novelraw Chapter 26 – Who is toying with life?
Chapter 26 – Who is toying with life?
The dark green blood splattered everywhere, even splashing onto the face of the struggling Itt Monster pinned under the dragon's claw.
They shuddered violently, not daring to move.
"You have two choices: submit to me!"
"Or become a pile of rotten flesh!"
The deep, hoarse Draconic voice, like the sound of rough paper being rubbed together, came from Su Nian's mouth. This superior language held a certain universality for magical beasts; even if they couldn't understand it, they could vaguely grasp its meaning.
Upon hearing Su Nian's words, the three Itt Monsters instantly understood. They hurriedly nodded with all their might, clawing at the ground so hard that their sharp nails broke.
"Master, these Itt Monsters probably won't submit so easily. After all, they belong to the Neutral Evil Faction and might not follow your orders," Polikri said worriedly, looking at the Itt Monsters lying on the ground like dead dogs, yet still with fierce eyes.
"Then cut off their limbs, lock them in a cage, and have them help us raise the Giant Spiders. Oh, and remove the organ that controls the spiders and place it in their mouths," Su Nian said, lifting a dragon claw to lightly tap Polikri's kobold head. A detailed piece of information about the Itt Monsters' organs was transmitted through the shared bloodline into Polikri's mind.
"Your greatness is as clear as the sun and moon!" Polikri's eyes shone as he prostrated on the ground.
The stronger and more ruthless the Black Dragon, the more they admired and respected it.
At Polikri's command, a group of kobolds tied up the three Itt Monsters tightly with ropes, hanging them like pigs on two tree trunks.
Just as everyone was about to head back, Su Nian suddenly felt a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.
"Buzz—"
A grand will enveloped the entire world.
Rows of golden text began to appear in his mind, but his kobold subordinates showed no reaction, clearly not seeing this information:
[The wager begins]
[Note: All beings in this world will undergo semi-digitalization]
[Creatures in this world will gradually level up by hunting the Chosen Ones]
[Chosen Ones will be deployed in all Starter Villages on the Prime Material Plane]
[World Quest generating, Starter Village generating, countdown to Chosen Ones' arrival: 3 days]
This information flashed by in an instant, and the heart-palpitating feeling vanished like the tide.
Su Nian stood still, gazing at the sky, his pupils contracting.
A quick look at "pawread.com" will leave you more fulfilled.
The players are coming!
...
"Anna, did you see anything?"
In the mine, Su Nian pondered for a moment, then turned his head to look at Anna, who was obediently lying on his back, and asked tentatively.
"Nope~ Mr. Dragon, did something happen?"
Anna tilted her little head, her watery peach blossom eyes curiously gazing at the Black Dragon. She reached out her soft little hand, trying to hug the Black Dragon's head, but her arms were too short, and she couldn't quite manage it.
A golden light flashed over all living beings on the continent, and Su Nian noticed that Anna now had something extra—a very familiar green health bar.
Out of five hundred health points, 450 were gray, entwined with scarlet thorns, and the remaining 50 points weren't full, slightly fluctuating, and another point just dropped.
Although Anna's information had previously been displayed in a systematized manner, it was different now.
The essence had changed.
Before the digitalization began, he hadn't thought much about it, but seeing Anna on his back and the kobolds around him with health bars above their heads, he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart, nor the pain he felt for Anna.
Who is toying with life?!
Has this world been turned into a game?
But it is clearly real.
Why?
In Su Nian's dragon eyes, a faint anger burned, and his hostility toward the players, and the hatred for what lay behind them, reached its peak.
"Anna, you..."
"What's wrong, Mr. Dragon? You seem unhappy."
Anna frowned slightly, climbing out of her seat. Her body was still weak, and even such a small movement caused a thin layer of cold sweat to form on her forehead.
She gently hugged Su Nian's head, her expression full of concern and tenderness, her small face lightly pressed against Su Nian's hard-scaled face, softly comforting him:
"Mr. Dragon, please don't be unhappy, okay? Anna will always be with you."
[Until Anna's death, she will...]
"......"
"It's nothing, thank you, Anna. I feel much better."
"I just suddenly thought of some unpleasant things."
Su Nian forced a smile, though it was mostly fierce and terrifying, but Anna could sense Su Nian's true emotions, so she wasn't afraid.
"Unpleasant things? When Mr. Dragon wants to talk about it, Anna is willing to listen."
Anna smiled softly, her dimples like cups filled with sweet wine, brewing a charming cuteness, exuding an intoxicating aura that made Su Nian feel slightly tipsy.
"My name is Su Nian, just call me Su Nian from now on, Su Nian... Su Nian Woterus Patunak."
"Okay~ Hehe, although Anna looks young, she's actually an adult. But, you should be older than Anna, so... so..."
Anna blushed, her fair face covered with a rosy hue, even her slender neck was tinged with red. Her little ears twitched, and she lowered her head, twisting her fingers as she murmured:
"Can Anna call you Brother Su Nian? Or just... call you Brother... or something."
"Of course, that's fine."
"Then, then... Brother?"
Anna quietly lifted her eyes to glance at Su Nian, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"Mm, I'm here."
"Hehe, Bro... Brother~"
"Brother~ Brother~ Brother~"
Anna's soft, sweet voice echoed joyfully in the spacious cave, happy to have a family member again.
But Polikri and the other kobolds remained silent.
They didn't know why, but they just felt a bit uncomfortable. Even though they hadn't eaten anything before coming to the mine, they now felt a sense of bloating.
"Hiss..."
The Itt Monsters under Su Nian's foot were still struggling slightly, unaware of what was happening, but if they were stepped on any longer, they wouldn't be far from death.
...
The Itt Monsters actually had no interest in the Silver Mine.
They occupied this lair simply because it was large enough and had been made very comfortable by the original kobold tribe.
Moreover, the surrounding environment was very suitable for their living, and the kobolds were easy to bully, that's all.
So the Silver Mine remained intact, and they gained over a thousand System Points, which should have been a great harvest, but Su Nian was not happy, instead filled with tension and gravity.
The Chosen Ones, the so-called players, would arrive in three days.
Perhaps he was the only native in this world who knew about this, or perhaps he was the only one who realized that the world had been semi-digitalized, turned into a game.
He speculated that this might be related to his system.
Summoned from Earth to this world, occupying the body of this Black Dragon, becoming such a special existence, it must have extraordinary significance.
He couldn't be leisurely anymore.
Sitting cross-legged on the high platform deep in the hall, which used to be the place where the kobold chieftain worshiped their god Kurtumak, it had now become Su Nian's temporary throne.
He set his gaze on the kobold chieftain Polikri, speaking in a serious tone:
"Tell me everything you know about the surrounding magical creature forces, and it's best to make a simple map. I want to integrate them."