After Becoming an Evil Dragon, I Was Entangled by the Saintess - Chapter 5

The adventurers quickly mobilized. Flaming arrows shot from the forest ignited the non-magical tents, sending black smoke spiraling upward like ghostly tendrils reaching for the silvery moon. Among the adventurers were seasoned warriors and well-trained mercenaries, who swiftly gathered and charged toward the hidden attackers.

“Kobolds!” a shout rang out as the moonlight revealed the enemy’s forms. Kobolds were a cruel, humanoid species, relentlessly vying with humans and demi-humans for survival. While some Kobold Tribes might trade with merchants, such instances were rare. Most often, they relied on raiding human settlements for resources. However, looting alone couldn’t equip an entire tribe, leaving them mired in a primitive state.

Yet these Kobolds lurking in the Mangshui Forest were different. They wore leather armor, and their weapons weren’t crude stones or hardened wood.

But after the adventurers retaliated, the ambushing Kobolds began shedding their armor and scattering in disarray.

“Kobolds—still the same cowardly race, fleeing in panic at the slightest scare,” the mercenary sneered. They were hunting a Black Dragon and couldn’t afford to let the Kobolds disrupt their operation. A group of mercenaries chased after the fleeing Kobolds, but victory was not what awaited them. Soon, the Mangshui Forest echoed with piercing screams and the relentless blare of horns.

The horns weren’t coming from the adventurers’ camp; they were signals from the Kobold Tribe, rallying their forces.

“Traps! There are traps!” Simple traps wouldn’t have elicited such screams from the adventurers. While their underestimation of the enemy played a role, the traps weren’t just wooden spikes or ropes. Instead, they were explosive devices, resembling magical contraptions. Damn it! The adventurers couldn’t fathom where the Kobolds had acquired such technology.

Thick, billowing smoke grew denser, obscuring the moonlight. Those without night vision quickly lost their way. With the Rotting Swamp nearby, many stumbled into knee-deep mud, sinking deeper with each struggle. As they desperately fought to escape, demonic beasts lurking in the swamp quietly approached, their bl00d-red maws opening wide to drag their prey away.

The camp had mages who frantically chanted spells to illuminate the dark region, but cold arrows, seemingly appearing from nowhere, kept targeting them, disrupting their spellcasting. Without the warriors’ protection, the mages were in a dire state. Some familiar spells, like the Fireball Spell, could be cast instantly, but if they missed their targets, they only added to the chaos.

By dawn, the adventurers’ camp was in utter disarray.

Meanwhile, Yulxi and Veranse, sheltered in their cave, had enjoyed a peaceful and pleasant night.

As daylight fully broke, Yulxi and her companions emerged from the cave, ready to continue their journey.

Adventurers driven by dreams of slaying dragons rushed toward the Rotting Swamp without pause. Though Ilti and her group had also mentioned “dragon hunting,” they harbored little real expectation of success. Instead, they leisurely searched the Mangshui Forest for Magic Plants that could be sold for profit. Initially, they had asked Yulxi and Veranse for their opinions, fearing objections. But once Yulxi and Veranse showed no opposition to their relaxed pace, Ilti and Flah immediately let loose.

Traveling at a leisurely pace, as if on a camping trip, they even argued over whether a certain fruit was sour or sweet.

Veranse, still smiling, stepped in as the peacemaker. “Why don’t we just pick one and try it?” she suggested.

Elf Flara slapped her forehead. “Right!” she exclaimed, reaching for a fruit. But the moment her fingers brushed the skin, the fruit erupted, spraying a stream of juice. The liquid wasn’t particularly harmful, but it left Flara’s face splattered with crimson pulp, making her look rather alarming.

Ilti, forgetting whether the fruit was supposed to be sweet or sour, pointed at Flara and doubled over with laughter.

Flara glared angrily at Veranse, who had suggested the idea.

Veranse adopted an innocent, wide-eyed expression. “I’m so sorry,” she said apologetically. “It’s my first time in Mangshui Forest. I had no idea this fruit was… unusual.”

Flara remained huffy.

The genuinely naive Ilti was easily convinced by Veranse’s act. After all, who could bear to scold someone who looked so genuinely remorseful? “And you’re even an Elf!” Ilti exclaimed.

Flara: “……” Are Elves not allowed to be botanically illiterate?

Yulxi watched their antics calmly, her gaze unwavering. She wasn’t fooled by Veranse’s act.

For the next half hour, she listened to Ilti and Veranse’s conversation.

Ilti couldn’t get a single word out about Veranse’s origins. Instead, Veranse skillfully steered the conversation, not only extracting Ilti’s entire family history and upbringing but also nearly uncovering Elf Flara’s deepest secrets.

Yulxi: Ilti and Flara really do seem a bit… naive.

Around noon, they encountered a woman fleeing from the depths of the forest.

Yulxi glanced at her briefly before looking away, but Ilti let out a surprised “Oh!”

“Do you recognize her?” Veranse asked with a smile.

