Although Chen Xing’s carriage was huge, there was no need to worry about the width of the road, because there simply weren’t any roads here.
Even if there were, they’d be buried by a blizzard in minutes.
So it was just endless snowy plains as far as the eye could see, and you could go wherever you wanted.
The carriage didn’t even have wheels—it was more like a sled.
When night fell and the wind and snow got even worse, making it impossible to keep traveling, Chen Xing and the others had to pick a spot to rest.
Since this was the direction to Wangcheng, there were quite a few people along the way, and many of them chose to camp in a sheltered spot out of the wind.
To guard against wild beasts, everyone camped close together.
Chen Xing sat inside the carriage, watching people outside light a bonfire and gather around it in the snow, almost like they were having a campfire party.
“They’re really in the mood for a campfire party in this kind of weather?”
“Freya, in the harsh environment of the Ice Empire, people have to know how to enjoy themselves when they can.
Life is already hard enough—if you don’t find some fun for yourself, it’s just too miserable.”
Lidi Xi explained from the side.
People who grow up in this kind of place have to keep a good attitude.
“Is that so?” Chen Xing leaned against the window, watching the people outside, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile.
“How nice… It’s so nice, I almost want to ruin it~”
Chen Xing said half-jokingly.
Of course, except for Freya, no one in the carriage would ever object to anything their master said.
By the bonfire, a bard was singing poetry.
Even though they were a bit far away, with Chen Xing and the others’ abilities, they could still hear what was being sung.
It was a story about a hero and an evil dragon—the witch’s mount, a black dragon bringing disaster to the world, and a brave warrior who slays the dragon and brings peace and happiness back to the world.
Why did the evil dragon in this story sound so much like Little Dragon Girl?
“Little Dragon Girl? The evil dragon in the story isn’t you, is it? When did you ever get killed?”
“Master, am I really that weak? The evil dragon in that story isn’t me… That was just a stand-in I found.”
“A stand-in?”
“Yeah, here’s what happened.” Little Dragon Girl started to recall and tell a story from many years ago.
————
In a vast, dark cave, a huge black dragon was licking her claws, and lying on the ground in front of her was a human.
Compared to the massive dragon, the human was as tiny as an ant.
The silver armor was burned and tattered, and the person’s body was covered in wounds.
“Human, you’ve got guts…”
Black mist coiled around the hero’s limbs.
The hero seemed to want to say something, but their mouth was sealed by the black mist.
Their body was lifted by the mist, arms and legs spread, and brought face-to-face with the black dragon.
“Coming to challenge me for the fake glory of dragon-slaying? Heh… you humans never change.”
The black dragon let out a mocking laugh.
No matter where she slept, there were always humans who weren’t afraid of death, coming to hunt her for fame.
Her master had been gone for years, and she rarely caused trouble outside.
Most of the time, she just slept, waiting for her master’s return.
Because of that, after so many years, the evil dragon had become a legend, and her terrifying power became the motivation for countless heroes to come after her.
Because defeating the legendary evil dragon would bring ultimate glory.
“Sigh… It’s really annoying to be bothered like this.
I can’t even get a good sleep.
Looks like I need to come up with something~”
The black mist seemed to have a powerful corrosive effect.
As it clung to the hero’s skin, it quickly ate away all the hero’s clothes and armor.
The hero was wrapped up completely, the mist looking insubstantial but holding immense power.
Trapped inside, the hero couldn’t even move a finger.
“No…” The hero seemed to want to beg for mercy, but as soon as their mouth opened, the formless black mist poured in.
It went into their mouth, slid down their throat, through the esophagus, filling their stomach… In short, the hero’s body was filled with the black mist.
“Your body can handle the power of darkness? Not bad, you’re a good candidate.”
The black dragon waved her claw, and a few gems appeared in front of her—green, blue, red… but all of them were covered in strange black patterns.
“These are all dragon crystals from my own kind that I killed~ After being tainted by darkness, they turned out like this~ There’s fire dragon, acid dragon, water dragon, wind dragon… I wonder which one you like?”
The black dragon picked through them on her own, not caring if the hero could answer.
In the end, she chose a fire dragon crystal with the most destructive power, and moved it toward the hero.
They say those who slay dragons become dragons themselves, and in this world, that’s true.
When a dragon dies, it leaves behind a crystal containing its power.
Whoever gets the crystal gains the dragon’s power, but the price is that the crystal will change them.
And because the crystal still holds the dragon’s lingering soul, it affects the person’s mind.
How could a weak human soul resist that kind of corruption? In the end, they’d become just like the dragon.
She forced the crystal into the hero’s chest, and in the next instant, black scales burst from the hero’s chest and quickly spread.
The hero’s eyes went wide, their pupils narrowing into vertical slits like a snake’s.
Their fingers turned into claws, horns sprouted from their head, wings grew from their back, their neck stretched longer, a tail extended out, and their body grew bigger by the second.
“Ahhh! Awooo!” The human’s screams finally turned into a dragon’s roar.
The human hero became a giant dragon as big as the black dragon.
The scales should have been red, but after being tainted by the black mist, they turned pitch black.
“Mm~ Not bad, you can handle this power.
But you don’t need your sanity anymore~”
The black dragon pressed her claw to the giant dragon’s head, and as black light entered its mind, the dragon’s eyes turned blood red.
All human emotion vanished, reason completely shattered, leaving only the wild rage of a beast!
“Awooo!” The giant dragon went berserk, swiping its claws at the black dragon.
But as expected, the black dragon’s body was wrapped in mist, and the giant dragon’s attack just hit thin air.
“You can go draw their fire for me~”
The black dragon’s huge form disappeared into the cave, leaving the rampaging giant dragon behind, desperate to vent its endless fury.
It went wild, smashing the cave walls with its claws, breathing fire that melted the rock.
The whole mountain collapsed under its destruction, turning into a volcano spewing lava.
The giant dragon flew out of the flames, and everywhere it went was like the end of the world, everything burning in its wake.
