The World of Mercenaries

Chapter 16: Lüer's Growth

In the midsummer of the Red Moon Calendar, Year 199, the once-quiet Haber household in Haike Village suddenly became lively. Amy and his Uncle Chi, who had been away for two months, returned. They were accompanied by two others and a very peculiar creature.

Leading the group was an elderly mage clad in a pristine blue robe, embroidered with the insignia of a high-ranking mage that shimmered as he moved. The robe emanated an aura of immense magical power. His elegant staff, topped with a large green crystal, emitted rippling waves of energy with every motion. A sharp-pointed wizard’s hat adorned with a rare milky-white crystal completed his appearance. The hat, with its extraordinary defensive properties, was a rarity.

If branding had existed at the time, the words "MADE IN GREEN DRAGON TERRACE" would undoubtedly have been engraved on these exceptionally rare magical artifacts.

Behind the old mage was a tall boy, slightly taller than Amy. He wore black leather armor, though the heat had compelled him to shed his outer layer, revealing his muscular arms glistening with sweat. A steel crossbow was slung across his back, and he held a knight’s lance tipped with a large piece of fish meat.

Beneath the lance, a creature resembling a dog—but larger—leaped repeatedly, eyes fixed on the dangling fish. It fluttered wing-like appendages in vain attempts to snatch the prize, but the lance’s 4-meter length kept it out of reach.

“One, two, go Lü’er! One, two, go! Just a little higher—one meter, no, two meters. Oh, maybe three meters and you’ll get it!” The sweltering heat even drew flies, one of which buzzed persistently around Xiaobai, whose teary eyes betrayed a flood of memories—likely recalling its own similar torment in years past.

This wasn’t entirely Chi Hanfeng’s fault—though the idea was indeed his.

From the moment Lü’er’s seals were broken and it left the Green Dragon Terrace, it had caused endless trouble. It chased rabbits with glee, and one impulsive “puff” of its dragon breath reduced not only the rabbit to ashes but also set the entire forest ablaze, forcing everyone to scramble to extinguish the fire.

On the mainland road, Lü’er would curiously nip at travelers’ clothing, sending their horses and dogs fleeing in terror. And whenever it got excited, it couldn’t help but release bursts of fire or ice breath.

The worst incident occurred at a roadside general store. Spotting some lizard jerky hanging on display, Lü’er pounced and devoured it without hesitation. When the shopkeeper tried to retrieve the stolen goods, the dragon reflexively spewed ice breath, freezing the man’s lower half solid. Leige thawed him out after a brief inspection, asking casually if the shopkeeper already had children. Upon receiving a positive response, Leige merely patted his shoulder and said, “Good, good,” before making a hasty exit.

Rumor had it that six months later, the shopkeeper’s wife filed for divorce.

Unable to tolerate such chaos any longer, Chi Hanfeng and Leige devised countermeasures. Leige attempted to suppress Lü’er’s magic with a sealing spell, creating a field that absorbed all magic within it. Though this spell could normally last three hours when used by an Archmage, Lü’er’s innate resistance to magic rendered it ineffective after just half an hour. Exhausted from sealing spells for a day and a half, Leige gave up, opting to find another solution.

Chi Hanfeng, ever the inventive schemer, bought a steel muzzle for Lü’er, reasoning that if it couldn’t open its mouth, it couldn’t breathe fire. To his dismay, the dragon’s breath was a natural ability—it simply redirected the fire through its nostrils, melting the muzzle into a lump of iron in under a minute.

Finally, Chi Hanfeng employed a tried-and-true tactic: hunger training.

Though Daqingshan felt sorry for Lü’er, he reluctantly agreed, knowing the trouble the dragon had caused. Thus, Lü’er carried itself proudly from Longya Mountain to Haike Village—though this instilled a lasting stubbornness that would explain why, in later Dragon God assemblies, Lü’er never bowed its head before Pyrot.

The addition of two people and a dragon made the old wooden house too cramped. A second cabin was built, and Chi Hanfeng, ever the negotiator, convinced Lü’er to leave its claw print on the “contract” for the construction loan—thus indebting the dragon another two gold coins. (Dragons at the time still used “bundles” as their unit of currency.)

Amy, having graduated from Chi Hanfeng’s tutelage, spent most of his time studying magic with Leige. Meanwhile, Daqingshan took over Amy’s former "training"—forest runs.

Witnessing the sheer brutality of these exercises, Leige finally understood how Amy had developed such agility. Even the cold-hearted mage found himself silently praying for Daqingshan’s survival: “Oh gods, forgive this poor child. Heaven, bring punishment to this wicked man!”

To expedite Daqingshan’s progress, Chi Hanfeng turned his focus to Lü’er.

“Come here, Lü’er, let me hold you,” he cooed with a wolfish grin. “I’ll lift you higher... higher.”

Plop. As the proud dragon surveyed its surroundings, it suddenly realized the hands holding it had disappeared. It crashed into the mud below, yelping in pain, its eyes brimming with tears.

But the loudest wails came from Chi Hanfeng. Between sobs, he lamented, “Lü’er, my dear! Dragons are majestic beings, especially prodigies like you. The road to greatness is paved with hardships. If you want to fly, you must endure! See? I dropped you not to hurt you, but to teach you how to flap your wings as you fall. I’m doing this because I care! Come here, let me hold you again.”

A month later:

“Come on, Lü’er, let me hold you... let go of my neck! It’s not that high, just the roof—barely four meters. Now, off you go!”

Two months later:

“Alright, Lü’er, time to let go. Don’t glare at me; I’ve already had Leige seal your magic. Open your mouth all you want—it won’t work. And this isn’t high at all, just a ten-meter tree!”

Half a year later:

“You know what I’m going to say, and you know what I’m going to do. So why not jump yourself? It’s just a small cliff—barely... boom!” Chi Hanfeng dusted off his shoes. “Still need me to kick you off? You’re over 200 meters up, get with the program!”

Through relentless training, Lü’er finally learned to fly.

A year later, Chi Hanfeng proudly announced the achievement. He gathered Leige, Amy, and Daqingshan atop the tallest mountain near Haike Village. With tears in its eyes, Lü’er bid a heartfelt farewell to everyone before leaping off the cliff, somersaulting midair, and crashing—once again surviving by sheer toughness. It was proof of an enduring truth: green dragons have incredibly thick hides.

For millennia thereafter, green dragon hatchlings would cower at the mere mention of Chi Hanfeng’s name. Indeed, “bad reputations” endure far longer than lives.

In Red Moon Year 199, magical spirits surged unusually across all continents. A novice mage could summon the equivalent power of a Tier-3 spell with a simple Tier-1 Fireball. This phenomenon prompted the Holy Church and major nations to reset the calendar, marking Red Moon Year 200 as Year 1 of the Magic Era.

Historians would later recognize this year as the dawn of the Great Divine War.

It was also the year that mercenary king Amy and his lifelong companion Daqingshan stepped into history’s spotlight.

—Research Notes of Neil Haber