The sudden appearance of this human, from behavior to speech, gave Fire Dragon Godwin Caesar a thorough lesson in what it meant to encounter a deceitful, cunning human with no moral boundaries.
Practicing questionable black magic that couldn’t even be considered proper, lying without batting an eye right before him – if such a human were to go around claiming to be his follower…
Godwin could already imagine how utterly tarnished his reputation would become.
No, absolutely not.
“No, you are definitely not my follower.”
Shen Jiang nodded in agreement with an enthusiastic attitude: “Before receiving your approval, I can only remain an ordinary admirer. But I deeply worship you – I came here precisely to obtain your personal permission.”
Godwin: “I will never allow a despicable human to become my follower. Silence.”
Shen Jiang was taken aback, seemingly unable to believe what she had just heard. What had she done to be called despicable?
This dragon before her didn’t seem particularly bright – constantly rejecting her, yet not directly killing her.
Was he… actually quite kind?
Godwin looked strangely at the seemingly fragile human before him, unable to detect her Magic Rank no matter how he tried.
Even though Godwin Caesar couldn’t identify her magical attributes, upon careful consideration, these never-before-seen magical methods weren’t completely unidentifiable.
First was the legendary top-tier magic that required not only immense personal magic power but also the blessing of the God of Light – Sacred Resurrection Magic. If the other party worshipped the God of Light, they would never claim to be his admirer. Godwin had heard about humans’ faith in the God of Light – these people regarded the God of Light as the sun in the sky, sacred and inviolable, never changing their faith even in death.
Moreover, those followers were famously devoted to supreme magical power – they would never allow their bodies to remain so vulnerable.
It could only be black magic, which matched perfectly with this black-haired, black-eyed human before him.
Such secret, ancient, and powerful magic must have fatal restrictions. After all, being able to reverse death and defy nature likely came with conditions – perhaps one requirement was having an extremely weak physical body.
Godwin found his reasoning quite logical.
Godwin Caesar made his judgment without hesitation:
Although the other party was in some ways weaker than an insect, their magical abilities were absolutely unfathomable.
This fragility was clearly intentional on this human’s part.
The trigger for her magic must be encountering death itself, then being reborn from it.
Godwin had never encountered such a troublesome individual – unable to kill her, unable to drive her away.
Even if you gathered all the most powerful human knights and Magicians together, they wouldn’t cause Fire Dragon Godwin as much headache as this single human did.
An eerie silence emerged and spread between the dragon and the human.
Shen Jiang could no longer distinguish whether what she felt was pain or numbness. This silence before the storm made her feel incredibly oppressed.
“Would you permit me to become your follower?” Shen Jiang asked in a carefully pleading tone.
Encountering such a fawning human for the first time, completely untrustworthy words spoken from that innocent, fair face – like Succubus Magic weaving its charm – somehow made them seem slightly more believable.
Not good.
Alarms blared in Godwin·Westzer’s mind. He had nearly been bewitched by the human’s deceptively harmless face.
Godwin·Westzer quickly dismissed the thought of confining the human.
Wouldn’t keeping her locked under his watchful eye serve as a constant reminder of his incompetence? Failing to eliminate such a puny, fragile human was the ultimate humiliation for a dragon of his immense power.
Godwin·Westzer’s golden pupils narrowed dangerously, as if trying to peer into the other’s soul. Yet all he could sense from her was warm, gentle natural elements—something no cunning, vile human could possess.
The Black Dragon’s golden eyes once again flickered with confusion. Could human disguise truly be this flawless? Was this person genuinely his devotee?
“Why do you worship me?” Godwin·Westzer casually lowered his head, continuing to stare at the human beneath him.
Shen Jiang looked astonished. “Surely you’re aware your legendary tales have spread across the entire continent? To countless people like me, you are our spiritual leader.”
Godwin·Westzer flicked his tail. “Oh? Is that so? Do you admire me for my power?”
Shen Jiang nodded eagerly, but the Black Dragon snorted coldly again. “I have no need for incompetent devotees like you.”
Leave. Now. The farther, the better.
Shen Jiang froze at the dismissive, murderous tone in the dragon’s speech, already envisioning her grim fate. Her mind raced frantically once more.
“I know I’m weak, especially compared to you. Someone as powerful as you might not understand, but I still want to share my story with you.”
The Black Dragon endured the human’s chattering, his massive golden eyes brimming with impatience.
“You see, I lost my mother when I was very young.” Shen Jiang gestured to the air at knee-level. “I was only this tall back then.”
Godwin·Westzer’s golden dragon eyes blinked, as if seeing through the human’s intentions.
What was this human doing?
Did she think playing pitiful would earn his sympathy?
In the dragon world, only true warriors deserved respect. For those worthless cowards who begged for mercy at death’s door, showing weakness was akin to seeking death.
Weakness only provoked the Great Dragon’s more brutal, ferocious side.
Just moments ago, Godwin·Westzer had noted this human’s substantial magic power, though misdirected. Now, he felt ashamed to have such a follower. The Black Dragon’s gaze gradually turned icy.
“If not for you, I’d probably still be bullied. If not for my determination to find and follow you, I’d never have known how vast and wonderful the world outside could be.”
Godwin·Westzer paused. “Because of me?”
When had he ever helped a human girl? He had no memory of it.
