Chapter 229 Under The Shroud Of The Smoke [Bonus]

POV ???:

The battle finally ended, and the constant rumbling of the thunders finally quieted.

Huge metallic contraptions that looked like ballistae, with their weapon parts replaced by a huge metallic rod connected with lines of glowing metal to the large blue crystals, were placed on the mounds with a good view.

They were large, each as big as a big jeep.

Soldiers in metallic lamellar armour just stood around them quietly, their temples still covered in sweat.

They were shaken, refusing to even move after witnessing the massive skyships in the sky getting annihilated.

"It could have been me on their board..."

"Is it dead?"

The whole air was filled with clouds of ash and dust, and no one could see further than a few meters into the distance.

Loud coughing echoed through the mound as the soldiers tried not to breathe the dust, accompanied by the loud humming of their magic detectors around them as they went mad, with all of the mana dispersed in the air.

They all just stood there in uncertainty, unsure if they should cheer on their victory, grieve their fallen or fear the angry wyrm rising from the clouds of smoke at any second.

"Go down there and recover the body, especially the blood." finally, their officer in a feathered helmet recovered out of the shock.

The soldiers looked at each other, shudders passing down their bodies as they heard stories about terrifying mutated monsters living on the plains.

POV Vesuvius:

The dark clouds of ash and smoke obscured everything. The whole plain was hidden under this thick, impenetrable shroud, making it impossible to see what was happening.

Something dark slowly moved in the smoke that swirled under the effects of the sudden move.

It was the dragon covered in seared black scales. The crystal spikes on his back were cracked and shattered while his wings were mangled, only their hard skeletal structure remaining. He limpingly walked through the dark smoke, each of his steps making him flinch in pain.

His injuries were slowly regenerating, but the process was unnaturally slow as he was low on mana. Each bit of mana that he recovered immediately got used by the nanites.

'How could this happen?!' he was angry at his enemies and himself. He felt he had walked the same path as the dragons before him.

'At first, the snake and now humans. I underestimated them all, and this is what happened. I let my arrogance blind me and make me reckless.'

When he thought about fighting against the kingdom, his draconic nature made him disregard all humans, thinking about them as small and weak sacks of meat. However, he missed what made them the dominant race.

'They are all crafty and compensate for their weaknesses with their tools and numbers. Give them time, and they will slowly overwhelm anyone and anything.'

He continued his slow stride through the burned and destroyed wasteland. The ground was still smoking with fresh spots after lightning strikes. There were no flashes of light from magical weapons, but Vesuvius was sure that some land forces were still alive and active in the area.

'With my mana low and all of it immediately being used to speed it my regeneration, there is at least no way for them to lock on me.'

His injuries were slowly healing, with his seared black scales with traces of gold slowly regaining their shiny metallic lustre. He continued slowly marching into the distance towards the mountains hidden behind the smoke.

The anger was still burning within him, but he suppressed it with his will, 'Fighting now would be what old dragons would do. But I will not make the same mistake. I will take my time and return on my strongest.'

At least he felt stronger as if he levelled up multiple times after his final attack. The heat and comfort from it still dampened the pain.

Vesuvius decided to postpone his expansion plans to the kingdom, feeling like he needed more power before doing it. He was confident before, but now he underestimated his enemies.

The dragon abruptly stopped, straining his ears as he picked up sounds of steps in the distance. They were all moving unnaturally fast, which meant that their owners were elite soldiers. They were coming from multiple directions, making the dragon hesitate if he should fight or avoid them.

He looked at the ring that he long time ago got from the goblin miniboss, 'And I thought you have become obsolete.'

POV The Kobold Settlers:

The large scale-covered kobolds hunched over a tied human, their golden eyes watching him squirm on the ground with interest. Their surroundings were dark except for their slightly glowing reverse-slitted reptilian eyes.

The wind loudly howled outside of the small dark hut made of piled-up boulders and wood that they were in. There were no windows as it wasn't something that kobolds needed.

"?#!*" the human opened his mouth, shouting in some unknown gibberish, causing all of the kobolds to explode in laughter. He was waving with his hands and making weird movements, making the kobolds laugh even more.

"Hahaha, who would have thought that humans could be such good jesters!"

The cloth hanging in the doors into the hut suddenly rustled. A large kobold with long and curled horns walked in with steam coming out of his blazing hot body.

"I have heard a voice of his draconic Highness in my head! We must go further north until we reach a volcano, our promised land where we will prosper!"

All of the kobolds turned towards him, their eyes glowing in reverence and envy. They all wanted the dragon, their ultimate master, to speak into their souls.

They raised their clawed hands and loudly roared in acknowledgement. The heat around them rose together with their eagerness to start their journey as fast as possible.

One of them pointed with their long pointy claw at the still squirming human, "Chief, what should we do with him?"

"Pack him up. We will take the jester with us."