Reincarnated as a Dragon – The path of the Dragon God

The villagers stood and stared at Henry in shock. Though they were a backwater bunch, they understood his words and they were utterly bewildered by them. It was not every day that anyone would get profanity spat in their face in droves.

“Look here, you poor sods. I have no idea what’s fuelling this bravery and stupidity of yours but I will advise all of you to back off now before I lose my patience. I’m well aware of whose protection you are under. Maybe I will regret laying my claws on any of you. Maybe I will be torn asunder by your precious ‘Majesty.’ But none of you here will see that happening because you will all be dead before Your Majesty comes and exacts vengeance for you.” And Henry paused.

The villagers’ expressions changed. They softened but not in an amicable manner. They were now looking at him in a new light but the light was dark and full of terrors.

“In the simplest of words, my claws to your necks will be faster than your sovereign’s claws to mine. Do we have an understanding?”

None of the villagers gave a verbal response but their expressions had spelt their understanding. The air had turned cold and freezing before anyone knew it.

“Excellent. Now, please let us be on our way,” Henry said with a smile.

The villagers gulped and made way for Henry and his women.

As Henry walked past them, he stopped and turned to face them. “Here’s some advice if you encounter someone of my… capacity in the future. Borrowed power will not stop whatever’s coming for your neck. Your assailant might regret killing you but you’ll be dead regardless. Think it through and well next time. Good day,” Henry said and made his way out of the village while the gazes followed him until he was well out of sight.

“What was that all about?” Alani asked. “Is Vishara actually trying to harass us?”

“Trying to gain my sympathy and empathy, I say. This is… similar to what I have achieved in Ulrum. I have the four main tribes of Ulrum worshipping my very being and existence. This here is no different. They see Vishara as their god and guardian similar to how the Ulrum tribes see me. She still wants my allegiance despite what she has done or tried to do.”

“You’re the greatest power on this continent, Henry,” said Rayne. “Everyone would do anything to have you on their side. If she has you on hers, the complete success of her conquest will become inevitable.”

“As things stand, her success is already guaranteed, provided that I won’t interfere. The true challenge comes after the conquest. Who will govern and oversee the conquered parts? How will she keep the peace she so desired and how will she make sure the conquered wouldn’t just revolt? It’s a lot of work. Given her history, the peace she has in her mind may only be ideal for herself but not for others.”

“She’ll… turn everyone into her thralls…” Alani realised. “She won’t do that, right? That’s just… evil.”

“Everyone’s a hero in their own narrative.”

“Enough of this talk,” Rayne huffed. “I would rather that we focus on how we confront Vishara. If we don’t intend to accept her offer, we best prepare for retaliation.”

“She wouldn’t,” said Henry. “At least not here, not in her territory. A battle taking place here would just turn this whole valley into a wasteland— hmm. Perhaps this is her intention. To show us that she had no intention of being hostile to us. If she cares for Verugo, she is at a great disadvantage if she chooses to fight here.”

“Or she could be just trying to get us to lower our guard and take us down in one swift move.”

Henry chuckled. “It’s certainly something that you would do, Rayne, but I don’t think she would take such a risk. I suppose that is the glaring difference between you and her.”

Rayne snorted and turned away from Henry before her blush became apparent.

Once they left the village, they came to a wide path that was paved with crushed black stones, stretching on for miles. Along the road, there were buildings on either side and paths that deviated from the main road.

“Whoa…” Alani gasped. “What sort of road is this?”

“Don’t you have this sort of road too in Gretten?”

“Never of this quality.” Alani tried punching the road with her enhanced strength but she left no crack on it. “See? It doesn’t even leave a crack. I wager even seasons of rain wouldn’t so easily weaken and degrade this sort of road.”

Henry crouched down and inspected the road. As he peered at the black paved ground, a memory came to mind. “Asphalt?” he muttered. Now that he thought long and hard about it, such a road was most definitely not something that one would expect from such a world.

“Asphalt?” Rayne caught Henry’s muttering. “You know of this stone?”

“Not acutely. It’s a mixture of crushed stones, sand, gravel, crude oil and some other things. Though I’m not sure if this is indeed asphalt, the feel and smell does remind me of asphalt.”

“You know so much, Henry,” Alani praised.

Henry could only smile wryly in response as this was all second or third-hand knowledge at best that he remembered reading off of the internet. “God, I certainly do miss the convenience of the internet.”

The exquisite road of asphalt-like substance was not devoid of any other travellers. Contrary to the three’s expectations, the road was busy. People were coming and going, either on foot or on wheels. It was no different than the state of the roads near large towns or cities.

The three naturally drew attention to them. All eyes were on them as they trod onto the road but unlike the villagers, they did nothing else beyond the simple glances of curiosity. None made any attempts to confront them about their presence in the valley. At most, they gossiped to their companions or friends but no one sneered at them blatantly.

“This is certainly a different treatment,” Rayne muttered.

