Chương 9: Reborn as the Dragon: — Chapter 9 - Rainy Night Slaughter

A four-meter Black Dragon charging at full speed was terrifying enough for ordinary mercenaries. The problem was, it could also fly. The moment they braced for the charge, Su Nian shot straight up into the sky, clearing their blades in an instant and landing in the branches of a nearby tree.

"ROAR!" He'd been reluctant to waste his stored acid on a single mage. But facing an entire group, he couldn't afford to hold back anymore. His throat swelled with a low GURGLE, a rumble building from deep within. He gathered himself for just a moment, then his jaws snapped open. A soft hiss, and a loose fan of acidic breath sprayed outward from above, raining down directly onto the mercenaries' upturned faces.

"Aah! My face — I can't see!"

"Damn it, cover your eyes!"

"Kill it! Kill the Black Dragon!" The breath lasted less than a second before it was spent. But it was a rainy night. The acid mixed with the falling water and ran across the mercenaries' skin, eating through cloth and flesh alike. The pain hit like fire. Combat strength collapsed almost instantly. Only a handful farther back escaped the spray. The great knight was coming. This was the moment. Su Nian narrowed his eyes and dove, running Insight Technique across one face after another.

[Matna, Level 16, Mercenary — Vision Intact] You first. Kill the ones who can still see. His claws punched through leather armor, sank into the lining, and opened throats. He rampaged through the crowd, dipping and rising to dodge the occasional counterattack. Not one of them could land a hit. These Viper Mercenary Group fighters had heard of Black Dragons. In their minds, Black Dragons were the dull ones. Brutes. Not known for cleverness. Nothing like whatever this was. This dragon dove to scatter the crowd.

It dodged blades with actual agility. It picked off the weakest first. It grabbed a mercenary with its tail and used the man as a shield against arrows. If not for the unmistakable acidic breath and the jet-black scales, they'd have sworn they were fighting an old scheming green dragon. They never got the chance to share that observation with anyone. Most of them couldn't see. The few who could were hunted down one by one. Less than half a minute. The ground was littered with bodies.

The ones still breathing lay where they'd fallen, barely managing that much. The smell of death spread through the trees, and the forest went quiet again, nothing but the soft, steady sound of rain. [Ping! 13 mercenaries killed. +130 System Points] The notification was still fading when a sword cut through the air behind him, aimed straight at his wing. Su Nian twisted right. The blade missed. The two of them circled the pile of bodies, facing each other, neither moving. Su Nian wasn't worried.

He couldn't lose this fight and he knew it. The knight was strong, sure, but he'd burned through stamina during the chase, and now rage was doing the rest of the thinking for him. Anger like that only makes you die faster. As expected, the knight couldn't hold back. Even knowing he was outmatched, he charged. Maybe he'd already stopped caring whether he lived. The longsword, humming with battle qi, never reached Su Nian. The strike was furious and full of holes. A light flick of the tail.

The knight hit the ground hard. Su Nian drove his claw into the man's back, pinning him, and considered attempting the dragon breath skull-crusher, a classic move, very impressive in theory. He tried to gather the breath for it. Nothing came out. Completely dry. The knight thrashed beneath him, teeth grinding, looking like he wanted to rip the dragon apart piece by piece. Su Nian didn't hesitate. He outleveled this man by enough to matter.

His claw slipped through the battle qi defense like it wasn't there, drew once across the throat, and stepped back. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The great knight bled out in the rain, furious to the end. [Ping! Human Great Knight killed. +15 System Points] Su Nian had no interest in eating people. Votrus hadn't either. The craving for meat was real — dragon physiology didn't lie — but people weren't food unless you were genuinely starving.

They just didn't taste good. The bodies couldn't stay here. He worked fast, stripping every bag and pack from the bodies and looping them around his neck, then dragged the corpses one by one to a spot downwind, well away from the nest. The blood would follow the rainwater, blown away from the lair. When the rain stopped, other creatures would smell it and come to feed. By then, Su Nian figured he'd be ready to hunt too. He only really liked the legs.

He hauled the knight's longsword, the mage's staff, and the rest of the equipment into the cave, pulled the bags off his neck, and started counting. Seven gold lions. Fifty-three silver lions. A fistful of copper lions he couldn't be bothered to tally. Standard currency of the human nations, minted under the Conquering King Xiwei, called the Gold Lion Emperor, and in use across the human kingdoms of this continent for fifteen centuries. Gold and silver were hard currency, accepted in other races' territories too.

He looked at the coins scattered on the cave floor, rainwater clinging to them and making the gold shine. Without quite deciding to, he picked one up, licked it, and pressed it into the scales on his chest. Then he smacked himself in the head. This damned dragon instinct about gold coins. The mage's bag had some real finds. Beyond a handbook of all-school basic magic, there were two potions.

