Chương 196: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 196 - Approaching Players

The sunlight was harsh. Freya raised a hand to shield her eyes, checking the sun's position to get her bearings. They were getting closer to Silvermoon Forest.

"I wonder what became of the Sword Hero, Darabengba?"

"He left so much earlier to hunt the dragon — he's probably already dead inside the Dragon's Nest." A cold smile curled at the corner of Freya's lips as she murmured to herself. She'd made a point of asking about Darabengba's whereabouts at every village along the way. Not one of them had seen him. The man wouldn't listen, refused to join her team, and had probably charged the Dragon's Nest alone with a broken sword. Served him right. All courage, no brains. Just a reckless fool. She was different. She had wisdom.

And she'd assembled an entire army of cannon fodder to prove it.

"Lady Freya, your pet's something else. The boys have really enjoyed him." A rough, low voice came from behind. She recognized it. One of Medraco's men, a bald giant of a man, built like a wall. His weapon was a special alchemical device, a cylindrical long tube that could produce a deafening roar. They called it an RPG. He was grinning as he walked up to her, Kayal dangling from his grip like a plucked chicken. He stepped in front of Freya and dropped him.

Kayal hit the ground with a thud, tossed aside like a dead dog. Kayal's eyes were vacant. His face had gone pale. His whole body trembled faintly, like a man who'd been through something he couldn't name.

"His healing ability is impressive," the bald man said.

"Doesn't matter what you do to him — he patches himself right up. The brothers were very satisfied." He paused.

"We've kept him a while, though. Time to return him." His tone was respectful enough. It hadn't always been. That changed last night, when one of the more attractive players, apparently not thinking with his head, had tried slipping into Freya's tent to do something unforgivable. The enraged Hero of Magic had reduced him to ribbons with a burst of instant-cast wind blades before he'd gotten two steps inside. After that, the handsome players understood.

That small, seemingly delicate body held something terrifying inside it.

"No need to worry about it," Freya said, her expression flat.

"He's just a tool. Use him however you like." She kept her face cool and said nothing more. She had no warmth left for any of these people. If it weren't for needing them to storm the Black Dragon's lair, that bastard from last night would have been the last straw. She would have burned every bridge and let them rot. Not yet. They still had their uses. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The bald man left.

The reason the group had stopped here at all was a new ore vein they'd stumbled across. The ore could fuel a higher-yield explosive compound, and within the same day, with that uncanny creative instinct of theirs, they'd managed to assemble an old-fashioned cannon. Its shape and destructive yield were roughly on par with the RPG. But they had ground to cover, so they marked the location on their maps and moved on.

"Trash." Freya glanced down at Kayal with open disgust.

"Get away from me. Looking at your filthy face makes me sick. Stepping on you would dirty my boot." Her words were cold and precise, each one a blade.

"You... why did you..." Kayal shook. He lifted his head slowly. His eyes held humiliation. And beneath it, something hotter, a killing intent that hadn't gone anywhere. His wounds had healed, yes. But the nerve pain still ghosted through his body, and the psychological aftermath of what the men had put him through hadn't faded. He couldn't even push himself to his feet.

"Oh?" Freya's voice went sharp.

"The drug's wearing off, is it?"

"Looking at me like that — how dare you." Her boot connected with his face. Hard. When it was over, Kayal lay on the ground barely breathing, curled in on himself like a boiled shrimp, making sounds no person should have to make. Freya crouched down. She pulled on a glove, gripped his chin, and tilted his face up. With her other hand, she drew a vial of purple-red liquid from her spatial ring.

"Learn your place."

"I am the master. You are the dog." She sneered, and poured the potion down his throat. Within moments, every trace of hatred and venom drained from Kayal's eyes. His gaze turned soft and pleading, fixed on Freya with familiar, fawning adoration.

"Bark twice." Freya stood. The toe of her boot, still smeared with blood, hooked lightly under his chin.

"Woof woof woof. Woof woof!"

"Good boy~""Move out!" Medraco's voice carried from the front of the column. Salister, the Lightning Archmage, sat on her camel with her eyes closed, deep in meditation. No one had been watching. And even if they had seen, no one would have cared. They'd all witnessed this routine enough times by now that it barely registered.

"Follow the group," Freya said, sparing Kayal one last look. Her eyes were full of contempt.

"But you crawl." She turned and walked away without a backward glance. Wind elements caught her body and set her smoothly onto her camel.

"..." Kayal fell in at the rear of the column. The fawning look in his eyes faded slowly, like fog burning off. He'd been ingesting the mind-altering potion for long enough that his body had started fighting back. He was a healer. His constitution had never been ordinary. But he didn't stand. He kept his head down, buried his eyes, and crawled after the group like the dog they wanted him to be. Endure. Now was not the time. He kept telling himself that. Sharp stones opened cuts across his palms. The pain was real.

But he moved through it as though he felt nothing, didn't even reach for a healing spell. The pain didn't matter. It was nothing compared to what they'd done to him. Just you all wait. The hoarse murmur dissolved into the wind. The healer crawling along the ground clenched his fists for one brief moment, then pressed his head lower and kept moving.

The underground city. Su Nian had Anna settled in his arms, lounging against the throne with nothing in particular to do. He had a home, he had security, and he had absolutely no mortgage payments, and true to his nature as a dragon, he had turned entirely, contentedly lazy.

"Brother~ Why did that little lamb end up vomiting at the end? And so much of it too. It almost drowned Anna..." The little one in his arms wore an expression of innocent confusion, but those big, bright eyes were brimming with barely contained teasing. Su Nian read it in an instant. She was doing it again. Taking shots at him over that.

"I'm honestly not sure," he said.

"But I have a question of my own."

"Anna, why would a little river clam have a pearl inside it? And why, even after leaving the water, does it seem to know Water Ball?" The counter-question landed. Anna went rigid. She burrowed into his arms like a startled kitten, her face buried firmly against his chest, suddenly very quiet. Heh. Su Nian's ferocious dragon mouth split into a deeply satisfied grin. She wanted to out-drive him. She still had a long way to go. [Alert! A large number of players have been detected approaching the underground city area.] [You now have two options.] [Option One: Take no action. Players may fail to locate the entrance to the underground city, or may abandon their assault entirely.] [Option Two: Guide. Lead the players into the underground city. Your underground city may be placed in danger.] ➤ Next: Guiding the Players