Chương 88: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 88 - Slumber

Advancement slumber is something all dragons both love and hate. They love it because it means becoming stronger, more abilities awakened, a more formidable frame. They hate it because it comes without warning, and once it takes hold, waking up is nearly impossible. That means one thing: unpredictable danger. Many dragons have been ambushed and killed in their sleep. Which is, theoretically, the real reason dragons bother recruiting monsters and building territories in the first place. Self-preservation.

And now Su Nian was about to go under, though the slumber between Juvenile and Young Adult stages wouldn't last too long. That didn't make it easier. He was still deeply reluctant to leave Anna, and the Dragon's Nest's current situation — hemmed in on all sides — sat heavy on his mind. He coiled on the bedrock platform, fighting his eyelids, and summoned every monster leader.

"Bolikri. Take your Kobolds and seed the area around the human village with traps."

"Grey Wolf, your job is to cover the Kobolds while they work. You and Bugs Bunny take the rest of the monsters and lock down the players' Starter Villages. Use the Kobold traps and grind them down."

"Ji Taimei handles reconnaissance."

"While I'm asleep, keep every human pinned in their villages. These ones are different from ordinary humans — they grow fast. Don't give them room." Bolikri studied the drowsy, barely-functioning Black Dragon. It knew dragon habits well enough to guess what was happening. Its mind moved quickly, cycling through every pending issue in the Dragon's Nest, and landed on the prisoners.

"Master," it said, "our prisoners. Those humans who plant potatoes for us. What do we do with them?" Players and soldiers. A cold light moved through Su Nian's pale gold eyes, edged with red. Players had high levels and too many tricks. They needed to be completely neutralized. Soldiers were around Blaze Rabbit tier, easier to manage. Feed them and they'd behave.

"The ones in the strange clothing," Su Nian said, his voice flat and cold.

"Remove their limbs. Hog-tie what's left and lock them up."

"Cover their eyes. Block their ears. Water and food just enough to keep them breathing. If some of them die, don't bother cleaning it up."

"The soldiers get a Blaze Rabbit detail. Work and live. Cause trouble and die."

"Your will is the direction of our slaughter!" Bolikri pressed itself to the ground at Su Nian's feet, kneeling on behalf of every monster leader present, and accepted the orders. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Protect the Dragon's Nest." Su Nian's gaze moved to Grey Wolf.

"Especially Anna." Grey Wolf had hit level 19 in the fighting against the players, the strongest among all the monsters now.

"Please," it said.

"Rest assured."

"Good. Go." Su Nian nodded once and waved them off. His eyelids were already losing the fight. His dragon head sank onto the bedrock with a dull weight. The Dragon's Nest emptied out around him until only he and Anna remained, and Anna's eyes were full of something she was trying very hard not to show.

"Brother... what's wrong? What's happening to you?" She didn't know yet. Her small body trembled as she knelt on the ground, both hands cupped around his enormous head, her voice catching in her throat.

"I'm fine, Anna. Prprprpr~" He licked the tears from her face in his own particular way, too tired to do much else.

"This is something all dragons go through. We sleep, and when we wake up, we know more. We're stronger." His words were slowing down.

"Don't worry. When I... wake... up..." His eyes closed. His body didn't go still, that was the strange part. He looked like he was sleeping, but a deep vibration moved through his entire frame, subtle and constant, like a high-frequency engine running somewhere underneath his scales.

"Brother? Brother?" Anna leaned close to his ear and called his name again, then again. No response. He was already somewhere she couldn't reach. She remembered what he'd said. She told herself not to panic, not to think too much. She leaned in close to his nostrils first, feeling for his breath. Then she carefully climbed up to his chest and pressed herself against it. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. His heartbeat came through strong and steady against her ear. Anna let out a breath.

The knot in her chest loosened, a little. But the Dragon's Nest was so quiet without his voice in it, and that quiet left something hollow behind her ribs. It made it hard to breathe. Like a large hand had closed around her heart, squeezing, and somewhere in the walls of it, a gap had opened, and cold air was pouring in.

"Brother." Her voice was small in the empty cave.

"Anna will be here when you wake up."

"Anna will protect you." The vow echoed off the stone walls, thin and a little absurd. She lifted his wing and tucked herself into the crook of his arm, as close to where his heart was as she could get. She curled there, listening to the steady beat beneath her, and began absentmindedly counting the scales on his chest. Anna was a mage apprentice. A small one. What exactly was she going to use to protect a dragon about to grow into his Young Adult stage? But the look in her eyes didn't leave any room for doubt.

Frail as she was. If anyone came for him while he slept, she would stand between them. Arms open. Body forward. She would die before he did.... Out at the experimental fields, the Sakura Island players were talking through the party channel, trying to make sense of things. Word about Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's failed attack on the Dragon's Nest had already spread. Disappointing, obviously. But not a disaster, they could respawn. One failed attempt just meant trying again. Eventually someone would get them out.

The more immediate mystery was why the Dragon's Nest had suddenly gone loud. Squads of Gnolls and Blaze Rabbits were moving past the perimeter in steady streams, and the atmosphere had shifted into something taut and watchful. What happened? The monsters won, didn't they? So why did it feel like the place was going into lockdown? Nobody had an answer. But Sakura Island players had a habit: when confused, ask questions.

One of the bolder ones worked up his nerve, arranged his face into something properly ingratiating, and shuffled over to the nearest Blaze Rabbit. He bowed. Deep and respectful.

"Hello, esteemed Rabbit-sama. Might I ask what has occurred within the Dragon's Nest? If there is anything we Sakura people can help with, we are always most eager to be of service." He glanced back at the others as he finished. They got the cue. Smiles all around, fawning, cooperative, completely harmless. The Blaze Rabbit looked at him. Then, without a word, it slapped him. The kind of slap that has weight behind it. The player spun six and a half full rotations before crumpling to the ground in a dazed heap.

He hadn't even managed to register what had happened when everything went dark. That was the Blaze Rabbit's foot coming down. ➤ Next: The Army Presses In