Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 182: The Wrath of the Dragon

E-Rantel, the central district.

Draevor Flame strolled along the cobblestone streets, her steps light and bouncy. She was a dragonborn who had heard from the adventurer Momon, back in Moonstone Hollow on the edge of the Eight Greed Kings desert, that she could find her younger brother Ezar Flame in E-Rantel.

So Draevor had headed north, skirting along the border of the Slane Theocracy until she reached E-Rantel. She'd pushed herself day and night on the journey—riding solo on horseback through the wilderness by day, and crashing out on the roof of merchant caravans at night. She'd hijacked a few wagons to make it happen, but she hadn't killed anyone in the process.

To cut time and take a shortcut to E-Rantel, Draevor had even risked sneaking through towns in the Slane Theocracy. Lucky for her, the place was in total chaos, with armies all marching toward the capital—no one paid attention to a masked dragonborn dashing through their streets.

Now that she'd finally made it to E-Rantel, she'd soon track down that spot called the Dragon Zoo and reunite with her half-brother. A thrill surged through Draevor, excitement bubbling up so fiercely she felt like breathing fire.

But she'd seen the city's rules: no using force or magic inside the walls, or you'd get booted out—or worse, end up dead. So Draevor did her best to rein in her giddy joy, hopping and skipping along the cobblestone avenue with playful strides.

As she passed a sahuagin's barbecue stand, Draevor eyed the fragrant meats sizzling over the charcoal flames, but she wasn't tempted. The cooked stuff was loaded with too many spices—Draevor just didn't care for it.

Her gaze lingered on the sahuagin's gill-slit face for a long while, curiously fixated on the fishman boss's gill flaps. The fishman's gills opened and closed, his fine tendrils quivering. Draevor had been born in the inland regions and rarely encountered this coastal race.

"Ha? Female dragonborn, what're you staring at me for? I'm not about to roast myself for you to chow down on." The sahuagin boss rotated his beef skewers, his yellow eyes roaming all over Draevor.

"Fishman, mind if I ask—do you know the way to Dragon Zoo?" Draevor inquired.

"Ha, Dragon Zoo?" The sahuagin flipped the beef skewer over. "Keep heading straight, then take two right turns in a row. You'll hit a wide square, and right next to the central teleportation hub, that's Dragon Zoo."

"Thanks, little fishy." Draevor's voice brimmed with unusual delight.

The sahuagin suddenly seemed to remember something; he looked up and asked, "What're you, a dragonborn, heading to Dragon Zoo for anyway?"

But no one answered him—the dragonborn Draevor had already bounced off into the distance, leaving him only a lonesome view of her back.

...

On the vast square, Draevor caught sight of the shadows of a group of massive dragons. The dragons struck all sorts of poses: some with wings spread in flight, others roaring skyward, and some crouched in rest, forming a marvelous tapestry of dragon life.

Draevor was thrilled beyond words; the scene before her stirred memories of life back in the dragon homeland. E-Rantel truly lived up to its name as a paradise where all races coexisted in harmony—surely her brother Ezar was among them.

Draevor broke into long strides, charging toward the dragons, drawing closer with every step. Gradually, she sensed something was wrong.

The dragons were all sharp edges and crags, wings unfurled, radiating an awe-inspiring menace without even trying—but they held the same poses forever, standing rigid on the ground without so much as a twitch, as if they were dead.