Chương 77: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 77 - Hehe Hehehe

Silvermoon Forest. Outside the Dragon's Nest. The full moon climbed slowly into the sky, stars scattered across the dark above it. Draped in a pale white veil, it gazed down with quiet tenderness on the vast earth below, and on the scene unfolding just outside the Dragon's Nest.

"Salute!" Grey Wolf's roar split the night. Every Gnoll standing along both sides of the road snapped to attention, chest out, chin up, wolf claws raised to their foreheads in the highest salute they could offer the Black Dragon Boss. Su Nian glided overhead with Anna riding on his back, his dragon head lifted high. He swept over the ranks of his neatly arrayed monster army and touched down on the platform outside the Dragon's Nest.

Then he turned to face his followers, settled into a comfortable coil, and plucked Anna off his back with his mouth.

"Slurp."

"Hmph... Brother is mean!" Whatever solemnity the moment had possessed evaporated instantly. Not that anyone was surprised. The monsters had long since accepted that nothing their Black Dragon Boss did could disturb the surface of their devotion by even a ripple.

"At ease." Grey Wolf bellowed the command, then jogged forward and stopped in front of Su Nian, spine straight, wolf face grave.

"Report, Boss!"

"This operation. Losses. Kobolds, three. Blaze Rabbits, 137. Cockatrices, 54. Blackwater Pythons, five. Spearboars, one."

"Prisoners captured, 507 humans. Awaiting orders!"

"Hmm." Su Nian's pale golden eyes rose, his expression settling into something quiet and serious. Casualties were always a grim thing to hear listed aloud. In practice, though, most of his monsters treated death the same way they treated eating and drinking, as something that simply happened. Blaze Rabbits and Cockatrices in particular weren't exactly philosophical creatures. The concept of mortality sat in their heads about as heavily as a passing cloud. But Su Nian was the head of this entire army.

He couldn't say nothing.

"Every monster who died in this battle was a warrior." He paused.

"Have them buried near my sto, " He caught himself.

"Near the Dragon's Nest." The humanoid monsters erupted into noise. They all understood what those words meant. What they were worth.

"Great master, it is their honor!" Bolikri choked out. It pressed its forehead to the ground, too overcome to stand.

"Their souls will continue to fight for you!" It had never once imagined that its master might grieve for the dead among them. Becoming the Black Dragon's follower in the first place had felt like the luckiest thing that could happen to a Kobold. And now this. [Kobold Bolikri Favorability +1, current Favorability 100 (Never Betray)] [Gnoll Grey Wolf Favorability +2] [Gnoll Red Wolf Favorability +3]...

Su Nian watched the favorability numbers tick steadily upward and felt a quiet satisfaction he kept entirely off his face. He waved a claw.

"Alright. Enough. Bring up the prisoners." At his word, a column of soldiers was herded forward by the Blaze Rabbits, hands bound behind their backs, faces swollen and bruised into a patchwork of purple and black. Bugs Bunny walked at the front. It couldn't speak yet, but it stopped before Su Nian, dipped into a formal bow, then stepped to the side and stood perfectly still. None of the casual, devil-may-care swagger it usually carried. Not tonight.

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"Are you soldiers of the Anlius Kingdom?" The Black Dragon's voice rolled out low and vast, reverberating off the stone like a struck bell. The soldiers flinched. Several visibly trembled. They were imperial soldiers. They had pride. They had oaths. They weren't going to sell out their comrades, so they pressed their lips shut and said nothing.

"Answer me." A dragon claw came down on a nearby rock and crushed it. Su Nian flicked the pieces forward. One chunk landed with a heavy crack directly in front of a soldier in the front row. The man screamed. Then the smell hit. He'd wet himself.

"Drag him away," Su Nian said, his nose wrinkling with open disgust.

"Finish him." Banana Wolf hauled the soldier into the bushes. A few seconds passed. Then came a shriek, a sound of retching, and then silence. Banana Wolf walked back out. It was covered in something that smelled significantly worse than urine. It was grinning. Su Nian stared at it for a moment. Something had clearly gone wrong in translation. He suspected his follower had interpreted the order somewhat liberally.

