Chapter 476: The Dragon King

The Heraldic Order camp. The tent, set up for a temporary rest, wasn’t particularly spacious, even for the commander. It was meant to allow the army to move quickly in the event of an emergency, so its size was understandable.

The bronze dragon Shadraput twisted her body once more in the cramped space. A slight sense of discomfort covered her skin ever since she reshaped herself. For an instant, her nerves flickered as if they were burning.

It was difficult to change her dragon form into the shape of a small human.

This feat was close to a miracle from the perspective of magic, but for a dragon it was merely a technique. Shadraput was particularly good at it, but many dragons had the ability to simply transform into humans or other creatures.

However, not many would abandon the dragon form, which was the best way to retain magical power.

Her golden hair turned copper, the color of her natural scales. The same went for her eye color. She became taller than when she was transformed into Altia.

Her hair became short as well. Her eyes were rather sharp, and her nose was tilted high. This appearance belonged to a woman she had seen before, a companion of Altia’s. She was probably called…Coriolatti or something.

Shadraput remembered that she was also a strange creature, inhuman. No, although she was no match for Altia, all of Altia’s companions were strong and strange creatures.

So Shadraput borrowed her form, as if to take advantage of her power.

「…Well. That’s better. Much better than before. 」

Silvery Eyes looked down into the tent and addressed Shadraput. The voice belonged to a giant who called herself Caria. She had a human form, but her personality was very different from that of a human.

Shadraput could tell by her smell whom she was, now that she was this close. She was probably a descendant of the Giant King, Flimslat. She inherited his blood and will.

She did have Lugis’ human scent as well. It didn’t feel like she mixed his blood with hers. They were simply mates.

Shadraput didn’t know why, but Altia’s appearance seemed to unsettle them.

It was strange for a human to be unsettled by the appearance of a human ruler. It wasn’t that unusual, considering that Shadraput was terrified of her own ruler.

Shadraput had originally intended to be protected as a fragile human, but it seemed she couldn’t fool the giant’s eyes.

Well, that wasn’t all, to be precise.

There was another demon in the tent. Its eyes were much harder to fool.

「Whoa…No, no, no, now I’m the one feeling uneasy. Why did you turn into Coriolatti of all people? There are plenty of humans out there. 」

Doha Surah, the Demonic Eye Beast. The only demonic beast that once accompanied Altia.

Its demonic eye was no good. The demonic eye was an organ that saw the flow of evil that affected the real world. It had the ability to see whether you were a demon or a human. If you compared dragons to humans, dragons were overwhelmingly designed to absorb more evil from their surroundings.

Shadraput exhaled slightly and bared her fangs.

「Shut up! I’m not going to change my form anymore. This is tiring! Besides, I think you’ll feel more comfortable in the form of a strong human! 」

Doha Surah bared his teeth in amazement at Shadraput’s words, but he didn’t say anything in particular afterwards. Rather than being defeated, he acted like he had no choice but to accept a child’s tantrum.

Finally, Shadraput calmed her breathing and gazed into the tent. Everyone around her looked human yet they weren’t.

The descendant of the Giant King and the demon-eyed beast. And the girl named Leu who had spoken to her earlier, though dressed strangely, exuded an extraordinary demonic aura.

To be honest, Shadraput was scared. She didn’t want to get too close.

And the worst of all was Lugis himself. He had evil eyes, but that wasn’t the biggest problem. In fact, his soul was no longer human. Would that be acceptable for the king of humans?

That being said, Altia was also close to being demonic. Shadraput thought that the more a human’s powers grew, the less human they became.

Lugis settled into his chair and spoke after seeing the golden person disappear from his sight.

「So, you are Vrilligant’s subordinate, aren’t you? Why do you need the protection of mere humans? 」

Shadraput received his words and moved her red eyes around. Everyone looked at her to see what she would say to Lugis.

Those numerous demons listened to Lugis’ words without even opening their mouths. I see, so Lugis was their king after all. In that case, there was a point in speaking.

Shadraput knew very well that it was foolish to leak information to those who didn’t need it. It could lead to one’s own death.

But there would be no problem here since many people were going to silently obey their human king’s words. Shadraput carefully pushed her lips to open.

「You are mistaken. I am indeed a demonic being, but I am not Vrilligant’s subordinate. He’s a cold-hearted king that scares me. He isn’t tolerant enough to forgive someone who has gone against his will even once. 」

Vrilligant was the absolute king of the dragon race. Shadraput wouldn’t dare oppose him even if he was lying down and his wings and limbs were torn off.

