Translator: Exodus Tales
Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by Mianbao
Edited by RED
He sighed. He was only a silkworm farmer.
Relying on selling silk to make a living, Zhu Minglang would have married Xiaoyan, the girl who lived opposite him, in the coming year if nothing went wrong, and lived an ordinary life, following the tides of the world.
Zhu Minglang had gotten rid of all his ambitions over the years. He no longer desired glory like in the past, and only wanted a simple, honest life planting mulberry trees, living out his life in a place where no one knew him, raising silkworms…
Who would have thought a day would suddenly arrive where he slept in the same dungeon as the incomparably dazzling Valkyrie? It truly was an unpeaceful life…
Closing his eyes, Zhu Minglang started feeling sleepy.
Soon, he fell asleep, exhausted.
—
Sizzle, sizzle…
-Smells so good! Is my neighbor deep frying spring rolls again?-
Zhu Minglang woke up, and soon picked up the aroma of something frying.
After splashing his face with some cold water, Zhu Minglang realized the aroma came from his own kitchen.
-Where’s the Valkyrie?
-She’s in the kitchen???
-She knows how to cook?!
-Amazing! From the dungeons, to the living room, and even the kitchen!- {TLN: Meaning she can handle many problems, from home affairs to outside issues.}
After entering the simple kitchen, Zhu Minglang saw a bamboo basin sitting next to a large pot. Tiny rolls, deep fried to a golden yellow, were placed in the bamboo basin, looking crispy and delicious!
Soon, however, Zhu Minglang saw a devastating sight!
The Valkyrie was holding a pair of long chopsticks, skillfully coating plump silkworms in a thick layer of sweet potato powder, one after another, then tossing them into the pot of hot, boiling oil. Another fresh wave of aroma immediately arose.
“My silkworms!!” Zhu Minglang cried out in anguish.
“I’m hungry. There isn’t any other food in your house.”
-The silkworms are so cute; how can you eat them!-
They were the silkworms Zhu Minglang had painstakingly raised for over a month. Each of them could be exchanged for a grain of silver sand. Finding a wife for him in this town all depended on these most expensive silkworms…
“You’re beautiful like an angel, and bear an extraordinary temperament, but how are you able to deep fry silkworms so well… How could you be so cruel!” Zhu Minglang said, wanting to cry but no tears would come out.
“I have seen these silkworms of yours before. This is how my servants do it. I had a bite of it before, but it’s too oily. I didn’t really like it.” The Valkyrie wrapped the fried silkworm with a young green leaf, balancing out the oiliness and bit down on it. Afterwards, she swallowed down with slightly knitted eyebrows.
-So be it if you’re eating them, but you’re even complaining that they’re too oily, and making such a face, like you’re finding it difficult to swallow them…
-They’re clearly delicious!-
In the end, Zhu Minglang also clipped a piece and rolled it up with fresh vegetables, bringing it into his mouth.
“I’m not eating you, I’m not eating you, little fellow. Those are silkworms raised to be eaten to begin with,” Zhu Minglang assured the little ice worm on his shoulder as he ate.
“There has been a rumor in recent months saying that dragonlings love eating silkworms, and any young beings that eat silkworms have to be captured if they ever appear; their chances of dragonizing are higher,” the Valkyrie said.
“No wonder the sales of silkworms have been especially high recently, so much so that supply can’t keep up with the demand. I had thought some young miss from some rich family was about to get married and needed large amounts of silkworms to make dresses. Damn it, they are meant to provide silk for making clothes, and have become food instead. Those silkworms must feel unresigned.”
“If eating silkworms allowed a creature to dragonize, their souls wouldn’t feel any injustice, even if tens of thousands of them were sacrificed,” the Valkyrie replied.
“Are dragons very noble?”
“They are.”
“What about compared to you?”
“I’m less than a dragon.”
There existed an incredible power in these lands. No matter what living creatures they were, all of them had a chance of turning into dragons.
However, dragons were rare and noble, incredibly powerful beings. Extremely few turned into dragons, even among billions of living creatures.
Legend had it that all living creatures had a dragon gate of their own. After crossing that gate, they would transform into a dragon.
Dragons were like the sun, moon, and stars high up in the sky, incomparably dazzling.
The wild beasts and demon spirits that fought for food and forcibly claimed territories for themselves were nothing more than common smelly fish and prawn in the eyes of a creature that had turned into a dragon.
“Since dragons are so powerful, what meaning is there for humans to fight one another?” Zhu Minglang asked.
“Humans possess intelligence. There are countless uncertain elements to a creature’s dragonization. They require certain luck, and need to undergo countless hardships. There exists a kind of people; they search and study the rules toward a creature’s dragonization, and look for dragonlings that could possibly achieve it but are lacking in some conditions, compensating for them and helping them cross that dragon gate!”
“Master Dragon Tamers?”
“Mmm. Humans can become that, Master Dragon Tamers!”
“What do you think of me?” Zhu Minglang asked, full of zest.
“The silkworms you rear are not bad; they’re very plump.”
Well, the Valkyrie looked extremely beautiful even when she didn’t want to lie…
——
At Ever City…
It was early in the morning. The sun had yet to rise, but the sky was painted in a gorgeous shade of scarlet. Flashes of what seemed to be real flames shone over the streets of the entire city. Even the darkest corners became blindingly bright!
“Run, quickly! Run!!”
“A huge fire! A huge fire broke out!!”
A wave of noise suddenly came from the streets. From near to far, one could see a huge crowd of people running out of the city in sorry states, as if they were being chased by a flood or wild beasts.
Rumble, rumble!!!
Suddenly, a huge spread of fire swept over horizontally, crashing into the tall houses. The properties on the street were devastated in the blink of an eye, turning into acres of debris and overflowing onto the streets.
A group of commoners wearing woven clothing had their bodies punched through by the flaming debris, and their bodies caught fire as well. It was miserable!
The buck-toothed officer in charge of the long street was astonished. He quickly drew his blade, assuming that some powerful bandits had entered the city and was trying to ransack it.
Roar~~~!!!
Behind him was a spread of tall buildings belonging to the rich and noble. At a corner of one of those buildings’ eaves, a large head the size of a rooftop suddenly rose to the skies, bringing with it a long and sturdy body. Its dazzling fire scales were continuously emitting those blazing flames…
“A dragon!!!”
The buck-toothed officer was incomparably shaken. Seeing the slowly rising gilded fire dragon venting its rage, the man felt a deep chill of fear all over his body despite being surrounded by flames!
A gilded fire dragon!
It was in the skies above the streets of Ever City, breathing flames to wash over the crowd.
With a raise of its head, and a breath, a whole street of people were turned to ash!
With a sweep of its tail, the high walls and tall buildings, shops and government accommodations, all fell!
As for the commoners’ houses, they immediately burst into flames upon contact with the dragon’s fiery scales, turning into charred ruins in less than half a minute!
In just half a minute, the long street was devastated.
There were some soldiers in armor, wielding blades, looking well-trained and fearless.
However, with a single roar from the gilded fire dragon, their eardrums were shattered, and they fell to the ground before they even got to fight their enemy, rolling and screaming miserably.
The gilded fire dragon slammed its claw down. Those soldiers had no chance to display their martial might at all. Every one of them had turned into meat paste!
The soldiers had no way to resist the dragon, let alone the common people!
The city was turned into a sea of flames. The prosperous Ever City’s armed forces were unable to withstand a single blow. Soon, the armored city soldiers began fleeing in all directions, alongside the common people.