Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1011

As their conversation progressed, Black Dragon realized, ‘The dragons generally like peace.’

Moreover, it seemed that dragons loved and accepted other races. After all, why did the four legendary dragons follow Black Dragon, a human? It was only possible because the dragons had recognized that they were supposed to care for and protect all races. As powerful beings, it was their job to protect the weak. Their noble and lofty ideals caused the blazing flames in Black Dragon’s heart to burn even brighter.

Then, the Dragon Emperor asked, “My blood brother, what is your reason for coming here? Did you want to meet me?”

Black Dragon\'s expression filled with joy and hope appeared as he said, “I came here for your necklace. I heard that it could turn me into a real dragon. I’ll be honest with you, my friend. I want to be a dragon.”

The Dragon Emperor slowly raised his tail.

Black Dragon continued, “I feel thrilled at the thought of becoming a dragon and taking to the skies with the other dragons.”

The Dragon Emperor smiled and nodded as he continued listening to his blood(?) brother speak with sparkling eyes.

The Dragon Emperor had lived a very long life—thousands of years—but he knew that he was about to die.

Knowing that he could only live for another fifty years at most, there was something he had been thinking about.

‘The dragons do not need to live in hiding like this forever.’

Many of the dragons enjoyed freedom. They loved to soar through the skies and learn much as they traveled. And Black Dragon? Even though he was a human, he was far stronger and had a purer will than a dragon.

As the Dragon Emperor interacted with Black Dragon, he could tell one thing.

‘Black Dragon will love every single one of the dragons.’

This was more than enough for the Dragon Emperor. Nevertheless, he just could not hand his necklace over so easily and suddenly.

The Dragon Emperor stated, “This necklace is the token of Dragon Land’s emperor.”

“Cough. Is that so?” Black Dragon asked with a sigh.

This meant that whoever owned the necklace would rule over this land.

A complicated expression flashed in the eyes of the Dragon Emperor. Then, he said, “But I believe I can leave this to you. A man like you, who not only has bravery but also has both devotion and majesty, is qualified enough to become a dragon that will rule over Dragon Land.”

Black Dragon’s eyes glistened when he heard the Dragon Emperor’s unexpected words. “Fufufufu. Thank you for your recognition.”

However, the Dragon Emperor did not intend to give up his throne easily just because he liked Black Dragon. Besides, he knew the dragons would resist and rebel if he did that.

The Dragon Emperor said, “It’s a bit far from here. But if you go north, you will reach the Great King Sky Bull’s kingdom. We have been at odds with them for a very long time. But unlike us dragons who love peace, they like to plunder and demolish things. If you can hunt three hundred of them, you will receive the qualifications to become the owner of this necklace.”

Black Dragon checked the details in the notification window in front of him.

Since the Great King Sky Bulls were at odds with the dragons, it meant that their level should be around Level 600, too. Nonetheless, he was Black Dragon and had the four legendary dragons with him. He was confident that he could hunt them. The quest that the Dragon Emperor gave Black Dragon was an easy trial.

Black Dragon immediately prepared to depart. Of course, he did not forget to express his gratitude first.

“My dear friend with a blazing right arm,” the Dragon Emperor said softly.

When Black Dragon turned to look back, he saw a kind and gentle smile on the face of the Dragon Emperor.

“We, dragons, always wanted to embrace everyone. However, this naive thought had, more often than not, put us at a disadvantage. I hope that you will be the one who will protect my stupid brothers.”

Black Dragon nodded with an expression of firm determination on his face. He replied, “Absolutely. Even if I have to risk my life, I will protect them.”

Black Dragon left Dragon Land and headed straight toward the Great King Sky Bull’s land. Then, just two days after Black Dragon left for the Great King Sky Bull’s Kingdom, the Qingdao Kingdom’s army appeared near Dragon Land.

***

Sima Qian, the tactician of the Qingdao Kingdom, knew a lot about dragons. He also possessed an extraordinary power called the Voice of the Dying, which was a kind of brainwashing skill.

