Conquering the underworld with my beautiful dragon wives-Chapter 50: Dragon Army—First Blood, First Glory

Early in the morning, before the sun climbed over the northern mountains, a loud metal horn echoed through the camp.

People stumbled out of their tents, eyes half-shut.

Ethan, wearing a black cloak and a leather belt, stood in the middle of the field. Fayra, Selena, and Luna were right by his side.

Ethan spoke loud and clear,

"Wake up! Today... is the first day of the army."

Luna laughed,

"God help them!"

Selena raised her sword toward the sky and shouted,

"Whoever survives, dinner’s on me tonight!"

Everyone laughed, but deep down... yeah, there was a sweet kind of fear.

Ethan grinned,

"Good... that’s the spirit I want."

Then he looked at Fayra.

Fayra smiled and said,

"We’re ready."

**

The dragons lined up too.

Azarakhsh, Sho’leh, and Sama stood side by side.

Their hot breaths came out like thick mist between their sharp teeth.

One of the young guys, voice shaking, asked,

"We... we gotta fight with them?"

Ethan smiled,

"If you’re gonna be the dragon army... yeah."

Selena said seriously,

"First lesson — riding dragons."

The people stepped back a little.

Fayra spoke gently,

"Dragons are your friends. They can hear your heart. If you’re scared, they’ll be nervous too. But if you’re brave... they’ll be your friends."

Ethan said excitedly,

"Alright, who’s gonna go first?"

A skinny, short boy with messy hair stepped forward.

He moved carefully.

Azarakhsh lowered his head.

The boy slowly reached out and touched the dragon’s rough, warm skin.

He smiled.

"It’s warm... like the sun..."

Fayra cheered,

"Good job, kid."

Luna nudged Ethan’s shoulder,

"This one’s got a heart like the sea."

Little by little, the others stepped forward too.

Ethan called out,

"Mount up!"

Noise filled the place.

Some people backed away.

Selena shouted,

"Scared? It’s not even started yet!"

Ethan grinned,

"We’re gonna conquer the world. Can’t do that by being scared."

Bit by bit, they pushed through the fear.

One by one, clumsily, they climbed onto the dragons.

An old man with a white beard and rough, calloused hands was the first to get on Sho’leh.

Selena laughed,

"Hell yeah, old man!"

Ethan laughed too,

"What’s your name, old man?"

The old man’s rough voice answered,

"Name’s Nerad... from the bloodline of dragon hunters... but today... I’m your soldier."

Fayra chuckled,

"You ain’t a dragon hunter anymore... you’re a dragon rider now!"

Bit by bit, they all started to learn.

Some fell off, some screamed, some laughed.

The sound of laughter and shouts filled the field.

Luna laughed,

"Look how fun they are."

Ethan took a deep breath,

"We can do this... we really can."

Fayra quietly said,

"And we’ll be right here with you."

Selena ran a hand along her sword,

"Till the end of the world."

And Luna, with a smile,

"We win together... or we burn together."

A few hours later, the newbie dragon army stood in line in front of a dark, creepy valley, carrying a black flag with a golden key symbol on it.

A thick mist covered the whole valley like a heavy curtain. No one could see more than a few steps ahead.

Ethan stood at the front. His cloak was shaking in the wind and his hair fell over his forehead.

Fayra, in her human form, sword at her waist, stared into the valley.

Fayra said quietly,

"It smells like blood here."

Selena frowned,

"Something’s hiding in there... I can feel it."

Luna, kinda excited,

"Hope you’re right. I could really use a good fight!"

Ethan grinned,

"Finally... it’s time."

Then he turned to the army and shouted,

"These are my rules! Here... only guts matter. Anyone who backs off, you’re outta my army. Anyone who crosses this valley... is a real soldier. Got it?"

A few shaky voices answered,

"Got it!"

Azarakhsh, Sho’leh, and Sama growled loud, shaking the sky.

The mist cleared a bit, and a dark tunnel full of dry branches and bent trees showed up.

Ethan, excited,

"Alright... move out!"

A couple minutes after they went in, sounds of snapping branches and weird shadows started showing up in the mist.

