Reincarnated As A Dragon With Cheats-Chapter 35: Dragon Of Nightmares (3)

Chapter 35: Dragon of Nightmares (3)

Erst couldn’t take his eyes off Azeth.

His gaze was fixed on the dragon’s tail, which swayed lazily left and right as Azeth delivered his message.

He could feel the tension thickening in the air.

The other wolves were cowering in fear, paralyzed with shock.

The goblins were even worse. Many had fainted already.

Yet Azeth remained relaxed.

’Such calmness after such a terrifying attack... where did he gain so much power from?’

Erst’s honest thoughts began to eat at him from the inside.

’This is unfair. How can a dragon be so strong? Why can he kill so easily while we cannot?’

Nearby, one goblin clenched his fists.

Unlike the others, his will far surpassed that of his kin.

Half of his body had been paralyzed since birth.

Now the other half trembled from fear and was also paralyzed.

Azeth’s aura was immense.

Chills crawled down their spines, and the vibrations from his earlier attack still lingered in the ground beneath their feet.

"And with that," Azeth continued calmly, "if you all agree to serve my master with the utmost gratitude and respect, I will subjugate the Frog-Men and any foe that dares set their eyes on you."

The words were very clear but so unbelievable that no one could believe. No one dared to question him either.

Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t...

Not when Erst had also begun his counterattack.

[Death Row].

It was a skill bestowed upon Erst after he faced the Trial of Death during his evolution.

It was weaker than his brother’s [Death Parade], but not by much.

It possessed enough power and aura to force even Azeth to turn around in haste.

Erst’s entire body became covered in particles that seemed to devour light endlessly.

They appeared black. One couldn’t say it but they were hollow too.

Small bubbles or orbs floated around him like fragments of darkness.

Circles began forming across the ground, as if reality itself were being torn open. They resembled pitfalls.

Through those circles, Azeth could see a strange purple-black void.

Then the creatures emerged.

Ten rabbits.

Five gigantic mud-worms.

Three foxes.

And finally, a single tiger cub.

Every one of them was pitch black.

Azeth watched silently for a moment before narrowing his gaze at Erst.

’Their bodies are being controlled by him...’

He could say that with how all of their eyes were glowing purple and so was Erst’s at the moment.

But he couldn’t confirm it. It was more of a hunch.

"Awoo! Lord Erst has used the skill!!"

The wolves erupted with excitement.

Anyone hearing them would think Erst had unleashed some legendary ability capable of wiping out an entire bloodline.

Azeth didn’t have time to entertain the theatrics.

The beasts had already begun surrounding him.

The worms moved first.

They towered above him, their bodies nearly half the height of the massive tree that provided shade over the clearing.

Next came the rabbits.

Small, but extremely agile. Not as fast as Azeth or Takk, but fast enough to be troublesome.

The foxes were even more nimble, circling him cautiously with their sharp teeth bared.

And finally, the tiger cub.

It hadn’t moved at all.

It sat exactly where it had been summoned.

Its eyes were closed.

Only the faint flick of its tail suggested it was even alive... or capable of movement.

Azeth simply scoffed.

"Interesting things you’ve summoned. Are you so afraid to fight me that you now rely on these?"

Erst felt the mockery in Azeth’s gaze.

He was prideful, quite prideful in fact. He was also egotistical.

Such words could not go unanswered.

"Hahahaha! Scared? Why would I be scared of a puny dragon?"

"I don’t know," Azeth replied calmly. "Maybe because I killed one of your kin with a single attack?"

The expression on his face practically screamed obvious.

"Keh. He was the weakest among us. Do you think you’re impressive just because you killed a weakling?"

Azeth cracked his neck left and right.

"Listen, you Bongo. Weak or not, I just killed a wolf."

"Normally an intelligent would either charge me in rage or at least attempt revenge after what I’d done."

"You, however..."

Azeth’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"...seem rather unbothered."

"Was he just a pawn to you?"

The words struck directly at Erst’s nerves.

Especially in front of the other wolves.

They followed him because they believed in his strength.

If Erst answered poorly now...

He might not have any followers left by sunset.

"A ruler who loses his cool just because someone has died is unfit to rule. I abide by that."

The moment Azeth heard that, he started laughing so loudly and strangely that even the summoned beings flinched.

"Hahahahahahahaha, Bongo!"

"What you said sounded fantastic, very fantastic!!! Hahahahahaha!"

Azeth’s small belly jiggled as his head bobbed up and down. His tail swayed left and right vigorously.

But then all of it stopped.

Azeth raised his right hand and made a small space between two of his claws, pointing them at each other above and below.

"There’s a slight problem, Bongo."

Azeth then pointed at Erst. "You are not the ruler. It’s my master. And if you are claiming it so brazenly, then I must say you are just like a pebble beside a riverbed that claims to be a dragon."

Erst was irritated and angry at Azeth’s words, but everyone except him thought the same thing.

’Why would a pebble wish to be a dragon...?’

In a way, what Azeth said sounded like an ant dreaming of becoming a caterpillar.

Some chuckled internally, others gasped, but Erst simply gave a command.

"Attack!!!"

The foxes leapt, the rabbits hopped forward, and the worms bent their bodies with such force that they could have pierced and broken the bark of a tree.

Except Azeth was not a tree.

.

.

.

"Aachoo."

Pebbles sneezed once.

’Is someone remembering me?’

He shook his head and then the notifications popped left and right.

Ding!

[Your Avatar Azeth has used the skill Dragon Breath Lv.1]

[Your Avatar Azeth has used the skill Dragon Breath Lv.1]

[Your Avatar Azeth has used the skill Dragon Brea-]

Ding!

[The skill Dragon Breath has leveled up.]

[Lv.1 → Lv.2]

Pebbles couldn’t help but wonder.

’Just how many beasts are you massacring, Azeth?’

"Um, master, why did we come here? Wasn’t it safer to stay in the dungeon?" Nightstone asked as her eyes wandered left and right.

Pebbles nodded. "Yes, it would be safer. But I’m here to search for him..."

"Whom, master?"

"A friend... maybe...?"

But what he wanted to say was...

’My second avatar, the dragon of...’

He paused in his tracks within the large forest that had grown dark.

A small smirk appeared on his face as he slowly raised his gaze.

Nightstone also felt the presence and kept repeating the same words again and again.

"M- M- M- Master... there’s someone there!"

She pointed with three of her legs toward a gigantic rocky platform that was higher than their level, at least five meters tall.

And there was a pair of glowing purple eyes.

The little being made a long jump and landed right in front of Pebbles.

It was tall, twice Pebbles’ height. It was also nearly double his size, but the color of its scales and body couldn’t be seen clearly because of the dark night and the forest that swallowed even the moonlight.

It didn’t matter.

The small lizard-like creature bowed the instant it appeared and said in a humble tone,

"Azatoth, the Dragon of Death, greets his master, the Lord Dragon of Creation and Nightmares."

"..."