Thunder Dragon City.
The rain had just ceased.
A dragon coiled atop the tower, its wings shrouding half the sky above the lord's mansion.
"Reach out your hand, Reylo."
The duke, Reylo's father, spoke in a deep, authoritative tone.
He stood on the elevated platform, his splendid ducal attire failing to conceal the iron-willed, military aura that permeated his being.
Reylo shuffled his feet.
His movements were stiff.
Reylo was on edge; he hadn't expected to be thrust into such a grand ceremony so soon after his arrival in this world.
And to top it off, he was the protagonist.
He raised his gaze and looked towards the center of the magic circle.
There, a recently-hatched Thunder Dragon cub lay lazily, its purple scales shimmering like silk under the magical glow.
But its golden, vertical pupils exuded a wild and defiant air.
Beside him, his "esteemed" elder brother, Elliott, wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
It was a smile so perfectly measured, it seemed as if it had been drawn with a ruler.
Sifting through his hazy memories, Reylo finally pieced together his predicament.
The Thunder Dragon family was holding a bonding ceremony today, where Reylo, the duke's second son, would bond with a young dragon hatched from the family's guardian dragon.
"What's taking you so long?"
The duke's voice carried a note of impatience.
"The family's glory rests on this moment."
Reylo took a deep breath; the air was thick with dragon's breath, making his throat itch.
He stretched out his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly as he slowly approached the young dragon.
According to the pact magic, as long as the dragon beast was willing to accept him, a magical glow would light up when his fingertips touched it, and the pact would be sealed.
"Hiss—"
The young dragon suddenly raised its head, emitting a threatening growl from its throat. A scorching gust of air shot out, carrying a pungent smell of electricity.
It recoiled violently, its golden eyes filled with disdain and impatience.
No glow lit up.
No pact fused.
A deathly silence descended.
The duke's face darkened instantly, his eyes slicing through Reylo like knives.
Elliott's lips finally curled into an unmistakable, triumphant smile.
The whispers of the noblemen around them pierced Reylo's eardrums like countless tiny needles.
"Good-for-nothing."
The duke's voice wasn't loud, but it hit Reylo like a sledgehammer.
He didn't even spare Reylo a second glance.
Turning around, he said coldly to the Dragon Speaker conducting the ceremony, "The ceremony is over."
Reylo stood rooted to the spot, his hand still suspended in mid-air, like a puppet on strings.
He could feel countless gazes on him—sympathetic, mocking, and gleeful—drowning him like a tidal wave.
He lowered his head and silently retreated to the edge of the crowd.
The rain started to fall again.
Inside the duke's study, the acrid smell of cigars hung in the air.
The window remained gloomy, the dim light casting a somber hue over the luxurious furnishings.
The duke sat behind a massive oak desk, his head bowed, fingers flipping through a document.
"The bonding has failed. There's no place for you in Thunder Dragon City anymore..."
"Sign this vanguard decree, and you'll be the vanguard lord of Blackstone Territory."
Reylo stood in front of the desk, his rain-soaked hair drooping over his forehead, looking rather disheveled.
Blackstone Territory?
From his hazy memories, it was a desolate place in the northernmost part of the duchy, a godforsaken land where even birds refused to relieve themselves. It was said that winters there could freeze rats to death, and summers brought swarms of mosquitoes that could carry people away.
The so-called "vanguard" was nothing more than a dignified form of exile.
"Father..."
"Don't call me father."
A scroll of parchment was tossed at Reylo's feet.
"From now on, you'll only address me as Duke!"
Reylo bent down and picked up the lightweight vanguard decree.
He didn't say another word.
Argue?
Beg?
It was all meaningless.
In this world where power reigned supreme and strength was everything, the defeated had no voice.
The Thunder Dragon family had built a grand duchy from scratch in the north of the human kingdoms through brute force and ruthlessness.
Ruthless towards enemies, merciless towards themselves.
Family rules dictated that descendants who failed to bond with a dragon upon reaching adulthood must become vanguard lords and venture into the northern wilderness to expand the duchy's territory.
Having just arrived in this world, Reylo was faced with such a harsh reality. He was reluctant, but on the other hand, perhaps leaving this place, far from everything associated with his identity, could be a good start.
Caught in this conflicting mindset, Reylo scrawled his name on the vanguard decree.
Just then, without warning, an icy, emotionless mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Detected that the host has obtained the lord's identity. The Daily Intelligence System has been successfully activated...][Today's intelligence has been refreshed. Please check, host.]
Reylo jolted, his hand clutching the pen frozen in mid-air.
The golden finger that came with his transmigration had been activated?
Immediately, lines of pale blue virtual text, like projections, abruptly appeared before his eyes.
[1: Among the family's knightly order, there is a great knight named Ed who is frustrated and unfulfilled. This man is upright and strong, yet because he is not adept at intrigue, he has languished in the position of squad leader for years. If promoted to personal guard captain and entrusted with important tasks, he will break through his bottleneck within a short period, ascend to the rank of Earth Knight, and swear eternal loyalty to you.]
[2: Captain Kreigh, the guard captain of the east gate of Thunder Dragon City, has hidden 1,700 gold dragons worth of embezzled military pay and taxes beneath a broken water vat in front of an abandoned thatched cottage located 300 paces south of the east gate.]
[3: In three days, Blackstone Mountains will experience a rare thunderstorm, accompanied by the appearance of small spatial rifts. There is a possibility that unknown "foreign objects" may fall from the rifts into the depths of the mountains.]
[4: A sizable flock of gray-headed geese inhabits the broad river valley in the southern foothills of Blackstone Mountains. Gray-headed geese are first-order magical birds with succulent meat, and their goose liver is a delicacy highly sought after by the nobility.]
[5: The envoy from the Violet City-State in the south will arrive in Thunder Dragon City this afternoon. The envoy's purpose is to negotiate with the Duke of Thunder Dragon regarding the repayment of war loans.]
[6: The nine-headed Hydra, Hydra, has occupied the vast mountainous region in the northeast of the duchy, and its minions have grown to an enormous scale. Now, the slumbering Hydra is about to awaken, and the tide of Hydra will once again sweep across the surrounding kingdoms.]
[7: A massive herd migration is about to begin on the road from Thunder Dragon City to Blackstone Territory. Tens of thousands of Demon Horned Horses are setting out from the northern wastelands, and they will traverse a distance of over 2,000 kilometers to reach the fertile Winter Moon Lake in the southwest to breed. Numerous carnivorous magical beasts are lurking along the herd's inevitable path, waiting for this annual feast. Traffic between Thunder Dragon City and the northern territories will be cut off for a month. If you plan to go to Blackstone Territory, please set off as soon as possible.]
[8: Deep within the eastern mountain range of Blackstone Territory, a young silver dragon abandoned by its parents is hiding in an abandoned mine shaft. This dragon is a rare mutant. Although it belongs to the metal dragon species known for their formidable physiques, it unexpectedly possesses magical talents far exceeding those of elemental dragons. It is currently extremely weak and wary.]
...
Reylo's eyes widened gradually, and his heart started pounding uncontrollably.
A silver dragon?
And a mutant silver dragon with extraordinary magical talents?
In that moment,
he could almost hear the roar of his own blood.