Red eyes... furry bodies... sharp teeth.

The valley monsters: giant black wolves.

One soldier, voice shaking,

"What the hell... what are those?!"

Fayra pulled out her sword,

"Alright, kids... test’s starting now!"

Ethan growled,

"Hit ’em!"

The wolves attacked.

Azarakhsh burned a bunch of them to ashes with a huge flame.

Selena yelled,

"As long as you’re breathing, fight!"

Luna stabbed one of the wolves from behind with her spear,

"Oh yeah, now we’re talking!"

Fayra stood by Ethan, panting.

"It’s awesome... you really pulled this off."

Ethan, grinning,

"This is just the warm-up."

Then he raised his hand.

"Garoush! Burn ’em all!"

A giant dragon burst out from the treetops, roaring so loud the ground shook.

Blue flames shot from his mouth, burning the wolves instantly.

The soldiers stared with wide eyes and open mouths. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Old man Nerad laughed,

"Swear to God, I ain’t seen nothin’ like this in my life!"

Ethan laughed out loud,

"Welcome to the dragon army, old man!"

A few hours later, when the mist finally cleared, burned wolf bodies and broken swords were scattered all over the ground.

The rest of the army, tired but proud, gathered in the middle of the valley.

Ethan shouted to everyone,

"That’s the first trial! From today... you’re soldiers of the Heir of the Key army!"

Everyone shouted back,

"Heir of the Key!"

Fayra, excited,

"See? We pulled it off!"

Ethan laughed,

"Told ya... we’re gonna conquer this world."

Selena placed a hand on his shoulder,

"We’re with you till the end."

And Luna, grinning,

"Alright, so... who’s throwing the party? I’m starving!"

Ethan laughed,

"Everyone... we’re celebrating tonight."

It was night. The sky was full of stars. The sound of crickets mixed with the smell of fire. Out in the open field, they made a big circle around the fire. The tall flames were dancing, and the shadows of the dragons stretched over the hills.

Azarakhsh was sitting next to the flames, scratching the ground with his claws. Sho’le and Sama were messing around, teasing each other.

Luna, holding a plate full of roasted meat, laughed and said,

"Guys! If you don’t eat now, these old men will swallow everything!"

Selena joked,

"You? You ate half the fire yourself and still talking?"

Fayra handed Ethan a bowl of drink with a smile,

"To our army."

Ethan grinned,

"Yeah... to the conquerors of tomorrow."

Then he raised his bowl and shouted,

"For the Heir of the Key!"

Everyone shouted back,

"Heir of the Key!"

The soldiers were laughing. Some were telling stories. Old man Nerad sat in the middle of them, saying loudly,

"Back in my day... no one even dared to get close to a dragon. And now these guys are hanging out like best buddies!"

Alice smiled and said,

"’Cause these are Ethan’s dragons."

Luna pointed at Ethan and teased,

"That little lizard has become the dragon master!"

Ethan laughed and teased back,

"Little lizard? I’ll show you who’s a lizard now!"

He splashed a handful of water from a bowl right at Luna.

Luna screamed,

"Hey you jerk! Wait till I get you!"

Everybody burst out laughing.

After a whole lot of messing around, Fayra sat down next to Ethan, looking a little serious,

"Ethan... what’s your next plan?"

Ethan stared at the fire.

"Next group... is the ’Valdor’ tribe. They’re strong. If I wanna take the world, I gotta tame them first."

Selena asked curiously,

"You think they’ll agree?"

Ethan said confidently,

"Nope."

Alice asked, surprised,

"Then what’re you gonna do?"

Ethan gave a sneaky smile and quietly said,

"You’ll see... tomorrow."

Fayra ran a hand through her hair and said,

"Whatever happens... I got your back."

Selena said,

"Me too."

Luna added,

"Just say fight, and we’ll fight."

Azarakhsh gave a soft growl to show he agreed. Sho’le and Sama wagged their tails.

Ethan grinned,

"You guys... are the best friends in this world."

Then he softly whispered to himself,

"This is just the beginning..."