NOVEL WEB Chapter 111: Red Dragon
With the full moon shining high in the sky like a silent observer watching what was happening in the dangerous jungle.
The wind blew slowly near the beach overlooking the River of Blood, where the corpses of six-legged crocodiles lay fresh.
Among the bushes, several wild beasts moved about, claiming this territory as their own and seeking to expand their range. From among them, under the moonlight, a feathered snake of Viscount rank appeared, followed by a three-meter-long spider that was a Giant Blue Spider of the same rank.
From one of the branches appeared a large ape wearing a skirt of liquor; it was a Blue Liquor Ape. Finally, a five-meter snake appeared, thick drops of greenish poison dripping from its fangs.
All of them had been attracted by the strong smell of blood and wanted to claim this territory as their own.
Not long after, the struggle of all these wild beasts of Viscount rank began to echo throughout the jungle, which was quieter than ever.
Even from where they stood, Kael could hear some faint sounds of the clash taking place in the distance.
With his body covered in darkness, Kael's eyes scanned the surroundings. He had decided to stand guard first, as these hours were the most dangerous, when the beasts were most active.
And he wasn't going to trust his life to a young master who had never ventured beyond his family's territory and the academy. He had allowed him to travel with him because of his rank 7, which was the minimum requirement for sailing around the world.
Since it was hazardous for someone of a lower rank to sail the world, it was simply a sure death. The dangers that existed were too great:
Zu, Wild Beasts, Demonic Humans, People of the Demonic Path, and more. Anything could kill you if you weren't careful.
And Kael took this time to refine his mana essence, to quickly reach rank 7 and obtain a qualitative change in both his strength and his body.
Furthermore, he hadn't forgotten about the system; he just had it too far out of his mind and hadn't yet reaped its benefits, because he was more focused on his plans.
I also have to investigate who put that curse on my body, and about the title "Strayed Demon."
He hadn't forgotten the notification windows that appeared when he obtained the system on the day he returned to the past. He just hadn't taken the time to think about it.
Kael had many things to do, but he was still too weak to do anything. And he couldn't forget the events that would take place during this time to reap the maximum benefit.
As he thought about the future and everything he had to do, Kael looked up at the starry sky, where several clouds were moving slowly.
And then, out of nowhere, a heavy pressure fell over the entire jungle, causing all the wild beasts to panic, regardless of their rank, from Baron to King.
Breaking through the clouds, a Red Dragon appeared.
A dragon!
Kael looked at the dragon with a complicated expression. He could only hope that the Red Dragon would not attack where they were.
Michel, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up with a start, cold sweat running down his body.
"What's going on? What's that terrifying pressure?" he asked, standing next to Kael, who was watching with a dark expression.
"A Red Dragon appeared," Kael replied.
Michel's blue eyes, like cold gems, opened wide in surprise, and he looked up at the sky, watching the magnificent dragon that seemed to be the ruler of the boundless sky.
"What do we do now?"
Kael let out a cold laugh.
"Pray that it doesn't attack where we are."
The majestic Red Dragon rose into the sky, covered in a coat of crimson scales as strong as the purest armor forged by kings. Its imposing wings, broad and elegant, spread out gracefully, while its long tail swayed slowly, as if marking the rhythm of the world.
From above, his golden eyes descended calmly, observing everything that was happening in the jungle below him. Nothing escaped his gaze.
He began to descend rapidly, and this caused Kael's expression to darken even more.
Now he could only depend on luck to survive. Because from now on, that was all he had.
Michel, despite being worried, was also excited. He hadn't been wrong when he told Kael on Kiran Mountain that he would make his life more interesting.
The Red Dragon continued to descend, and with every meter it dropped, the pressure weighing down on the jungle increased like a crushing tide. It was its mere presence: colossal, overwhelming, capable of breaking the will of any creature.
When it reached the right height, it opened its jaws with a deafening roar. A torrent of flames erupted with fury, engulfing all the beasts on the beach before they could flee. The fire devoured flesh and bone in a single heartbeat, reducing everything to ashes.
Without slowing down, the Red Dragon continued to breathe fire onto the thick jungle. Each breath set trees, rocks, and earth ablaze, transforming the environment into a sea of fire that consumed all life. It advanced in a low flight, drawing a burning line that split the jungle in two, as if hell itself had descended upon the place.
Only when the vegetation was reduced to a field of glowing embers did the dragon take flight with a powerful flap of its wings. It rose above the clouds, leaving behind a red and black inferno, its trail of destruction an indelible memory.
Kael and Michel breathed a slight sigh of relief as they watched the dragon's silhouette fade into the horizon. They had survived... just barely. The creature was gone, but its presence still hung in the air like a curse.
All that remained was the echo of its destruction: tongues of fire still danced among the trees, smoke rose like funeral columns toward the sky, and the desperate cries of wild beasts echoed among the trees, trapped amid chaos, fleeing, dying, or going mad.
Kael stopped looking at the destruction and said to Michel,
"Continue resting; tomorrow will be a difficult day."