After catching one of the dragons out on patrol, he used the Voice of the Dying on the dragon and extracted more information about the dragons before he died.

“The rumors are true. The dragon race is a pure and naive race that wishes to protect all races. Well, it’s also true that they are superior to any race out there.”

That was why it was pretty funny.

“They could have just used that power to take and wreak havoc. Tsk.”

Sima Qian could not understand why the dragons naively wanted to embrace other races.

There was something else the Qingdao Kingdom found out after Sima Qian used the Voice of the Dying.

“When dragons smell the scent of the burning Dragon Flower, they will lose all of the strength in their bodies.”

They confirmed this fact over and over again using the Voice of the Dying. The dragons would indeed become powerless once they smelled the scent of those burning red flowers.

After learning this fact, the Qingdao Kingdom’s army immediately went to the Dragon Falls, where the Dragon Flowers were said to be growing, and harvested hundreds of them in one go.

As the Qingdao Kingdom’s army approached the Dragon Guards, Xu Jiaqi said, “Assassins! Immediately use stealth and plant the Dragon Flower throughout the city. Burn them once we enter the Dragon Emperor’s castle. We will capture the Dragon Emperor. Let’s suck them dry.”

A deep and vicious smile was hanging on Xu Jiaqi’s face as she approached the guards. “I am Xu Jiaqi—the king of the Qingdao Kingdom, one of the human kingdoms. I came to show our gratitude to the Dragon Emperor, who has always lent us a helping hand.”

It was literally as Sima Qian had said. The dragons were very friendly to the humans.

One of the Dragon Guards replied, “I will guide you to the Dragon Emperor.”

Of course, the only reason why the dragons did this was because they believed in their strength. This was more so the case for the Dragon Emperor. He was as strong as five dragons combined. Why should he fear humans?

“Fufu. There’s quite a lot of humans visiting us lately, huh?”

“Fufufu. It must be our burning blood that is bringing them to us. Fufufufu. They obviously heard of our virtues even though they are from distant lands. Keuhuhuhuhuhu!”

‘What’s wrong with these dragons? Why are they talking that way?’

This was the thought that flashed in the minds of Xu Jiaqi and the elites of the Qingdao Kingdom. They kept hearing things like ‘Fufufu, so they’re humans?’ and more ‘Fufufufu!’ for no reason at all as they walked toward the Dragon Emperor’s castle.

“...”

Were the dragons suffering from chuunibyou? That was hard for the elites of the Qingdao Kingdom to accept.

As for Sima Qian and Xu Jiaqi, they were wondering about something else.

‘There have been quite a lot of humans visiting them lately?’

‘Did someone else visit before us?’

Regardless, it did not matter much to them. From what they had inferred, only one or two people had visited before. They, on the other hand, had brought all of the Qingdao Kingdom’s elites.

The moment they entered the Dragon Emperor’s castle, black smoke produced from burning the Dragon Flowers spread and covered all of Dragon Land.

***

When Xu Jiaqi and her elite troops entered the room to chat with the Dragon Emperor, they launched a surprise attack.

Xu Jiaqi was a Master Reflector. She was able to reflect and replicate the abilities and skills that her opponents used against her.

At the start of the battle, she replicated a skill a previous opponent had used. It was called the God of Debuff. She used this skill to reduce all of the energy and abilities of the Dragon Emperor by 25%.

Xu Jiaqi and her troops fought a fierce battle against the Dragon Emperor.

They were shocked. The Dragon Emperor was much stronger than what they had expected.

Nevertheless, with dozens of high-rankers and elite knights above Level 600 working together, they managed to restrain the Dragon Emperor.

Xu Jiaqi dragged the bound Dragon Emperor out of the castle. The black smoke had spread throughout all of Dragon Land, and the dragons all lay weakly and helplessly on the ground.

