Chapter 125: The Beginning of the Dragon Queen
After dealing with the traces left by Eil, Fisher walked alone towards the laboratory, with details of the “Human-Worm” he encountered flashing in his mind. According to Eil, there was a human who had transformed many lives into the monster he just saw, though the purpose was unclear.
How did that human accomplish such a bizarre technique?
Suddenly, Fisher thought of that guy, Feilon, and felt that they had many similarities. Could it mean that the person Eil was pursuing might also possess a Supplement Handbook?
Fisher couldn’t be sure, because even he didn’t know how many Supplement Handbooks existed, but it seemed that his Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans was somehow more special—or perhaps more peculiar—than others?
Fisher chose not to continue commenting on the Supplement Handbook in his arms, only hoping that Eil could catch up with that scoundrel and kill him. The reason for not commenting on the Supplement Handbook was that he was about to open it to see what rewards awaited once the Demon biological research progress reached 50%. What if it didn’t give him anything when it heard him?
Fisher returned to the laboratory and carefully checked if there were any unclean things like Human-Worms that might have entered his room, or if there were any strange marks left behind. However, aside from the characteristic smell of saltpeter from Eil, there was nothing else.
Now, Fisher could confidently open the Supplement Handbook he had in his arms. In an instant, a segment of ethereal text floated up, materializing before his eyes.
[Demon Biological Research Progress: 53%]
[Demon Society Research Progress: 3%]
This rapidly increasing progress suddenly reminded Fisher that, apart from Renee, every time the biological research progress for Sub-Humans had relied on intimate contact with them. Was this the only way to quickly increase the biological research progress?
Or was this just a prank by the creator of the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans?
Fisher frowned and chose not to dwell on it but instead looked at the reward for reaching 50% in biological research progress below.
[Unlocked Reward: Constitution +3, Demon Language +3, ‘Treasure Map of the Demon Dynasty’]
[Treasure Map of the Demon Dynasty: The Great Dynasty shall once again shroud the world’s sky, bringing all things under the control of the Seventy-Two Demons!]
As the illusory text and descriptions appeared, a twisted scroll, devoid of any aesthetic order, materialized in Fisher’s hand. The scroll seemed to still carry the residual heat of lava, with two vividly depicted red butterflies fluttering at the top, and below was a line of extremely bizarre text, resembling swirling vortices.
Having just gained knowledge of the Demon Language, Fisher felt a flood of knowledge rush into his mind, making the swirling text engraved above gradually become familiar. The scroll read,
[Yield to the Abyss of Desire]
After pausing for a moment, Fisher unfolded the map. This map was very large, but it was clearly not a map of the Western Continent, as there was no tall mountain range in the middle of the map of the Western Continent, while this map depicted such a pattern.
This was a map of the Southern Continent, roughly positioned at the easternmost end of the Southern Continent. However, the author had drawn a downward-pointing demonic finger on the marked location, along with a demonic language explanation:
[Below the Abyss of Desire, the treasure shall present itself to you.]
Could it be that the Demon Dynasty was in the Southern Continent? Or was it just the treasure of the Demon Dynasty that was located there?
Fisher, momentarily without any other clues, could only fold up the map. But glancing at the previously seen map of the Southern Continent, his thoughts inevitably turned to the red dragon girl he had encountered earlier, wondering how she was doing. He had given her a similar map when they parted.
She still owed him a punishment.
Through the window of his laboratory, Fisher looked up at the stars gradually spreading out in the sky as the sun set, thinking such things.
The sky was getting darker, but whether it was the Western Continent or the Southern Continent, they shared the same starry sky.
In the deserted wilderness, Earth Spirits could be seen opening their eyes and observing the outside world, their gazes quietly resting on the girl in a cloak standing on the hillside.
That girl had scarlet long hair, with a pair of bright horns resembling sunlight on her forehead. Her profile was stunning, and her pair of emerald green eyes calmly gazed at the night sky, lost in thought, silent for a long time until she finally withdrew her gaze.
“Chief! We have no human pursuers behind us anymore; they have given up!”
Behind her, several Dragonfolk ran out of the jungle holding torches, respectfully bowing to the seemingly very young girl.
And the girl was none other than Raphael, who had been away from Fisher for a long time. Though much time had passed, she still looked as dazzling as before, but now her face was filled with seriousness and calm, with an unending flame burning deep within her emerald eyes.
She turned to look at the firelight rising from the jungle; her gaze was calm, neither sad nor happy.
A month ago, she had traversed the entire continent to return to her tribe, only to find that her tribe had been destroyed. Her father was killed by humans, and only a few Dragonfolk remained. Her older brother was impulsively seeking revenge against humans. Fortunately, Raphael had returned in time.
Facing the words of her tribe members, she nodded.
“Let’s take a temporary rest here today. We will continue our journey tomorrow morning, stopping only when we reach Twilight Valley. Have you contacted the Eastern Branch Tribe and the Western Branch Tribe’s Dragonfolk?”
The two Dragonfolk exchanged glances, finding it somewhat difficult to express. After a moment, one of them responded laboriously,
“They… don’t intend to help us. They said humans wouldn’t go to the east or west, as there’s nothing there that they desire like gold mines.”
Hearing this, Raphael smiled slightly, not angry but instead somewhat sarcastic.
“Yes, humans won’t go for now, but Raphael will arrive at the Eastern and Western Branch Tribes before the humans. I will pull those stubborn old heads out and let their tribespeople see what nonsense is in their heads. You all go and rest; we’ll set out again early tomorrow morning.”
“Understood.”