[Revival Potion: Healing Effect (Resistance Applies)] [Radiance Potion: Accelerated Meditation (Resistance Applies)] Not bad at all. Su Nian remembered that Anna's light and water magic talent was completely maxed. Once she recovered, she might be able to start learning spells. Thinking of Anna, he'd forgotten to give her the medicine. He rinsed his mouth and trotted over with the herbs and healing potion clutched in his jaws. One look at her and his pace quickened.

In the hours he'd been gone, her face had gone pale and sunken. Her lips had started turning dark. [Remaining Lifespan: 17 hours] He needed to treat her now. He felt the clock pressing down on him. Start with the healing potion. Gaming experience said this kind of item was for HP recovery, treating symptoms, not the cause. It should be enough to pull her back from the edge for the moment. He reached out a claw, then stopped. His reinforced claws were sharper than before.

Even the back of one could cut her face if he wasn't careful. He needed to be able to retract them, like a cat. The idea clicked. He pulled up the free modification interface, selected the right foreclaw, and dialed in the structure, retractable, like the cat paws he remembered from his past life. The claws could extend on command. He finished the design, and the system generated a quote. [Free Modification, Right Foreclaw, Custom Modification Direction] [Dragon Deviation: 10%, Cost: 50 System Points] Fifty points.

Fine. He could manage that.

"System, what's Dragon Deviation?" [Ping! Dragon Deviation measures the degree to which the host's self-modifications depart from standard dragon physiology. The higher the deviation, the more System Points required.]"So there are limits." He'd figured as much. Without limits, given enough points, he could theoretically rebuild himself into a Decepticon. Why bother being a dragon at all? A Cybertronian Transformer sounded a lot cooler.

[Dragon Age and Power Classification] Hatchling (0–5 years) [Tier 1, Levels 0–10]: Learning to fight, fly, and think. Typically protected by a mother dragon. Wyrmling (6–15 years) [Tier 2]: Eating, sleeping, growing. Active and curious about everything. Young Dragon (16–25 years) [Tier 3]: Rapid physical growth, sharp mind, learns dragon breath. Adolescent Dragon (26–50 years) [Tier 4]: Magical ability awakens and grows quickly.

Young Adult Dragon (51–100 years) [Tier 5]: Expelled from the nest by the mother dragon, ventures out alone. Reproductive capacity develops, intelligence increases, territorial instincts emerge, begins hoarding treasure, fond of sleeping. Adult Dragon (101–200 years) [Tier 6]: Powerful and strong. Continues expanding hoard and territory, masters new abilities such as shapeshifting into humanoid form. Prime Dragon (201–400 years) [Tier 7]: The most dangerous period of a dragon's life.

Not yet at peak strength, but seasoned from constant conflict, typically has earned a personal title. Excessive wealth-hoarding draws dragon-slayers. Elder Dragon (401–600 years) [Tier 8]: Body stops developing, but magical power keeps growing. Ancient Dragon (601–800 years) [Tier 9, Champion]: Centuries of survival have built resistance to many types of damage. Masters advanced skills and deep magic. Late reproductive years. Wyrm (801–1000 years) [Tier 10, Legend, Levels 91–100]: No longer reproduces.

Tends to mentor younger dragons. Great Wyrm (1001–1200 years) [Demigod, Initial Stage, Levels 101–110]: An elder among their own kind, respected even by rival dragons. A living story. A living epic. Primal Dragon (1200+ years) [Demigod, Peak, Levels 111–120]: A living legend. The ceiling below the gods. The absolute pinnacle of power within the continental crystal wall system, unless one forges a divine spark and ignites godhood. The above covers dragon combat power in this story.

None of it really applies to the protagonist, since the protagonist has a cheat.

Setting Two: [Dragon Personalities] (Not absolute) Gold Dragon, World police. Wise and just. Master collector. Silver Dragon, Fond of indulgence. Dragon of virtue. Prefers traveling in human form. Copper Dragon, Loves bad puns. Warm and generous host. Brass Dragon, Never shuts up. Surprisingly good at socializing. Bronze Dragon, Righteous partner. Keeps every promise. Red Dragon, Won't be told no. Arrogant tyrant. Blue Dragon, Cold and distant. Arrogant and lethal. Green Dragon, Old scheming bastard.

Cunning, treacherous, rebellious. Black Dragon, Hot-tempered and vicious. Will stab allies in the back without blinking. White Dragon, Feral chaos gremlin. Holds grudges forever.

[Dragon Classification] Chromatic Dragons (Evil): Red, Black, Green, Blue, White Metallic Dragons (Good): Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze, Brass Gem Dragons (Neutral): Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire Legendary Dragon Species: Time Dragon, Rainbow Dragon, Force Dragon Special Dragon Species: Plutonium Dragon, Vortex Dragon, Flame Dragon, and others. ➤ Next: Mr. Dragon, You Eat Some Too