Chương 197: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 197 - Guiding the Players

Was there even a choice to make here? As a survival-first dragon. No matter what he did. No matter how powerful he became. Safety and stability came first. Always. So, faced with the player invasion, Su Nian's answer was...

"Guide them in! Gehehe..."

"I built that dungeon huge and gorgeous. It'd be a little lonely if I were the only one enjoying it."

"Can't have that. The players need to come have some fun too..." Su Nian rested his chin on one dragon claw, wicked light flickering in his eyes. He scooped up Anna, who was still pink-cheeked and flustered, and flew out of the palace toward the monsters' district. The monster lairs were clustered close together. The Blaze Rabbit den, for instance, looked like a triangular earthen mound from the outside, sturdy, unassuming, not particularly large. But the inside was a different story entirely.

Folded subspace expanded the interior to an almost absurd degree. A thousand Blaze Rabbits? Easy. Ten thousand? Still comfortable, every family with their own space and the best possible nesting conditions. At that moment, Bugs Bunny was out front, lifting weights. He was the strongest rabbit in the entire Blaze Rabbit tribe. These days, the number of Whirlwind Rabbits queuing up for him daily had climbed past twenty. The contribution he'd made to the tribe's population growth was, to put it plainly, historic.

True to form, even now, mid-lift, dumbbell overhead, a particularly athletic Whirlwind Rabbit was pressed right beside him. His primary mate. Personally enhanced by Su Nian. Bugs Bunny pressed the obsidian dumbbell with zero strain and apparently zero distraction from other ongoing matters. It was, objectively, a difficult scene to look at. Anyone with a delicate constitution would not have lasted long.

"Bugs Bunny. I have a job for you." Su Nian called out. The big rabbit dropped the dumbbell immediately and came bounding over. The Whirlwind Rabbit in his arms let out a string of tiny squeaks.

"Emmm..." Su Nian went quiet for a moment. He had to admit, he also kind of wanted to do that — with Anna, but he just couldn't bring himself to pull it off.

"Take your Blaze Rabbits. Grab your weapons. Follow me into the maze."

"I need to set up the defense. And call a few Gnolls — the meaner-looking the better."

"Leave the Whirlwind Rabbits behind. Let them rest. Whatever else you do, show a little consideration for their feelings." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. After his heartfelt briefing. A hand-picked squad of monsters fell into line behind the Black Dragon Boss and marched into the maze. They shared one trait almost universally. Hideous.

Since the maze was home turf, and most monsters had night vision, moving through the dark passages wasn't a problem. They followed along without difficulty, absorbing every instruction the Black Dragon Boss laid out.

"This is your emergency exit. If you're losing, run. Shift this block and slip in. The stone closes behind you instantly — humans won't see a thing."

"Over here, these two walls connect. Small passage, right here. You can use it to attack directly from above."

"This corner is perfectly hidden. Bugs Bunny, this spot's yours."

"Ignore the armor statue. Gray Brother, get in there. Climb inside the suit and wait..."... Su Nian walked the whole thing, passage by passage, covering nearly every hidden route in the maze. Then he turned and addressed them all.

"You share one ability inside this maze. Stay still for five seconds without being spotted, and you enter an [Undetectable] state."

"In that state, humans can barely find you."

"Your job is to intercept them, stop them cold, and kill them in here."

"Don't get sloppy. Use [Undetectable]. And protect our potatoes." The monsters: ROAR! (▼ ▼) He shouldn't have mentioned the potatoes. The moment he did, a wave of killing intent rose off every monster in the room, and the air in the maze turned razor-sharp.

"Good. I'll be waiting for good news." Su Nian gave a satisfied nod, left the maze, and flew back to the palace with Anna. He settled onto the throne and used the system to project a screen, something like a magical scrying mirror, conjured out of thin air.

"Come here, Anna. We're going to watch a show." He set his little treasure down on his main spine. The auxiliary spines had been softened beforehand. They'd grown considerably larger in their role as secondary weapons, but right now they made a perfectly serviceable backrest for Anna to lean against.

"Brother... this..."

"You... I..." Anna stared, completely thrown by the Black Dragon's audacity. She bit her lower lip, fidgeting, suddenly unsure what to do with her hands or her feet. Su Nian said nothing. He watched the screen. As if nothing unusual was happening at all. Faced with that perfectly composed expression, Anna's panic and embarrassment began to slowly drain away. She gathered her courage, swallowed her shyness, and looked up at the screen herself. If the Black Dragon was curious about the show, she might as well be too.

As for where she was sitting, well. It didn't really matter anymore. If the Black Dragon didn't mind, why should she? She even got a little playful about it. She stretched out both soft pink feet and, while watching the screen, settled them comfortably onto the cushion of a nearby soft spine, using it as a footrest....... At the same time, outside Silvermoon Forest.

"We're almost at the dragon's lair. Everyone ready?" Medraco turned, his gaze sweeping over the assembled players. He'd handpicked these ones. High-level fighters, yes, but more importantly, people who knew how to handle firearms in the real world. They were lucky to have that. When the team first set out, they'd had seven bolt-action rifles between them. But they'd found excellent raw materials along the way, and those materials had since been turned into two functional RPG-style launchers.

Medraco had also spent time digging through the world channel, gathering intel on players from other regions. He'd come to a firm conclusion. American players had a natural gift for technological construction. More efficient, simpler process, higher success rate. The group looked sharp and confident. They smiled and nodded. They genuinely couldn't picture losing. If the dragon could shrug off rifle rounds, fine. Could it shrug off RPGs? Technology beats biology. That was gospel.

Freya was buzzing with excitement, victory practically tasting sweet already. The materials from a Black Dragon's body would be more than enough to make her a true Star Archmage. The one regret was Saliste. The Lightning Archmage had peeled off from the group once they neared Silvermoon Forest. She was looking for her sister. If the search came up empty, she'd rejoin them afterward. Slaying the dragon was secondary, she'd said, the main thing was to ask whether the Black Dragon had ever seen her sister.

Everyone was moving toward the tree line when a weathered piece of parchment came drifting from nowhere and plastered itself across Medraco's face. He peeled it off. The paper was old. Mottled, cracked at the edges, clearly ancient. And written across it in the common language of the continent, three large characters stared back at him: [Dungeon] ➤ Next: Entering the Underground City