In that Dragon Slaying War—a failed battle that was still worthy of being immortalized in human epics—Huozi had thought he was done for.
At the outset, he had assumed it was just another ordinary territorial invasion. They had fought plenty of wars like that before, and even when they faced a young dragon, they were confident they could put up a fight!
But the moment he faced that Red Dragon, Huozi felt just how small he was for the first time.
With a single Dragon Roar, the Goblins who had been sent in as cannon fodder to take the brunt of the damage broke down completely. Even Huozi's mind went blank for an instant. The giant lizard beneath him bucked wildly and threw him to the ground, where the panicking Goblins nearly trampled him to death.
Some conviction had kept him going. After he hacked more than a dozen Goblins to death, they finally gave him a wide berth, and he managed to escape with his life.
But when the Gnoll Warlord ordered him to act as a decoy, Huozi's heart sank again. At the thought of his wife and cubs, still living near the Black Dragon's lair, and of never seeing them again, he felt as if his heart were being torn apart.
But he couldn't disobey the Warlord. If he were branded a deserter, the Warlord would kill him, and after the battle, his wife and cubs would be drowned as well.
So he chose to charge ahead without hesitation.
In that moment, he felt like a moth flying straight into a volcano.
The Red Dragon casually swept a claw across the ground, and a rain of shattered bodies and rocks buried him completely. His consciousness faded into darkness.
At that moment, Huozi thought he was dead.
When he finally came to, he discovered that he'd been captured by a group of Slimes! And it wasn't just him. Everyone who hadn't died on the battlefield—half his kin—had been taken prisoner.
What a disgrace!
He had tried to kill himself, but failed. The Slimes and Koutao Fishmen were stronger than he'd expected, and wounded and exhausted as he was, he couldn't fight back.
Like him, all the captured Gnolls stared blankly ahead, numb as they waited for what might be an even more miserable fate.
Would the Red Dragon eat them? Would they be sold to a Mind Flayer city and made into Broodmothers for Mind Flayer tadpoles? Or would their brainstems be cut out, turning them into mindless weapons of war?
There was no way to know.
But soon he realized that the Slimes weren't abusing them at all. They'd even gathered a fair amount of herbs and Fluorescent Moss from somewhere. They swallowed them, mixed them together inside their bodies, then smeared the snot-like slime over the prisoners' wounds.
To his surprise, it didn't sting. It felt wonderfully cool. But then that damned Slime poured the rest of the slime straight into his mouth!
Gag!
It tasted worse than shit. He'd rather die.
But thank goodness for that lump of shit. It had saved him when he was on the verge of death.
As long as he lived, there was still a sliver of hope.
And so he waited—and hope arrived.
After several cycles of the Fluorescent Moss glowing, the Red Dragon appeared before them again. He said he admired their bravery on the battlefield, then asked whether they'd signed any kind of contract with the Black Dragon.
Huozi shook his head in confusion. He had no idea what the Red Dragon was trying to scheme against his Master for.
But he knew that his Master didn't seem to care much for them, either. They were just Gnolls with no extraordinary abilities. He had even given up on making a contract with them because he would've had to offer a huge fortune to Tiamat, the Evil Scale. Instead, he'd told them to move their tribe's Retainers to the area around his lair, claiming it would make it easier to protect their wives and cubs.
What a joke. It was obviously a threat!
If he deserted the battlefield, his family would pay the price!
That was the Black Dragon's so-called pride in his own wisdom, just as Green Dragons loved showing off their cunning and Red Dragons reveled in their ferocity.
The Red Dragon, whose name was Lord Tibilus, seemed very pleased with that answer. He loudly mocked their Master, Kangerweian, for being an idiot.
Then the Red Dragon gave them two choices.
Either be eaten.
Or, with Landis, the Scales of Justice, as witness, sign a master-servant contract. Without revealing the Red Dragon's identity, they would sneak back to the Black Dragon's lair and take their tribe and families with them to a certain place.
If he completed the mission and somehow survived, he would be granted favor and glory:
"One drop of dragon blood! And a transformation ritual to make you a Dragonblood Gnoll!"
At that moment,
he seemed to hear his long-silent heart pounding once more!
He also saw the eyes of his fellow Gnolls, glowing as red as fire!
What tempting terms! What trust and favor!
Compared with their former Master, the Black Dragon,
it was like night and day!
Black Dragon? Pah! You're nothing but a stupid, despicable lizard!
Kangerweian! You never saw this coming! I, Huozi, am back!
But to Huozi's surprise, he'd been ready to fight to the death. He never expected that when he returned to his tribe, he'd find the Black Dragon's lair completely empty!
Huh? That coward! He must've been so terrified by his great Master that he didn't even dare come back!
He hadn't even taken his treasure!
Huozi decided to go all in. He called on his Tribe Members to sweep up all the treasure in the Black Dragon's lair. After a harrowing but uneventful trek, they offered the entire hoard to their new Master, Lord Tibilus, the Red Dragon!
At that moment, Huozi could feel the new Master's pure, surging delight in his terrifying laughter, which seemed powerful enough to bring down the cavern.
He was so pleased that something even went wrong when he bestowed the dragon blood.
Huozi had only been expecting the one drop his Master had promised.
But then his Master bit down on his own claw and tore it open!
Pfft!
Dragon blood poured down on Huozi like a torrential rain, drenching him from head to toe while his mind went blank!
The next moment, he felt as if he'd been thrown into lava.
The pain was excruciating. He felt he could pass out at any moment.
Then he seemed to hear his Master's voice:
"First time bleeding myself, so I didn't know what I was doing. I let out a little too much blood. Hang in there, my Warrior. Pull through, and you'll be the first Gnoll Warrior under my command! You'll lead the Gnoll tribe in battle across the Underdark, crushing my enemies and whipping my allies. Ahaha, I can hardly wait to see what kind of expression Kangerweian will have the next time he faces me.
"Mm, though that'll probably be quite a while from now. Before then, I need to sleep. And for now, the most important thing for you is to survive, then take your people mining for me!
"Little wolf cubs, don't be gloomy or despair. It's just mining, right? Here's a little inside information: if you mine for me without complaint for ten years, I can make sure all your brothers who've lost limbs return to the battlefield. And by then, you'll all be stronger and tougher than ever!
"This is a promise from me, Tibilus! Be grateful! Cheer! Get ready to embrace your brand-new lives!"
As the Red Dragon's voice gradually faded into the distance, Huozi's consciousness sank into darkness.
When Huozi woke up again, the first thing he felt was a surging power that seemed ready to burst out of him at any moment!
All around him, his Tribe Members gazed at him with envy and burning admiration, their endless hopes ignited by Lord Tibilus's promise.
"Mining? Sounds pretty good to me."
Huozi clenched his fist, and it cracked sharply. Then he grinned, baring a mouthful of fangs:
"Come on, Brothers! We're heading down the mine!"