Lord of Rot

”BZZZ~”

A small, dark shadow, hidden by the night, suddenly shot out from the distant flower bushes and flew over.

When it reached a beautiful young woman, the dark shadow hovered, circling her affectionately. She looked like a spirit of the flowers.

”The Lord places great importance on the Magic Potions and honey here,” Arkke said to the bee. ”Guard this place well.”

The bee just buzzed, vibrating its wings beside her. It was unclear if it had understood her.

More and more Extraordinary bees flew in from all around.

Becoming Extraordinary required energy, but the amount consumed varied with body size. Honey that would merely invigorate a normal person could, if eaten by a bee, allow it to transcend its Life Level.

Arkke had been spending all her time on the island lately. Several types of Magic Potions were in bloom, and she had meticulously sorted and managed the honey they produced. Although the bees had all become Extraordinary creatures, their intelligence was still a far cry from a human’s. She needed to watch them closely to make sure nothing went wrong.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the distance. The temperature began to rise before the source even drew near.

Arkke knew who it was and quickly shouted, ”Don’t come any closer!”

A crimson figure stood in the distance.

It was covered in red scales, with a draconic head that looked nothing like a human’s and terrifyingly long fingernails.

Arkke wasn’t afraid of him, though. ’Everyone’s abilities are just different,’ she thought. ’Appearance isn’t what matters.’

Luca, the Red Dragon scion, scratched his head. ”Um...”

”If you come any closer and bake all the Magic Potions to death, the Lord will definitely get angry.”

Hearing that the Lord would be angry, Luca was startled and quickly took two steps back.

”I’ll come find you after I get these little guys settled.”

”Okay!” Luca nodded eagerly, delighted.

He waited quietly in the distance, watching from afar as Arkke guided the bees back to their hive.

She put on another layer of clothing before walking out of the garden.

She had been worried the sea breeze would be cold after dark, but as she neared Luca, she remembered. The strangely-shaped young man was like a great furnace; being near him made her break out in a sweat. There was no chance of feeling cold.

”Arkke, you promised you’d tell me stories about the Lord.”

The dragon-blooded youth was like an anxious monkey, hopping up and down impatiently.

Ever since landing on the island, Luca had been shunned by others because of his appearance. As luck would have it, Arkke, whom he’d met a few times before, was also on the island. She wasn’t put off by his monstrous looks, and the two could share a few words.

As they talked more, Luca realized just how well Arkke knew the Lord. He felt a deep, heartfelt loyalty and admiration for the Lord who had awakened his ancestral bloodline, and so he pestered her endlessly for stories about him.

One loved to talk, and the other loved to listen.

There was a crab den by the sea where the Porcupine Territory Soldiers caught their crabs. Mysteriously, no matter how many crabs they took, if they came back a few days later, the den would be swarming with them again.

The only problem was that you couldn’t see any fish nearby, big or small. It was as if anything that swam too close was devoured completely.

Luca loved coming here. He could catch and roast crabs for himself. Compared to crowding in with the island’s serfs for a meal, the crabs, packed with more energy, were far more satisfying. Plus, the Lord had given him permission to eat as many as he wanted, so of course he ate his fill.

”Someone’s here!”

Luca suddenly lowered his head and stared at the sea’s surface.

Arkke looked blankly at the dark surface of the water and saw nothing, but she trusted Luca wouldn’t speak nonsense, so she squatted down beside him.

The two of them knew very well that whoever was coming to the island, it couldn’t be one of their own.

A small dock had been built on the island, and it flew the flag of the Porcupine Clan. Anyone who happened to stumble upon the island would see it was claimed and would either pay a formal visit or wisely depart.

But this time, there were no lights on the water, and the approaching party was moving stealthily. A sense of dread settled over them.

”I’ll go take a look,” Luca said. ”Do you have a way to notify the Lord?”

Arkke shook her head.

The island was isolated from the outside world. Messages were sent either by raven or via passing ships. Neither method was useful now. The intruders were probably just moments from landing, and at this distance, even if Porcupine Territory was alerted, they couldn’t send reinforcements in time.

”I’m going back to guard the Magic Potions,” Arkke said. ”The Lord values them most of all. Nothing can happen to them.”

”Right!” Luca nodded. ”I’ll follow them and see what’s going on.”

...

After they parted ways, Luca slipped into the sea, only half of his head above the water, his body rising and falling with the surging waves.

It was a small boat.

As it drew closer, five burly men, built like iron towers, leaped off, and the sight made Luca’s heart skip a beat.

’All five of them are like Lord Lacy... They’re Transcendents!’

