《Crowned in Mud: A Monster Evolution story》


 Chapter 1

    ¡°Servant! Please bring me the next bottle. Hurry up, don''t make your better¡¯s wait!¡± I smugly smiled as the young boy quickly scurried off to do as he was told. Such was his lot in life. I swirled the wine in my goblet before chugging it down.


    Some said you had to take your time with wine to enjoy. But they are wrong. If you could afford large amounts of it why not consume proportional amounts. If you did this you could experience the full flavor of being rich.


    I smiled at my own joke. I¡¯m hilarious! I turned to look at the mirror and nodded. My beautiful blond hair, gold eyes and gold crown. Everything combined perfectly to frame my glorious face.


    I nodded and stood up, wobbling slightly as the alcohol began to slam into my brain like a pile of gold bricks hitting my treasury. I stood there for a few seconds, balancing myself as I looked around, a tad disoriented.


    That was the risk the rich took when they enjoyed fine wine the correct way. I stumbled over to my collection of gold goblets and yelled. ¡°Peasants! Serve me!¡± I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of drunkenness. It felt almost like falling after tripping on your own feet. Exhilarating and embarrassing at the same time. It also made your head hurt like it had just slammed into the edge of your brick fireplace.


    I opened my eyes but I could only see out of one of them, the other was covered in some viscous liquid. The red liquid began to pool around me and I mumbled ¡°Not my wine.¡± Then My vision started to go dark. Perhaps I had drunk a bit too much alcohol.


    The next moment I opened my eyes and for some reason I still couldn¡¯t see anything. Mine always glowed with the sheer mass of gold within it. Why was I in some peasant room? I reached up and felt my arms slam into something.


    I could feel some strange resistance as well whenever I moved. Was I in a bath? Had the servants covered it? I decided that resistance was futile so I went back to sleep. I woke up a few minutes later still in complete darkness.


    I was bored by now so I started thrashing around, slapping the walls and recoiling at the pain. Why did someone like me have to feel pain! I pushed through the hellish torture as I slapped my hands into the wall over and over again. Also what was weighing me down.


    Finally I slammed my face into the wall and noticed my mouth hit the wall far sooner than it should have. Maybe my face was swollen from the suffering I had been through. After a few more times face butting the wall it finally cracked.


    Actually wait why did it crack, how weak was this wall? Why the hell am I in a covered bath? Where are my thrice dampened servants. This is unacceptable! My father will be hearing of this.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    I huffed and decided to continue breaking out of the weak bath. No reason to stay there. Wait, how did I not drown? There was definitely liquid surrounding my face. Maybe I was just too rich to die? Interesting thought but no reason to test it.


    I finally fully smashed my head through and was able to see my surroundings. Unlike the expected luxury bathroom I instead looked around at a large pond surrounded by mud. I quickly went back inside my bath and curled into a ball.


    That was unsuccessful as when I tried to curl up something curled around my entire body. I jumped out of the bath and landed on my back in the mud. Which allowed me to look up and see a giant rat sniffing at my bath that looked suspiciously like an egg.


    The rat that was easily the size of my house noticed me and let out a screech as it bounded towards me. I let out a screech as well which was a bit less intimidating but still effective at scaring myself.


    I flipped over and sprinted away on all fours, moving surprisingly fast. I dived into the mud and began to dig, quickly hiding in my small hole. I covered myself in mud and sat there. What the fuck is going on?


    Why am I covered in mud? Why is a giant rat trying to kill me, why do I have webbed feet and a tail for shit¡¯s sake! Why is my mouth more of a giant jaw than my perfect fucking human jaw.


    The rat dug into the mud so I dug deeper, going as far as I could. After a few minutes of digging I hit what could only be described as not mud. I couldn¡¯t dig any farther but the rat was picking up speed as it chortled in delight.


    I looked up and screamed. ¡°It''s not my fault you''re poor! Leave me alone and go beg some baker for bread! I only eat steak and sushi!¡± It continued digging and I was a tad fed up. The second one of its fingers got near me I bit it.


    ¡°Take that you destitute commoner!¡± The rat didn¡¯t even react so I bit it again. This continued until I was plainly revealed to the rat. Its towering form stared down at me as its tongue lolled out.


    I glared at it and screamed. ¡°You impoverished turd! Leave me alone!¡± The rat continued staring at me, not moving an inch. The damn thing was playing with me. Well two could play this game. ¡°I may be some strange lizard now but I am still your goddamn better. Die for my benefit!¡±


    I leapt at the vermin and face planted onto its toes. I didn¡¯t actually know how to jump with the tail dragging me down. So I just kept biting his toes. It was disgusting but as a noble I could do whatever I wanted.


    I began slowly scaling the beast as it continued to do nothing but glare at me. ¡°Ha! Your arrogance will be your doom! Nothing is better than me!¡± The rat still seemed stuck in place so after a few minutes of climbing I made it to the rat''s throat. I began repeatedly biting it, tearing off small pieces of skin until finally the blood began to flow like wine.


    I smiled and quickly realized my mistake as the rat collapsed and caused me to fall as well. I landed in the mud but thankfully I seemed alright.


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 1 mud skink.


    I frowned, how could I level up? I was already the best. Even if I was some weird mud lizard now. Being rich carries over, obviously. I stared at the now corpse of the rat. Was this my new life? Fighting vermin and animals just to survive to the next day?


    No, I am wealthy! No one can confine me to their social structure unless I am at the very top. Look out world! I am going to prove to you that I am better! Because I am! It is my birthright and nothing will stop me from seizing it. Especially not poor people! I shall rule the world! Money!

 Chapter 2

    While I had been quite confident in my claim of ruling this world it did not appear to be happening anytime soon. I was now sitting in a large puddle of rat blood while in a giant swathe of mud next to a pond.


    I sighed and started walking away from the corpse but my stomach protested. I stared at it for a few seconds as my legs seemed to move on their own. ¡°No! No, I refuse! I can¡¯t do it. I won¡¯t eat peasant food!¡±


    But my body wouldn¡¯t listen as I began to devour the corpse. The slimy meat slid down my throat. Its texture is a mix of shit and paper.. I felt like vomiting but I feared that my body would just start eating that. Truly, the gods were testing me, their wealthiest devotee.


    After eating the rat, I decided it was time to explore. To survey this new land of opportunity. I walked through the mud flat I had apparently been born on. Looking for any landmarks that stood out. The only noticeable thing was a rock cluster by the shore that towered over me.


    The mud flat itself was surrounded by a dense forest that I did not fancy exploring. I was apparently a lizard now, and mud was in my name. Staying near the mud was the game plan. I walked around for a while, looking for something to do but nothing popped out.


    I sighed and flopped onto my back, staring up towards the sky. ¡°Why me? Why a mud skink?¡± I sighed and yelled. ¡°Why not a dragon huh? I have the personality of one!¡± Then I paused. What if I was a dragon?


    Of course! One of my noble heritage and status would reincarnate as a dragon. A lesser one of course but a dragon! It all made sense now. I rolled onto my belly and said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m a dragon. It¡¯s time to think like a dragon.


    I need a horde, lots of money to sleep on. Valuables to flounder in. That means I need a lair. Somewhere to store my golden hoard. I looked around and once again noticed the rock outcropping. I walked over to it and found a big enough hole to squeeze through. The outcropping formed a natural lair.


    The rocks were stacked in a way that made a nice space completely protected by the rock. I rolled onto my back once again this time in my new lair. No, my new castle! ¡°Hahahaha! Nothing will stop me now. I¡¯m a dragon!¡±


    I rolled around in the mud for a bit before getting up and looking around. There was one glaring issue. There was no money, no valuables, nothing other than mud. But as a hardworking wealthy awesome dragon of power and richness I would change that. I liked my new title.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.I walked over to the hole and noticed that the rocks were pretty big in comparison to the trees. How big am I? I walked over to a tree, not entering the forest itself but just looking at myself in comparison. The size of a small dog was the best comparison I could make. ¡°Maybe half a foot tall and two feet long.


    That¡¯s actually quite small for a dragon although I had just hatched. Wait a second, where are my parents? Were dragons not very attentive with their children, annoying but my parents hadn¡¯t done much with me as a human and I had turned out great.


    All they had done was pay for everything, buy me a large mansion and hired around a hundred servants to care for me. Those cold hearted alcoholics. I paused at that word. I would miss wine, it had been one of my favorite pastimes, consuming the nectar of the rich.


    Maybe I could make some? No, I was a dragon! I can take whatever I want whenever I want. I smiled smugly and continued patrolling the mud flats. If I was correct in my own size estimation then the mud flat was about 25 square mile. Quite large but it was nice to have so much territory.


    I tumbled around in the mud for a few more minutes before scaling the rock pile. It took far longer than it should have but I reached the top right as the sun was starting to set. I looked around at my surroundings, burning the image into my rich brain.


    The forest surrounding the mud flats cracked and swayed as something squawked within. The pong which now that I look at it is more of a lake was murky, I couldn¡¯t see a thing. The mud flats were muddy, and there didn¡¯t seem to be anything within them.


    I started jumping from rock to rock, trying to get used to this horrid tail. Every time I jumped it either snagged something or just flat out wouldn¡¯t move! I grumbled out at it but calmed down after a bit.


    Dragon¡¯s didn¡¯t need to feel stressed. I slid into my small cave and started planning. I was a small dragon, but I still needed to control my territory. When I had fought the rat, after I bit it a few times it had stopped moving.


    Maybe I had some sort of venom? Some would say I was poisonous but that was something only a commoner would say. There is a clear difference! Just like between envy and jealousy. Honestly, these peasants just couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around anything complicated.


    This paralyzing venom would be a massive help against anything I fought! Who needed to breathe fire when your enemies simply froze after getting bit once! Although that did mean that if I couldn¡¯t bite them then I probably wouldn¡¯t be very effective.


    Oh well, worrying was for the poor. I was rich! It was time to begin construction of my castle. The rocks formed a natural room but I needed more. A few floors, filled to the brim with gold, jewels and all sorts of artifacts would do perfectly.


    I began digging a hole, at an incline of around 45 degrees. I used all the excavated mud to patch some of the other entrances into my lair. After an hour of digging I was done! There was now a hole twice as long as me that would soon be filled to the brim with money!


    I walked out of my lair and climbed onto the crops, once again surveying my land. It was time to start filling my treasury. But where to go first? The forest or the pond? Also what if something attacked me?


    Maybe exploring the mud flats for a bit would be a better idea. I started looking for a way down when a shadow fell over me. I glanced up and saw the talons of a hawk bearing down on me. I let out a small squeak before being grabbed and carried off into the sky.

 Chapter 3

    I was frozen in shock for a few seconds. Was this how it was going to end? Fed to some impoverished bird¡¯s children? Used to fuel a new generation who would steal from the rich? Never!


    I began wriggling around, trying to bite the bird. Its talons seemed to squeeze even tighter as it let out a screech, damaging my ears. ¡°Curse you, you beggarly peasant! Release me at once! I am a dragon!¡±


    The hawk didn¡¯t seem to care as I continued to wiggle. This was preposterous! I will not stand such treachery! After a few more wriggles I gave up. So this was how I was going to die, not a penny in my treasury, my lair abandoned and depleted of anything I had hoped to hoard.


    I sat in the arms of the hawk for what felt like years. Finally, after what must have been a few millennia I was dropped towards the waiting jaws of its brood. My plan had worked! I turned my face towards them as I glanced at my surroundings.


    The nest was on a large tree in the middle of the forest. The lake a small blip in the distance. I kept my eyes on the prize as I stared at my targets. Three small, featherless chicks, their beaks filled with razor sharp teeth.


    I slammed into one, instantly biting its neck and ripping off a chunk of skin. It squawked weakly before collapsing to the ground. I slapped one behind me with my tail and jumped at the second.


    I probably should have practiced using my tail a bit more as I missed the first one  completely and face planted. The two chicks advanced on me, chirping at me in what must have been rage at their siblings'' death. Jokes on them! I¡¯m rich!


    I once again swung at one with my tail, this time hitting it in the face as it was sent tumbling backwards. I then waddled forward and landed a bite on its leg. I yanked and the chick collapsed, half paralyzed and now off balance.


    I left it alone and went to kill the other one. No one can resist me and the power of my money! I tackled the last one to the ground, stomping on its neck while screaming. ¡°Die you on the breadline scum! Die! Die! Die!¡±


    I began laughing as I stomped the chick out, reveling in the bloodshed. This was glorious! After the chick stopped moving I looked up and saw the mother circling with rage in its eyes. So I looked in the direction of the lake and jumped.


    My chances of surviving the fall were far higher than my chances of not being shredded by that giant hawk. It was the size of a human! If my estimation for my own height was correct. It probably wasn¡¯t very exact though. Measuring using a tree isn¡¯t exactly a widely acclaimed practice.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I smiled at my fancy use of words as I plummeted through the air. I could die knowing I was smart and rich. I let out a grunt as my stomach slammed into a branch. I held on for a few seconds, desperately grasping the branch.


    I slid off however as whatever sort of Skink I was, I did not have a good grip. I could feel my stomach tightening with hunger as I continued to plummet. ¡°Well I have been falling for a gold awful amount of time!¡± Just as I was about to continue complaining I landed but first on a very pointy pinecone.


    Other than being incredibly uncomfortable and scared I was okay! Money would heal my trauma. I looked around and had a rather startling thought. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know where the lake is.¡±


    I had jumped in the right direction but falling for almost a minute and getting personal with a pinecone meant that I had been too distracted to keep track of what was happening. I grumbled for a few seconds before just walking off in what I hoped was the right direction.


    I placed a webby hand on my chest and prayed. ¡°Gold be with me, in all my actions protect me as one of your chosen. I am wealthy.¡± After repeating the prayer my father had taught me I started walking.


    The best word I could use for this forest was dense. I couldn¡¯t see ten feet in front of me, a wall of trees blocking any hope of seeing the lake. I grumbled for a few seconds before beginning to walk.


    At least the foliage would protect me from any more opportunistic hawks. I took a single step and instantly fell over. I looked down at my leg and frowned. Why was there a bone sticking out of my leg?


    I stared at it for a few seconds before the pain slammed into my brain. I collapsed to the ground, blood streaming out of my leg as I began to let out a low keening noise, crying softly. Why was I feeling pain? I¡¯m a dragon! I am a rich dragon. Why am I feeling pain?


    I took a few deep breaths and said. ¡°Alright, distract yourself. Count your money, okay you don¡¯t have any money.¡± I glanced around and then saw the floating notifications. ¡°Okay just read those! Distract yourself! Move it! For money!¡±


    You have killed a level 1 Excreta Chick x4


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 2 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 3 mud skink


    I stared at the notifications for a few seconds but nothing happened. What did leveling up even mean? It¡¯s probably good but how the hell am I supposed to know that? Does it mean I¡¯m growing? I¡¯m still the same size, so that''s a no.


    I grumble for a few more seconds before rolling onto my back and staring up at the trees. It was a nice day out, would have been nicer with a bottle of wine and my human body but it was a nice day.


    I rolled onto my belly and began crawling, dragging my broken leg through the underbrush. I winced but pushed on! I needed to get back to my lair. Interior design was important damnit!


    I walked for what must have been hours but when I looked back I could still see the same tree I had jumped from. Damn I¡¯m slow with only three legs. I pick up the pace and begin singing. Music is important for living a long life.


    ¡°100 bars of gold in the treasury! 100 bars of gold! If one bar should happen to be taxed, 99 bars of gold on the wall!¡± My beautiful singing didn¡¯t sound very good but who cares. I belted it out as loud as I could.


    I was on the 66th bar of gold when I walked past a large hole in the ground. One second later my leg was gone. It didn¡¯t even register for a few seconds, it was so fast. My broken leg was there for a second, then gone. I turned towards the hole and saw an enormous bear exit the hole, my leg in its jaws.

 Chapter 4

    I stared at the bear for a few seconds before screaming and running away. ¡°Fuck you, you penniless destitue impoverished dick!¡± I waddled away but the bear simply impaled me with its claws the size of my legs and lifted me to its mouth.


    The bear was gigantic, easily the size of a carriage. It used one claw like a toothpick to pick me up. It slowly brought me towards its mouth, its red fur glowing in the small amount of light. I wriggled around but all that did was cut up even more of my insides.


    I stared at the bear''s gaping maw for a few seconds, then yelled. ¡°Fuck you!¡± as I dove into its jaw. Moving as fast as I could I ripped my stomach open on its claw as I flung myself into its jaw. My organs barely held on as I slid down the bear''s throat, not giving it the chance to chew.


    I did my best to irate it all the way down, biting and scratching at its throat. If I die you¡¯re coming with me! Die you underprivileged beggar! Face the power of money!¡± I bit down on the throat and ripped a large part off.


    Suddenly the bear started moving, ¡°Finally noticed huh? Die you strapped for cash shit head!¡± My journey down the bear''s throat hadn¡¯t been very productive but once I reached the stomach this bear was going to regret eating me!


    Although I had been the one to jump into his mouth. Was this my fault? Had he just accidentally grabbed me and was just trying to look at me? Oh well, the poor died for the rich.¡±So die!¡± I landed in his stomach with a wet smack. There was some weird liquid around me that burned when I touched it.


    I endured it as I rushed over to the side of its stomach and got to work. I began ripping and tearing at one part of the stomach, desperately trying to open a hole for myself as I began to bleed out.


    After a few minutes of bleeding out while melting I managed to open a big enough hole to punch through. I leaped laughing as I began to rip and tear at everything I could see. Nothing would stop me!


    I was covered in blood by now and had to use two of my legs to keep my insides from spilling out. But this bitch was dying as well! Its insides are just as shredded as mine. I had barely a few minutes left to live. I could feel death inching closer as I tried to make sure the bear would come with me.


    After around two more minutes of ripping and tearing I collapsed, I had no idea what I was lying on but it didn¡¯t matter, blood pooled around me, mine and the bear¡¯s mixing as it tried to breathe, barely able to draw breath. But finally the notification came.


    You have killed a level 27 Blood Bear


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 3 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 4 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 5 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 6 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 7 mud skink


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    You have leveled up. You are now a level 8 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 9 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 10 mud skink


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 11 mud skink


    Congratulations you have reached level 10! You are now able to evolve. Please bear with all inconvenience.


    Evolutionary process has begun. Please stand by.


    Jazz music began to play in my head as my vision went dark.


    When I opened my eyes I was in a bright white room filled with what looked to be a version of me. There were three all with a spotlight shining down on them. ¡°So I¡¯m supposed to choose one of these? Or do you choose for me? Can you even talk?¡±


    After receiving no answer I grunted and walked over to the first version of me. This one was easily triple my size, covered in extremely thick scales all over the body. The tail also received a layer of scales and had a spiked club at the end.


    I opened its mouth and saw that the teeth were gigantic unlike my current small ones. As I stared at the evolution a notification came up that told me what it was.


    Mud Skink Bruiser


    While that did sound appealing, I didn¡¯t want to be a big slow boy who gets killed by something small and fast. I walked over to the next one that looked suspiciously similar to what I currently looked like. It was double my size and had a mucho longer tail but that was it. What a lackluster option.


    Mud Skink Queen


    I take it back this is the best option, don¡¯t know why it says queen but yes! I¡¯m going to be royalty! Even in my past life I was only a cousin of the king, but now. I shall become king of the world!


    I selected the option quickly, what could be better than being royalty? Although who was I going to be the king of? Maybe mud skinks would just randomly show up and swear allegiance. That would be quite nice.


    I smiled as my body was consumed by a flash of light. I woke up in pain and covered in blood inside the corpse of a bear. Thankfully my organs were still hanging on. I tried to start clawing my way out but my legs refused to move, also I was still missing the third one!


    So I just layed there, inside a corpse, eating while waiting for something to come get me out. After almost two hours I was incredibly full and had actually cleared a path. I wriggled out of the corpse and after almost a minute I did it!


    I hopped around at my newfound freedom and screamed. ¡°I am king of the mud flats! Behold my prestigious title!¡± I chuckled and started walking. Life was great! I mean I had just gotten eaten by a bear and had killed it from the inside but who cares? I¡¯m royalty!


    I kept walking, enjoying the scenery as I felt a weird pressure start to build up in my stomach. Did I need to poop? I had kinda just gone throughout the day without stopping. I was a dynamic pooper! But why was this poop not coming out?


    I shrugged and continued walking. I would return to my kingdom, and live in peace for the next hundred years! I smiled and began singing my walking song as I walked. But I did it with a fancy accent because I felt pretty goddamn fancy.


    Wait, is there god in this world? Of course there is, it''s me! I love my life, I¡¯m a dragon, king and now a god! I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as I continued walking. Another fortuitous event after only ten hours of walking I made it back to the mud flats.


    It is good to be home! I could see my lair in the distance and all the various bugs and frogs and such that inhibit my domain. But that damn pressure in my stomach is even worse now! Did that bear poison me? No, he was too stupid to do that.


    By the time I got to my lair it was difficult to walk, my stomach had doubled in size and I kept farting! What the fuck is going on? I was barely able to fit in my own lair! I collapsed in the center, not even moving towards the small part I had dug out.


    At least I was safe here. Just as I thought that the pressure became incredibly painful and I let out a loud scream as I began to relieve myself of whatever this pressure was. ¡°What the fuck is going on! Why does it feel like I¡¯m pushing out a bunch of rocks?¡± Just let me die already.


    The pain was agonizing, I could feel some sort of liquid pouring out as well. Is this how I¡¯m going to die? Shitting myself? After almost two hours of the pain and discomfort it finally stopped.


    I collapsed to the ground, shivering and crying as I kept saying my mantra to myself. ¡°You¡¯re rich, nothing can hurt you. You¡¯re rich, nothing can hurt you. You¡¯re rich, nothing can hurt you. You¡¯re rich, nothing can hurt you.¡± I just layed there for a few minutes, until I drifted into a blissful sleep, dreaming of money and royalty.

 Chapter 5

    That was what I had pushed out yesterday? I had laid eggs. Eggs! I¡¯m too young to be a parent. I was born like, three days ago so there''s that.. I paced back and forth, glancing at the I woke up the next day at around noon. With the strange pressure gone I stood up, ready to start my first day as lord of the mud flats, ruler of the skinks, emperor of the world, and god of money.


    Today¡¯s plan was simple: I would continue digging out the tunnel that would soon become my throne room. I giggled to myself as I started walking towards the tunnel but tripped on something.


    I grunted and looked at what I had stepped on. Why is there an egg in my lair? I looked around and noticed that there were four, strange. I stared at the eggs for a few seconds before gasping. ¡°Holy shit I¡¯m the father!¡±


    Should I just dump them outside? I mean, that''s what my parents did. I turned out great! Although I did just have children as a three day old. I stared at the eggs for a few more seconds and sighed.


    No, I won¡¯t abandon them, they were my kids. I would treat them with love and tell them about money. No child didn¡¯t deserve a father. I would be a great father! I could already imagine it, giving them everything they could ever want.


    Wait, does that mean I need to spend money on them? I grimaced at the thought but shoved it aside. I would worry about that later. For now they should be safe in my lair. I needed food, like now.


    Laying those eggs had consumed all my food supply. So it is time to hunt! No more accidentally running into stuff, I am the ruler of these mud flats. I exited my lair and marveled at how much easier it was to exit it now, how fat had I been last night.


    My new tail was perfect, almost twice as long as my body and pretty powerful. I grunted and looked around, I hadn¡¯t really explored any of the mud flats. So now was the perfect time to do so!


    I began walking along the shore of the pond, enjoying the early morning air as I looked around for anything edible. I felt pride begin to swell within me. I owned all of this! No one actually knows and respects that but still.


    Actually are there even any humans in this world? I mean it¡¯s just been a bunch of animals but bigger. And floating words that help you get stronger. Why am I not freaking out? I had kinda just gone with the flow but wasn¡¯t this entire situation pretty messed up?


    Eh, money could solve all of these problems. Also I¡¯m pretty sure I am a freaking dragon! Who cares if there are humans. Also I have children now for some reason. That might be a bit challenging to deal with.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I hadn¡¯t really been paying attention while I was walking so when I heard a ¡°crunch¡± from underneath my foot I got a bit worried. I lifted my foot up and saw that I had stomped on a crab. A normal sized crab.


    You have killed a level 1 Mud Crab


    I poked it with my foot but having most of its body smushed must have killed it. Oh well, free food! I began tearing into it, eating the crab shell and all. My stomach is a beast! And it actually tasted good.


    I quickly looked around for more of these mud crabs. Why did all of these animals have such boring names? Mud is not my defining personality trait! Money is, I should be a money skink.


    After giving myself my new unofficial title I went back to looking for food. Unfortunately there weren¡¯t any more crabs that I could see. Oh well back to patrolling. I walked around for about an hour but didn¡¯t find anything else other than a few snails and a weird fish looking thing that teleported away the second it saw me! Rude little thing.


    By now the sun had risen far enough in the sky that I felt like I was slowly getting cooked. So I went for a swim! I hadn¡¯t explored the lake yet and this was the perfect excuse to do so. I walked over to the shore and waded in, the cold lake water cooling me down as I flopped onto my belly, my tail swaying from side to side as I smiled happily.


    Life was pretty damn good. I let the tip of my tail dip into the water as I just laid there. The lake water wasn¡¯t exactly the cleanest but I had been walking around in mud all day so I couldn¡¯t complain. Soon I would own a bath but for now this was the next best thing.


    Just as I was about to get out I felt something bite the tip of my tail. I quickly flung myself out of the water taking whatever had bit me along for the ride. I slammed into the mud with a wet ¡°spalt¡± as I glanced over towards the fish that was now flopping on the shore.


    It was the color of mud and was the size of my head. I stared at it for a few seconds before suddenly being struck by a genius idea. Fishing! I didn¡¯t have to risk my life fighting horrid monsters to feed myself.


    I could simply use my tail as a lure and once a fish bit me I could throw it onto the shore. I am so freaking smart. I walked over to the fish and crushed its head with my new powerful jaws. Evolution is great!


    You have killed a level 3 Mud Minnow


    Another animal named after mud! Who is naming these things? Why would they be so unimaginative? Who is the one controlling the system? Oh well, at least they had made me a dragon.


    I picked up the now dead fish and headed back to my lair. If I¡¯m gonna have a buncha mini version of me running around I need to fortify, childproof it and make sure I have somewhere to keep them.


    So after dropping the fish by the eggs I got to work. I quickly dug out more of my lair, digging it deeper and using the now displaced mud to reinforce all of my previous plugs. I also made a small mound to store the eggs in.


    After almost an hour of digging and packing mud I collapsed next to the eggs and stared at them for a few seconds. They were the size of my head and each had its own distinct color. There were four of them.


    The largest of the eggs was a mottled brown color with little flakes of red. Two of them were dark brown and one was pale brown. Okay so maybe the colors weren¡¯t that distinct. Actually what color am I?


    I glanced at myself and saw that I was a pale brown with small flecks of gold. I had gold scales! Yes! I am a god! I flexed a few times and posed before flopping onto the ground. I continued staring at the eggs for a few minutes before hopping up and saying to myself. ¡°Alright, time to go find some money.¡±

 Chapter 6

    Or anything valuable honestly. I need something! Anything to make my lair have an actual hoard. I quickly covered my eggs in a thin layer of mud and set out. On an adventure! After covering up the entrance with more mud I quickly looked over my lair. It now looked like a large orb made of mud and rocks.


    I sighed and walked away. One day I would have it painted with gold. I began walking around the mud flats, looking for anything valuable. I obviously wasn¡¯t about to find anything like gold but maybe I could find something.


    In my old life I knew someone who collected the bones of animals. Maybe I could do that. Although that isn¡¯t that shiny. Okay scratch that I want money! So I just need to find humans, okay simple.


    Look for some sign of life, smoke! Find smoke. If there''s smoke that means fire. Fire means humans! I looked around for anything that could be smoke but found nothing. I slumped to the ground and began complaining


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair! I want money now. Why can¡¯t I get money? I want money! Gimme money!¡± I rolled around on the ground screaming and whimpering. Just as I was about to continue for even longer I heard a weird chattering noise.


    I rolled back onto my belly and stared up at a giant rat that was now the same size as me. It looked at me for a few seconds before letting out a loud screech and charging forward. I swung my tail around and smashed it in the face.


    I could feel the bones snap as it collapsed to the ground whimpering. I quickly leaped on top of it and screamed. ¡°Die for my amusement you downwardly mobile vermin!¡± I began tearing into its throat, biting and clawing until I got the beautiful notification.


    You have killed a level 4 Giant Rat.


    I smirked and kicked the corpse before grabbing it and dragging it back towards my lair. I was holding it in my mouth and dragging it, leaving a trail of blood. ¡°Muhahaha! How do you like me now, you cretin?¡±


    I kicked the corpse again but that just made me lose my balance and face plant. Having three legs sucked! I grumbled even more as I flung the corpse and threw the mud covering the entrance.


    I then dragged the corpse over to the fish and threw it on the pile. Then I pigged out, devouring the fish and most of the rats. With my belly swollen to twice the size I rolled towards my eggs and fell asleep, dreaming of money.


    I woke up to the feeling of a rat¡¯s teeth ripping into my stomach as I screamed in horror. Three giant rats were tearing through my lair while two others were attacking me! I quickly slapped one with my tail and bit the other, letting my venom do the work as I tackled the closest one to the ground.


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    I slammed my foot onto its chest so I could have better support. I bit off a chunk of its neck as it continued to flail on the ground, blood pouring out. I left it to die slowly as I sprinted towards a rat that was getting suspiciously close to my eggs.


    I grabbed its legs with my tail and screamed. ¡°Get away from my eggs!¡± it fell to the ground and I stomped its head until it died. I ignored the notification and turned towards the next rat. This time it was the one that tackled me as it slammed into my leg and sent me tumbling.


    I went belly up as the rat raked its claws along my stomach. Why did they always go for my stomach? The rat continued ripping into me as I vainly tried to bite it. Finally I managed to grab it with my tail and move it closer to my face.


    I lunged forward and bit its head off as I whimpered, my stomach was bleeding out as I desperately tried to look around for the last rat. I let out a gasp as the rat grabbed one of my eggs and bit down.


    I tried to get up but the giant rat¡¯s corpse held me down. I desperately wriggled out of it and once I got up I could see the rat picking up the last egg. I sprang forward slamming my head into the rat. It tumbled backwards, my last egg flying through the air. I dived for it, watching as it flew through the air.


    I just managed to catch the egg in my mouth. I could feel tears beginning to fall as I stared at the remains of eggs. Only one of the four remaining. I gently placed the egg down and then turned towards the last remaining rat. Blood still flowed out of my stomach but I ignored the pain.


    The rat stared at me for a few seconds before sprinting away. I tried chasing it but collapsed just by the entrance. My claws raking a gash across its face and taking out one of its eyes. Blood continued to flow out of my stomach as I tried to stand up. I rolled onto my belly and glanced at my stomach.


    There were four long gashes going from my neck all the way to the base of my tail. I stared at the wound for a few seconds before letting my head fall to the ground. Tears began to roll down my face as I took in shallow gasping breaths.


    I couldn¡¯t understand why I felt this way, why was I so sad? Sure most of my kids had been killed before they could ever enjoy life. Their small lives like a candle snuffed out. Their potential happiness and success was destroyed. The world forever lacks their presence.


    ¡°Of course you¡¯re sad, you idiot. You know what? Fuck those rats. Fuck this world!¡± Those rats were going to pay. I would bathe in those vermin''s blood. Then I would feed their hearts to my only surviving kid.


    I suddenly sat up and said. ¡°Oh shit one of my kids survived!¡± I quickly scrambled to my feet and began limping towards the last remaining egg. I collapsed next to it and curled my tail around my child.


    No one is going to hurt this one, I¡¯m not letting it out of my sight. This is my hoard, my most valuable possession! I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, everything felt so warm and cold. I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of sitting on a throne made out of rat skulls.

 Chapter 7

    I woke up the next day covered in dried blood and kinda thirsty. I quickly made sure my egg was okay before letting myself relax. I was hungry, thirsty and felt sluggish as I rolled onto my back.


    I got up and started walking out of the lair but stopped just as I reached the entrance. What if the rats came back while I was getting water? I couldn¡¯t risk losing my last egg. I had food, but no water. The chance of the rats coming back is too high.


    Especially the one that had gotten away, hopefully I had managed to give it a scar so I could recognize it. Otherwise I would have to kill every single giant rat with the same vigor. I smiled at the thought of ripping them apart.


    I walked back over to my egg and laid down. As long as it hatches soon I would be fine. I could go a few days without water. And I had enough food to feed me for weeks. All I need to do is sit here, simple.


    The day passed quickly with not much happening. I snacked on some of the rat corpses but other than that I didn¡¯t really move. My egg thankfully was fine and seemed to have grown.


    It would all be worth it as soon as this egg hatched. Why did I care so much? My parents in this world didn¡¯t seem to have cared. I mean should I just let it loose once it hatches? Also why should I care if it gets destroyed.


    I had the same argument with myself earlier but still. Why is it that this egg is causing me to lock myself away and risk dying? I grumbled to myself while snuggling closer to the egg. It would be nice to not be alone anymore.


    I slept through the night, waking up in the morning to check on the egg before going back to sleep. I spent the next three days this way until my thirst became unbearable. My throat was so dry I could barely hiss and my head felt like a bear had just sat on it.


    It was like a combination of having the worst hangover and getting repeatedly punched in the brain. I stared at the egg for a few seconds and sighed, pain racking my body as I began to shovel mud over it.


    I needed water, if I waited any longer I would die. I would have to risk leaving the egg alone. I got up and started walking away but I almost instantly became anxious. ¡°I can last one more day¡± I collapsed next to the egg and stared at it as my eyes closed against my will. I was so tired. I just need some rest, then I get some water.


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    Egg¡¯s POV


    My eyes shot open as I glanced around. It is time to break free! My queen awaits! I began slamming my head into the shell as hard as I could, doing my damn best for the queen! After only a few hits a hole appeared and I began to attack that area as hard as I could.


    It took a few minutes but I managed to slide out of the egg. I looked around and shouted. ¡°I¡¯m here my queen!¡± But for some reason I couldn¡¯t see her. I wiped my eyes and began looking for her.


    The ground here was weird, it felt warm and scaly. Why would the queen make her nest here? I glanced down and squealed! ¡°My queen!¡± I hopped onto the mud and began pacing around her. ¡°What happened here?¡±


    I looked around the large space and noticed multiple giant rat corpses as well as a large amount of blood. I also spotted three eggs that had been destroyed. I glanced down at the queen and saw that she had long scratch marks along her stomach as well as a missing leg.


    I felt tears form in my eyes, who had done this to my queen? Revenge would come later. She needed food and water. So it is time for me to do my duty! I quickly raced out of the nest my queen had built.


    I needed something that could hold water, there was a lake nearby which means I just needed something to carry it. I didn¡¯t see anything so I just took a big gulp of lake water and sprinted back to the lair. I quickly dug a small hole and spit out the water. Most of it was absorbed by the ground but some of it stayed.


    I repeated this journey a few times until the puddle was nice and full. Then I quickly ripped off a few pieces of rat meat and laid it next to the puddle. I nudged the queen a few times, eagerly staring at her as she slowly stood up.


    Queen¡¯s POV


    My body still felt strange as I woke up, and I was even seeing things. A mini version of me was staring at me next to a small puddle and some weird strips of meat. It was acting like a puppy jumping up and down as it stared at me intently.


    I ignored it and began drinking the water eagerly. I could feel my mind slowly returning as I started to munch on the strips of meat. After finishing eating I curled up and went back to sleep, ignoring the weird hallucination.


