Chương 16: Reborn as the Dragon: — Chapter 16 - Kobolds Want to Become Vassals

The moment Bolikri spotted the giant dragon, everything else ceased to exist. He led his pack of Kobolds straight toward the Black Dragon, barking like they'd just found their long-lost father, half-running and half-crawling in their desperate scramble to close the distance. Su Nian had already noticed them when they appeared behind the tree. Kobolds were loyal fans of dragons, that much was common knowledge. It wasn't just the trace of dragon blood running through their veins.

It went deeper than that, back through generations of ancestors who had served and worshipped the powerful dragon race as a matter of sacred tradition. These were undeniably humble, weak creatures. But Su Nian had found something in his inherited draconic memories that other dragons had probably never bothered to notice. Their cowardice, he had come to realize, was actually a form of wisdom. They knew how to read danger and position themselves accordingly. Against weak prey, Kobolds would swarm without hesitation.

Against a powerful predator, they would never charge in a moment of hot-blooded stupidity. Instead, they planned their escape routes with meticulous care. Nothing like mindless goblins. Lawful evil. Scheming. Murderous, cruel, cunning, and contemptible, but utterly devoted to dragons and loyal to strength. Give them a master powerful enough, and they became exceptional servants. On top of that, Kobolds were talented trap-builders and cave architects of surprising skill. Su Nian had no intention of driving them off.

His draconic inheritance was clear on this: finding Kobolds was like finding free minions. You didn't even need to subdue them. They'd come stick to you all on their own. Sure enough, the moment Bolikri saw that the Black Dragon wasn't furious at their intrusion, a wave of relief flooded through him. Summoning what courage he had, trembling all the way, he crept forward until he stood before the Black Dragon. His weapon and cloth sack hit the dirt.

He pressed himself flat against the ground, and every Kobold behind him followed. A garbled stream of sound poured from his mouth, part hissing, part hawing, part something that could generously be called barking.

"Great true dragon, I, the humble Bolikri, speak on behalf of the Broken Fang Tribe. We beg to become your faithful servants, to be driven at your will." Su Nian understood every word. This was Kobold Tongue, a language derived from Draconic, simplified and warped by centuries of imprecise repetition. It sounded bizarre, like a dialect that had been scrambled in a blender.

Translated faithfully into how it landed in Su Nian's ears, Bolikri had basically said:"Big big true dragon, me, Kobold chief, Bolikri here to work! Want be your underling, very good yes! You tell us who to go bash, we make them dead dead!" Su Nian studied the group of Kobolds waiting for their fate.

A detailed status panel assembled itself before his eyes, drawn from the Insight Technique and the System's built-in functions working in combination: [Kobold — Bolikri · Broken Fang] [Level: 7 (Tier 1)] Traits: [Chieftain] Tribe leader. [Sunlight Sensitivity] Under direct sunlight, the Kobold's attacks and perception suffer negative penalties. [Pack Tactics] When at least one non-incapacitated ally is near an enemy, the Kobold fights with full courage.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [Throw] Stones, weapons, dung balls — basically anything within reach. [Digger and Builder] Skilled at constructing traps and designing lairs. [Current Favorability: 80 (Worship)] Kobolds have lizard heads, as previously established.... He scanned through the rest of the panels. They all looked more or less the same.

Bolikri had the highest level, looked the most physically solid, and carried the Chieftain trait the others lacked. The rest of the Kobolds averaged out around level three or four. In a straight fight, they couldn't take down a mountain wolf. But with traps involved? That was a different calculation entirely. He was absolutely taking them. The only question was presentation. He needed to look like he was doing them an enormous favor.

Su Nian let the silence stretch for a moment, then spoke in sharp, standard Draconic:"Kobold Chieftain Bolikri. You and your kind are weak. I would offer you shelter. What, precisely, would your service bring to me in return?" Bolikri practically vibrated with excitement at the response. He shuffled forward on his knees until he was at Su Nian's feet, pressing his forehead to the ground with each bow, speaking with all the reverence he could muster:"Great true dragon, we are weak — this we know.

But we will polish every scale on your body. We will build you a lair worthy of your glory and your comfort. We can find rare mineral veins and bring that wealth to you."

"And as we grow stronger, we can hunt food for you as well. If you would have us." Su Nian listened to the whole speech. He'd expected the flattery. He still couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. What a perfectly ripe mark. Shelter worked exactly like insurance. The moment real danger showed up, Su Nian would be gone without a second thought. These Kobolds would be on their own. That was the deal. That had always been the deal. The Kobolds had to know this.

They weren't stupid, they had to understand exactly what they were signing up for. And they were still lining up to be exploited. Su Nian mentally filed this away under a condition he had just invented on the spot: Exploitee Can't Stand Not Being Exploited for a Day Syndrome. Well. Since they were practically throwing themselves at him, dragging this out any longer would just be cruel to the Kobolds. He cleared his throat and gave a measured nod.

"Kobold Chieftain Bolikri. Your sincerity pleases me greatly." His voice dropped into formal register.

"You will remember my true name: Su Nian Waterhouse Patunak. To become my vassal is the supreme honor of your existence." As he spoke, his voice built. By the time he reached his own name it had become a rolling thunderclap, resonating outward through the trees. He rose up onto his haunches, chest out, and spread his wings wide. Morning light fell across the forest clearing, and the shadow of the Black Dragon swept over every single Kobold, swallowing them whole.

"Ah-ya~" A small, soft yelp came from directly behind him. Su Nian remembered, a beat too late, that he had a little girl sitting on his back. Rising up dramatically and puffing out his chest had looked extremely imposing. It had also tilted his back at an angle that sent Anna sliding right off. He moved fast. His neck snapped around, jaws closing gently on the collar of Anna's clothing, and he lifted her back into place as easily as picking up a dropped handkerchief.

Once she was settled, his head swung around and he pressed his snout softly against her cheek.

"Hehe~ Mr. Dragon, Anna is fine~" Anna wrapped her arms around his head with easy affection. The scales were rough and warm against her face and made her nose scrunch up. She squinted, two little dimples appearing as she broke into a full smile. Then her expression fell. The lotus leaf she'd been holding was on the ground, and so was every piece of rabbit meat that had been piled on it.

"Mr. Dragon..." Her voice went quiet, small with loss.

"The bunny meat. It's all gone." Su Nian glanced at it. He wasn't particularly bothered. He reached over to the other roasted rabbit, picked the bones clean with practiced efficiency, laid the meat out on a fresh lotus leaf, and handed it back to her. As for the meat on the ground, well. There was an entire group of Kobolds right there, and every single one of them had been staring at it with barely-contained desperation since the moment it hit the dirt.

Su Nian raised one dragon claw and pressed a single talon to the scale on Bolikri's forehead. A drop of blood welled between the claw-tips and sank into the scale, absorbed completely. A master-servant contract, binding and absolute. Also a gift, the kind only a dragon could give to a creature with dragon blood in its veins. The blood would work on Bolikri over time, reshaping him, raising his natural ceiling higher than it had any right to be.

"Now then, Bolikri." Su Nian looked down at the Kobold chieftain, who was trembling with barely-contained gratitude, and spoke with unhurried authority.

"As your master, I give you your first command. Take your Kobolds, and clean up that rabbit meat off the ground." ➤ Next: Broken Fang Tribe