The first move he made, is a violent release of his Dragon Energy.

A Dragon is the symbol of strength, power, and domination. With arrogance and ego reaching heaven and earth, they intimidate all just by being there. It’s a common “greeting” for Dragons, when they wanted to suppress and gauge the other side, by releasing their energy wildly to their surrounding.

An enemy that easily faltered, without even being able to release their energy back is a smallfry not worth killing. An enemy that just barely releases their aura to counteract is a mob. An enemy that can match the aura with their own is a worthy opponent.

And someone that doesn’t even care about your intimidation, is an overwhelming threat.

“Kryu (Nice breeze you have there.)”

“!”

The golden surge of energy he releases swirls like storms. It stabbed the onlooker in their place, pressured both their body and heart into staying still. It even makes the very air both terribly turbulence and horribly chill.

Yet, despite all that, Dragon relaxedly stay in her place, her eyes drooped down in slight boredom.

“Kryu (Being able to whirl air around like that, I think you have some talent in being an air fan...Then again, all of your musks would also get flung around everywhere as well, so maybe not.)”

Moving her limb freely, she made various mocking gestures, before shrugging it all away, belittling him to the core. Despite all that, he doesn't move in agitation or in anger, like he usually would do.

Rather, he is forced to be on great alert, with cold sweat creeping up on him.

He is Long Yuan, the proud third son of the proud and prestigious Golden-Scaled Dragon Clan, the ruling clan of the Dragon tribe. His aura, tempered with both the blood and the secret technique of the Golden Scale, contains not only his own might, but also the history and weight of the entire clan backing him.

To move against him is to move against the whole clan. To be standing against his aura is to stand by themselves against the massive storm which lasts since time immemorial, their body forced to stand still against its sheer scale and waiting to be devoured whole…

Yet she stands so casually, treating the storm like a small breeze.

And the energy which should have deeply bound her, doesn't even manage to penetrate her bare skin, not even bothering to release an aura to protect her. As if a small gust standing against a great mountain, it just flows around her and bounce right off.

“(She is dangerous!)”

He instinctively thought so.

In all his life, the only ones that managed to stand against his intimidation unscathed are either his siblings of the same bloodline, his parents, the current ruling head, and the important figures of other clans, sharing the same level of prestige. Only someone carrying the same weight could withstand his.

That would mean, the one in front of him, has the same level of backing and history behind her. Deserving of her look, she is also a great princess that comes from a clan just as deep and powerful as him…

“(...No, she doesn’t have any air of nobility around her at all! I refused to believe that this pretty brat is some sort of hidden beauty belong to some mysterious clan!)”

Partly denying, partly through experience. He doesn't believe that the little dragon in front of him carries any sort of elegance or prestige that would come from a big castle.

Unfortunately, the remaining possibility is far worse for him to imagine.

Aside from his siblings, his parents, and his rival from different clans...

The only other sort of being that is unfazed against him, would be that incomprehensibly ancient monster, whose very remain still shaped his clan’s ancestral land.

...And whose aura, even in vestige, still bring unimaginable terror to his soul.

For a moment, he dares to imagine…If that monster still has an eye placed in its socket, its gaze would be the same gaze she brings.

That same dignified, disinterested, and mocking golden gaze, as if a predator looking at an ant.

“Kryu~ (Oi, done fanning around yet? Don’t you want to show off your strength?)”

Her clear cries, sought out in slight annoyance, bring him out of his thought.

Before his eyes, is the same little dragon, yawning inelegantly in boredom. She even began to just stretch her body back and forth, since having to wait for so long make her body a little stiff.

“(...Yeah, that is impossible. No way would she be the same thing as that monster back home.)”

“(For her to stand unaffected by my intimidation...it must have been a cheap trick.)”

Only by saying that, and slapping himself in the face, does he manage to calm down his trembling body. Burning up his body, he secretly evaporates the sweat upon his back, while showing off a cool scene of him being a hot-blooded warrior readying to strike.

Getting bored by him acting around, Dragon then sit down, and taunted him again, her finger inviting him.

"Kryu (Are you done gawking around, finally? Let's actually spar then, I will even give you the first move)"

"...Heh, now you have done it. HA!!"

After intimidation, comes action.

