Legends: The Emerald World

The prisoners painstakingly shoved the rubble with their bloodied hands until they managed to open the path up. When they saw the light on the other side, they started pushing and shoving each other to escape like sheep being herded into a small pen.

Ase stood in the back. "Hurry! The dragon is coming." She called at them without yelling as she didn't want to draw the dragon's attention, and the prisoners started whispering curses to each other, each trying to pass first.

The wall beside them suddenly shattered, and an armored knight smacked into one of the cells, bending the thick iron bars with his back. He coughed blood through his helmet, glaring forward with burning eyes.

"Cursed lizard!" He stood up, leaning on his sword with a pained growl, and magic started sparking from his armor like fireflies. His eyes quickly noticed Ase and the prisoners scrambling to escape. He looked at them and the hole they made, trying to run to the other side.

"Whores bastards! Stop acting like damned animals and line up!" He kicked a stone at one of the prisoners who was pushing against the other, dropping him to the ground. His sharp voice jolted the prisoners, and they looked back; he was the captain of the guards, the fort's commanding knight.

'Who is this twig?' The tiny spider growled, ready to go and give him a beating, but the emperor's thoughts stopped her. 'You better not start a fight; he alone can kill us all, including Ase.'

The captain of the guards suddenly turned, his eyes glaring at Ase, no, the spider above her head. For a second there, he had felt bloodlust coming from it, one that didn't belong to a bug but that of at least a human or an animal.

Since the entire is beneath the system created by AO's grace, all those working with it could sense something akin to animosity from other system users. If this world is a game, bloodlust would be like a faint notification that another player is targeting you. It resembles the feeling of being stared at.

The wider the gap of power is, the stronger the effects of bloodlust would become. They range from mild discomfort to difficulty in breathing and terror. What the captain felt was nothing more than a mild tingle, but that is a thing he should never sense from a human, let alone a tiny spider.

"Is that a toxic black window on your head?" He glared at the tiny spider, and it rushed to hide deep inside Ase's hair.

"What spider, meow." Ase looked back and ran her claws through her hair, "Nothing here…" Her eyes glared back at the captain as she took a stance, "Meow…you're trying to distract me?" She started hissing at him with her ears tilting back.

The captain snorted, brushing his black hair back as he glared out of the hole in the wall that he came flying through. His blue eyes flashed brightly as a haze of magic engulfed his body, "Forget it. Got more pressing matters to deal with." He ran outside at top speed; even if he was moving faster than a horse, his arms remained balanced as he lifted his sword, glaring at the massive black dragon curling around the fort's left tower.

The dragon was waiting for him to come out; he immediately roared, swinging his black tail down with a thud, crashing in the captain's path.

The captain immediately jumped on the dragon's tail and ran through the sharp spikes of its back, reaching the neck and swinging his sword down.

[Thunder Slash] The captain's sword flashed with a faint white aura as it struck the dragon's neck, emitting a powerful shockwave and a burst of blinding magic.

Like a snake, the dragon's neck waved like a viper, absorbing the impact without being scratched. In the blink of an eye, the beast opened its massive maw wide, revealing three rows of sharp teeth dripping with droll. Four snake-like fangs extended from its second row of teeth, oozing poison as the dragon clenched its jaw around the captain.

The captain blocked the bite, holding the dragon's powerful jaw open with his arms and legs; he could fit inside that titanic maw. As the poison dropped on the captain's armor, it boiled and melted it like acid, this dragon's poison was both an extremely lethal poison as well a deadly acid.

At that moment, a spark of flame illuminated the dragon's throat, and the captain gasped as he got blasted with a point-blank breath The captain's body flew back engulfed in flames, crashing into one of the walls hard enough to shatter it.

From the dust, the captain stood, his body engulfed in a shimmering white crystalline magic. [Force barrier] "Bastard! You think this is funny, don't you?" The captain was extremely sensitive to bloodlust, yet he could sense nothing from the dragon. That beast was enjoying the battle.

"That arrogance shall be your downfall." The captain's body flashed with magic, "Witness, the full release of my power!" Sparks of lightning-like white mana arced from the captain's sword to his shoulders, illuminating the whole fort as the ground beneath him burned. One shockwave after another exploded from his body, and everyone in the fort could feel the ground rumbling.

[Forceful Enchanting] Using magic to reinforce his body and enchant his body with pure magic damage, an unbiased and no-elementary magic damage type to bypass any resistance the dragon might have.

"Prepare to die!" The captain growled and disappeared from where he stood in the blink of an eye. He had jumped all the way above the dragon's head and swung down his sword.

The dragon easily deflected the blinding fast swing using his horns. But the captain had already guessed that, so using the momentum he swung a kick right after his sword, smacking the dragon right in the temple.

The dragon's head jolted left and right, and the captain took the chance to keep attacking, swinging his sword as hard as he could, targeting the dragon's throat.

Going in front of a dragon's maw was a mistake and the captain immediately knew that as the dragon spat poison on him without hesitation, almost blinding him. "Are you a snake?"

The dragon immediately turned around and smacked the captain with his tail, sending him flying back into a wall. A large grin crossed the dragon's face as if mocking the tiny human, sitting still and waiting for him to move again.

Dragons are sadistic beasts, they love nothing more than watching their prey run around in fear, hopelessly struggling to survive, or begging for their lives as they get cooked alive.

The captain barely managed to stank, puking blood as he could feel his organs twisting inside his body. He reached into his pocket, and pulled a red potion, chugging it in a single gulp. His wounds healed, but not fully, just enough for him to survive a bit longer.

"Arrogant lizard, do you find this entertaining? Watching us humans suffer, painfully dying?" He lifted his sword up, and the dragon stared at him, amused.

The moment the captain took a stance, the dragon opened his jaw and spat a massive fireball, painting the fort crimson in its light.

The captain jumped forward, slashing the fireball in half as he charged at the dragon, roaring in determination to win.

The prisoners watched the captain fight with his sword and teeth, putting on a heroic show against the mighty dragon. Some hated him, and some wanted to cheer for him. As bad as the imperials were, they weren't as bad as the cold-blooded dragon.

'Don't make me laugh…' The tiny spider could hear the emperor's thoughts, 'That dragon is a far better being than any of you imperial bastards.'