Chp.9: Fight between dragon and prince (part 1)

Haku had obviously heard everything: even if the cage where he was contained was very far from the rulers' table, his ears were so powerful that he could clearly hear what they were saying. Initially he was very confused and thought of a prank, or at least an innocent joke, but then he put together everything he had learned about human nobility and politics and fully understood Elanio's intentions. And that infuriated him.

Haku wasn't just a nice trophy to show off: he was extremely important. Being able to capture a dragon, given the fame that those predators had among newcomers, was a source of great prestige and value. Any nation that had possessed one of them, even if it was very young, automatically became synonymous with strength in the minds of other nations. For this reason Marcus had wanted to place Haku's cage in the center of the room, so that everyone could see it, and for this many nobles and sovereigns invited to the party had wanted to see for themselves if the Jurao Kingdom really possessed a dragon.

And now, Elanio had proposed to have Haku fight against his son. This was a clever political move: if Haku lost, it would prove the superiority of the Prettania Kingdom, or at least make a fool of the Jurao Kingdom. In short, Marcus boasted so much about his trophy, but was he really just a young dragon unable to fight even against a prince? It would have been a huge setback for the king. And obviously Elanio knew that the odds of victory were in favor of his son: surely he had read up on the level of strength of the dragons in their various life stages, so he must have been aware of the fact that at the moment Haku could not be higher than the initial stage of the level diamond. A strength very distant from the one of his son, which was instead a level adamantium.

Elanio knew that Haku had defeated a hydra, or better said a calamity, but he had inquired and had discovered that the dragon had only managed to win using various objects, not his personal strength. At the moment, however, Haku didn't have anything with him, and in any fight he would have to rely only on his strength.

Therefore, Elanio knew that his son would almost certainly win, and he aimed to use Haku as a means to ridicule his enemy! The dragon was furious about that. His pride, already tested by his current situation, was screaming in anger at the knowledge that someone wanted to use him.

Marcus must have understood the other king's intentions too, because his face clearly hardened even if it didn't lose its cordial air. "Your majesty Elanio, I don't think it would be safe. Our horsemen know when to stop and would never kill your son. But that dragon is different. When he fights, he only fights to kill. He's a war machine. I have no doubt of your son's abilities, but having him fight the dragon would be risking his life"

Marcus was clearly looking for a way out of this situation without demonstrating that he was afraid to duel Elanio' son and his dragon. But obviously the king of the Prettania Kingdom didn't give up: "I admire your prudence, but you're exaggerating. That dragon has a submission collar, doesn't him? If he endangers my son, all we have to do is order him to stop"

Unfortunately, Elanio's arguments were quite valid. Marcus could argue no further, or the other kings and queens at the table would understand his concern and he would be shamed. He had no choice but to accept. "Okay. Send someone to free the dragon"

Haku narrowed his eyes furiously as he heard those words. He hated being used, but he had to stay clear. What was he supposed to do now? In a one-on-one fight, he surely would have lost to prince Augustus. A level diamond couldn't hold a candle to a level adamantium based on brute force alone. Haku had quite a few tricks on his side, and above all he had a lot of intelligence; he had to weigh every possibility well if he was to have any hope of winning. But did he really want to win?

He weighed his choice carefully. If he lost, king Marcus couldn't accuse him of anything; after all, it wouldn't have been his fault. The Jurao Kingdom would be humiliated and it would not bring Haku any advantage. Ultimately, he would get nothing but the satisfaction of taking revenge on the one who was treating him like a trophy.

However, if he won instead, it might improve his relationship with Marcus, if only a little. He could use them to get a prize, which he would then use to facilitate his escape. It would also prove to all the aristocrats how dangerous he was and that they shouldn't mess with him, and that might keep them out of his cage for the rest of the evening and prevent other idiots from challenging him to a fight. Not to mention that by doing so he would humiliate that asshole who thought he could use him for his own purposes and who dared to underestimate his abilities. Furthermore, he had no guarantee that the prince would spare him if he lost: Elanio and his son could take advantage of the situation to kill him and humiliate the Jurao Kingdom even more.

Clearly, the second option was the more advantageous one. It would bring him the most benefits… and then he absolutely wanted to avenge his wounded pride and see Elanio's furious face.

The news of the battle between the dragon and the first prince of the Prettania Kingdom was quickly spread among all the guests, so that no one would be frightened to see Haku's cage open. All of them were clearly immediately interested in such a duel, just as Elanio intended: the more people saw the dragon lose, the more the Jurao Kingdom would be humiliated. When someone went to warn Augustus, the latter didn't seem at all surprised: almost certainly his father had discussed the plan with him. In politics, there were no risky manoeuvres: everything was calculated in advance.

