Reborn as the Dragon: The Princess Sacrifice Begins...

The four-meter-long black dragon charging forward was already terrifying enough for these ordinary mercenaries. The key was—it could fly!

Just as the mercenaries braced themselves for battle, the black dragon suddenly shot into the sky, evading their blades and weapons while perching on a nearby tree.

"Roar!"

Su Nian let out a thunderous roar. He had been reluctant to use the little acid he had saved up on just the female mage earlier, but now, facing this group of mercenaries, he could no longer hold back.

"Gurgle..."

His throat swelled rapidly, emitting a low rumble. After a brief charge, Su Nian's tightly shut dragon maw suddenly opened wide.

Ssshh!

With a faint hiss, a not-so-dense spray of acidic breath fanned out from above, raining down on the mercenaries.

"Ah! My face! I can't see!"

"Damn it! Cover your eyes!"

"Kill it! Kill the black dragon!"

...

Su Nian's breath attack lasted less than a second before it was spent. However, it was a rainy night, and the acid mixed with rainwater quickly flowed over the mercenaries' bodies, the intense pain swiftly eroding their combat effectiveness. Only a lucky few, who were farther away, escaped the effects of the dragon's breath.

In the distance, the great knight was rushing over. Now was the perfect time to hunt.

Su Nian's dragon eyes narrowed as he dove down, using his Basic Insight skill to scan the mercenaries one by one.

[Martner - Level 16 - Mercenary - Vision Intact]

You're the one. Targeting the one whose eyes were not blinded.

Sharp steel claws tore through the mercenaries' leather armor, slicing their throats.

Su Nian rampaged through the crowd, occasionally taking flight to evade their counterattacks. For a moment, not a single human mercenary could stand against him.

The Viper Mercenary Group had heard of black dragons before.

But in their impression, black dragons were always rather dim-witted and not very clever—nothing like the cunning creature they were facing now.

It not only knew how to use dives and charges to scatter their formation but also dodged blades and swords with agility, picking off the weak first. It even used its tail to coil around a mercenary as a shield.

If not for the unmistakable acidic breath and pitch-black scales, they might have thought they were facing a sly green dragon.

But the mercenaries had no chance to spread their shock and fear. Most of them had their eyes corroded by the acidic breath.

The few who could still see were picked off one by one by the black dragon.

In less than half a minute, they were almost entirely slaughtered by the black dragon. The occasional survivor, barely clinging to life, could only lie on the ground, gasping for breath.

[Ding! Killed 13 mercenaries, gained 130 system points.]

The system notification appeared just as the great knight swung his sword at Su Nian's wing.

Su Nian twisted to the right, dodging the blade. One man and one dragon circled around the mercenaries' corpses, each adopting a guarded stance, ready to attack.

Su Nian was confident. There was no way he could lose. Although the great knight was not weak, he had already consumed much of his stamina during the pursuit and, now consumed by rage, would only die faster.

Sure enough, the great knight couldn't hold back. Even when facing a beast stronger than himself, he launched an aggressive attack driven by anger.

Perhaps he no longer wanted to live.

The sword, infused with combat aura, failed to touch Su Nian. The great knight's furious strike was full of openings.

With a light flick of his dragon tail, Su Nian tripped the great knight, pinning him to the ground with his dragon claw. He initially planned to emulate the legendary dragon technique of "breath-to-skull destruction," but after a moment of preparation, he found he had nothing left to spray.

Beneath him, the great knight continued to struggle, gritting his teeth as if he wanted to tear Su Nian apart.

Su Nian did not hesitate. His level was already higher.

The dragon claw easily pierced through the combat aura's defense, lightly slicing across the great knight's throat. Before long, the knight bled to death in sorrow and rage.

[Ding! Killed human great knight, gained 15 system points.]

He had no habit of eating humans. Even the original Wotru had never consumed human flesh. The craving for blood and flesh was there, but unless he was starving, he wouldn't choose humans as food—they simply didn't taste good.

These corpses couldn't just be left here.

He stripped all the packs off the humans, hung them around his neck without checking them, and immediately dragged the corpses away, depositing them downwind and far from his lair.

The blood would flow with the rainwater, carried by the wind away from the dragon's nest.

When the rain stopped, other beasts would naturally come out, drawn by the scent of blood, to devour these corpses.

By then, Su Nian could conveniently go hunting.

Dragging the knight's sword, the mage's staff, and other equipment back to the cave, Su Nian removed the packs from his neck and began to inventory his spoils.

Seven gold lions, fifty-three silver lions, and a pile of copper lions so large that Su Nian couldn't be bothered to count.

These were the universal currencies of human kingdoms, minted by the Human Conqueror, Emperor Sivir Gold Lion, and used in human kingdoms on this continent for fifteen centuries.

Gold and silver coins were hard currency and could be used to purchase goods even in other races' territories.

Gazing at the rain-dappled gold coins on the ground, their beauty enhanced by the water, Su Nian couldn't resist picking one up, licking it greedily, and tucking it into the scales on his chest.

As soon as he completed this bizarre act, he regretfully smacked himself on the head.

This damn dragon greed for gold.

The female mage's pack contained many treasures, including a basic magic manual covering all elements and two potions.

[Revival Potion: Healing Effect (with resistance)]

[Glowing Potion: Accelerates Meditation (with resistance)]

Excellent!

Su Nian remembered that Anna's talent in light and water magic was maxed out. Perhaps once she recovered, she could try learning magic.

Thinking of Anna, Su Nian suddenly realized he hadn't given her the medicine yet.

He rinsed his mouth and hurriedly carried the herbs and healing potion to Anna's side, finding that in the few hours he had been away, Anna's complexion had grown even paler, her lips showing signs of cyanosis.

[Remaining lifespan: 17 hours.]

He had to treat this half-elf girl immediately.

Su Nian felt a deep sense of urgency.

First, he decided to try the healing potion.

From his gaming experience, such items were usually for health recovery, more of a temporary fix than a cure, but they should pull Anna back from the brink of danger for now.

Thinking this, Su Nian extended a dragon claw. However, his enhanced claws were now so sharp that even their backs could scratch Anna's delicate face.

If only he could retract his claws like a cat.

An idea flashed before his eyes, and Su Nian activated the Free Modification Function. Adjusting the settings, he selected his right front claw and modeled it after a cat's retractable claw structure.

Once the design was complete, the system provided the modification cost.

[Free Modification - Right Front Claw - Custom Direction]

[Dragon Discrepancy Rate: 10%, Cost: 50 System Points]

Fifty points were reasonable; Su Nian could afford it.

"System, what does 'Dragon Discrepancy Rate' mean?"

[Ding! The Dragon Discrepancy Rate measures how much the modification deviates from the original dragon characteristics. The higher the rate, the more system points required.]

"I see. So there's a limit."

Su Nian understood. It made sense—without restrictions, if he had enough system points, he could transform himself into a Decepticon.

Why bother being a dragon when Cybertronian Transformers were so much cooler?

 """