𝑂𝑽𝐿xt.𝗇t

POV Vesuvius:

The mountain shattered and ruptured, with the large boulders launched in all directions. The thunderous bangs resonated through the land, and the soil vibrated under everyone’s feet.

The huge black shadow of the dragon hidden within the black clouds swung his huge metal tail like a giant battering ram.

The wind roared around it, and a loud sonic boom thundered across the sky.

It smashed into the mountains and tore off its tip, creating a massive explosion of pure kinetic force as it cut through the stone like a giant axe cutting through a tree.

Vesuvius inhaled, the black smoke getting sucked into his lungs, and his eyes pulsed in bright light. He smelled gold, silver, and more. All of them are buried deep within the heart of the mountain.

The wind howled and surged, washing away all the dust and smoke. A pile of gold and other treasures glinted under the sunlight in the remnants of what used to be a large cave. Golden coins mixed with silver coins, gemstones, and piles of expensive-looking items all sent out the beautiful smell of fortune.

‘Only this?! You have helped kill so many of our kind, yet this is all you own? Were you really so pathetic that you let the humans take such a large share?!’

There was easily enough gold and silver to fill up an entire family house, but to the huge dragon, it looked just like a small pile.

‘Still a good payment for a single execution. Also, I have gained lots of very rare materials… especially that sun disk or whatever it is. It may be enough to gain something like a solar flare for my apocalypse domain when I use it as a catalyst during my metamorphosis… Ohh, that reminds me that I should try to excavate the dead seraph and winter dragon as I am approaching the threshold for my second metamorphosis, slowly but surely.’

The huge airships appeared on the horizon, quickly closing in on his location. Their large shiny hulls battered in steel plates shone under the sun. Their huge balloons were slightly moving as they kept them afloat.

They all glided through the sky, larger ships escorted by smaller ones. There were at least seven of them.

POV Admmirall Willakers:

They all watched in terror at the bright flashes of light on the horizon and the collapsing mountain.

All the crewmen stared at the scene before them with doubts. Everyone was tense, and the quiet prayers resounded all over the deck.

An admiral stood behind the ship’s helm, his long white and black coat floating in the wind. He looked experienced, in his early forties, with a few grey strands already appearing between his dark hair. He massaged his mustache as he looked at his crew.

The murmurs of doubt surfaced all over the ship.

“Are we going to fight a monster that could do this…”

“Have you seen the bright red light before…”

“Where are the angels and the holy wyrm… are they all dead?”

The admiral himself had his doubts, but he had his duty and orders.

“D-don’t falter, men, this is our kingdom, and it is our duty to intercept any trespassers!”

There were no cheers as the atmosphere tensed even more with the shortening distance between them and the monster.

The clouds swirled and revealed a pair of golden eyes that were so huge and bright that they looked like a pair of golden suns.

The air around them froze, even the clouds stopping as if the air wasn’t moving. It all felt and looked surreal. The temperature quickly raised, together with the atmospheric pressure.

Instantly all of the admiral’s will to fight vanished as if it never existed.

A voice that was filled with an aura of majesty and mana reached into their souls, “Are you here to stop me from enacting the orders of the dragon god?! Do you want to support the traitor and the wanted criminal?!”

‘What is this? Why do these words sound like the poison that diplomats and officials always spit out of their mouths…’ Admiral was frozen, he expected growls, but instead, he was bombed by words that sounded too political for his poor mind.

‘A politician with a body of a dragon… this is a nightmare…’

“No, your draconic highness… we-we were going to arrest some… bandits!” He yelled out loudly, and the crewmen who could still move looked at him.

‘What? If these fucking ministers think they can beat this monster, they can come here personally. I refuse to die in a battle with no chance of winning.’ The two huge eyes, the broken mountain, and the entire sky heeding the dragon’s will were enough for him to understand his place.

“Very, well mortal… go and enact your justice just as I enacted my!” The pressure vanished as if it had never existed, and the air moved again. It was as if someone unfroze the time around them.

The dragon flapped his wings, and lightning struck across the sky, and the dragon was gone, leaving behind only black shifting clouds of smoke and dust from the collapsed mountain.

“This is against your orders!” A voice came from behind him as a richly dressed official and his group of guards in scale armor walked straight at him.

“Shut up! I just saved our lives. Where were your guts when the dragon stared upon us?!”

“Admiral Willakers, I am officially taking over the fleet’s command! You have gone against the highest command!” The official drew his saber together with his armed lackeys armed to the teeth.

‘So this is how is it… they didn’t object when I saved their lives, but now when they are safe, they are going after me… hungry for power…’ He felt resigned after seeing how crooked the kingdom to which he had sworn allegiance was.

However, the next moment, the entire crew drew their own weapons and rushed to his aid. The official and his guards paled as they slowly retreated under the overpowering numbers of soldiers.

“Return to your posts, or you will be charged with insubordination and treason!” He barked out, his arrogance present in every word he spat out.

No one retreated. Their eyes were burning in a fury, and their angry shouts filled the admiral with hope.

“Fuck, you! You have sent us to our death!”

“Go, fight the dragon by yourself, you coward!”

“Admiral, what are our orders?” An officer’s shout brought him back from his thought.

“Change the direction to the capital. It is time for the military to take over!” He had had enough of it. He couldn’t stand any more of the annoying diplomats and the rich merchants that ruled the so-called merchant kingdom.

‘They can go fight with their gold if they want! But I am the fleet! Their richness is nothing before my magic-array cannons!’

He turned at the official with a huge grin, “And throw them from the board! This pig must is just dead weight!”

(AN: Let me know if I should draw a continent map. Personally, I think it is becoming more and more necessary when the story is growing in scale.)

POV Vesuvius:

The forest was unnaturally quiet, and even the road vanished. There were no signs of human civilization as far as one could see. There were only trees overgrown with vines, tall grass, and bushes.

A small group in black slowly walked through the thick vegetation, the branches and grass posing no hindrance to them. The dry twigs were audibly snapping under their feet. They all followed the man with the weird punk haircut.

Ding!

//

Main story quest: Connection to the Living progresses

You have found your first target. Deliver the first of the letters.

//

They all looked around them in confusion.

“But there is nothing around us… only forest…”

Suddenly the leaves on the trees rustled, and a strong wind rose up. A strong aura, fitting of a boss, made the air ripple as it enveloped them all. It felt familiar, yet still different.

‘Ohh, now it makes complete sense!’

He immediately kneeled, his lackeys following behind him. They looked confused, but they trusted him and followed him.

“Your highness, we came to deliver a message!” He spoke, even though he couldn’t see anyone.

A deep and loud voice thundered through the forest, “Huh, I can feel the smell of a dragon lord on you…”

The spearman struggled to keep himself composed this time, ‘A dragon lord? Is our boss a dragon lord? That explains that power… a dragon lord and a chosen of the dragon god.’

Only now did he realize that the storyline was probably even larger and more important than he thought, ‘What is the end goal here? Such an important character can’t be just content with a land of a single kingdom. Maybe even the entire continent will be too small for them.’

He hurriedly brought a black letter with golden edges out of his inventory and carefully raised it above his head.

“This is the message from the great dragon lord Vesuvius, the chosen of the dragon god!”