DRAGON EMPEROR

The wooden practice sword cracked against Henry’s ribs hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs. Pain exploded through his side as he stumbled across the muddy training yard, nearly losing his footing before another strike slammed into his shoulder. The impact spun him sideways, and the surrounding knight apprentices burst into laughter.

“Too slow again,” Garrick sneered while resting the tip of his steel training blade against Henry’s chest. “At this point, even stable boys fight better than you.”

Cold rain drizzled over the fortress courtyard of Blackthorn Keep, turning the ground into a swamp of churned mud and trampled straw. Around the practice ring, rows of young apprentices watched with expressions ranging from amusement to disgust.

Henry forced himself upright despite the burning ache in his ribs. Mud dripped from his dark hair into his eyes, but he refused to look away from Garrick.“I’m still standing,” Henry muttered. Garrick laughed. “That’s because you’re too stupid to stay down.”

Several nobly born trainees joined the laughter immediately. The mockery no longer surprised Henry. After ten years inside Blackthorn Keep, humiliation had become as familiar as breathing. Noble sons awakened elemental magic by the age of twelve. Talented commoners earned respect through swordsmanship or mana control.

Henry possessed neither. No magic. No noble blood. Family name worth remembering. He was simply the orphan boy Commander Aldric had dragged out of a battlefield sixteen years ago. The useless one.“Again,” barked Instructor Varyn from beneath the stone archway overlooking the yard.

The old knight’s scarred face remained unreadable, though disappointment lingered in his eyes whenever he looked at Henry. Garrick grinned viciously. “You heard him.”

Henry tightened his grip on the splintering wooden sword. Every muscle in his body screamed from exhaustion. The others had spent the morning practising aura reinforcement techniques while Henry cleaned armour and hauled weapon crates because he lacked mana sensitivity. By the time training began, his arms already felt like lead.

Still, he raised the sword. Rain slid down the steel breastplates of nearby trainees while distant thunder rolled across the grey mountains surrounding Blackthorn Keep. The fortress stood on the northern frontier of the kingdom of Valeric, where brutal winters and constant monster attacks forged hardened soldiers.

Henry had dreamed for years about becoming one of them. A real knight.Someone people could rely on instead of ridicule. Garrick lunged suddenly. Henry barely reacted in time. Wood crashed against wood as he blocked the first strike, but Garrick twisted sharply and slammed a boot into Henry’s stomach. Air burst from Henry’s lungs as he collapsed into the mud.

The surrounding apprentices erupted again.“Pathetic.”He can’t even use battle aura.”Why does the commander keep him here?”Because the old man pities strays.”Henry gritted his teeth and pushed himself upward again. Blood mixed with rainwater near his lip. He hated this feeling more than pain itself.

The helplessness.The certainty in everyone’s eyes that he would never become anything meaningful. Garrick circled him lazily. “You know what your problem is, orphan?”Henry remained silent.“You keep trying.”

Another round of laughter followed. Garrick lowered his voice mockingly. “People like you should know their place. Nobles become knights. Mages become legends. The weak become servants… or corpses.”Something dark flickered through Henry’s chest at those words. Not anger alone.Something deeper.

A frustration he had buried for years. Before he could respond, Instructor Varyn suddenly shouted from across the yard.“Enough.”The courtyard quieted immediately. Varyn stepped forward slowly, his heavy armour clinking beneath the rain. A massive scar stretched across his jaw, a reminder of wars fought long before most trainees were born.

“Henry,” Varyn said firmly, “why do you continue?”The question caught him off guard. The other apprentices watched curiously. Henry lowered his damaged sword slightly. “Because I want to become a knight.”No,” Varyn replied. “That is not enough.”

The rain intensified around them.“You have no mana,” the instructor continued. “No lineage. No natural talent. Every test proves you fall behind the others. Yet every morning, you still return to this yard.”Varyn’s sharp gaze narrowed.“Why?”For a moment, Henry did not answer.

Because he honestly did not know how to explain it. He remembered hunger. Cold nights.The smell of burning villages from distant wars. He remembered watching knights ride through ruined towns like living legends while terrified civilians stared at them with hope.

Knights protected people. Knights mattered. And somewhere deep inside himself, Henry wanted to matter too.“I don’t want to stay weak forever,” he finally said quietly. The courtyard fell strangely still. Even Garrick stopped smiling.

Something in Henry’s voice sounded painfully genuine. Instructor Varyn studied him for several seconds before stepping back again.“Training resumes tomorrow at dawn.”Confused murmurs spread instantly. Garrick frowned. “What? We’re done?”You heard me.”The trainees reluctantly began dispersing through the rain-soaked courtyard.

