After giving his instructions, Salron urged Doug and the others to accelerate the mining process for safety reasons. He had prior matters to attend to—the group he had encountered earlier.

...

Talom rode silently through a forest, his forces trailing behind him—a stark contrast to their prior vigor. Once an elite band of over three hundred, now only around a hundred weary and battered soldiers remained, many without weapons, their armor in tatters.

Without facing the dragon directly, Talom had believed dragons to be somewhat overrated, just large beasts after all...

"Have we received any word from the messengers we dispatched?" Talom asked his aide, snapping back from his reverie.

"Nothing yet, my lord. I've sent out three groups of messengers, but it's as if they've vanished without a trace," the aide replied with caution. The Woltan family had never suffered such heavy losses in nearly a decade.

Talom sighed heavily. Things looked grim for Angus; perhaps they had grown too complacent with success, losing the caution they once had. Previously, he would never have charged in so recklessly, thinking the Savage Shields could solve everything. The loss of six Savage Shields and many elite warriors was a heavy burden that he would have to bear himself.

Suddenly, a vast shadow covered the sky, and a white thermal ray followed, scattering the troops with its impact.

"It's that black dragon, he's back!"

"Cursed beast!" Talom cursed as his steed collapsed beneath him, overwhelmed by the dragon's presence, refusing to rise despite his master's urgings.

"Form up, defensive positions!" Talom shouted with all his might. But after taking out another fifty soldiers with his fiery breath, Salron left the area.

Talom exhaled in relief seeing the pitiful state of his men, a mix of sorrow filling his heart.

"Lord Talom, the black dragon's intent is clear—he aims to grind us down to death," his aide reported anxiously after counting the casualties and wounded.

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Talom clenched his fist in frustration; he was well aware but powerless to change their fate. Given the black dragon's strength, he could've wiped them out in one fell swoop. Instead, he opted to torment them slowly—a testament to the black dragon's reputed deceit and cowardice.

"If we survive this, I swear to make that damn black dragon pay!"

After his indiscriminate attack, Salron landed on a stretch of gravelly shore—the place he had arranged to meet Winnie.

Before long, the air shimmered, and Winnie, reeking of blood, materialized before him.

Winnie had some injuries on her; after all, only the capable were sent out on missions like these, and she had her work cut out for her.

"Lord Salron, there were six messengers sent in three waves, and they are all here!" she announced, producing six bloody heads from her magic device.

Salron's eyelid twitched at the sight. This woman was fierce.

"Well done!" he acknowledged dryly, then added, "Next time, you don't need to bring back their heads."

"Understood, Lord Salron. Also, Shadar and the others are nearby," Winnie remembered, touching her cat ears as if recalling something she'd forgotten.

"Shadar? Didn't I command them to retreat to the Badtooth tribe?" Salron knew that Shadar and his group had fought with a conviction of facing certain death upon learning the strength of their enemy. He didn't plan to reprimand them; such loyalty was hard to find.

"They wanted to contribute in some way to your greatness!" Winnie said, shaking her head at the memory of Shadar's group's pitiful state.

"Have them clean up the battlefield later and block off the surrounding jungle. I don't want any human soldier to leave here alive," Salron ordered. His probing attacks had shown that the remaining human army was practically defenseless. Not seeing any of the Savage Shields again, he decided to finish off the soldiers in the next wave. After all, trespassing in a dragon's territory comes with a price, even if the intruders were unaware.

"As you wish, Lord Salron. I won't let any human soldier escape. I'll go inform Shadar and the others right away!"

Winnie hopped away and then vanished into thin air. Salron shook his head; her racial talents were indeed powerful. He yawned and took to the sky, ready to end the lives of those unfortunate souls.

Salron felt no remorse for the lives he had taken. In this life, he was a dragon, not a human, and he didn't subscribe to the belief in human supremacy like some of his transmigrator predecessors.

This time, Salron flew higher, about eight hundred meters above the ground before descending to four hundred. His draconic vision caught sight of the remaining human soldiers below.

The reactor within him began to glow, his chest emitting a reddish light. He hadn't fully unleashed its power before, but this time he planned to release the full extent of its energy.

...

Talom had a bad feeling that day, and his instincts were often accurate.

"Order the troops to be on high alert!" he commanded urgently.

But the soldiers were exhausted. They had been on a forced march without proper food. Suddenly, a thunderous roar from above shattered the tense silence.

"Brace yourselves! The black dragon is back!"

"He's back!"

"Run!"

"Why won't he leave us be?"

"I want to go home; my wife is pregnant!"

...

This time, however, some soldiers ignored his command and scattered in panic. They weren't the heartless Savage Shields; they had joined the army for the well-being of themselves and their families. But the relentless dragon attacks had finally snapped their last thread of nerve.

Salron showed no mercy, sweeping over them with a breath of white blazing with traces of blue—a hotter flame that melted armor and crystallized the ground. He ignored their futile attacks; spears, fireballs, ice arrows—all meaningless. The devouring force within him was continuously restoring any damage.

He felt invincible, the power coursing through him demanding release.

Talom, wearing his helmet and forsaking his terrified steed, watched as the black dragon slaughtered his forces. With a resolute voice, he declared, "I am Talom Woltan, and I will not be defeated!"

He took out a vial of red potion and drank it down, his eyes blazing with crimson resolve.

"For the Woltan family!" he exclaimed.