    I woke up a few seconds later and said, ¡°Holy shit a mini version of me!¡± I looked down and stared at my kid. I had a kid! It started back up at me and said. ¡°It is an honor to be in your presence, my queen!¡±


    I frowned and said. ¡°No I¡¯m a king, I¡¯m a boy. Eh, who cares. My kid! Oh I gotta name you. And myself I guess.¡± I stared at my kid for a few seconds then asked. ¡°Are you a boy or girl.¡± It answered back. ¡°I am a female my queen!¡±


    I frowned and said. ¡°Again, not a queen. I¡¯m the king. Alright then, your name will be Diana! And my name will be¡­ I¡¯ll decide later.¡± Diana hopped up and down as she said. ¡°What do you want me to do my queen? Can I stay here with you? Can I join your nest? Oh I am so excited! I can¡¯t wait to hang out all the time. This is going to be so fun!¡±

 Chapter 8

    I stared at the small energetic ball of scales and said. ¡°We are going to be rich! You and me, we¡¯re gonna get rich.¡± Diana looked up at me for a second then asked ¡°How?¡± I rolled onto my back and yawned, letting Diana sit there for a few seconds. ¡°We¡¯ll kill monsters, animals, all those weird creatures round here. Then we¡¯ll skin them, take their teeth and anything else that can be seen as valuable.¡±


    Diana tilted her head in confusion as I continued. ¡°There¡¯s gotta be some sort of humans around here, we sell the goods to them and then we get actual money!¡± She stared at me for a few seconds before saying.


    ¡°My queen, that is¡­ A terrific idea!¡± I smiled and nodded ¡°Of course it is! I thought of it. Now let''s start skinning these rats.¡± We walked over to one of the rotting not eaten corpses and stared at it for a few seconds.


    Diana stood right next to me and asked. ¡°Mother, how do we skin something?¡± I grumbled ¡°I¡¯m not your mother! I¡¯m your father, but to answer your question I have no idea.¡± We continued to look at it for a few more seconds before I said. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out later, for now let''s go get some non-rotting food.


    I stumbled out of my lair, the sun blinding me as I glanced around, making sure nothing  could creep up on us. Diana followed me, copying my every move as we waddled over towards the lake.


    It was a beautiful day although it was a tad hot. So I hopped into the water and let my tail hang down beside. I wiggled it every once and a while but mostly I was just enjoying myself. Diana joined me and I smiled as she played around in the water. Life was good.


    This was how life was supposed to be for me. A happy family, a large amount of land owned by me and getting whatever I want. After around two hours I caught my first fish. Like last time it bit my tail and I threw it onto land.


    Before I could get up to check what it was Diana ran over and chomped down, killing it. I just shrugged and went back to enjoying the water. Diana grabbed it in her mouth and brought it over to me. ¡°Here you go my queen!¡±


    I patted her on the head and said. ¡°I¡¯m a king! But good job, you can just eat it now. I¡¯m not hungry.¡± I was actually quite hungry but eating before your kid did was definitely not something a good parent would do. Especially since there was a finite amount of food.


    I would just eat the next one. The day passed quickly after that, it was nice to relax and just enjoy being outside after having spent the last few days stuck in my lair. I had managed to catch three more fish and Diana had killed them each time. I had eaten the three new fish. though, Diana said she was full after the first one.


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    The only other thing of note that happened was when Diana leveled up after killing the fourth fish. ¡°Mother! I leveled up! What does that mean?¡± I stared into the distance for a few seconds weighing my options.


    I honestly had no idea what levels did but would admitting that make my kid think I¡¯m dumb? But wouldn¡¯t lying to her make me a worse parent? My mind went into overdrive as I tried to think of what to say.


    In the end I probably made the wrong choice. ¡°Levels are what show you how much you''ve grown. It¡¯s a mark of how accomplished you are.¡± Actually that reminded me I should check my notifications.


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 12 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 13 mud skink Queen


    Huh, did the kill notifications go away after a few days? Oh well I was pretty high level now. I smiled smugly at that and rolled onto my back, letting the rays of the sun warm my belly. I was feeling extremely full for some reason.


    I glanced down at my belly and saw that it was almost twice its normal size. Weird. I shrugged and rolled to my feet, my stomach dragging on the ground as I waddled over to our lair. It was usually a two minute walk to the lake but for some reason it took longer than before.


    Diana didn¡¯t look concerned though and there was no reason to make her worry. We got back to the layer and I rolled onto my stomach near the entrance. Diana raced over and asked. ¡°My queen, are you okay?¡±


    I nodded and said. ¡°Just some indigestion, don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯m gonna sleep it off.¡± Diana nodded and walked away. I watched her race around the lair, the pain in my stomach growing even more.


    Had I eaten something that had gone bad? I thought I hadn¡¯t eaten any rat? I should get rid of the rat corpses before they start to stink the place up. That reminds me I should probably bury my other eggs.


    Holy shit that is not a good thought, but they do deserve a good burial. I¡¯ll mark out a place near the lake, so that way they can enjoy the sunlight and water. Tears began to run down my face as I quickly turned towards the wall.


    I don¡¯t want Diana to see me like this. Oh god my stomach hurts. I could feel pressure continuing to build. Damn, this felt like the time I had laid eggs but worse somehow. Suddenly the pressure became too much and it happened.


    More eggs! It hurts so fucking much! ¡°Holy shit! Curse you poor people!¡± Diana wisely stayed away until the hour-long ordeal ended. When I looked under me I saw that a fresh set of four eggs were sitting there.


    I couldn¡¯t keep a smile off my face as I looked at the beautiful little eggs. No one was touching them this time. I can promise them that much. I won¡¯t let anything near them. No one will hurt my children ever again.

 Chapter 9

    The rest of the night went by in the blink of an eye, mostly because I slept through it. I had a busy day ahead of me. I sat Diana down and said. ¡°Alright, protecting your siblings is of the utmost priority. Understand?¡±


    Diana nodded, hopping up and down as she stared at the eggs. I continued ¡°We need to start planning this lair out, I want the eggs to be far away from the entrance. I started digging a tunnel a while ago but we need to do more. I want a network of tunnels built under this very lair!¡±


    Diana smiled and nodded then paused. ¡°My queen, how will we make sure the tunnels stay stable? We live in a giant mud flat.¡± I paused then said. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just do the best we can.¡± Diana nodded and said. ¡°Of course my queen!¡± I grumbled and walked away, towards my newest eggs.


    They were small, but they would grow just like Diana¡¯s egg had. I stared at the eggs for a few more seconds, a strange feeling welling up in my chest. The same thing I felt when I stared at large quantities of wealth.


    Am I about to die? I shook the thought away and said. ¡°Diana, it¡¯s time to get to work!¡± We spent the rest of the morning digging a hole in the ground in the corner of the lair. While working Diana suddenly asked. ¡°My queen, why do we live here?¡±


    I stopped for a moment and asked. ¡°What do you mean? Also I¡¯m the king!¡± Diana nodded and said. ¡°It¡¯s in the middle of the mudflats and enemies can come from almost anywhere. Would it not be better to find somewhere more secure? Where we would be able to make that tunnel system you thought of.¡±


    I looked at her more a few seconds before saying. ¡°Diana¡­ That is a marvelous idea! The eggs would be so much safer!¡± My mind raced as I began to think of my new dream home. I was the ruler of these mud flats, so it would have to still be here. And I like the water so I want to make sure it is close to the lake.


    It also needs to be dry enough for us to dig tunnels. I turned to Diana and said. ¡°Daughter of mine, I need to go on a trip. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll take but I need to be able to trust you. I am going to leave my eggs with you. Dig a hole and hide them there, just make sure you don¡¯t do anything dangerous.¡±


    She nodded eagerly and said. ¡°My queen, it would be my honor.¡± I frowned and said. ¡°Thank you but again. I¡¯m a king, not a queen.¡± Diana nodded and sprinted towards her siblings, making a strange trilling noise as she went.


    I smiled and exited the lair, it¡¯s time to go home shopping! I quickly set out, wasting no time. First I went to the shore of the lake and started walking around it. I wanted something near the shore as I really did enjoy the feeling of the water. Also everybody knew that maritime trade was how you got rich.


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    I walked along the shore for an hour but the only option I found was a field of reeds that made a natural circle. It was hidden, kinda but other than that it was horrible, the mud was even wetter than usual and there was no protection from aerial threats.


    Next I found a giant rock, in the middle of the wastes. It was large and I could probably hide under it pretty well but that was it. The boulder was as far as it could be from the lake and was too close to the forest for my liking. It was also way too big, what if it moved and squashed one of my kids? No this wouldn¡¯t do at all, I kicked before leaving. Making sure to show my displeasure.


    After that one I grew a bit bored but pushed on, thankfully it hadn¡¯t been that long since I had left. I could barely keep my mind off how frightened Diana must be. The poor kid, although she seemed pretty cheerful when I had left.


    As I was walking, enjoying the feeling of soft mud on my feet I heard a familiar chittering. I turned behind me and saw three large rats, one with a long scar running down its face. The egg destroyer! I grunted and sprinted towards him, ignoring the others.


    It smiled! I could see it grinning as its little friends raced at me as it stood in the back, watching. I ran straight into the first one, both of us falling over as I scrambled to bite it. The rat managed to scratch me a few times but I bit his finger and let my venom slow him down.


    After a few more bites he stopped moving and froze up, his limbs seemingly frozen. The second lackey vermin took advantage of me being distracted to bite down on one of my legs and rip off a large chunk of it.


    I responded by wrapping my tail around its head and squeezing while still biting the paralyzed rat. I could feel the rat struggling until I tightened my tail¡¯s grip and heard a muffled pop. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as I ripped out the other rat''s throat and then turned towards the scarred one.


    To my utter disappointment it had already booked it. I couldn¡¯t even see it¡¯s footprints. Nothing remained but the two disgusting corpses. I took a few bites out of each of them but my heart wasn¡¯t into it.


    After stomping on the corpse a few times I got back to work, this was just another reason to find a safer place for my children to grow up in. The next location was the best by far, a giant tree, easily hundreds of feet tall with a thick trunk.


    The tree was atop a large hill, it¡¯s roots coming out all over. And the best part of all, in my opinion was the large pond that would be perfect to lounge in while still keeping an eye on my children.


    We could dig our tunnel system under the tree, and my children would be able to enjoy the shade as they played. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as I walked around the tree. This truly was the perfect location.


    After committing it¡¯s location to memory I set off, once again travelling back towards my now old lair. This new one would be much better, I could assure myself of that. Although until the tunnel system was dug it would be pretty defensless.


    Thankfully the hill had seem dry, at least compared to the surroundings. Yes it would do, a perfect home for me and my children. But something needs to be done about those damn rats! I would have my revenge. I shall bathe in their blood then sell it! Nothing will stop my wrath! Not even money could repay this debt, only ripping that rat¡¯s heart out as it struggles on the ground. Oh yes that would do quite nicely. Money!

 Chapter 10

    I made it back to the lair before the sun set. Diana was asleep, curled around one of the eggs while her tail wrapped around the others. I didn¡¯t bother waking her up, instead I plopped down next to them and fell asleep.


    I woke up the next day remembering my rather vivid dream. I was surrounded by an army of my own childrens and piles upon piles of wealth. Paradise. Before being turned into a dragon I had never thought I would ever have children.


    Too much money, responsibility and having to deal with diapers. But Diana was perfect! She was worth her weight in gold, I could guarantee that. Although I don¡¯t really know how much she weighs.


    Oh well! You never ask someone how much they weigh anyway. Actually. I glanced down at my belly and saw that it had gone back to its pre-pregnancy shape. Wait, was I pregnant or just kinda holding them in whatever was down there?


    That was a strange thought that wouldn¡¯t continue to exist in my brain. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling of my lair. It had been nice here but it wasn¡¯t safe. Also living in the same area where three of my unborn babies had been murdered was not fun.


    Moving day! I sprang to my feet and nudged Diana who after only a second hopped up and squealed. ¡°My queen! Did you find us a new home?¡± I nodded then said. ¡°Yes but I¡¯m a king, remember?¡± She nodded but clearly was not listening to a word I said.


    I tapped her with my tail and said. ¡°Let¡¯s grab the eggs and leave. I don¡¯t want to spend a second longer in this place. Give me the jeebies.¡± Diana nodded and walked over to one of the four eggs.


    She gently picked it up in her mouth and held it there. Interesting strategy. I just wrapped my tail around them and laid my tail down on my back. The mobile nest! Diana climbed over me and placed the final egg on top.


    After securing her siblings she hopped off and we walked side by side, towards our new home. ¡°So, my queen. What¡¯s our new home like? Is it near the lake? Are there rat¡¯s? Is there any food? You think that I¡¯ll like it? I really liked our old lair although it was kinda big. Are gonna¡­¡± I placed a foot on her face, barley balancing on my two remaining legs as I said.


    ¡°Diana, please be quiet until we get there. I really don''t want to drop the eggs.¡± She nodded and continued walking, enjoying the scenery even though I had just scolded her. I felt bad but these eggs kept trying to roll away!


    After around 30 minutes we made it to the tree. It needed a name, one that fit its majestic figure. I turned to Diana and said. ¡°Daughter, this tree is henceforth known as the Money Tree! Understood?¡±


    She nodded and sprinted, leaping into the pond. I smiled and plodded after her, the eggs had even stopped rolling around. I walked over to the shore of the pond and set each of the eggs down.


    I looked over to Diana and yelled. ¡°Diana yell for me if you see anything! I¡¯m going to start digging a small hole to keep the eggs in. Diana responded with something that I hope was a yes. Apparently even Skinks couldn¡¯t talk underwater.


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    I started digging and let my mind wander as I did. How were we able to speak? I suppose system magic would explain but surely it wasn¡¯t our vocal chords. Why was Diana born with the ability to speak? I just talk in High Kroten and she seems to understand me. Maybe it was just because we were the same species?


    I shrugged and looked at what I had accomplished. I had dug out a small hole that would fit the eggs and Diana comfortably. I would expand it later. I quickly grabbed the eggs and put them in the hole, making sure to form a small nest of soft mud for each of them.


    After hiding the eggs I sat down, using my body to cover the entrance. We had started our day pretty early in the morning, the sun was just starting to rise when I sat down. The sky was beautiful, I enjoyed the view while also watching Diana play around in the pond.


    The Money Tree would house me and my family for years to come, I was sure of that. I let my head rest on the ground as I looked over the mud flats. I could see the large boulder in the distance. Someday I would destroy that eyesore.


    The lake was a thirty minute walk from the Money Tree which means I¡¯ll need to find a new way to feed us for the next few days. Or are there any fish in the pond? I yelled out. ¡°Diana, do you see any fish in the pond?¡±


    Diana popped her head out of the water, a toothy grin on her face as she held in her jaws what looked to be a small version of the fish I had caught with her the other day. I couldn¡¯t help myself and let out a small chuckle.


    Diana proudly placed the fish in front of me before returning to playing around in the pond. Even though I had gotten a good amount of sleep, the sunlight combined with my relaxed state to undermine me. I drifted in and out of sleep a few times.


    Everytime I woke up I checked on Diana and noted the increasingly large pile of fish at my feet. One of the more noticable few minutes was when I couldn¡¯t see Diana anywhere. I had quickly turned to check on the eggs where Diana was curled up.


    I woke up a few minutes after that and looked around. It was weird, the mud flats were usually alive with the sound of insects, birds and other creatures chirping and singing. But right now it was almost silent.


    I slowly stood up and checked on my eggs and Diana. They were all fine. For some reason I felt on edge. I began pacing around, glaring at anything that made noise. After a few minutes my fears were confirmed when I heard an all too familiar chittering.


    But it was different this time, I could also feel the noise. It was so loud. I quickly stood up to my full height and glanced around. My tail lashed through the air as I looked around. Then I saw them.


    Over three dozen rats sprinting in the direction of the shore. I almost soiled myself at the sight of them. How were there so many? And what were they doing? I squinted my eyes and saw that they were all rushing at what looked to be some type of humanoid.


    Finally! Someone I could make money off of. Although it looks like this humanoid¡¯s life is about to be cut short. Oh well, that just confirmed that humans existed. So what if one died? I settled in to watch the fight, still making sure to be ready for anything attacking me.


    The human and the rat¡¯s met with the a resounding ¡°Splat!¡± as one of the rat¡¯s in the front was instantly killed, with a single punch the human had managed to destroy most of the rat¡¯s body. From there the fight was completely one sided. The human didn¡¯t even look winded by the end, covered in blood and surrounded by rat corpses.


    He stared into the sky and let out a loud whoop before sprinting into the forest. I just stared at the site of the slaughter and thanked my lucky coins that the human hadn¡¯t decided to attack me. Maybe I would delay meeting with any humans. Just until I got a bit bigger, and stronger. Humans were scary.

 Chapter 11

    Thankfully nothing else happened although I heard a few more woops throughout the night. The next few days passed by quickly with me and Diana mostly just relaxing by the pond, eating fish when we got hungry and just enjoying life.


    It was nice not to be in life and death situations everyday. And the eggs continued to grow, with me guarding them the entire time. The only thing that annoyed was that I still wasn''t making any money!


    It almost felt like there was a hole in my heart. No money, nothing. Not even a few pelts or skulls. Not a single item of value, just piles of fish bones. I suppose my children were worth their weight in gold but selling my own kids seemed like a bad idea.


    I¡¯m a dragon goddamnit! Give me money! I grumbled to myself as I rolled onto my back. While it had been nice to relax for a few days I was kinda bored. Fighting rat¡¯s was gross but I did enjoy killing them.


    I also want to keep leveling up, hopefully evolving again if I¡¯m able to. That human spooked me, I need to be able to fight against someone like that. But that could wait until the eggs have hatched. No reason to risk them. I had spent the last few days expanding the tunnel and it stayed remarkably stable.


    The hole was now able to fit me and leave enough room for almost a dozen more eggs. Not that I plan on having twelve eggs at once. Although it seems like I¡¯ll be laying four every week.


    I still had no idea how I got impregnated. But I¡¯m sure it was the system''s fault. I rolled back onto my stomach and sighed. After I took a deep breath and drank in the heavenly scent of the mud and water.


    I¡¯m sure I would have thought it was disgusting before but now it just smelled like home. I like this new life. I didn¡¯t have money but that would come with time. I had a family, and I was a dragon. What could be better?


    I looked around, quickly checking for any threats before going back to observing my surroundings. Diana was still playing in the pond although by now she just floated around, enjoying the cool water.


    As I was about to take a nap I heard a sharp crack behind me. I quickly turned and sprinted over to the eggs. Almost all of them had small cracks running through them but the largest egg was already split in half. I gently used my tail to scoop out the small skink and instantly knew it was a boy.


    I smiled warmly and placed the young skink down as it stared up at me. He was almost the same size as Diana which was strange as she had been growing since she was born. I had been growing steadily as well but less than Diana.


    I looked down at the child and said . ¡°Alright, your name is Arthur!¡± The little one nodded and said. ¡°Thank you my queen!¡± I nodded and patted him on the head before turning back to his siblings. How did they just pop out the egg knowing how to talk? I shrugged and turned towards the others.


    This world was just plain weird. I scooped out the remaining three and quickly named them. Weirdly they were all males. Oh well, it didn¡¯t really matter that much. I named them Jack, Linus and Felix. All of my old friends'' names from my old world.


    Felix and Jack immediately started wrestling but Linus just kinda stood next to my leg. Seemingly unwilling to leave my side. Diana zipped inside, dripping all over the mud as she greeted her new siblings.


    I felt overwhelmed at everything going on but also just downright happy. I quickly herded all of my newest kids into the corner and said. ¡°Alright everyone, I understand you¡¯re excited and I love you all but we need to set some ground rules.¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    They all stood and stared at me, Jack¡¯s tail still wrapped around Felix¡¯s throat. I frowned at that but pushed it aside. ¡°First things first, you are not allowed to leave this cave unless I¡¯m with you. Got it? Also we share food, no bullying others and stealing the food.¡± I racked my brain for anything else but honestly that was it. No reason to limit them too much.


    With that done I turned to Diana and said. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve been sitting around for far too long, I¡¯m gonna go scout around and see what the rat¡¯s are up to. Make sure none of them leave and if something attacks try to protect them.¡±


    Diana nodded and said. ¡°Of course my queen, thank you for trusting me.¡± I nodded and walked away, covering most of the entrance with dirt. I¡¯d been getting restless lately but finally! I can kill some of those damn rats.


    It¡¯s been too long since I tasted their blood. Holy shit what was that? When did I start saying stuff like that? Keep it positive, uh. ¡°Huh I still need a name. Should I just choose one or should I just keep going without one. Eh, I¡¯ll just wait until I remember.¡±


    I started walking towards the boulder, planning on patrolling the majority of our surroundings before letting the younglings out of the cave. I made it to the boulder without any trouble but the second I got to the boulder that horrible chattering sound started.


    I grunted and shook my legs out one by one. Flexing my tail and biting the air a few times as I awaited their attack. God this was gonna feel good. It would help feed us as well, no reason to waste a good meal.


    I began stomping one of my front legs in anticipation. Trying to make myself look bigger as the rats began streaming out of a crack in the boulder. They looked smaller than normal and I didn¡¯t see any scars on them.


    The first one ran at me so I just turned away and slammed my tail into the side of it¡¯s head. I yelled. ¡°Die you underprivileged peasant! Face the might of Money!¡± The rat was sent flying as I turned around again and sprinted towards the nearest rat.


    They seemed to hesitate as they slowed their charge but it was too late. I was almost double this rat¡¯s size and I was much higher level. I sprinted right past the leading rat, biting one of its hindlegs before tackling the one behind it.


    I lashed my tail around, feeling it hit something while I bit whatever piece of flesh was in front of my jaws. I bit off the rat¡¯s entire arm, swallowing it before hopping away. The lead rat was still moving but seemed sluggish. So I turned around and held my tail up as high as it could go. Then I brought it down like a hammer, right on the lead rat¡¯s head.


    I felt something crumple under my tail and when I turned around the entire rat¡¯s head was gone. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling but I forgot that there were still three left. One jumped onto my back and began ripping into me.


    I rolled around on the ground, crushing the rat but letting the others begin to attack my poor stomach. One of the rat¡¯s managed to tear a large chunk of my stomach out and I could feel blood begin to pour out.


    You¡¯re trying to make me poor huh? Then die. I rolled onto my feet and slapped one of the rat¡¯s with my tail. It fell to the ground and I quickly tore off most of its throat. I then turned to the last one and saw that it was trying to run.


    Fortunately for me the rat was the one with three legs and he wasn¡¯t used to it yet. He wouldn¡¯t get the chance to learn how to live with three legs as I grabbed it with my tail and dragged the sole remaining threat towards me. I stomped on its head until it died as I finally looked at my notifications.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 14 mud skink Queen


    Yes! A level! It¡¯s been so long. Soon, very soon I¡¯ll evolve again. Actually I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll evolve again but I mean, it¡¯s gotta be soon right? Alright, now I just need to get these corpses home. I looked at the now blood soaked area and said. ¡°Well shit¡± This might take a while.

 Chapter 12

    After what felt like hours of work I managed to drag three of the four corpses back to the Money Tree. I got hungry while carrying the fourth one and ate it. Once I had made it back to the nest I collapsed next to the pond and rolled onto my back.


    I looked at my belly and saw that it was pretty torn up. Actually I can¡¯t really see most of my stomach because it¡¯s covered in blood. Maybe I should take a break for the rest of the day. So I just rolled until I got to the entrance of our cave then I got into my usual resting position of watching the pond.


    By now my children had already exited the cave and were eating or playing outside. Except for Linus, he just grabbed a strip of meat and then came over to me. I watched him curiously as he lay down next to me.


    So adorable! I curled my tail around him and went back to watching the others. Felix and Jack were wrestling around next to the pond while Arthur and Diana swam around, splashing each other and trying to play tag underwater.


    This was awesome, the perfect day. I had gotten to kill rats and hang out with my kids. The rest of the day passed pretty quickly with nothing exciting happening. At night we all fell asleep in a big huddle in the middle of the cave.


    The next day I woke up and stretched out, accidentally kicking Linus in the face. He didn¡¯t seem to notice so I quickly got up and went outside. It was raining heavily outside, I wonder if the pond is gonna overflow?


    I sat down at the entrance and looked outside, enjoying the sound of the rain. It almost sounded like footsteps, dozens of little feet stomping around. I shot up and listened a tad more carefully.


    Ok that is not the sound rain makes. I turned towards my children to yell a warning but as I did I felt something land on my back. Pain erupted from my back as whatever it was began to tear into my side.


    I swung my tail and threw whatever it was off, getting the chance to yell. ¡°Kids! We¡¯re under attack!¡± before I was swallowed by a tide of fur and claws. I was bowled over onto my stomach and could feel them scratching and biting me. I flailed around, biting whatever was near me and using my tail to slap them away. But they didn¡¯t let up, I bit down hard on whatever was next to me and read the notification.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    Fucking rat¡¯s! Always rats ruining my day! I began fighting even harder, biting down on whatever came near me. I ripped one''s throat out and stomped on another''s skull until I felt it crack.


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    But they just kept coming, no matter what I did. I felt light headed, blood was pouring out of every single one of my body parts and I couldn¡¯t see out of my left eye anymore. The press of bodies was becoming too much as I slowly realized this was most likely how I was going to die.


    Suddenly, I heard a loud screech and the howls of my children. Tears ran down my face as I desperately tried to kill as many of the rat¡¯s attacking me before I died. I wrapped my tail around one rat¡¯s neck and squeezed until I heard a snap. While doing this I repeatedly bit some random rat¡¯s head while suffocating one beneath me with my large stomach.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


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    For some reason it felt like there were less rat¡¯s than before. But it doesn¡¯t matter, I could feel my insides slowly becoming my outsides, my front legs didn¡¯t move anymore and I¡¯m pretty sure half my tail got bit off. Suddenly, just as I was beginning to give up, I heard a beautiful sound.


    ¡°For the Queen! For the Queen! For Money!¡± For the first time since this fight had started I wasn¡¯t completely covered in rat¡¯s. I shakily stood up and saw my children fighting for their lives among a horde of rats. I could barely stand up but I slowly stumbled over to my nearest child.


    Linus was currently fighting two rat¡¯s, he had managed to paralyze one but the other was on top of him and about to reach his neck. I slammed into the rat tackling it to the ground. I screamed ¡°You poverty stricken scum! Die for my benefit!¡± I bit down on its neck and ripped off a large chunk.


    I then stomped on its face before rushing over to the next kid. Jack and Felix were fighting side by side, working together to fight six rat¡¯s. They were losing but had managed to paralyze a few of the rats, only four were still fighting.


    I jumped onto one and grabbed another with my tail. Holding them down as Jack and Felix rushed to finish the ones they were fighting off. Linus rushed over and finished the two I was holding down off.


    I quickly let go of them and grabbed the rat Jack was fighting with my jaw. It yelped as I dragged it away from Jack. Linus had left to fight something else. I quickly snapped the rat¡¯s neck with my mouth before moving onto the next fight.


    As I moved to try and help more of my children I suddenly collapsed, my body refusing to work as I ordered it to. I desperately tried to stand up but nothing happened. My vision began to fade as I watched my children fight on without me.


    Diana¡¯s POV


    Today wasn¡¯t a very good day. I had been woken up by the sound of chittering outside and then when my Queen had yelled out a warning. And now me and my siblings were in brutal combat, our Queen dying beside us while we could do nothing to help her.


    I was fighting a rat when I heard Linus scream in terror. I turned and saw that mother had collapsed, blood pouring out of her wounds as Jack and Felix desperately tried to get to her. There were only a few rats left now as most had fled but we still couldn¡¯t spare any fighters. And so we fought on, with our Queen dying beside us.


    Queen¡¯s POV


    I opened my eyes to look around but for some reason one of them just wouldn¡¯t. I looked around and saw that I was sitting in what looked to be a pool of blood. I was outside the cave, and the ground around me was covered in rat corpses. Holy shit that fight was rough. I checked my notifications and was shocked by what I saw.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 3 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 6 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    Did I really kill that many rat¡¯s? Strange. I was about to look at the rest of my notifications when I heard something limp towards me. I turned, my teeth bared. Thankfully it was just Diana. She hobbled over to me, covered in blood.


    I stared at her for a few seconds as she continued walking towards me. Her back left leg had a large piece of it ripped off and her back was covered in bite marks and scratches. She made it over to me and said. ¡°My Queen! Victory is ours!¡±


    I nodded and said. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. We beat the commoners back.¡± I had won! I beat the filth who had tried to steal our wealth. But this didn¡¯t feel very good. I shrugged it off and hobbled towards the entrance of the tunnel. ¡°Alright Diana, have Arthur and Linus start dragging the corpses back. Have Felix and Jack stand guard.


    Diana stopped walking and said. ¡°My Queen, I apologize for our incompetence. Arthurs dead. He was overwhelmed and torn apart by the vermin. We managed to recover his head. It¡¯s over there.¡± Diana pointed towards the entrance of the tunnel. I stared at the small lump next to where Jack and Felix were putting the bodies.


    Arthur¡¯s eyes had been torn out, his jaw was dislocated and most of the flesh on the left side of his face had been ripped off. My baby had been murdered. I stumbled over to his decapitated head. It looked so small, so fragile.


    Diana followed me and said. ¡° My Queen, you¡¯re injured. Please come with me and rest. We would be lost without you.¡± I gently pushed her away and collapsed onto the blood soaked ground. I wrapped my body around Arthur¡¯s head, wincing at my injuries as my tail slowly curled around my head. If this was winning a fight I don¡¯t like winning.

 Chapter 13

    The next few days passed quickly. I slept for most of them, waking up occasionally to eat some rat or drink some water. I also layed four more eggs, which was incredibly uncomfortable. I was wrapped around them when I finally looked at my level up notifications.


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 15 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 16 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 17 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 18 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 19 mud skink Queen


    I had come pretty far since being born into these lands. But these rats kept attacking. Kept hurting me. Kept killing my children. I¡¯m done with this bullshit. I got up, shaking as my three legs dealt with almost three days worth of stiffness.


    Fuck those rats. They went too far. I stretched out and swung my tail as Diana ran over to me. ¡°My Queen! Are you feeling better?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Bring me Arthur¡¯s head. It¡¯s time we give him a proper burial. After that, I¡¯m going to kill all the rats. Every last one. I shall bathe in their blood! I will make a necklace from their entrails! We will be committing the righteous extermination of the vermin.¡±


    Diana nodded and said. ¡°We await your orders my Queen!¡± I stared at her for a few seconds before saying. ¡°I told you to get Arthur¡¯s head. We¡¯re gonna bury him.¡± Diana appeared flustered as she nodded and rushed away.


    My wounds had pretty much healed over the last few days. Which meant I was in the perfect position to squash some rats! I smiled as the image of me sitting on a throne made of rat skulls popped into my mind.


    Although how would that work, I was pretty long and my tail wouldn¡¯t fit. Maybe I could just sit on a large pile of rat skulls. It wouldn¡¯t be as impressive but it would still feel really good. I stretched out, awaiting Arthur¡¯s head.


    I would bury it under the tree, overlooking the pond. I had known Arthur for less than a week. I hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to find out what food he likes, if he enjoys playing in the pond. All of that knowledge was taken from me. By the fucking rats!


    I grunted and turned towards Diana who held his head in her jaws. She gently placed it down as I felt tears begin to run down my face. Every single rat was going to die. I picked Arthur¡¯s head up and placed it inside the hole Linus had dug for me.


    I stared down for a while before turning towards my children, who were all standing nearby. ¡°My children! Today we honor my fallen son, your fallen brother. A hero, who sacrificed himself. He sacrificed himself to save us all. But that¡¯s bullshit!¡±


    I glared in the direction of the giant boulder. ¡° Why did he have to sacrifice himself? Because of the fucking rats! Those on the breadline peasants! They dare strike at me and my family? These peasants dare attack a dragon? A royal dragon? It shall not stand! We will exterminate their entire race. By the end of the year every single one of those shit heads will be dead!¡±


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    My kids stomped their feet and made strange squeaking noises that I took as cheering. I smiled and said. ¡°Whenever you kill a rat scream Arthur¡¯s name! For they deserve to know what they took from this world.¡±


    I started throwing mud on top of Arthur¡¯s head until a small mound had formed. I turned towards Linus who had stuck by me the entire time. ¡°Linus, while I¡¯m away collect all the rat skulls and pile them on top of Arthur¡¯s grave.¡±


    Linus nodded and smiled meekly before stumbling over towards the mountain of rat corpus. He was a strange little guy but I love him. I turned towards Diana and yelled. ¡°Diana you¡¯re in charge while I¡¯m gone. Try to stay in the cave but I think it¡¯ll be safe with me drawing their attention.¡±


    Diana nodded and said. ¡°My Queen! Would it be okay if I joined you? It doesn¡¯t seem safe for you to go by yourself. In fact, why don¡¯t you stay here while we go kill the rats for you?¡± I scoffed and said. ¡°Then you guys would be getting hurt, no. The answer is no. I need you to protect your siblings.¡±


    Diana walked away grumbling as I started walking away. There was a weird pressure on my side though. I looked down and saw Linus leaning against me. He looked up at me and our eyes met. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he sheepishly disconnected from me and ran over to play with his siblings.


    I smiled as I started walking towards my old lair. I still don¡¯t know where those rats live. Actually do they even live in one place or are they just meeting up before jumping me? With that thought in mind today would be a scouting mission. I need more information about these vermin.


    I made it about ten minutes away from the Money Tree before being attacked by rats. A small duo almost walked into after exiting a burrow. I didn¡¯t give them a chance to react, swiftly biting the first one and slapping the other one with my tail.


    I left rat number 1 paralyzed as I went after his unfortunate siblings. This paralyzing venom is incredibly useful! A perfect trait for a perfect royal dragon. God I¡¯m awesome. I smiled to myself as I held the rat down with my tail while stomping its skull into smithereens. ¡°Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die for my benefit you dirty poor people! Muhahaha!¡± After a few more seconds I got my new notification.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    After smugly viewing the notification I moved onto the still paralyzed rat. I could see tears running down its face as it soiled itself. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling. I slowly walked over and poked the rat. It fell over and face planted on the ground. I mercifully ripped its throat out and went to investigate the hole they had come from.


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat.


    I stared at the hole for a few seconds before coming to an obvious conclusion. ¡°There''s no way I can fit through that hole. I settled down and began brainstorming. I could just sit here, waiting for the rat¡¯s but that wouldn¡¯t solve the problem. I don¡¯t even know if this is actually a large rat den or just those two rat¡¯s personal home.


    As I was about to leave, a rat poked its head out of the hole. It stared at me for a few seconds before trying to turn and run away. I grabbed the rat by its spine and threw it onto the ground. I bit it a few times then ripped its throat out.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat.


    Okay maybe there are a lot of rat¡¯s in here. I waited for a few more minutes and another rat expedited the hole. I quickly killed it and made a decision. This was most likely a rat den. But how would I kill it? If they notice me sitting here they can just make another exit. Also what if this is a rat breeding ground? Then the rats could just out reproduce me. Suddenly I had a wonderful idea. I wonder how well rats can swim?

 Chapter 14

    All but one of my children stood around me. Linus had decided to stay back and protect the eggs. He had sealed the entrance and told me he would defend them with his life. I almost cried. I was so proud!


    Diana walked over to me as we stood over the burrow. ¡°My Queen! The ditch is almost done. All that''s left is to connect it to the lake.¡± I nodded and smiled. ¡°Oh I¡¯m so proud of you all! Alright everyone! Remember the plan.¡±


    Jack and Felix stood next to the hole, eagerly waiting. My plan was simple. Flood the tunnel and kill any rats that came out. Hopefully all of the younger rat¡¯s would drown. Like a nice soup, filled with corpses.


    I smiled and patted Diana on the head. She smiled and waddled away. Smiling as a Mud Skink was strange. It was just opening our mouths. I yawned and flopped onto my belly. The water would take a while to flow over here, it had taken almost the entire day to dig this ditch.


