"

Walter snapped back to his senses and said stammeringly, "My Lord, nothing, I wasn't looking at anything."

Dacus looked at Walter and said solemnly, "Walter, the strong do as they please, while the weak suffocate in their own blood!"

Walter froze for a moment after hearing this, then immediately dismounted, knelt on the ground, and remained silent.

Dacus also dismounted and walked, leading his horse.

"Let's go, let's wander around."

After wandering for a while, they found that the market had everything: War Hydras, Manticore, Harpies, Great Wolves, and even a Wyvern. Dacus even saw a canopy bed with several "bright sparks" standing beside it. Weren't they being quite "bright"? It truly refreshed his understanding—people even looted beds now?

"What is that? A blue-skinned goblin?"

"My Lord, this looks like a Sea Goblin, doesn't it?"

A sky-blue goblin was trapped inside a large glass jar, its opening sealed with iron mesh. The Sea Goblin could only curl up inside the jar, sometimes crouching in the water and sometimes pressing its face against the iron mesh outside the water to breathe, looking pathetically ridiculous.

Beside the Sea Goblin was a massive cage containing a dejected Stonehorn. Its stone mask-like skull and two stone horns were missing, and its body had already become partially petrified. Dacus stood there for a long time before confirming that this was a Stonehorn from the Mourning Mountains of the Old World.

The Stonehorn seemed to sense Dacus's gaze, and its single eye turned toward him.

"It's about to die."

"My Lord, how do you know?"

"The most valuable parts of a Stonehorn are its stone mask and stone horns, which contain gemstones. A fully petrified body means it has entered its death countdown. Furthermore, since it's blind in one eye, it was likely a mount for an ogre. Its heart will turn into a blood diamond; that is its only remaining value while alive."

"My Lord, a blood diamond?"

"It requires a natural death for there to be a chance of it appearing."

Dacus noticed a stall displaying some Zhintan-style artifacts; a gilded dragon-patterned three-legged bronze incense burner caught his attention.

The surface of the burner was primarily black lacquer with gilded relief dragon patterns. It had a deep, round belly and three stout legs shaped like dragon heads. The entire piece was magnificent and grand, solemn and dignified, yet ancient and heavy.

Dacus liked it at a single glance and walked over.

The stall owner seemed to be a pirate from the *Soul's Claw*. Seeing him approach, the man prostrated himself on the ground. Dacus picked it up and inspected it; he was quite satisfied. The shape was intact, with no signs of corrosion from seawater.

How much? Bargaining? Non-existent; that kind of trope didn't apply here. Of course, the money still had to be paid.

Dacus tossed two Sovereigns into a container and took the incense burner in his hands to examine it.

"My Lord, look, there is a cheetah over there."

Dacus looked over. The Arabian cheetah looked just like the leopards of his previous life, only a size larger.

"Not interested."

He wasn't a beast tamer either.

After wandering for half a circle, Dacus bought an exquisitely crafted gold-inlaid black chatelaine, an obsidian lunar waist pendant, an Arabian-style monocular telescope, and an exquisite pocket watch made by a Nuun craftsman.

He also found an antique silver-headed cane sword for Walter, which appeared to have been used by a vampire previously.

Walking up to a book stall, Dacus crouched down. As he flipped through the books, he said, "Use this cane sword for now; we can adjust its length later. Can you speak Old World languages?"

Walter played with the cane sword happily and said, "Thank you, My Lord. I can speak the three main languages of the Old World."

Finding that they were all Imperial scriptures, Dacus boredly put the books back. He flipped through other books and picked up one that finally wasn't a scripture. After reading a few pages, he put it back.

"It's all scriptures, Imperial law, poetry, and recipes."

As he spoke, he picked up another to look at. He flipped through a few pages seriously, then turned back and handed it to Walter, saying, "You take a look?"

Having said that, he picked up another book. The cover of this one was extremely worn, and only a few words could be faintly seen: *[Redacted] Dragon Slaying Technical Outline*.

Dacus wore a look of confusion: "?"

After flipping through several pages of this handwritten book, he found it was filled with observations and experiences from fighting giant beasts. He almost believed it. Then, he flipped to the middle, where there was a beautiful illustration of a Lord Barato Knight fighting a Cyclops.

"My Lord, this is all content regarding the Imperial Navy, as well as legends and observations from the Claw Sea and the Southern Chaos Sea."

"It has reference value. We will use it in the future, won't we?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"This one is also quite interesting; it should be a travelogue of a Lord Barato Knight's Holy Grail quest. It can serve as bedtime reading."

"I'll take these two, and those few recipe books as well."

(End of Chapter)