Chương 72: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 72 - The Dragon-Subjugation Army Has Arrived

The night was hazy, the world silent. Su Nian was deep asleep, Anna curled up on his belly, when the human army arrived outside Silvermoon Forest. Soldiers in armor, weapons in hand, moving in disciplined formation through the dark. Weimons raised his fist. The army stopped. Night was no time to assault Silvermoon Forest. A night raid might work against humans, but not against a Black Dragon. A Black Dragon had night vision like a cat.

Hidden in the dark, it would be a lethal predator, striking from anywhere, vanishing into nothing, and picking his men apart at leisure. And yes, dragons had a reputation for stupidity. But that was relative. Compared to other dragons, not to humans. The brainless White Dragons aside, every Chromatic Dragon possessed more than enough intelligence to be dangerous. This Black Dragon only needed to be half as clever as it could be to run his entire army in circles through the night. Weimons was a careful man.

He didn't gamble.

"My dear Gougouzi," he said, "we'll camp outside Silvermoon Forest tonight and follow the Tracking Array to find the dragon at first light." Mei Magogoko sat nestled in his arms, sharing his mount. To any outside observer, they looked like a pair of sweethearts. She gave a soft, obedient nod. In truth, she wanted to find the dragon tonight and kill it. But she wasn't a specialist in these matters, she didn't know much about dragons, and she didn't want to push back against Weimons and leave a bad impression.

The man was still useful. Used correctly, he might even die for her. That was the plan. To monopolize the reward entirely, Mei Magogoko had not only convinced Weimons to route the march around Sakura Island No. 1 Starter Village, she hadn't brought a single player from Sakura Island No. 6 Starter Village either. She'd simply told everyone she was running a solo hidden quest. Players had trailed after the army at first. Two days of brutal high-intensity marching took care of that.

They dropped off one by one, physically spent, and wandered off to who-knows-where. This was called a game, but it was really just another world. Players could dial down pain perception and pick up combat magic faster than any native, but beyond that, they weren't much different from ordinary people. They needed food, water, sleep. Their bodies got tired. Everything was just quantified now. Eating came with a satiety bar. Drinking had a hydration bar. Even taking a dump had a progress bar and a residue percentage.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. How did Mei Magogoko time Weimons down to the second? Simple. The moment he started, a countdown appeared above his head. Right there on display. Very game-like. Very hardcore.

"Brother Weimons," Mei Magogoko cooed, leaning into him, "I'll do whatever you say." The words did their work. Weimons dismounted with her in his arms, barked orders at the surrounding soldiers to set up the night watch and begin patrols, then hurried her into the simple tent his men had already erected. A 351-second countdown ticked above his head. He had no idea that a harpy was passing overhead, high in the dark sky, watching the entire army from above....

"Master, it's bad!"

"There's a human army outside Silvermoon Forest!" The harpy had barely grown a proper coat of feathers. She beat her wings with everything she had and still plummeted into the dragon's lair like a plane losing engine power. Flying barely cost her any stamina under normal circumstances, apparently scouting a single loop around Silvermoon Forest was enough to nearly kill her in her current state. She managed not to crash directly onto the Black Dragon.

Twisting at the last second to drop into Grey Wolf's arms instead was the final defiant act of a creature with any self-respect left. Grey Wolf, jolted awake, responded with a sharp smack across her face. What the hell? A human army?! Su Nian's eyes snapped open. A jet of scalding steam shot from his nostrils, three meters straight up. His head swung sideways and cracked against the stone platform with a heavy clang. He fixed the harpy with a killing stare.

"Details." The harpy, still rattled from Grey Wolf's slap, jolted upright.

"Great Master," she reported, pressing herself into a respectful posture, "during my routine patrol just now, I spotted a human army camped outside Silvermoon Forest. Approximately two thousand soldiers — knights and archers both. I also sensed the presence of a Grand Mage." A Grand Mage. So it was the Dragon-Subjugation Army from the King of Anlius. Faster than he'd expected. Su Nian had figured he had over half a month before they showed up. Not a problem. They'd come to deliver system points.

He'd take the night and wipe them out clean. He picked up Anna — groggy, bleary-eyed, barely conscious, from his belly and set her gently on his back. Then he stood to his full height, alert and focused.

"Chicken Too Beautiful. Take your kin and circle the human army again. Check the surrounding area for ambushes. I need precise intelligence."

"Grey Wolf. Notify the other monster leaders. Get everyone's people assembled and ready to fight."

"And bring Bolikri to me separately. I have a job for it." Grey Wolf acknowledged the order and left. Moments later, Bolikri came trotting up, practically bouncing.

"Praise and glory to you, great Master! Bolikri awaits your command!" In the past, hearing they were going to war with humans would have put a grimace on Bolikri's face. But latching onto a powerful backer had a way of changing a kobold's perspective, and the influence of the Black Dragon's blood running through it had finished the job entirely. Now there was only excitement. Only hunger.

"Tell every kobold to grab their trap-setting gear and bring plenty of it," Su Nian said.

"Once we pin down the human army's position, Grey Wolf and the others will draw their attention from the front. Your job is to fill their rear with traps. Every inch of ground behind them."

"Great Master!" Bolikri pressed its head to the ground.

"Your wisdom shines like the sun and moon above — glorious and eternal!" The flattery rang out crisp and enthusiastic.

"I know," Su Nian said. He rested his claws on the stone platform, his tone perfectly calm. Dragon and kobold looked at each other. Both smiled. The expressions made them look more monstrous, not less, and in each other's pale golden eyes, they both saw the same thing clearly: a coldness and a cruelty that went all the way to the bone. ➤ Next: Attack