Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

There was nowhere for the goblins to run the moment Henry opened his mouth wide and a sea of flames rushed out like a raging tide. The travelling speed of the flames wasn’t as fast as the Firebolt ability but the flames were still considerably faster than the scattering goblins. They tried to spread out. It was a good idea but there was just one problem, they weren’t able to outrun the flames.

With just a single Fire Breath, the goblins were annihilated. New goblins came out of the rift just as the last goblin was turned into ashes. The new goblins took in the sight. They couldn’t fully grasp the situation but they knew enough they were walking into their deaths. However, their retreat was cut off by the one-sided rift portal. They clawed and hammered on the rift but they could not get through. Eventually, the spreading and growing flames consumed them all the same.

Oh, god…

A tinge of unease touched Henry’s heart. Not because he had just massacred around a hundred or so goblins, but because of the fire he had set ablaze. The flames were spreading, raging fiercer as they grew. If he let the flames be, he feared the flames would reach the forest eventually.

Oh, crap… What to do…? Hmm?

Just as Henry began to contemplate a way to put out the flames, the fire shrunk. He had initially thought it was a trick of his mind but as he watched closer, he could see that the flames were getting smaller and smaller with every second. He was astounded at the miracle but at the same time, he wasn’t. He had always known his flames were special. They burned fiercely and wildly but they burned only what he wanted the flames to burn.

Which was weird. This wasn’t the case when he was in the other world with floating islands. He started a massive forest fire. Burning the whole forest down was certainly no intention of his but the fire grew rampantly regardless. However, the fire did not spread when it came to Ulrum.

Is it because Ulrum is special or something else?

It was a question that he had no way of knowing the answer to. No, the answer could easily be obtained if he asked Nadea, but now wasn’t the time for such trivial questions. The goblins were only the appetisers. Once the flames had dispersed and faded, the rift rippled and it spat out another wave of monsters.

Huh?

Henry blinked at the new wave of foes with a dumbfounded face. The new enemies were Orcs, if his former world knowledge was anything to go by. They were basically bulkier versions of goblins but their noses were hooked and their ears were flat. They had a smaller number but they were armed and properly so. They were wearing armour and wielding steel weapons. However, their armour did look mismatched. Henry surmised the Orcs did not forge their own gears but merely plundered from others, most likely humans.

Furthermore, the orcs seemed to look around cautiously when they appeared from the rift. They saw the horror and decimation before them but they didn’t plunge into disarray. They looked appalled by the burnt carcasses of the goblins but they weren’t unnerved. In fact, they were stimulated by the supposed horrible sight.

When Henry entered the Orcs’ sights while they were scouring the area, the one in the middle front pointed its weapon at him and let out a roar.

Oh? What’s this?

There were around twenty of these Orcs. Five of them came charging towards Henry. They were swinging something in their hands.

Those are… bolas? Are they trying to—

The Orcs flung the bolas at Henry once they were close enough to him. The bolas exploded midair and nets came flying out of the smoke.

Okay… smart, but…

Henry didn’t move away from the net. He let the nets entrap him. He didn’t sense any Murux from the nets, so he didn’t bother dodging them.

The Orcs cheered triumphantly when they saw Henry was caught by their nets. After that, the rest of the Orcs charged at Henry in unison.

Henry scoffed with a sneer and tried cutting himself free from the nets with his claws, but his claws weren’t effective.

Ah, I see. Is that why they’re so confident? Well, plan B.

Since the net was merely there to hinder his movements instead of immobilising him, Henry tossed his body towards the Orcs with a roll.

The Orcs paused in their charge as they saw Henry rolling towards them. The Orcs were well over seven feet tall but Henry surpassed their height by two or three feet. With that kind of size and mass tumbling towards them, there was no way they wouldn’t be flustered.

Though the Orcs were more intelligent than the goblins, the margin wasn’t huge. Some of the Orcs immediately dove out of the way. Some remained still and intent on challenging Henry’s strange means of retaliation. The last ones were simply too stunned by the abrupt development to move.

Needless to say, the ones that survived were those that moved out of the way. The foolish ones were crushed under Henry’s weight along with the ones that were too afraid to move, though the latter were the minority. The ones who decided to dodge were, fortunately for the Orcs, the majority. So there were still quite a lot of Orcs left after Henry’s unconventional assault.

The remaining Orcs waited for Henry to stop before resuming their offence. Once Henry did, they unleashed a battle cry before charging at Henry once again. They wouldn’t have done so if they knew Henry’s repertoire of abilities.

The net was strong and it did greatly hinder Henry’s movements. But against such opponents, losing his mobility was a negligible loss. He faced the incoming Orcs and opened his mouth wide. A torrent of flames spewed out. The Orcs lost their ferocity the moment they saw the flames leaving Henry’s mouth. Disbelief and despair took over their expressions. The Orcs did not hesitate this time. All of them opted for dodging. However, not every one of the Orcs was as fast as the others.

