Broadcast Day 4 - The Crimson Blood Kingdom Tale (5)
Though my daughter's words were a bit rough, the viewers seemed to understand the differences between species, so the atmosphere flowed smoothly enough. One might say it's ridiculous for a dragon like me to worry about human opinions, but this internet broadcast I'm doing is, at its core, a human invention. Would I be streaming for other dragons? Or for some other monsters? I'm doing this broadcast purely for humans, and my audience consists entirely of humans. Naturally, I can't completely disregard my human viewers while hosting. Of course, anyone who crosses the line I've drawn will be mercilessly booted... but for everyone else, they're guests who've come to enjoy my stream. As the host, I have good reason to show them a certain level of hospitality.
Once the not-so-daughterly comments passed, it was my turn. Comparing pizza and chicken, huh...
"Personally, both were delicious..."
"If I had to pick just one? I'd go with pizza, I suppose."
It's not because I'm particularly team chicken or team pizza—no real preference there. A dragon's palate does play a role, but not overwhelmingly so.
"Meat's something I eat every day, so relatively speaking, the pizza felt fresher."
Dragons vary by evolutionary path, but most of us are carnivores. It's because maintaining our powerful bodies requires high-calorie fuel. Our massive size demands strong muscles to support it, and those muscles need energy. The heart pumping blood through that huge frame needs energy, the brain does too. Plus the energy for breath weapons, dominance aura... anyway, dragons are far less fuel-efficient than you'd think. Sure, we offset some with mana, but even accounting for that, we eat a lot. That's why our senses of taste are dull and our digestion is top-notch—we have to scarf down spoiled food or even poison just to meet our caloric needs.
"Of course, not all dragons are carnivores. Take my daughter Henisia here—she's mostly herbivorous."
Herbivorous dragons compensate with other energy sources, like photosynthesis or drastically reduced activity to cut consumption.
"Everyone else? Carnivores."
For the record, I'm carnivorous too. I've long passed the "must eat to survive" stage, but I still crave meat when I'm peckish.
"So yeah... chicken's just meat, but pizza—with its bread and cheese combo—felt more novel."
How long had it been since I last had bread and cheese? I smacked my lips, reminiscing about the flavor. I'd stuffed myself full, but come tomorrow, I'd crave it again.
The chat split between laughing fans and heartbroken ones. I glanced at the divided pizza-vs-chicken debate, then shifted my eyes to the side of the screen.
"Hm... we've selected a thousand now..."
Click! Click! A chunk of metal detached from my avatar, autonomously pressing buttons, randomly selecting one applicant at a time. With five thousand total slots to fill, we'd only hit one thousand now that the mukbang was done... just as I'd figured, plenty of time left even after finishing the food.
"Alright then, mukbang's over..."
"Yes, yes, I'll get to it—stop rushing me."
I smiled at the chat, then continued.
Where was I? Right—the group from the Iron Sword Clan attacked me.
"Don't kill it! We must capture it alive!"
"Yes, sir!"
They surrounded me, radiating hostility. Their intent to capture me and sate their greed was blatant. And above all...
"Heh heh heh! Surrender quietly, spirit beast, and you won't suffer!"
= .....
They couldn't even gauge the gap between us and dared to look down on me.
Hm... what would you all think if an ant told you it was pathetic and to surrender? Some might get angry, some might find it laughable, others amusing. But back then, I felt nothing. Honestly, I'd just woken up from sleep, so I wasn't fully alert enough to feel any particular emotion toward those humans.
"Hahaha! Scared, spirit beast?!"
= ......zzz
I barely remember that moment myself. Half-asleep, you know? I've pieced together their words and the situation from context before and after.
Anyway, the clan head—judging my half-asleep daze as fear—must've shouted around then.
"Shamans! Deploy the binding formation!"
"Urgent Subjugation Command! Obey human speech, beast!"
"Urgent Subjugation Command! Submit to humans, lowly creature!"
And their so-called spells—mana blasts—flew at me...? Or maybe not?
Ping! Ping!
"...Huh?"
"...What?"
"Huh?"
Honestly, I don't remember well. Dragon scales have incredible mana absorption and deflection, so most mana-based abilities just bounce off or get soaked up. Plus, my dragon gold armor is top-tier metal, and I was half-asleep, so I can't even recall if they hit. ...Not that it'd have mattered if they did.
Realizing their spells did nothing, the humans panicked. But their clan head bellowed soon after.
"Don't panic! Iron Sword Squad, with me—we'll subdue this monster!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shing! Shing!
"Yaaap!"
"Waaah!!"
= zzz...
They struck my body, now pulled from the magma.
...Ah, why "struck" like tapping when they swung swords? Well, dragons don't get cut by human blades easily. As I mentioned, our scales are insanely tough. So all I felt was something poking and prodding my body...
Tap tap!
Anyway, the poking finally woke me up a bit. I opened my half-closed eyes and locked gazes with the humans swinging at my head and forepaws, now exposed above the magma.
= ....
"Hic!"
"C-Clan head! The swords... they won't penetrate!"
"Tch! Out of the way!"
His minions' blades failing, the clan head stepped up himself.
"Behold, monster! The secret art of the Iron Sword Clan, with three centuries of history!"
Vrrrrm!!
"Hundred Swords Falling Petals!!"
I learned later, but that clan head was quite accomplished in his world.
Hmm... in terms you'd get, about a B-rank hunter.
Got it? His technique was unique: mana drawn as aura or sword energy coalesced in midair into ninety-eight blades, scattering like flower petals and rushing me. A human would've likely died facing it head-on.
...Yeah.
Ping ping ping ping!
"What?!"
= ....
...Unlike the others, it actually felt like a decent prod.
Sheesh, you kids pounce on any slip-up. Heh heh. Anyway, around then, even the humans started sensing something off. Greed-blinded fear and survival instincts surfaced, and my own dormant aura—lulled by half-sleep—began to awaken.
Rrrumble...
"Wh-what is this..."
= Have you all done what you wanted, children?
My rising presence turned their faces ghostly pale. The weaker ones foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Thud! Thud! Plop!
"C-Clan head..."
"Nngh..."
Some mustered mana barriers to endure, but by then, half their group was already out cold. I addressed the clan head.
= Clan head. I'll give you one last chance.
Children, smacking them down right there might feel satisfying short-term. But I'm just a passing traveler in that dimension. If I'd slaughtered them or traumatized them badly, it'd ripple hugely through that world's inhabitants. I'm a dimension-hopping tourist, after all—guests can't wreck the host's place. Plus, from a human view, they wronged me greatly, but from a dragon's? Not really. Think of it like watching a clown's antics.
Good, you're getting it.
...Henisia. Why are you getting mad? It's ancient history—over four hundred years ago. There, there. Getting worked up isn't good for the egg inside you. Good girl...
Ahem! Brief commotion there. Anyway, I asked the human:
= Withdraw from here and bar other humans from entering. Do that, and I'll not only spare you but create a gold vein nearby.
"...And if not?"
= Then...
I don't know what face I made—can't see my own expression without a mirror, and dragons aren't exempt. But...
= Humans. You shall taste the wrath of I, the Heaven-Exterminating Dragon Grand Ragnar...
...Most of their faces drained to utter pallor as they beheld me.