Magnus looked at this poor man. Gregory was a bit old. He was nearing his 50s but his life of lifting, hunting, and farming has given him a good body. The dragon blood surely helped as well.

Gregory was trembling but he was not afraid. He was in awe. When humanity first saw dragons, they always reacted this way. It was either worship or fear. All of them were appropriate responses.

Magnus's presence seemed to silence Gregory. At moments like this, Magnus knew that the powerful should speak first but... he can't speak.

The silence was deafening for Gregory. He could not focus on anything but Magnus. For a moment, he even forgot about his daughter but his senses quickly returned and he realized that the golden dragon has not spoken.

Is he waiting for me to speak?

"Oh- oh great... bea-"

Magnus growls lightly which scares Gregory into silence. Magnus did not like the term beast. It was a term used by humanity to reduce the achievements of the dragon race.

"Oh great... dragon?"

Magnus slightly moved his head as a form of acknowledgment. Gregory heaved an internal sigh of relief. The soldiers scared him but at least he had a chance of surviving, no matter how little. In front of this entity, Gregory had no chance. He needed to be careful or else he would have no opportunity to save his daughter because he'd be dead.

"Ha-have you heard my prayer?"

Magnus nodded. Gregory's eyes widened. For the entirety of Gregory's life, he was ignored by the gods but a single prayer to the bea- *ahem* dragon of the forest, and he was already being saved.

Gregory kneeled and put his head in prostration. For a man that has wished for nothing but the peace of his family, Gregory despised the gods who did nothing when it was taken away from him. With a single prayer, the dragon appeared.

Gregory thought himself lucky but he could not do anything but express his thanks. After a few seconds of prostration, Gregory raised his head to look at his benefactor.

"What do I do now great dragon?"

Magnus raised his claws. Gregory felt a connection. It was a sudden explosion within his chest. It was a feeling of power rising and beating from his heart. He knew that if that claw touched him, it would awaken and give him a new purpose... but he didn't want that, not yet. Gregory looked sad.

"I... I am sorry my lord... I must decline... I am truly thankful for this opportunity but... I wish to save my daughter and have her live a good life first... I beg for your forgiveness!"

Magnus lowered his claw. He remembered in the olden times where the most gruesome and evil of his kind would demand sacrifices from his worshippers. Those fanatics even gave their children, wives, and siblings. They were disgusting.

Magnus likes Gregory. Magnus believes that Gregory will prove loyal as long as Magnus manages to gain Gregory's trust. Magnus remembers the girl he saw in the prison camp. She was a dragonborn, a human with both dragon blood and a portion of their soul being like that of a dragon.

It must be his daughter.

Gregory's daughter is obviously the dragonborn Magnus saw in the camp prison. It makes sense that the worshipper and the dragonborn would be related somehow. In this case, it was literal.

Once Gregory declined Magnus's offer, the dragon turns around. He leaves Gregory as he starts to walk towards the camp.

"Whe-where are you going oh great dragon?"

Gregory noticed that Magnus was going straight in the camp's direction.

Does he intend to attack the camp head-on? This... this is perfect! Those cretins wouldn't stand a chance!

Magnus did not hide his aura anymore. He surveyed the camp earlier. There are no humans there strong enough to harm him. If he intended to show himself to help the dragonborn and gain the trust of Gregory, he must make sure no one survives. If anyone survives, the news of a dragon would spread. Magnus would be hunted down before he is able to regain any semblance of his true power.

It is cruel but Magnus promises it to be quick. He will ensure that their next life would be better. A dragon's influence is well known by the god of reincarnation.

He will accept my favors. He won't... sell me out to the others.

Magnus remembers a bad memory with the gods.

Zack was a sagamore of the empire. It wasn't a high rank but it gave him some semblance of comfort that rank and file soldiers could not afford. As a sagamore, Zack was allowed to command a small platoon. He and his men were commanded by higher ups to come here with two other sagamores to scout the borders. After they scout out the borders, they were supposed to send a message towards an outpost within their borders.

When Zack and the other sagamores met, it was agreed that Zack and his men were supposed to scout out the area first. Zack didn't object to it. If there were any treasure or glory to be found, he would get there first but he would also be the first to encounter danger. Fortunately, his squad didn't meet any danger except a poor village.

At first, Zack wasn't too interested in the village. They'd extort it for some drinks and food and that was all but he saw a goddess. While sneaking around the edge of the village, Zack chanced upon Gregory's daughter. She had red hair and sharp golden eyes, eyes that seemed to hypnotize you if you looked too close. The young woman was carrying objects that would make other men falter. She had a commanding voice but she still carried a grace that city women could not emulate.

I must have her.

That was Zack's first thought. It was a risk but he wanted her. It was his price since he agreed to be the first scouting team. He wanted her so bad that he didn't even let his men touch her. He hasn't touched her either. He wanted her to submit to him.

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get the girl, extort the villagers, and scout the area.

What the fuck is happening?!

It was chaos. In the center of the camp was a large creature. The soldiers of the empire were used to fighting the wargs of the blackened swamps so they knew how to fight large four-legged creatures. But this creature was just slightly smaller than a warg but it was tougher, faster, and smarter.