His ego rising up greatly, he immediately charged in a straight line toward her, befitting that of an ignorant dragon knowing only of strength. With his right fist raised and cover in a golden aura, he immediately slammed it straight down onto the spot where she sit casually, creating a giant crater and a huge cloud of dust.

“Kryu~ (Oo, good punch there. Maybe next time you try actually hitting me, and it maaaybe could bring a better result)”

Meanwhile, standing just next to his fist, Dragon poured out even more mocking words, sitting completely unscathed, not even a speck of dust landing on her smooth white fur.

With her golden eyes looking at him smugly, Long Yuan angrily unleashes a barrage of fists next. With each strike coming forward as fast as lightning, he quickly blows away all the dust surrounding them, instantly clearing up the space.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

However, once again, none of his blows actually hit her, as she joyfully dance around, over, and under his clenched fists. She even steps on his arms, using his body as further footing to jump around with.

Completely being played around with, Long Yuan flings her constantly smug face out of his right arm with a violent swipe. Getting sent upward and outward, she gently open up her wing to slow down, and landed softly with her feet.

“Argh! Just stand still, so that I can hit all of your pretty bones to powder!”

“Kryu? (Why would I? You’re far from being permitted to be touching my fur.)”

“WHO THE HECK NEED YOUR PERMISSION!!?”

"Kryu (And who the heck allows you? I know you don’t.)”

“Why you...hAAA!!”

With red completely filling his face, he charges directly at her once again, even more ignorantly than before.

“Kryu...(Tsk tsk, to let yourself get this riled up just from a cheap taunt...you really are just an ignorant big fish in a small pond.)”

With disappointed eyes, she also jump straight in, propelling herself like an arrow aiming straight at his chest. Covering in a white aura, her hand and claw began to shine as brightly as his golden fist.

Too giddy to notice that though, Long Yuan redirected his fist to her path, giddily expecting that his fist will finally hit, and blast her into the atmosphere.

Instead, his fist hit airs. Just before it reaches her, she immediately opens up her wing and swerves to the side, dodging by the inch.

"Kryu! (Welp, you have done enough showing off for the past minutes. Now it's my turn.)"

Entered right in front of his chest, Dragon pushes out a blow using her two hands, and sends him straight into a wall.

----------------------------------------

Dragons are the symbol, and the very concept of strength, might, and power. Their energy contains the same concept, for it's the essence of all dragons.

A dragon's energy contains an element of its own, forcing and bending everything it touches, according to a dragon's whim. A flame imbued with the dragon element, for example, will burn forever, for it's the dragon's will that wanted it to be so.

A dragon’s punch will “surely” deal damage, a dragon’s kick will “certainly” bring destruction, a dragon’s scale will “assuredly” bounce everything, and a dragon’s gaze will “unquestionably” bring all to their knee. With the Dragon Element, a dragon can force everything to follow their will, just by their sheer willpower.

The only way to fight back, is with a stronger power, containing higher willpower and ego than the dragon themselves. Usually, that would be a stronger, better, and even more egoistic dragon.

As such, in the fight between dragons, more often than not it isn't the dragon with the biggest and best physique that would be the winner. Neither is the most intelligent one, most magically-inclined, nor the one with the best lineage.

It’s the one with the highest willpower, highest ego, and the ability to back up that ego and willpower, controlling and channeling it into their dragon element. The one that can manifest, control, and enhance their own dragon element better and overpower the other first is the victorious one.

Size really doesn’t matter for the dragon.

Even the smallest twerp, can destroy mountains.

“Cough,cough…!!”

Digging himself out of the crumbling wall, he found himself coughing up blood.

Despite only getting hit in the chest, his entire body experiences pain and creak all over, as if it’s getting beaten over and over by a hundred thousand punch and kick.

If he doesn't reveal his "scale" to cover up in times, his heart would have instantly burst into a pulp.

“Kryu (Ho, as expected of the famed Golden Scale, you’re as tough as I expected you to be)”

From afar, Dragon spot with her little golden eyes the scene of him crawling out of the wall, amidst the stunned eyes of people.

Beautiful golden scales covered the entire body, glistening and shining. Each of them looks as hard as a diamond, and contains roughness that would carve anyone that touched it into shreds.

If it weren’t for the clear indentation on his chest, bloodied and dropping scales like flakes, he would have looked like a terrifying and awesome dragon warrior, donning armor as his skin.