Some servants came to free Haku, opening the cage, taking off his muzzle and loosening his chains; someone tried to explain to him what was happening, but he already knew everything and ignored them completely, stepping out of the cage and walking with surefootedness towards his opponent. Even though he knew there was a big gap in their strength, and that he was far more likely to win, Augustus still felt a shiver go down his spine as he saw the dragon approaching with a murderous look in his eyes. It seemed to him that his breath was that of death, and that the patter of his claws on the floor was the sound of the clock striking his final moments.

However, the prince knew how to control his emotions: he didn't show his fear at all, and his expression remained calm and resolute. "Finally I have the opportunity to fight with you. I always wanted a real battle with a dragon" he said in a mocking voice. "You must know that I don't intend to fight to the death. I will accept your surrender when you wish to withdraw"

Those words were clearly meant to intimidate him, but Haku remained unmoved. "If it's a real battle you want, then don't talk about surrender. In a real battle there is only life and death. Surrendering means dying. I will fight to kill you, so if you're smart, you'll do the same"

The smile on Augustus' face faded. His confidence seemed to waver a bit. "You seem confident in your strength, dragon. What is your name? If we are to fight to the death, then I want to know the name of who I killed"

"My name is Haku, and I seriously doubt you will kill me. As for your name, I don't care" Haku replied. "Now, shall we begin or not? In a real battle, you just fight, human. You don't talk"

Augustus looked somewhat annoyed. Evidently no one had ever spoken to him like that before, let alone anyone who hadn't even wanted to know his name. Of course, the prince couldn't have known that Haku already knew everything about him as he had been eavesdropping on the conversations of the entire hall with his extraordinary hearing. "Okay. Let's get started then!" he declared, and immediately a strong aura unraveled from his body. Haku felt his body quiver as he was crushed by the pressure. The power of a level adamantium was definitely enormous. If Haku had met Augustus when he was still young, instead of Ethan or Sarpa, surely his bones would have broken just from the pressure of his presence. But now, aged over a year and a half, he could resist that power without even lowering his head.

Augustus lunged at Haku with such speed that the dragon was barely able to notice him; his sword whirled in the air and tried to strike him in the neck. Haku was faster and dodged the blow. At that moment he relied only on his instincts: listening to his survival instinct he understood where the blow was coming from and moved accordingly. Using just his senses, he wouldn't have been able to see the attack clearly.

Augustus continued for another ten feet before realizing that Haku had moved; he tried to turn, but immediately the dragon was upon him. The prince swung his sword and struck Haku in the right paw; however due to the short notice the blow did no serious damage and left only a large cut in the paw. Augustus tried to withdraw his sword, but Haku blocked it with his claws; at the same instant, he bit his left shoulder.

The prince grit his teeth and channeled his mana towards the stricken spot to fortify it; only in this way did he prevent the dragon's teeth from reaching the bones and breaking them cleanly. In doing so, however, he forgot to insert the mana into his arm, and so Haku with a jerk snatched the sword from his hands and threw it away. Augustus realized he was being played, and after driving his mana into his feet he kicked Haku in the chest. The blow was so hard that the dragon released its grip on his shoulder and retreated several steps. From the way he walked, evidently his sternum must have hurt badly.

Despite that, now Haku still had the advantage: Augustus could only fight with kicks and punches, which while fortified by mana weren't enough to do serious damage to the dragon. On the contrary, Haku had claws, teeth, paws, and a tail, not to mention his knowledge of runes. The tables had turned: without his sword, Augustus had little chance against the dragon.

However, the prince knew that Haku couldn't get rid of the sword: no matter how far he could throw it, he couldn't throw it outside the fighting area or he would have risked injuring one of the guests. Haku wasn't stupid and he wouldn't have risked so much. Therefore, all Augustus had to do was distract the dragon enough to retrieve his sword. To do so, he summoned all of his mana, transformed his entire body into a lethal weapon, and lunged at Haku, striking him repeatedly.

The two challengers transformed into a whirlwind of claws, punches, teeth and kicks. For many of the guests it was almost impossible to see what was going on. Very soon, however, it was clear that Haku was taking most of the blows and this was forcing him to back away; even if they didn't do much damage, Augustus' punches and kicks still hurt a lot. After a few seconds, Haku withdrew in pain, and Augustus took the opportunity to recover his sword; as soon as the weapon was back in his hands, he let the mana flow into it and fully empowered it, ready to strike the dragon and kill him with a single blow.

But his attack never reached his target. Augustus had barely taken a step towards Haku before his body suddenly became weak and a clot of blood came out of his mouth. "What the...?" he whispered.

A laugh caught his attention. He looked up and saw Haku who, though in pain, was staring at him mockingly. "What is it? Are you already tired of a real battle?"