The flames engulfed the Orcs that were too slow in their movements. The flames also caught the ones that barely escaped death. The flames grazed them but that was enough for them to drop to the ground and cry out their agony.

Ooh? Splendid.

Henry cheered inwardly when the flames he spewed had inadvertently turned the net cinders. As the net went up in flames, it was only a matter of course that the flames also ended up engulfing him but it was not an issue for him. He was completely fireproof. The heat from the flames felt like summer at worst and it wasn’t as if he could get a heat stroke. If he could, he hadn’t got it yet.

The remaining Orcs were now eyeing Henry cautiously. They were so hellbent on taking the initiative moments ago but after seeing what he was capable of, they didn’t dare to do anything recklessly. When Henry looked at their faces, he could see the Orcs had already lost all hope for victory. But that didn’t mean they gave up on their lives. They couldn’t win but they could still salvage their lives.

Much like the goblins, the Orcs tried retreating to the rift but they were met with the same despair and anguish.

Henry sighed in disappointment. He didn’t consider himself a battle junkie but he would have liked it if his foes had put up a struggle until the end. He had gotten strong enough to bulldoze through most of the problems that came his way. It was convenient but it was also mundane. There was no excitement at all. He didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment. Moreover, his current prey didn’t even yield any Murux Hearts and they weren’t palatable.

Before Henry could end the Orcs’ misery, a new enemy emerged from the rift and this one was stronger and larger than the Orcs. As evidence, the monster that came through the rift instantly crushed the Orcs with a stomp. It was bigger than Henry in his humanoid Dragon form.

Well, this is… par for the course, I suppose?

The colossal monster that stepped out of the rift was an Ogre, a bulkier and larger version of the Orcs and it had hair running down its back. Unlike the Orcs, it wasn’t wearing any armour. It had a pair of tusks protruding upwards from its mouth.

Henry frowned when he looked at the Ogre. The Orcs shrieked at the sight of it. They ran without any reservation but the Ogre splayed its open palm at the Ogres and charred them into cinders with what appeared to be a fire magic spell.

It uses magic? Does that mean…

Henry immediately confirmed his guess by focusing his senses on the Ogre. And his guess was right. The Ogre had a very large Murux Heart. And of course, the Ogre should be no easy prey like the Goblins or the Orcs.

I’m no battle junkie but… why am I feeling so excited right now?

A strange feeling was swelling inside of him. It was not foreign, just strange.

The Ogre was looking around its new surroundings when it caught Henry in its sight. It frowned at first but its cracked lips curled into a grin as if it had found worthwhile prey. Its glinting gaze told Henry of its interest in him. It licked its lips.

Huh? Does it see me as food?

The Ogre splayed open its palm at Henry.

It’s using a spell.

Henry surmised after seeing how the Ogre reduced the Orcs into ashes. He then felt the Murux around him surge. He had plenty of time to move away but curiosity got the better of him. Also, he didn’t feel like he was in any danger. The earth rose around him but only to the height of his knees, entrapping his movements.

The Ogre scoffed after seeing how easily Henry was immobilised. It prepared another spell immediately but this time, it raised its arm overhead. Dark energy began gathering around his raised hand.

Dark energy…? Demonic? No, it’s not demonic. It’s just… dark.

The amassed dark energy morphed into a spear. The Ogre gripped the spear tightly as if it was afraid the spear would run loose if it didn’t grip it with that much strength. Upon closer inspection, the spear was jittering in the Ogre’s grip.

Okay… This eerie feeling… That dark spear is dangerous.

The Ogre. with a strained expression, threw the spear at Henry with a shout. However, Henry did not make any attempt to move. He stood still without moving a muscle. The dark spear streaked past his head, grazing his cheekbone, and struck the ground behind him. He didn’t need to look. Just from the sound and tremor alone told Henry of the dark spear’s firepower. Furthermore, he felt a slight stinging pain on his cheek. He realised he was bleeding when he tapped the spot where the spear grazed him.

As I feared, this dark spear is truly dangerous. This Ogre is dangerous.

The Ogre snorted at Henry. It was irked that its spell had missed the mark and its target didn’t even move to dodge it. The Ogre immediately prepared another dark spear by raising its arm but Henry had seen enough. He fired a Firebolt that severed the Ogre’s right arm from the shoulder.

The Ogre screeched in pain as it dropped to its knee while clutching its bleeding stump. Henry easily broke free from the frail earthen restraints and flew towards the Ogre at a breakneck speed. The Ogre did not dwell on its wound for long. It realised Henry was far stronger than it anticipated. Panic consumed its body. It raised a hand at Henry, attempting to cast another spell.

But Henry had reached the Ogre before the spell even began forming. To be absolutely sure the Ogre wasn’t any tricks to defy death, Henry doused the Ogre with Fire Breath at point blank. Should the Ogre somehow survive this, he could immediately take action before it could flee. However, Henry’s worry was for nought as the Ogre was anti-climatically reduced into ashes, leaving only its Murux Heart that was as large as its head.