Either way, the result was the same, the remaining soldiers had gone rigid with a fear that had moved well past trembling into something quieter and much more cooperative. The atmosphere thickened. At last, one soldier broke. He dropped to his knees, shuffled forward, head bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the ground.

"G-great True Dragon, sir." His lips were shaking.

"We are soldiers of the Anlius Kingdom. We came here — we came here to — to subdue the Black Dragon..." The moment the words left his mouth he felt it: a cold crawling sensation up his spine, as if a dozen pairs of eyes with killing intent had all turned to fix on him at once. Fear did the rest.

"It was the king's orders, we're just ordinary soldiers, we follow orders, and, and the Black Dragon we were sent to subdue isn't even you, it's a different one," Su Nian scratched at the ground with one claw, looking mildly awkward. Yes. Technically, the King of Anlius was hunting him. He'd just changed his appearance enough that no one had recognized him. Details.

"What is your rank?"

"Great Black Dragon, sir, I'm a personal guard to Grand Knight Vimons. Before I was assigned to the dragon-hunting army, I served at the palace," The soldier's voice cracked.

"I know things. Secrets. Please don't kill me. I'll tell you everything,""Good." Su Nian gestured for Banana Wolf to drag the soldier forward.

"Answer my questions honestly, and I'll give you a chance to walk away alive. I am, after all, a merciful dragon." He gave the soldier a moment to look at the available torture instruments. Then the interrogation began. It was long. It was thorough. And it had a particular smell to it.... Some time later, Su Nian carried Anna back inside the Dragon's Nest. He was still processing. The world never ran out of ways to surprise him.

He genuinely had not expected this: the Queen of Anlius had cuckolded the king over four thousand times. The detail that made it truly remarkable was that the entire palace guard also numbered just over four thousand men. Think about that. The King of Anlius apparently had no idea. Su Nian had a new appreciation for the queen. She was ruthless in a way that defied easy description. If he ever crossed paths with her, he decided on the spot that he would simply blast her with dragon breath and not look back.

That level of scheming, pointed in his direction, would be catastrophic. The other significant piece of intelligence was that Grand Mage Mesent was dead, and his power had apparently transferred to that formidable female player. Given what that woman had endured, the word "ruthless" felt inadequate for her too. He found himself regretting, slightly, that he'd incinerated her so quickly. Not for any personal reason. He just would have liked to understand exactly how she'd absorbed a native mage's power.

If killing was all it took to inherit someone's abilities, the entire world would have already collapsed into chaos. There had to be more to it. He'd tried asking the Sakura Island starter village players, the potato farmers, but even after everything they'd been through, they were as useful as a wall. Three questions, three blank stares. The more Su Nian turned it over, the more the headache built. His brow furrowed despite himself. A soft weight shifted in his arms. Anna had been watching.

She turned to face him, raised both hands, and gently cupped his dragon face between her palms. One small hand lifted and pressed lightly against his furrowed brow, smoothing over it, as if she could press the worry flat by touch alone.

"Brother, don't be sad~" She paused, then added cheerfully: "Hehe. Your face is so rough. All bumpy." Then she pressed her own soft, pink cheek against his and rubbed it back and forth. She pulled back, pursed her lips, and pressed a warm little kiss to the side of his face.

"Brother... can you say that thing again? The thing you said before. Anna wants to hear it." The frown eased. Looking at her, bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked, impossible, most of what had been weighing on him simply dissolved.

"I like you," he said, keeping his voice as gentle as he could manage.

"Eep~" Anna went scarlet. She threw her arms around his big head and held on, her small body trembling lightly with what could only be described as pure happiness, her fox tail sweeping back and forth behind her in wide, delighted arcs.

"Can you, can you say it one more time?" Her eyes were practically glowing as she looked up at him.

"I like you, Anna."

"Hee..." She hid her face.

"I — Anna — Anna likes brother too..." The words came out barely above a whisper. Her cheeks were burning. She kept her eyes down, trying to hold herself still, to contain the feeling that was clearly threatening to overwhelm every boundary she'd set for herself. She lost the battle. She hugged his head again, soft and clinging, and pressed her face into him.

"Brother... Anna wants... wants a hug~" ➤ Next: Advanced Devour