The Dragon No One Could Tame
#3 The Dragon No One Could Tame
2021.09.09.
“Half price?”
“Doesn’t that change everything?”
“Why? Care to give it a try?”
The dragon trader’s bold gambit had worked.
The dragon knights, who’d been making lame excuses moments before, suddenly shifted their attitudes.
Sensing the mood change, the trader pressed his advantage.
“How could I ever spout nonsense to esteemed knights like yourselves? Please, come forth and show us your valor.”
The trader had already given up on profiting from the Super Red.
Its vicious nature meant keeping it any longer would just snowball his losses.
If someone could tame it, he’d hand it over for half price—or less—in a heartbeat.
“Should I give it a shot?”
“Don’t even think about it. Keep your wits about you—that jaw of its.”
“…Ugh, gives me the chills.”
Even among small breeds, Tokay dragons had a notorious reputation for ferocity.
Their well-developed jaws delivered crushing bite force, and once they latched on, they never let go.
They were ideal for combat in many ways, but taming them was the problem.
Once tamed, though, they became as docile as lambs to their rider—a peculiar trait.
That made handling Tokay dragons a skill few dragon knights possessed.
Fail, and you’d just end up as dragon chow.
“Who among you brave knights will step up first!”
The trader’s call drew cheers from the watching crowd.
“Woooaaah!”
At least they had some real entertainment now.
The area grew noisier by the second, and the knights could no longer hold back.
“Fine! I’ll do it!”
A knight with a bushy, bandit-like beard bellowed, and the onlookers erupted.
“Woooaaah!”
“I, Thomas, shall tame this Super Red!”
His name was Thomas, and he boastfully thumped his chest repeatedly.
But Owen, watching closely, could only click his tongue.
The crowd’s noise is agitating the Super Red. Trying to tame it in this situation?
He’d once been hailed as the Empire’s greatest dragon knight before his death.
Naturally, he possessed expert knowledge and experience with infamous Tokay dragons.
Even so, Owen judged the conditions far from ideal.
Thomas clearly reeked of showboating ambition.
In a scenario demanding total focus on the dragon itself, the man was more interested in peacocking for the audience.
“Woooaaah!”
Basking in the applause and cheers pouring from every direction, Thomas strutted with puffed-up pride.
“Idiot. Tsk tsk.”
Owen couldn’t help but shake his head.
The Super Red was already glaring ferociously at the challenger.
A Tokay dragon’s skull alone measured 1.5 meters long.
Its bite force needed no explanation—anything caught was simply severed.
The Super Red had risen slightly, mouth agape in warning.
It was entering full alert mode.
“Hoo… He’s done for.”
Owen sighed in frustration.
In his prime, he’d have kicked the fool off the field himself.
But not now—not in this body.
As he shook his head alone, it caught someone’s eye.
“Hm?”
The man was a well-dressed middle-aged noble.
He tilted his head at Owen.
Looks just like Logan.
He’d come to meet a close friend.
Passing by, he’d heard about the dragon contest and stopped to watch.
That’s when he spotted the boy tutting to himself.
While everyone else cheered, this kid scowled—hard to miss.
Does Logan have a son this age…?
Then it hit him: the boy was the spitting image of his friend in youth.
The noble decided to speak up.
“You think it’s already hopeless?”
He approached with a friendly grin.
“Pardon?”
Owen turned at the sudden voice to find the middle-aged man eyeing him curiously.
“Everyone’s brimming with excitement, but you look grim. Got a reason?”
“My lord, it’s…”
“Not scolding you. Just curious. Why do you say it’ll fail?”
“Very well, since you ask.”
Owen explained his thoughts—and added that he could tame it.
The noble stroked his goatee.
“You think you could?”
“Yes. I know.”
“Know what?”
“The tells a Tokay dragon gives right before it bites.”
“Hm?”
The noble’s eyes widened in surprise.
“For real?”
“Yes. They have distinct pre-bite reactions. Spot them early, and you can dodge the fatal moment.”
“I’ve heard as much myself. But discerning them isn’t for just anyone.”
“True enough. But not impossible.”
Tokay dragons showed subtle cues before striking—unique to each individual.
No universal rule; some snorted faintly, others hunched slightly, some gulped their throats.
Only vast experience built the instinct to read them.
If Owen hadn’t mastered it, he’d never have been the Empire’s top knight.
He’d mainly ridden the black dragon Tanares, but owned a few Tokays too.
“Fascinating. Well, that fellow’s started—let’s watch.”
The confident dragon knight Thomas advanced on the Super Red.
The crowd fell deathly silent.
No interruptions allowed now.
“That’s it. Good boy.”
Crouching low, Thomas extended a hand and crept forward cautiously.
Tokay dragons weren’t as intelligent as humans.
Exceptions like Owen’s old mount Tanares were rare.