Ilti hesitated before nodding. “I saw her at the Gold and Silver Tavern.” It was a mercenary team, and to be honest, she and Flara had initially hoped to hitch a ride with them. But most of the team members were Third-Tier professionals, and even the Second-Tier ones had their own special skills. The woman had been willing to take them in, but the rest of the team refused. Rejected, Ilti and Flara decided to form their own Dragon Hunting Team right there.

“Hurry, the information was wrong! The Black Dragon has a Familiar!” The woman recognized Ilti and offered a warning.

“Huh?” Ilti blinked. “Even with a Familiar, they shouldn’t be in such a sorry state, right? Warriors have their pride. To be reduced to losing their armor and weapons, even ending up completely alone—what kind of tragic ordeal must they have endured?”

“It’s different,” the woman said tersely, dismissing Ilti and Flah. Her goodwill had reached its limit.

Ilti and Flah exchanged puzzled glances.

Veranse, however, cast a subtle glance at Yulxi, who maintained an air of detached indifference.

“Looks like it’s really dangerous,” Ilti said, scratching her head. “Should we still go?”

Yulxi, who rarely questioned their plans, calmly countered, “Why not?” Noticing Ilti’s hesitation, she added, “The Dragon’s Might covers a vast area. If anything goes wrong, we can always retreat.”

Ilti turned to Flah. “What do you think?”

Flah pondered for a moment. “That makes sense. If it were truly perilous, we’d be encountering a steady stream of people fleeing. But right now, there’s only one person.” She shrugged.

Ilti: “Miss Veranse, what about you?”

Veranse smiled faintly. “Yulxi is right.”

Despite receiving news from the inner perimeter, the team didn’t turn back but continued forward, though their pace remained unhurried.

At noon, they stopped by a babbling stream.

Ilti and Flah volunteered to catch some tender, delicious fish, but after getting thoroughly soaked, they returned empty-handed. Crestfallen, they turned to the dense forest, where their luck improved. They dragged back a Gulu Pig.

“Please,” Flah swallowed hard, bowing to Yulxi.

Yulxi, who needed to eat anyway, didn’t mind cooking for three extra people. She delegated the task of cleaning the pig’s innards to Flah. Those hands, skilled with twin blades and capable of playing the moon lute, proved equally adept at butchering the Gulu Pig. Instead of roasting the meat, Yulxi set up a large pot and tossed in a pre-made seasoning block. Even before the broth began to simmer, its potent aroma threatened to overwhelm the air.

Before the meal, Yulxi distributed sticks of Spirit Incense to each of them, instructing them to light them.

After all, free incense offerings were never a bad thing.

“What kind of incense is this?” Veranse asked, bringing the Spirit Incense closer to her nose. She identified several Magic Plants by name, guessing there were many more plant ingredients she couldn’t discern with her abilities.

“Pre-meal incense,” Yulxi replied, her expression unchanged.

“Some nobles enjoy incense burners; this Spirit Incense is just another form of it,” Ilti concluded after a moment’s thought. She stuck the lit incense stick aside, her gaze fixed on the bubbling hot pot and the paper-thin slices of Gulu Pig meat arranged beside it.

“Just dip the meat in to cook,” Yulxi instructed, conjuring chopsticks from thin air and distributing them without checking if the others knew how to use them. She picked up a slice of meat and tossed it into the pot. Though her pack contained edible Magic Plants she had gathered, Yulxi had little interest in vegetables and couldn’t be bothered to wash them, so she abandoned the idea.

Ilti held the chopsticks awkwardly, feeling clumsy no matter how she tried to use them. If she weren’t being watched, she would have cast a heat-resistant spell on her hand and simply reached into the pot. Her gaze drifted to Flah, and seeing the elf struggling with the chopsticks too, Ilti felt reassured.

Veranse gazed at Yulxi, who had learned the fastest. At first, the slices of meat seemed poised to fall back into the pot at any moment, but soon her chopsticks no longer trembled. “You know so much,” she remarked.

It was almost unbelievable that Yulxi was a Black Dragon. The Five-Colored Dragons, the Great Dragons, had always been synonymous with tyranny. No sooner had news of this Black Dragon’s presence spread than bards were already singing tales of dragons razing cities and plundering humanity.

Yes, Veranse had known from the start that the black-haired woman before her was a Black Dragon—the very one wanted by the Red Maple Territory.

She had no interest in becoming a dragon slayer; she was simply intrigued by this peculiar Black Dragon.

After witnessing that scene, nothing had ever stirred her heart again.

Yulxi met Veranse’s gaze, smiled, and said, “Necessity.”

It was the truth.

Living in the Rotting Swamp, surrounded by decay, was an unbearable existence.

Veranse was slightly taken aback. Lowering her eyes, she said calmly, “My apologies. I didn’t mean to touch upon your painful past.”

Beside them, Ilti and Flah exchanged sympathetic glances toward Yulxi.

So Miss Yulxi was an orphan.