“The God of Wrath will lay judgment upon you! My resentment toward you will burst out and lay waste upon you!” the bloody Dragon Emperor shouted furiously.

Xu Jiaqi just shrugged.

The Qingdao Kingdom was located in the Chinese Server and thus had the largest population. Their millions of troops had already arrived in Dragon Land.

“From now on, I will use this land as my second home base. This is a mine—a mine filled with countless dragons! Hoho!”

What was a mine? It was where coal and rare jewels were usually found—a place where a person could get precious items just by swinging their pickaxe. Yet, Xu Jiaqi had used the same word for Dragon Land. To her, Athenae was merely a game. Nothing more, nothing less.

Millions of troops began to bind the weak and helpless dragons.

Xu Jiaqi immediately grabbed the Dragon Emperor’s head. Then, she said, “Look. Your dragons will be precious resources for us in the future.”

“Kghhhk!”

The Dragon Emperor could not bear to look as the soldiers gathered the bound dragons. The humans\' eyes were filled with disgust as they handled his precious dragons. It was as if they were looking at bugs.

Then, these humans crossed the line. They whipped the weak dragons.

“Kihyeeeeeeeck!”

“Graaaaaaaa!”

“Kihyaaaaaack!”

The dragons’ shrieks and wails resonated all over Dragon Land. As their cries echoed, tears began to flow from the Dragon Emperor’s eyes. His tears slowly became jewels, glowing with a pearly sheen as they fell onto the ground.

[You have acquired a drop of the Dragon Emperor’s Tears.]

The sight of the tears colored Xu Jiaqi’s eyes with greed. She quickly collected the Dragon Emperor’s Tears.

Of course, her soldiers were doing the same thing. They whipped the dragons to collect the dragons’ tears too.

“I wonder how much everything is worth?” Xu Jiaqi wondered.

It seemed like she was considering exploiting the dragons for a long time.

“Let me congratulate you for securing an infinite source of financial income that not even the Beyond the Heavens Empire has secured,” Sima Qian said to Xu Jiaqi, the two cackling at their bright future.

‘The establishment of our empire is just right around the corner.’

“Enough! Enough! Please, enough!” the Dragon Emperor cried out loudly.

He sounded as if he could no longer bear the hideous things that these people were doing to him and his brethren.

But Xu Jiaqi just mockingly laughed at his cries. She even said, “Right, right. Cry just like that. Cry some more so I can make more money.”

“ENOUUUUUUUGH!!!”

The Dragon Emperor could not understand. They only wanted to treasure and care for all races. Sometimes, the dragons would even answer their calls for help and protect them. So, why? Why were these humans looking at them with such greed in their eyes? How could they do something this horrible with such ease?

The Dragon Emperor felt sadness, pain, and anger. However, the most heartbreaking thing for him was hearing the cries of his brethren—dragons who only longed for peace.

The humans continued to whip the dragons for their tears. When the Dragon Emperor opened his eyes and witnessed the atrocities of these greedy humans, he made a vow.

If these ropes get untied, I will bestow upon them a curse that will never be broken.

The Dragon Emperor possessed a frightening authority. Nevertheless, he was a very gentle being, so he had never even thought of using it before. He looked at the wailing dragons with pain and sadness.

“Kihyeeeeeeeeeeck!”

“Graaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Kihyaaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Raaaaaaaaaar!”

[The roars of the Four Legendary Dragons shake the world!]

[The Four Legendary Dragons are furious.]

At that moment, four dragons soared into the sky. These four dragons released breaths carrying different attributes and blew away thousands of the Qingdao Kingdom troops.

Then, a man appeared. He walked silently toward the soldiers with his body covered with dragon armor and a black spear held tightly in his hand.

The man gritted his teeth as he faced millions of troops by himself. He didn\'t bother with his usual playful cries of ‘I’m going berserk!’

Black Dragon, the man with the spear, glared coldly at his enemies and said, “I won’t let a single one of you live. You f*cking bastards.”