    While killing the rat¡¯s was nice, my main objective was to level me and my kids up. If I could get one of them to evolve then I wouldn¡¯t have to worry as much. Diana was most likely the closest to level ten.


    Although did they evolve at level ten? Was it different for everybody? This system is too damn confusing. I sighed and rolled onto my back, staring up at the sky. After a few minutes of just chilling I got up and went to check on the ditch.


    There was a small constant stream spilling into the rat¡¯s nest but most of it was absorbed by the dirt at the entrance. I shrugged and placed myself right where the rats would come out from. I wonder if the scarred one is here?


    Ooh that''d be nice. Haven''t seen him in a while. I¡¯m gonna make a necklace out of his intestines. I¡¯ll make his skull into a cup. Actually how would I carry the cup? With my tail I guess. Oh well, it was all just wishful thinking unless I can figure out a way to find him.


    I started making small trenches in the mud as we continued waiting for the rats to start fleeing. Jack and Felix had already become bored and were wrestling around like always. Diana was focused and seemed to be having a good time.


    I hope Linus is doing okay, I wonder if when I get back I should try to make the tunnel more secure. Maybe I can pile the skeletons of rats around the tree? Intimidation tactics are always fun. Although they haven''t seemed to work so far.


    I was brought out of my thoughts by a familiar squeaking noise. Jack and Felix were already back at the side of the entrance. I stretched out and readied myself. I held my tail over the entrance, ready to grab any rats that came out.


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    After a few seconds the first rat arrived. I wrapped my tail around the rat''s throat and quickly snapped its neck. I threw the corpse back into the hole. I heard a satisfying squeak and smiled.


    The next rat got its throat ripped out by Diana. It went like that for almost ten minutes. Dozens of rats streamed out of the tunnel one at a time. I wonder how intelligent these rats are? Surely they realized that we¡¯re killing their brethren. We literally throw their corpses back into the hole!


    I smiled. ¡°This is why we don¡¯t interact with poor people''s children. Look at them! Blindly fleeing into our jaws. A rich dragon like me would never allow this! Stomp on them my children! Stomp on the impoverished masses!¡±


    I had only killed a few rats this whole time, mostly letting my children rip into them. I had hoped Diana would evolve but so far Jack and Felix had gotten most of the kills. I would have to correct that. ¡°Jack! Felix! Let Diana kill more of them. I need her to evolve.¡±


    Jack and Felix looked disappointed and their dejected gazes were like inflation to my economy. I looked away quickly, focusing on Diana. For the next five minutes we would paralyze rats and throw them over to Diana.


    After a while the rats slowed down and I noticed that the tunnel had filled up with water and rat corpses. I smirked and grabbed the last rat biting its shoulder before tossing it behind me.


    I turned around and saw a surprising pile of still alive rats. I walked over towards Diana and saw that she was fast asleep. And glowing. ¡°Why the fuck is my daughter glowing?¡± Is this evolution? Did the rats cast magic?


    I nudged her and she limply rolled over. Holy shit my daughter is dead! I turned towards the nearest rats and screamed. ¡°Jack, Felix! Kill them! Murder the poor out of them!¡± Jack and Felix gleefully set to work as I turned back towards Diana.


    ¡°Okay breathe, just breathe. She is probably just evolving. Leave her alone and make sure all the rats are dead. You can do this. Deep breathes.¡± I took a few seconds to compose myself before turning to check on Jack and Felix. They had created quite a impressive pile of corpses.


    Actually how many were still alive when Diana started evolving? I looked around for Jack and Felix for a few seconds before noticing them collapsed just like Diana. Holy shit are they evolving too? How many rat¡¯s did we kill? I started counting but quickly gave up. We had killed over fifty of them. I checked my notifications and smiled.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat. x 17


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat. x 21


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 20 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 21 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 22 mud skink Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 23 mud skink Queen


    Wow, that''s a lot of levels. Why do the rats never seem to be higher than level two? Is their lifestyle that deadly? But wouldn¡¯t a few survive and take over then? I shrugged and was about to go back to my kids when I heard a rumbling.

 Chapter 15

    The sound was coming from underneath the tunnels. I stared at it for a few seconds before making my decision. ¡°Fuck that!¡± I grabbed my kids, threw them on my back and ran. Although carrying this much weight with only three legs isn¡¯t as easy as it seems.


    I made it back home in one piece and collapsed next to the pond. Linus sprinted out and greeted. ¡°Mother! You¡¯re okay!¡± I nodded meekly, forgetting to correct him as I hoisted myself to my feet and said. ¡°Linus help me carry your siblings inside.¡±


    After a few minutes we got them safely inside. Once he confirmed I would watch the eggs Linus hopped into the pond and swam around. I was beyond exhausted, running while carrying my kids had been difficult.


    I looked into the distance where the now flooded rat nest was. I could see a large shape standing over the nest. It was difficult to tell what it was but it looked like a giant fucking rat. I stared at the behemoth for a few seconds before screaming. ¡°Linus! Get in here!¡± Linus sprinted over to me and stood at attention. Adorable. ¡°Linus, I¡¯m pretty sure we have maybe five more minutes before a gigantic monster comes over here and stomps us out of existence.¡±


    He stared at me for a minute before letting out a shrill scream and diving under my legs. I patted him on the head and said. ¡°We are going to do a tactical retreat. Got it? They know where we live.¡±


    This probably wasn¡¯t the best decision but it couldn¡¯t be helped. That rat was so big it could probably just pick the money tree up and smack me with it. How the hell did it even get that big? Where was it the whole time?


    I shrugged and carefully picked up the eggs. The rat didn¡¯t appear to be moving towards us yet. But where should we go? We should be able to hide in the forest but honestly we¡¯re not supposed to dry out.


    Maybe we can go in the forest but just stay by the lake? It wouldn¡¯t be a permanent solution but until these eggs hatched and our numbers grew we were stuck constantly running. Alright we just need to transport the eggs. Then I¡¯ll come back and grab my kids.


    Just as I was preparing to leave I felt something bump into me. I turned around and saw Diana smiling at me. ¡°Holy shit Diana! You¡¯re gigantic!¡± Okay I probably shouldn¡¯t have said that. I¡¯m pretty sure a father calling his daughter gigantic is not the best thing. Although Diana doesn¡¯t seem to mind.


    She hopped around saying. ¡°My Queen! I¡¯m a queen now just like you!¡± I stared at her for a few seconds before joining her in her hopping. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! We¡¯re leaving now, there''s a giant rat. Go grab your siblings, we need to leave.¡±


    Diana nodded and sprinted towards Linus who was trying to drag Jack and Felix by himself. I smiled and turned towards the behemoth moving towards us. We¡¯ll be fine if we can get out before that thing arrives.


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    I stared at it for a few seconds trying to make out any details. It looked to be around 100 ft tall. Or at the very least it was much larger than the nearby trees. Did that thing have six legs? What the fuck!


    It had been standing around for a while but suddenly it slammed into the ground. I could feel the tremors from here! I trembled in terror before sprinting back towards my kids. ¡°Alright everybody! Linus take the eggs, keep them safe at all costs. Diana grab Felix, I¡¯ll grab Jack. We are going to be abandoning the mud flats for a while. We¡¯re gonna head for the lake first. After that we¡¯ll follow the shore towards the forest. Move out!¡±


    My children leapt into motion and I couldn¡¯t be happier. Living beneath the Money Tree had been nice but there was no reason to stay. The rats knew about it. As we were leaving I paused by Arthur¡¯s grave. I felt a tear run down my face as I stared at the mound of skulls. ¡°We¡¯ll be back, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    And that was it. We sprinted away at a pretty good speed, making it to the lake shore without any problems. I stared back at the Money Tree for a few seconds before turning towards Diana. ¡°Alright kids! Let¡¯s move out!¡±


    Linus and Diana followed me as we entered the forest. We hugged the shore for a few  miles before I yelled for everyone to stop. ¡°Halt! We shall rest here for a while.¡± The trees thinned in this area revealing a small rocky clearing. There wasn¡¯t really anything noteworthy about it but by now we just needed somewhere to chill for a few days.


    I would go out scouting for a new, more permanent home soon. I grabbed the eggs and wrapped myself around them while Linus and Diana started digging a small hole under a nearby tree to keep the eggs in.


    Again, not the best but it was the best I could do. I stared at the lake for a few seconds as a single thought floated through my mind. How could we make money? Sure we were pretty powerful now with most of us being evolved but the only thing that really matters is money.


    Wealth is power. So how can we, a small group of monsters in a random forest, make money? We could try hunting other animals and then attempt to sell their fur but I still didn¡¯t know how to properly skin and tan.


    Mining for resources was out of the question, we didn¡¯t have any tools or locations to mine. We could always try our hand at the lumber industry but again tools. Also how would we use the normal tools?


    What about fishing? It¡¯s pretty easy for us and once we meet someone it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to sell. People always need food. Although how could we preserve it so we could ship it? Oh well at least I had an idea in mind for when we meet someone.


    I wonder what my kids are doing? I looked around and saw Linus passed out next to the new burrow. I picked up the eggs and gently placed them inside. Then I plopped down by the entrance and looked around for any threats. Not seeing any, I looked for the rest of my kids.


    Wait, where did Felix and Jack go? I looked around and saw two giant forms by the lake, wrestling around. I nudged Linus awake and had him watch the eggs as I walked towards the seemingly familiar forms.


    ¡°Felix! Jack!¡± Both of the giants stopped and looked at me. Both had become Mud Skink Bruisers. I smiled, we were much safer now. In fact we probably didn¡¯t have to worry about anything being able to hurt us. I started laughing, cackling as an idea popped into my mind. ¡°My children, we will take over the world! World Domination! I shall rule the world! ¡±

 Chapter 16

    My children stared at me as if I was insane so I decided to file that idea for later. I stretched out and said. ¡°Alright everyone! It¡¯s time to get to work! Diana, Jack and Linus I want you guys to stay here and protect our new home. Try to dig a few more burrows and maybe try to hide the one holding my eggs.¡± Diana nodded as Linus walked away, already starting construction.


    ¡°Me and Felix will go scouting. I think the best thing for now will be to establish an area as our territory. We¡¯ll patrol to make sure nothing gets in while we also kill any threats that are living near us.¡±


    My children all set off for their tasks as Felix walked up to me. ¡°My Queen. Are you sure it¡¯s safe for you to leave the nest? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if Jack and I went scouting instead? Not that I¡¯m questioning your orders I just¡­¡±


    I shook my head disapprovingly and said. ¡°I am the king of these lands! It is my right to choose what lands we actually own. Also what if you two got hurt while I just sat around? Unacceptable.¡±


    Felix grumbled and complained for a few minutes before we headed out. The lake shore was one border. We had passed a small river earlier that had fed into the lake originating from somewhere within the forest. Maybe that could be used as a border?


    Felix and Silently walked along the shore until we reached the mouth of the river. From there we followed it for a few minutes as it slowly curved and twisted. Felix was on guard the entire time, constantly looking around for any threats. I was a tad more relaxed, it was a stroll through the woods! What could possibly want to attack us?


    I realized the error of my thinking when a large ball of fire slammed into the ground next to me. Felix instantly sprinted towards where it had come from and leaped at my attacker. I waddled after him, cursing my incredibly full stomach.


    I heard a loud squawk as I ran into the clearing that Felix was in. In his mouth Felix was holding a turkey. ¡°A fuckling turkey! We got attacked by a fire breathing turkey! What the fuck!¡± I spat on the corpse and said. ¡°Alright, you okay Felix?¡± He nodded and so I turned and said. ¡°Then let¡¯s move! And if you see any more turkeys kill them. Fuck you turkey.¡± I kicked the corpse and continued walking beside the stream.


    As we walked I noticed the stream started to move almost diagonally. The stream seemed to be making a semicircle around our camp which would be awesome if it continued. Unfortunately it suddenly turned and went back the way we had come. I grumbled but quickly compromised.


    ¡°Felix, could please slam your spiked tail into as many trees as possible while we walk? That should be good enough for us to use as a border.¡± Felix nodded and every other tree he would slam his tail into one, leaving a large dent that was pretty easy to see. Especially when it made a very convenient line.


    I decided to keep the idea of a semicircle and after another six hours of walking we had finished marking the border. The forest had been kinda boring, no distinguishable landmarks other than a large hill surrounded by a bunch of dead trees.


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    By the time we got back to the new base the sun had already set. I could barely walk as I collapsed into the pile of mud skinks that were covering the one burrow full of eggs. Today was nice. I fell asleep without dreaming.


    The next day I woke up to the sound of eggs cracking. I leapt to my feet and checked on the eggs. I smiled as I realized what had caused the noise. All but one of the eggs had already hatched, the hatchlings were currently exploring the new area they had found themselves in.


    I flopped onto my stomach and watched them for a few minutes. All males just like last time. I wonder if that''s something done on purpose by my race? Maybe. Oh I need to name all of them.


    Alright, Kurt, Harry, Robert and Darwin. Named after some of my old servants. I told each of them their name then yelled. ¡°Kids! Everyone get over here!¡± Jack and Felix quickly sprinted towards me while Diana and Linus walked at a more relaxed pace while talking to each other.


    The newest hatch was climbing all over me but I ignored it. I¡¯m the king! I can handle a few kids. ¡°Alright everyone, here''s what we¡¯re gonna do today. Felix go on a patrol and take Kurt and Linus with you. Jack go on a patrol when they come back with Robert and Darwin. Try to kill any threats you see. Jack, Felix, if you can safely stop an enemy without killing them, let one of the hatchlings kill them.¡±


    They all nodded as Felix set out on his patrol with Kurt and Linus trailing behind him. I called out to them. ¡°Make sure to mark the border as much as possible. Be safe, I love you all!¡± I then turned to the rest of my kids and said. ¡°Alright, Jack, Robert and Darwin you guys can chill until Felix comes back.¡±


    I then turned to Diana and Harry and said. ¡°I want you two to go fishing okay?¡± They both nodded and walked away as I got to work. It¡¯s time to actually design and build up this base.


    Currently all we had were three small burrows under trees for us to hide the eggs. Other than that there was nowhere for my kids to sleep, rest or store food. That was gonna change! I got to work on expanding one of the burrows as my brood also labored diligently.


    Robert and Darwin helped out for a bit but they spent most of the day playing and splashing around in the lake. As they should. Jack had spent the entire day dragging over large flat boulders and seemed to be constructing a wall around our home.


    He did spend a few hours napping as well thankfully. It wouldn¡¯t do him any good to be exhausted. A few hours after midday Felix¡¯s patrol returned and he looked completely exhausted. He staggered over to me and said.


    ¡°My Queen, we saw a large pack of small green humanoids moving around near our border. We also found a few more of the turkeys.¡± He dropped two large corpses on the ground as I smiled. He continued. ¡°No injuries and Linus is now level eight.¡± I nodded and motioned towards the newly dug sleeping burrow.


    ¡°You did great, go get some rest.¡± He nodded and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the large piles of grass and left I had left in there. By the time I was done talking to Felix, Jack and his patrol had already left.


    I looked around for Kurt and Linus but for some reason they weren¡¯t inside the base. I looked around and eventually found them lying on their backs, tongues hanging out of their mouths.


    I picked both of them up and placed them in the sleeping burrow with Felix. I turned to walk away from them and saw Diana walk up to me. She looked almost scared as she said. ¡° My Queen, could I talk to you?¡±

 Chapter 17

    I nod and turn towards Diana. ¡°Sure what¡¯s up?¡± Diana nervously slaps her tail on the ground as she says. ¡°My Queen, I would like to ask you a question. Will you allow me to lay my eggs beside yours?¡±


    I stared at her for a few seconds then said. ¡°Sure.¡± Diana flops onto the ground and says. ¡°Thank you for your generosity my Queen. I promise my children will be loyal to you.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°I never really doubted they wouldn¡¯t be loyal.¡±


    Diana just walked away after. What the hell? Oh well, maybe this is what having a teenage kid is like? Confusion and weirdly tense conversations. I shrugged and went to go for a swim in the lake.


    Harry was still fishing and had a pretty large pile piled up next to him. Most of the fish were small but it didn¡¯t really matter. There were enough fish that no one would go hungry. I ate a few then sat next to Harry.


    We watched the sun set in silence until Harry asked. ¡°My Queen, are you alright?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°I¡¯m alright Harry. Just wish I had some money.¡± Harry frowned and looked like he wanted to ask something.


    Before he could I got up and said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go for a quick swim.¡± Everything felt weird right now. My speech had felt lackluster, faded almost. My head was all fuzzy and for some reason my legs weren¡¯t responding.


    Why am I not moving? I thought I told Harry I was going to go for a swim? Wait, why am I going swimming? Where was I going to go swimming? My castle doesn¡¯t even have a pool yet. Why are my eyes not opening? What¡¯s going on?


    I could hear Harry¡¯s voice though. ¡°My Queen! What¡¯s wrong? My Queen!¡± That poor boy was born today! Why was he so worried? He should just enjoy himself. Maybe I should buy him a toy. I have more than enough money.


    Oh wait no, no money. Oh now I can hear Diana. ¡°My Queen!¡± I keep forgetting to tell them to call me a king. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter that much but still. I¡¯m a boy. Boy. Boy. Such a weird sounding word if you really just it. That¡¯s kinda all words though. Boy, boy ,boy ,boy ,boy ,boy.


    Woah, my brain still feels kinda fuzzy. Why am¡­ oh cool a turkey. Wait no fuck turkeys! They¡¯re just poor people that can breathe fire. I wish I could breathe fire. I wonder if I can make a pie soon. I miss pie.


    ¡°My Queen, please respond! Felix helped me carry her! Why is she so hot?¡± Was that Diana? ¡°It burns! My Queen please wake up." Was that Linus? Oh Linus, he¡¯s been through so much in such a short time. All of my children have. ¡°Mother, please wake up.¡±


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    I don¡¯t recognize that voice. Was that Kurt? ¡°My queen!¡± Why were they sobbing? I¡¯m just resting my eyes for a few minutes. Everything went dark after that and I could no longer hear my children''s voices.


    Instead a strangely high pitched voice began muttering. The voice was weasley and honestly disgusting. All signs pointed to a poor person talking to me. And yet I couldn¡¯t hear a single word it was saying. Were the myths true? If someone was rich enough they couldn¡¯t understand what poor people say?


    While this is fun I wanna go back. ¡°Yo! I¡¯m going back now! Let me leave. Please?¡± Nothing changed about the muttering as I tired looking around. But where am I? I can¡¯t see anything.


    Suddenly the mumbling, bumbling shit head got louder. ¡°Yeah, I said I wanna leave!¡± I do not like this. The poor person just kept mumbling. Over and over. ¡°Shut the fuck up! I said shut the fuck up!¡±


    Instantly the mumbling stopped, replaced with a fucking chuckle. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I am right now but you need to let me go back to my kids.¡± The giggling by now had turned into a full on belly laugh as I just floated there in the darkness.


    The laughing slowly subsided and for the first time since I had arrived in this strange place I heard some actual words. ¡°The enemy is coming. The enemy is coming. You must prepare.¡±


    I listened for a few seconds as it repeated itself again and again. ¡°Alright I don¡¯t know what type of illness you have but you need to deal with it yourself. and don¡¯t just randomly give people cryptic messages. You¡¯re fucking weird.¡±


    It stopped talking for a second then said. ¡°The enemy has arrived.¡± The second it finished that sentence I felt myself being ripped out of the darkness. I opened my eyes and saw that I was once again surrounded by my children.


    I stretched out and stood up as my children slept beside me. It was night time and for some reason I couldn¡¯t hear a single bird. Kinda weird but I guess they gotta sleep too. I checked on all of my kids and saw that everyone except Linus was inside the large burrow I had dug out.


    I stealthily picked Darwin up and placed him on top of Jack. I stepped back and stared at the large pile of my kids. What if that strange poor person wasn¡¯t just insane? What if some ancient enemy was going to attack? I can¡¯t risk it. I need to get stronger.


    I sighed and plopped myself down, blocking the entrance to the sleeping burrow. I stared into the darkness, seeing small forms moving around. I snapped my jaws a few times and grabbed a rock with my tail.


    Who cares if there is some enemy coming to attack us. I¡¯ll kill them all and then feed them to my children. Or maybe I won¡¯t, no low quality meat for my kids. I stood up and tried to make myself look as tall as possible. ¡°Alright you hand-to-mouth struggling on the breadline shitheads! Come at me! I¡¯m gonna kill all of you!¡±

 Chapter 18

    A loud bleating noise erupted from all around me as I screamed. ¡°Fuck all of you!¡± A form sprinted next to me and I slammed the rock I was holding into where the head was. Or where the head most likely was it was a bit hard to tell.


    You have killed a level 6 Zorkid.


    What is a Zorkid? Who names this stuff? I shrugged and cracked another one''s skull open. I ignored the notifications as I continued to hear that annoying bleating noise. Are these things just giant goats?


    Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my side. I reflexively dropped my rock and grabbed the Zorkid. I then swung it around and used it to bat away any Zorkid that got close. It went like this for a few hours. I didn¡¯t focus on killing my attacks, instead I just slapped them whenever they got close. Just as the sun was beginning to rise I heard a voice.


    ¡°My Queen! Please let us out! We can hear the fighting. We¡¯ll dig our way out if you don¡¯t!¡± Who was that? Was that Kurt? ¡°No! All of you stay inside, I''m fine.¡± I wasn¡¯t even lying. Zorkid hadn¡¯t done anything in a while. They just circled me and I occasionally slapped them with their friends'' corpses.


    After ten minutes my kids managed to escape. I grumbled as they all wiggled out of the hole and sprinted into the enemy. I got up and got to work. I quickly threw away my makeshift weapon and sprinted at the nearest Orkid.


    I tackled it to the ground and stomped on its face until I got the notification. I used my tail to grab and trip any Zorkid near me. Unlike the previous attacks we had faced, this one was easy to fight off.


    I had two bruisers and a lot more hatchlings. Also there weren¡¯t that many attackers. It was kinda lackluster honestly. It took around ten minutes for me and my kids to mop up the rest of the weirdos.


    I walked over to one of the corpses and looked at it for a few seconds. It was humanoid, kinda. The thing had three arms, one long and two other small ones. The big arm didn¡¯t have a hand, instead a spike of bone protruded out.


    The Zorkid had the head of a goat which explained all the bleating sounds. I kicked the corpse and walked away as my kids made a pile. Diana ran over to me and said. ¡°My Queen! Are you alright?¡±


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    I nodded and said. ¡°Of course! Now everyone gathers around! We need to talk.¡± My kids all circled up, Darwin sitting on top of Jack as Kurt and Harry wrestled nearby. ¡°Today we were attacked by a new enemy. We don¡¯t know where they came from or if there are more of them somewhere in our territory.¡±


    I was about to continue when I stopped and said. ¡°Wait, where''s Linus?¡± They all shrugged as my head began to fill with the image of his corpse. Thankfully he was still in the burrow. ¡°Did he just not wake up?¡±


    Robert shrugged as I tried to wake Linus up. When he once again didn¡¯t respond I began to worry. What if he had caught a disease? I didn¡¯t have any way to help. I can¡¯t kill an illness with a rock!


    Felix poked him and said. ¡°My Queen, maybe he''s evolving.¡± He was pretty close to leveling up. But had he killed anything yesterday? Oh well. I turned to the rest of my kids and said. ¡°Alright, same groups as yesterday but this time Jack takes your group first. Everyone else has the same deal as before. Take Harry instead of Linus today. Get to it everybody!¡±


    I walked over to the lake and sat down. Okay, our population is gonna keep growing so I need to plan out this settlement. First things first we need somewhere to sleep. I need to dig out more sleeping burrows. Second, we need to have a more organized way of dealing with food.


    We almost always have a surplus but that will most likely end soon enough. We¡¯ll have to start going on hunts. And that means we need more skinks to go on patrols. I sighed and watched my kids go fishing.


    Fishing was our best way to get food but it would soon dry up. We were fishing from a lake, that meant there was a limited amount of fish. I scratched my head with my tail while thinking.


    The food problem wasn¡¯t really an issue yet but if I don¡¯t deal with it now it¡¯ll spiral out of control. Being able to eat anything that tries to fight us is pretty nice but how can I expand on that? Are we able to eat plants? Being able to supplement our diet with fruits and berries would be convenient.


    I rolled onto my back and stared at the sky. It was a beautiful day today. I stretched out and hopped to my feet. Welp, no reason to just sit here. I¡¯ll think of something later. For now I need to start killing all the threats within my territory.


    The patrols will be useless if we keep getting attacked like with the Zorkids. I walked into the camp to find Diana. When I found her she was panting breathlessly beside a pile of four eggs. I smiled as all my worries felt like they were washing away.


    I¡¯m gonna be a grandpa! I sprinted over to Diana and checked on her. ¡°Diana! Are you okay? I know it hurts, take a breath.¡± Diana nodded and collapsed onto the ground. I motioned for my kids to carry her away as I checked on the eggs.


    They all looked healthy and one was far larger than the other. I quickly moved them into a new burrow under a tree. We would find a way to solve our problems. There''s no need to worry. Cause I¡¯m gonna be a motherfucking Grandpa!

 Chapter 19

    I skipped around the camp. My life is awesome! I can¡¯t wait to have little grandkids running around. I was excited for a while but eventually I got to work. No time to waste! Gotta protect my kids and my grandkids.


    I left Diana in charge and sprinted into the forest. The Zorkids most likely had some type of base or home nearby. They would be neutralized. I stomped through the forest enjoying the gentle breeze and the sound of the wildlife.


    The mudflats had been nice but they were kinda, muddy. And stinky. And filled with giant rats. Although my new home had fire breathing turkeys and goat headed, three armed monsters. But I can get rid of most of that.


    I walked around aimlessly for a few hours, listening for any sign of an enemy. Unfortunately for me nothing disturbed me other than a rather large frog. It was almost the size of my head!


    I ate it and it tasted delicious, as expected. Just kidding it tasted like shit. Who would ever enjoy eating raw frog? Curse this body and always be hungry. I grumbled for a few minutes before hearing a rather familiar sound.


    The bleating of multiple goats suddenly rang out throughout the forest. I crouched down as best I could and began slowly crawling towards the noise. As I grew closer the sound and smell grew even worse.


    The forest suddenly disappeared as I looked over a rocky ledge at the Zorkids. The disgusting goat things had set up camp in a large cave with a stream running right next to it. Around half a dozen of the filth were hanging out around the entrance of the cave. The ground around them was covered in half eaten carcasses and feces.


    My children and I had already designated an area a minute walk from our base as trash and toilet. We kept our home clean, unlike these poor people. I almost spat on them before stopping myself. How dare they try to kill my kids!


    I stretched out then without actually thinking it through leapt off the ledge screaming. ¡°Fuck all of you! You dirty impoverished peasants!¡± I landed on one of the Zorkids, ripping its throat out while all the other Zorkids stared at me in shock. I dedicated myself to the corpse then grabbed a rock with my tail and slammed it into the nearest Zorkid¡¯s skull.


    I then sprinted forward and bit two of the ones close to me, my paralyzing venom quickly entering their bodies. The remaining two Zorkids quickly got to work. One charged at me and swung its long arm at me. The other grabbed a horn off the ground and blew into it.


    A loud whining sound was produced and I could hear the sound of bleating from deeper inside the cave. I tanked the blow from the Zorkid¡¯s long arm then slammed my rock into its forehead. Its head split like a melon as I grabbed the last remaining Zorkid and snapped its neck.


    I stomped the paralyzed ones then spirited away. I winced at the large bruise the Zorkid had caused but smiled. I had managed to take out a small party of the Zorkids with minimal difficulty. I checked my notifications and my smile grew even wider.


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    You have killed a level 5 Zorkid.


    You have killed a level 1 Zorkid.


    You have killed a level 8 Zorkid.


    You have killed a level 3 Zorkid.


    You have killed a level 2 Zorkid.


    You have killed a level 9 Zorkid.


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 24 mud skink Queen


    Perfect! I gotta be close to the next evolution by now. I strutted around for a few seconds before remembering that I was running away. I quickly sprinted towards where the lake should be and then made my way back home.


    When I got back my children all greeted me happily as I told them what I had done. ¡°You should have been there! It was awesome! And I barely got away.¡± For some reason my kids did not think what I had done was very cool.


    Felix nodded and said. ¡°Yes, we should have been there. What happens to us if you get killed? Why would you risk yourself when you only have to utter a word for us to assist you.¡± I stared blankly at Felix for a second.


    First off, when had he gotten such a good vocabulary? Second, because you¡¯re my kids. ¡°You¡¯re my kids! Why would I ever purposely put you in a dangerous situation where my entire goal is a fight to the death? What type of parent would I be if I did that.¡±


    Felix grunted and said. ¡°So? Who cares if one of us dies? You keep treating us like we¡¯re fragile. Like we aren''t useful. Just this morning you tried to not let us fight. You couldn¡¯t have won if we hadn¡¯t helped. We own this territory and we patrol as a group. Do you think we just don¡¯t fight while on patrol?¡±


    I was a bit taken aback but went on the offensive. ¡°Felix, I am your mother and father! You will listen to me and what I tell you to do. If I say something is too dangerous. Then it is too dangerous! Do you understand me?¡±


    Okay that sounded a little harsh, I need to salvage this. Felix looks like I just smacked him as the behemoth slumps to the ground and starts to cry. I quickly run over and say. ¡°No, no! I didn¡¯t mean it like that! I¡¯m sorry for snapping at you. I just¡­ I don¡¯t like the idea of you guys having to fight. It scares me.¡±


    Felix wiped his tears on his paw thing and said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for speaking out of line my Queen.¡± Holy shit I went way too far. ¡°Felix, look at me. I trust you. If I had to fight a giant army of murder goats I would always pick you to fight with me. But you¡¯re my kid. And I worry, I¡¯ll always worry. I love you, all of you.¡±


    Felix nodded and leaned against me. This felt pretty wholesome but from an outside perspective probably looks pretty ridiculous. Eh, who cares. I patted my kid on his head and said. ¡°Alright, I agree with you guys. I¡¯ve been treating you like objects, little props to just sit there. So I¡¯ll ask you all this. Will you please come with me tonight to murder a bunch of humanoid goat monsters?¡±

 Chapter 20

    It took five minutes for almost all of my children to be assembled. Diana decided to stay behind with Linus but everybody else was ready to move. The plan was simple. I would lead the charge with Jack and Felix right behind me. We would try to take them off guard and sweep through. My remaining children would finish off anything that was still alive after we had run through.


    I made sure all my kids were holding a rock with their tails. Their tails weren¡¯t as large as mine, which by now was easily double my size. But it would suffice. I led all my children through a few stretches before shouting. ¡°Kids! Remember to aim for the head! Also if you¡¯re getting overwhelmed run towards either me or anyone else who has evolved. Does everyone understand?¡±


    They all nodded and so I shouted. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s kill them all and then eat those peasants for dinner! For money!¡± My children echoed my cries as we sprinted into the forest. The wildlife around us quieted as my war party passed through.


    Damn this felt nice. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as we made it to the enemy camp in under an hour. There were now ten Zorkids stationed outside and they seemed far more attentive. I stretched out a bit more before screaming.


    ¡°Charge! Kill the dirt poor caprines! Die peasants!¡± I quickly lashed out with my tail, cracking one''s head open while biting another. I didn¡¯t focus on killing the paralyzed enemies, instead I focused on immobilizing as many as possible.


    Felix and Jack just bit the Zorkid¡¯s heads off. I almost cried at the sight of them massacrying the enemy. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt more proud in my entire life.¡± I wiped a tear away while training a Zorkid with my rock.


    After destroying the guards outside me and my heavy hitters quickly moved in. The hatchlings behind us finished off anything still alive. We moved in, killing every single Zorkid in sight. The cave was pretty deep, easily over 200 feet.


    Were they even able to breathe deeper in? Maybe there were a few airways. Just as I was thinking that we had finesse off the Zorkids I heard a sound like thunder. I squinted towards the end of the cave and saw dozens of beady eyes staring back at me.


    I shouted in alarm as a tide of the goat headed weirdos slammed into me and my brood. I flipped around, biting anything near me that looked like a Zorkid. I kept feeling sharp spikes of pain as the weather blew from every angle.


    Ten minutes of brutal melee passed as the amount of Zorkids thinned. I was covered in my own blood by the time it was over. I turned around to check on my kids just in time to see a large Zorkid Islam what looked to be the point of a sword into Kurt¡¯s skull.


    I stared in silence for what felt like years as Kurt''s now lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Tears streamed down my face as I slammed into the Zorkid. I was about to kill him when I had a much better idea.


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    I placed my leg on its chest and checked to make sure. Yup it¡¯s a male. I turned towards my other kids who had gathered around Kurt¡¯s corpse. ¡°All of you, grab a limb. He can¡¯t dodge.¡±


    They all sullenly grabbed an arm or leg and held him there. The Zorkid stared at me in fear as I brought my rock into the air. I could also feel its dread and horror as I slammed the rock onto its pelvis.


    I slammed my rock into its privates over and over again while screaming. ¡°You killed my kid! Die! Die! Die! Die! Fuck you! You took Kurt from me! Fuck you! Die!¡± By the time I calmed down the Zorkid¡¯s entire body was a bloody pulp. I spat on it and stumbled over towards Kurt¡¯s body.


    I slumped to the ground and sobbed as my other children started moving the bodies. After a few hours I got up and picked Kurt¡¯s corpse up. I turned to my kids and said. ¡°Rip all their heads off. We¡¯ll use it to mark the grave.¡±


    I heard Darwin let out a sob and I felt like I had been stabbed. We all slowly made our way home in silence. The previous excitement was gone. We buried Kurt by the lake. A mountain of skulls all around his grave. As we were walking back I checked my notifications and felt a small bit of joy.


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 25 mud skink Queen


    Congratulations you have reached level 25! You are now able to evolve. Please bear with all inconvenience.


    Evolutionary process has begun. Please stand by.


    The jazz music once again started to play as everything went black. I was once again in the white room. But this time I had a clear goal. I need to be stronger. No instantly choosing whatever evolution I want.


    I walked over to the first one and was surprised by the sheer size of the new me. It was almost ten feet tall and easily 40 feet long. What a giant! But how could I feed myself? Also as I looked at the mud Skink Broodmother I didn¡¯t have any teeth, my legs were tiny, my tail didn¡¯t even change. I just turned into a big fat version of me.


    My best guess was this evolution would make me have more kids, but not really be used in a fight. Boring! I¡¯m a dragon! This dragon is sized but lacks sheer power. I moved onto the next one and smiled.


    The next one wasn¡¯t as big as the Broodmother but was still quite large. At five feet tall and I think 20 feet long it was half the size of the other one. But this form seemed ready for battle! It had the armored scales like the bruisers and long legs, almost like a wolf¡¯s. The tail was gigantic and at the end was a large blade.


    I looked at the name and nodded in agreement. Mud Skink War Queen. A body fully committed to fighting. I almost instantly selected it but held off. Even if I don¡¯t pick the others I should make sure to at least be able to tell Diana her options.


    Oh but the War Queen has cool looking horns! Come on, focus. I moved onto the next choice and saw that it was the last one. Mud Skink High Queen. It seemed to just be a larger version of me.


    I shrugged and walked away. Why would I want to just be bigger? . Maybe I would lay more eggs. But how would I feed so many? No defintly going with War Queen. I''m gonna look so cool! I selected the Mud Skink War Queen and smiled. No one would ever hurt my kids again as long as I¡¯m on the battlefield with them. Look at those claws!Holy shit, I¡¯m beautiful! That was my last thought as my vision once again faded to black.

 Chapter 21

    I woke up and stretched out, enjoying the new mobility I had gained. I was also far larger than my kids. They all crowded around me, oohing and aahing as I gently shooed them away. I walked away from camp and belly flopped into the lake.


