Alien world

Chapter 1887, Section 520: How to Capture the Black Dragon's Heart

Why are there so many annoying rats everywhere?

Black Pearl, stained with the blood and flesh of the rat-men, felt unclean and desperately needed an underground river to take a bath.

Following the sound of water, Black Pearl arrived at a cave with an underground river.

The ratmen built their nests here, with several bonfires burning, and several iron cages filled with skeletons hanging over the underground river.

Black Pearl crushed the ratmen who blocked her way, smashing the iron cages and bones like wind chimes, before burrowing into the underground river. There, she rolled and tumbled in the cold, clear water, washing away the bloodstains and filth.

Her arrival also aroused the indignation of the place's master—the gray-haired rat. A gray-haired rat led a group of elite rats and rushed out aggressively, screaming at the black dragon churning in the underground river: "Black dragon, what are you doing here!"

wow-

A ferocious black dragon head emerged from the underground river, cascading water like a waterfall. Its vertical pupils, representing the top predators of the Allen Continent, stared at the tiny reptiles before it: "I should be the one saying that... What are you doing in my cave!"

"Yours? We've been here for months!"

"What?! You dare to stay in my cave for months? Die, you rats!"

Black Dragon is inherently evil, not to mention she was chased by the ratmen all the way... Black Pearl had no intention of letting these ratmen go.

The gray-furred rat shrieked, "Black dragon, you killed me! The clan will never forgive you!"

"Oh."

Black Pearl responded coldly, exhaling a breath that reduced it and its retinue to ashes.

No one can threaten the Black Dragon.

Its vertical pupils darted around, landing with an oppressive force on the elite rats who were standing further away and had escaped unharmed: "As for you... I need food!"

One of the elite rats understood, took off its armor, and jumped into the fire.

Black Pearl swung its tail, sending the howling ratman flying along with the fire.

Amidst the dazzling explosion of sparks, Black Pearl roared, "What I want is edible food!"

Black Pearl lay submerged in the underground river, only her head and one arm protruding from the bank, letting the river wash over her body. Only in this way could she slightly alleviate the burning sensation and pain of her wounds.

Was she too tired? She suddenly remembered that when she was still a young dragon, her brothers and sisters tricked her into eating a dead rat-man... That was the worst trick she had ever been tricked in her life.

Those pesky rats are probably coming after us soon. All we did was steal some treasure and kill a bunch of deformed rat-men. Why is it never going to end like this?
A dozen minutes later, the elite rats brought back some fish. They were small, but better than eating the dirty and smelly ratmen.

It grabbed the fish basket with its two dragon claws, shoved it into its mouth, and then growled at an elite rat: "You, come here."

Thinking she was about to be eaten, the elite rats cautiously stepped forward. The pain kept Black Pearl in a state of rage, and she wanted to bite them to death, but—the ratmen were just too filthy.

"What are you rats doing underground instead of fighting humans on the surface?"

Black Pearl didn't smell any gold, so what was that gray rat doing here, and why was it questioning her?

The elite rat was too afraid to speak, and Black Pearl, not wanting to waste time, grabbed it and tossed it aside, letting the surging, icy waves carry it into the rock formation, before looking at the next rat.

"explain."

"The priest told us to dig a hole here..."

Why dig a hole?

"Sneak attack on human objects..."

Black Pearl ignored the terrified elite rats; she didn't care who won or lost, let the rats and humans fight it out.

If they don't fight, who will they steal from?
Black Pearl did want to take Annan away; she coveted his body, his wealth, his city… but he didn’t seem to be infatuated with himself.

It is said that humans all love princesses...

"Black Pearl?" Just as he was thinking about Annan, the voice that had echoed in the Black Dragon's brief dreams came from the cave.

Annam?!
The dragon, which had been lying on the shore, raised its head, its vertical pupils shrinking to pinpoints. It couldn't believe that Annan would be here, and even doubted whether it was a hallucination caused by its injury.

"Black Pearl, are you there?"

Then the voice sounded a second time.

Black Pearl first gave herself a boost of willpower, proving she wasn't affected by the hallucinations... which means the Annan outside is real?!

wow-

Black Pearl propped herself up, revealing her grotesque body, covered in wounds, missing large scales, and no longer smooth and bright.

Black Pearl instantly buried itself back into the underground river, leaving only its dragon eyes staring at the cave entrance, bubbling and gurgling.

……

Annan listened to the commotion ahead, which sounded like a giant beast churning in the water, and confirmed that the Black Pearl was right in front of him. But why was there no response?
"Black Pearl, where are you...?"

Annan walked out of the cave holding the magic lamp and stood in front of the open cavern.

The light from the magic lamp shone forward, mingling with the light from the campfire to illuminate the entire cavern.

A pitch-black underground river runs through the depths of the cave. There are no rat people here, only a few iron cages hanging on the underground river.

A young girl sat slumped in one of the cages, her skin pale, wearing a long black dress. Dappled sunlight shone on her face, making her appear delicate and exquisitely beautiful.

Annan was stunned for a moment when he saw her: "Black Pearl, what happened to you?"

"Ah, my Prince of Annam, you've misunderstood. I am a princess of the kingdom, transformed into a dragon by an evil sorcerer..."

"How could that be? You are actually the evil dragon, aren't you?"

"How...how could that be? I really am a princess." Black Pearl was a wicked woman, but she was clearly not good at lying, and she stammered.

A princess who can grab the Rat King, who's as tall as a church, and throw him over her shoulder?
Annan, unaware of Black Pearl's true intentions, played along for the time being: "How did you end up locked up here?"

“I…I’m injured, rat…the evil wizard sent his minions to kill me. They locked me in a cage and wanted to take me back to the evil wizard.”

Annan suppressed his strong dissatisfaction with the clichéd plot and walked over, saying, "Alright, I'll save you first..."

Tear open the magic scroll to summon a water elemental, and have it drag the iron cage down to the shore.

The iron cage, which was practically useless and had no chains, was opened. Black Pearl stretched out her hand, and Annan helped her out. As soon as she stood up, she staggered and leaned on Annan.

So this was your plan, Black Pearl!

They pretend to be weak to get close to me, so they can achieve their ulterior motives!
"You are bleeding..."

Annan supported Black Pearl, watching the blood slowly seeping from her arm, and remembered that Black Pearl was indeed seriously injured.

"Damn..."

"Ok?"

Annan suddenly looked up at the voice of the black pearl that had changed—now it was the white pearl.

"Ahem, I mean, oh no, what should I do?" Black Pearl said, her voice cracking.

Annan tore open several healing scrolls, and unsurprisingly, the low-level spells were ineffective against the injuries sustained by the black dragon.

He took out bandages and wrapped them around the black pearl, but it was of little use, at least it was no longer visible.

(End of this chapter)