Chương 115: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 115 - Sacred Wall of Felinir

"Great Master, Celestine is willing to be loyal to you, offer her soul, and serve at your side." The "Elf" Saintess looked perfectly reverent, eyes downcast, the picture of devout submission. She had clearly remolded herself entirely to Su Nian's preferences. As for that Goddess of Peace she'd supposedly served. Long forgotten. Gathering dust somewhere. But this wasn't what Su Nian was waiting for. Was he doing it wrong? He was genuinely confused.

He tried again, repeating the line:"Offer your loyalty, and I shall erase your enemies!"

"... Great Master, Celestine is willing to become your servant, to be commanded as you see fit." Celestine was baffled, but she repeated the words anyway, obedient as ever. Maybe the Black Dragon in front of her just liked hearing this sort of thing. Su Nian went quiet.

"System. Where's the special ability you promised? Is this even a Special Female NPC?" [Host, please be patient. This is the S-rank Special Female NPC Celestine. You will obtain the special ability upon fulfilling her wish.]"..." The System was getting craftier by the day. Luring the host in with promises and then pulling the rug out. He distinctly remembered it being described differently before. Su Nian pulled up Celestine's panel and looked it over. Decent, all things considered.

Fourth-tier Archmage, passable talent, personality flagged as benevolent and gentle, no abnormal status effects, just a trace of mental anxiety. Honestly, it fit her. Made sense. But compared to Anna, the gap was enormous. Anna's dual talents were both top-tier, after all. And most importantly of all. Anna was still only that small. Su Nian decided not to argue with the System about it. Even a summoned demon, real or fake, would grant the summoner one wish before eating their soul. He was a righteous Black Dragon.

Naturally, he had to help his new follower clean up their mess first.

"Tell me the situation," he said.

"How many fighters does that mercenary group have?"

"How far are they from your capital?" If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"And how many troops do you have left?" Celestine felt a surge of relief. Things were finally moving in the right direction. She reported quickly:"Great Master, Gus commands over three thousand humanoid creatures in total."

"Their strength varies widely — from the lowest Goblins to Ogres at the upper end."

"By now, they have likely already taken the Sacred Wall of Felinir. They are one day's march from the capital, and I have no usable army remaining."

"You are your servant's last hope. The last hope of Saint Orist. I beg you — save this country." Her voice was heavy with grief. She knelt on the ground and pleaded.... Sacred Wall of Felinir. A troll, over three meters tall, shoved the door open with a bang and swaggered out wearing a vicious grin. Behind him, in the dim room. A human girl lay with her eyes wide open. Her body was covered in wounds, her clothes torn to rags. She had clearly been tortured to death.

"I'll say this much, the women of Saint Orist are something else. What do you expect from a coastal nation." The troll strolled over to a human soldier, leering, and gave his orders:"Kid, go collect the body. Tonight we move on the capital. When we get there, I'll put in a word with the captain and get you a fresh one to enjoy."

"You're new. Don't say I never did anything for you. Work hard and you'll have everything you want." With that, the troll leader tugged up his pants, a look of deep satisfaction on his face, and swaggered off humming some tuneless melody. The human soldier pressed his lips together. His fists clenched at his sides. Black hair. Dark eyes. Yellow skin. His name was Li Chen. A player from China. He had joined this infamous mercenary group deliberately. Not to do their dirty work, to destroy them from the inside.

He was a nail driven into the heart of the group, quietly gathering intelligence. Five days of this, already.

"Troll leader. Level 28."

"That's the last one." Li Chen typed the information into the team channel, his fingers slow and deliberate. [Received. Li Chen, stay low. We've picked up the leveling pace. Three days, tops, then we wipe every last one of these filth out.]"Three days!?" Li Chen's face went dark. He ground his teeth. A sound came out of his throat, low, animal.

"I have to stay here another three days. Keep watching this hell. Keep watching these bastards walk around free."

"We can respawn! I know respawns are precious, but —""Do you have no hearts at all?!" [Li Chen. Calm down. Hold on a little longer.]"Hold on with what!?" Li Chen forced down the grief and the nausea twisting through him and walked into the room. He took a screenshot of the girl's body, blurred everything but her face, and posted it to the team channel, that face, frozen in despair.

"You tell me how I'm supposed to hold on." The team channel went quiet. [... God.] [Li Chen, we know this feels wrong. But you have to understand, this is another world.] [We don't belong here. And our real goal is to take this place, win the wager, and protect our own home.] Li Chen didn't respond. He closed the team channel with a click. The girl's body was still warm in front of him. But it was cooling fast, because the soul was already gone.

He walked over, lifted her gently without thinking about the blood soaking her clothes, and carried her on his back.

"I'm sorry." The words barely made it out. His voice snagged in his throat. Like it was full of gravel. This girl was called Hao Na. Half an hour ago she had begged him. Pleaded with him to let her go. Her voice was still playing back in his head, perfectly clear.

"Brother, can you let me go?"

"Brother, please, I don't want to die. I don't want those monsters to, please,""We're both human. We're the same. We're both human!!"...

"I'm sorry." Li Chen lowered Hao Na's body into the pit he'd dug. He reached down and gently closed her eyes. Then he buried her, one scoop of earth at a time.

"You were right," he said quietly.

"We're both human."

"If I hadn't met you, maybe I could have stayed the course. But people are selfish. That's just what we are." A faint white light washed over him. The rough burlap he'd been wearing dissolved, replaced by a layer of solid armor. A longsword materialized in his hand, its edge cold and sharp.

"Maybe I can't do much alone."

"But I'm done waiting."

"It's late. I know it's too late." His eyes burned red.

"But I will avenge you." His gaze locked onto a tent in the distance. The troll leader's tent. The one with the lantern light and the noise inside. While the girls who'd been dragged here were left to huddle in cold, lightless rooms. Not even a straw mat between them.

"You're an animal," Li Chen said.

"Die." ➤ Next: The Slaughter Begins