Chapter 183: Aftermath
On the beach of the Dragon's Nest island, the sun was shining bright.
A skeleton swordsman squatted in the sand, poking a hermit crab hiding in its shell with a bony finger, over and over again.
"Come out."
The hermit crab didn't budge.
"I'm counting to three."
The hermit crab still didn't budge. The skeleton swordsman tilted its head, the soulfire in its eye sockets flickering. "Fine, you're good at playing dead, aren't you? I can do that too."
With that, the skeleton swordsman flopped down flat on its back on the sand, limbs splayed, utterly motionless. Several nearby skeletons saw this and also laid down.
"Brother, we're already dead. What's the point of playing dead?"
"Then should we play alive?"
"How?"
"Like humans? By breathing?"
The skeletons began to heave their chests in unison, emitting a raspy, wind-like huffing sound.
In the distance, a newly adult green dragon was sunning itself on a rock. Suddenly hearing this eerie sound, it snapped its head up. It saw a dozen skeletons lying in a neat row on the beach, chests rising and falling, emitting that bizarre breathing noise. The green dragon's scales bristled instantly.
"By the Gods! The skeletons have mutated!" It shrieked, scrambling in a panic toward the safety of its lair.
Elsewhere, several skeletons climbed one of the volcanoes on the Dragon's Nest island. Three soldiers were perched on the rim, peering curiously inside.
"It's all red in there. The novels call this 'magma'."
"It looks so hot."
"I can't feel it, but the books say it's hot."
"Should we jump in and see?"
"Are you stupid? That's magma!"
"What are you afraid of? We can't burn to death."
"The Sovereign said we must be brave in exploring the unknown."
The skeletons looked at each other, soulfire flickering. "Seems... that makes sense."
"Long live the Sovereign!"
So, holding hands and shouting slogans, the three skeletons jumped into the magma pool together. Plop. The skeletons sank slowly into the magma. A few seconds later, three bare skeletal heads bobbed back to the surface.
"Whoa! It feels nice and warm in the bone cracks!"
"Much more comfortable than sunbathing!"
Suddenly, one skeleton lifted its arm, watching the bone begin to blacken and char. "Brothers, something's wrong. I think we're on fire."
They scrambled out of the magma in a panic, still burning.
"Quick, extinguish it!"
"How?"
"Roll! The Academy taught us that rolling extinguishes fire!"
The skeletons watching from the sidelines observed with great interest, one even pulling out a small notebook to record the event earnestly. "Remember to tell the brothers back home: do not jump into magma."
"Understood, noted."
On the other side of the island, several skeleton swordsmen stood before the entrance of a dragon lair.
"Are there dragons inside?"
"Probably, it's such a large cave."
"Should we go in and look?"
"Would that be rude?"
"We already won the war; why worry about politeness?"
And so, they swaggered inside.
Deep in the cave, a green dragon that had just returned was preparing to sleep on its pile of gold coins. Suddenly hearing footsteps, it snapped its eyes open. It saw the skeletons standing at the entrance, curiously examining it. The green dragon froze, its entire body stiffening.
"What... what do you want, coming in here?"
"Nothing, just passing by, thought we'd look around."
One skeleton walked to the pile of gold coins, knelt, and picked one up, staring at the coin from a bygone era. "This is old-world currency, right? It doesn't circulate in the Empire anymore. Why do you Dragonkin collect it?"
The green dragon swallowed hard. "Because... because it's pretty."
The skeleton tilted its head. "I don't see what's pretty about it." It tossed the coin back onto the pile.
Another skeleton walked up to the green dragon and reached out to touch its scales. "Don't be scared. We're on the same side."
The green dragon remained stiff, not daring to move. After wandering around the cave for a while, the skeletons apparently found it boring and swaggered back out. The green dragon watched their retreating figures, its mind completely blank.
Th... they just left? Didn't steal the gold? Didn't kill the dragon? Just... left?
It lay there on the gold pile, unable to process what had happened for a long time.
Meanwhile, at the center of the Dragon's Nest island, at the foot of the massive active volcano, inside a giant cavern, the five Dragon Elders sat face-to-face with Skele-Pride. The Elders had transformed into their Dragon-man forms—human bodies with dragon heads—to show respect while remaining capable of communication.
Basaka sat in the center, his dragon eyes locked on the skeleton opposite him. Skele-Pride sat casually on a rock, holding a novel he had brought from the Empire.
Basaka spoke. "Speak. Your Empire's conditions."
Skele-Pride closed the book and looked up. "Very simple. The Dragonkin will join The Evernight Empire and become the Empire's transport corps. You will be responsible for moving goods and personnel across the continent. In exchange, the Empire grants you official residency, and you shall enjoy all the benefits provided to Imperial citizens."
The cavern fell silent for several seconds. Daelas spoke first. "Only transport?"
Skele-Pride nodded. "Only transport."
Vinodo pressed further. "We aren't required to participate in war?"
Skele-Pride thought for a moment. "Unless you volunteer. The Empire does not force any legal resident to go to war."
The five Elders exchanged glances. These terms were far better than they had imagined. Five thousand years ago, the Continental Coalition had agreed to let the Dragonkin leave only because they feared a desperate, suicidal final stand. Back then, though the Dragonkin were near extinction, they still possessed the power to fight to the death. Had they been pushed to the edge, the Coalition would have paid a heavy price. Thus, they compromised, letting the Dragonkin retire to a lonely island.
But what would have happened if the Coalition hadn't feared that final retaliation? The answer was obvious: flayed, deboned, and turned into slaves. Dragon scales as armor, dragon bones as weapons, dragon blood as medicine. The entire race would have been squeezed dry as a resource.
But now, The Evernight Empire did not fear retaliation. Skele-Pride had made that clear; the troops that arrived today were only a tenth of just one of the Empire's Seven Armies, and even that was enough to wipe out the entire Dragon's Nest. If the Empire truly wanted to exterminate them, they wouldn't need to negotiate. They would just do it.
But the Empire hadn't. Instead, they were willing to give the Dragonkin a choice. A choice to join the Empire and become its citizens.
Basaka took a deep breath. "Our race has always understood the law of the jungle. The weak submit to the strong; that is the natural order. Five thousand years ago, those inferior races defeated us only by virtue of numbers and time. But this time is different."
Basaka stood up, his dragon head bowing slightly. "The Dragonkin are willing to join The Evernight Empire." The other four Elders stood and bowed in unison.
Watching this, Skele-Pride's soulfire flickered. "Excellent. Then welcome to The Evernight Empire. From today on, the Dragonkin are part of the Empire."
Skele-Pride rose and walked toward the cavern entrance. At the doorway, he paused and looked back. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. The Empire's transport business pays very high wages. Especially long-haul transport; a single day's work is enough to let you 'lie flat' for a month."
With that, Skele-Pride left the cavern without looking back.
The five Elders stood there, stunned. Wages? Lying flat? They looked at each other, bewildered.
A moment later, Ignatz suddenly spoke. "Perhaps joining The Evernight Empire... is not such a bad thing."
Daelas remained silent for a few seconds. "Probably... yeah."
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