One month later:
POV Vesuvius:
The majestic dragon was resting within a massive valley burning with rivers of magma flowing through it.
Suddenly the dragon’s head sprang up, his golden eyes opening as he felt something enter his domain.
A bright white light radiated through the thick layers of the black clouds, turning the night into a day.
“Who dares!?” His voice boomed throughout the valley, dispersing the clouds while revealing a single humanoid floating in the sky, flapping her white feathered wings. Her figure looked like she was a woman, but her whole body was fully covered in white, bone-like armor and clothes.
A nametag floated above her head.
‘A human that has drunk angelic blood, and she is a player on top of that.’
“Die!” She clapped her hands, crushing a small bottle between her palms.
The dragon closed his eyes, the blinding light bathing his whole body while reflecting within the crystals and on the glossy surface of his armor.
A sonic bang sent ripples through the clouds, the dragon sensing the player descending towards him, holding something that radiated an immensely powerful mana.
In the blink of an eye, she crashed against his body with immense force, hitting him straight into his chest. The damage harmlessly vanished and dispersed within the thick mass of his armor.
‘Is she serious?’ Vesuvius still has not moved, surprised at the insolence, stupidity, and bravery of the player.
“Haha, you vile beast! I will never allow your evil plans to succeed!” Her insane laughter echoed between the peaks, the dragon still confused at what was happening, ‘I thought that my power was known. I could understand some daring guild trying to attack me, but not a solo player.’
Finally, the dragon moved his mana, his horns brightly shining and mana flowing through the mana veins within their transparent crystalline material.
The wind blew past him with the speed of a high-speed train, loudly howling as it rammed the poor player.
Her body launched backward, her hair and limbs flailing behind her before she smashed into a mountain, her body embedded into the hard granite.
“You will not silence me! Hahaha!” Blood leaked from under her mask, turning her white clothes red, and her voice slightly trembling as she spoke, her ribs stabbing into her lungs.
The dragon stood up, the whole ground shaking under his heavy steps and the blazing hot magma splashing under his feet.
He slowly walked straight towards the player, his eyes shining brightly with anger and confusion.
“How dares a weakling like you come to my territory and shout at me!” The stone cracked, and dust clouds rose into the air under the immense force of his angry growl.
The girl stared back into his golden eyes without fear, as if she wanted to provoke him even more.
“You, I saw it all! You, a greedy lizard, want to invade my world.”
‘What is she even talking about? What invasion… Is she sick in her head?’ Originally, he thought that death was too easy of a punishment for such insolence, but now he just decided to end it.
He opened his mouth, and a stream of white flames burst out, enveloping the player and melting the stone of the cliff that she was embedded in.
[+800 XP]
The dragon laid back on the ground and closed his eyes, putting the whole matter behind him.
‘Probably just someone who has forgotten to take her medication or took some that she wasn’t supposed to. Such nonsense, me and invading the earth! How would I even do that? Or maybe it was just a trick, and this whole insane talk is just serving to misdirect me. It wouldn’t be weird if, in reality, it was someone’s attempt to distract me or collect some intel.’
POV Tanya:
Tanya walked up the street of the new capital, her smooth hair flowing behind her. The heavy steps of her armed escorts surrounded her from each side.
The wide street paved in volcanic stone was bustling with people. Both kobolds and humans were walking up and down, all looking extremely busy.
The sounds of hammering and sawing were coming from each direction, the workers were building stalls along the whole main street while their richly dressed bosses kept standing around while trying to look important.
Everyone avoided her, no one daring to stop her and her armed escort. The crimson cloaks of her guards and her crimson bread were moving in the weak summer breeze.
Whispers were coming out of the crowds of human workers and merchants.
“Who is it?”
“She must be some high noble.”
It had been a long time since the last time she visited the capital, her eyes wide in surprise as she watched it changed, ‘It is as if the city gained its soul. The streets are full of people now. It used to be everything so orderly, but now it is full of life.’