    I just sat there for a while, my kids joined me and for a few minutes we just chilled. No one was on patrol, no one was fighting. Jack and Felix were wrestling around, careful to not crush their siblings.


    Darwin, Harry and Robert were seeing who could swim the fastest while Diana and Linus were sitting on the shore talking. I walked over to them and sat down. Diana glanced up at me and said. ¡°My Queen, Linus has taken a different evolution we didn¡¯t know about.¡±


    I had forgotten Linus was evolving so I quickly congratulated him before saying. ¡°So, what''d you pick?¡± Linus looked almost embarrassed as he said. ¡°I¡¯m now a mud Skink Caretaker. My form is meant for protecting,taking care of and guiding hatchlings.¡±


    I looked at him and nodded. He now had long almost finger looking thing coming off of his hands and he was now much larger. I asked him ¡°So you want to take care of the hatchlings?¡± He nodded sheepishly as I shrugged and said. ¡°Sounds good to me. You¡¯re good with your younger siblings so it should be fine. Just make sure to ask if you need help.¡±


    Actually I haven''t been a very good parent lately. I barely gave my kids any free time. And the only recent excursion I had taken with my kids one of them had died. Overall I just wasn¡¯t that good at being a parent. I poked myself with my tail and mentally said. ¡°Then be better! Don¡¯t just complain.¡±


    I agreed with myself on that one. So instead of getting to work we just chilled for the rest of the day. We ate fish and Zorkid meat while having fun watching Jack and Felix wrestle. My kid¡¯s all fell asleep in a burrow while I used my body to block it off, making sure to poke a few holes in the walls so my kids could breathe.


    I would have to dig a bigger burrow soon, my kids barely fit right now. Maybe we should move to the cave the Zorkids were in? It would be a bit more secure, although if we get trapped in the cave we¡¯re kinda screwed. Also no fish would mean we would have to fully commit to hunting. I¡¯ll discuss it later with Diana. Time for sleep!


    The next day I woke up with the all too familiar pain. I stumbled over towards the nearest empty egg burrow and crouched down. After fifteen minutes of pain and exertion I turned to look at my newest kids. But I paused when I started counting the eggs. ¡°Why are there eight?¡± Must be the new body.


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    I shrugged and curled around the eggs. Smiling to myself as I began to think of the names. I didn¡¯t have to think about girl names as by now I¡¯m convinced that they just don¡¯t get born very often. Or maybe you only have one?


    Doesn¡¯t matter. I love all my kids, male or female doesn¡¯t change a thing. I made sure all the eggs were safe before walking over to Linus. He was working on finishing a half eaten fish from yesterday when I yelled. ¡°Linus, I just laid eight eggs. As of now you will watch over those eggs and Diana¡¯s. Understand?¡±


    Last night I regretted not giving my kids more freetime but honestly, we did not live in a safe environment. One way to make it safer is patrolling, and making sure we have food for dinner.


    Another way is for me to find and kill some threats within our territory. So I hopped around for a bit, loosening up my joints before yelling to Diana. ¡°Diana, you¡¯re in charge while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    My kids started protesting but I was already gone. I was so fast now! I flew through the forest, sniffing and listening for anything that moved. I wanted something big to test my new body out on!


    After only thirty minutes I found my first opponent. A giant turkey the size of a small house. One of the notorious fire breathing turkeys. All of its feathers were bright red and its sack thing on its throat was the color of fire.


    We paced around each for a few seconds before I darted forward, trying to tackle it. Unfortunately I misjudged how powerful my legs were. I swear the turkey smirked when I slammed face first into a small tree.


    I turned and glared at the irritating poultry. I stood still but my tail got to work. I had so much more fine motor control with my tail. It slipped through the skin of the turkey like a hot knife through butter.


    Oh god butter. Just anything actually. To make these gods forsaken meals taste better. This fight felt easy. I didn¡¯t have to move! My tail just ripped the thing to shreds. Just as my ego had grown even more I heard a weird barfing noise. I looked at the turkey and for the first time in this fight felt afraid.


    It stomped its feet twice and garbled before taking a breath in, then out. I sprinted away as a small portion of the forest was torched. Distagrated, one would say. Unfortunately for the turkey, I had a pretty long tail. I slit the turkey¡¯s throat as it screamed in horror and rage. I strutted towards my fallen enemy and said. ¡°Die for my benefit you poor person!¡± Then I stomped its skull into paste. This new body is awesome!


    You have killed a level 13 Alevli Hinko


    I stared at the notifications for a few seconds before screaming. ¡°Why the fuck do they get a fancy name? They¡¯re turkeys!¡± I kicked the corpse and bit it, beginning the long walk of dragging the large turkey corpse back to my kids. I¡¯m gonna enjoy eating this shit head. As I was about to leave the clearing I heard a voice. ¡°Excuse me! Yeah you! Do. You. Understand. Me? I. Am. A. Human. I. Need. Your. Help.¡±

 Chapter 22

    I stared at the human in front of me for a few seconds before letting out a small screech and swatting him. The human went flying and slammed into the ground as I anxiously stared at the most likely dead body.


    I was about to walk over and poke it when the human suddenly stood up and said. ¡°That wasn¡¯t very nice. I always try talking to monsters before attacking them. But every time, they just attack me. It¡¯s poor manners. That¡¯s what it is.¡±


    I stared at the completely unharmed human advancing towards and screamed. ¡°What the fuck!¡± Before turning and sprinting away. I made it maybe a hundred feet before I felt something grab my back leg.


    I was dragged backwards, towards where I had met the human. I stabbed the human multiple times but my tail spike simply bounced off his skin. After a few more seconds of being dragged I was sailing through the air. I slammed into a nearby tree, toppling it as the human calmly walked towards me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more chance. If you attack me again I¡¯ll snap your neck.¡± I stood still, not even breathing as the human monster stared back at me. ¡°Good. You are definitely smarter than most of the beasts around here.¡±


    I still didn¡¯t move, mainly focusing on not dying as the human continued to talk. ¡° I¡¯m going to repeat myself from earlier. Have you fought anything called a Zorkid? That¡¯s what the words that appear in front of you would call it.¡±


    I trembled but said. ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve seen them.¡± He just shook his head and said. ¡°I am not able to speak your language. Just nod if yes.¡± Wow this man was just rude. I nodded vigorously as he smiled and said. ¡°Finally! Now show me where they are, or were. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±


    He motioned for me to get up so I hopped to my feet and started walking towards the cave. My mind raced with worries and theories as we walked. Why am I able to understand him? Why is he so mean? Is he rich or poor? Will he hurt my kids if he sees them? Are all humans on this world this strong?


    ¡°Move faster¡­ Mud Skink? One of you got this far? Huh, a queen too. Probably means you got a whole bunch of small versions of you round here.¡± How the fuck does he know my race and evolution without killing me?


    We walked in silence until we reached the cave. I plopped down and motioned my head towards the cave. The man smiled and threw me a small piece of jerky. It bounced off my head and landed on the ground beside me. He frowned and said. ¡°Ungrateful. Don¡¯t leave, make sure nothing else gets in here. I¡¯ll be here for around an hour. You will not leave, if you do you will die.¡±


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    I nodded and waited until he had been in the cave for a few minutes before freaking out. ¡°Okay he got what he wanted, now he¡¯ll hopefully leave me alone. Okay you know what, things are fine. Humans will leave and I can get back to my kids. We¡¯ll enjoy a nice day of chilling in the lake. Then we¡¯ll all curl up and go to sleep.¡±


    I repeated this to myself for what felt like hours until the man finally came out. He had a big smile on his face and said, ¡°Well, looks like you and your kids managed to clear those bastards out. I assume at least. There was a good amount of paralyzing venom left over.¡±


    I nodded and started walking away before he said something that made me want to scream in fear and rage. ¡°Now take me to your kids. I need to make sure none of you get corrupted.¡±


    I debated slapping him and sprinted in the opposite direction of my kids to try and lead him away but sighed. He would catch me instantly and probably just find my pride and joys in the next day or two.


    Better to be able to facilitate the whole thing instead of him entering my nest covered in blood and smelling like me. My children would rush him, then get pulverized. We had a good time making it to my home.


    My kids were all playing around or working on something when I walked in with a human. They all looked uncertain of what to do so I said. ¡°It¡¯s alright everyone, he''s just a friend that''s visiting. He¡¯s gonna make sure no ones sick.¡±


    I hate lying to them but telling them that a small human was holding me hostage would confuse them. They might try to attack and I¡¯m gonna assume he would just kill them all. He looked at each of them before looking back at me and said.


    ¡°Everything looks fine. Now come on, I wanna make it back to my campsite before dark.¡± I stared at him for a few seconds, confused as he turned to me and said. ¡°Say you''re goodbyes, then we gotta go. My sons have been nagging me to get him a pet, and well. You seem smart enough. Say goodbye, now. Hurry it up or all of you die.¡±


    I stared at the outrageous little man as the children around understood everything he said. I wanted to scream and charge at him. But I can¡¯t. If I resist he¡¯ll kill me. Then my kids would get butchered.


    I turned towards my children and yelled. ¡°Everyone! I will be going on a trip for a¡­ while. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be back. Diana will be in charge while I¡¯m gone. I love you all and I¡¯ll be back before you know it. Stay safe and take care of each other.


    I couldn¡¯t hold back the tears as the human said. ¡°We¡¯re leaving, let''s move.¡± I grumbled as we walked away. Imagining all the ways I could turn this piece of shits insides into a puree. He turned toward me as we were walking and said. ¡°You¡¯re Lady now by the way. That¡¯s your name. If I say your name you listen to me, understand?¡±


    I was taken aback by the small man¡¯s audacity. Lady? You name your dog that! Am I a fucking housepet now? Also I¡¯m not even a lady! Really? I got stolen away from my kids and turned into a house pet and called a name that doesn''t make sense.. Oh fuck that. I am going to kill you. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s gonna take but you are going to die. And it is going to be glorious. Maybe I can make some money off of selling his organs. Oh yes, he¡¯ll die slowly and profitably. I can already see it.

 Chapter 23

    I stared at the small boat the man wanted me to climb into. I stared at him doubtingly as he scratched his neck and said. ¡°Huh, gimme a sec.¡± He began rummaging through his bag as I took a good look at him.


    He looked to be a bit shorter than six feet tall. He had slicked back black hair and brown eyes. He wore a chainmail suit but had furs and cloaks covering most of it. For weapons he had two giant handaxes.


    As I was observing him he took out a small collar and said. ¡°Lower your head.¡± I did so while snickering. How was that thing gonna fit on me? Or even solve the current problem? What an idiot!


    Suddenly the collar grew and he placed it on my neck. He tapped the stone on the front of it and suddenly the world around me began to grow. I was shocked how he had made everything larger before realizing I was smaller. I stared up at the now extremely large man. I was the size of a small cat now!


    I screamed at him. ¡°Fuck you mate! Why are you doing this? Just get your kid a dog like a normal parent!¡± He smiled and said. ¡°I¡¯m sure Hanno will love you. Now come on.¡± He picked me up and placed me in the boat as it just started moving!


    My kidnapper looked at me for a few seconds before saying. ¡°Alright Lady, time to explain your new role.¡± I spat at him as he smiled and said. ¡°You will be my son¡¯s pet. You will act like a pet when with him and others. You will stay in this small form while being a pet. Your other job will be as his bodyguard. Recently, one, or more of my peers have been sending assassins. It¡¯s your job to stop them.¡±


    I nodded along, slightly intrigued by this new society. Maybe I can use this to do a bit of scouting. Although trade seems off the table for the foreseeable future. But magic items? I need more! The man continued. ¡°Press the gem on your collar and imagine yourself growing to your true size. Only me and you can do this.¡±


    I nodded and wondered if he could catch me if I swam away? Oh but he would just kill my kids. Fuck this guy. I said that to him. ¡°Fuck you!¡± He frowned and said. ¡°I¡¯m unable to understand you and a device to do so would be expensive. Anyway I am going to continue explaining. Listen carefully.¡±


    I sighed and settled in for a lecture as the creep began to speak. ¡°I am the Lord of the Raven Clan. We are in control of one city, eight towns and dozens of villages. Thousands of people have sworn loyalty to me. When you are in my land you will be safe. But my son is going to the academy in a week. You need to protect him at all costs.  Oh by the way, you won¡¯t lay any eggs while wearing the collar. A monster military force would be interesting but I won¡¯t let you build up power.¡±


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    How the fuck does he just stop the eggs? What is this collar? Why does he carry this with him everywhere he goes? Who just has this on their person at all times? He smiled as if he could hear me and said. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like me, beast. I know you were a ruler of your area. But you need to understand. You¡¯re no longer in charge. In this kingdom you would barely be considered a village chieftain.¡±


    I shrugged and waved my tail around. I didn¡¯t have my tail spike anymore, my tail was smaller in proportion. Overall this sucks. I watched the shore where me and my kids left until it disappeared as we entered a river.


    Over the next few days we sat in silence. Barley acno wedgie each other. Until finally I saw smoke. The river carried us into a small harbor. I hopped off the boat and felt my stomach grumble with hunger. The Chief had fed me some scraps of jerky and thankfully I only needed enough food to feed my small body.


    I couldn¡¯t help staring at the various stalls and people along the way to wherever the Chief wanted to go. I need to give this guy a name. I think Creep will do. Kidnapping intelligent creatures and turning them into pets. I looked up at him and screamed. ¡°Fuck you!¡± He nodded and said. ¡°It is a nice town. I agree, when I was a boy my father would take me here. We would go on hunting trips together.¡±


    I stared at the very confused creep before sighing and following him. We made it to a small house on a hill where a creep smiled and opened the door. He was met by a small boy who tackled him into a hug while screaming ¡°Father! You¡¯re home!¡± This is their home? A rundown shack? I thought he was the ruler? He¡¯s just poor!


    I looked at the boy who I assume is Hanno and was shocked by his appearance. The boy looked like he was around fifteen or sixteen years old. The surprising part was he looked nothing like his father. Hanno had blonde hair that looked almost white. His eyes were fucking yellow! What the hell? Other than that he wore a simple tunic and pants.


    As I was about to walk off to find some food, a creep picked me up and said. ¡°Look what I got you! I named her Lady.¡± Hanno looked like an angel had descended from the heavens. He recently picked me up as I stared at him.


    He frowned and turned towards the creep. ¡°Father, the name lady doesn¡¯t suit her at all!¡± I grinned and nodded. Finally someone with sense. Hanno continued. ¡°Look at her! Surely she deserves a more noble name?¡± Well I¡¯m actually a dude but thanks for trying. He looked at me for a few more seconds before saying. ¡°She will be named Aya from now on.¡± I stared at the boy¡¯s golden eyes and saw a strange conviction within them. What the hell did I just get wrapped up in?

 Chapter 24

    Hanno placed me down after that and said, ¡°Alright Aya, you can explore the house for now okay? But remember to tell me if you need to use the bathroom.¡± I didn¡¯t acknowledge the kid at all before hopping away and looked for something to eat. How did he think I was going to tell him I needed to use the bathroom?


    He wanted me to explore, explore what? It¡¯s a four room house, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a dining/lounge area. I made my way into the kitchen where I met my first challenge in my new small form.


    The cupboards were so high up I had no hope of getting to them. Oh well, if you have a pet you''re supposed to feed it. He¡¯ll probably feed me later. I just hopped onto the bed that smelled like Hanno and took a nap. God I miss my kids. I wonder how they¡¯re doing? They should be fine but what if the giant rats attack them?


    No, gotta stay positive. My kids are strong. They can do it. I fell asleep dreaming of spending time with my kids. I woke up a few hours later to an anxious looking Hanno staring at me.


    When I opened my eyes he smiled and said, ¡°Aya! It¡¯s time for dinner!¡± Still dazed from sleeping I hopped onto the boy¡¯s shoulders and closed my eyes again. I heard him gasp and laugh before saying. ¡°Stay awake Aya! Otherwise you won¡¯t get dinner.¡± Oh really? You get to decide that?


    This sucks! I used to be able to hunt whenever I wanted food. Or one of my kids would share with me. I used to bathe in the blood and entrails of my enemies! Devouring them while laughing! Now I¡¯m reduced to a dinner schedule.


    I did resist falling back asleep as Hanno and his father sat down to eat. I stayed on the boy''s shoulders as it was actually quite comfortable. The boy and his father were eating what looked to be roast beef.


    Hanno and his father began talking but I mostly ignored it. Instead I devoted my time to stealing as many pieces of meat from Hanno¡¯s plate as possible. He noticed but didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    Creep however, looked incredibly offended. He even said so! ¡°Hanno, you shouldn¡¯t let Aya get away with that. She won¡¯t learn any manners.¡± Hanno was about to come to my aid but I beat him to it. ¡°How dare you lecture me on manners! You kidnapped me! You stole me away from my children and brought me to this hovel! And now you lecture me? On manners? Fuck you! Go die in a ditch!¡±


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    Hanno couldn¡¯t help laughing as he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think she agrees with your father. Besides, she is a noble beast! She can do what she pleases within our company. Although you might want your own plate.¡± While saying that he grabbed four more cuts of meat and placed them on a plate. Then he placed them on the ground. I hopped off his shoulders and landed with a grunt.


    I tucked into my food as the father son duo continued talking. Creep said. ¡°So, excited about going to the academy?¡± Hanno nodded and said. ¡°Of course! A center of learning that anyone from any clan can attend. A monument to what humanity could accomplish if we were to unite.¡±


    Wow the boy was wordy. His father frowned and said, ¡°So you¡¯re still committed to that silly idea.¡± Hanno frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s not silly! Humankind could do so much if we were to unite. No more petty border squabbles where thousands die. Instead we could grow together, better technology, better magic and better lives!¡±


    Hanno had stood up and after his little impassioned speech seemed almost embarrassed. Creep frowned and said. ¡°I think you should go to bed. You¡¯ll need to leave early tomorrow after all.¡±


    Hanno seemed to have shrunk as he shuffled to his room. I was about to follow him when Creep grabbed me and said. ¡°Time to have a talk, little lizard. Follow me.¡± He let go of me as we walked until we were around a mile away from the village.


    Creep stared at me for a few seconds before saying. ¡°You can change back into your true form. No one can see you. I did so and it felt so good! I waved around my tail and hopped around. I swatted a nearby tree and watched it crash to the ground. Being powerful feels good.


    I settled down and turned towards Creep who¡¯s frown was even uglier than usual. ¡°That boy, he''s gonna get himself killed with all that nonsense. He doesn''t have any survival instinct. Refuses to keep his head down. That¡¯s why you need to protect him. Do you understand me?¡±


    I answered ¡°I understand that you¡¯re a dick who should just die! Leave me alone!¡± He smiled and said. ¡°Thank you, Aya. I feel better knowing he¡¯ll have you to guard him.¡± How does he always misunderstand me? Like every time? He didn¡¯t even realize I was angry at him!


    He turned towards me and said. ¡°Go, make sure he¡¯s okay. I have something I need to do.¡± I rolled my eyes and turned back into my small form. What an overdramatic weirdo. I made it back to the house pretty quickly. I entered the boys room and grabbed a few pillows. He was already fast asleep so I didn¡¯t have to worry.


    I laid down on my pillow pile and wondered what my kids were up to. Hopefully they¡¯re fine. I could trust them. But sleeping without them made me feel strange. Like I was missing a piece of myself. Oh well. I¡¯ll just have to grow strong enough to kill Creep. Then I can get back to my kids. God I miss my kids.

 Chapter 25

    The next day Hanno woke up and grabbed me. ¡°Shit! I overslept! Aya we gotta go!¡± Hanno plopped me on his shoulder and I just went with it. This damn small body always felt so tired. Doesn¡¯t even make sense that something small would have to sleep more. Maybe the transformations make me tired. That could explain it.


    I fell asleep shortly after and when I woke up I was on a new boat. Hanno had placed me down on one of the seats while he sat in another. I noticed that he had gained what looked to be a bloody nose and a bruise on his face.


    I quickly looked around for who had caused the injuries but calmed down when I saw the other boy. There was no need for me to step in. The assumed attacker was covered in bruises and his nose was bent the wrong way.


    Eh I was bored and he did look irritating.. I looked around at the boat I was on. It had two decks, the lower deck was filled with people rowing while the top had a bunch of rich kids. Maybe this is what everyone takes to get to the academy.


    I hopped onto the ground and walked over to the offending boy. He and his buddies were complaining so I took my chance and sprinted under his chair. I waited for a few minutes before getting to work.


    I started tearing up the floor until I had a good size sharp piece of wood. It was about as long as a hand. So I grabbed it with my mouth and slammed it into the back of the irritating boy''s leg. I then scurried away and watched the drama.


    The boy let out a shrill shriek as he looked around for something that could have caused the damage. He then glanced at his leg and winced. I smiled as he ducked down to remove the splinter. The first part of the plan was successful. He had a small pouch on his side that was my target. I bit off the small piece of string that connected it to his person. Before it could fall I grabbed it and spirited away.


    I went back to my seat where Hanno was anxiously looking for me.I placed the pouch under his chair. I hopped onto my seat, showing Hanno I was alive before ducking back under the chairs.


    I eagerly opened the pouch and found a small pile of coins made out of bone. God these savages really don¡¯t understand true wealth. I left the coins and climbed back onto my seat. I then hopped onto Hanno¡¯s shoulders and fell back asleep. Not much else to do around here.


    By the time I woke up we had arrived. In a true city! Stone walls, surrounding hundreds of brick houses. In the very center was a giant castle. This is where I belong! Soon me and my children shall own it all! I couldn¡¯t help cackling.


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    Hanna put a hand on my mouth and said. ¡°Quiet Aya, I need to listen to the instructor.¡± How dare this child touch me! I had enough wealth to buy hundreds of your academies! And you dare tell me to be quiet! The indignity.


    I quieted down after a few seconds to listen to the man who was talking. ¡°Welcome everyone, to the academy of Loheim. Please make sure to thank Bruce of the Bear Clan, as his father does own this city. Now everyone please follow me and make sure to not stray too far.¡±


    I looked around for Bruce and saw that the bruised boy who I had robbed looked rather proud. Maybe robbing him wasn¡¯t the best idea. Eh, who cares. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind losing a couple coins.


    The class that Hanno was in was pretty small. There were only twelve children although every single one of them had the correct attitude. I had found rich people! No more giant rats, no more Zorkids. Now I just need to get my kids in here. And take control of the city.


    The city itself wasn¡¯t as impressive as I had first thought. The streets were all just dirt roads. That was fine if you lived somewhere that didn¡¯t rain. If it rained even once the roads would turn into mud slides. Fun, but not good for transporting goods. The streets weren¡¯t well organized either. Far too easy to get lost in the winding streets filled with alleys and random dead ends.


    What if the city got invaded? Or if there was a fire? Not knowing where to go would mean death or enslavement. As we were walking we passed a bald skinny man covered in scars wearing a fur toga. He was holding a reptile''s head and screaming. ¡°The piggies are growing restless! We must not become complacent within our walls. The pigs are coming! They will kill us all! Join the cult of Ulthar! We will bring humanity out of this ignorant dark age!¡±


    Hanno scoffed at the man which surprised me. Hadn¡¯t he been saying similar things the other night? Maybe he just didn¡¯t like cults?  Anyway, back to critiquing the city! Why is there so much human waste everywhere? Have they never heard of a sewer system? This city will be dead within a couple decades.


    As if Hanno had heard me I heard him sigh and say. ¡°Look at this city, Aya. Look at what many call the gem of humanity. Dirt roads, crumbling walls, feces everywhere. This is supposed to be the culmination of years of effort! This is supposed to be a symbol of our power. Instead it only shows how far we¡¯ve fallen.¡±


    I have no idea how far humanity has fallen but I¡¯m kinda curious right now. I mean this kid quite literally worships the idea of uniting humanity. I shrugged and continued listening to him as he complained. ¡°Look over there! That guard is drunk! We¡¯re in the commerce district and the guards are barely paying attention. I¡¯ve seen multiple people getting ripped off, pick pocketed and assaulted just in the last five minutes!¡±


    I nodded along while hissing at someone that went for Hanno¡¯s coin pouch. He swatted them away after handing them a coin before saying. ¡°Look! Just there, that man is so desperate that he would steal from a party of nobles. Good catch Aya. You¡¯re amazing!¡±


    I smiled and said. ¡°Of course boy! While I¡¯m here I might as well play the part as a good little pet. You seem like a good kid anyway.¡± I smiled smugly as Hanno was about to respond when the old man who was guiding us said. ¡°Children of Ulthar! It is my pleasure to present to you the greatest learning center in all of the seven Chiefdoms!¡±

 Chapter 26

    I stared at the gigantic fortress in the middle of the city and for the first time felt actually impressed. This is a school? It looks more like a military base! We were ushered inside and shown to our barracks. Weird word to use but okay.


    After five minutes I was once again outraged. ¡°I thought you kids were nobles! Why the fuck are you sleeping on a small mat on the stone floor! What¡¯s the point of being rich if you¡¯re going to sleep on the ground?¡±


    Bruce glared at Hanno and said. ¡°Hey, great uniter of humanity? You mind making your¡­ whatever that is shut the fuck up? They said we have to wake up at first light.¡± I glared at the small child and debated changing back into my true form. But small me would have to do it.


    I launched myself at the little shit and began clawing at his now bloody face. Damn these claws from the new evolution are brilliant. Wish I had a chance to actually use them. As I was just starting to enjoy myself Hanno grabbed me and screamed. ¡°Aya! Stop that!¡± I stopped and hopped onto the ground.


    Bruce stared at me with nothing in his eyes but pure hatred. Hanno moved in front of me and said, ¡°Bruce, please she didn¡¯t mean to. I apologize for her behavior, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Hanno was bowing his head while apologizing. Which meant he didn¡¯t notice Bruce¡¯s attack until it was too late.


    Bruce grabbed Hanno¡¯s head and slammed his knee into his nose. I gasped in outrage and jumped on the now ready child. He grabbed me and threw me into the wall but I managed to bite him before getting thrown.


    Deciding enough was enough I activated my collar and tried to make it so I only doubled in size. It worked! I was now the size of a large dog, my tail had its spike and my teeth, scales and claws were back in force. My horns were even cooler looking now too!


    I tackled Bruce to the ground and started mangling his hand. I was assaulting a human child but for some reason I just didn¡¯t feel bad. He was a dick, and old enough to know better. But for some unknown reason Hanno dragged me off again.


    I was about to protest but then Hanno jumped on top of Bruce and started laying into him. I was so shocked I didn¡¯t even move in to help him. I just sat and watched the magic. The other children did the same thing. One was even snacking on a sandwich!


    While everyone was distracted I went back into small mode just as the instructor arrived. The actual instructor. Not the guide from earlier. This one gave off more of a military vibe. ¡°What the fuck are you two doing? To my office now! The rest of you get some sleep!¡±


    I followed after the two boys. Curious to see what the instructor was going to do. He actually did take them to his office and made them sit next to each other as he began to question them.


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    ¡°Well? Someone wants to tell me what just happened?¡± Hanno, for some reason, raised his hand and said, ¡°Bruce insulted me and my pet so Aya attacked him. He attacked her which made me attack him.¡± Why would you say that Hanno! Now I look like the bad guy!


    I glared at him as he stared, at the instructor. Hanno was weirdly calm and collected while Bruce looked like he was about to piss himself. That would be hilarious if he did. The instructor frowned and said. ¡°Does this pet of yours have any training? If not, we''ll confiscate it. Depending on the species we¡¯ll either train it or send it back home. Understand?¡±


    Hanno nodded as I startled at the word training. No ones fucking training  me! I piss and shit outside! The instructor turned towards Bruce but I ignored the conversation. Instead I looked at the instructor.


    He was bald, of course. His skin was tan and covered with scars. He had red eyes? Weird. He wore the same chainmail/hide outfit that Creep had worn. I wonder if that''s like a military outfit.


    I snapped back into reality when the instructor said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be taking your pet, Aya. She¡¯ll be analyzed then we can make the decision of whether or not she can stay. Understand?¡±


    Hanno nodded and placed his palm on his forehead before bowing. Why would anyone bow like that? So weird. Hanno and Bruce soon left and it was just me and the instructor. I was on a chair laying on my back, chewing on the sandwich I had stolen from one of the nobles.


    The instructor stared at me for a few seconds then said. ¡°Please follow me, your majesty.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Yeah sure thing.. Wait what the fuck?¡± He stared at me for a few seconds and said, ¡°Please follow me.¡± Had I misheard him? I swear he called me your majesty.


    I followed the instruction into an open courtyard where he grabbed and began stretching out while talking. ¡°I used the analysis skill on you while that kid, Hanno was talking. I know what you are. You can go back to your normal form.¡±


    Okay is he warming up to fight? Why is he stretching? Definitely war from time. I transformed and stretched out as well. God being this body feels so good. The instructor looked a bit surprised when I transformed but after that he smiled. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume that you don¡¯t plan on slaughtering everyone here and that you were just protecting Hanno. It¡¯s rare for us to see one of your kind north of the mountain range.¡±


    Yeah, I am pretty rare aren''t I. I like that, a unique and rare royal. The instructor continued. ¡°Do you plan on sticking with Hanno? Or are you here for a different reason.¡± I nodded then shook my head.


    The instructor smiled and said. ¡°You can stay here but I¡¯m gonna set some rules. If you break them I will kill you.¡±


    I smirked and motioned for him to continue. ¡°You need to stay in your small form unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary. I can¡¯t have a gigantic monster running around unchecked. Second, don¡¯t attack students any more. They¡¯re kids. Let them work it out. Third, if the school or students are attacked you will help defend.¡±


    I nodded along while dreaming of returning to my kids. If only Creep wasn¡¯t alive. ¡°Alright your majesty. I still don¡¯t why you¡¯re here but the Chief of the Raven Clan sent a letter guaranteeing you¡¯re safe to be around. You can go back now. Please avoid causing any more problems.¡±


    I smiled smugly and turned back into a small me. Of course these lesser creatures would have to address me as your majesty. I am their monetary superior after all. ¡°Muahaha! God I love this city.¡± Now if only my kids were with me. Oh shit now I miss them even more. Fuck you Creep. I¡¯m gonna get back to my kids. Just wait.

 Chapter 27

    I made it back to the barracks and found Hanno sitting in the corner of the room. He looked anxious but his expression eased the second I walked in. He got to his feet and said. ¡°Aya! Thank the gods you are alright.¡±


    I preened and did a little strutt. ¡°Worship me! For I am the richest king in all the lands!¡± I was prepared for more praise but Hanno instead frowned and said. ¡°Aya! Never attack someone else like that again! You could have permanently injured Bruce! Thankfully the school has a healer.¡±


    I stared at him in horror and was tempted to slap him. He was criticizing me? For what? A poor person dared speak ill of me. The natural response was to immediately destroy him! I showed mercy not going for the throat.


    I was about to repeat that when he picked me up and held me close to his face. ¡°Aya, you must be careful. We have only known each other for a few days! I couldn''t bear to lose you!¡±


    I blushed and said. ¡°Ah you little sweet talker!¡± Hanno made a strange face and said, ¡°How could I even think of losing you! You have the shiniest scales! Very intimidating horns. And the manner of a queen!¡±


    I smiled and said. ¡°Alls forgiven young Hanno! Although I¡¯m a king, not a queen. Anyway, time to sleep!¡± I hopped onto the ground and settled down at the bottom of Hanno¡¯s mat. I was about to fall asleep when I had a realization. ¡°Did I have dinner?¡± I poked my belly and tried to remember but couldn¡¯t. My stomach grumbled so I got up and said. ¡°I haven¡¯t had dinner! This is a travesty!¡±


    I was about to get up but then thought better of it. ¡°No reason to cause more problems.¡± I walked back to the mat and fell asleep, my dreams full of my children, but for some reason I wasn¡¯t with them.


    The next day I was woken up by a loud scream. I shot up and saw the bald instructor stomping on any students that were still asleep. I looked out the window and saw that the sun wasn¡¯t even up yet. Didn¡¯t he say first light?


    Hanno had already woken up and gotten dressed. Right now he was bringing out a small bowl and a pouch full of meat. ¡°Aya, come quickly. You must finish your meal before we have to leave. Hurry.¡±


    I nodded and got to work, growing slightly bigger so I could fit more food in my mouth. I didn¡¯t even stop eating and breathing. Instead I inhaled my food. In only a few seconds half a pound of meat was gone. I went back to my small form and hopped onto Hanno¡¯s shoulder.


    He smiled and patted me on the head. He was about to say something when the bald instructor said. ¡°Get up you lazy sacks of shit! Follow me! Move! Move! Move!¡± All the students got into line and followed the man through the halls.


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    He brought the students outside the and towards a race track located next to the castle. The instructor smiled and said. ¡°I want twenty laps out of all of you! Now!¡± Hanno picked me up and put me down next to the instructor before beginning to jog around the track. He was at the front of the group.


    I found a nice flat rock that was absorbing the first few rays of the sun. I sat down and felt the heat begin to fill my body. The instructor glanced down at me and said. ¡°Enjoying yourself?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Of course! The only thing that could make this better would be having my children with me!¡± The instructor nodded and I stared at him for a second.


    He couldn¡¯t understand me, could he? Even Creep couldn¡¯t understand what I was saying! I glared at the bald man and decided not to risk speaking to him. I turned back to the students and saw that they had only done four laps so far.


    I wonder how fast I could run twenty laps in my war form? I can run pretty fast but the turns might make it difficult. I was about to try to take a nap when the instructor pulled out a crossbow and grabbed a bolt with a pouch at the end.


    I stared at him in horror as he aimed at the student in the back. I heard a sharp crack and the student went down. Shot right in the gut. After a moment the student staggered to his feet and sprinted to get ahead of the second to last runner. I gawked at the bald sociopath and said. ¡°Demon! You''re a demon!¡±


    The instructor couldn¡¯t stop smiling as he reloaded and shot the slowest student once again. I decided that watching such a cruel act was actually quite entertaining so I enjoyed the next thirty minutes.


    Hanno was the second student to finish his twenty laps. He had been neck and neck with the first place student but had lost in the end. Hanno didn¡¯t seem to mind though, he was just chatting with the winner.


    After a few minutes every student had finished running. The bald man smiled and said. ¡°To the mess hall immediately!¡± The students walked back as I climbed onto Hanno¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Food! How I have missed it!¡± I turned towards the boy who had talked and saw the first place runner walking beside Hanno.


    Hanno smiled and softly said. ¡°Aya, meet Loken, My childhood friend. He is heir to the Goat Clan in the north.¡± Loken was tall, with short black hair. He was big, with broad shoulders and massive arms. His face was like a square, with veins bulging all over his body. Strangely his legs seemed pretty normal sized.


    Loken smiled and said. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Aya. When¡¯d you get her?¡± Hanno smiled and said. ¡°My father caught her in the southern wildlands. He said she was alone and being hunted by a gigantic beast! He saved her then brought her to me.¡±


    I didn¡¯t even attempt to protest, instead I watched the other students. Bruce was with the largest group of students. His hand was wrapped in bandages and his face was covered in claw marks.


    I smiled as we entered the mess hall. Loken and Hanno grabbed their plates of meat and eggs before sitting down in the corner of the mess hall. I absentmindedly stabbed a chunk of meat from Hanno¡¯s plate and chewed as Hanno and Loken laughed and talked. I was about to try taking some eggs when suddenly someone grabbed Hanno by the back of his head and slammed his face into his breakfast.

 Chapter 28

    I let out a shriek and leapt towards the unknown attacker, transforming into the size of a horse. Loken turned as well. But was tackled to the ground. I was about to try and slap the men away without killing them when I noticed the knife.


    I frowned and then shrugged. I slit the nearest attacker''s throat with my tail before transforming until I was now the size of a very large horse. I felt something stab into my side as I snarled and stabbed my tail through the nearest man''s eyes.


