Chương 124: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 124 - The Enemy at the Gates

"Then, then — does that mean I can be with big brother forever from now on?" Anna's eyes gleamed, full of starlight and thick with hope. She didn't know what price Su Nian would pay. She only knew she could stay with her big brother for a very, very long time, and that was enough to make her feel happy. Truly, deeply happy.

"That's right."

"Then, then, then — does that also mean Anna can have little babies with big brother someday?" Her face had gone pink, her voice barely above a mosquito's hum. But Su Nian heard every word. He could feel the warmth blazing off her heart.

"Well... theoretically, yes." He shifted his tail, faintly uncomfortable. The movement was slight, but his dragon frame was enormous, and the entire palace shuddered with it. Having children was clearly still a long way off. And honestly, whether what came out would be a dragon egg or an elf was anyone's guess. Hearing his answer, Anna threw herself into his chest. Her small body trembled. Su Nian felt the warmth against his scales before he understood what it was. Wet. The scales over his chest were wet.

His little companion was crying, not from sadness, but from too much joy.

"Hey, hey. No crying. Keep going and you'll look like a tabby cat."

"And tabby cats aren't very pretty~" Anna looked up at him, eyes red. She raised one small hand and wiped her cheeks, then puffed up and muttered:"Not pretty is not pretty. Anna's just going to cling to big brother and never leave. Hmph."

"In the future, when big brother can take human form, Anna will give you massages every day. Cook for you. Wash your feet. And when big brother goes to sleep, Anna will... warm, warm the bed..." She paused, face burning.

"So even if Anna isn't pretty, big brother won't chase her away. Right?" Something warm settled in Su Nian's chest. He lifted the edge of one great wing and pressed the soft membrane gently to the top of her head, stroking slowly.

"Then why aren't you doing any of that now?"

"Hmph! Big brother already knows why and he's asking anyway!"

"Look at how enormous you are! How is Anna supposed to give you a massage? You're impossible!" She wrinkled her nose, then brightened.

"Though, I could help big brother bathe. With Anna's Waterball. Hehe~" The tears dissolved into laughter. Both dimples appeared at once, sweet and deep. The air around her seemed to blush pink.

"Good girl," Su Nian said.

"Three days from now, I'll take you to get your illness treated."......

"The royal capital of Saint Orist lies ahead." Gus sat straight in the saddle, his gaze cutting across the horizon. The Holy Aulist Kingdom was his fifth target. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. It was different from the other four. More developed, better organized. Under the rule of the Holy Maiden Celestine, the country ran smoothly and its people lived in peace. Which meant, in practical terms, the women here were more refined.

The problem was they only had one Sacred Wall of Felinir. Without it, the Holy Aulist army was nothing, scattered sand, no backbone, no threat. If he remade this place into a nation built around service. His Black Beast Mercenary Corps would never need to worry about funding again. He could even unite all five kingdoms under one banner. His own Black Beast Kingdom. In Gus's mind, women existed for two purposes: labor and reproduction. Beyond that, they were a resource to be used and a source of income.

A nation where men answered to no one, those men, once they'd tasted freedom, would follow him anywhere. They'd fall in line behind him as he marched on whatever came next. Gus didn't know how to govern. So he wouldn't bother. Life was short. Nothing like the endless centuries available to dragons and elves. All he needed to do was enjoy what was his while it lasted.

"Boss, the boys have been riding hard this whole stretch. No rest stops in the villages, no chance to... well. You know. Think we could...?"

"Shut your mouth!" Gus's voice cracked like a whip. His eyes pinned the mercenary beside him like a blade through cloth.

"Our one job right now is to take the capital. Once that falls, every village in the surrounding area is yours. You can do whatever you want. All of you." He let the silence sit for a moment.

"You've ridden with me this long and your brain is still between your legs. Pathetic." The outburst served two purposes: it bled off some of the fury still simmering in him from being outmaneuvered by that black dragon, and it expressed something genuine, contempt for men who couldn't think two steps ahead. These mercenaries. Setting aside the humanoid species, most of them were nothing more than village bandits and street thugs. A handful were sharp enough to be useful.

The rest were dead weight wrapped in bluster. When the fighting was easy, they were the loudest men alive. The moment something went wrong, they were the first ones gone. The Corps had torn through every kingdom in their path for one reason: the armies they'd faced were weak, and the humanoid fighters under Gus's command were not. The human mercenaries had contributed nothing. They were cannon fodder who thought they were soldiers.

"Move everyone up. Poison the moat first. We're not fighting a siege, we're surrounding Saint Orist and strangling their supply lines." He scanned the walls ahead.

"Give it a few days. They'll open the gates themselves and come begging."

"Leader, that's brilliant." The guard at his side practically fell over himself.

"Only someone with your vision could come up with something like that. Those royal advisors the kingdoms brag about are nothing but parasites who can't think their way out of a sack." The man's tone was fervent, his face arranged in careful reverence. He'd just been on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing. He was working hard to climb back out of the hole. He didn't realize he was just slightly higher-grade cannon fodder.

"Leader! Leader!" Shouts carried from further down the column, mixed with catcalls and noise.

"Come look! The Holy Maiden's up on the wall!"

"That waist. Those legs. Gods, she's something. I'm already losing my mind—""Leader, let's just rush them! They've barely got anyone left on those walls. We'd break through in no time!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" The weakness of an undisciplined army showed itself plainly. Morale was high. Everything else was chaos. Gus's brow pulled tight. He looked toward the wall. A young elven woman stood at its edge. She wore a long white ceremonial robe, simple and unadorned. The fabric was loose, the cut modest. It still couldn't quite conceal the lines of her figure. Celestine's face held no warmth. Her pale green eyes burned with fury and something colder, killing intent.

There was none of her usual gentleness in them. Not even a shadow of it. She stood high above them, and when she opened her mouth, her voice rang out clear and hard across the open ground:"Black Beast Mercenary Corps. You have slaughtered my people, invaded my land, and now you come to defile the royal capital of Saint Orist."

"Every crime will be written into your souls."

"And it will follow you down into the endless dark." The words landed and sank without a trace. The mercenaries didn't flinch. They looked up at the beautiful elven woman on the wall with hungry, amused eyes, the way they might watch entertainment. They'd heard speeches like this before. Every city produced at least one, some self-righteous figure with a voice full of judgment and nowhere left to run. Those people always ended the same way. A sword across the throat, or something worse inside four walls.

Now it was this elf's turn.

Author's note: Bonus chapter today, thank you all for the support. Some readers think the male lead is too devoted. Mutual love isn't devotion in the negative sense, one-sided giving with nothing in return is. Don't reach for that label too fast. If someone handed you a girl like Anna, you'd probably be worse. And for those calling Anna a burden: if someone's own strength is sufficient, a companion isn't a burden. She's a pendant at most. If you're with me on that, keep reading. If not, this is your stop.

Return what you've taken, tenfold. That's all. ➤ Next: Vanish from the Mortal Realm, Cores Scalding Hot