Henry exhaled slowly, relieved that the beating had finally ended. Then Garrick leaned close as the others walked away.“You should quit while you still can,” he whispered coldly. “Because once the Royal Knight Selection begins next month, nobody will protect you anymore.” hj Henry watched him disappear into the fortress halls.

A strange unease settled in his stomach. The Royal Knight Selection. Every apprentice dreamed of it. Chosen earned positions within the kingdom’s military elite. The strong rose. The weak vanished. And Henry already knew which category everyone expected him to fall into. Night settled heavily over Blackthorn Keep.

Cold wind howled beyond the stone walls while torches flickered along narrow corridors. Most apprentices spent evenings drinking, gambling, or practising mana techniques in the barracks courtyard. Henry sat alone near the fortress library stairs, carefully wrapping bandages around his bruised ribs.“You look terrible.”Henry glanced upward.

A silver-haired girl stood nearby, carrying several books against her chest. Seraphina Aurelius. Even among Blackthorn’s trainees, she stood impossibly far above the rest. Daughter of Duke Aurelius.Genius light mage. Future royal court candidate. Henry quickly stood. “Lady Seraphina.”Her sharp blue eyes narrowed slightly. “Stop calling me that. We train at the same fortress.”

“Most people here would disagree.”That’s because most people here are idiots.”Henry blinked in surprise. Seraphina sighed before sitting beside him on the stone steps. “You should have blocked Garrick’s second attack instead of retreating backwards.”

Henry stared at her. “You watched?”I watch everyone.”She opened one of her books casually. Strange glowing symbols shimmered across the pages. Advanced magic theory. The kind of material Henry could barely understand.“You shouldn’t keep fighting him,” she said without looking up. “Garrick enjoys humiliating people weaker than himself.”

Henry gave a dry laugh. “Then he chose the perfect target.”For a moment, Seraphina remained silent. Then she quietly asked, “Why do you keep enduring it?”Henry looked toward the dark windows overlooking the mountains.“I don’t know.”That answer felt more honest than anything else. Seraphina studied him carefully.

Most people at Blackthorn avoided Henry entirely, as though weakness itself were contagious. Yet despite his lack of talent, he continued training harder than anyone else. It made no sense.“You’re strange,” she finally murmured. Henry smirked faintly. “That might be the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all week.”To his surprise, Seraphina almost smiled.

Almost. Then suddenly, the fortress bell began ringing violently. Both of them froze. The second bell followed. Then a third. Emergency alarm. Shouts erupted throughout Blackthorn Keep almost instantly. Soldiers flooded through corridors while distant horns echoed from the outer walls. Henry stood immediately. “What’s happening?”

Seraphina’s expression darkened. “That’s a battle signal.”The ground trembled beneath them. A moment later, an explosion thundered somewhere beyond the fortress walls. The entire keep shook violently. Dust rained from the ceiling. Screams echoed outside. Henry’s heart lurched.

“That came from the northern gate.”More explosions erupted in the distance. Red light suddenly illuminated the corridor windows.Fire.Henry sprinted toward the battlements with Seraphina close behind him. The moment they reached the outer wall, chaos unfolded before them. The northern forest burned beneath sheets of unnatural crimson flame.

Creatures swarmed across the battlefield below the fortress, twisted humanoid monsters covered in blackened armour and glowing red veins. Some resembled corpses stitched together with dark magic. Others looked far worse. Dark-robed figures floated above the battlefield while circles of crimson magic burned beneath their feet.

Warlocks. Henry’s blood ran cold.“Impossible…” Seraphina whispered. “Why would abyss cultists attack this far south?”Another explosion shattered part of the outer wall. Soldiers screamed as debris crushed them beneath falling stone. Commander Aldric roared orders from the battlements while knights rushed toward defensive positions.“Archers ready!”Protect the inner gate!”Mages to the eastern tower!”

The smell of smoke and blood spread rapidly through the freezing air. Henry tightened his fists helplessly. This was a real war. Not practice.Not training. People were dying. A nearby knight shoved a spear into Henry’s hands. “You! Help evacuate civilians from the lower district!”Henry nodded instantly. Finally.

A chance to prove himself. He sprinted toward the inner fortress while flames reflected across the storm-dark sky overhead. But deep within the chaos…Something ancient had already begun to awaken. Far beyond the battlefield, beneath the mountains hidden under Blackthorn Keep, a pair of enormous golden eyes slowly opened in the darkness. And for the first time in a thousand years, the blood of the Dragon God stirred once more.