    I slapped another one, cutting his face open as he screamed in horror. I then stomped on one that Loken had knocked over before ripping a man¡¯s arm off and swallowing it. There were two attackers left but Loken had managed to grab a knife and had stabbed the man through the eye.


    I turned towards Hanno and saw that he was on top of the last attacker, repeatedly slamming the man¡¯s face into the stone floor. I went back into my small form as all of the students stared at the gory scene. I sat down and tried to wipe the blood off of me. I just managed to spread it all over me. Curse having only three legs!


    The bald instructor was strangely absent. I decided to take a peek into the hallways and saw dozens of bodies. The bald instructor stood in the center of all of them. He smiled at me and said. ¡°I assume all of my students are safe?¡± I nodded and began to check my notifications.


    You have killed a level 8 Human soldier


    You have killed a level 3 Human Soldier


    You have killed a level 2 Human Solder


    You have killed a level 6 Human Soldier


    Why were they all so low level? Also didn¡¯t I kill five? I suddenly turned and shouted but it was two late. The soldier I had slashed across the face had grabbed a knife and stabbed Hanno in the side. My tail snaked forward and stabbed through the man¡¯s face.


    I quickly ran over to Hanno and turned back to my small form. I had returned to my true form when I had seen Hanno get stabbed. Hanno was bleeding but he wasn¡¯t dead yet. Hopefully the knife didn''t hit anything important.


    The bald instructor walked in, somehow clean of blood and said. ¡°All of you stay close to me.¡± He stared at Hanno before saying. ¡°You will all be taken to the healer to make sure you are healthy. After that we start your lessons.¡±


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    Damn this guy was serious. After almost getting killed the students are now expected to learn geography? This is fucking hilarious! I kicked a body and hopped onto Hanno¡¯s shoulder. He stared at me for a few seconds before saying. ¡°Aya! Are you okay? Did those men hurt you? Let me see.¡±


    Before I could protest he picked me up and began looking me over. He found the cut in my side and sticked but it had already stopped bleeding. I looked over his shoulders and saw Loken was fine as well.


    After an hour of healers checking all the students we proceeded to the next class. We sat down and I began to debate the benefits of sleeping or staying awake. On one hand I could gain knowledge I might be able to use down the line. On the other hand it sounded boring and I was tired.


    After a few minutes I decided to stay awake. No reason not to learn. Gotta have a growth mindset! I settled onto Hanno¡¯s shoulders and yelled. ¡°Forward boy! To enlightenment!¡± He laughed and the instructor guided the students to class.


    Hanno sat in the front with Loken as a small thin man walked into the classroom. The classroom itself was a small brick square with a map in the front and what looked like a crossbow hanging on the wall.


    The man who had walked in was holding a small baton. He slammed it into the map and yelled. ¡°Welcome, students. Today we shall be reviewing the general geography of the seven tribes and the many entrances into the region.¡±


    Wow he just gets right into it. Strange how none of them introduce themselves. He resumed just as I was about to complain to Hanno. ¡°The seven tribes are surrounded by mountain ranges and rivers. This has led to the development of the many civilized clans that control this region. In the south east there is a river that leads into a lake. This lake is part of the wildlands. A territory technically controlled by the Raven clan.¡±


    I stared at the board for a few seconds before screaming. ¡°Info dump! Simplify it for me! How dare you! You think you can make me learn and process information! I¡¯m rich!¡± The baton slapped me in the snout before I could react. ¡°Hanno, if you cannot control your pet it cannot be here.¡±


    I gaped at the arrogance of this commenter as he went back to teaching. ¡°The great clans are all divided by rivers except for the Bear clan, as they control two tribes worth of territory.. Before peace was declared between the clans the Bear clan managed to conquer the deer clan. They are the only Clan in control of two landmasses.¡±


    I settled in and listened as he continued. ¡°There are five entrances in the region. The south west entrance leads into the wildlands. The southern and south eastern entrance both lead into the planes owned by the kingdom of Tulith.¡±


    So there is another group of humans. Maybe I¡¯ll conquer them. The teacher cleared his throat before saying. ¡°The western entrance leads into the steppe. An area populated by a nomadic race known as the Kron. The Kron are commonly called the piggies as they have pig-like snouts and some even have tusks.¡±


    Some of the boys in the back snickered which kinda surprised me. This was not entertaining enough to turn into a joke. The teacher glared at them before continuing. ¡°The last entrance is in the east. It is one all of you should be concerned about. It is a thin river that runs through the mountains. Recently there have been rumors that an enemy force has used it to attack the bear clan.¡±


    Everyone stared at Bruce and he frowned and said. ¡°A hundred barbarians riding in three longships razed a town. They were swiftly crushed by my father¡¯s high level lieutenants.¡± Everyone nodded and the teacher said, ¡°Thank you for the information. We shall now begin reviewing how the soil differs by region.¡±


    I immediately hopped onto the ground and walked out of the classroom. I refuse! This information was useful but I do not predict farming to be one of my children''s skills. I walked into the hallway and decided it was time to explore the city. Adventure awaits! Excitement! Food! Speaking of food, where''s the kitchen?

 Chapter 29

    I walked around the halls for a few minutes before deciding every room looked the same. Back to my original plan! I quickly found a window and leaped into the city. My plan to get food was simple. Act cute and beg near anyone who has something made of meat.


    I peeked out of the window I had found and saw the thirty foot drop. I glanced around and saw a roof nearby. I smiled and screamed. ¡°For food!¡± I leaped across the gap. I sailed through the air like a graceful swan. I could almost feel the gods of this world blushing at my beautiful appearance. Then I clipped the edge of the roof with my face and fell down into the mud, thirty feet below.


    I staggered to my feet and began limping out of the ditch I had landed in. Still a tad dazed from the blow to my head I stumbled into a busy street. I shook my head and screamed. ¡°Food!¡± No one even glanced at it so I began exploring the area I was in.


    I had hopped into the merchant district. The perfect place for my feast to begin. I quickly found a food stall where a large, heavy set man was frying skewers of meat. While he was dealing with a customer I stabbed a piece of meat with my tail and ran.


    I heard a cry from behind me but ignored it. His fault for being poor. I was about to turn a corner and sprint through a small hole in a wall when I felt a hand grab my neck. The woman who grabbed me picked me up and stared me in the eyes. ¡°Now then, why don¡¯t we go pay for that little treat?¡±


    I quickly shoved the piece of meat into my mouth and stabbed the old lady''s hand. She looked to be in her mid seventies, with gray hair, a wrinkled face and scars covering her neck and hands.


    She frowned as my tail bounced off her skin. She stared at me for a few seconds and asked. ¡°What is a Mud Skink War Queen with a collar of transformation doing in this city?¡± I stared at her in abject horror and screamed. ¡°Let go of me you ugly beast!¡±


    She frowned and said. ¡°No reason to insult others'' appearance. Most would consider you a cripple. Seeing as you only have three legs.¡± I spat in her face and said. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you can understand me! I¡¯m sick of you high level shit heads bossing me around!¡±


    Her frown grew deeper and before I knew what was happening she shoved me in her purse and tossed the merchant a coin. ¡°We can continue our conversation at my house. I fear people have been staring at me since I started talking to you.¡±


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    I began screaming as loud as I could. ¡°Hanno! Save me! I¡¯ve been kidnapped.¡± After only a minute she pulled me out and sat me down on an armchair. I looked around her house and saw it was only a single room. There was a cot in the corner and two armchairs. Other than that the house was empty.


    She stared at me for a few seconds before asking. ¡°How are you here? Why are you here? Did someone send it to you?¡± I frowned and said. ¡°I got kidnapped and enslaved. By one of you high level jerks.¡±


    She nodded slowly and said. ¡°I assume you have children? Otherwise you would have to have become a war queen at a very impressive speed.¡± I stared at the women in abject horror. Who the fuck is she? How does she know so much about me? Is she gonna threaten my kids too? I shook my head and said. ¡°Nope, all dead. Got killed by a giant turkey.¡±


    She smiled and said. ¡°If you lie to me again I will rip your tail off. I am currently trying to decide if you are a threat to me and my friends. If you are, I will kill you.¡± Why is everyone I meet so confidential?


    I sighed and said. ¡°I have children. I assume they are alive.¡± She nodded slowly and asked. ¡°Who kidnapped you?¡± I weighed my options but decided to answer truthfully. Maybe she¡¯ll kill Creep?


    ¡°I was kidnapped by the leader of the Raven clan to protect his son.¡± She smiled and said. ¡°Ah Hanno, I know of him. Alright, you weren''t lying just now. I am friends with Ferdinand. He¡¯s a good man.¡±


    Creep¡¯s name is Ferdaninand? And she trusts him? Well, she is strange. I stood up and said. ¡°Well then, I guess it''s time for me to leave. Nice to meet you, hag.¡± I sneered at the end and only felt the slap after a few seconds. I was on the other side of the room and was pretty sure my entire snout was shattered.


    She smiled sweetly at me and waved a hand. I screamed as the bones in my face began to move, slotting back into position. ¡°Watch your tongue child. And no, you will not be robbing and harassing anyone. I am going to take you back to the academy. I¡¯ll inform Hanno of what you have done and let him deal with it. Maybe I¡¯ll tell him to keep you on a leash?¡±


    I shook my head vigorously and said. ¡°Can you ask him to let me go? I wanna see my kids!¡± She shook her head and said. ¡°We all must make sacrifices. This is yours. Hanno must survive. You can keep him alive. I see no problems.¡±


    I stared at her, my now perfect jaw gaping as I screamed. ¡°What the fuck! A sacrifice is one you make willingly! This is just a punishment.¡± She nodded and said. ¡°Maybe, but I don¡¯t care. A random monster''s happiness cannot interfere with the outcome of my mission. Like it or not you will die if we fail. Protect Hanno no matter what. Do this and I will make sure your children survive and prosper.¡±


    Another person holding my kids hostage. Who are these people? How powerful are they? ¡°What level are you?¡± She smiled and said. ¡°I haven''t leveled in years. But I am currently level 245. I won''t tell my class.¡± Class? Level 245? Sweet taxes are high! She smiled and said. ¡°Now, why don''t we return you to your owner. And remember, if he dies. Who will protect your children then?

 Chapter 30

    We made it to the school quickly, as I hadn¡¯t really gotten that far in the first place. I expected the high level hag to climb the walls or just blast a hole in them. Something suitably dramatic. Instead she just knocked on a door and said. ¡°I have found one of your student¡¯s pets. Please call young Hanno over so he may retrieve her.¡± A servant peeked through, saw me and walked away.


    I frowned and screamed. ¡°I¡¯m a king! How dare you! I shall someday rule the world! And when I do, I will use your skin as a doormat. I will make a back scratcher out of your spine. I will feed you to my children!¡±


    She tossed me into the air and then slapped me. I slammed into the ground with a loud ¡°Boom.¡± My entire body felt shattered. I gasped for breath and spat blood as she just quietly said. ¡°I have already contacted Ferdinand. I will know the location of your children by the time you wake up tomorrow. If you do not stay devoted to your mission. Perhaps I will bring a few of your children here. I¡¯m sure their execution would give you some motivation.¡±


    I glared at her as all of my bones slammed back into place. Why me? Who the fuck says that? Why is this world so mean? I was hungry! I just wanted food. After a few minutes Hanno sprinted into view and yelled. ¡°Aya! I was wondering where you went.¡±


    He sprinted over to me and I leaped into his arms. ¡°Save me Hanno! Feed me food and don¡¯t let that monster near me!¡± I saw the lady''s smile twitch before she just glared and walked away.


    Hanno quickly checked me over to make sure I was okay. Hanno turned to thank the old bitch. Fortunately for everyone she had already left. Hanno held me up so he was staring into my eyes and said. ¡°How could you Aya? Why would you run away like that?¡± His stern tone irked me so I quickly explained. ¡°I was just minding my business, gracing peasants with my presence. Then a demonic hag grabbed me! I screamed and cried but the evil devil stole me away!¡±


    He listened but he still couldn¡¯t understand me. So I knew what was about to happen. The hammer would soon fall. He steeled his gaze and said. ¡°For the next two days! No three! You will be confined to the barracks. No following me, no stealing food. You will sit there and think about your actions.¡±


    I stared at him in horror and screamed. ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me! You¡¯re just like inflation! You act like a good thing but you are not good! Everyone thinks that more money is a good thing. I did too! Until it betrayed my trust and crashed the economy. You and the old lady are the closest thing to inflation I have seen in this world.¡±


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    I was about to say more but he looked away and said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to convince me Aya! Now go to your room!¡± He pointed and I sulkingly limped away as Loken walked over and said. ¡°Hanno, why did you just ground your pet? I don¡¯t think it remembers what happened yesterday. It¡¯s just a lizard.¡±


    Hanno frowned and said, ¡°Aya is the most intelligent lizard you will ever meet! And you saw how she can change the size at will. She is smart, and I was gifted her by my father.¡± Loken spat on the ground and said. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just hope she doesn¡¯t go feral. Although I¡¯m sure our instructor could deal with her.¡±


    I walked away by the time Hanno responded but still felt personally attacked by what Loken had said. I stomped into the barracks, surprised I had found the room and yelled. ¡°Fuck this! I wanna see my kids, I wanna go home.¡±


    I laid down in the corner and tried to imagine what my kids were doing. Diana is the oldest, and a queen so she should be taking care of all of them. I wonder if Felix and Jack are protecting their younger siblings? I wish I was still with them. It seems so dangerous for me not to be at home. What if more zorkmids attack? What if the rats find them?


    I shook my head and decided to take a nap. Maybe Hanno would forgive me later? I was about to fall asleep when a genius idea plopped into my head. I slowly sat up and said. ¡°What if I make Hanno forgive me?¡±


    I mulled over the idea before shouting. ¡°I am god! I am a genius! Seymoure Albert who? I shall buy his forgiveness! Then he will have no choice but to shower me in food and freedom. But how do I do that? An apology gift? Yes! Perfect!¡±


    I got up and walked out the room, certain I was taking the correct course of action. This caused me to miss Hanno walking into the barracks and saying. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Aya, perhaps I was too strict. Why don¡¯t we go get some food in the city and forget all of this happened?¡± He walked over to a mound of pillows and asked. ¡°Aya?¡±


    After searching through the entire room he grew furious and screamed. ¡°Aya! I shall bind you to a chair and force you to recite the mantra of the seven tribes! You disobedient reptile! You unscrupulous character of defamation! You¡¯re grounded for a week.¡±


    I stood outside the room, terror filling my mind as Hanno slammed a fist into a wall. I gasped in horror when I saw the small dent. I sprinted away, now certain I would need to find a very good gift.


    But what could I get him? What would he even want? Alright let''s talk about what we know. He has a friend. He wants to unite humanity. He likes having a pet. Maybe I should get him another pet?


    How about a horse? I remember wanting one when I was younger. But where am I going to get a horse? Are they in the wild? I listened closely to hear Hanno still shouting. ¡° You Villainous Bandit!¡± Okay he¡¯s still mad. And very creative with his insults. Just gotta find a horse.

 Chapter 31

    I moved towards a familiar window and was about to leap out when a hand grabbed my tail and threw me to the ground. I jumped to my feet and stared up at what could only be described as a vengeful deity. Hanno stood over me, his entire face was red.


    bohemian


    He didn¡¯t say a word before picking me up and placing me on his shoulders. He calmly walked back into the barracks and placed me on his bed mat. He glared at me before screaming. ¡°You deranged gecko! You are an ingrate of a lizard! You disappointing bohemians! I will have you drawn and quartered! How dare you run away once, escape punishment, then attempt to run away again! No more!¡±


    I balked as he pulled out a bag and pointed at it. I shook my head and said. ¡°Hanno, great merciful Hanno. Surely we can come to some sort of arrangement?¡± He just pointed at the man''s purse and said. ¡°Get in the bag Aya. If you disobey, I will feed you the same meal as the dogs.¡±


    I frowned at the thought of not getting food. And honestly wasn¡¯t this easier than finding a random horse, bringing it back here and then getting forgiven? Also I¡¯m hungry. So it¡¯s fine? I win? Oh course I do!


    I smuggly hopped into the bag and found a small pile of meat. ¡°Thanks you, oh generous


    Hanno! You shall be spoken of for generations to come for your open pockets!¡± Hanno just smiled and walked to his next class. Thankfully he had been on break while I had my little escapade.


    His next class was martial training. First the students were allowed to pick their weapons. Hanno chose a curved sword called a khopesh. He swung it around a few times and grunted in agreement. Loken picked up a greatsword which fit him perfectly. Bruce picked up a rapier. What a pretentious little shit.


    There was a different instructor for this class. He was a normal sized man, with spiky auburn hair. He was a thin man, but wore a flowing tunic and baggy pants. He was holding a longsword when he strode over to the students and confidently said. ¡°Welcome everyone! To what will hopefully be your favorite class.¡±


    I was still in my bag, my head peeking up as he continued to speak. ¡°Today we will be dueling. I want to see how well each of you can use your chosen weapons. I would also like to bring to your attention that the academy will be holding a swordsmanship torment in six months time. I expect all of you to compete, regardless of your current skill level. Your upperclassmen will also be joining.¡±


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    I nodded along but was already falling asleep. I decided it would be interesting enough that staying awake would be worth it. I settled in and watched as a young man walked up to Hanno and asked him to duel.


    The young man had curly blond hair, blue eyes and acted as though everything in life was funny. He wielded short swords. Hanno and the young boy stepped. He confidently yelled. ¡°I, Reid, heart of the Squirrel clan, son of Borus, challenge you to a duel to first blood.¡±


    Oooh, fancy. ¡°I, Aya of the mud flats, son of a random mud skink, challenge you to a duel of first blood.¡± I wonder if I could be a famous duelist? I remember one of my cousins was pretty good with a rapier. Although the weapon kinda sucks. Too small.


    Anyway, back to the fight. Hanno and Reid. Hanno¡¯s legs were bent, his weight mostly on the front of his feet. Reid was hopping from foot to foot, a goofy smile on his face. The instructor was watching eagerly as without any warning both of them sprang into action.


    Reid leaped forward slamming his blade into Hanno¡¯s khopesh. Hanno turned Reid¡¯s blade away using the curve. He then stabbed forward, but Reid was already a few feet away. They began to circle each other, both of them paying careful attention to the feet and breathing of the other.


    Suddenly Hanno dashed forward and slashed his blade at Reid. Reid deflected it and stabbed towards Hanno¡¯s thigh but just kicked the flat of the blade and slashed Reid across the face. I snickered and yelled. ¡°Aye Reid, nice showing you little bitch!¡±


    A small trickle of blood dripped down Reid¡¯s face as he smiled and said. ¡°Thank you for the match. I would like a rematch if you wouldn¡¯t mind. But this time we go until the other surrenders .¡±


    I smirked and yelled. ¡°Tryanna get your ass beat again huh? Have fun with that clown.¡± By the holy taxes trash talking feels good. Hanno just nodded at Reid and they instantly began circling each other again.


    All at once they both rushed forward and began exchanging blows. I smiled and cheered as Hanno blocked one just to have his own attack parried. Hanno lunged forward trying to impale Reid but he just knocked the blade to the side with his own and slashed at Hanno¡¯s midsection.


    Hanno quickly swung his blade up, hitting Reid¡¯s just in time for it to only thinly cut through his shoulder. Hanno then swung down and Reid just barely dodged. For almost ten minutes the two fought. Until finally Reid over compensated on a thrust and wound up with Hanno¡¯s khopesh inches away from his neck.


    Hanno smiled in victory but Reid just motioned towards where his blade was just near where Hanno¡¯s liver would be. Hanno frowned and said, ¡°Who wins? You would die first if I were to continue my strike.¡± Reid nodded and said. ¡°True, but if I hit your liver you would no matter what.¡±


    They both frowned before smiling and shaking each other¡¯s hand. They walked away chatting as I turned towards where Loken had walked up to Bruce and said. ¡°Bruce, fight me.¡± Bruce turned and smeared. ¡°Why would I ever fight a half breed like you? Go fuck other pigs and roll in mud. Doesn¡¯t your kind like doing that?¡±

 Chapter 32

    I gasped and covered my mouth. Hanno overheard and I saw his entire face go red. Reid just frowned but didn¡¯t say anything. Unfortunately for Bruce, Loken did in fact hear what Bruce said. From the way his fist connected with Bruce¡¯s nose I assume Loken did not enjoy his comments. I cheered him on as he picked Bruce up by the back of his head and slammed his face into the stone wall repeatedly.


    I laughed as Bruce¡¯s cronies sprinted over to help. But for some reason none of them actually moved to help Bruce. Perhaps it was the seven foot tall brute now covered in blood screaming. ¡°How dare you? How dare you? How dare you speak of my mother! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    I stayed in my bag throughout the entire exchange, no reason to risk Hanno¡¯s wrath. He was stomping towards Loken, as if he was about to join in. Surprisingly he just drew his sword and pointed it at Loken. ¡°Control yourself, my brother. You are simply proving him right.¡±


    I booed from the sidelines. ¡°Spoilsport! Kill him Loken! Shove his head up his ass! That shithead better be scared for life when you¡¯re done with him!¡± Disappointedly Loken instantly stopped and stumbled away from the now very bloody floor.


    He stared at his hands that were covered in blood, then back at the mince meat that was Bruce¡¯s face. He vomited all over Bruce, tears streaming down his face as he gasped for air. Hanno calmly strode towards him.


    He stared up at Hanno and said. ¡°Brother, what have I done? Is he¡­ dead?¡± Hanno shook his head and said. ¡°Hopefully, but you stopped. That is all that matters. You are in control. Just thank the gods he didn¡¯t insult you while you were dueling. He would not have survived. But I¡¯m afraid you must now face the consequences of your actions.¡± He motioned towards the instructor who was walking over, slowly.


    He called out. ¡°All good boys! Just a friendly scrap. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine.¡± I gaped at the insane professor as Bruce began to cough and gasp for air, probably from starting to drown in his own blood. Golly oh mother of taxes that''s a lot of blood.


    Also is this instructor just an idiot? How will this not end in more drama? Hanno and Loken had the same reaction as both immediately protested. Loken hurriedly shouted. ¡°Instructor? Surely you are mistaken? Will I not be punished?¡±


    The instructor just said. ¡°Nah, he insulted you. You beat his ass. Everything seems to have worked itself out.¡± Before Hanno could protest the instructor held up a hand and said. ¡°Let me explain. You kids are the future of the nation. If you can¡¯t handle a little name calling and violence, how are we supposed to trust you to protect us? This is the academy. You¡¯re no longer children, we are not here to protect you and solve all your problems. We¡¯re here to help you grow. So Bruce, get up and stop crying. Loken go duel with someone else.¡±


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    Wow that actually makes sense. Although this will probably just cause political problems in the future. Also I think Bruce needs some medical attention. Loken still seemed out of it so he just sat on the sidelines.


    Reid and Hanno began dueling again but I decided that the exciting part of this class was probably over. I curled up in the bag and fell asleep, hoping I would wake up once again surrounded by my children.


    I instead woke up in what appeared to be a storage closet surrounded by some familiar looking teenage boys. There were five of them in total, all of which were part of Bruce¡¯s little group. One of them spat on me when he saw I had woken up.


    After clearing his throat he said. ¡°Alright little lizard. Our weapons instructor is right, we have to deal with our own problems.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Makes sense, so how are you going to solve this? I accept bribes, just putting it out there.¡±


    Unfortunately for me and my wallet they didn¡¯t seem to like that idea. Of course they couldn¡¯t actually understand. Although that overpowered lady had been able to, maybe it''s a level thing? Also how do they know my species?


    I was still pondering on how the world works when the first kick came. These kids wear steel tipped boots! Who would ever let children wear steel tipped boots. Me and the man''s purse were sent flying into a wall.


    I felt something crack in my body from the impact and quickly scrambled to get out of the purse. I managed to get out just to catch another kick, this time to my face. I was once again sent reeling but this time I managed to collect myself enough to grow to as big as I could fit. My full size as a war queen was about forty feet long and twenty feet tall, not including my tail. I managed to grow to just half that in this room.


    The boys around me stared in shock as I slammed my tail through his eye. I bit another one''s head off before slashing a third across the chest. This occurred when only a few seconds had passed. Before they could react I impaled the fourth and stomped on the fifth.


    I gasped for air as I felt the very cracked bones in my side. Thankfully my face didn¡¯t seem to have anything broken. I checked my notifications and smiled. At least this was a profitable experience.


    You have killed a level 13 Human Noble


    You have killed a level 24 Human Noble


    You have killed a level 18 Human Noble


    You have killed a level 16 Human Noble


    You have killed a level 11 Human Noble


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 26 Mud Skink War Queen


    ¡°God, it feels good to kill stuff again, no holding back. Now I¡¯ll just eat the bodies, and I¡¯ll be good to go.¡± I quickly scarfed down the corpses and began licking up the blood. Thankfully I hadn¡¯t got that much on myself, and I had managed to wipe most of it off with the nobles tunics. Eating said tunics hadn¡¯t exactly been fun, but I can¡¯t leave evidence of committing murder.


    After making sure the room had a normal amount of blood I changed back into my small form and began dragging my bag outside. After placing outside I hopped back into the purse and wondered when Hanno was gonna come get me. I hope he brings food, I¡¯m still kinda hungry.

 Chapter 33

    It took Hanno less than ten minutes to have the entire academy''s staff searching for me. It only took five minutes after that for him to find me, asleep in his man purse. I wasn¡¯t actually awake when he found me but I assume it went something like this.


    Hanno, paced the halls frantically, desperately calling out. ¡°Aya! Most wealthy, handsome and wise Aya! Whatever devil has stolen you away shall not get away with it! By the graves for my forefathers I swear I shall find you!¡±


    After a few minutes he found me, the perfect example of divine existence, sleeping peacefully. He then picked up the purse and shook it. That¡¯s when I wake up and he realizes that I should be returned to the mud flats to reunite with my children.


    Unfortunately for me the only true part was him shaking the purse and yelling. ¡°Aya! How could you run away again? And why did you bring the bag with you? I am done with you disobeying me! You¡¯ve escaped too many times in the last day! I¡¯m buying a leash the first chance I get!¡±


    I stared at him in horror and screamed! ¡°Noooo! I didn¡¯t do anything! Well actually, I killed a bunch of adolescents but I didn¡¯t run! I will not wear a leash because of your false accusations.¡± I heard a click near my neck and turned around.


    Reid was standing over me with a smile on his face, a leash that was somehow connected to my collar was in his hands. I let out a screech and leaped onto him, planning to rip the goofy smile off his face.


    Unfortunately Hanno predicted this and grabbed the leash, yanking me back as I fell down. I stared up at him and he said. ¡°You will wear this for a week Aya, to demonstrate what it means to cross the heir of the Raven Clan!¡±


    I frowned but just shrugged and hopped onto his shoulders. I wasn¡¯t planning on running any time soon. I would have to either wait for Creep to die, or for someone stronger than Creep to take pity on me.


    A week passed in the blink of an eye, mainly because I was sleeping in Hanno¡¯s man purse for most of it. Nothing of note happened after the first day. Instead it became a monotonous routine where Hanno was trained in statecraft, weapons and geography.


    The leash only stayed on for a week, as Hanno felt bad the entire time he was using it. The only interesting thing that happened during the week was the investigation into the disappearance of five students. For some reason no evidence had been found.


    The most important one of them was the heir to a town, so unfortunately for them and their family justice was not served. Instead the instructors decided they had run away, after losing their confidence in Bruce.


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    Bruce was not having a good time at the academy. While Hanno, Reid and Loken were strengthening bonds and forging future alliances Bruce just sulked in the corner with his cronies. Although he had also managed to befriend two other heirs to a clan. The serpent Clan¡¯s heir and the Boar clan¡¯s heir were both sucking up to him every chance they got.


    From what I could tell, the political situation in this region was not going to end well. Hopefully it would wait a few years before imploding. I want to get my kids and I to safety before anything can happen.


    As the weeks began to fly by I just ate, slept and killed any assassins that made it past the instructors. Every day was largely the same. Bruce got beat up a few more times by Hanno and Loken but other than that nothing really happened. I didn¡¯t escape, which meant that I didn¡¯t have to suffer any more attacks from random old ladies.


    Basically, everything stayed boring until almost six months into the year. Hanno and his two friends, Reid and Loken were excitedly discussing the upcoming tournament. Ried spoke while shoving bacon and toast into his mouth. ¡°I heard if you win you get five hundred golden skals and a pure bred griffin!¡±


    The currency in this area was simple. One skal can be used to purchase a piece of bread or half a dozen eggs.. Ten skal is silver skal. Ten silver skal is equal to one gold skal. Basically the winner of this tournament will become both famous and rich.


    Loken nodded at Reid and said. ¡°No reason to get excited, everyone is invited to compete. I heard over five thousand people were in the tournament last year.¡± Hanno just smiled and said. ¡°I plan to win it all, my friends. After defeating my final opponent, I shall give a speech to the tens of thousands of spectators! I will implore them to unite! For humanity to put aside its struggles and come together as one powerful nation!¡±


    Reid just nodded slowly and said. ¡°Sure, but first you need to win at least a dozen matches.¡± Hanno just smirked and said. ¡°Do you doubt my abilities? I am level forty nine! I have been training every day. I will win.¡±


    Reid nodded slowly and said. ¡°It is true you are high level for your bracket but I still think you dismiss the strength of your peers far too easily.¡± The brackets were organized by level. Level zero to ten was the first bracket. Level eleven to twenty five was the second. It was milestone based.


    The humans didn¡¯t evolve in the same way I did. Instead they were given a class at birth, and they could slowly empower themselves by leveling and advancing to the next class. Hanno was a level forty nine prince. Reid was a level thirty two noble swordsman. Loken was a level forty two chieftain.


    Overall I just tried not to pay attention to the fact that level wise, I was the weakest. Because gosh darn it there''s no way I couldn¡¯t kill Loken in a one v one! ¡°Fight me you absurdly large child! I¡¯ll show you who''s the strongest!¡±


    Loken just tossed me a piece of bacon and said. ¡°I still think it¡¯s better to wait until we all inherit our clans. Then we can unite and force the others to join us or die.¡± Hanno gave him a disgusted look and just shook his head.


    He took a second before saying. ¡°Loken, how can you say that? Peace cannot be forged by force. Threatens the clans into joining my cause would be wrong. There is no love lost between me and Bruce but I could not bring myself to hate him. He is a fellow man, our equal.¡±


    Reid laughed and said. ¡°Hanno you punched him in the stomach yesterday and threw him out a window! Now you talk as if you are a pacifist monk serving the divine.¡± Hanno laughed as well while Loken said. ¡°I agree Hanno, that the seven tribes must be united. But I think force will be necessary. The Bear Clan will never join you.¡±


    I nodded at that and stole a piece of toast from Reid¡¯s plate. Bruce had developed quite the grudge after suffering through what most would consider bullying at the hands of Hanno and his friends.


    Truth be told, I don''t think Hanno properly understood how hateful people could be. Especially a powerful person. Thankfully for me it was not my problem. Would Creep force me to fight in a war? Oh shit maybe it is my problem. Hanno smiled and said. ¡°All will be decided at the tournament my friends.¡±

 Chapter 34

    The day of the tournament arrived and I was floored. An entire stadium had been built a few years ago to house the grand contest. The stadium could fit almost a hundred thousand spectators!


    There were small panels of glass in front of every seat that a mage would connect to and broadcast the fight. Magic! They used mother fucking magic to watch sports! Ten thousand people had decided to participate in the tournament. My only concern was that matches were until the other side was incapacitated or surrendered. Which means that many would die because of foolish pride.


    I was all for it as long as the three boys stayed alive. I had grown attached to them over the time we had spent together. But I wanna see my kids so badly! Let me go home. It¡¯s been six months!


    The first round of the tournament was the longest, sometimes taking weeks to finish. The geography instructor had spent a week teaching all about the history of the tournament. The prize for Hanno¡¯s bracket this year was a thousand golden Skal and a castle.  There were two thousand people in his bracket.


    Hanno had me sit with the instructors which meant I would be able to watch all of Hanno¡¯s matches. He had one today. If he wanted to make it to the finals he would have to win ten fights.


    The worst thing about the tournament, in my opinion, was that Creep was there to watch it. The day before the tournament he met with me, bringing the overpowered old lady with him. I hissed at her and screamed. ¡°Why the fuck will you people not leave me alone? Just let me see my kids! Your son is safe and sound.¡±


    Creep, also known as Ferdinand, turned towards the old lady and said. ¡°It¡¯s complaining about how you haven''t let it see its children.¡± Creep just shrugged and said. ¡°I value my child¡¯s safety more than your happiness. Deal with it.¡±


    I balked but he just pushed on. ¡°I just wanted to make sure you were aware of a few things that might happen soon. I¡¯m pretty sure I am going to be killed in the next few days.¡± I stared at him in shock but didn¡¯t say anything.


    He smiled and said. ¡°The Bear Clan has been stepping up their game, they just recently hired Helga to kill me.¡± He motioned towards the old lady and I gasped. ¡°Why did you bring her here then? Quick kill him now Helga!¡±


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    Helga just smiled and said. ¡°It wants me to kill you, but it also questions why you brought me here.¡± Creep just grunted and said. ¡°We¡¯re old friends, and I don¡¯t fault her for wanting some extra money. They¡¯re paying her ten thousand golden skal. She¡¯ll be set for life. And I can¡¯t do anything to stop her.¡±


    I just nodded as he continued saying. ¡°I have one final task for you, after I die. You make sure Hanno survives this mess. The entire tournament is a trap. But I can¡¯t just have him leave. Get him and his friends back to the Raven Clan. If you do that you can return to your children, if you don¡¯t keep them alive Helga will kill you. Make sure my child and his friends survive the next week.¡±


    I was slightly confused but tried to focus. ¡°Do you agree? Will you protect my son, the future of our people?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°If you let me return to my children, then sure. I will try to keep him alive.¡± Creep smiled and turned towards Helga.


    He smiled and said. ¡°Helga, it will be an honor to be killed by you, but I hope you will not interfere with my son after I am gone.¡± She shook her head and he handed her a bag. Creep smiled even wider and said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you five thousand golden Skals. Kill the leader of the Bear clan.¡±


    Helge stared at him in confusion before bursting out laughing. ¡°This is why I like you Ferdinand! I¡¯ll do it, your son will be placed on an even playing field.¡± What is happening? How can I make money from this? Also Creep dying? Sounds good to me!¡±


    After making sure Hanno would be safe Creep turned towards me and said. ¡°Mud skink, I¡­ I apologize. I kidnapped you, took you from your children. And after that I was enslaved. But know that if given the option of doing this again I would do the same thing. No matter what.¡±


    I just shrugged and said. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t wait for you to die. I do not give a fuck about your apology. If you wanna make it up to me, try to die slowly and painfully. Also for everyone of my descendants that die, I am going to kill a hundred humans. I¡¯ll kill them nice and slow. Maybe I¡¯ll roast them. Eat ''em too.¡±


    Helga frowned and said. ¡°Mass murder will not be tolerated, little lizard. Ferdinand told you to die as soon as possible. It¡¯s still a monster. I do not know why you think an apology would help after you kidnapped and enslaved it.¡±


    He just shrugged and said. ¡°I tried, now let''s go make sure Hanno¡¯s ready to go. He¡¯s got a big week ahead of him.¡± I saw a single tear roll down his cheek and yelled. ¡°Shut the fuck up! Why do you almost seem like a good person now? I hate you! I¡¯m gonna make your skull into a chamber pot! I¡¯m gonna shit in your skull! I¡¯ll make a clothing hanger out of your ribs! Fuck you as well Helga! What type of name is that? Why did you steal me from my children? Why not anybody else?¡±


    Helga stomped on my back and it collapsed under the force of her attack. She then ripped me in half as I screamed in agony. I felt like I was about to die but suddenly she healed me. For over a minute I just laid there, screaming. Never dying but always feeling the pain. Whenever I was about to die she would flood me with some sort of energy.