The two Dragonfolk acknowledged and returned to the jungle, but Raphael did not move, still gazing at the distant dark night sky.
Not long after, a woman of the Dragonfolk, dressed simply yet exuding elegance, stepped out from the jungle. She had golden long hair tied back, with a golden horn growing from her forehead, but she appeared somewhat aged.
She looked with some worry at the young red Dragonfolk who was planning the route, standing still for a long time without speaking, fearing to interrupt her.
It was Raphael who first sensed something. She suddenly turned around and saw the woman standing there, her expression changed, and she walked over to the woman’s side, whispering,
“Mother…”
“Raphael, you should rest a bit. It’s already been several days.”
The newcomer was Raphael’s mother, Aria, the wife of the former chief.
In her youth, she was the most beautiful Dragonfolk of the Southern Branch Tribe and was matched with the strongest Dragonfolk in the tribe; their union was considered the most suitable marriage in hundreds of years for the Southern Branch Tribe, truly a match made in heaven.
However, such a tale had vanished the moment Raphael’s father was killed by humans a few months ago.
Before her, her mother suddenly seemed much older. The entire responsibility of the tribe now lay on Raphael’s shoulders.
“I’m fine; you should go check on my brothers. Their bones were broken by me, and they probably haven’t healed yet.”
In the war against humans a few months ago, Raphael lost her father and seven brothers, but the humans also suffered severe casualties. The few remaining brothers sought revenge for their father and prepared to lead the remaining Dragonfolk to fight the humans within the city. Fortunately, Raphael returned in time.
She made the decisive choice to lead her tribe to migrate, avoiding confrontation with the humans. This opinion, of course, met the opposition of all her brothers, who believed she was too cowardly to be a Dragonfolk and that Raphael was a traitor who felt no grief over her father’s death, simply because she was a red Dragonfolk and a freak.
This statement infuriated Raphael, leading her to beat all her brothers senseless, with the most severely injured brother nearly dying from her blows. Thankfully, Aria intervened to mediate their conflict; otherwise, Raphael would not hesitate to shed blood for the future of her tribe.
She had changed a lot, making many tribe members feel alienated, but her strength was undeniable. Most tribe members could only believe in Raphael and followed her away from their homeland toward the southern direction, where there were no signs of human activity, toward Twilight Valley.
There, the Bat Subhumans had coexisted peacefully for generations. In the past, Dragons had a non-aggression pact with them, but now, with the urgent situation, Raphael could only go there in search of a glimmer of survival.
Only she knew that the severely wounded humans would definitely retaliate. Remaining in place would lead to death, so she could only avoid the sharp edge and wait for the right time to formulate a plan.
“They are fine, and I don’t want to see them hurt badly. I mean you should relax. You haven’t rested since returning to the tribe…”
However, Raphael smiled and shook her head, saying,
“I had been resting before I returned; I’ve rested long enough. Even before I got back, I knew what I would face. This is my choice, and I won’t regret it. Don’t worry, Mother, I’m fine.”
But Aria kept staring at her, and after a long time, she sighed and said,
“I don’t know if your return is a good thing. When your father was still here, he even thought that it might be a good choice for you to leave the tribe, at least you’d be alive. He foresaw that there would be a war between us and humans, he was the chief, your brothers are the sons of the chief, they must pay with their lives for the majority of the tribe. He has talked to me about his death many times, and I have cried many times over it.”
“But you, you left the tribe, so you no longer need to bear so much; you can go anywhere, as long as you can survive. Or have the subhumans and humans you met outside not been good people?”
Raphael, lost in thought, unknowingly smiled, and after shaking her head, she paused for a long time before saying,
“There are both bad people and very good people.”
Aria looked at the scales on her daughter, slightly sinking down due to longing, and then looked down at herself, realizing she had also sunk some scales because she missed her husband.
Her daughter already had a Suitable Tail Partner, a fact that she was aware of.
“Then let’s talk about him. If he is someone you approve of, no matter what race he is, he must be a very special person. Wouldn’t it be good for you to follow him? Why return to a tribe where many people disagree with your views, where many do not support you, who are only temporarily yielding to your power? Just look at your brothers, and you’ll know.”
Of course, Raphael knew all this.
“I know, but I have nothing else I can do.” Mentioning that person softened Raphael’s gaze even more. “Even if he can accept me, love me for a lifetime, I cannot accept it this way. Call it pride or foolishness, but at least I hope that one day, when everyone has calmed down peacefully, we can be together equally, together forever.”
“In order to achieve this goal, to protect our tribe and family, even if they do not understand, even if they resist, as long as I still have strength, as long as I live one more day, I shall not allow them to deviate from my path.”
Raphael extended her claws, sharp as steel knives, towards the starry sky, as if trying to grasp the entire heavens in her palms. Behind her, Aria watched her daughter, knowing full well that the path she took would not be easy and could only finally urge her one last time,
“That is not what a good chieftain should do.”
“It is, but I still want to.” Raphael calmly looked at her mother beside her and also saw the discontented tribe members whispering among the trees, venting their dissatisfaction like beings without direction in the dark night.
If this were the case, she would need to take the first step.
“Mother, if my father’s position as chief becomes an obstacle for me, then I cannot remain as chief. For my goal, I cannot allow any obstacles.”
“When those tribe members can live well in the end, run freely in the wilderness, love freely without being captured, killed, and bled, they, my brothers, will all kneel down and thank me.”
“They will respect me, wholeheartedly support me, swear to defend my rights, uphold my decisions, and no longer question my correctness.”
“They will call me…”
“The Dragon Queen.”
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(End of this chapter)
