In the eastern region of Faris Empire, within Demonkind territory, a Black Dragon over ten meters long was flying desperately with a blonde human girl on its back. Suddenly, the Black Dragon sneezed. "Achoo! Who is talking about me? It has to be Sylvia…"
Tom tried to rub his nose, only to get smacked on the head by the panicking Vera. This princess the Lord wore goggles, her blonde hair cut short and tied up, and held an exquisitely shaped sniper matchlock as she shouted. "Don't slow down, stupid dragon! The Demonkind behind us are catching up!"
"You said we were going to find some Dragon Soul holy land, and now look at the mess you caused. How can you still be so carefree?" "Hey, shut up! Say one more word and Ham will throw you off!"
Behind them were Demonkind beastmen riding huge flying serpents, dressed like mad raiders, wielding swords and axes as they howled wildly. "Catch them! Once I cut off the Great Dragon's head, everyone here gets to eat legendary dragon meat!" "Hahaha, don't run! Let me taste dragon blood!"
Blazing beams were fired continuously by Vera as she screamed inside her head. "I am blonde, from some country, and I do have a mark on my head, but I am not edible and I am not a saint!" "Why do I have to be on the run with a dragon!" "Where is Ji-ge! Please save me!"
"You keep saying things that make no sense! Don't you have anything stronger, like that big iron thing from before!"
They had fallen into this area by accident. At first, Ham checked the map and was delighted to find it was close to the Dragon Soul holy land she longed for. Halfway there, they provoked this group of crazed beastmen, who rushed at any dragon like maniacs and even argued about how to divide it up.
For a young dragon like Ham and the small inventions Vera could pull out, it was impossible to stop them. "Help! Senior Ancestors, what is this thing you gave me even for!"
Clutching a scale in her hand, Ham fiddled with it for a long time, but it did not release any great power to drive off the beastmen behind them. The two of them could only keep fleeing in misery.
Vera felt unbelievably unlucky, starting with that diplomatic ceremony that almost certainly went wrong. She had prepared for years, and the Gundam Mecha she built by hand was reduced to scrap by the other side's powerhouse. Then there was talk of a bomb about to explode, only for it to be defused, and after riding that emotional swing she thought things would finally calm down.
It did not end there, because a spatial Rift appeared out of nowhere and dragged her and this foolish dragon inside. In the end she was still forced onto the path of the original story, except it was far more intense than she remembered. Back then it was at least a road trip story, something you could treat as travel and sightseeing.
But after arriving in Demonkind Region, being hunted while reenacting Fast and Furious and Mad Max was absolutely not what she wanted. "Master Artisan! Rapid Fabrication!"
The Matchlock Arcane Firearm in her hands ran empty again, and Vera painfully took out the last of her materials from her Ring. Golden patterns lit up on her forehead as the raw materials transformed into fresh magazines and alchemical rounds within a burst of golden light. They flowed into the weapon's circuits and, guided by countless engraved Magic runes and added Magic, turned into searing beams that blasted out.
"Bang!!!"
Under the fine circuits recorded on her visor lens, every shot precisely picked off the most troublesome leaders. Each hit caused missile-like explosions, and molten alchemical shrapnel spread outward, killing over a dozen Demonkind. But there were far more behind them, nearly a thousand charging in a dark mass.
The more she fired, the more it hurt, as every shot felt like bleeding money. The bullet materials were expensive to begin with, and directly fabricating finished magazines caused losses that made her heart ache. "Waaah, my savings. I earned those by staying up late coding and writing several volumes of novels."
With trembling hands, Vera pulled out a High-Grade Ice Element Crystal and looked at it one last time in reluctance. This kind of high-purity Crystal only appeared on the market from time to time and was often impossible to buy at any price. She had paid dearly for it.
"So all of you just die already, you damn Demon Orcs!"
Ice-blue light struck the ground and formed a massive ice wall, barely blocking the pursuing enemies. The two pushed themselves harder and fled, finally reaching a relatively safer place. That was only relative.