    She put me back together after the brief torture session and my body felt the same as it had five minutes ago. I shuddered and vomited when she looked at me. She just nodded and walked away, leaving me to slowly stumble back into the city.

 Chapter 35

    I made it back to the academy without any problems. The second I saw him I sprinted towards Hanno and leaped into his bag. Blessed by the relative safety, I began sobbing and gasping for air.


    Hanno didn¡¯t seem to notice as he began going through several techniques and drills taught by the weapons instructor. He was so focused he didn¡¯t notice that he had missed the dinner bell.


    Thankfully Reid and Loken brought him a plate of chicken. He thanked them and they began talking while I stretched out and waited for all of them to fall asleep. After returning to the dormitory.


    Once all of the students were sleeping I turned into my true form and waited. If Creep was telling the truth, Hanno was about to be attacked. Or he was going to be poisoned. How do I deal with poison?


    I can¡¯t wait for this week to end. I wonder how my kids are doing? They should still be safe. I miss them. Should I throw a party when I get back? Would they think I¡¯m weird if I try to throw a party? Will my kids become rebellious?


    My tangent was interrupted when I heard the dormitory door creak open. How do they always get past the instructors? Why has no security been hired? I didn¡¯t even check to see who the person was. I just shot my tail forward, aiming for the center of where most people¡¯s bodies would be.


    I felt my tail hit something solid. I looked up and soiled myself as Helga walked into the room, covered in blood. She nodded at me and said. ¡°Both jobs are done, time to get moving lizard.¡±


    What? Why? I thought the whole point was this was going to happen after the tournament? Helga just smiled and said. ¡°We were forced to speed up our plan.¡± I took a deep breath and said. ¡°A-alright.¡± I stumbled towards the boys and placed each of them on my back. I then used my tail to hold them there as I heard explosions began to ring out across the city.


    Helga frowned and said. ¡°Try to avoid fighting in one place if you can. Stay moving as much as possible.¡± She walked over to me and stopped right next to Hanno. I sank down so she could see him.


    She smiled, but she didn¡¯t seem happy. Helga sighed and said. ¡°Good luck, little king. I know this isn¡¯t how you wanted it to happen. You tried your best.¡± She turned to Loken and smirked. ¡°Control your anger Half Breed. Your allegiance is important to the great plan.¡±


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    She then turned to Reid and said. ¡°Your clan is of little importance. Try not to be a burden.¡± Damn, no mercy for the squirrel clan. She then turned to me and said. ¡°I hope you find your children. I hope they¡¯re alive.¡±


    I nodded and really hoped she would leave soon. She sank to her knees and for the first time I noticed that there appeared to be a hole where her midsection used to be. She smiled and said. ¡°Got a bit carried away. No need to worry. I¡¯ll be fine with a few days of rest.¡±


    Judging from the impressive amount of blood leaking out of her, she was not going to be fine. Why can¡¯t she just heal herself? I asked her that. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just heal yourself?¡± She smiled and said. ¡°Too much damage, too much poison and not enough mana.¡±


    I heard footsteps rushing towards the dormitory as Helga got up and began to hop from one foot to the other. Watching an old lady with a large hole in her chest hopping up and down is not an image I will forget easily.


    She turned towards the door and said. ¡°Get going little lizard, I expect great things from you and the little king.¡± Great things? I am pretty great so sure. Expectations will be reached. ¡°Thanks Helga! Try to die slowly!¡± She sighed and said. ¡°Move, now.¡±


    I did as instructed and charged towards a nearby window. I leaped out and landed on my stomach, all the air being knocked out of my lungs. I had just gotten up and was about to begin running when the house to my right exploded.


    The entire thing crumbled in a matter of seconds. Helga stood in the wreckage holding a man¡¯s head. She threw it at another man near her and screamed. ¡°Come at me you weaklings! I am Helga! I am Myasnik! How dare you low level fucks attack me! You think you can kill me? Compared to you I¡¯m god!¡±


    Her speech was cut off by a meteor slamming into the area she was standing in. I watched in astonishment as more meteors began to rain down upon the city. I looked around for the source of the most likely magical effect and found it¡¯s creator.


    A man wearing a flowing cloak and sitting on a floating disc was chanting. Every Time he finished a sentence another meteor would appear in the sky. I decided that I had had enough of this magic bullshit. ¡°I¡¯m done with all you high level humans! Why are y''all even fighting?¡±


    I was smart enough not to stick around long enough for one of them to answer. Instead I sprinted towards the river. Everytime a human sprinted at me moving far faster than normal, Helga would appear and rip their head off. She would then throw it into a sack and move onto her next victim.


    Because of her sadism we managed to get out of the city. Just as we were leaving I heard Helga scream. ¡°Remember our agreement little lizard! Keep them alive for the next week!¡±


    I sprinted along the river and didn¡¯t respond. It tried to remain calm. I had seen over a hundred people who were fully capable of instantly killing me. And all of them had been killed in less than a second.


    I felt like throwing up. I had to stay in this messed up place for a week? But Creep was obviously talking about the tournament! He survived the tournament. I quickly checked and was correct. Each of the boys were in pristine condition. Although they were still asleep.


    How do you sleep through an attack that kills thousands of people? What caused this attack? Why am I being forced to think about politics? I fucking hate politics! At least Creep is dead. And Helga should be dead soon too, right? I mean I wouldn¡¯t put it past her to survive that.


    Speaking of Helga dying, who gave that old monster such a grievous injury? Who is stronger than a level two hundred forty something. I mean she probably won right? She¡¯s still alive after all. ¡°Oh well, god bless you Helga. May you die a slow and painful death you cruel bitch.¡±

 Chapter 36

    We made it back to what I¡¯m pretty sure is Raven Clan territory early in the morning. The boys were still asleep but I was exhausted. I could barely walk when I stumbled away from the river shore and collapsed on a small hill overlooking a meadow. I placed each of the heirs down carefully and laid my tail on top of them. I sat there for a few hours, letting my body rest as I began to plan out what was going to happen next.


    How would Hanno react to the news? Would he cry? Would he get angry? Would he just give up? I won¡¯t be here forever, so what problems can I solve for him in the short-term? I don¡¯t really know enough to do anything.


    Alright so what do I know? I know all the clan leaders were at the tournament. It''s pretty much confirmed that the chief of the Bear clan and Creep are dead. I currently have the new leader of the Raven clan and two separate clan¡¯s heirs.


    Wait am I actually kinda politely powerful right now? It¡¯s not like I have control of them though. And I probably shouldn¡¯t get involved with this nation, not if that attack last night was any clue.


    I just need to survive a week. In what is most likely one of the biggest moments of social upheaval this region has even seen. Okay maybe I can just leave. But what if Hanno dies? I¡¯ve grown to like him, and he isn¡¯t a bad person.


    Hanno has never mistreated me, never overreacted and never acted like I was an idiot. In fact he treated me like another person. So I¡¯ve gotta keep him alive. I¡¯m sure being deep within his territory will help with that.


    I just need some rest before I can keep going. I felt my vision blur as I began to drift into slumber. Maybe just a few minutes. It can¡¯t hurt. When I opened my eyes I was no longer in the right place.


    I was in a slightly familiar floating darkness. I had thought about what the purpose of it had been before and I had come to one conclusion. I am the chosen one. A being destined for greatness and fame.


    I readied myself for the all important prophecy as I heard the voice begin to speak. ¡° Your highness, please wake up. It is time. It is time for you to claim your birthright. It is your destiny to rule over Aetheria. Do not let the usurpers wrest it from your control. Fight! Lead your people with care and humility. With grace and courage.¡±


    Well that sounds pretty good. Although I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m gonna stick with the Aetheria name. Doesn¡¯t really fit my vibe. I said as much and said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m gonna keep the name. I mean, if I am the chosen one, why do I have to listen to you? Aren''t I above all other people?¡±


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    The voice seemed to pause before asking. ¡°Who are you? Why are you in this world? You should not be here!¡± The last sentence was a shriek as I cringed and said. ¡°Damn it. I¡¯m not the chosen one?¡±


    The voice howled and said. ¡° An accident. That is all you are! Too much effort to be rid of, yet enough potential to help you grow.¡± I gaped in horror and screamed. ¡°I¡¯m a mother fucking accident? Like when a parent doesn¡¯t mean to have a kid? I¡¯m unwanted?¡±


    I muttered the last sentence. Tears streamed down the side of my face as the voice answered. ¡°Of course you are, now wake up. This is a message meant for his highness. Not some random delusional snob with no money. Why do you claim to be rich when you have no money? Leave at once.¡±


    I woke up with a yelp and screamed. ¡°Fuck you Voice! I¡¯m done with all these gods, chosens ones and high level people! I just want to see my kids.¡± I looked around and saw it was around noon.


    I began to place the boys on my back when I heard rustling in the bushes. I had been in the middle of picking Loken up but I let him drop to the ground as I lashed my tail through the air.


    I tried to look as large as possible and yelled. ¡°Leave me alone! I¡¯m not in the mood!¡± Unfortunately the dozens of soldiers rushing off boats didn¡¯t seem to want to listen. They all had the same gear, chainmail, a spear, and a shield. Thankfully they didn¡¯t cover their eyes with chainmail.


    This allowed me to slam my tail through one''s face while slapping the nearest one away. I stomped on another and screamed. ¡°Respect my personal space, you underprivileged hand to mouth!¡±


    I bit off a nearby soldier¡¯s head which made me fail to block the spear that entered my chest. I howled in pain and slapped the soldier who had stabbed me away, shoving my tail spike into any soldier''s brain as I was being attacked.


    I had killed almost half of the twenty four soldiers when one of them grabbed a spear and threw it with perfect form. I could only scream in pain and fear and the spear sliced through my eye, embedding itself into my face.


    I thanked the gods that it hadn¡¯t penetrated my brain before yelling. ¡°Leave me alone!¡± I only could only see out of one eye, which caused me to not notice the soldiers beginning to surround me.


    I killed three more before I was gored on all sides. With so many holes in my body I was leaking blood like a storm cloud raining down upon the masses. I stomped on a soldier and stabbed before biting one of their spears in half. I continued the desperate melee for a few minutes as more and more holes were poked into me. After a few more minutes I couldn¡¯t lift my legs.


    By then there were only five left. They have all abandoned their spears and were circling me warely. I was barely able to stand up as I stabbed one with my tail and tanked getting stabbed four more times.


    This repeated itself four more times until finally I was surrounded by dead bodies and three unharmed heirs. I collapsed to the ground, splashing my blood everywhere as I took rapsing shallow breaths.


    My vision was blurry in my now one healthy eye. I felt lightheaded. I could hear a voice in the background, pleading for me to wake up. For me to show some sign of life. But everything just went black. And then there was nothing.

 Chapter 37

    The next time I opened my eyes I was in my small form. When had I transformed? My mind felt muddled, as it took a few seconds to remember what had happened before I had fallen unconscious.


    I looked around and saw that I was on a boat. I tried to stand up but my legs refused to listen. The three heirs surrounded me, their faces grim as they talked. Hanno was leading the conversation.


    He looked tired and sighed before saying. ¡°We cannot return to the academy. It¡¯s not safe if we were drugged and then pursued by soldiers. We should return to my lands. We can gather soldiers and meet with our fathers.¡±


    Oh, he is not going to be happy when he finds out. I was about to call attention to myself when Loken said. ¡°Hanno, what are you talking about? We are being attacked, the academy is the safest place. And our parents are there, they probably assume we¡¯re dead.¡±


    Oh damn, that is not a good idea. Gotta convince them to stay. How can I do that? Ried talked next, a haunted look on his face. ¡°Why are you both ignoring the most obvious concern? Hanno, your pet kidnapped us and then killed almost thirty soldiers that may have been trying to save us.¡±


    Okay actually he raises a very real concern that Hanno should be having. Hanno just shrugged and said. ¡°I trust Aya, I¡¯m sure she would never do such a thing.¡± Thanks for the vote of confidence, but again I¡¯m the king. Not the queen. Also how many people did I kill? I quickly checked my notifications and smiled.


    You have killed a level 10 Human soldier x 28


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 27 Mud Skink War Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 28 Mud Skink War Queen


    Finally ! It¡¯s been too long since I¡¯ve leveled up. I wonder when I¡¯ll evolve next. Probably level fifty. Or maybe a hundred. It¡¯s kinda hard to tell when it is. Horribly inconsistent. Not that I¡¯ll let it bother me. I am a dragon! Nothing bothers me!


    Except for this damn pain, how many holes did those soldiers give me? Eh, we have a boat now so I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get to rest. ALthough how is this boat moving? I got to my feet and limped to the side to look over.


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    I saw almost a dozen oars moving in sync. I looked around and noticed the blood on the deck and on Hanno¡¯s sword. Was the first to have killed someone? Should I be concerned? He seems fine. At least it appears that the crew below us is under control.


    I laid back down and resumed listening to the young nobles'' conversations. Hanno was talking. ¡°Reid, why can you not understand what we are telling you? If the city was attacked then we are not safe. We will return to my lands so we may rendezvous with our fathers. Then we will strike back.¡±


    Reid looked like he was going to be ill as he asked. ¡°Do you think it was the Bear Clan? Surely they wouldn¡¯t start a war. Even they aren''t that stupid.¡± Hanno and Loken both frowned as Loken answered. ¡°The Bear Clan has its own alliances. They outnumber us almost ten to one. The only advantage we have is the Raven Guard and the Blessed ones.¡±


    Ooh fancy names. I should make up some fancy names for groups of my kids. The destroyers of all! The top one percent! Tax evasion list! Reid smiled and said. ¡°You¡¯re right, both of those groups have some of the most high level soldiers in the entire region.¡±


    So the Raven Clan had quality over quantity? It sounds good but a large quantity of quality is always good. Like my kids! Although going to war with your own children as your military seems dumb.


    The rest of the day passed with the young heirs stating their ideas for what happened. None of them got close to what I think happened. From what I was told Helga murdered every single clan leader. The board is wiped clean. All so Hanno can unite the region.


    The only one who came close to getting it right was Reid. He shakily took a breath and asked. ¡°What if our fathers are dead? What if we have to take control of our clans? Are you two prepared to do so?¡±


    Hanno nodded and matter of factly stated. ¡°I have been trained since birth to take over this role. And if my father is dead, my first act will be to destroy his killers. My next act will be to demand fealty of all the clans. I shall pursue them one by one. Until finally our fractured people become one.¡±


    Loken nodded and said. ¡°You have my loyalty, you know this.¡± They both turned to Reid and he glanced between them before saying. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll swear loyalty! Better to have a leader like Hanno than someone like Bruce.¡±


    Damn they really were the bullies in this situation. I almost feel bad for Bruce. Maybe it was because I ate a good number of his friends. They didn¡¯t even taste good. Too stringy. I could taste the poverty. Also I¡¯m never eating clothes again, it did not go down fell.


    As I was reminiscing I heard a shout from below deck. Hanno and his comrades jumped to their feet and drew their weapons. I grew to the size of a horse and tried to look threatening. The boat lurched to the side because of my weight.


    Hanno glanced at me but didn¡¯t say anything. As we all waited anxiously a man burst out from under a trapdoor and said. ¡°You think you can intimidate¡­¡± His threat was cut off by my tail spike entering his face through his mouth and going up into his brain.


    I slid my tail out and nudged the body so it fell down the stairs. I heard grunting, presumably from the men who had joined the corpse in his uprising. Hanno and the lads looked at me but none of them said a word. I just smiled and went back into my small form. Today was a good day.


    You have killed a level 16 Human Rower

 Chapter 38

    We arrived in Raven Clan territory by nightfall and I had made a decision. The boys could fend for themselves. I want no need to see my children. I don¡¯t dislike Hanno but compared to my kids, there was no contest.


    So the second we arrived as the boys got off the boat leaped into the river and began to swim. Hanno cried out but I ignored him. ¡°Get a dog like a normal person! I told your dad that half a year ago!¡±


    I kept swimming for almost a mile but in doing so I opened almost every single wound I had. The water I swam in was dyed red with my blood. I quickly moved ashore and laid down in a bush, shrinking to be as small as possible. I dug around in the mud of the river bank to create a small hole in the ground I could fit in. For some reason the mud made me feel nostalgic.


    I was so close, all I needed to do was swim upstream until I reached the lake. Then I just follow the coast while searching for the mud flats. Eventually I will find them and my children. My kids, I can¡¯t wait. I just wanna sit with them, hear what they¡¯ve been up to. I nestled into my small hole and imagined them all around me, I took shuddering breaths as pain overcame me and I blacked out.


    Hanno¡¯s POV


    ¡°Aya! Come back!¡± My voice was almost a sob as I watched the small form of my beloved pet disappear into the horizon. I could follow her, but would it be cruel? Would it be wrong to kidnap her from the wild once again?


    I shook the thoughts away and turned to my friends. Reid and Loken looked relatively unconcerned with Aya¡¯s disappearance. They just shrugged and said. ¡°She¡¯ll be alright Hanno. You saw what she did to those soldiers. Besides, we need to meet with your father and find out what''s going on.¡±


    I nodded and tried to hold back my tears. Why had Aya left? I thought we had bonded? She certainly seemed protective of me. And if she did not like me then why would she almost die protecting me?


    Those questions could be answered later. Humanity''s safety and happiness came before my own. Everything, to untie my people. I took a deep breath and said. ¡°Follow me then.¡± We walked off the boat and I barked out an order to a nearby guard.


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    ¡°Fetch my father and all his advisors! I want information on what''s going on. Have all the rowers in this boat detained and questioned.¡± The guard stared at me with horror and regret. He hesitated for a few seconds and said, ¡°As you wish, my lord.¡±


    He scurried off and I frowned. Why would he call me a lord? That¡¯s a title reserved for the leader of the clan. Worry and anxiety began to stab into me as I briskly marched into the long house, where my father should be.


    I can see it now, he¡¯ll be in there. Probably worried about me. I bet he¡¯s pacing the floor right now, awaiting my return. I threw the doors open and saw all of my dad¡¯s advisors and friends. But for some reason he wasn¡¯t there.


    And why is there a coffin? Did one of his lieutenants die in the attack? I strode into the room, my friends beside me and yelled. ¡°Where is my father! I need to know what is going on? Where is he!¡± I was almost screaming by the end as a small idea wormed itself into my brain.


    Not a single one of the so-called friends of my father would meet my gaze. So shoved them out of the way and looked into the coffin. I stood still for a second, almost frozen as I stared at the headless corpse of my dad.


    Why? Why him? Why could they not just leave us alone? Why must they involve us in their petty squabbles? I sank to the ground, sobbing as my friends tried to comfort me. After almost five minutes I stood up and yelled.


    ¡°Never again! Never again will I allow such a thing to happen! I declare the formation of the Empire of Ulthar! All who refuse to swear fealty will be killed! I will no longer let our people fight amongst themselves for no goal other than personal glory. We will unite, and purge this great nation of all threats. I declare myself the first emperor of Ulthar!¡±


    I stared at all of the men around me as they crashed to their knees and echoed my name. ¡°Emperor Hanno! Emperor Hanno! Emperor Hanno!¡± I stared at each of them, one by one and said. ¡°Who is responsible for my father¡¯s death?¡±


    Martin, one of my father¡¯s childhood friends, stood up and said. ¡°The Bear clan, your majesty. They killed every single clan leader¡± I nodded then turned towards them. ¡°I declare war on the Bear Clan! I will accept no oaths of fealty from them! I shall wipe their line for existence! Their very name will be lost to all but the most obscure corners of this empire! Rally my army! Gather our forces! We march on the bear clan''s holdings!¡±


    I turned towards my friends and said. ¡°I understand you have just received grave news. But I will ask you again, will you help me save our people?¡± Hanno and Loken both collapsed to their knees and said. ¡°We wear fealty to you, Emperor. The Squirrel and Goat clan¡¯s forces are yours to command.¡± I nodded solemnly and said. ¡°Then let it be known, before this year''s end I will eradicate the Bear Clan and secure our borders. I promise this as your emperor. For I am but a servant of humanity.¡± Reid stood up and screamed. All hail the Empire of Ulthar! All hail Emperor Hanno!¡±

 Chapter 39

    Aya¡¯s POV


    I love swimming, it feels so calm, so relaxing. After waiting and chilling in the river bank for a few days I had finally set out to return to my children. Most of my wounds had healed to the point that I could move without bleeding out.


    I floated down the river in my full form, my tail lazily moving side to side as I finally exited the human territory. No more politics! No more dealing with annoying children! My kids are so much better! They¡¯re all so polite, so perfect. If the entire world was my children every problem would be solved. World peace would be achieved! Maybe taking over the world isn¡¯t a bad idea?


    I smiled as my mind raced with the thought of world domination. I could already see it, me in all my glorious richness, standing atop a throne. Ooh a throne made out of gold! I can see that happening.


    I swam for the rest of the day, feeling quite uncomfortable when anything swam right below me. Thankfully I was giant, which means that any creature that isn¡¯t astronomically big could never hope to fight me.


    After the day was almost over I saw something that made me smile more than anything else. The river widened. I quickly brought myself onto the coast and began sprinting. All I need to do is run along the entire circumference of the lake, which shouldn''t be too hard. Eventually I¡¯ll run into the mud flats. After that it¡¯ll be simple to find the camp


    After almost four days I was halfway there. I had mostly scavenged for food during those days although I was still pretty hungry. But every single one of these problems could be ignored. Because I¡¯m almost there, I¡¯m almost home. I can¡¯t wait to hug Linus, cuddle with Diana and wrestle around with Jack and Felix. I can¡¯t wait!


    The fifth day starred with me snacking on what might have been a bear. I hadn¡¯t fought it. There seemed to be a corpse no matter where I went. The only consistent thing was that every carcass had its head completely smashed.


    Maybe a monster was powerleveling? Not the worst idea, actually that''s a really good idea. Maybe I should do that with my kids? But what if that ruins our food sources? Nah can¡¯t risk it. Maybe I¡¯ll go on an expedition one day. I can bring a bunch of hatchlings and get them all to level ten.


    Yeah, that sounds pretty nice. I was about to continue my little fantasy when something slammed into my side. I let out a rush of air as I felt bone crack near the impact. I turned and saw a large rock next to me.


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    I looked around and saw a shirtless human smiling at me. He raised his hand to throw another rock but I had already jumped into the lake. I dove as deep as I could and moved away, not even turning to look behind me.


    After a few minutes I surfaced to gasp for air as I looked back at the shore. The human was still there and looked as though he had just released a throw. It took me a few seconds but I finally realized what he had done. I dove underwater and just barely avoided a rock that would have hit my forehead center mass.


    I took a few deep breaths then dove even deeper, moving as fast as I could. After a few more desperate dodges I pulled myself back onto shore and sprinted alongside the coast once again. I was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t following me but I would occasionally swim instead of sprinting to make sure he couldn¡¯t follow my tracks.


    Can¡¯t be too careful with those humans. Ugh humans! Why are they all so aggressive? Have they not realized that they can¡¯t just kill everything? At least I know what killed all those innocent delicious monsters.


    But still! He had no reason to hit me. I think he cracked a rib! Or several ribs, damn that hurts. But it doesn''t matter, all that matters is getting back to my kids. Any amount of pain will be made worth it the second I see them. I wonder how many there are now? Diana has been having kids for over a year now, that''s four times however many weeks have passed.


    Eh, who cares! I¡¯ll take care of them all. No one is separating us ever again. Should we move away from the lake then? It would be a lot harder to find us, although we would lose our main food source if we did that.


    I¡¯ll plan when I get back. I just can¡¯t wait! It only took one more day for me to reach familiar territory. I had patrolled this route when my kids and I had first entered our new home. I sprinted through the underbrush until I made it back to where the camp was.


    I burst through the wall of rocks, grass and mud as I looked around the camp. Staring back at me were around eighty mud skink skeletons. I looked around in horror and after seeing one slightly larger skeleton I threw up.


    I dry heaved for a few minutes before staggering towards a nearby corpse. I nudged it, trying to see if I recognized whom it had been. I made my way over to a corpse with a long thick tail, similar to how my own had been when I was younger.


    Tears began streaming down my face as I stared at the desecrated corpse of Diana. Her skull had been completely smashed and all of her legs had been ripped off. Many of her ribs were also cracked and broken.


    Tears freely flowed from my eyes as I collapsed next to her corpse. ¡°My firstborn! My precious baby!¡± I sobbed as I stared at her corpse. After almost thirty minutes of crying my despair turned into anger.


    ¡°Who the fuck did this! Who hurt my baby? Who murdered my children!¡± After only half a minute of anger it once again turned into despair. Tears streamed down my face as I bowed my head and sobbed out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    But she didn¡¯t respond. Because all of my kids were dead. Because I had left them. Because I had been kidnapped. I had been stolen away from my kids just to protect some other guys'' kids. Those fucking humans! They stole me! They¡¯re the reason I wasn¡¯t here to protect my kids! I¡¯ll fucking kill them all! It¡¯s the humans'' fault! And they¡¯re gonna pay! I¡¯m gonna rip them apart! Bastards!


    I lashed my tail and started digging a grave. My kids deserve that much. I just wanted to see my kids. I miss them so much. Tears once again fell from my eyes as I quietly muttered. ¡°I just wanted to hug my kids.¡±

 Chapter 40

    I fell asleep in the middle of digging the grave. I woke up with a mouth full of dirt and mud. I spat it out and stood up, tears beginning to form on my face as I instantly resumed digging. It took me the entire day to finish the grave, I had slept until morning.


    I gently laid each of the bodies down and after staring at them for a few minutes I began throwing dirt over them. Once the grave was filled and the dirt was packed down I stretched out and said. ¡°Time to get some skulls.¡±


    These people think I¡¯m gonna bury my kids in an unmarked grave? Never! I will build a pyramid! A ginormous structure that commemorates our existence! A tomb good enough for the gods! I will make the divine beings themselves notice me!


    Alright, what should I kill? I need to kill something, need to. ¡°Rat¡¯s? Rats.¡± Alright, let the genocide begin. I stretched out, shaking my legs and stabbing my tail a few times. I hopped up and down for a second, slapped myself on the chest with my tail and yelled. ¡°Fuck all of you! I want my kids back!¡±


    I sprinted into the forest, accidentally running face first into a tree. I grumbled and walked over to the shore. After reaching the clear area I began sprinting once again. It took me ten minutes to reach the mud flats.


    I began sprinting around, looking for anything that was alive. It took me ten minutes to find them. A group of over thirty rats were sunbathing and eating some fish. I spat on the ground and leaped into the center of their formation. They were laid out in a loose circle so I did my best to land in the middle.


    Unfortunately I was unable to fly and instead landed near the outside of their group. I didn¡¯t give them a chance to react and began slamming my tail through their ear and out the other while screaming ¡°Die you impoverished scum! Cry tears of joy that you get to die by my tail! I¡¯m gonna use your skulls to build a fucking pyramid!¡±


    I stomped on a nearby rat and bit another in half as they finally got moving. A few hesitantly moved towards me but the rest just sprinted away. I killed the four rats who charged me and lazily tossed one into my mouth. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take out all of my feelings on your race you little shits! Prepare yourselves!¡± I spat out the rat after chewing on it for a few seconds and said. ¡°Feel my wrath!¡±


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat. x 15


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat. x 2


    I took a shit on one of the bodies then sprinted away, looking for my next kill. ¡°I bet you guys know who killed my kids? Who was it? Who stole my babies from me? Who do I have to kill? If you don¡¯t answer I¡¯ll just kill everything! Simple solution!¡±


    I found my next group of rats and didn¡¯t even slow down. There were only five of them this time. They were strolling along the coast, occasionally squeaking as they thought of dumb stuff like cheese. Cheese, the peasants delicacy.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I stomped on the first two and grabbed another with my mouth. I began chewing on him while stabbing the remaining two with my tail. After chewing the vermin I spat it out and yelled. ¡°How do you feel rats? I bet I feel worse than you do!¡±


    I stomped on the body I had chewed on as I once again started sprinting around. The sun had just begun to set when I had started my hunt and I decided to end it when the sun started to rise. I had ignored my notifications the whole time and was satisfied after checking them.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat. x 239


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat. x 79


    You have killed a level 3 Giant Rat. x 27


    You have killed a level 4 Giant Rat. x 13


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 29 Mud Skink War Queen


    Now came the hard part, I had to collect every single one of the skulls and bring them back to the grave. Thankfully there were a lot of corpses spread around. And I get to kill more rats whenever I see them!


    Truly this is one of life''s greatest pleasures. Too bad I can¡¯t share this with my kids. My cheery attitude was sobered by this and I morosely began grabbing corpses by the half dozen and dumping them next to the grave. I would use their entire skeleton, make the pyramid look even bigger.


    After half a day of moving corpses I was tired and angry. I had grabbed most of them and only had a small mound left to go. Just as I was stomping through the muddy path I heard a loud deep squeak from behind me.


    I turned slowly and saw a rat slightly smaller than me. Behind it was more than a hundred normal giant rats. I couldn''t stop smiling as I stood up straight and yelled. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take shits in all of your skulls! I¡¯ll eat a lotta fiber for you lot! Don¡¯t worry! Now get over here and die you on the breadline peasants!¡±


    I charged at the large rat, tackling him to the ground while my tail went to work impaling rats whenever they got near us. My attacker and I were both gigantic, as we rolled around on the ground, growling and grunting with pain.


    I managed to use my back leg to rip his stomach open as he sank his teeth into my shoulder. I howled in pain and bit down on his paw. He started to slow down as my paralyzing venom coursed through his veins. I laughed and yelled. ¡° I almost forgot about my venom! I¡¯ve been killing all of you so fast you shit heads don¡¯t survive long enough to be paralyzed!¡±


    As the rat went still I bent down and ripped its throat out. Blood coated my face as I jumped away from the corpse and yelled. ¡°Come at me, vermin!¡± The remaining rats stared at my blood soaked form. They looked ready to run but one walked forward and turned towards his brethren. He began to squeak, motioning towards me and then towards the rest of his friends. I just watched in confusion for a minute before walking forward and poking him with one claw.


    My claw went right through his spine and I used it like a toothpick to toss him into my mouth. This was becoming one of my favorite ways to kill the rats. It was disrespectful and I got to eat something. I decided not to spit this one out as I was pretty hungry. Instead I swallowed it and yelled. ¡°I¡¯ll shit this one out onto the skull of that big fella! Yeah I¡¯ve been talking about shit a lot lately! Cause thats all you fuckers are worth! My digested leftovers!¡±


    I leapt forward and belly flopped on a rat, pulverizing it and a few others as the rats began screaming and running away. I killed another dozen before they had all disappeared. I laughed and began picking up the bodies while looking at my notifications. Today has been a shitty day. But at least I got to kill some stuff.


    You have killed a level 1 Giant Rat. x 17


    You have killed a level 2 Giant Rat. x 2


    You have killed a level 3 Giant Rat. x 3


    You have killed a level 24 Giant Rat Patriarch.

 Chapter 41

    I carried all the corpses back to the grave and began ripping the heads off. I had destroyed a good amount of the body for most of the rats but I would use that as the foundation. After ripping off all the heads I began laying the bodies on top of the grave. After forming the foundation I started putting the heads down.


    The structure was large, but not large enough. Rats were just too small, even if the notifications called them giant. I bit into the giant rat patriarch and decided it would be a good idea to have some variety in the pile of corpses. But first things first, I had to deal with the collar.


    If I left it on I would be able to change shape at will, which was insanely useful. But I also wasn¡¯t able to have kids while wearing it. And it was a collar, from the human who had caused my kids to die.


    I loved my kids, but do I even deserve more? I let them get into dangerous situations and by the end I treated them almost like soldiers. Do I really know how to take care of them? Huh. I actually don¡¯t know.


    I wasn¡¯t prepared for them when I first laid the eggs. Maybe this time I should focus on getting ready? Getting the next evolution would be nice. I had learned that the next class advancement for humans was at level fifty so I assume it¡¯s the same for me.


    And a better location would be nice. Away from the lake and the mud flats. In a territory I had clearly claimed and patrolled in. Also eliminating all the nearby threats would be a good idea. I remember reading something about animals having territory in my old world. Maybe I could do the same thing here?


    Alright let''s make a list. I¡¯ll take the collar off once I¡¯ve evolved, claimed a safe and prosperous territory and cleared said territory of any threats. Yeah, that works. That¡¯s long term. For now I¡¯m gonna go kill shit and make a corpse pyramid. Gotta start small.


    I stretched out and started walking through the forest, going in the opposite direction of the lake. I wanna fight something big, to level, eat and put in the pyramid. I walked around for a while but the only thing I fought was one of the smaller fire turkeys. Just as I was about to give up and go back to the rats I heard a grunt and a squeal. I turned and saw a boar easily double my size charging through the undergrowth.Stolen story; please report.


    Trees collapsed beneath the beast as it stared at me with pure fury in its eyes. Its eyes were red and its skin was as well. It looked like it had already been cooked, but had somehow gotten up mid barbeque and slaughtered everyone there.


    I dove to the side and stabbed my tail into the boar. I penetrated the beast but only by a few inches. The boar just shrugged and grunted, barely even noticing the small annoyance. It turned towards me and pointed its tusks down.


    I frowned and sprinted at it, the beginning of a plan forming in my mind. As I was about to be gored and trampled at the same time I jumped into the air as high as I could and landed on the beast¡¯s back. I set to work biting and tearing at the boar''s thick skin. After almost a minute I was making progress while the boar just frantically screeched and bumped into trees.


    After tearing through only muscle and fat I finally found what I was looking for. My claws hit what was most likely the spine and I quickly set to work. I sank my teeth into the bone and began pulling. I was still digging with my tails but after a bit I put my entire focus into pulling. I felt something give and instantly I was thrown off by my own force.


    A good amount of the spine came with me as the boar collapsed to the ground and screeched. I felt some pity, but I had been craving bacon since my flight from the human lands. Some things just taste better roasted. Bacon included. I slammed my tail into the beast¡¯s eye and into its brain as I panted and checked my notifications.


    You have killed a level 11 Giant Iron Tusk Boar.


    ¡°What the fuck? That shit head was level 11? This is favoritism! I¡¯m rich and yet you made this thing a powerhouse at level 11? Well guess what, I won! I¡¯m better, bitch! That¡¯s what you get for being poor.¡±


    I kicked the corpse and began walking away but almost immediately turned back and started eating. No reason to waste food. The boar tasted better than anything I had eaten recently. The warm juicy meat was filled with flavor. After I ate my fill I dragged the corpse over to the pyramid and threw it on top.


    The camp looked like a scene straight from hell. The ground was soaked with blood and the air was thick and heavy. The buzzing of bugs was deafening and the stench was overpowering.


    I had done it. Once scavengers had picked the bones clean the area would truly look like a graveyard. Hopefully nothing would dare dig for the bones of my children. I shed a few more tears before turning away and walking deeper into the forest.


    ¡°I¡¯m done with this area, it¡¯s time for a fresh start! I¡¯ll find a new home, level up a few times and make sure everything is safe! It¡¯s prep time!¡± I sobbed quietly while walking away, memories of my kids overwhelming me.


    I fucking hate this. Why does it still hurt? I grumbled and sobbed as I walked. Nothing attacked me for a while, which was both welcome and annoying. It was nice to take some time just to just cry. But it can also be said that killing things is very cathartic. Fuck I miss my kids.

 Chapter 42

    I walked over forty miles by the time I got tired. I had run out of tears a while ago and had been running on fumes for some time. I don¡¯t how long I had been walking but the sun was just starting to set.


    I found a large tree and dug a small hole next to it. It was shallow and wide, perfect for me. I collapsed and instantly fell asleep. I woke up the next day at around noon and lazily looked around.


    I could see a mountain range in the distance with what looked like a small valley in between two of the peaks. I could see a small stream coming down from the mountains into the valley.