Just one look was enough for her to determine that there were dozens of foreign merchants and even some young, foreign nobles mingling within the crowd.
‘This is what his majesty wanted… but to think that these incompetent immortals managed to accomplish it, it is absurd.’
The word of the massive tournament with its generous prize pool spread like a wildfire through the whole region, with both mortals and immortals wanting to participate, everyone blinded by the vision of gaining their own fief.
Behind them followed merchants who wanted to make money and nobles seeking entertainment.
Tanya herself was shocked at how the weird and whacky idea of the immortals turned out to be so successful, ‘It solved so many problems at once. The chaos in the outside kingdom subsided, powerful immortals are fighting for an opportunity to join us, and all of it brought merchants and entrepreneurs to the capital.’
“Do you know who I am?” A small crowd gathered on the corner of the street, shouting and loud voices coming out of it.
Tanya looked towards it, wanting to know what that commotion was about.
More shouts came out.
“Your lordship…”
“Shut up, you filthy peasant. You have touched me, the Baron Tousai! Guards behead him!”
A frown formed on her face as her aura exploded out. In response, the whole street turned silent in the blink of an eye. The entire crowd was frozen, as if they had turned into statues.
Her eyes glowed in anger and joy. She was ready to fully flex her power and authority on a fool that had defiled the peace of her master’s home turf.
She stepped forwards, her armored guards following closely behind her, their eyes glowing in their eagerness to punish the troublemaker.
The crowd parted in her direction, no one daring to look at her face.
A fat, richly dressed boy with high riding shoes and a stupidly flamboyant, purple tunic stood there. His face was pale in shock, and a wet path was forming in his groin.
His two lackeys in riding, leather armor slowly backed away as she slowly approached the group.
A worker trembled under the feet of the nobleman, his whole face covered in bruises, blood streaming out of his broken nose.
“Who dares to disturb the peace of his Majesty’s domain.” Her voice was melodious and crystal clear, yet it sent shudders down the nobleman’s body.
‘He must be a foreigner, or we would have gotten rid of such an incompetent piece of shit a long time ago.’
She charmingly smiled at him as if offering him her help, while her mind was overflowing with ideas on how to break him. She loved the feeling of power and authority.
“Ehh-mm, my lady, this peasant,” he pointed at the beaten-up man on the road, “had brutally assaulted me. He pushed me while touching me around with his grabby hands. He probably wanted to rob me! Yes, that is, he is just a dirty thief!”
Tanya put her hand under her chin, lots of eyes were looking straight at her. She felt joy and excitement, enjoying every second of the show.𝑶𝔳𝗅xt.𝒸𝑶𝐌
Her face was malformed into a sadistic smile as she was prepared to torment the poor pig before her.
‘If he was still around, he would love this, but he is gone.’ She clenched her hand, pushing back all of the emptiness left behind by the person that used to always buzz around her.
“Your magnificence, please believe me. I am just a worker, I would never dare to steal from a noble! Please believe me!”
‘He is lying!’ Her insane grin became even wider as she carefully observed him, his breathing, his heartbeat, and even the level of his perspiration. He was like an open book to her.
The next moment her aura intensified even more, the whole street almost trembling with the air vibrating with magic waves, “How dare you steal under the eyes of the great dragon! Theft and betrayal are capital crimes. Throw him into jail!”
‘To steal, here? Was it a mistake to let these filthy mortals in?’
At once, the huge kobolds in their heavy enchanted armor and horned helmets grabbed the man.
“Ahhh!” His screams echoed through the streets, their blazing hot gloves burning his skin as they dragged him away.
“Thank you, my lady, I knew that a noble like…”
“Take him to jail too! This is not a place where he can just start executing people on the street.” Her eyes burned in fury at the dirty mortals defiling the city built for her master.
“W-what? How dare you… What are you doing? Protect me!” Hiss two guards just remained frozen in fear, neither of them daring to move.
‘This will not be so simple. There is no chance that our enemies will not use this opportunity to undermine our reputation.’