His heart began to pound. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

The five men didn’t speak. They didn’t sneak in, but strode onto the island brazenly.

”Who’s there!”

The Soldier on guard duty immediately raised his musket.

A dozen or so muskets were raised, all aimed at the five men.

”Boss, they’ve got muskets!”

”Haha,” one of the iron-tower men slapped his chest and laughed. ”Go on, shoot me!”

”Don’t know where these fools came from!” The veteran soldier with the musket chuckled. ”But it’ll be hard to leave a whole corpse behind.”

”Fire!”

At the veteran’s command, more than a dozen guns fired at once.

The sound of gunfire echoed across the entire island.

The acrid smoke had barely appeared before the sea breeze scattered it.

The veteran was left staring in shock.

The iron-tower man who had been hit head-on didn’t fall. He raised his hand and spent a long moment digging at his own body.

A dozen or so iron pellets fell to the ground.

”That actually kinda hurt,” the iron-tower man grinned.

”Fall back!” the veteran reacted quickly. ”Reload!”

They reloaded their ammunition as they retreated.

’If the bullets can break the skin, they can definitely kill him. The only reason it didn’t work is because there weren’t enough muskets.’

But the iron-tower man just laughed heartily and charged forward.

His body looked cumbersome, yet he closed the distance between them in just a few steps.

With his left hand, he snatched the veteran’s musket. With a gentle squeeze of his five fingers, the musket’s barrel twisted out of shape!

His right hand grabbed the veteran’s head. With a single tug, he ripped it off as easily as pulling a cork from a bottle. Blood gushed from the veteran’s neck as his headless corpse crumpled to the ground.

One man charging forward was like a tiger let loose among sheep.

The musket-wielding Soldiers, the island’s defense against attack, were routed in an instant, utterly slaughtered. Body after body fell to the ground. In the end, only a single Soldier was left. He lay on the ground, legs scrambling in the dirt, and managed to reload his musket in the final moment. He raised the gun and aimed it at the iron-tower man.

The man wasn’t in a hurry anymore. He looked down at the Soldier with a chuckle. ”Still want to use that musket? Go on, use it!”

He leaned back triumphantly and shouted, ”Come on, shoot me!”

”BANG!”

White smoke billowed from the muzzle.

With a THUD, the iron-tower man was tackled to the ground, a huge gash torn across his chest.

The Soldier was stunned.

The humanoid Red Dragon, Luca, was on top of the iron-tower man. He exhaled a cloud of sulfurous gas, then turned his head and roared at the Soldier, ”Shoot!”

’They’ve already invaded the island. Fleeing is death, fighting is death.’

’The only option is to fight to the death.’

The Soldier sniffled and quickly reloaded.

At the same time, Luca’s mouth opened, revealing red-hot scales glowing in his throat, as if something was about to spill out.

But the iron-tower man pinned beneath Luca suddenly shot a hand up, shoving Luca’s chin and snapping his dragon maw shut.

Fiery magma spilled from the corners of his mouth, dripping to the ground.

The iron-tower man seized the opportunity to flip over, pinning Luca beneath him. He raised his fists and began to hammer down. Luca’s body, which seemed frail in comparison, trembled ceaselessly under the blows.

But Luca wasn’t completely defenseless. He kicked out, striking the man’s arm. With a loud CRACK, the bone snapped, and the arm twisted grotesquely.

”Aargh!” The man roared in fury, swinging his fist.

”BANG!”

Another gunshot rang out.

The iron-tower man, his fist still raised, went rigid.

Seizing the opportunity, Luca raised a hand and plunged his claws into the man’s neck, tearing out his throat.

”ROAR!” A hoarse, draconic roar forced its way out of his throat.

Droplets of saliva, searingly hot and corrosive, dripped to the ground, raising puffs of white smoke with a SIZZLE.

The temperature of the surrounding air was also rising rapidly.

The Soldier reloading in the distance took a deep breath. ’I can’t believe my aim was that good.’ He had, in fact, been trying to shoot the man in the mouth or eye, but he never expected to actually pull it off.

”BZZZ~”

The sound of vibrating wings came from the side.

The Soldier turned his head and stared in astonishment at the black shadow blanketing the sky behind him.

”Bees?”

At the very back was that cute-looking girl, Arkke.

Arkke said, ”Luca, shut your mouth!”

The roaring Luca obediently closed his mouth.

”WHOOSH!”

The bees shot out like a black shadow.

Only then did the Soldier understand. The enemy had frozen rigid a moment ago, but it had nothing to do with his shot.

The overwhelming swarm of Extraordinary bees surged toward the four remaining Transcendents who had landed on the island.