The soldiers tried to tie it down with metal chains but the creature snapped at those links of metal with a powerful snap of its tail, immediately shattering them. The soldier's spears could not pierce the creature's body. With a single swipe of its claw, it killed more than 3 men, each wearing thick leather armor.

There was a brave soldier. He was a rank and file individual but he has been trained in the arts of sword energy. With his blade empowered by sword energy, the soldier charged forward and made a horizontal slice. The creature immediately used its back legs to stand up, avoiding the attack. It then quickly used its massive weight and smashed that soldier to the ground. Zack was sure that the soldier was dead.

One of the sagamores called their men and arranged a phalanx formation while the other ordered his men to pull out the hidden ballista. It was a weapon always brought along by empire platoons. It was used to kill beasts that could not be pierced by mortal strength alone. If spears powered by humans could not kill this creature, a spear with the strength of the winds could.

The creature seemed to share that idea as it started to act with fast movements. Seeing the creature panic, Zack quickly orders his men to reinforce the phalanx. They must defend the ballista as it reloads.

Magnus tore through the ranks of men. He didn't like meaningless bloodshed but he knew there was no other way. If he let these men stay, he would lose out on two powerful allies and it risked his current home being found out. He could leave his home but Magnus believes that the core inside his body, which is currently 10% full, would have a hard time being filled.

The flesh and bone of men were like water against Magnus' claws. Their bodies, even strengthened by the use of inner power, could not handle his might. He made sure they all died quickly. If some managed to avoid a death blow, he would follow up with another attack that made sure they died.

Dragons respected death. Immortality gave them the perspective that death is not to be feared but to be revered. It could take even the most powerful of dragons if they were not careful. Humans feared death.

Maybe that is the reason humanity won. Fear of death?

Magnus ignored the thought. For now, he focused on this grisly massacre. The leaders of the soldiers ordered a phalanx to be formed. Magnus was not too wary of it. Even if he jumped towards them with their spears pointed at him, the material was not strong enough to pierce his scales.

Then he saw the other men pull out a ballista. Magnus's eyes widened.

That could kill me if I'm not careful.

With his current age, a ballista bolt would be able to pierce him and fly through him. The ballista was still being loaded. Magnus moved. He would not give them the time to shoot the weapon.

Magnus ran towards the phalanx. The soldiers held strong. Their spears pointed towards Magnus. Knights wearing full plate armor would hesitate to charge this formation but Magnus ran at full speed.

The ballista's bolt was halfway loaded. Magnus needed to reach it now.

As the dragon approached the spear wall, it released a deafening roar. It did not have the power to induce magical fear but it was enough to scare the wits out of already scared soldiers. Many of the soldiers abandoned ranks and the spear wall lost some of its strength. Magnus charged headfirst at the spears. The spears shattered from his head's horns and he used his body to destroy the shield wall. The soldiers were scattered. The soldier manning the ballista was panicking but the ballista needed only a few more seconds.

It wasn't enough.

Magnus reached the ballista the moment it was fully reloaded. Magnus was faster than the soldier manning the ballista. Magnus raised his right claw. He flexed his powerful muscles and swiped at the ballista's head. Wood splintered and shattered under Magnus's great strength. The soldier manning it just managed to shoot the ballista at the last moment but alas the front was destroyed and the bolt flew sideways, barely missing Magnus' head.

Magnus used the ballista as support and he leaned forward. He chomped on the soldier's head and spit it out towards the sagamores. The face of that decapitated soldier was forever encapsulated in fear. For a moment, the world seemed to stop for these commanding officers but it quickly resumed as Magnus started killing the scattered members of the spear wall. The sagamores screamed in fear and ordered a mass retreat. The soldiers were too afraid to follow a command and they all ran in different directions.

This would usually mean that the assailant would have a hard time chasing the scattered soldiers but Magnus was not a human.

Normal humans could run fast, with some normal humans pushing their bodies to run as fast as 45 kilometers per hour, but most humans couldn't run that fast without the help of internal energy, qi, or magic. In short bursts, Magnus could run at 80 kilometers per hour. If he paced himself, Magnus could continue running at a brisk pace of 40 kilometers per hour. As he gets older, this speed only increases due to his increasingly larger stride but he won't need it as he'll gain the ability to fly.

The scattered soldiers felt despair as Magnus picked them off one by one. The sagamores tried to ride their horses and retreat but with a single roar from Magnus, the horses kicked off their riders and ran away. Despite Magnus's insane speed advantage, there were too many survivors. He could not hunt all of them down.

Not good. I must make sure no one survives.

Despite his full effort, Magnus could not kill them all. Many escaped to the forest. Magnus was about to give chase but he stopped for now. It was still night. They were not going to go far. Magnus turned his eyes towards the prisoner's area. He saw Gregory's daughter. She was staring at him with a burning desire.

It wasn't the desire for thanks or respect but simply the desire for battle. Dragons loved combat. With each movement, a dragon felt electricity run through their powerful muscles and bones. They loved to fight at their strongest and only other dragons could provide this challenge.

The dragonborn's spirit suddenly burst into flames when it saw another dragon.

Magnus approached the girl.