Chapter 108 Chapter 107: Gold Coins
Ji Ma hid in the rocky tunnel, and behind her, a gear-shaped door embedded in the limestone was slowly emerging from the rock.
The massive body of the green dragon had completely blocked the short tunnel, and the voice of the green dragon echoed from outside.
“… The contract is complete; you are of no use anymore.”
Then, Ji Ma heard a loud crash as she peeked out. Her gaze pierced through the darkness just in time to see George being thrown into the teleportation gate.
In her eyes, the blue vortex on the green dragon’s chest, symbolizing greed, was the most prominent. Previously, she had provoked the green dragon Cuilis’s “anger” and “greed” one after another. The other party had not noticed.
Ji Ma whispered to the darkness beside her, “See? I told you she definitely wants to hoard the treasure for herself.”
A voice emerged from the darkness, belonging to the Shadow King Akanius: “Because a dragon can eat both of us.”
“She’s been sealed and squeezed for over twenty years.”
“Still a dragon.”
“When the treasure door opens, there are golems inside that can kill her. By then, you’ll have a brand new pair of dragon-hide boots.”
“She’ll be so delighted, directing the way, opening the door, and even throwing two little snacks.”
Ji Ma became annoyed by his contrarian behavior and said, “Then you can run away.”
“Thanks for the reminder. I wouldn’t have thought of that without you; as long as the great benefactor cannot access the Demon King’s treasure, goodbye.”
Ji Ma made a stern face and said, “Goodbye.”
The darkness fell silent, with no response. It seemed like Shadow King Akanius had vanished like a wisp of shadow.
Ji Ma wore a blank expression, her body huddled in the corner of the door. The steel gear-shaped door had already been pushed out and was moving slowly along the track. The teleportation gate had disappeared, and the green dragon Cuilis was about to enter, enjoying the treatment of a victor.
“Tsk, so bold.” The Shadow King’s voice drifted from the darkness. “Kids these days are indeed stronger than ever.”
As Ji Ma pondered about words of surrender, she sighed in relief; as long as Shadow King Akanius did not leave, there was still a chance to use him. It would be even better if he could appear. That way, she could provoke his desires and persuade him to serve her.
At this moment, a light and pleasant female voice came from outside, carrying a hint of delight, saying, “I have never tasted the flavor of a half-elf before. Come out, and I’ll make your deaths quick, I swear I won’t roast you alive with dragon breath.”
From the darkness came the voice of Shadow King Akanius: “This time it’s really goodbye; I will help you collect the corpses.”
Ji Ma understood that if she couldn’t convince Shadow King Akanius with the next sentence, he would indeed come to collect her corpse. After all, their “alliance” was based purely on mutual benefit.
She removed her mask, revealing her dirty little face, calm and chuckling: “Hehe, the green dragon Cuihua breached the contract and will undoubtedly suffer a backlash. A contract witnessed by the gods isn’t so easy to find loopholes in.”
The darkness fell quiet again, with no response.
The green dragon should have entered.
Ji Ma peeked out, catching sight of the tall green dragon Cuilis, draped in a floral cloak, gliding carefully towards her. Her beauty made the dazzling stars outside lose their color.
Perhaps the Shadow King had fled. Perhaps today was her day to die… should she reveal her secret of being the Demon King to retain some dignity before dying?
Ji Ma bore no resentment towards anyone and had no regrets.
After all, everyone acted out of self-interest. How could she expect the wounded Shadow King Akanius to risk his life to save her? It was her choice to stay in front of the treasure and open the door.
And she had long prepared for a tragic death on the path to gaining strength.
She had spent many years in this other world, without friends, family, or any ties. Besides, she had enjoyed herself for so many years; death was just death.
Do your best and leave the rest to fate.
The moment the green dragon Cuilis spotted Ji Ma peeking out from behind the rocks, and the mask that had fallen beside her, she smiled slightly: “Indeed, you are not an ordinary goblin, and you’re quite pretty. Come over yourself, or I might just scorch your pretty face with my dragon breath; that would be a pity.”
Suddenly, it was as if the sun rose in the dark cave. Although it was still midnight, the golden dawn filled the entire cave.
Ji Ma covered her eyes and shrank back behind the rocks. She heard the shriek of the green dragon Cuilis: “Ahhh!”
The temperature in the air rose, and it sounded as if the green dragon Cuilis was being burned by flames.
As the golden dawn dimmed, the curious Ji Ma peeked out again. She saw a column of golden flames appear out of thin air, striking the half-kneeling green dragon Cuilis, washing over her body.
With the dawn’s disappearance, the flames vanished without a trace. The green dragon Cuilis was enveloped in smoke, the flowers in her emerald hair turned to ashes, and her plantlike garments were mostly burned away, leaving only a few scraps clinging to her.
Ji Ma’s gaze was drawn to her chest.
At the same time, she also noticed the faint scales visible beneath the green dragon Cuilis’s fair skin.
It was hidden scales. Although the giant dragon Cuilis’s skin appeared smooth and flawless, her defensive capabilities were not inferior to the dragon scales in her true form.
Just when Ji Ma’s phantom limbs stiffened with worry, a figure she longed for appeared behind the green dragon Cuilis, like a black panther, wielding a short sword and lunging at her.
“Heh, little pest!”
The green dragon Cuilis pushed off the ground with her powerful legs, spun around, her white thighs whipping through the air towards the Shadow King Akanius behind her, moving almost as quickly as his short sword.
