Chương 157: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 157 - Bait Yamaguchi Mura Chicken

In the darkness, a massive figure moved toward the Dragon's Nest. Not a single monster noticed. It passed right by the patrols without a sound. Whatever rustling came from the grass and bushes, the monsters dismissed it as small animals scurrying through the undergrowth.

"Oh~ David Jones, this skill of yours is an absolute must-have. I swear on Mrs. Sam's stinky leather shoes! I genuinely envy you sometimes." Medraco kept close behind David Jones, and under the buff's influence, he had nearly dissolved into the deep night.

"Kekeke~ Medraco, have you picked your hunting spot?" All communication between David Jones and Medraco ran through the party channel. Not a breath of sound escaped into the open air. Yamaguchi Mura Chicken and Ohguchi Akase were even quieter. When you're standing next to two people at that level, you follow orders and keep your mouth shut. Anything else just broadcasts how little you know.

"Just about." Medraco studied the terrain surrounding the Dragon's Nest. A textbook U-shaped Canyon: easy to defend, hard to assault, and offering sniper positions in almost every direction.

"That cliff face ahead. Open sightlines, the entire Dragon's Nest laid out below. Gentle slope running behind it for a clean retreat." When it came to shooting, Medraco was the professional. Nobody argued. They put in the effort to get him up onto the high rock face.

"Exactly as I expected. Perfect. A roughly forty-five-degree downward angle, three hundred meters from the Dragon's Nest." He scanned left and right.

"The opposite cliff is taller and cuts off the northwest wind completely. Minimal bullet drift. This couldn't be better." Medraco settled into a prone position, set his homemade Bolt-action Rifle in front of him, and sighted the muzzle toward the Dragon's Nest. He tracked it back and forth for a long moment, satisfaction settling deeper each time.

"Let me lay out the plan."

"First wave: I snipe the dragon directly. One shot, kill. Best-case scenario."

"If that doesn't land, David Jones and Ohguchi Akase tie the dragon down. I look for a second shot."

"Second wave assumes the dragon is still alive."

"If the elf shows up, we take out the elf first. Same deal — I'll need you two keeping the dragon busy long enough to give me a window."

"And if we can't kill the elf either?" Yamaguchi Mura Chicken couldn't hold it in. He'd seen that Black Dragon up close. You didn't come away from that and assume anything would go cleanly. The Beautiful Country players looked at him like he'd said something deeply stupid.

"Foolish." Medraco's lip curled. He looked at Yamaguchi Mura Chicken the way you'd look at a slug you'd found under a rock.

"The dragon is massive. Fine, maybe one bullet doesn't put it down. But the elf? On what grounds does the elf get to survive a bullet?" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Think it through with whatever brain you have up there."

"I'm aware the Yamaguchi Clan is one of the titans of the cherry blossom adult film industry."

"Even so, I'd prefer you use the lump sitting on top of your neck occasionally." Medraco cut himself off and looked back at the Dragon's Nest, quiet beneath the night sky. The hunger and malice in his eyes were past concealing now. He gave the final order.

"Everything is in place. Yamaguchi Mura Chicken — your turn." As the young master of the Yamaguchi Clan, being reduced to bait was humiliating in a way that went straight to the bone. But then he'd learned that his uncle had some kind of arrangement with David Jones. And in that moment, he'd felt something collapse quietly inside him. The Yamaguchi Clan didn't count for much at all, did it. Beautiful Country's oceans were bluer. Beautiful Country's air tasted sweeter.

They, the cherry blossom people, had bent their spines so gradually they hadn't even noticed it happening. Right now, Yamaguchi Mura Chicken was dangling from David Jones's grip. He was wearing a conspicuous red women's gown. On his head: a loud pink, lightly wavy wig. His face: heavy American-style makeup, the kind that announces itself from across a room. Doused in enough cologne that the scent arrived before he did.

"Lord David Jones, I'll be the bait, that's fine. But why do I have to be dressed like this?" Shame was written across every inch of Yamaguchi Mura Chicken's face. It felt like his dignity had been dropped on the floor and the Beautiful Country players were taking turns stepping on it. David Jones was considerably more patient with Yamaguchi Mura Chicken than Medraco was. That possibly had something to do with his personal inclinations. He explained it carefully.

"We've compiled data on monster behavior."

"Goblins, for instance, have a documented interest in all humanoid females. The same is true of kobolds, gnolls, even trolls."

"When no females of their own kind are available, they'll attempt to find out whether females of other humanoid species, or humans, are compatible."

"So. That is why you are dressed the way you are."

"Kekeke... Believe in yourself, Miss Yamaguchi Mura Chicken. Right now, you are genuinely charming." So that was it. Yamaguchi Mura Chicken absorbed this and found, against his will, that he had to respect it. While cherry blossom players were still getting pummeled by monsters, the Beautiful Country players had been out there cataloguing monster mating behaviors. Maybe that was the answer. Maybe that was always the answer.

"If dressing this way makes the plan run smoother," Yamaguchi Mura Chicken said, "then the price is worth paying." He nodded. The spirit of Bushido meant being willing to sacrifice anything.

"Good. Sweetie number two — I look forward to your performance. Keke..." David Jones let out a sharp, ugly laugh. He hoisted Yamaguchi Mura Chicken up with one hand, slung him over his shoulder, then twisted his massive torso halfway around and drove from the waist, the same motion you'd use to throw a shot put, and launched Yamaguchi Mura Chicken into the night sky. A brilliant red parabola arced through the darkness and came down precisely in front of the Dragon's Nest.

The moment Yamaguchi Mura Chicken cleared the buff's range, he was visible. Every patrolling monster outside the Dragon's Nest found him at once. The Dragon's Nest erupted. Barks, howls, and shrieks layered over each other in waves, loud enough to rattle the whole of Silvermoon Forest.

"Brother~ Something's happening outside." Anna had nearly finished learning the dragon word [Disarm]. She was draped across the Black Dragon's belly, her face still flushed with a warm rosy color, her soft pink lips slightly parted as she breathed. The moment she caught the noise, her small furry ears shot upright. Her voice came out a little strange, fuzzy and indistinct. That was because she and Su Nian had been kissing for quite a long time, and her lips had gone half-numb.

"Heard it." Su Nian let go of Anna's soft, sensitive fox tail. He shook the dust from his wings and gently settled Anna onto his back.

"LassYahNir!" [Whisper of Breath] The low, resonant dragon word rolled out through the Dragon's Nest and beyond. He was still weakened. The dragon words weren't hitting their full strength, and his vision only extended a hundred meters outside the nest. Even so, he found what he was looking for. One enemy. Just one, standing in the middle of all that chaos. ➤ Next: The Frail Elf