novelraw Chapter 9 – Rainy Night Battle
Chapter 9 – Rainy Night Battle
The over four-meter-long Black Dragon charged forward, already terrifying for these ordinary mercenaries, and the key was, it could fly!
Just as the mercenaries were bracing themselves, the Black Dragon before them suddenly soared into the sky, evading their weapons and landing on a nearby tree.
"Roar!"
Su Nian let out a roar. The little bit of acid he had saved up was too precious to use on a single female mage, but now facing this group of mercenaries, he couldn't afford to hide it any longer.
"Gurgle..."
His throat swelled rapidly, emitting a low sound. After a brief charge, Su Nian's tightly closed dragon mouth suddenly opened.
With a soft "hiss," a not-so-dense fan-shaped Acid Breath spread out from above, spraying onto the mercenaries' faces.
"Ah! My face, I can't see!"
"Damn it! Cover your eyes!"
"Kill it, kill the Black Dragon!"
***
Su Nian's breath lasted less than a second before it was gone, but it was a rainy night, and the acid mixed with the rainwater quickly flowed over the mercenaries' bodies, rapidly eroding their combat strength. Only a few lucky ones who were farther away escaped the Dragonbreath's reach.
In the distance, a Grand Knight was rushing over; now was the perfect time to hunt.
Su Nian's dragon eyes narrowed slightly as he dived down, casting Insight Spell over the mercenaries one by one.
[Martina - Level 16 - Mercenary - Vision Intact]
It's you, the one whose eyes weren't blinded.
Sharp steel claws tore through the mercenaries' leather armor, embedding into the lining, swiftly slicing their throats.
Su Nian rampaged through the crowd, occasionally taking flight to dodge the mercenaries' counterattacks. Not a single human mercenary could withstand even one round against him.
These mercenaries from the Viper Mercenary Group had heard of Black Dragons before.
But in their impression, Black Dragons were always somewhat stupid, not as cunning as the one they encountered now.
It not only knew how to use dives and charges to scatter the crowd but also skillfully evaded swords, knowing to take them down one by one, first killing the weak, even using its tail to wrap around a mercenary as a shield.
If it weren't for the pure Acid Breath and pitch-black scales, they might have thought they were facing a cunning Green Dragon.
However, these mercenaries had no way to spread their shock and fear. Most of their eyes were corroded by the Acid Dragonbreath.
The few who could still see were killed one by one by the Black Dragon.
In less than half a minute, they were almost entirely slaughtered by the Black Dragon. The few who were still breathing were merely lying on the ground, barely clinging to life, the air filled with the scent of death, and the forest fell silent again, with only the pattering sound of rain.
[Ding! Killed 13 mercenaries, gained 130 System Points]
The system notification appeared, and the Grand Knight behind him charged with a sword, aiming at Su Nian's wings.
Su Nian twisted to the right, dodging the longsword. The man and dragon circled around the mercenaries' corpses, each adopting an attack stance, eyes wary.
Su Nian was confident, knowing he couldn't possibly lose. Although the Grand Knight was not weak, he had already exhausted much of his strength while being pursued and was now furious, losing his rationality, which would only lead to a quicker death.
Sure enough, the Grand Knight couldn't hold back. Even when facing a Juvenile Dragon stronger than himself, he still launched an attack driven by anger.
Perhaps he no longer wanted to live.
The Battle Aura-infused longsword couldn't touch Su Nian, and the Grand Knight's furious strike was full of flaws.
Su Nian's dragon tail lightly tripped the Grand Knight, pinning him to the ground with his dragon claw. He intended to mimic the legendary Dragonbreath Skull-Crushing Kill of various dragon predecessors, but after a moment of brewing, he found he couldn't spray anything.
The Grand Knight beneath him struggled fiercely, gritting his teeth as if he wanted to tear him to pieces.
Su Nian didn't hesitate. His level was already higher.
The dragon claw easily pierced through the Battle Aura's defense, lightly slicing across the Grand Knight's throat. It wasn't long before the Grand Knight bled to death in sorrow and anger.
[Ding! Killed a human Grand Knight, gained 15 System Points]
Su Nian didn't have the habit of eating humans, not even the former Woterus had eaten humans. The craving for flesh was there, but unless driven mad by hunger, he wouldn't choose humans as food because they simply didn't taste good.
These bodies certainly couldn't just be left here.
He gathered all the packs from the humans and hung them around his neck, not having time to check them, he immediately dragged the bodies away, to a downwind spot far from the Dragon Nest.
The blood would flow with the rainwater, carried by the wind, away from the Dragon Nest.
When the rain stopped, other Magical Beasts would naturally come out, drawn by the scent of blood, to devour these bodies.
And by then, Su Nian could go hunting as well, as he only liked eating legs.
Dragging the knight's longsword, the mage's staff, and other equipment into the cave, he took off the packs from his neck and began to inventory the recent spoils.
A total of 7 Golden Lions, 53 Silver Lions, and a handful of Bronze Lions, which he didn't bother to count.
These were the common currency of human nations, created by the human conqueror King Xiwei, the Golden Lion Emperor, and had been used in the human kingdoms on this continent for fifteen centuries.
Gold and silver coins were hard currency, usable for purchasing things even in the territories of other races.