Shadow King Akanius had to nimbly retreat, leaning back as the green dragon Cuilis’s bare leg swept past him. The gust from her leg struck his face, ruffling his bangs, and Akanius instinctively swung his sword, grazing Cuilis’s calf.
The green dragon Cuilis paid no mind; to her, Akanius’s strike was weak, leaving only a shallow white mark on her prized hidden scales.
Just as Shadow King Akanius readied to shadow leap, his figure began to blur, almost merging with the shadows.
“Lithe!”
The green dragon Cuilis opened her red lips and uttered two resonant words in dragon tongue that echoed throughout the tunnel.
In an instant, white light engulfed all shadows.
Shadow King Akanius’s figure instantly materialized, and the corners of the green dragon Cuilis’s mouth curved into a smile.
Even though she had violated the contract, resulting in her diminished strength, she was still confident in killing an injured mortal.
Her right foot pushed against the ground, preparing for a fatal kick to Shadow King Akanius.
“Die! Crawl—”
As she exerted her right foot, a sharp pain shot through her.
A trap?
Instinctively, she glanced at her right foot and saw a new wound on her tightly-toned calf, blood gushing out.
The eyes of the green dragon Cuilis dilated. Just moments ago, Shadow King Akanius’s sword had only managed to scratch her, at most causing a red mark.
Shadow King Akanius chuckled, his gaze scanning over the disheveled yet alluring green dragon Cuilis, and said, “I’m getting hard.”
“Die!”
The green dragon Cuilis fumed, her long body trembling, and opened her mouth, ready to unleash dragon breath. Three flying daggers spun towards her from both sides.
Instinctively, she threw a punch, knocking the daggers away and guarding her face.
One of the daggers pierced her forearm, the illusion scales appearing merely as a shallow color tattoo, transforming her back into an ordinary mortal.
The green dragon Cuilis was both alarmed and frightened.
Had the God of Dawn stripped her of her true dragon powers as punishment for the breach?
Without any hesitation, she focused her mind, and in a flash of light, a true dragon emerged in the rocky tunnel. Several flying daggers shot towards her, embedding themselves in her metallic-scaled hide.
The green dragon Cuilis lowered her head, shut her eyes, and crawled toward the tunnel exit.
Shadow King Akanius rolled to the side, avoiding being trampled, watching as the green dragon Cuilis opened her wings, blood streaming from her hind legs, and flew into the sky.
“She really escapes quickly,” Shadow King Akanius stood up and brushed off the dust from his clothes. “I still wanted to spend a lovely night with her in bed.”
Ji Ma stepped out from behind the rocks, feeling great.
“You took the treasure money; you could find a hundred beauties in Shalin City willing to dress up as a green dragon for you, and even hire a few mages for special effects.”
Shadow King Akanius smiled and asked, “Aren’t you curious how I can casually injure a dragon?”
I don’t have the habit of recklessly poking into other people’s secrets.
Ji Ma replied, “As a precocious child, I have long lost the curiosity of ordinary children.”
“How pitiful,” Shadow King Akanius remarked, bending down to search for something on the ground, causing the wound at his side to flare up, and he frowned. “But it’s fine; I like to show off.”
As he spoke, he picked up a gold coin from the ground, blew on it. The edge of the gold coin dripped with blood, and when Ji Ma looked closely, she was surprised to see it was inscribed with “AD1357.”
Shadow King Akanius held it up to his hand, flicking his fingers, flipping the coin from one side to the other, explaining, “As long as it’s secretly placed on someone without their awareness, any wound I cause them will become very serious.”
“Wounded effect?”
At that moment, the treasure door opened, revealing a tacky golden light inside.
Shadow King Akanius did not answer, walking towards the treasure, with Ji Ma following him.
Instinctively, she wanted to distance herself from this adept assassin half-elf to prevent being silenced, but then she thought, with her bronze level power now, her combat effectiveness was roughly equivalent to a level 5 profession. It didn’t matter whether she distanced herself or not.
So, she maintained a normal distance from Akanius.
Shadow King Akanius looked at her and said, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll take it all?”
“Is it useful to be afraid?”
Shadow King Akanius snorted, saying, “Tell me, why doesn’t the God of Dawn just directly eliminate the contract-breaking green dragon? It would be better to cripple her.”
“I guess because He’s a God of Order and has rules to follow. Contracts specify that breach penalties relate to the degree of the breach.”
“How boring; this God seeks trouble for themselves,” Shadow King Akanius seemed to lament. “Did your man sign the same contract with the big boss?”
“Let me emphasize again, he is not my man, and this is a serious matter.”
“Fine, your master, is that enough?”
Ji Ma felt a bit annoyed but did not show it.
The more I act concerned, the happier he’ll be, she said, “Yes, exactly.”
“Oh, then I’ll lend you this gold coin.”
Suddenly, Shadow King Akanius tossed the gold coin to her.
Ji Ma quickly caught the coin in her palm, opened her hand to see the surface of the coin, “AD1357,” slowly oozing blood. She asked, “Why?”
Shadow King Akanius looked at her with interest and said, “Guess.”
I guess you want to stab me.
Ji Ma remained silent and put the coin in her pocket.
“When you use it, infuse it with magic; the side with the inscription will become sticky.” Shadow King Akanius stepped through the golden gate of the treasure, noticing on the ground, there was white paint emblazoned with “101 Shelter.”
“What is this?”
“I don’t know.”
Ji Ma was too lazy to explain the origin of this joke to him. Her heart soared; all she wanted was to quickly obtain her crown.
