Chapter 56: The Plan To Fake Surrender
The voice of Leo’s earnest advice continued to echo in Zelan’s mind.
[Zelan, you need to be flexible. If you keep fighting against the dragons, by the time we get to you, you’ll just be a giant dragon, and we might not even recognize you. Besides, you won’t be able to wield the Holy Sword in dragon form, right?]
[Yeah.]
Zelan had just turned into a dragon and didn’t know any dragon magic yet.
If he wanted to change back into human form, he would have to submit to Veltia.
Only other dragons could guide him to find the switch to change his form.
[I understand, Leo. I can pretend to submit to the dragons.]
[Very good, Zelan. As long as you keep your principles as a human in your heart, no matter what your body becomes, you are still human, still a Hero.]
[Thank you, Leo. Thank you for still believing in me.]
Zelan couldn’t help but shed tears again.
Now that he had turned into a dragon, he was afraid that when he returned to his former teammates, they would turn against him because of his appearance.
Leo’s trust was the reason Zelan was willing to follow his advice.
He held a pure belief in the dignity of humanity.
As a human, as a Hero, being forced to transform into a dragon was beyond his control, but faith is something that must be upheld by the heart. If it weren’t for Leo’s persuasion, even if it was just pretending, Zelan would feel that it was a trampling of his honor as a human and a Hero.
[Don’t be in such a rush to thank me. Whether you can see the light again still requires your efforts. Listen carefully, the dragons won’t easily believe that you’ve truly sided with them; they will surely impose some restrictions on you. If you can manage to escape, confirm your exact location and report back to me.]
[Okay.]
Just as Leo said, humanity still needed his protection, and his teammates needed his return.
He couldn’t hold onto his belief in human dignity and die here.
He had to escape. Even if his body had become a dragon, he would still slay dragons. He hoped that one day, when dragons saw humans, they would remember that the Dragon King was once killed by humans. He wished for a future where dragons trembled before humanity.
Not long after, Veltia returned once more, accompanied by dragon jailers carrying food.
“Time to eat, defeated Hero, Black Dragon Knight.”
Two jailers pushed a cart laden with deliciously roasted food in front of him.
Zelan couldn’t help but swallow hard.
Roasted pork legs, grilled fish, and roasted lobster—all meaty dishes.
Zelan noticed that after turning into a dragon, he had become much hungrier; a dragon needed to eat nearly ten times the amount of food to fill its belly compared to a human.
Veltia watched the black dragon, whose eyes sparkled with desire for the food.
Eating was an instinct for all animals. Although Zelan said he didn’t want to eat, his body was quite honest.
Eating the food brought by the dragons shouldn’t be considered as submitting to them, right?
After all, Zelan was certainly thinking about filling his belly to retain his strength. Otherwise, it would be pointless if he lacked the energy to escape.
“If there are no problems, I’ll be leaving now.”
Veltia was not in a hurry to tame Zelan.
If no humans came to rescue him, he would likely forget his human essence due to daily overeating and gradually accept his dragon body. By then, he would be close to falling into becoming a dragon.
“Wait.”
Zelan called out to Viltia to stop, and Viltia turned around.
“Speak.”
“Teach me how to change into human form. I am willing to submit to the dragons. I am willing to use my special abilities for you and help you find the treasures of the earth.”
“No, what I need is for you to tell me the essence of that special ability.”
Instead of seeking help, it was better to master the skill oneself.
Understanding the essence of this ability would allow the dragons to fully utilize the energy of the earth, rather than always needing outsiders to lead the way.
Zelan fell silent.
Fortunately, Leo hadn’t ended the call. He communicated with Leo mentally.
Reiterating Viltia’s original words to Leo, Zelan continued to ask.
[Leo, what should I do? How should I respond to her?]
[Say what I told you to say.]
“This special ability is innate. I often communicate with it in my dreams, and it says it is a messenger of God, responsible for guiding us humans toward prosperity. Only humans are the legitimate offspring of the God, the form recognized by the God. Other species are merely mutated monsters. Therefore, God bestowed this special ability on certain humans, allowing this ability to lead Heroes in treasure hunting, enabling them to gradually grow stronger until they can defeat other powerful species, until one day, they can successfully slay the dragons.”
“Oh? Is that so? But anyone can weave a tale. If you want to prove that what you say is true, you’ll need to cooperate with our experiments.”
“How do I cooperate?”
“Cooperate with Her Majesty’s experiment. Let Her Majesty extract the ability from your body for her use.”
“What?!”
Veltia’s lips curled slightly, her eyes filled with a hint of pride, as if to say to Zelan, “See? Isn’t my Queen amazing?”
Zelan silently asked Leo again, and Leo’s response was:
[Agree to her, Zelan.]
“I agree. When will the experiment take place?”
“That depends on when Her Majesty has time.”
“Can’t you give me a precise time?”
“Why? What do you need such an accurate time for? Or are you planning something?”
Veltia met Zelan’s gaze, and he turned his head away, feeling guilty.
Veltia smirked coldly.
It didn’t matter if it wasn’t sincere or if he was secretly planning something, any struggle in front of Her Majesty the Queen was futile.
One day, Zelan would come to realize how fortunate it was to be a dragon.
“You seem to still be hesitating. Think it over carefully, we dragons have an abundance of time. I will patiently wait for the day you sincerely surrender.”
After saying this, Veltia left the dungeon, the sound of her high heels echoing loudly in the cave.
Zelan lowered his head and took a small bite of the pork leg on the ground. Even though Veltia wasn’t watching him, he still tried to chew slowly and behave like a human.
[System, what do you think about what that purple dragon said?]
[What kind of evaluation does the host want from this System?]
[She mentioned that the Dragon Queen could extract the system from my body. Is that really something she can do?]
[It’s uncertain, but it’s not impossible.]
[You don’t seem worried at all.]
[Why should this System be worried? The Dragon Queen doesn’t even know what a System is. The possibility of extracting it from a person’s consciousness is extremely slim.]
[I see.]
But, Zelan was still afraid of that slim possibility occurring. If he lost the System’s assistance, he would just be a second-rate Hero.
Zelan didn’t know if this choice was correct, but he trusted Leo and the System.
As long as he held onto a belief in goodness and hope, everything would turn out well.
The wizard Of SILVER
Hmm… This annoying