Shadraput wasn’t extremely weak. But that reasoning was the consensus of the dragon race. Vrilligant was truly fierce and frightening.

The process by which dragons selected their king was primitive. It wasn’t based on politics or wealth, but on how strong they were. That was all. The strongest was given the crown.

Therefore, every dragon had the right to become king. The crown was within reach of every one of them. It was more like a herd than a kingdom.

Vrilligant also became king by devouring the previous king. Vrilligant was a young king at first, and his age was a liability. Everyone thought that the next king would appear soon.

There was no end to those who sought the crown upon hearing that a young dragon had become king. Some dragons conquered many mountains, and others devoured giants.

…But none of them were able to even scratch Vrilligant.

It was difficult to answer what made him so strong. Was it the speed he could fly through the sky? Was it the density of his fangs and claws? Was it the intensity of his fiery breath?

Vrilligant always surpassed everyone else.

He reigned as king for hundreds of years. Everyone bowed down to this absolute king. All the dragons were controlled and subordinated, and before long Vrilligant became the ruler of the sky.

And finally, in the Great War that was known as the Divine Decree, Vrilligant conspired with giants to overthrow the Bastion Beast God Zebrililith. As a result, the gods of this world were split into three rulers.

Namely, the Bastion Beast God Zebrililith, the Giant God Flimslat, and the Dragon God Vrilligant.

At that point, there were no more dragons that could defy Vrilligant. The only ones who could defeat him were humans.

Shadraput spoke as if she was conveying sorrow. She didn’t tell them that she was a dragon, but she should’ve been able to convey how ferocious and absolute Vrilligant was.

They would have no choice but to protect her if they heard something like this.

She wanted to be protected by them and hide in the human realm for a while. She could be continuously protected if other strong races appeared.

In response to Shadraput’s words, Caria brushed her silver hair back and said the following.

「What will you do, Lugis? It seems that the enemy is quite powerful. On the other hand, we have lost our allies and are not well prepared. 」

Caria even quirked her lips and showed a smile. She already knew what he would answer. Lugis spoke while putting a piece of chewing tobacco in his mouth.

「It’s always the same, Caria. The enemy always raises their weapons against us for their own selfish purposes…Hey, no matter what you say, Vrilligant is going to die. 」

It took Shadraput a few seconds to realize that those words were directed at her. Shadraput opened her mouth, shaking her eyes back and forth.

「Well, of course, he’ll die physically. But his soul is a different story, though. 」

Shadraput didn’t understand the meaning of Lugis’ previous words, but she replied, nonetheless. Lugis took her words in one sip and spoke.

「Then, I’ll kill him entirely. So what? He was once put in the grave by Altia. Then, all I have to do is make him return to the grave once more. 」

Shadraput looked at Lugis once more, wide-eyed.

Lugis seemed like a weak person, but his words seemed reassuring to Shadraput. He wanted to do something that seemed impossible. Such selfish expectations.

Shadraput understood that there was something about this man that gave her such high expectations. That’s why he was the king of every person in this tent.

Shadraput breathed a sigh of relief and asked where she should wait. Some safe cities in the vicinity would be good.

「No, I plan to use your help. Right now I don’t have enough fighting power. I would like to borrow your demonic hand. 」

「Huh, hmm…What? 」

For a moment, Shadraput thought she heard something strange. What did it mean to lend a hand when she was supposed to be seeking protection? Was he asking her to carry luggage? But that wasn’t appropriate for a dragon.

Caria spoke beside Lugis as if to cut off Shadraput’s crazy thoughts.

「Well then, let’s go. You must have also been forced to swallow bitterness because of Vrilligant. In that case, I will at least help you turn it into the sweet wine of victory. 」

So don’t say we didn’t help you.

Caria whispered in Shadraput’s ear. It was as if the servant was absolutely affirming the words of the king.

Oh no. Shadraput decided to find an opportunity to escape. She made a firm vow in her heart.

A messenger rushed into the tent at the same time as she made the vow to run away. Sweating and out of breath, the messenger’s message was urgent. Everyone was watching, waiting for his words.

In fact, he had brought along some important news.

…Namely, the movements of Mastigius’ army and what was going on in the Bolvat Dynasty.

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