Ahead stood Demonkind City, a city with tall black walls, and slipping inside was better than staying outside. After years in Otherworld, Vera had learned that Demonkind were a very strange group. Not only were many races mixed together, but there was something even more peculiar.
Demon Orcs and ordinary Orcs could actually be treated as two different groups, which showed that Demonkind were not defined purely by bloodline. This race had only emerged a few thousand years ago and was a melting pot that included not just Orcs, but also Elves and humans. Appearances varied, but with Magic, Magic, various Gold Rank bloodline modifications, and countless mixed descendants, blood alone proved nothing.
What really defined them was temperament and belief. Most Demonkind showed absolute hostility toward non-Demonkind, and often even toward their own kind. Historically they were almost always at war, or preparing for the next one.
You could say they were born villains, violent and without limits, and even the usually friendly Elven Race would immediately turn ruthless when facing their corrupted kin. Tough bodies, minds obsessed with killing, antisocial lunatics, and shameless scum mixed together formed Demonkind. The former human the Empire had been beaten down until only the Three Great Empires remained, fighting on for thousands of years and forming an eastern defense line against them.
Different Demonkind groups also worshiped strange gods of unknown origin. Even their names sounded untrustworthy, like the God of Copper Red Dog of Gold Rank, the Green Plague Pig God, the Blue-Haired Stupid Bird God, and even gods that could not be spoken aloud.
"What god do you worship?" "Uh… a dragon? A huge one, like a natural disaster, a gigantic Black Dragon?"
Wearing a hood and fake horns, they showed a so-called believer's token, a dull black scale. The guard at the gate waved them through impatiently, having no interest in listening to any Demonkind wild god faith. As for whether these two were spies or dangerous figures, nobody cared.
Still, a Black Dragon faith was a bit interesting. "Alright, now that we are inside the city, try not to talk. Just act like you do not have a mouth." "Otherwise that little gift, the bracelet, will remind you. You know what I mean."
"Mmhm."
Thinking of the bracelet she could not remove, Ham could only nod. That thing was truly terrifying.
When they first arrived, neither was willing to yield. One wanted to head to the Dragon Soul sacred land to seek inheritance, while the other only wanted to rush back to human territory and go home. Seeing how delicate this princess looked, Ham had decided to settle it by whose fists were bigger.
She did not even need to enter a Great Dragon form, since half-dragon strength would be enough to pin the girl down. Without that giant metal man, what could a human do? That was what she thought at first.
Then the bracelet on her wrist activated, sending dense currents and strange sensations through her body. She collapsed instantly, too weak to move, tears and drool all over the ground. This was because the device was a secret weapon made by Bella, crafted from precious Ancient Steel, a wearable automatic tickling machine.
Once worn without permission, it prevented returning to a Great Dragon form. If she tried, the Ancient Steel would tighten enough to break her wrist. After nearly half an hour of stubborn resistance, Ham finally gave in and they reached a compromise.
They were deep in Demonkind territory, and returning meant crossing dangerous borders. Ham suggested they first go to the Dragon Soul sacred land for inheritance. If she could complete it, she was confident she could use her half-baked Spatial Magic to Teleportation back to Dragon Valley.
From Dragon Valley as a hub, they could directly Teleportation to Paraten Empire, avoiding a long journey through hostile land. For reasons unknown, every Demonkind who saw a young Black Dragon went berserk and attacked without caring about strength differences. Even with their abilities, the two were chased in panic.
Eventually even high-level Gold Rank Demonkind joined the hunt, forcing them to switch to human forms and travel more slowly. "We will restock supplies and leave. First we need money and information." "Money? How do we get it?" "Rely on you."
Vera did not carry much cash, only secret trump cards and precious materials. As a princess, her usual expenses could be charged to the Royal Family, so this situation was awkward. But she knew how absurd Ham's ability really was.
"Now we go to the casino."