Chapter 384
by post_apiChapter 384: The Awakening of Ice Dragon Orna
Huang Mao was indeed quite large, and Little Qiao remained fearful of big creatures…
Seeing this timid little thing’s behavior, it clearly couldn’t cooperate with her.
The white-haired girl brushed her finger against the tiny daughter curled in her palm, but Little Qiao merely shivered without further reaction.
Lin Yu shifted her gaze back to Huang Mao before her.
The giant wolf stared intently with luminous beast-like eyes fixed on the girl.
“What are you staring at? Remember—you heard nothing yesterday. Understood?”
“Woof! Woof-woof-woof!!”
“Hmph, figure it out yourself. Even if something did happen yesterday, it’s none of your business.”
“Woof… woof-woof! Woof!”
“Oh?”
Hearing Huang Mao’s barks, Lin Yu paused momentarily before circling the massive wolf with keen interest.
She finally draped an arm over the wolf’s flank.
“Well… it’s not entirely impossible. But there’s a condition.”
When interacting with Huang Mao, the white-haired girl shed her usual aloof demeanor. Her eyes sparkled with mirth, revealing a playful cunning unique to young maidens.
“Woof?!”
The wolf’s face lit up with excitement at Lin Yu’s response.
“Woof-woof?”
“The condition is human transformation! If Huang Mao can master shapeshifting to become a cat-eared beast-girl maid, I’ll consider it.”
As long as she’s beautiful, even if originally a female dog… I might accept it!
Come to think of it, in my past life I’d fantasized about Huang Mao transforming into a cat-eared girl upon waking… So human form should be acceptable.
After all, we’re not mother and daughter—no psychological burdens here.
Ah, but she must be pretty.
Though since Huang Mao’s my dog, beauty’s guaranteed anyway.
Speaking of which, after our recent battle with the Earth Dragon clan, Huang Mao’s level rose slightly but didn’t acquire the [Transformation] skill.
Such a pity.
With no known magic artifacts enabling monster-to-human-race transformation, we’ll need luck obtaining that skill during future level-ups.
“Woof! Woof-woof!”
After hearing the terms, Huang Mao protested with several barks.
“What? Can’t become a cat-girl? That’s your problem to solve.”
…
Later, as their conversation continued, Lin Yu noticed her palm-sized daughter finally ceasing to tremble within her curled posture.
“Orna! Mommy, Orna is about to awaken!”
Just as Lin Yu was pondering, the little ant suddenly called out to her.
“Truly?!”
The white-haired girl’s spirits immediately lifted.
“Absolutely!”
“Good, let’s make haste then.”
She exited the villa with the giant wolf and the little ant, soon noticing construction crews nearby breaking ground for new structures.
The blueprint for the Ant Clan’s settlement now showed tangible progress.
However, the girl’s emergence drew occasional glances from the distant workers. Since town development wasn’t urgent, Lin Yu saw no need to hasten their labor. The workers’ distant stares bothered her little, though she worried more about Ji Qiao’s flimsy dress risking exposure. Securing her youngest between the gentle slopes of her bosom, the small child clung to the inner fabric to avoid slipping…
…
Departing the estate, Lin Yu paid no heed to the laborers. Mounting Yellow Hair, she rode deep into the dragon’s lair. Behind them, Darkling Stalker melted into a trailing shadow.
They soon stood before Orna’s skeletal remains – the colossal Earth Dragon framework. Unblinking eyes observed the bones. As Ji Qiao had predicted, faint phosphorescence began shimmering within the skeletal structure after some time…
The glow intensified gradually. Then came the first tremor.
A flash ignited within the skeleton’s hollow orbits. Lin Yu sensed a new presence in her consciousness. Focusing inward, the white-haired girl discovered not only countless white sparks and the pale green ember from the Goblin Wizard’s Dead Spirit conversion, but now a vivid jade luminance rivaling Class A daughters like Red Pupil.
Success?
Her anxious yet hopeful gaze remained fixed on the ancient bones.
*You…you are…*
A bewildered Psychic Call resonated in her mind as the skeleton twitched.
…
Orna drifted through void and shadow, consciousness unraveling like frayed silk. Whispers of inevitability murmured – when darkness consumed all light, true death would claim her.
Memories dissolved first, then desires, until even survival’s primal urge faded. Yet when oblivion’s tide crested, a luminous thread pierced the abyss, arresting her descent.
Sensation returned slowly. “Opening” her eyes, she found Lin Yu and the flaxen-furred beast before her. *You…you are…*
Centuries of memories erupted like magma. The white-haired one’s tentative greeting went unanswered as Orna wrestled with cascading recollections. When the storm subsided, clarity returned with cold realization.
The Ant Clan. That aberrant warrior. Her executioner.
Orna’s gaze hardened as she scrutinized the girl and lupine guardian.
*Who are you?*