    I shrugged and started walking. From a distance it seemed like the perfect place to set up. I yawned and started running at a small trot. It felt good to feel the muscles in my legs tightening as I began sprinting.


    I laughed as the wind blew through my face. My large form trampled through the forest for over three hours before the trees suddenly stopped. I was around twenty miles from the base of the mountains.


    I was hungry so I decided it was time to do some good old hunting. I looked around and set my sights on a large goat in the distance. I crouched down slightly and shrunk as small as possible. I hadn¡¯t even noticed before but the grass was easily three feet tall. I occasionally popped my head above the grass to stare at the lone goat.


    It hadn¡¯t moved and seemed to be staring at something. I grew to the size of a large horse and started sprinting at the goat. The second I got within a hundred feet the goat let out a shrill shriek and began to glow red.


    I was unable to slow my momentum as the goat seemed to expand, then it exploded. I had never heard such a loud sound before. Blood, bone shards and organs slammed into me with such force that they almost instantly ripped through my body.


    I quickly turned back to my true size and got up. Just as I was about to get my bearings I heard bleating sounds coming from all around me. Zorkids steamed out of the tall grass into the new clearing created by the explosive goat.


    I slammed my tail spike through one of their skulls and counted how many there were. Over forty of the little bastards were charging me. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as I screamed. ¡°Come at me you despondent peasants! I¡¯ll eat all of you!¡± I began slashing and stabbing at anything that came near me as I delighted in the slaughter. I was slowly accumulating small wounds but I ignored them. It felt good just to let loose.


    I stomped on a zorkid as it wailed. I slashed my claws at another and ripped its leg off. It screeched and bleated but was quickly silenced by my belly flopping on top of it. After around a dozen of the Zorkids had died the rest began to sprint away, scattering in all directions. I speared two of them with my tail but let the rest leave. No reason to waste calories chasing them when I had a feast waiting for me. I checked my notifications while eating what I¡¯m pretty sure was a leg.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    You have killed a level 1 Zorkid. x8


    You have killed a level 2 Zorkid.


    You have killed a level 4 Zorkid. x2


    You have killed a level 5 Zorkid. x3


    You have killed a level 6 Zorkid.


    Huh, there weren¡¯t any level threes? Weird. I quickly devoured the entirety of the horde and resumed limping towards the valley. Also for future reference, don¡¯t go near goats. Or maybe just don¡¯t go near explosive ones? A bit hard to tell from a distance but sound advice either way.


    Food for thought. I laughed at my pun and decided that I was very much alone. I miss my kids. I shoved the thought away and resumed walking towards the valley. Just gotta get to the valley. That¡¯s the goal. Get to the valley.


    The grassland around me was interesting. The grass was yellow and faded but still seemed quite successful. It was tall and prolific judging from how the entire field is like this. Weirdly there didn¡¯t seem to be any animals other than those annoying goats.


    I saw four more of the now familiar goats and avoided them each time. No reason to take more damage. I¡¯m still wounded from my last fight. My entire body is covered in scars, open wounds and just generally beat up.


    I made it to the valley a couple hours before sunset. It was small and seemed more like a tunnel into the area beyond the mountains. There was a single flat area in the center with a stream running through it. The stream was shallow for the most part but in one area seemed to open up into a pond.


    I jumped into the pond, removing a good amount of the water in the process as I laid on my belly. It felt nice to once again be in the water. As I was laying down I heard a noise from nearby. Still sluggish from the nice feeling of the water I couldn¡¯t react in time.


    I felt a sharp force slam into the back of my neck. I quickly jumped to my feet and collapsed onto my back. Whatever had been on top of me was squashed as I hastily got up and looked around.


    Small green humanoids were all around me. They wore dirty loincloths and each had a stone spear. There were around thirty of them. As I was sizing them up I saw something fall to the ground. I looked at it and noticed the collar I wore laying in the mud. The collar that let me change size. The collar that allowed me to not have kids.


    I looked at the small green things around me and felt tears begin to fall once again. The green things seemed confused but realized the situation when my tail spike skewered three of them as I charged forward screaming. ¡°You ruined everything you little runts!¡±


    They fled and I didn¡¯t have the heart to chase them. I just walked back to the pond and laid down. I had a week to make a home for my kids. At least.I had a good location. The valley seemed virtually unabated other than the green things and I don¡¯t foresee them being very dangerous.


    I thoughtlessly tossed one of their corpses into my mouth and said. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to toughen up. I¡¯ve been a parent before I can do it again. Except this time they are not fighting in battles or patrolling. That¡¯s my job. I¡¯ll make sure they get a nice childhood. No matter what.¡±


    You have killed a level 1 Goblin x 5

 Chapter 43

    First things first. I need a place to live. The walls of the valley were quite steep but I managed to climb up and find a good location. It was right next to where the stream ran down along the mountainside.


    I began digging and managed to create a tunnel that was over eighty feet long as well as being tall enough and wide enough to fit me. Digging this new home took me over two days and by the time I was done I was starving. So after drinking some water and lounging around for a bit I set out to locate the goblins. Dumb name. Sounds like a type of dirt.


    They had tasted pretty good so maybe I could set up a livestock farm? I shrugged and sniffed around for any sign of them. It would be nice if I could find their camp but I had never really tracked anything with my nose before. I have a good sense of smell though.


    It took me four hours to find the camp of the goblins. The Valley was a mile wide and around twenty miles long with some variation throughout. I had made my den near the entrance of the valley as I was planning on hunting the zorkids. No reason to waste a good food source. Plus they also taste good.


    The goblin camp was near the opposite entrance of the valley. It was built on a small plateau and had over two hundred of the little buggers. They seemed to have set up a rudimentary tribe and were doing well. Unfortunately for them I was hungry. I was sitting above them on a cliff overlooking the little camp.


    It was a thirty foot fall and would probably hurt. But I wanted to make a cool entrance. And I don¡¯t think I can get back down very easily. It was difficult climbing up here. I¡¯m not exactly used to this environment.


    I decided to stop second guessing my decision and leaped off the cliff. I landed on one of the goblins huts and completely smashed it, including the goblins inside. The goblins started screaming the second they saw me.


    Almost fifty of them sprinted towards me with spears in hand but I casually swatted them and began stabbing them in the face with my tail. After killing around twenty I continued ignoring their attacks as I stacked their corpses on my tail like a macabre kebab.


    I then walked away from the screams and wails of horror as I began to plan out of the interior design of my home. The very back would be where I kept my eggs. I would make sure to gather as much soft material for them as I could. Area in front of the hatchery would be where my kids slept. I would gather bedding for them as well.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I would sleep in the entrance, as I would block anything from entering. The hatchery and sleep area wouldn¡¯t take up the entire tunnel but I want my kids to have enough room to play as well.


    I dismissed the notifications without even glancing at them. I don¡¯t think that was enough to push me through to the next level. I snacked on the goblins while I walked back home and by the time I got back only three of the corpses were left. I quickly scarfed them down and tossed the bones outside. No reason to leave them in my base.


    After chilling for a bit and expanding the tunnel to make it wider I got back to work. I began grass, moss and fur from the surrounding area. I then set to work making a large sleeping area and hatchery. The next few days passed in the blink of an eye as I continued expanding the den, gathering bedding and snacking on goblins.


    Finally the say arrived. I felt a familiar pressure of mourning and with not a small amount of trepidation I walked over to the hatchery. After ten minutes of pain and pushing eight eggs, I stared back at myself. I smiled constantly as I stared at them. I wrapped my body around them and closed my eyes. Images of little hatchlings growing nearby filled me with vigor. It¡¯s nice to be a dad again.


    I happily walked over to the entrance of the cave and planted myself. Nothing would be able to get past me unless it killed me. I had grabbed a few zorkid and goblin corpses in preparation for this. Nothing was moving me away from this cave.


    I sat there for a few hours, slowly digging a hole with my tail as I vigilantly yelled at anything that walked by. However, other than scaring a few rabbits nothing walked by. This was definitely preferred but it was still boring though.


    What should I name my kids? Should I name them? Of course I do! Maybe I¡¯ll name them after my cousins. Most of them were good chaps. They were a bit snobbish though. But I bet my kids will wear the names better.


    I smiled and imagined it. My kids and I, just hanging out in the cave, lounging around. We can sunbathe in the evenings when the sun hits our little cave just right. There''s a few flat rocks outside that absorb the heat from the sun perfectly.


    We can drink from the stream, the waters clean and there''s even an occasional fish swimming through. I¡¯ll make sure the kids don¡¯t have to grow up as fast. They won¡¯t have to fight. I¡¯ll make sure they get to spend their childhood having fun and learning about the world around them.


    ¡°Oh! I need to teach them! I have to teach them their numbers, letters and geopolitical stuff. I¡¯ve been going to Hanno¡¯s classes for almost half a year. I bet I have a bunch of stuff to teach them. I teach them about the surrounding area. I should probably patrol the valley a few times with them when they¡¯re older.


    I sighed contently and smiled. I was going to have a nice calm life. No more dealing with hordes of rats, no more fighting armies of humans and no more politics. I began drawing pictures of castles in the dusty rock outside as I prepared myself for a perfect life. My day dreaming was interrupted by a dozen horse sized ants rushing towards me.

 Chapter 44

    They sprinted at me as I stood up and slammed my claw down on the head of the first one. Its head was crushed but the others simply continued sprinting at me. Two of them managed to get their mandibles around my two front legs and I let out a wail of pain as they crunched down on me.


    I bit down on one, ripping it¡¯s head off. However I began screaming once again as their blood burned against my tongue. I spat out the chunk I had been planning on eating. I glared at the insects around me and yelled. ¡°Fuck you peasants! You think I¡¯m letting you near my kids? I¡¯ll kill you all and use your bodies as a doormat!¡±


    I stomped on one of them to prove my point and stabbed my tail through another''s head. I got to work and butchered them all in a minute. The slightly acidic blood didn¡¯t really hurt my paws so I didn¡¯t really care. After killing them all I checked my notifications and smiled


    You have killed a level 10 Stone Ant Worker x 12


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 30 Mud Skink War Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 31 Mud Skink War Queen


    Finally! I had leveled up! Now all I need to do is kill more of these ants and I¡¯ll get my third evolution! I¡¯ll be the most powerful lizard this world has ever seen! After tossing the corpses away from the entrance I walked back inside to check on my eggs.


    They all seemed healthy and after looking at all of them to make sure there weren¡¯t any cracks I shrugged and walked back to the entrance. I plopped down and once again started planning. As I was just about to fall asleep I had a sudden thought. ¡°Don¡¯t ants work in colonies? And can¡¯t they dig?¡±


    I immediately got up, expecting the ants to burst out of my wall, summoned by my words. Fortunately that didn¡¯t happen as that''s not how the real world works. I smugly walked over to my eggs, checked on them one last time before falling asleep.


    I woke up the next day still aching from the fight yesterday. I limped into the cave, making sure my kids were okay before making the fifty foot walk to the nearby stream. After drinking some water and wiping the blood off my feet I ate a zorkid and started walking towards the entrance.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    When I turned back to look at my cave I saw small little footprints that hadn¡¯t been there before. I sprinted inside and stared at the three goblins who were standing over my hatchlings. They each had a knife aimed at the eggs and they seemed to be yelling something at me.


    I stared at them in horror as they held three of my most important possessions. One of them motioned for the others to follow him as he brazenly began stomping out of the cave. However, he seemed to forget to hold his blade near the egg so I took the opportunity to slam my tail forward, knocking the egg into the air while I stomped on the goblin. I coiled my tail and caught the egg before gently lowering it to the ground.


    The two goblins stared at me with horror and anger in their eyes. I stared at them and after a few seconds realized I had messed up. At once they both slammed their daggers down, smashing the eggs as they yelled triumphantly. My tail went through one¡¯s eye and I ate the other one whole.


    Tears streamed down my face as I stumbled towards the shattered remains of my eggs. I stared at them for a few minutes before quietly walking outside and sitting in the entrance. I would bury them soon. I just needed to wait a few more days. No more leaving the cave, no more letting enemies live.


    But why had those goblins done that? I hadn¡¯t hurt them at all. All I had done was kill a few peasants. How did they know where I live? I guess I haven''t been very secretive. I also didn¡¯t always kill the goblins I skewered so they probably heard the screams while I dragged them back.


    The next few days passed peacefully. Nothing attacked and nothing happened. I also forced myself to get two drinks of water, as I couldn¡¯t risk dying or collapsing in case of an attack. I also buried the remains of the two eggs.


    Overall nothing else happened, which was exactly how I wanted it to be. I had already failed as a parent. It wasn¡¯t going to happen again. Another three days passed with me only leaving the cave once a day to drink and toss out the bones of whatever corpse I had eaten.


    Finally I heard a cracking sound from behind me and sprinted over to the eggs to watch the miraculous event. The largest egg broke first, the hatchling erupting out and landing on his face. He quickly stumbled to his feet and looked up at me. I smiled at him and said. ¡°Welcome to the world Marlow. I¡¯m your dad.¡±


    He happily waddled up to me as I smiled and looked at him. His scales were almost entirely red except for a small white diamond on his forehead.I patted him on the head as he waddled around the sleeping area, exploring his new home.


    I turned to the rest of the eggs and saw two more of my kids waddle over to me. They each had the exact same scale pattern except one had orange scales and the other had yellow. I named them Charlie and Chester.


    Charlie and Chester ran up to Marlow and almost immediately tackled him to the ground. He yelped in confusion as I noticed that he was easily double the size of his siblings. Weird. I quickly separated them and looked at the rest of the hatchlings as they quickly sprinted towards me. The three remaining hatchlings had a very different color pattern than the others. Charlie, Chester and Marlow all had hot colors while these three seemed to have cool colors.


    The first one to reach me was the smallest, he had bright green scales with a blue stripe going down his back. I named him James. The next two shared the same color. They were both a faded green for almost their entire body except for a single spot on their eye. Thankfully each of them had the spot on the other side of their face. I named them Tim and Tom before quickly embracing all of them.


    Marlow let out a little squeal and Charlie barked out his defiance. I ignored them and just held them as close to me as possible. Tears streamed down my face as I said. ¡°Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.¡± It felt so good to hug my kids.

 Chapter 45

    I got to work after hugging them for a few more minutes. I herded them outside and began washing them off in the stream. They were covered in the gunk from being born. After cleaning them all I laid down in the clearing in front of our cave and told them they could play around.


    I made sure to keep them close to the cave entrance as I watched over the surrounding area. It was nice to watch them play. Although it seems strange to have so much energy right after being born.


    Also why haven''t they talked yet? I remember Diana was pretty much independent like an hour after she was born. Although I kinda prefer this. It feels less like child soldiers and more like children. Maybe because my kids were just instantly born into conflict before?


    Oh well, I¡¯ll make sure these kids get to play and chill as long as possible. It is my duty as a parent! I smiled triumphantly and used my tail to stop Tom from jumping down into the valley below.


    I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as over the course of an hour each of the kids, one by one got tired and came over to me to rest. I picked them all up and placed them at the sleeping spot. I curled up around them and was instantly reminded why I loved my kids.


    We woke up a few hours later and they all instantly wanted to play again. However I told them to play within the cave as I had something I had to do. They seemed a bit sad but Marlow quickly began leading them through a game of pretend. From what I could tell Marlow, Chester and Charlie were soldiers from one side and James, Tom and Tim were soldiers on the other team.


    They drew out territory lines and the fight was on. The war started with a brief skirmish in the north west between Tim and Charlie. Tom quickly ran into help, opening up the southern portion of the border. Marlow took advantage of this and together with Chester launched a blitzkrieg strike against James in the reserves.


    Jame¡¯s was defeated but so was Charlie. Tim and Tom turned away from the border and launched a counter strike against the force of Marlow and Chester. Charlie and James sat on the sidelines, playing around with a rock.


    I was amazed by how creative they were but had to tear myself away. I walked out into the clearing and began ripping trees from the ground and placing them down. It took me a bit more than an hour to create the rudimentary wall. It wouldn''t stop anything big but honestly I just needed to keep anything from sneaking in.


    After creating the skeleton of a structure I began using the large mounds of dirt and rock I had from digging the caves. The trees were completely covered in dirt forming a large dirt wall around me and my kids. I was able to hop over it but my kids couldn¡¯t even look over it.


    Of course I would allow them to explore the valley with me soon, no reason to coop a kid up. But I also didn¡¯t want them to get attacked while they were so small. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have to fight when they¡¯re older, that''s how this world works. But at the very least I can give them a few weeks of bliss and happiness without them having to worry about threats.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Just as I was about to return to my kids in the cave I heard a clicking sound coming from outside the wall. I peeked out and saw over sixty Stone ants. They did have a very hard caprace so I still wonder why they¡¯re called that. But who gives a fuck about that? They¡¯re trying to get to my kids! Unacceptable!


    I hopped over the wall and slammed my two front legs on top of one, instantly crushing it. I stood up as tall as possible and yelled. ¡°Come at me underprivileged peasants! I¡¯m gonna use your corpses as compost!¡±


    The ants all clacked their mandiables at once before rushing me. I bit down on the closest ant and speared another with my tail as I spat out the one I had chewed on and yelled. ¡°Why do you guys taste so gross? Why can¡¯t you taste good like the goblins?¡±


    I began ripping and tearing while doing my best to dodge any attacks launched at me. Unfortunately I am not very good at dodging. I slowly accumulated more and more cuts on my legs until finally there were only ten ants left. However because of the amount of wounds I had gotten on my legs I was barely able to walk as the ants surrounded me.


    I collapsed to the ground and watched as the ants swarmed in. I speared two of them with my tail before they managed to reach me. It would be a fight of attrition after this. I bit the ant near my head and began stabbing the rest of the ants as they continued to rip large chunks out of my side and back.


    After another minute I managed to kill all of the ants but I was unable to stand up. Sometimes this form just feels too damn clunky. And not having access to all four legs hurts me as well. I sighed as I tried to stand up. Nothing moved, my legs didn¡¯t seem to respond anymore. With nothing else to do I checked my notifications and smirked. At least the ants were useful to level up.


    You have killed a level 10 Stone Ant Worker x 79


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 32 Mud Skink War Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 33 Mud Skink War Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 34 Mud Skink War Queen


    It took me an hour to be able to stand up. I limped over the dirt wall and stumbled into the sleeping area. My kids instantly rushed around me, concerned as I waved them off and collapsed onto a bed of dried grass and moss.


    After repeatedly telling them I was fine they hesitantly resumed playing. They were still playing theri war game and it appeared that it was the same war. They patrolled their borders which had almost completely changed since the beginning of their game.


    Before Marlow¡¯s team had controlled almost the entirety of the cave except for the sleeping area. Now it seemed like he had pushed back to the point that he now had less territory than Jame¡¯s did. This confused me as Marlow was almost three times the size of James.


    However after watching one of Marlow¡¯s play fights with Tim the reason Marlow¡¯s team was losing became incredibly clear. He was too gentle. He refused to make use of his paralyzing bite and seemed to focus on just hugging his siblings. This worked fine against Tim and Tom for the most part but James had already noticed and began to exploit it.


    Whenever James wrestled with Marlow he would always try to stay behind him, confusing the big guy. Honestly it¡¯s a miracle Marlow¡¯s team hasn¡¯t already lost. Over two hours of play fighting and the victor was decided. Marlow was defeated and after sulking for a bit he immediately joined the new game.


    I was happy the hatchlings already seemed to be developing personalities. Marlow seemed like a big softie who was trying to take care of his siblings. James was aggressive and always seemed angry. Tim and Tom were a bit aloof compared to their brothers. They didn¡¯t spend as much time playing and seemed to be the reason they didn''t instantly win the war. Charlie and Chester were hot heads who were also kinda dumb. I frequently saw them run into walls.


    I cried the entire time while watching them play. I haven''t felt this happy in such a long time. Even while I was leaking blood and barely able to stand. My reason for existence was affirmed every time one of my kids curled up next to me to take a nap. I love my kids.

 Chapter 46

    We all curled up when the sun started to set and I fell asleep dreaming of my kids. I woke up before they did and quietly extracted myself. My body was usually able to heal almost any wound pretty fast but the cuts from yesterday were quite severe. In fact I was still barely able to walk. That didn¡¯t stop me from walking outside and placing a boulder at the entrance of our cave. I drank some water and stretched out.


    I started running towards the goblin village, blood spurting out of my wounds as I ran. All of the food had gone bad meaning I needed to grab some groceries for my kids. And they sure as hell aren''t about to eat ants.


    And I¡¯m not about to forget what these little green things did to my unborn babies. Their entire race was going to pay. From now on goblins are killed on sight, just like rats and humans. I made it to the village after a while and smiled. Their numbers had somehow grown and they seemed almost happy. Unacceptable.


    I was sitting on the same cliff as always, trying to see which house had the most goblins inside. I chose one that had recently been rebuilt and belly flopped on top of it. The goblin began to scream and run away as I calmly turned my tail into a kebab of eight.


    I kicked a goblin and watched it fly through the air as I just laughed and walked away. As I walked away I yelled. ¡°I¡¯m gonna make all of your lives a living hell, then I¡¯m gonna eat you. Fuck your entire race!¡±


    After that I skipped away, leaking blood and pus as I opened up almost all of my wounds. I winced and limped back home at a much slower rate. When I got back I hopped over the wall and tossed the corpse into a wall. I had left most of them alive so as my kids walked over I let them each kill one. Two had died on the way. I wasn¡¯t about to show favoritism.


    After we had all eaten our fill I escorted my kids to the stream for them to wash off, drink and play. After that I decided it was time for a day trip. We walked for around a half a mile before we arrived. A large pond which our stream fed into. My kids all hopped in and started swimming around, laughing and playing while I watched from the shore. I kinda wanted to swim but I don¡¯t wanna scare my kids. I am still bleeding and I don¡¯t think I want to get the pond that dirty.


    After almost two hours of swimming my kids got tired and fell asleep next to me. I wrapped my tail around them and enjoyed the feeling of the sun hitting my scales. I sat there for another two hours before my kids woke up and I decided to bring them back to the cave.


    When we got to the wall they noticed the mound of ant corpses and Marlow motioned towards them. I just smiled and lifted him up with my tail and placed him on the other side of the wall.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    After picking them all up and telling them to go into the cave I turned towards the forest and looked around. I heard the noise again and shot my tail forward. I heard a meaty thunk and instantly yelled. ¡°Why the fuck can¡¯t you guys just leave me alone? I just want to raise my kids. But you guys just keep coming back just to die!¡±


    Suddenly the forest came alive around me as I heard hundreds of little voices let out war cries as over five hundred goblins charged at me. I instantly turned and hopped over the wall. I sprinted towards the entrance to my cave and blocked the entrance with the boulder. I then turned and began using my tail to pick off any goblin that got over the walls.


    I killed over forty before they managed to coordinate an assault. They all climbed the wall at once and I was forced to charge in and begin ripping them apart with my claws. I had never fought such a large amount of enemies but these goblins were the weakest creatures I had met other than the mud crabs.


    I lamented having to kill so many goblins, as they were a pretty good food source. The corpses would go bad before me and my kids could eat even a tenth of these shit heads. I stomped on one¡¯s skull and yelled. ¡°I know you hand-to-mouth peasants are poor but that doesn¡¯t mean you need to kill yourself by trying to hurt my kids! You could always try having more money!¡±


    I punted a nearby goblin but unfortunately all my kick did was completely destroy the gross little green runt¡¯s skull. I snorted and ate one whole. I chewed on it before spitting it out. Its comrades screamed with rage as I swiped my claws at them.


    Almost all of these goblins were just as weak as the ones from before. But finally I med one that seemed stronger than the others. He wore a cloak made from what looked to be Zorkid hide and wielded an actual metal sword. It was completely rusted but I¡¯m sure it was still better than the stone daggers the other goblins used. The stone daggers were literally just rocks with a slightly sharp point.


    I used my tail more than anything else as I ripped through all of the opposition until I was face to face with the seemingly important goblin. He turned towards his people, probably to give some sort of rising speech. Unfortunately for him, he was an idiot. Why would you ever turn your back on an enemy? My tail slammed through the back of his head and into the stomach of a nearby goblin as all of the nearby gobbo¡¯s started screaming.


    I was confused but all at once the goblins scattered, fleeing into the forest. Maybe that goblin was the leader of the assault? Seemed kinda weak to be their leader. How have these guys survived this long? They¡¯re so weak. And the ants live right next to them? Maybe the ants just harvest the goblins like livestock? That would sense. I mean they gotta feed the whole colony. Which I¡¯m still incredibly concerned about. Oh well, a problem for another day. I checked my notifications and frowned. How did this even make sense?


    You have killed a level 1 Goblin x 275


    You have killed a level 4 Goblin


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 35 Mud Skink War Queen


    1 level? From wiping out half an army? And how have none of them gained any levels except for the first? How does that work? Why does that work? Why is the goblins level so small? Where did all these goblins even come from? How come I keep getting attacked? Are my kids okay?


    That last question startled me into action as I pushed the boulder aside to find my kids chilling in the cave. Marlow and James were pushing rocks, trying to hit each other in a funny way while Tim and Tom along with Chester and Charlie wrestled in the corner.

 Chapter 47

    Life was good. Although I would have to toss the rotting goblin corpses out tomorrow. I shrugged and laid down in the entrance, allowing my kids to play in comfort as I anxiously watched for any ants. I felt better as the day progressed. My wounds slowly healed as I chilled.


    I rolled onto my back and watched the game my kids were playing now. It looked like tag except instead of tagging the other you had to tackle them to the ground. Wow, my kids are violent. I don¡¯t think my kids were like this before, so why are they play fighting so much? Oh well, probably good for them to get used to fighting with the state this world is in.


    Oh my god, am I the old relative that complains about politics? No! I¡¯m the fun rich uncle with the best kids that everyone is jealous of! Although I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t have any siblings. Or a mom. Well, obviously I have a mom but she abandoned me. What a bitch. Actually now that I think about it, she really is a bitch. Who just abandons their kid in such a dangerous place? I almost got eaten by rats for goodness sake!


    I angrily grabbed Tim and snuggled up against him as he squealed happily. His siblings quickly sprinted over and piled on top of me as I patted each of them on the head and internally complained.


    How could my mom do that? I didn¡¯t have any experience as a parent but I stepped up! My kids were great! It''s Creeps fault they died! I bet he had them killed, probably wanted to make sure I couldn¡¯t run away. I wish he had captured them instead. Then they would be alive.


    ¡°Enough! No more unhappy thoughts!¡± I slowly picked up each of my kids with my tail and placed them in the sleeping area. After making sure they were okay I moved the boulder into the entrance and sat outside.


    I started tossing some of the corpses over the wall while talking to myself. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to plan. I need to teach my kids some useful stuff for their lives. So what would be useful? I¡¯ll teach them their numbers. Basic arithmetic stuff like that. Should I also teach them how to write? It¡¯s difficult with our limbs not really being made for that type of stuff.¡±


    I accidentally stepped on a corpse and grumbled as I tried to wipe the gunk off my foot. ¡°I should probably teach them how to fight as well. I mean there''s definitely a few strategies that work better than others. Like having the hatchlings paralyze the enemy while the bruisers kill them.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I nodded in respect to myself, it was a good strategy. ¡°But what would really help them? What can I do to ensure they get good lives? Babying them their entire life won¡¯t help them. Maybe I should get them to evolve? But I wanna make sure they get to enjoy themselves first. But is that just me being overbearing about theri safety? Does evolving really mean they can¡¯t play?


    ¡°Ugh¡± I wish there was someone I could ask about this stuff. Parenting is harder than I thought it would be. I collapsed to the ground and rolled onto my back. I stared at the clouds slowly passing by. What if I wasn¡¯t good enough? What if I wasn¡¯t strong enough to protect them again?


    I quickly shook that thought away and hopped to my feet. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot! You¡¯re a dad now. Step up and hang out with your children.¡± I walked over to the entrance of the cave and moved the boulder. Inside the cave was a mess. Dried grass was everywhere as I stared at the mound that had been transported to the center of the cave. My kids were diving in and out, sending grass and moss everywhere.


    I smiled as I lazily grabbed Marlow and James before yelling. ¡°Tim, Tom, Charlie and Chester! Get over here!¡± They sprinted over and I patted each of them on the head before saying. ¡°It¡¯s time to start your education, kids.¡±


    I brought them outside to a relatively clean part of the clearing outside our cave. Marlow was staring at the goblin corpses but I pushed his head away and said. ¡°Kids, I don¡¯t really know what your future is gonna be like. But I know one thing. You are going to be put in situations where you have to fight to the death. So we are gonna make sure you¡¯re ready for that.¡±


    They all nodded excitedly and Tim and Tom immediately started play fighting. I felt a pang of guilt at forcing my kids to participate in this murder world. I quickly squashed the feeling and said. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve discovered by now, you have venom that paralyzes others.¡±


    They nodded and I saw Chester glare at James who just smiled smugly. I smiled and said. ¡°When you¡¯re older you¡¯ll get the opportunity to evolve. You¡¯ll still have the paralyzing venom but it won¡¯t be your main weapon unless you¡¯re fighting something big like me. If you¡¯re fighting something big you should try to kill it without relying on the venom. Always fight dirty and go for the kill. Except when you¡¯re fighting your siblings, don''t kill each other.¡±


    They attently listened to everything I said as I began to explain how I wanted them to fight as hatchlings. ¡°If you ever have to fight as a hatchling or need to teach a hatchling how to fight, remember this. You¡¯ll have to use hit and run tactics. That means running in, biting them and quickly running away. This can confuse the enemy if there''s enough of you and it will slow them down.¡±


    My kids all nodded as I smiled and said ¡°Get into groups of three. Have one of you act like the monster while the others act like the hatchlings. If the big monster catches you then you have to sit out. Whoever does the best gets the best piece of goblin tonight.¡± The best piece was the arms. I personally ate them whole but my kids always fought over the arms.


    They excitedly got to work as I once again felt guilt run through me. Here I was, in the middle of nowhere teaching my kids how to kill stuff. What¡¯s wrong with me? I lost focus for a second until I heard a familiar phrase bring me back. ¡°For the Queen!¡±


    I almost threw up as I stared at James in horror. He was standing atop a paralyzed Marlow, proudly staring at me while Tim sat in the background. James¡¯s first words. And they had been a warcry.


    I was about to say something but the rest of my kids took up the call. ¡°For the Queen! For the Queen! For the Queen!¡± Their shrill voices hit me right in the heart as I stumbled back, staring at my kids professing their undying loyalty to me. ¡°For the Queen! For the Queen! For the Queen!¡±

 Chapter 48

    I didn¡¯t say anything to my kids, just told them to keep practising. I should have told them that they don¡¯t have to be loyal to me. But honestly I just couldn¡¯t. What if they thought I was rejecting their love? What if they weren¡¯t loyal to me? What if they went off on their own and got hurt? That would be my fault if they did.


    I leaned against the wall and watched my kids play fight. I was slowly starting to feel better about the practice as I realized how much fun my kids were having. They laughed the entire time and Tim even missed a bite because he closed his eyes from laughing too hard.


    This got him caught by Chester which made it a 1v1 with Charlie. I smiled and yelled. ¡°Alright kids! Nice job! Now it¡¯s time for the next exercise.¡± They probably wouldn¡¯t like this one as much but I felt it was important. ¡°I want all of you to run around this clearing until I tell you to stop.¡±


    They set to work as I began going over my plan in my head. ¡°Working out helps improve human bodies even without evolving, it should be the same for my kids right? If I can inherently make them better than everyone else then I will do so. So today we¡¯re gonna start working on their stamina. I was going to tell them to do fifty laps but honestly I don¡¯t think they know numbers.


    My kids before seemed to know stuff without me teaching them but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s the same thing with this batch. I¡¯ve never once said the words ¡°For the Queen!¡± So they didn¡¯t get it from me. Maybe they inherit memories? Or they could just be born with a basic data set. But why didn¡¯t I get that?


    Oh well, I laid down until they had all done around fifty laps and then yelled. ¡°Alright kids! Get over here!¡± They sprinted over to me, panting but still energetic. ¡°I¡¯m gonna tell you as much as I can about the surrounding area. I don¡¯t know much but it will still help.¡±


    ¡°First, if we go into the plains nearby you¡¯ll see goats standing by themselves. Do not go near the goats unless you want to get blown up.¡± Marlow looked at me questioningly and I explained. ¡°The goat explodes, it hurts and disorients whoever is close. That¡¯s when creatures called Zorkid will try to swarm and kill you. Make sure to avoid those unless you¡¯re extremely desperate for food or levels.¡±


    They nodded so I continued. ¡°Try not to go into the forest next to that plains region. We want to stay in the valley as much as possible because we are going to claim this valley as our territory. That means that we are the only strong people that can live here.¡±


    My kids nodded as I smiled and said. ¡°Within the valley there are a bunch of animals and other random monsters. But the most important ones to know about are the ants. They are very difficult to fight, have strong armor and they have acidic blood. That means we can¡¯t eat them. Try to always avoid them but if you have to fight them make sure no hatchlings are fighting. I don¡¯t think your jaws are hard enough to hurt them.¡±


    They all nodded and James asked. ¡°Are those things that hurt you the other day?¡± I nodded and immediately whipped my head at him. How does he know these words? How are they able to talk? Do they even know how weird it is that they can do that?


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    I pushed on, ignoring the strange knowledge my kids possessed. ¡°The third thing I want to tell you about is the creature known as a goblin. They¡¯re weak, all of you could beat one in a fight. The only danger to you guys would be if they swarmed you. They¡¯re weak but also a good source of food. Try not to kill too many at one. I only killed that many because they were trying to attack us. If anything tries to attack our base then they die. No one gets to hurt my hatchlings or my eggs.¡±


    My kids all nodded as I smiled and said. ¡°Good, now keep wrestling around and having fun.¡± I wanted to rest for a while. Honestly I¡¯m wiped, fighting and teaching is hard. Maybe I should take a vacation? Not the worst idea. Although I really could really use that next evolution. Oh well, life was good. I chomped on a goblin and waited and slowly started to fall asleep.


    Just as I was about to lie down and relax I heard a voice from outside. ¡°Alright troublemakers! Get out here right now and tell me why you¡¯ve been stealing my livestock!¡± I shot to my feet and glanced over the wall.


    To my surprise a bruiser was standing outside with two others by his side. I gawked at him as he seemed to deflate the second he saw me. He bowed his head as low as possible and said. ¡°Apologies, your highness. I didn¡¯t realize this was your land. I¡¯ll leave, please don''t kill me.¡±


    He started walking away but I yelled out. ¡°Get back here! You think you can just drop that info and leave? Get in here now!¡± I hopped over, threw the lead bruiser onto my back and hopped back over the wall. He was scared shitless but I didn¡¯t care. What did this mean? Are there even more mud skinks? Do we have an entire civilization?


    I poked him a few times before saying. ¡°Alright, explain who you are and what group you are a part of.¡± The bruiser was trembling as he stood up and said. ¡°My name is Az, I¡¯m a goblin farmer. I sell food to the nearby city of Tiat. I am not claimed by any queen. I am not part of any faction.¡±


    I stared at him in confusion until I slowly realized what he was saying. Goblins as livestock? They were weak and did taste good. And there was an entire city of us? Could I move there? He seems to treat me with respect because I¡¯m a queen, maybe the city will as well?


    I stared at him for a few seconds before asking. ¡°What do you mean unclaimed? What can you tell me about the city of Tiat? How does the society work? What is the political situation?¡±


    The bruiser looked like he was about to soil himself as he sighed and said. ¡°I am not currently in the service of a Queen. If you serve a queen then you are claimed by that queen. You serve her for the rest of your life while the queen has to do her best to protect and take care of her servants.¡±


    I nodded and wondered idly if I could just call dibs on these guys. The bruiser continued. ¡°The city of Tiat is the only city in the nation of Tenay. It is ruled by a council of thirteen queens. The queens represent all of the queens within our nation. We are one of the most powerful city states in the region.¡±


    I stared at him and asked. ¡°City states? As in multiple? How many are there?¡± He shrugged and said. ¡°A couple dozen I think.¡± My entire frame of reference for this race was gone. I had thought we were rare, even extinct. Instead there were entire societies? Under a hundred miles away from me?


