Chương 152: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 152 - Do You Desire Power?

By the time Su Nian led the monsters back to the Dragon's Nest the next morning, high spirits and heads held high, nearly every male monster had already "matched" with a "wife." Even the Kobolds and Gnolls. They hadn't found any proper Kobolds in the outer region of the Silvermoon Mountains, but they'd found a reasonable substitute: Swamp Lizardmen. The Swamp Lizardmen didn't carry dragon blood, but they looked enough like Kobolds, and more importantly, like Kobolds, they were egg-layers.

Bolikri was absolutely beside itself with joy. It had both arms wrapped around a Swamp Lizardman covered in blue-green scales and even took the time to describe the experience to Su Nian in detail. Cool to the touch. Perfect for the summer heat. As for the Gnolls' new companions, those were Hyena Men. The Hyena Men had proper dog heads — so proper, in fact, that Su Nian sometimes thought they were the ones who deserved to be called Kobolds.

Their bloodline was a step below the Gnolls', and they were short, scrawny, and underfed. Standing next to the strapping Gnolls, they looked like a cluster of tiny girls next to an absolutely massive gym bro. It would have to do for now. Once they pushed outward, or got strong enough to explore the middle layers of the Silvermoon Mountains, he could find better matches for Grey Wolf and the others. Besides, the little monsters born here would be shaped by the Dragon Aura.

Their constitutions wouldn't be anything to complain about. The monsters, having fully internalized their "protect the potatoes" mandate, didn't waste a single second. They'd barely returned to the Dragon's Nest before the captured monsters had any chance to recover from their terror. The great production movement began. The scent of spring was everywhere.

Blaze Rabbits worked out furiously in every direction, each with a petite Whirlwind Rabbit dangling from their waist, fitness and monster-making proceeding simultaneously without interruption. Other monsters passing by stared in genuine admiration.

"It won't be long before the Dragon's Nest can't grow enough potatoes to feed everyone," Su Nian murmured, sprawled atop the Dragon's Nest, watching the chaos below with a faintly contemplative expression.

"Going to have to put those Sakura Players to real work."

Before dawn the next morning, while the Sakura Players were sleeping their deepest, a gang of Blaze Rabbits and Kobolds crashed through and yanked them upright.

"Kobold Taijun, it's not even light out yet..." One of the players fought down a surge of morning rage and arranged his face into something fawning and eager.

"Is there something to announce today?"

"There is indeed." Kobold Chieftain Bolikri grinned, showing too many teeth.

"A large number of monsters will be born soon. The potato harvest may not stretch far enough. So starting today, your workload increases."

"Working hours go from ten hours a day to fifteen." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"You will wake up at five in the morning. Work until noon. Resume at one in the afternoon. Stop at nine at night." The Sakura Players stood dazed. Haruta Motono in particular did the math immediately, subtract the hours Orihime-chan used to torment him at night, and he had maybe ten minutes to sleep. Ten minutes!! What on earth could you do with ten minutes? Blink and it's gone. These monsters had lost their minds. They had never intended to treat them like people.

"Kobold Taijun, this — these hours are too long." Haruta Motono's voice shook with righteous fury despite the dark circles pressed deep under his eyes.

"This violates the Labor Protection Law! Even the most ruthless capitalist wouldn't make his workers do fifteen hours. And we're not even getting paid!" He'd lost a noticeable amount of weight these past weeks. The mental grind had left his eyes red and raw. He bared his teeth now, face tight with anger, and managed to look almost threatening.

"What law?" Bolikri laughed through its nose.

"This is the Dragon's Nest. The master's word is the law. You can put away whatever your human kingdoms call law. And who told you this was unpaid? Haven't we been feeding you?"

"Feeding us doesn't — that doesn't count as payment!" Haruta Motono's voice cracked into something between outrage and disbelief. The sheer shamelessness of it had genuinely rattled him.

"Then what?" Bolikri's smile sharpened into something ugly.

"Do you want to eat shit instead? Or would you prefer a visit to the adobe hut to test our newest experimental weapon?" Haruta Motono shut up immediately. That thing. Once was more than enough. No one had any interest in a second experience.

"I'm not negotiating with you," Bolikri said, voice dropping flat.

"I'm giving orders. The hours are set. And don't get any ideas about suicide." It let that land for a moment.

"Starting today, the number of monsters stationed near your group doubles. I think you already know what happens to anyone who tries." Bolikri snorted, turned on its heel, and walked away with the absolute indifference of something that had better things to think about. Just a bunch of human captives, actually trying to bargain with it. Honestly. The Sakura Players had no options.

Technically, with the native soldiers added to their numbers, they had enough hands to break far more land, enough that potato supply shouldn't even be a problem. But the monsters hadn't given them a single tool. They were digging with their hands and feet, which meant everything went at a crawl. There was nothing to be done about it.

Dawn light streaked across the sky in shades of amber and rose. The sun climbed hard and bright. The entire reclamation field had no shade. Every patch of shadow nearby was already occupied by a burly Blaze Rabbit. The Sakura Players worked on all fours in the dirt, soaked through with sweat. Pain perception being turned off was a mercy, they couldn't feel the sun actually burning their skin. But the chest tightness, the oppressive heat, the hollow weakness of dehydration, those weren't filtered out.

Those hit normally. Players went down periodically, a heatstroke debuff blinking under their health bars as they crumpled into the dirt. The Blaze Rabbits would drag them off without ceremony and dump them in the nearest irrigation ditch to come back to their senses. Once they could stand again, they were hauled back to the field like dead weight and put back to work.

Meanwhile, the Blaze Rabbits on guard duty stood in the shade of the trees, unhurried, each holding a carrot in one hand, each with a Whirlwind Rabbit swinging gently from their waist. Radiating the scent of spring. By any measure, they looked like they were having a wonderful time.

"When does this end," Haruta Motono muttered to no one. Nearby, Inoue Orihime dug like a machine, hands moving steadily without pause. She wasn't suffering, not really. Unlike Haruta Motono, this life didn't feel that bitter to her. The person she loved was right beside her. Haruta Motono glanced over once. Twice. Each look made him feel worse. He turned back to the dirt and dug harder, driving his fingers into the stinking soil like he could bury everything he was feeling in it.

Then his finger caught on something. His health bar ticked down a notch. He pulled his hand back and looked, his middle finger was swollen red and throbbing. He'd hit something solid. He leaned over the hole he'd dug, peered in, and reached carefully back inside. His fingers closed around a hard object. [Do! You! Desire! Power!? ♂] A vast, booming voice exploded through Haruta Motono's mind. He froze. He instinctively tried to put the object into his backpack and got a prompt that it couldn't be stored.

He pressed his lips together, glanced around once, and quickly shoved the hard object into his pocket instead. ➤ Next: The Ultimate Freedom