Thinking of this, Starlight was the first to speak. “Po Kong, you really don’t know him? Is this kid really not a relative of yours or something? Look at his hair color, his eyes, and even... that cocky attitude. Are you sure?”
“Yeah! Po Kong, this is no time for jokes. Look at this little guy... that adorably fierce look of his is practically identical to yours!” Moen said as she stepped forward, intending to brush the water droplets off the boy, but he warily dodged her.
“Who are you calling ‘adorably fierce’! I’m not!” Po Kong and the boy shouted almost in unison. That bared-teeth expression and the sudden, accidental synchronization only made the expressions of Starlight and the others turn even more peculiar.
“Listen, brat! Can you stop being so in sync with me at a time like this? I can say with absolute, 100% certainty that my family does not have any children of this age!” Po Kong covered his face, completely at a loss for how to explain the current situation.
“You still say he’s not? Xia Duo, why don’t you be the judge... Huh? Xia Duo, what are you spacing out for?”
Moen turned back with a wry smile to look at Xia Duo, only to find her sister’s brow furrowed, her gaze locked tightly onto the strange youth.
Just as Starlight curiously turned back to look at the two sisters, Xia Duo suddenly cleared her throat. In a low, solemn voice he had never heard her use before, she slowly spoke:
“petranas visp ve, svaust ilroevi re wux?”
Hearing these words, Po Kong and Moen both looked blank. They couldn’t seem to understand what Xia Duo had said. They tried hard to recall the sounds, but they found it impossible to repeat the syllables that had just left her mouth.
However, Starlight’s eyelid twitched. He keenly sensed that Xia Duo was using a language he had never heard before.
“That’s the Dragon Tongue!”
A flash of insight struck Starlight’s mind as he suddenly remembered a travelogue about the East Continent he had stumbled upon in the library.
Back then, he and Moen had specifically invited Xia Duo to help them decipher the mysteries within that book. It was also then that he had first encountered and learned a bit of information regarding Dragon Speakers.
In contrast, the young boy’s eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Xia Duo in disbelief. Just as Starlight thought the boy hadn't understood either, a string of equally complex syllables emerged from his throat.
“re wux vi koppentotz di wer tribe? thric! re wux tenpiswo ekess siteli ve!? Tisvelk!”
Although Starlight didn’t understand what the youth said, he could hear a distinct note of suspicion in his tone.
Seeing this, Xia Duo hurriedly waved her hands, seemingly anxious to deny the boy’s suspicion.
In her haste, Xia Duo forgot to use the Dragon Tongue and blurted out in the Common Tongue.
“Don’t worry, I just have a natural talent for the Dragon Tongue. We have no ill intentions. So, what exactly are you planning to do?”
“Cough... so you’re not? That’s good, that’s good! It seems you’re one of the good long-ears!” Hearing Xia Duo’s explanation, the boy seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and patted his chest.
“So? You’re a member of the Dragon Race? Why would you appear in a place like this?” Seeing the other party lower his guard slightly, Starlight took the opportunity to press further.
The youth’s body had just relaxed, but it instantly tensed up again upon hearing those words. He bared his teeth and glared at Starlight, crouching down into an aggressive stance and shouting nervously, “Wait! How are there two of you!? There’s definitely something wrong!”
“Wait... what are you trying to do?” Starlight didn’t have time to figure out the reason for the boy’s sudden change in attitude before the youth lunged forward and swung a fist at him.
Only then did Po Kong and Moen finally realize that the blond youth before them wasn't human, but a dragon... or at least a creature capable of speaking the Dragon Tongue.
Starlight didn’t dare to be careless. The moment the fist was about to touch him, his figure flickered and he vanished from the spot.
Simultaneously, the scattered water droplets on the ground seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, suddenly soaring into the air. Along with countless small stones and sand, they wove into a massive net that firmly enveloped the dragon boy.
The boy was a dragon, and perhaps even a high-tier one capable of taking human form. If he actually landed a punch, it would be no joke.
Therefore, Starlight had no intention of holding back. He decisively used multi-casting, using spatial power as the foundation and combining it with water and earth magic to trap him. Even if it couldn't stop the boy completely, it would at least buy the others some time.
Under his command, the water elements rapidly mixed with the sand and gravel. The surrounding space wrapped around them, contracting into a high-strength barrier that completely sealed the boy’s body.
After finishing this, Starlight landed lightly to the side. In his other hand, a dazzling light element had already condensed, forming a razor-sharp light spear, ready to be launched.
If the other party made any suspicious move, he would retaliate without hesitation.
However, Starlight stood there waiting for a long time, but no movement came from the earth ball he had created. Even Po Kong and the others, who were fully prepared for a fight, looked confused and bewildered.
“Little Star, did that guy escape?” Po Kong was the first to break the silence, asking in a whisper.
Starlight glanced at the seal not far away, then at his own hand, and shook his head decisively.
Based on the mana feedback he felt, he was certain he hadn't missed. That layer of humanoid spatial power was still tightly wrapping around the other party’s body.
But what did this total lack of movement mean? Was he feigning weakness? Or was this a trap?
Thinking this, Starlight clenched his fist, tightening the space a bit more, confirming once again that the boy was indeed still within his barrier.
Time passed minute by minute, and two minutes went by in a flash. Yet, the barrier remained as calm as still water. Now, even Moen seemed anxious. “Um... Starlight, you couldn’t have made a mistake, right? Why don’t we open the barrier and check? We can’t just keep standing guard over it forever.”
Seeing Moen voice her doubts, even Starlight began to feel uncertain.
Could it be that the opponent was powerful enough to simulate a nearly perfect body and leave without him noticing? If so, such an opponent was truly terrifying!
“Then... I’ll open it to see? You guys keep a close eye on it.” Starlight finally exchanged glances with his companions and nodded, preparing to open a small gap in the barrier to see what was happening.
He was particularly cautious, only releasing the innermost layer of spatial power. Even if the other party was trying to pull a trick, he would still have a chance to react.
To his surprise, the moment the spatial power was withdrawn, a scream like a slaughtered pig suddenly erupted from within the barrier:
“Ow, ow, ow! Let me out! You villains! You dirty liars! Get me out of here right now! It hurts so much!”
The four of them were instantly left speechless, their faces dark with exasperation. It turned out the reason there had been no sound before was simply because the spatial power had cut off all sound from the outside...
“Sister, Starlight... are you sure that guy is really a dragon? Are we sure there wasn't a mistake?” Moen lightly covered her mouth, looking stunned and unsure of what to do.
“He should be... right? His scent and aura are very similar to the Dragon Race. Could I have been wrong? No, then how do you explain him speaking the Dragon Tongue? Or... was that just a coincidence??” Xia Duo lowered her longbow, nodding slightly before quickly shaking her head, looking extremely uncertain.
“It shouldn't be a coincidence. If it were an ordinary human child, he probably would have been crushed flat in a barrier of that intensity... I’m certain he’s not human,” Starlight analyzed seriously.
“Heh~ what a weak dragon~!” Po Kong let out a dry laugh.
Rate on N.U.