“Superficially different,” Henry said. “In their hearts, I reckon they are all harbouring the same intentions as the villagers from before.”

“If that’s so, why aren’t they… doing anything?” Alani asked.

“Hmm… Most likely there’s someone who will be doing that in a short while,” Henry surmised.

Right on cue, someone confronted them. A man, dressed in combat garbs but wearing not a single piece of armour. He came from the sky. He landed right in front of them in the same manner as the Gargoyles that were guarding the village. The fangs protruding through his lips were indicative of his race.

Alani put her hands on the pommels of her swords but Henry gently gestured for her to be at ease.

The man said nothing but simply stared at the three, scrutinising them. The passers-by avoided their gazes after the man appeared. The curiosity from the travellers dissipated as if the group of four had become non-existence to everyone else.

“What kind of farce is this now?” Rayne scoffed as she returned the scrutinising gaze to the man.

“This is no farce,” said the man as he locked eyes with Rayne. “I have been sent by Her Majesty in order to… observe you. To make sure that you would do anything… foolish.”

“If Vishara didn’t want us to do anything foolish, she should have sent you sooner. Henry here came close to committing a massacre.”

Henry looked at Rayne with a frown.

“Her Majesty was referring to you, Miss.”

“Me? What? Only me?”

“Yes, only you. She was very specific about it. She fears your impulsiveness more than anything.”

“Ungrateful bitch,” Rayne murmured.

The man flinched in response but he was quick to recover his composure. “I’ll watch what I say if I were you. Everyone you see here owes Her Majesty their lives.”

Henry stepped forward, in between the man and Rayne. “Look here. You and your sovereign have nothing to worry about. As long as she behaves, we will behave too. Now, please let us be on our way. You can tell Her Majesty to stop sending someone over to us for no proper or good reasons.”

“I’m not just here to observe your companion, Lord Henry. I’m also here to escort you to Her Majesty. There’s still a long road ahead and this… place isn’t the most welcoming state towards strangers. I will not only be your guide but also to deter those who may be foolish enough to trouble you or your companion.”

Henry wanted to tease the man further about how Vishara waited until now to send him over but he kept those words to himself. He already knew the reason why and he didn’t want to provoke her more than he already had. “Alright then, lead the way— whatever your name is.”

“Mikael,” said the man.

“Lead the way, Mikael.”

The man named Mikael nodded and made a dramatic gesture. Then, his shadow expanded and from the darkness, a four-legged beast crawled out of it. The beast resembled a lion but it was crawling like a lizard and it was twice the size of a horse.

Alani gasped when she saw the beast. “That’s a Krasir!” she exclaimed.

“So this is a Krasir,” Rayne mused.

“What’s a Krasir?” Henry asked, being the only one none the wiser about the beast’s identity.

“A fearsome beast that was believed to have been hunted down to extinction by the bygone human kingdoms. Yet, one still lives.”

“You are mistaken, Miss,” said Mikael. “Krasirs have gone extinct. This is not a living Krasir. It is a mere imitation of one but it is every bit as ferocious as the real article.”

“Are you saying that this imitation has no… defect or flaw in comparison to a real Krasir?”

“Yes, that is indeed what I’m saying. Such is the power of Her Majesty. Now, please get on the Krasir. The road to Her Majesty’s castle is still a long way ahead, though we should reach there before dusk.”

The three got on to the Krasir. The beast was well-behaved. It did not stir or try to fling any of them off. Most likely because it was an enthralled undead. As the Krasir began to move, Rayne peered into the distance. When she saw nothing, she peered around her. To her confusion, nothing resembling a towering structure appeared in her view.

Rayne looked further ahead, far into the horizon where the mountain ranges encompassed the valley. “I don’t see a castle,” she said.

“You wouldn’t,” Mikael said with a wry smile that almost looked like a smirk.

“I see it.”

Mikael snapped his gaze towards Henry, utterly shocked. “Impossible.”

“But I do see one. You called it a castle but I say it resembles more of a palace than a castle. The twin spires hovering above the ‘castle’ are impressive.”

“...So you can indeed see the castle. As expected of the one acknowledged by Her Majesty.”

“I don’t see a castle,” said Alani.

“The appearance of the castle is being obscured by a spell,” Mikael explained. “Aside from Her Majesty, no one knows where it is unless they were already informed beforehand. Until now, I didn’t think there would be anyone else who’s capable of seeing through the spell.”

“Is there a point in hiding the castle?” Rayne asked. “This valley may be huge but it isn’t even a quarter of the size of Ulrum. It's sort of redundant to hide a massive structure in such a relatively small place.”

“We don’t dare to question the intentions of Her Majesty. It may be a mystery to us now but I’m sure that in time, we will see the wisdom in her decisions.”

While Mikael himself had a proud expression, the three could only smile wryly and sneered inwardly at the blatant blind faith the thrall possessed.

Henry glanced behind and gave a silent stern warning to Rayne. “Watch your words from now on,”