“Kryu (Not that it changes your sandbag status in any meaningful way though...Well, that isn't exactly true. Now the sandbag looks shinier, and feel more satisfying to punch into.)"

Her words are as taunting as ever, each is more abrasive than the last.

Despite that, he doesn't react to it this time.

He can't afford to spend strength to do otherwise, as he's trying to recover from his injuries, internal and external.

With the constant pain still felt all over, his eyes now focused only on her, concentrating as he have never done before. If he can't keep that level of vigilance, he would have lost consciousness, faltered, and be consumed.

His instinct is screaming to him such, through the constant shiver it generates, fierce enough to create clicking sounds between his scales.

“(That strength...she is hiding it all this time.)”

“(Or perhaps, she simply doesn’t need to reveal it, til now.)”

“(To be able to pull out a blow as strong as a serious blow from my father in an instant, almost like a prank...All this time, I was the one getting played right in her tiny palm.)”

Even now, her golden eyes still mockingly glared at him, as it has done since the start. Now though, it carries an entirely new pressure.

With how his body shiver even more intensively, each time her eyes glance upon a body part, he feels like a meal right in front of a hungry mouth.

The feeling of terror rose up within him once again.

That feeling of utter dread, helplessness, and anxiety. That feeling of being unable to do anything but squirm, in the eyes of the true predator-

"Kryu? (Oi, is that it? Not going to show off anymore?)"

"Kryu... (Guess that is it for the Third Son of the Golden-Scaled Dragon Clan. Look like that’s only what you’re amounted up to.)”

Another series of ridicule is spat out of her mouth.

After that, she closed her eyes and began to walk away, her tail flipping left and right casually as its tip.

Like a cat, bored of its toy, now leave it behind and look for somewhere else to sleep.

Somehow, looking at that boiled up something within him.

“...Amounting up to What!!?”

An explosion of aura comes pouring out of his body with an audible bang, shocking all the onlookers.

In the middle of her walk, she stopped.

“And who the heck allowed you to walk away!? I am still here, aren’t I?”

Wrap up in his own emotion, he scolded himself.

Losing consciousness?

Faltered?

Being consumed?

Preposterous.

As if he, the proud clan member of the Golden-Scaled Dragon Clan, is going to let himself be eaten by that little nibble of a jaw.

"Kryu (Well, I am getting a little bored from playing around with you. Even my goodwill has its limit you know?)"

Not even taking a glance back, she continued on her merry way, as she carefreely take one little step at a time.

Looking at that, his emotion boiled even hotter.

Goodwill?

Does she dare to pity him?

He, the Third Son of the Dragon Clan which ruled over all dragons!?

Immediately after, something came striking down from the sky, intercepting her path, crumbling the earth beneath its limb.

Tough and shining golden scales. Long sharp claws. Big long tail flipping like whips.

A horned dragon head, filled with anger and dignity. With wrathful eyes pierces like a spear.

“...And I said, who the heck allowing you to move, AWAYYYYY!!!!??”

With a rumbling roar, tearing up the very earth itself with sound, he commanded her to stay, his voice filled with the very essence of power itself.

“Kryu (And like I said before, who permitted you to stop me?)”

Despite that, her word is as usual.

Not even moving from her spot, she instead looks at him amusedly, her golden eyes opening up again.

“Hmph, of course it’s me-Hrgh!!”

In response, he makes a giant swipe at her, putting all of his weight onto it. Being casually flicked back by her glowing claw, however, he gets flung back again.

This time though, he keep his feet steady and dug himself into places. With his four limbs planted firmly into the ground, this time he only is pushed back by around 10 meters.

"Like I said, of course it's me!! For I am Long Yuan, Third Son of the Golden-Scaled Dragon Clan!"

“You think what I show you before is what I am amounted to!? Not a chance! No way would I show you my all, against a little brat like you who happen to learn some trick!”

“But, to reward your effort for pushing me this far, I will show you a fraction more of my power!!”

With his ego rising up to the sky, the aura explodes by one more stage, this time creating a literal storm. Threaten to blow everybody away, as all the onlookers tried to find someplace to hold on to, he glared powerfully at her, preparing to tear her to shreds.

“Kryu (Ho, so this is your second stage huh...)”

Planting her feet like usual, as if enjoying a breeze, she looks upon him with bemusement and interest.

“Kryu (Now you are slightly more interesting, I admit)”

Her mouth curved slightly upward, in anticipation.