Winged, magic-wielding, smarter-than-men sorts were called true dragons.
Most knight mounts were wingless, animal-like, incapable of human speech.
Without reading their cues, they were pure unpredictability.
Thomas had misread completely.
Seeing the Super Red lower its stance, he mistook it for relaxed vigilance.
“Heh heh, good.”
Owen slapped his forehead.
The outcome unfolded in his mind like prophecy.
Thomas pressed on into mortal peril—and paid horribly.
Crunch!
The massive dragon maw engulfed Thomas’s upper body.
Ribs snapped in a gruesome chorus.
Grind!
One bite severed his torso clean.
Horror froze the crowd solid.
The Super Red shook its head, spitting out the corpse.
Kek!
The saliva-slick upper half tumbled across the dirt with a wet thud.
The dead man’s face suggested instant death, clueless to the end.
“Kyaaah!”
A lady in the crowd screamed.
Just the beginning.
Gasps erupted everywhere; children wailed in chain reaction.
Startled by the noise, the Super Red rampaged anew in frenzy.
Claaang!
Its chains strained taut.
Linked to a massive winch, the rig shuddered as if it’d shatter.
Furious knights surged toward the trader, hands on sword hilts.
“You bastard! Planned this from the start!”
“No, what do you mean!”
“That’s an untamable beast! Bringing it here was a ploy to spill blood! You dare mock knights?”
“Misunderstanding! I’d never!”
The trader protested desperately as the knights menaced him.
“We’ll report you to the local lord for sure. How many have died to that monster already?”
“Right. This scum jacked up the price, tricking folk into deaths for profit!”
“So what if it’s a rare variant? Useless if untamable!”
Overwhelmed by the barrage, the trader looked shell-shocked.
He’d brought guards aplenty, but they were no match for these dragon knights.
Even diminished from their purge-era glory, each rode a dragon.
If they snapped, who knew the carnage?
Calming the already murderous, rampaging Super Red was trial enough.
With knights piling on, the trader threw up his hands.
“Fine! Fine! Here’s the deal: whoever tames it today gets it free! Knights only, though. Deal?”
Silence gripped them at the offer of a priceless Super Red gratis.
“What?”
“Hah! Free?”
They’d angled for payouts via complaints; no one expected this.
“Clever play,”
the watching noble murmured to Owen, amused.
Owen deemed it decent.
“No one can tame it anyway, so what’s it matter? Sales ruined, knight dead—escaping lightly is luck.”
“Didn’t you say you could? If you tried, he’d take a massive hit.”
“He said knights only. I’m a dragon knight’s son, not one myself.”
The knights mulled the trader’s words, heads spinning.
Tempting offer.
A premium variant for free?
But after it just devoured a man… courage faltered.
They weighed risks amid confused grimaces. Then one stepped up boldly.
“I’ll take the challenge.”
All eyes snapped to him.
Who’d volunteer as the next unlucky martyr?
Recognition sparked gasps.
“Magnus!”
“Heavens! Sir Magnus!”
“He might actually pull it off.”
The newcomer was Magnus, a famed dragon knight of exceptional skill in these parts.
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The other knights, deeming themselves inferior, bowed out one after another.
“If Sir Magnus is stepping up, no choice.”
“I’ll sit this one out.”
“Wise. Let’s cheer him on.”
All attention converged on Magnus.
The watching noble nudged Owen.
“You. Think Magnus can succeed?”
Owen sized him up.
Impressive, sure.
But that was it.
To the Empire’s former best, inadequate.
“No chance. Though he won’t die. Lose an arm, maybe.”
“Hahaha. Talking like a prophet.”
Owen had no retort.
His insight stemmed from countless experiences; outcomes were obvious, inexplicable to others.
“But you could?”
“Of course.”
“Risky. One man’s already dead.”
“I’m different.”
“Hahaha. Bold one.”
To Owen, it was routine.
Impressive as the Super Red was, he’d tamed fiercer in life.
Then the noble made an unexpected offer.
“What if I gave you a shot at challenging it?”
“I lack the qualifications.”
“Not what I’m asking. I could make it happen.”
“Really?”
Owen’s surprise drew a casual wave from the mystery man.
“One catch, though. You’d earn the enmity of that knight Magnus.”
“Hm…”
“For the record, Magnus looks noble but he’s trash. Cross him, and you’ll suffer.”
“I fear not such men.”
Against a good soul, he’d hesitate to intervene.
Trash? No qualms.
“Hm…”
Mulling it, Owen startled at the noble’s sudden prod.
“Well? What say you, Owen Leire, son of Logan Leire?”
The noble was convinced: this boy was Logan’s son.
Reason for the opportunity.
“You know me?”
“Does it matter now? What matters is a fallen house’s son getting a shot at a superb dragon—a rare variant, no less.”
“Hmph… No reason to refuse, then.”
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