“It’s a long story. After becoming an orphan, I was sent to an institution that specialized in taking in parentless children like me. There were many children there, but resources were scarce—only meager food and threadbare clothes each day. I was bullied terribly by the other kids.”
That much was obvious. With her frail little frame, who else would they pick on?
So how did she grow into who she is now? If it wasn’t innate, acquiring such powerful magic power later in life couldn’t have been easy.
Godwin·Westzer gradually grew curious, waiting for her to finish her story.
“Don’t laugh at me, but I was really scared at first.” Shen Jiang smiled slightly, her eyes sparkling with an indescribable radiance. “But then I started having strange dreams where a Black Dragon kept calling to me, telling me to stand up and protect myself with my own strength. It said it was the most unparalleled existence in this world, and if I could manage it, I could become its follower.”
Godwin·Westzer was taken aback. A Black Dragon?
As far as he knew, he was the only Black Dragon left in the world now.
Shen Jiang continued, “Relying on the faith the Black Dragon gave me in my dreams, I fought back for the first time. That’s when I realized resistance wasn’t as difficult as I imagined, and they weren’t as terrifying as I thought.”
“It was the Lord Black Dragon in my dreams that gave me the strength and courage to resist. Otherwise, I might never have taken that step. Later, I finally left that place and gradually made my way to your side. Look at my black hair and black eyes—I’m honored to share the same black color as you.”
Godwin listened intently, and in his daze, he unconsciously loosened his restraint on the human.
Dragons didn’t know much about humans. The magic books hidden in the Dragon Magic Academy Library only recorded human greed, shamelessness, and cunning variability. Thus, all human intruders who coveted the treasure were instantly killed by Godwin·Westzer.
The moment the claws in front of her loosened, a large amount of fresh air finally rushed into her chest. Shen Jiang gasped eagerly, still shaken, calculating her next move.
“Since you’re my follower, what treasure have you prepared to offer me?” The Great Dragon’s thunderous voice rang out again.
Shen Jiang’s breathing faltered slightly.
Treasure? What treasure?
“Hmm?”
The lazy, drawn-out tone carried a hint of barely perceptible killing intent, as if this were the most natural process.
Shen Jiang hadn’t expected the first reaction of the evil dragon after hearing her story to be asking for a gift.
Forcing her to choose between money and her life. This taken-for-granted act of a bully nearly broke her pure and devout expression.
Struggling to survive in this predicament, Shen Jiang knew that if she couldn’t produce a decent treasure, the pile of bleached bones nearby would be her fate.
Her gaze swept over the dazzling, glittering treasures under the Black Dragon, and she couldn’t help but mock the dragon’s overly extravagant taste. She was just an ordinary person who had only been working for a few years. Even if she had money, it wouldn’t meet this lord’s picky taste.
Any one of those golden, sparkling items in his treasury was probably worth more than her entire net worth.
The only thing Shen Jiang had with her.
It was the talisman her grandmother gave her.
At this critical moment, it truly became her lifesaver.
No matter how reluctant she was, Shen Jiang still raised her arm with difficulty toward her neck. Just this one step, and she should gain the Great Dragon’s trust. But would the Great Dragon fancy this small piece of green jade in her hand?
Shen Jiang struggled to pull the pendant from her collar. Before she could embellish the value of this piece of jade, the Black Dragon had already hooked the thin chain from her hand, examining the tiny stone no larger than his own claw.
Seeing her reluctant expression, he had thought it was something precious.
He couldn’t have been mistaken – when she stood at the cave entrance, her gaze upon his treasure hoard had been unmistakably covetous.
That was pure, unadulterated greed in her eyes!
“You dare mock the great Dragon?”
“No, Great Dragon, this is the renowned Imperial Green. Even this small piece is immensely valuable, representing the most supreme and coveted grade among jades…”
…What Imperial Green? All he could see was the color green. Were human kings truly so lacking in discernment?
The Black Dragon looked at the human sprawled on the ground spouting nonsense as if to say: “Do I look like a fool to you?”
Shen Jiang declared with grave seriousness: “A gem like this transcends mere monetary value. It represents status, matching only the most noble positions in the world… Of course, it cannot compare to Your Greatness’s treasure hoard.”
After this rambling explanation, truth be told, Shen Jiang had exaggerated the jade’s quality. But seeing the dragon’s disdainful look, she feared he wouldn’t sense her sincerity if she didn’t inflate the small jade’s value.
If she were to be honest, this pendant meant more than any Imperial Green – it was her grandmother’s gift for her coming of age! A treasure her grandmother had cherished for years.
Godwin Westzer twitched his ears impatiently, contemptuous of human superficiality. How could such a pitiful fragment be worth boasting about?
All such tiny gemstones were uniformly classified as worthless trinkets in his eyes.
With a flick of his massive triangular claw, he casually tossed the human’s chain-linked green bauble precisely into his treasure pile. The crisp clinking sound made Shen Jiang’s heart tremble.
Ah! The heartache!
“If you’re so fervently devoted to me, why were you heading toward the cave entrance when I first saw you?”
She possessed considerable strength and mysterious origins – surely she hadn’t been planning to escape. Godwin Westzer couldn’t puzzle out the reason, so he simply voiced his confusion.
Shen Jiang’s inner delight and resentment abruptly ceased under his deathly stare.
Her rapidly working mind now seemed to crash. She hadn’t expected her own excuse to backfire, having nearly forgotten that the dragon had discovered her while she was stealthily trying to flee outward.