Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 110: Chapter 56: Ashes and Allegiance (Double-Length Chapter)_3

”Those foul-smelling jackal-wolf men are here,” the Black Dragon said to Karon beside him. From afar, Black Dragon Rosani could detect the enemy’s presence, even though the jackal-wolf man troops in the distance were just black dots in the eyes of the centaurs.

And the massive Achilles dragons caught the Black Dragon’s attention. These dragon beasts, with tough skin and coarse hair, with scythe-like claws, were almost as large as the Black Dragon.

As the Black Dragon ages, its face and body increasingly resemble a skull, with degenerative changes occurring around the root of its horns and cheekbones. Hence, it is sometimes referred to as a Skeleton Dragon.

Now, Black Dragon Rosani is in the young dragon stage, so not too pronounced, but still slender, even though it measures over seven meters long, it looks frailer than the Achilles dragon.

However, even if these dragon beasts grew stronger, in the eyes of giant dragons, they were just prey. Having hunted numerous such beasts purely relying on claws and themselves during childhood with Karon.

Yet, for the jackal-wolf men, these massive dragon beasts were formidable beasts. Black Dragon Rosani couldn’t sense the aura of the jackal-wolf men riding the Achilles dragons, but he knew that their leader must be powerful.

”Be careful later; the leader of the jackal-wolf men is probably strong, able to tame such predatory and ferocious dragon beasts like the Achilles dragons,” Black Dragon Rosani shared what he observed.

All these young dragons admired the centaur tribe warriors, especially Black Dragon Rosani, who appreciated the wild beauty of galloping horses on the prairie in his youth, and the centaur warriors fit this aesthetic.

The Dragon-blooded Centaur Warrior, Chiron, squinted towards the approaching shadows and nodded in response, ”Dragon’s Beloved never fears challenges,”

then turned to the resting cavalry captains, including Kali, and instructed, ”Pick up your weapons and bows, prepare for battle.”

Thunderous noises,

The jackal-wolf men warriors ran towards their nest behind their leader. Having approached their nest, they had relaxed their vigilance, and their formation, initially relatively orderly, was now scattered and chaotic like the goblins and kobolds.

The jackal-wolf man mages also recalled their night crows and vultures, never imagining an enemy presence near their nest.

All nearby tribes potentially threatening the jackal-wolf men had been slaughtered or enslaved by them, even those ferocious beasts with their tribes, only becoming food and domesticated fowl for the jackal-wolf men.

The jackal-wolf man scouts lazily gathered their mounts, the earth wolves, into the large jackal-wolf men force. Those arrogant jackal-wolf man barbarian soldiers casually hung their weapons on their mounts’ flanks.

Even the jackal-wolf man leader, Yougu, had let down his guard. He led his tribe into the hills, looking at the still faintly flickering with flames and bright entrance of the underground lair, just two or three miles away, and suddenly froze.

At the entrance of the underground lair, centaurs, kobolds, and green-skinned goblins gradually appeared on the hills on either side, aiming their longbows like hunters targeting prey and raising their javelins, targeting the warriors of the jackal-wolf man tribe.

A Black Dragon, glistening with dark silver under the bright moonlight, flapped its wings, ready to take off and hunt its prey.

He and the warriors of the jackal-wolf man tribe were surrounded by the opposing forces, with kobolds and goblins on both sides glaring ferociously, and the centaurs on the opposite side emanating a heavy murderous aura.

The enemy was menacing and sinister, and he had not received any warning.

”Damn, I was careless,” thought the jackal-wolf man leader, Yougu, shouting, ”Be on guard, prepare to fend off those arrows.”

Before the jackal-wolf man leader finished speaking, the jackal-wolf man warriors had yet to react when a storm of arrows descended like a dark cloud.

Hum, swoosh,

The mighty arms of the centaurs drew each bow to a full moon, the sound of bowstrings vibrating like a drone, and the iron-tipped arrows pierced through the air with a sharp, whistling sound, crashing down on the jackal-wolf man’s ranks.

Kobolds and green-skinned goblins also released their short arrows and javelins. Despite their lesser strength, the barrage of arrows and short lances from a high vantage point still inflicted damage.

After all, the jackal-wolf men only possessed greater strength, not scales that ordinary weapons struggled to pierce like the dragons.

Ugh,

Unprepared, the jackal-wolf men were pierced through the head and bodies by arrows. Even their sturdy dragon-hide robes couldn’t stop the arrow attacks, letting out brief cries of pain before collapsing to the ground.

The mounts below, the earth wolves and dragon beasts, panicked and scattered, some even dashing with jackal-wolf men corpses among their ranks, causing chaos.

The jackal-wolf man leader, Yougu, swung his heavy flail, blocking all the incoming arrows tight.

Only the Achilles dragon beast beneath him took an arrow. It was about to roar in pain but was subdued by a heavy punch from Yougu, whimpering submissively.

Bang, Yougu swung his flail, smashing a frenzied dragon beast’s head to bits, shouting loudly, ”Don’t run wildly, gather and follow my orders.”