Vesuvius rested with the tail curled around his body. There was nothing but a bubble of void around him as everything vanished and disintegrated out of existence. The administrator still worried him, but it was something he couldn't solve for now.
The dragonkin knelt on the hard black stone without any care. Her long black hair with a single red trail flowed past her shoulders with flakes of ash trapped within them.
The small emerald dragon quietly observed her together with him from his shadow.
"From now on your authority will be expanded to all kingdoms and empires under my rule."
'I may call it an empire on the outside, but internally it is for now more like a federation or an union with most of it consisting of self-governing autonomous regions under the control of wyrms of the mind-controlled humans.' Integration was a slow process that couldn't be rushed, and he knew it, making him take the slower but much less damaging path.
"I hereby inaugurate you as the first imperial minister of internal stability. You will gain manpower and budget to fulfill your new duties." She was the right person for it, and he was sure of that.
He needed someone ruthless and who might even enjoy hunting every bad element threatening to damage his country from the inside.
'The larger the empire, the more control is needed to keep it together. They are still a bunch of fools that think they can run havoc within my borders. All the corruption and disloyalty within the countries under my domain... it cannot be fixed from within them as their entire systems are often rotten. It needs external medicine.'
"I will fulfill my duties with pride and diligence." Her head fell even lower, but the dragon could feel her anxiety, and he knew from where it came.
"Don't worry my minion. I will not give you such a hard task without appropriate help." At his order, the golden eyes lit and flared into life through the clouds of smoke. They were all around two meters above the ground, the darkness of the smoke and their uniforms hiding their forms.
Still, their aura was palpable, making his minion slightly pale as they all turned to watch her.
"These are the new imperial solicitors. They are from now on under your command. I already dispatched a few of them to test them."
'The conversion rate is bad. Only less than one in five kobolds survive the process. It feels like they reached their limit. I should find a new and better humanoid base to transform.'
"I-I will serve well, my master."
"Good, as the new minister of stability you need the power to back it up. Raise your head and look at your future."
With a wave of his long claw, a jar materialized out of thin air.
The brightly shining, thick golden bone marrow stirred in the jar, looking like semi-molten gold, its slight glow basking everyone in its presence.
"Go, Alesia, do your thing, make her stronger." The smaller dragon stepped out of his shadow, a smile on her face and a long emerald claw protruding from her finger like a precise surgical tool.
It was just the beginning in the dragon's eyes as he planned to transform all the wyrms, land dragons, and even the few lesser dragons using his blood and uplift them all for the upcoming war.
They were his response to the angelic legions. They were his draconic legions.
His eyes dangerously gleamed as he thought about transforming a wyrm even more to explore the path.
'My marrow... no I can potentially use even my divine blood without any prolonged preparations as they are much sturdier than my humanoid minions.'
"Serve me well, my minion." As he reminisced, the dragon turned his giant neck, and his eyes became absent.
POV One group of the above-mentioned fools:
"I am telling you. If we want to hurt them we need to attack their money. They care about it more than they care about their lives."
Two dozen ragged men, equipped with rusty swords and hunting bows over their shoulders, waited in the shadow of a tall building.
"Quiet down, they are almost here."
'What do I feel like this will end badly... attacking tax transport? Wouldn't a dragon rush here in an instant?' Jack Footer nervously peeked at his comrades, their apparent zealousness making a little to calm him down.
The sounds of the steps and metal clanging quickly approached the valley, making them tense and bathe their breath with the adrenaline pumping through their veins.
'Ohh, my god. Please help me survive the upcoming battle.' He was a veteran, so he knew even the most trivial battle could easily become his last one.
The steps quickly got closer and closer, making his hand gripping the sword itch.
"Now!" Their leader waved his hand, and all of them immediately rushed out of the valley. Arrows whistled through the air as they released their arrow while the rest drew their swords. Their eyes burned with hatred.
Jack also drew his swords and sprinted forward, the fighting spirit and adrenaline suppressing his previous worries.
They were veteran soldiers. Their own countries have betrayed and abandoned them as the rulers bowed their heads to the monstrous occupants instead of fighting.
A dozen soldiers in the mix of the plate and mail armor on the square pointed their spears at them. The people chaotically ran everywhere he could see, the screams of the civilians he swore to protect making his heart tremble with anger.
'Why are they scared?! They should have welcomed us and joined the fight!'
The two formations of soldiers quickly moved closer and closer, accompanied by zealous battle cries.
"Traitors! You now serve the monsters and the treacherous king!"
"For the resistance!" A cry resounded through the square as more than a dozen men drew their swords, dashing straight toward the armed soldiers.
Suddenly a pressuring aura fell upon the entire square, both sides freezing in their fight.
A mist rushed down the street, a pair of glowing eyes shining from under the hood of the tall black shadow.
"Fuck what is this thing?!" Jack hardly kept his composure. Over the years of serving in the army, this was the first time he faced a monster like that.
The tall monstrosity reaching over two meters, slowly marched down the street, each of its steps creating loud metallic bangs. The air turned hotter and heavier as it got closer and closer.
He wanted to run, but his legs trembled, and his sword threatened to fall out of his grasp.
The being slowly but surely closed on them, from its head to its heels. It was covered in slim and dark robes sewn with golden patterns.
The rap voice bearing upon his sanity came from the direction of the monster.
"You are guilty of ambushing the transport of collected tax money. Stealing from the public finances is the same as stealing from their imperial majesty. You have made crimes against the stability of the empire. I with the authority of an imperial solicitor sentence you to death."
"Fuck I told you, that attacking the money will bring their wrath..." It wasn't long since they fell under their new overlord, but the terrifying reputation of how they destroyed all resistance in their home kingdom spread like wildfire.
The next second, a bright red light flashed through the street, and before Jack could even blink, a glowing while cut through the air, accompanied by a loud sonic boom.
His eyes widened as the bodies of over ten of his comrade burst into red flames radiating evil energy, leaving nothing but ashes behind.
'Fuck!'
The two golden eyes looked straight at him, the warmth of the pee running down his legs, awakening him from his stupor.
A red light flashed, and his visions faded away.
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