Chương 107: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 107 - Negotiation — Face to Face

The moment their respawn timers hit zero, the players from No. 6 Starter Village came flooding back to life. They carried two things out of the respawn point with them: a longing for this otherworld, and a deep, burning hatred for the Black Dragon.

"Ah... the air in this otherworld really is fresher... ugh—" The Sakura Player didn't even finish the sentence before he was doubled over, retching. It was absolutely foul. The air was thick with the sour stench of a public latrine, layered on top of gunpowder smoke, the two smells fused into something that hit like a club to the skull. Every Sakura Player went glassy-eyed. They looked around. Sakura Island No. 1 Starter Village sat inside a crater. The buildings were almost entirely rubble.

How was this any different from their own No. 6 Starter Village? There was one difference, actually. No. 1 Village at least had a coffin. No. 6 Village hadn't even gotten that much, just an open-air burial. While they were still in a daze, a sound came from above. The rhythmic beat of enormous wings. A black shape in the distant sky, slowly growing larger. The Black Dragon was back.

"Everyone!" A Sakura Player pushed to the front and shouted.

"We can't keep going like this!"

"Think about how many Invasion Points you have left. Every time we die, the respawn timer gets longer. If this keeps up, ""We'll starve to death in the World Plaza!" Both points landed like a knife to the gut. Most players had already been thinking it. Nobody had wanted to say it out loud. Now that the wound was fully open, a cold dread settled over the crowd. The otherworld wasn't a lawless paradise where death didn't matter. If they kept this up, they were genuinely finished.

"So what do we actually do?" The Black Dragon was close enough now that they could see the gleam of his throat.

"We negotiate with the Black Dragon!"

"There are no permanent enemies — only permanent interests!" The player who'd spoken first had just proposed the most constructive idea anyone had offered all day, and every Sakura Player in earshot immediately agreed. Negotiation. They'd try negotiation.... High above Sakura Island No. 1 Starter Village, Su Nian circled, looking down. He hadn't attacked yet. Because the players below were doing something extremely strange. They were stripping off their armor.

Then, one by one, they were pulling off their white underpants, holding the cloth in their fists, and waving it frantically up at him. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Was this... a surrender??? He couldn't. He physically could not look at this.

"Anna. Don't look down."

"Okay, okay..."

"Brother, Anna doesn't know what's happening, but suddenly Anna can't see anything~" Anna tucked herself into her little nook and pressed both soft hands over her eyes. The fluffy fox tail curled around from behind and draped across the front of her body. She vanished entirely, just a round, snow-white ball of fur. A little glutinous rice dumpling.

"Now Anna can only see brother~" came her soft, muffled voice from somewhere inside the fluff. Su Nian felt a familiar itch at the tip of his tongue. Now that he thought about it, it really had been a while since he'd washed Anna's face. He'd do it the moment they got back.

"Great Black Dragon Taijun!" The players below were calling up to him. Su Nian dropped a little lower, curious what they'd say. The moment the Sakura Players saw the Black Dragon descend rather than breathe fire, a wave of relief crashed through the crowd. Faces that had been locked in terror broke into cautious hope. Maybe they weren't going to die this time. The player they'd chosen as representative felt it too.

He knelt on the ground, raised his head to the hovering shadow above, and called out:"Great Black Dragon! You are so mighty and powerful. The previous attack on your lair was a simple misunderstanding, nothing more."

"We have no wish to be your enemy."

"We believe we can coexist peacefully. To make up for any harm caused, we are prepared to offer full compensation. Whatever your demands are, please say the word!" Su Nian got it immediately. Their respawn timers had been climbing with every death. Now they'd hit their limit. They wanted to negotiate. Excellent. Su Nian loved negotiating.

He angled his flight lower and moved directly over the crowd, adjusting until the shadow of his massive body fell over every last one of them, the whole dense, tightly packed mass of Sakura Players. Anna wouldn't be able to see anything from up here regardless. Good. He wasn't about to let her accidentally catch a glimpse of something that would give her nightmares. Besides, Anna's eyes were only allowed to look at him.

"Lowly worms!" Su Nian's voice rolled down like thunder.

"I accept your negotiation."

"My demands are simple." His enormous dragon face split into a grin. His pale gold eyes gleamed with something between cruelty and amusement.

"First: Reparations. One hundred thousand gold coins and three golden treasure chest keys."

"Second: You will cede your village as territory belonging to my lair."

"Third: I will station monsters within your village. In return, you will pay protection fees on a regular schedule." Uproar below. The players erupted into frantic whispers, faces cycling through shock, resentment, and naked uncertainty. The first condition they could live with. Paying money to stay alive was just business, painful business, but survivable. There was a reason people said as long as the mountains stand, the firewood won't run out. But the second and third conditions?

That was something else entirely. That was the Black Dragon claiming complete dominion over them. Could Sakura Players swallow that? They were believers in the way of the warrior. A man could be slain but never humiliated. Absolutely out of the question.

"Black Dragon Taijun," the player representative called up, doing his best to keep the nerves out of his voice.

"We can agree to the first demand. But could you perhaps be a little more flexible on the second and third?" Inside, he was a wreck. One wrong word and a breath of dragonfire would end this entire conversation permanently.

"Heh... heh heh." Su Nian's voice dropped into something almost cheerful.

"Sure. No problem~""You only need to agree to the first condition. The other two are really not that important." He smiled like a dragon who had all the time in the world. Perfectly agreeable. Totally reasonable. The pale gold eyes hid everything else. The Sakura Players nearly burst with relief. He was actually easy to deal with? This terrifying Black Dragon? If they'd known, they might have tried pushing back on the first condition too. But it was too late for that.

Four thousand players, pooling everything together. Gold coins and golden keys could both be exchanged in the shop with Invasion Points. One hundred thousand gold and three golden chest keys was going to hurt, but they could scrape it together.

"Please give us just a moment! We'll have your compensation ready immediately." The representative allowed himself a touch of formal optimism.

"We hope this marks the beginning of peace between us, that we can set aside our grievances and build something together on these wide plains!" He went to work. A few minutes later, the crowdfunded coins and keys were exchanged and ready.

"Um — Black Dragon Taijun! Where would you like us to place the compensation?"

"Right there in front of you." Su Nian dropped from the sky. His pitch-black claws hit the earth with a concussive boom that sent tremors rolling through the entire Starter Village, players stumbling, rubble shifting, the whole ruined place shaking around them. Anna, nestled safely on his back, felt nothing at all. He'd made sure of it.

PS: Quick question for everyone, how much sweet daily content versus main plot do you want to see? Anna making fireballs~ ➤ Next: Shameless