Looking at the rain-spattered, increasingly beautiful gold coins on the ground, Su Nian couldn't help but pick one up, greedily licking it before tucking it into the scales on his chest.
Just after performing this strange act, he regretfully slapped his own head.
This damned dragon's possessiveness over gold coins.
The female mage's pack contained quite a few good things, including a Basic Omnischool Magic Handbook and two potions.
[Revival Potion: Healing Effect (with resistance)]
[Luminous Elixir: Meditation Acceleration (with resistance)]
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Not bad!
Su Nian remembered Anna's light and water magic talents were maxed out, and maybe once she recovered, she could try learning magic.
Thinking of Anna, Su Nian suddenly remembered he hadn't given her any medicine yet.
He rinsed his mouth, hurriedly carrying herbs and a healing potion to Anna's side, finding that in the few hours he was gone, Anna's complexion had grown even more haggard, with signs of her lips turning blue.
[Remaining lifespan: 17 hours]
He needed to treat this Elf Girl quickly.
Su Nian deeply felt the urgency of time.
First, he tried the healing potion.
Based on his gaming experience, this kind of thing was for health recovery, a temporary fix, meant to pull Anna back from the brink of danger.
Thinking this, Su Nian extended a dragon claw, but now his enhanced dragon claw had become even sharper, and even using the back might scratch Anna's pretty face.
If only he could retract his dragon claws like a cat.
A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and Su Nian opened the Free Modification Function, adjusting the position, right forepaw, and set the form to resemble a cat's paw structure from his previous life.
The claws could retract at will, and once Su Nian finished designing, the system also prompted the quote for this modification.
[Free Modification - Right Forepaw - Custom Direction]
[Draconic Dissonance 10%, Cost: 50 System Points]
Fifty points were acceptable, Su Nian nodded, he could afford it.
"System, what does Draconic Dissonance mean?"
[Ding! Draconic Dissonance measures the degree to which the host's self-modification deviates from original dragon characteristics. The higher the dissonance, the more system points required.]
"I see, so there are limitations."
Su Nian realized.
It made sense, if there were no limits, as long as he had enough system points, he could transform himself into a Decepticon.
Why be a dragon then? Wouldn't a Cybertron Transformer be better?
------------
[Dragon Age and Strength Setting]
Hatchling (0-5 years) (Tier 1, Level 0-10): Learning to fight, fly, and think, usually protected by a mother dragon.
Wyrmling (6-15 years) (Tier 2): Eating, sleeping, growing, lively and curious about everything around.
Juvenile Dragon (16-25 years) (Tier 3): Rapid growth, sharp thinking, learns Dragonbreath.
Adolescent Dragon (26-50 years) (Tier 4): Awakens magical abilities, which increase rapidly.
Young Adult Dragon (51-100 years) (Tier 5): Driven out of the nest by the mother dragon, ventures out on its own. Already capable of reproduction, intelligence increases, develops territorial expansion awareness, collects treasures, likes to sleep.
Adult Dragon (101-200 years) (Tier 6): Strong and robust, continues collecting treasures and expanding territory, mastering more skills, such as shapeshifting into human form.
Mature Dragon (201-400 years) (Tier 7): The most dangerous phase of life, not strong enough, but generally has its own title due to frequent battles, attracts attention due to excessive wealth, drawing dragon slayers.
Elder Dragon (401-600 years) (Tier 8): No longer physically develops, but magical abilities grow stronger.
Ancient Dragon (601-800 years) (Tier 9 Champion): Develops significant resistance to certain damages over long years, masters more powerful skills, advanced magic, and enters the end of its reproductive phase.
Elder Wyrm (801-1000 years) (Tier 10 Legendary, Level 91-100): No reproductive ability, enjoys mentoring young dragons.
Primeval Dragon (1001-1200 years) (Lesser Demigod, Level 101-110): Becomes a dragon elder, respected even by enemy dragons, a living story and epic.
Primordial Dragon (1200+ years) (Greater Demigod, Level 111-120): A living legend, the pinnacle of power below the divine, unless it condenses a divine spark and ignites divine fire.
The above summarizes the combat power of dragons in this book, but it does not concern the protagonist, as he has a cheat.
Setting Two:
[Dragon Personality] (Not absolute)
Gold Dragon - World Police - Wise and Just - Collector Master
Silver Dragon - Likes flirtation - Virtuous Dragon - Likes to travel in human form
Copper Dragon - Cold Jokes - Kind Host
Brass Dragon - Talkative - Good at Socializing
Bronze Dragon - Partner of Justice - Keeps Promises
Red Dragon - Defiant - Arrogant Tyrant
Blue Dragon - Aloof - Arrogant and Deadly
Green Dragon - Cunning - Treacherous and Rebellious
Black Dragon - Violent and Despicable - Backstabs Allies
White Dragon - Crazy Husky - Very Vengeful
[Dragon Classification]
Chromatic Dragons (Evil): Red, Black, Green, Blue, White
Metallic Dragons (Good): Gold, Silver, Copper, Brass, Bronze
Gem Dragons (Neutral): Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Topaz, Sapphire
Legendary Dragon Breeds: Time Dragon, Rainbow Dragon, Power Dragon
Special Dragon Breeds: Vortex Dragon, Flame Dragon, etc.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan