pain.
The pain was excruciating; every breath I took was agonizing.
The two largest chains went straight through her shoulders, past her collarbones.
Every rise and fall of her chest, every slightest movement, caused the cold chains that pierced her bones to rub and tear at her flesh, bringing a sharp pain that made her vision go black.
breathe……
breathe……
Each inhalation became incredibly difficult, as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest. Each exhalation carried a heavy, putrid stench of blood and sulfur, a mingled scent belonging to the dragon.
Jiang Chan laboriously turned her enormous head, the scales on her neck scraping against the rough rock wall, making a hoarse friction sound.
Visibility was blurred, and the cave was dimly lit. Only the damned runes on the rock walls, flickering with eerie blue and ominous purple light, barely illuminated a small area.
She could feel her body now—vast, heavy, like a mountain on the verge of decay.
The once hard, steel-like black scales that covered its entire body had lost their luster in large patches, turning gray and with curled edges. In some places, they had even rotted and fallen off, revealing the rotten, blackened flesh underneath.
Wings? The enormous membranous wings were tightly bound to the jagged spine by thicker iron chains, long since losing the power to open, resembling two tattered pieces of leather.
weak.
A deep-seated weakness, as if the body had been hollowed out.
The most deadly sensation came from deep within his chest, near his heart. There, there should have been a core burning with boundless power—a dragon crystal.
But now, Jiang Chan could only faintly sense its presence. It was like a cold, dying ember, each extremely slow pulse accompanied by a tearing pain that ripped her soul apart, squeezing out the last bit of her remaining life force.
She could "see" the dragon crystal. In her consciousness, it was so dim. Its color had changed from the scorching dark red in her memory to a dull, lifeless gray. Spiderweb-like cracks even began to appear on its edges.
This body... is almost at its last gasp.
Those two tasks...
Dragon Crystal...self-destruction?
At what grand opening ceremony?
Are they going to curse the crown prince?
Jiang Chan's enormous dragon body trembled slightly due to the intense sense of absurdity, immediately triggering excruciating pain as the chains tore at her collarbone! She gritted her teeth tightly.
Just then, the original owner, the black dragon named Nidhogg, released fragments of its memories, which, like a burst dam, carried with them overwhelming hatred and humiliation, and surged into Jiang Chan's consciousness:
Fragment 1: Black dragon wings, obscuring the sky, swept across the burning forest, their furious roars shaking the valley! But massive crossbow bolts rained down from all directions, chains bound with holy light…
Fragment 2: A despicable trap! That damned human mage disrupted space with a treacherous barrier! And those so-called "heroes," with the mage's help, plunged poisoned weapons into her soft abdomen...
Fragment 3: Endless Darkness! Dragged into this deep underground cage! Heavy chains pierce through the dragon bones! The shimmering runes, like countless greedy bloodsucking leeches, relentlessly suck her power!
Fragment 4: Day after day, year after year! Her strength was slowly drained, her scales lost their luster, her muscles atrophied… She could feel the dragon crystal's light dimming day by day. The occasional mocking shouts of the human guards: "Giant Lizard," "Kingdom Cornerstone"...
Fragment 5: The last clear memory: The human in the magnificent mage robes stood on a high platform, looking down at her, and declared in a cold voice: "...You will serve as an eternal warning to the kingdom, 'living' until the day you are completely exhausted. Your bones will become a 'peace monument' to humanity's victory!"
captivity!
Extract!
Finally, even her bones will be used as exhibits and nailed to the pillar of shame!
Despair and icy hatred flowed through Jiang Chan's body like venom in an instant!
Self-destruction... Curse... Grand Ceremony...
Jiang Chan's huge, golden vertical pupils suddenly contracted in the dim light!
The only way out is to turn yourself into a bomb! A bomb powerful enough to send those enemies, along with this damned cage of shame, flying into the sky!
When her last value was squeezed dry and she was displayed as a "monument," let her be destroyed in the most dazzling way, giving them an unforgettable "unveiling ceremony"!
And what about that crown prince... the hope of the royal family? Let him live on with the black dragon's most vicious curse!
“Roar…” A deep, hoarse dragon roar, filled with endless pain and determination, rolled uncontrollably from Jiang Chan’s broken throat, echoing dully in the cave.
The noise alerted those outside.
Heavy footsteps approached from afar and stopped outside the heavy gate at the entrance to the underground cave. Then, the sound of a metal observation port being pulled open followed.
A pair of human eyes, filled with curiosity and a hint of disgust, appeared behind the observation hole, scanning down at the massive dragon body bound by chains.
"Tsk tsk, this old thing, he's not dead yet?" A rough male voice rang out, carrying the guard's impatience. "What are you yelling about? Save your energy, you might live a couple more days."
Another, slightly younger voice rang out, sounding a bit relaxed: "Hey, old Luke, don't say that. It's good to live longer, at least to survive the big event in seven days! His Majesty the King will be here to unveil it himself! We're getting a piece of the action, that's good."
The King... unveils...
This is it!
The observation hole clicked shut.
The footsteps and chatter of the guards gradually faded into the distance.
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