Chương 220: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 220 - Toll

The Storm Worm King did not return to the deep sea. Its body was covered in wounds. Blood spread rapidly through the currents, and a large school of fish had already gathered in its wake, greedily drinking from the trail it left behind. If it went back out to sea, it wouldn't be long before something far more powerful slurped it up like noodles. So it followed the coastline. Running on speed alone, trying to shake those humans. Its destination was the Silvermoon Mountains.

Once it reached the mountains, it could burrow into the forest and hide. The humans wouldn't find it so easily in there. It would have time to heal. Then it would come back, and make every last one of those detestable humans pay. What it didn't know was that no matter where it went, a bright red [World BOSS] marker followed it on every player's map.

"It's running! After it!" Yoshida Shushi roared, rallying the players around him into pursuit. His hatred for Li Chen sharpened another notch. If that Tianchao player hadn't interfered, they would have finished the Storm Worm King already. It wouldn't have had a chance to run. The players fanned out behind the Worm King, each using whatever they had. Li Chen was among them. His internal energy had been flowing steadily, and the brief rest had already restored a good portion of it.

Compared to the warriors and mages burning through Wind Walk and Lighten Body, he moved with the lightness of a swallow and the fluidity of a dragon, and he was actually faster. He had to kill the Storm Worm King before anyone else. Take the reward, tear open a teleportation scroll, and return to the beginner town. Only then would he have lived up to what everyone there had invested in him.... Dark Lord Dungeon.

Anna had drained a full mouthful of dragon milk and was now lying on a bearskin mat, both hands wrapped around her round, stuffed little belly, fast asleep. Dragon milk was dense with life essence and Dragon Ancestry aura. It would accelerate Anna's adaptation to the dragon heart, and as a side effect, it made her drowsy. She hadn't stood a chance. An hour passed. Su Nian's Polymorph Potion wore off, and he reverted to his majestic, fearsome Black Dragon form. The contrast hit him with a vague, hollow feeling.

He hadn't had nearly enough time in human form. There were so many things he still hadn't gotten to do. Unfortunately, his only real option was to hope a Silver Treasure Chest turned one up eventually. He couldn't actually fly all the way to the Emerald Forest and steal one, and those elves were no pushovers. He sat on his throne, sinking into that particular kind of brooding quiet, when the System chimed. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

[Detected: World BOSS Storm Worm King approaching your sphere of influence] [Warning! Storm Worm King has entered your sphere of influence. Your Exposure Level is rising. Dungeon Exposure Level is rising]"What in the hell is this filthy thing doing on my turf? Fine, it wants to be a World BOSS, but does it have to drag me into it too?" Su Nian blinked, then his temper ignited. A World BOSS showing up near his lair would pull every player in the region straight to his doorstep.

A mob of them brawling back and forth right outside his home base, his Exposure Level climbing would be the least of his problems.

"Where is it right now? It cannot get any closer!" [Storm Worm King location marked on map. Coordinates: (3415, 7938). Host may check at any time.] Su Nian glanced at the map. He didn't say another word. He shot out of the Dark Monarch Hall at full speed, crossed to the teleportation array, and activated it. Purple arcane light bloomed around him, the array humming to life. His vision lurched, and then he was standing near the surface dragon's lair. He hadn't brought any monsters. They were too slow.

He didn't need them. One spread of his wings and he could cover more ground than any of them. He oriented himself, then launched into the sky. The shockwave from his wingbeats flattened the trees in every direction. A few birds didn't even get airborne before the gale tumbled them away into the distance. It didn't take long. Su Nian reached the outer edge of Silvermoon Forest and fixed his gaze on the coastline below, on a dark shape moving at speed just beneath the surface. About twenty-three meters long.

Five meters wide. It was unmistakably the World BOSS Storm Worm King. [World BOSS, Storm Worm King — Fourth Tier (Injured) (Weakened) (From your perspective, it's just a noodle that can move)] Even uninjured, this thing wouldn't have caused him a moment's trouble. His heart was only repaired to the first stage, but a fifth-tier Young Dragon might still struggle against him. A Storm Worm King wasn't even in the conversation. For the players, sure. It barely qualified as a World BOSS. For him, it was a worm.

"Lowly worm. Get out of my territory." Su Nian cut across its path, hovering in the air above the water, and unleashed a roar like a thunderclap. The sea itself shuddered and frothed beneath the sound.

"Damn it! Since when is there a Black Dragon in the Silvermoon Mountains? I only knew about a fifth-tier Soulweaver Spider Matriarch!" The Storm Worm King had planned this out carefully. The Soulweaver Spider Matriarch in the Silvermoon Mountains was unpleasant company, but they were both bugs, so it wouldn't come to them killing each other, as long as it kept its distance. What it hadn't planned for was a variant Black Dragon with a terrifying aura dropping out of nowhere. Built heavier than a Red Dragon.

The kind of creature you took one look at and knew better than to provoke. Variant dragons were beings that even the Five-Headed Dragon Queen despised. Unruly. Ferocious. They answered to no one, followed no faith, and operated on a single principle: kill, destroy, repeat. A bunch of maniacs, in other words. The Storm Worm King's instincts screamed retreat. It whipped around and bolted in the opposite direction.

"Lowly worm!" The Black Dragon followed. And somehow, it sounded angrier than before. What? It had already changed direction!

"You see a great dragon and your first move is to run without a word? Is my territory somewhere a crawling insect like you can come and go as it pleases?!" Storm Worm King: "..." It dragged its mangled, blood-soaked head up from the water, enduring the pain, and lowered it as humbly as it could manage.

"Great Dragon, I was not aware this was your territory. There are many human warriors and mages pursuing me right now. If I do not leave quickly, I fear I will bring trouble upon you." It had heard stories about dragons being unreasonable. At the time, it had filed that away as exaggeration. Now, face to face with an actual dragon, it finally understood the truth: dragons weren't unreasonable. They simply operated in a space where reason didn't apply.

"Your attitude is acceptable." Su Nian grinned and dipped his head.

"You can leave. But you'll need to pay a toll first. After all, this stretch of sea, this entire region, it's all my territory. Your blood has made a mess of it. Someone has to clean that up." Storm Worm King: "???"

"Great Dragon, I have nothing to offer you right now. But my lair holds many fine things. Once I've healed my wounds..."

"Nothing?" A cold light flashed in Su Nian's dragon eyes.

"Then leave your life here instead." ➤ Next: Without a Single Mistake