    The bruiser continued. The city has over ten thousand skinks living within its walls. There are dozens of villages and farms surrounding the city. However no Queen directly controls them as most see it as beneath them. Almost all skinks you meet outside of the city are unclaimed like me. That means that they haven''t sworn loyalty to any queen.¡±


    Hmm, I see a bit of an opportunity here. What happens if I claim all of the farmers? Wouldn¡¯t that make me instantly powerful? I would control the entire food source of a nation? That would instantly make me have political influence and raise my station. I could have actual money!


    I smiled and said ¡°Az, I claim you! You are now my servant!¡± He stared at me with horror in his eyes as he stumbled away from me and said. ¡°But you don¡¯t even know what that means! This is a lifelong pact! You decided on it within the last minute!¡±


    I nodded and said. ¡°Oh, and I claim the two bruisers outside. They''re mine too.¡± He backed away as I pressed on and said. ¡°As my first order as your ruler I order you to have one of your bruisers take me through every single village and farm within the city state of Tiat so I can claim all of the unclaimed farmers!¡±


    I don¡¯t think someone has ever looked as scared as Az did in that moment. He looked like he wanted to cry and scream at the same time. ¡°Do you know what that will do to the city? For an unknown queen to control the entire food supply?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°It would make me super strong politically. And rich! I¡¯m gonna be rich again!¡±

 Chapter 49

    Az still looked like he had just gone through a war as I happily trotted over to my kids and said. ¡°We¡¯re going on a road trip boys! Stuff your faces with goblin and let''s get a move on. I gave each of them a hug and then walked back over to Az. His two companions had joined him and they shared the same horrified look.


    They turned towards me as I said. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s nice to meet my subjects. Before we start I just want to introduce myself.¡± I was about to say my name when I realized I didn¡¯t have a name. Should I just say I¡¯m the king? But would that just confuse them?


    I sighed as I said. ¡°I¡¯m Aya, Queen of the mud flats. The richest person in the world! If you are loyal to me then you will live a life of bliss and satisfaction. Bow down and praise the divine for the simple fact that you get to exist in my presence!¡±


    One of the bruisers vomited while the other just collapsed breaking into tears. Az looked thoughtful as he stared at me for a second and asked. ¡°Are you sincere in your desire to claim all of the unclaimed? You will be hated by the other queens.¡±


    I just smiled and said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to hate the person responsible for whether or not you get to eat.¡± Az looked me up and down before saying. ¡°My siblings and I accept. I¡¯ll explain the situaiton. If you truly plan on doing this it will provide us more rights and benefits than ever before. Unclaimed are abused by many. If you manage to claim all of the farmers and villagers you might manage to create your own faction.¡±


    I nodded completely ignoring hte fact that I had no idea what a faction was in this context. I just smiled and said. ¡°I¡¯ll take over the entire city state if I have to.¡± This was the perfect way to protect my kids! I could keep them in a village away from possible political enemies while still being surrounded by my loyal servants.


    I turned to Az and asked. ¡°How many unclaimed would you say there are?¡± He looked deep in thought as he muttered to himself a few times before answering ¡°Twenty thousand? Maybe closer to thirty thousand. All I know is there''s a lot.¡±


    Thirty thousand? Thirty thousand peasants swearing loyalty to me? ¡°How is that even possible? Don¡¯t Queens have to birth all skinks?¡± Az nodded and said. ¡°Four of the queens are broodmothers. They birth twenty five mud skinks every week. However the broodmothers only keep the most talented mud skinks. The rest are spread throughout the farms and towns so the food production does not go down.¡±


    I nodded and asked. ¡°How does farming goblins go?¡± Az perked up when I asked and he began to explain. ¡°Goblins are one of the most prolific races in the world. They are pregnant for a day and their young mature in about three days. I have thousands of them on my farm. They eat grass and rocks. They are the perfect livestock. The ones you have been fighting are the border tribe I employ. In exchange for making none of my livestock escape I don¡¯t eat them. But unfortunately I¡¯ll have to form a new tribe. You killed the leader and the majority of their soldiers.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    I shrugged unapologetically and said. ¡°They attacked me, all I did was eat some of them. Also do you know about the ants that live around here? Nasty little shits.¡± Az nodded and said. ¡°They¡¯re a problem sometimes but they mostly keep to themselves. They eat stone so they don¡¯t really have any reason to attack me.¡±


    How did so many creatures just eat stone and dirt? How does that even work nutritionally? Maybe it''s magic dirt. I smiled and said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m gonna explain what''s going on to my kids. Pick which one of your helpers will be acting as my guide. I¡¯ll send him back once I¡¯ve gained a few more followers.¡±


    He smiled and said. ¡°Thank you, My Queen. I don¡¯t think you truly understand what you¡¯re doing. But it helps me, so I¡¯m okay with it.¡± I smiled and said. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t! If you spend too much time planning stuff out you won¡¯t do anything! Any advice or warnings?¡±


    Az nodded and said. ¡°Try not to kill any mud skinks. Especially if they¡¯ve sworn loyalty to you. Also I want to make sure you realize that we all have jobs. We are not an army, we are a civilization.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°I assume some of you are soldiers though? I will need some, otherwise the queens within the city could just attack and take all the food.¡±


    Az shrugged and said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could get at least a thousand as soldiers. And a couple hundred more from the next round of births. It¡¯s too bad you chose the worst evolution for having kids.¡±


    I stared at him questioningly as he explained. ¡°You do lay eight eggs but only once every three months.¡± I stared at him in shock before smiling and saying. ¡°So? I¡¯ll have a lot in a few years. And I¡¯m not about to turn my kids into an army. I¡¯ll hopefully get them set up as nobles in a few months.¡±


    Az just nodded and walked towards his brothers. ¡°Very well My Queen.¡± He bowed and walked away as I stumbled over to the cave. I had acted confident but honestly I was still reeling. Tens of thousands of mud skinks? An entire society with dozens of others? How does no one know about this? Why don''t humans know? Do they know?


    I was about to walk away when a final thought stopped me. Do I really know enough about this nation to take it over? ¡°Az, scratch that. Sometimes planning is important. I want your brother to take me to the city. I wanna see it first hand and get as much information as possible.¡± He frowned and said ¡°Very well, but please remember that you promised to lead us to a life of bliss and happiness. We will not have that life if we continue to be exploited by the city state.¡±


    I nodded and walked over to my kids who were playing inside the cave. We had only lived here for a few days but I still felt slightly sad having to leave. I would be abandoning the graves of my unborn kids. Although I could always come back. And the most important thing was making sure my current kids have a good life.


    I walked over to them and said. ¡°Kids, we are going to be joining a big group of our people. We¡¯ll be leaving this area to join a big city. We also might take over that city, don¡¯t really know what we¡¯re gonna do. All I know is it¡¯s gonna be safer and we won¡¯t have to worry about random monster attacks.¡±


    Actually maybe I can leave my kids there for a week, most likely with one of Az¡¯s siblings. That would give me time to level up and eventually evolve. I don¡¯t how highly evolved the queens in Tiat are but being stronger can¡¯t hurt.


    I smiled to myself and said. ¡°Ready for an adventure kids?¡± They all nodded excitedly as I smiled and motioned for them to hop onto my back. I carefully picked them up and placed them on my back before wrapping my tail around them.


    I effectively made a small fence in the area on my back. There wasn¡¯t that much space as my tail wasn¡¯t that long but they weren¡¯t packed in like sardines. Time to go to our new, hopefully permanent home.

 Chapter 50

    Az bowed to me as his siblings walked behind me while he walked in front. We walked for a couple hours until we had exited the valley. We entered a large plains filled to the brim with goblins. They didn¡¯t seem the same as the ones I had met before. They looked dazed and confused. I asked Az about it and he excitedly explained it.


    ¡°The ones in the tribe were carefully selected to be the smartest and most active goblins. These are what goblins are normally like. We don¡¯t know how they¡¯ve survived this long but we¡¯re grateful for it. They make up around ninety percent of our nation''s food supply. Most of our territory is used for them. We even export a good amount of them to the nearby regions.¡±


    Hmm, I might be able to make use of that in the future. Trading with other nations is essential to a good economy. I smiled as I realized this was the first time I had gotten to think about my effect on the economy since I had arrived in this world.


    My kids were bored for the most part so they amused themselves by seeing who could stay on their feet while I walked. It was a bumpy ride so the end result was almost always them falling on their face. The exception was Tom. He strangely managed to stay on his feet no matter what. Even when James had lunged at him he had managed to dodge and land on top of James.


    I smiled at how agile he was but I grew serious as I started to think about what I was going to do. I¡¯m about to enter an entire city of things just like me. I might get instantly swarmed and killed, or just flat out rejected. At least if anything like that happens I can probably fight my way out.


    I turned towards Az and asked. ¡°Do you know what evolution the queens are?¡± He nodded and said. ¡°Most of them are simply high queens, only one is still at her first evolution. However none of them have reached their third evolution yet as it isn¡¯t safe enough. There are a few broodmothers. They¡¯ve pretty much lost their mental facilities so we don¡¯t count them as queens. My siblings and I are actually one of the broodmothers'' kids. That''s what most of the unclaimed are.¡±


    I shuddered as I thought back to the horrifying bloated creature I had almost chosen. Although it did sound like I could make use of them if I needed to kill all the other queens. I smiled as I thought of ruling a vast nation, thousands of skinks at my beck and call. Oh god it¡¯s gonna be so nice to be rich again. Not that I was ever poor. But now I get to be even more rich!


    I smiled and said. ¡°Az, are any of them my evolution?¡± This was important as if they were all the not combat evolutions then I could basically just power through them. Az shook his head and said. ¡°Most do not wish to risk their lives, my Queen.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I shook my head and said. ¡°Shameful. But it works to our benefit. Az, do I have to personally claim mud skinks or can you do it for me?¡± Az looked a bit uncertain and said. ¡°I am capable of claiming skinks on your behalf. However I do know why you wouldn¡¯t do it yourself.¡±


    I smiled even wider and said. ¡°Because while I¡¯m in the city I want you to start claiming all of them.¡± Scratch that idea of learning about the city first. I want power! ¡°I¡¯ll be in the city, and they won¡¯t suspect a thing until it¡¯s too late.¡±


    Az nodded and asked. ¡°But what if they kill you? A dead Queen can¡¯t claim anything.¡± I shrugged and said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure not to die then.¡± Nothing like a good set of confidence! And I¡¯m sure they¡¯d love to have another queen!¡±


    They probably won¡¯t but I need Az to do his job. We walked for another four hours until finally as we were about to crest a hill Az said. ¡°My Queen, it is an honor to present to you, the city of eight rivers, home of the Tuo Dynasty. Welcome to the city of Tiat!¡±


    I walked over the hill and was instantly amazed. I stared down at a river delta filled to the brim with skinks. Small burrows in the ground and large mud mounds were everywhere. There was a large dirt wall around the entire city. The water was crystal clear and small canals and pools were dug out everywhere.


    I couldn¡¯t stop smiling as my kids jumped up and down on my back and yelled. ¡°Is that our new home? There''s so many people!¡± I nodded and turned towards Az. ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough. But I need one of you to go out and claim as many unclaimed as possible. Once you claim them, if they aren''t doing anything, have them go claim more unclaimed. I need to have control of at least the majority of the food production as fast as possible.¡±


    Az nodded and said. ¡°I can spare my brothers for a few weeks. But please don¡¯t forget us, my Queen. We are all depending on you.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°I¡¯m also depending on you, so it works out in the end.¡±


    He smiled and walked away as I walked into the settlement. I had expected beautiful marble structures and large stone walls, but honestly this made more sense. It was also quite nice in its own way.


    As I walked towards the small entrance into the city two bruisers walked up to me and said. ¡°Who are you? Why do you want to enter the city?¡± I smiled and stood up to my full height. My kids cheered me on as I said. ¡°I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. Most importantly I am the mother of Marlow, Chester, Tom, Tim, James and Chester!¡±


    The bruisers looked a bit uncertain so I just smiled and said. ¡°I¡¯ve come to join this nation.¡± They relaxed when I said that and said. ¡°Very well, please follow us. We¡¯ll bring you to the council.¡±


    Alright Aya, that your name now, accept it. It¡¯s time to take your rightful place as king of the world! We walked through the settlement towards a gigantic dirt structure in the center of the city. As I walked in I realized it was an amphitheater, filled with Queens.


    I had never seen so many in one place before, as it had been only me and Diana before. My mind was boggled by the sheer amount of skinks in this settlement. As I walked in, one of the largest high queens yelled. ¡°Guards! Who have you brought before us?¡± Her voice was nasally and reminded me of a weasel.


    The guard was about to introduce me but I just smiled and said. ¡°I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. Most importantly I am the mother of Marlow, Chester, Tom, Tim, James, Charlie and Chester and I¡¯m rich!¡±

 Chapter 51

    All of the queens just stared at me as Marlow decided he also wanted to introduce himself. He hopped up and down while yelling ¡°My name is Marlow! What¡¯s yours?¡± The large Queen who I assume is the leader of the others snarled and said. ¡°How dare you, barge in here yelling such childish titles. And you even brought hatchlings into our sacred throne room! Who do you think you are?¡±


    I frowned and began to repeat my titles. ¡°I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and th¡­¡± The queen angrily screeched. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to hear that again! Guards, escort the hatchlings outside immediately.¡± Two bruisers walked toward me but I just smacked them away, making sure not to use my claws.


    The queens gaped at me as I almost effortlessly beat back the two guards. My kids cheered me on and yelled obscenities at the guards about their income. I shed a tear of pride after that.


    I smiled and said. ¡°I would like to join your settlement. I am a queen and I would like to take my rightful place among your council.¡± The lead queen looked like she was about to instantly reject me but another yelled. ¡°Good! It¡¯s been too long since another queen has been born. It¡¯s about time we got some new people. Hi! My name is Tiktelazertoli but you can call me Tik!¡±


    I instantly liked her and said, ¡°Nice to meet you! My name''s Aya!¡± Tik nodded and said. ¡°I heard! Very impressive titles.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°I¡¯ve earned every one of them! But thank you.¡± The angry queen unsurprisingly got angry again and yelled. ¡°I am Tuobella! Matriarch of the Tuo dynasty, rulers of this city. You will address me with respect.¡±


    I nodded and sobered myself up. I sat down and bowed my head. ¡°Of course, I apologize. I heard of the majesty of this city and wanted to join.¡± Bella seemed a bit placated by this and said. ¡°Well, at least you know some manners. We will now vote whether or not Aya, can join our city.¡±


    I watched anxiously as most of the queens just shrugged while Tik energetically yelled. ¡°Yes! I want more friends!¡± Bella smiled and said. ¡°I say she should join, I have the perfect position for you.¡±


    Position? Do all of the Queens have different political positions? Bella¡¯s smile looked quite evil as she yelled. ¡°I accept Aya into our city and name her general of the army!¡± All of the other queens winced as I just stared at them, confused by the weird reaction. First off, why am I being put in charge of an army? They¡¯ve known me for like five minutes.


    Also how is general a bad position? That means I control an army. Tik walked over to me and said. ¡°Tough luck Aya, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to rise past it. Let¡¯s still be friends!¡± I nodded and turned towards Bella. She was still smiling evilly as she said. ¡°You and your small group of claimants may live in the uninhabited royal burrow in the 15th district. That also means you control that district. Get yourself set up and come back tomorrow so we can discuss your duties in private.¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    I was still weirded out but I just shrugged and walked away. From what I could tell I was just given a part of the city to control and an army. Why would they ever give this much stuff to me for free?


    Oh well, they¡¯re loss. A bruiser walked up to me and said. ¡°Queen Aya, please follow me.¡± I nodded and followed him. As we walked towards the edge of the settlement I noticed the quality of my surroundings steadily decreased. Bruisers, usually quite plump, had their ribs showing. Hatchlings looked hungry and dejected.


    I asked the bruiser leading me about it. ¡°Why do they all look so sad and hungry?¡± He just shrugged and said. ¡°It¡¯s just unclaimed filth, not worth the trouble. That''s why they stuck you in here. Queen of the unclaimed. That''s what you¡¯ll be called. And the general of the army? There is no army. It¡¯ll be your responsibility to make one. Every Queen has her own personal guard.¡±


    Huh, so Bella was trying to put me into a bad political position? Well, Queen of the unclaimed isn¡¯t that bad of a title. Although the second I claim them will they still be called unclaimed? And how are they all hungry? I can fix that pretty quick once Az and his siblings claim all of the other farmers.


    So for now, I need to find a way to feed these guys, raise an army and somehow manage however many unclaimed lands there are in this district. I began to interrogate the bruiser guiding me, eager to get some information.


    ¡°How many unclaimed lives in this district?¡± He frowned and said. ¡°Around two thousand I think.¡± I nodded and asked. ¡°What do all the citizens of this place do? I mean you don¡¯t make the food, so what do you do?¡±


    He smiled and said. ¡°We create artwork, create more canals, many are personal soldiers for the queens. I believe Queen Tuobella has almost a thousand personal guards. The rest are builders, laborers and researchers. We even have a few mages. There are teachers as well, academes, shops.¡±


    Huh, so all of the people living in the city at least do something. But it sounds like I can turn most of the unclaimed in my district into cites. Killing stuff is a great source of food, and it¡¯ll make sure the bruisers learn how to fight.


    I asked the bruiser another question. ¡°Why do none of the queen''s claim the unclaimed? It just seems dumb?¡± The bruiser suddenly stopped and said. ¡°Are you calling Queen Tuobella dumb? She¡¯s the greatest queen this cities ever seen! Because of her we¡¯re not at war with anyone else right now. And why would anyone want those unclaimed? Some of them might be useful but they¡¯re all runts and rejects birthed from broodmothers.¡±


    I just smirked and said. ¡°Why would I call the benevolent Queen Tuobella dumb? I was just thinking about how she might want more servants.¡± The bruiser calmed down and said. ¡°She does not need such useless servants. You can claim them all if that''s what you want.¡±


    I smiled and said. ¡°I do actually, I claim all of the unclaimed within my district and all of the districts inside the city. Please tell the council of the queens that for me.¡± He gawked at me but stayed silent. After another ten minutes of walking and my kids growing more and more impatient we finally arrived. The royal burrow was a large hole in the ground surrounded by multiple canals. I shooed the bruiser away and let my kids down. They eagerly began exploring their new home as I did the same.


    I didn¡¯t fit in any of the holes but it was nice outside anyway. I let each of my kids get their own burrow for the moment but knew that would soon change. I saw far too many hatchlings having to fend for themselves within the city. They might not be my kids but abandoning children is unacceptable!


    The next few weeks would be uncertain but I should be able to easily take advantage of the idiocy of these queens. Why would you even have a high population if you¡¯re not going to make use of it? Oh well, they have a poor person mindset. That¡¯s their problem. Not mine. My plan for world domination starts now!

 Chapter 52

    The next morning I was woken up by thousands of mud skinks staring at me. I stood up and looked around as they just continued to stare at me. I glanced back at them questioningly as a bruiser walked up to me and asked. ¡°Is it true you¡¯re going to claim us?¡±


    I groggily stood up and said. ¡°I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. Most importantly I am the mother of Marlow, Chester, Tom, Tim, James and Chester! I claim all of you as my people! I¡¯ll do my best to make sure you all get fed!¡±


    They all started cheering as I smiled. After almost a minute I stomped my foot and yelled. ¡°Silence! It¡¯s time to get to work! The other queens don¡¯t see your worth, I do. First off, all hatchlings will live in the center of the district in or around my burrow. I expect all of you to protect and prioritize our young.¡±


    The second I said that hundreds of hatchlings rush towards me, covering me in a tide of scales and tails. I slammed into the ground as the hatchlings began thanking me and hugging me. I couldn¡¯t stop laughing as my new servants rushed to gain control of the hatchlings.


    It took ten minutes for the hatchlings to get off of me. I smiled and said. ¡°Next order of business, is there a school in this district? If there isn''t one, build one. I want all hatchlings to learn how to fight, count, and write.¡±


    Dozens of caretakers nodded as one walked up to me and asked. ¡°Who do you want the teachers to be?¡± I smiled and said ¡°The caretakers of course! Now get to work! I want all of the hatchlings to have burrows. If any have to sleep outside tonight I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    The caretakers walked away and got to work as I smiled and yelled. ¡°Alright, next order of business. How many of you will fight for me?¡± Over a thousand bruisers yelled out their loyalty as I smiled ever wider and said. ¡°Perfect, I¡¯ll meet with all of you if you want to join my army. For now I want all of you to help the hatchlings and caretakers, dig more burrows, and help build the school.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    They nodded as I continued, managing a nation is hard. I don¡¯t even own the entirety of the nation yet! ¡°Now, I need each evolution to select a leader to join my new council. That doesn¡¯t include hatchlings by the way.¡±


    I was about to walk over to check on my kids but I stopped and yelled. ¡°My kids'' safety is also one of your priorities! Make sure they can¡¯t get stolen by the other queens. I¡¯m going to have a lot of enemies soon enough.¡±


    Can¡¯t be too careful. And honestly having over a thousand bruisers guardian them is a weight off my chest. Just as I was about to continue giving out instructions the largest bruiser I¡¯d ever seen walked up to me. He was easily double the size of Az.


    He was still tiny compared to me but still. I didn¡¯t know there could be that much variation. He walked up to me and said. ¡°High Queen Tuobella has summoned you!¡± I shrugged and said. ¡°Alright boys! I¡¯m gonna talk to Tuobella. I want the council ready by the time I get back.¡±


    We started walking towards the center of the city. We walked in silence for a while but finally the bruiser said. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy haven''t you? Trash.¡± I stared at him, a bit confused as he smugly stared at me.


    I stared back at him and asked. ¡°Did you see some? You should pick it up. You shouldn¡¯t just leave litter lying around.¡± He frowned and said. ¡°No. I was calling you trash.¡± We had both stopped by now as I continued to stare at him.


    We held eye contact for a bit until I said. ¡°Impossible. I¡¯m rich. Rich people can¡¯t be trash. You¡¯re poor, you don¡¯t get it. Don¡¯t worry, you might understand someday.¡± He sputtered and said. ¡°I am the commander of the guard for High Queen Tuobella! You will address me with respect! I am of equal rank to you!¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°No, you still don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m god compared to you. And in this example you''re an ant. Tuobella is a squirrel and my kids are also gods.¡± He stood as tall as he could, still craning his neck to look up at me as he screamed. ¡°How dare you compare her highness to a rodent! And you compare yourself to a god? God of what? The unclaimed?¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°No, not a god. God, singular. Like in the example, I am the only god. The highest power possible. You can¡¯t go farther.¡± He shook his head and said. ¡°You act like you¡¯re so much better than us. But it¡¯s clear that you don¡¯t even understand our society! You think high Queen Tuobella never thought of claiming all of them as a quick increase to power! You don¡¯t understand what''s happening!¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. You are barely worth more than dirt. I am more expensive than this entire planet. I am going to rule over this entire planet someday. But first I¡¯m going to be a general. No power play coming from over here.¡±


    Good job me! Can¡¯t get too excited. Gotta let Az and his brothers work their magic. They¡¯ve hopefully started going around claiming some mud skinks. The growth will be exponential from there. Next time I¡¯m out of the city I¡¯ll hand my kids off to some of my new claims. The plan is coming together perfectly!

 Chapter 53

    We made it to Tuobella¡¯s burrow after another awkward twenty minutes. He kept insisting I was an idiot and I kept insisting that I was amazing. Some people just refuse to acknowledge the truth.


    As we arrived the furious bruiser stormed towards the burrow and yelled. ¡°War Queen Aya has arrived!¡± He then spun on his heels and stormed away. What a silly little fella. I hopped into Bella¡¯s burrow and was pleasantly surprised to find it was extremely roomy.


    I walked through a tunnel for almost a minute before it opened up into a ginormous cavern. The cavern¡¯s walls were stone and carved into the stone walls were thousands of drawings. However the most eye-catching thing in the room was the enormous pile of cylindrical objects that reminded me of coins.


    Bella herself was sitting on a large circular chair and smiling proudly. I was a bit confused but hopped into the circle and scooched in next to her. Our faces were less than a foot away from each other and my tail happily lashed through the air as she stared at me in confusion and horror.


    After almost ten seconds of just staring she yelled. ¡°Queen Aya! This is incredibly disrespectful! Please get off the throne.¡± I grumbled but hopped down, I didn¡¯t fit very well anyway.


    She huffed and puffed for a few seconds before composing herself and saying. ¡°I¡¯ve called you here to give you a rundown on what your duties will entail. As General of our army your first duty will be to establish an army of at least one hundred bruisers by the end of the month.¡±


    I nodded as that had already been checked off. I would have an army ten times that size in under ten hours. I just need to feed them and make sure they¡¯re up to snuff. She smiled even wider before saying the next one. ¡°Your second duty will be to train and appoint competent officers in your army. You also must train the regular soldiers.¡±


    I nodded and asked. ¡°Will you supply food for my army?¡± She nodded and said. ¡°The hardworking unclaimed in the outskirts of our nation work hard to ensure a surplus. We usually sell it to our neighbor, Itzal but that brings me to the third requirement. You will take this army you have formed and defend us against the forces from Itzal. Relations have soured recently and we fear they may believe they are our equals.¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°Acceptable. All of these requirements will be met as long as you supply food. Could you please deliver a map of the nearby region to my burrow so I may plan the training and the future campaign?¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Bella nodded and slapped her tail on her throne a few times. ¡°Perfect! So any objections? They¡¯ll be taken into account.¡± I was pretty sure anything I said would be rejected but it didn¡¯t hurt to ask.


    ¡°I would like to receive a budget and personal pay. I can¡¯t form an army based on only food.¡± I actually could but I could use a budget. I just don¡¯t know what I would actually buy. I have everything I need for my army. A large number of willing and impulsive young people.¡±


    I snickered at my own satirical joke as Bella stared at me. I maintained eye contact as she just shrugged and said. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you an initial budget of five thousand clinks and you a weekly pay of ten clinks.¡±


    I had no idea what a clink was but I¡¯ll take it. Sounds like money to me. I nodded and said. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ll have your army. And I¡¯ll have my district up and running soon enough.¡± Bella laughed and said. ¡°Very well War Queen, show us what we¡¯ve been missing.¡±


    I walked away and thought back to the conversation. Everything had gone well, really well. I had gotten food, funding and a pretty low bar to uphold. She had even seemed supportive the entire time.


    Would it really be that bad to just sit back, manage a district, lead the army and just exist in this nation? I could serve for years, protecting my kids and my people. I wouldn¡¯t have to fight to exist every day. I could just sit around and sit. Not having to worry about if the next life threatening hunt I went on to feed my kids would kill or injure me to the point that I can¡¯t go on another hunt.


    Nah, that''s a poor person mindset. I want more! I can¡¯t ever have enough power! I want the ability to give my kids entire kingdoms if that''s what they want! I want to be able to give my kids the whole world! To do that I need to control the whole world.


    I high fived myself, causing me to faceplant as I am unable to stand on only one leg. After wiping the dirt and mud off my face I kept walking back to my new home. It was nice to chill every once and a while but lethargy is not to be admired. I need more money. And I need to find out how much the money I do have is actually worth. Once I do that I might be set, or not. I shrugged and smiled as I realized I had made it back to my district. The second I entered a weird looking bruiser walked up to me and said. ¡°My Queen, the council has been assembled. I¡¯m Tetel, I¡¯ve been selected as your butler.¡±


    I nodded and asked. ¡°What are you?¡± He looked a bit confused before answering. ¡°I¡¯m a windclaw, my Queen. We¡¯re the postal system for this nation so most of us weren¡¯t in the city when you claimed us. However, around a hundred have agreed to join your army. In fact your army is assembled right outside the city awaiting your orders.¡±


    I frowned and said. ¡°I thought I ordered them to help rebuild the district?¡± Tetel nodded and said. ¡°We have enough burrows for everyone, and honestly it''s better to have some skinks who actually know how to build than a bunch of bungling idiots.¡±


    Hmm, can¡¯t argue with that. Although hearing my army get described as bungling idiots isn¡¯t a good sign. As I walked past my burrow my kids burst out and swarmed towards me. ¡°My Queen! Where have you been? You weren¡¯t with us when we woke up. Why¡¯d you leave us?¡±


    I stared at them and wondered how to explain that I was in fact not going to be able to spend time with them for a long time. I was a general, queen and administrator. How could I fit being a father there?

 Chapter 54

    By delegating all the other tasks so I get to hang out with my kids of course! I walked over and hugged them each before yelling. ¡°Bring the council here! We¡¯ll talk and plan out what''s going to happen next. Keep all other hatchlings away from here, no reason to risk them blabbing about it. My kids will do that for us.


    It took ten minutes for the council to assemble. The three of them stood before me, each proudly holding their heads up high. I nodded towards them as a greeting and said. ¡°Alright, I just talked to Queen Tuobella. She¡¯ll feed our army so we won¡¯t have to worry about that. However we will have to worry about a potential war with the nearby city state of Itzal.¡±


    The bruiser nodded and said. ¡°We¡¯ll start training the army immediately. The school and new burrows are under construction but the topic of food has come up.¡± I shrugged and said. ¡°As of now every single person here is part of my army including the hatchlings. There, the food problem is solved.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t actually solved, it would at most take a week for Tuobella to reject my plan. But that would at least give Az enough time to recruit more farmers to supply my troops. I stretched out and said. ¡°I leave managing the district to the council. I trust you to make most minor decisions but if you need me just send a windclaw.¡±


    I would have liked to talk more about how their society works but I want to get the army moving as soon as possible. Before leaving I turned towards my kids and said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few hours, right? Then we can hang out for the rest of the day.¡±


    They nodded as I smiled and yelled ¡°Tetel, bring me to my troops, it¡¯s time to put them to work.¡± It was also time to try and level myself up as much as possible. If I could get the next evolution then I would hopefully be able to better protect myself and my kids.


    Tetel ran over to me and said. ¡°Please follow me, my Queen. The army is camped just outside the city.¡± I nodded and followed him. As we walked through the district I admired how different it looked. The streets weren¡¯t as overcrowded and there didn¡¯t seem to be any hatchlings living by themselves.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    I smiled at how quickly my reform had happened. My smile was destroyed when I realized that all of these competent and helpful skinks had been cast away and left to flounder. It was a wonder any of them were alive today.


    But I would fix this race. Once I own it nothing will be able to stop me. I¡¯ll have hundreds of thousands of soldiers at my beck and call! An entire empire behind me! Hmm, the first move as emperor will be to exterminate all rats! No matter the size! And then I¡¯ll find that horrible human that threw rocks! I¡¯m pretty sure he was the one who killed my kids.


    I¡¯m going to find him, fight him and win. Then I¡¯m gonna torture him until he dies of old age! I won¡¯t let him die, I¡¯ll find someone who can heal like Helga. Then I¡¯ll get to kill him over and over. Ooh! I¡¯ll give him a female cellmate to fall in love with! I¡¯ll let them have kids, and the second they¡¯re born I¡¯ll kill them! The perfect revenge! Although do those innocent babies deserve it? No! Okay scratch the last part, no need to kill anyones newborn.


    I shook my head and said. ¡°Tetel, remind me never to murder any newborn babies please.¡± He nodded and said. ¡°A sound decision my Queen.¡± Gotta try to keep my murderous side in check, can¡¯t let loose too much. Don¡¯t wanna scare away my new followers.


    Although it¡¯s kinda mind boggling how I now have thousands of people who will kill for me, it¡¯s a lot of responsibly. And I¡¯m gonna abuse it as much as possible! I smiled and was about to plan out the carving of a mountain into the shape of me when we arrived at the army camp. It was mostly just shallow holes with a few items in each hole.


    The entire army was currently running laps around the camp while a scared old bruiser yelled at them. I walked over and asked the old guy. ¡°Alright, tell me whats going on.¡± He grunted when he saw me and stumbled forward.


    After taking a second to stabilize himself he said. ¡°I¡¯m having them run to build stamina my Queen!¡± I shook my head and said. ¡°They¡¯re too hungry for training to do any good! All sodeirs! Halt!¡±


    Most of them instantly stopped but a few bungled into those who had stopped. I shook my head and said. ¡°When I give an order you obey no matter what! Now, I want all of you to get some rest, you have two hours before we set out.¡±


    Most looked confused but a few of the smarter ones quickly ran to their holes to take a nap. I smiled and turned towards Tetel. ¡°Tell me, are there any large monster populations nearby?¡±


    Tetel nodded and said. ¡°Recently a large number of creatures called zorkids have occupied an old human fortress in the hills around a dozen miles away. They¡¯ve been raiding the goblin farms and making a general nuisance of themselves.¡±


    I smiled even wider and said. ¡°Perfect, we¡¯ll let the troops rest for a bit. I want to ask you a few questions about this place. I need to understand it more.¡± Tetel nodded and said. ¡°I am at your service my Queen.¡±

 Chapter 55

    I sat down on the shore of a small river, enjoying the feeling of the water on my scales as I rolled onto my back and began to ask questions. ¡°What is a clink? How much is it worth?¡± Tetel smiled and said. ¡°A clink is worth a hundred clunks. You can use a clunk to buy around a pound of goblin meat.¡±


    Hmm, weird system but at least it seems like I¡¯ll be able to feed my kids. But if Tuobella is supplying the food what do I use the budget for? ¡°Tetel. What else can I buy? In this city? What supplies would be useful to my military?¡±


    Tetel frowned and said. ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a war in this region for our entire existence. However I do believe there are a few things that could be helpful. You could rent some mages, they¡¯re useful in a fight. I¡¯m pretty sure you could buy a couple hundred goblin soldiers as well, slave traders in town.¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°No, goblins are just useless. So with my money I can buy food and people? Is that it? How does this nation''s economy work?¡± Tetel sighed and said. ¡°It works mostly through food. We also have a quarry but so far attempts to make the rocks more uniform have failed.¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going to start fixing that issue immediately. How much would two hundred goblins cost?¡± Tetel looked a bit surprised at my seemingly fickle behavior as he thought for a moment before answering. ¡°That¡¯d be twenty clinks my Queen.¡± I nodded. ¡°Alright, try to buy five hundred.¡±


    My plan for this was simple. Goblins have hands. I can force the goblins to use their hands to make items for me! Jewelry, glass and other necessary items! We can make use of the goblins to make anything! Then we can export our luxury goods to other city states.


    Although we still need to force the goblins to learn how to actually make the goods. But that¡¯ll be the council''s job! God I love delegation. I smiled and decided to take a quick nap. I was woken up a couple hours later by the same old bruiser who had been commanding drills.


    ¡°My Queen! We await your orders!¡± I nodded and stretched out. ¡°Alright then, follow me boys!¡± Tetel had pointed out where the zorkids were located and I was eager to try out my new army.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I was a bit concerned about the fact that the zorkid had a fortress but siege warfare would be good practice for my troops. I wonder if any of them are close to evolving? I¡¯ve never seen the next evolution of the bruisers.


    My army was marching in a long column, trampling anything in our path. We had to turn a few times so we didn¡¯t run through a goblin farm but otherwise life was good. I claimed all the farmers we passed by. No reasons to waste the opportunity. A few of them started crying with joy but others just looked a bit scared.


    Who cares if they¡¯re afraid? Nothing will stop the march of progress! I will drag this civilization into an acceptable level of capitalism and luxury! I chuckled and yelled. ¡°What are you fighting for troops?¡±


    Immediately they all began to yell. ¡°For the Queen! For the Queen! For the Queen!¡± I nodded and shouted. ¡°That''s right! You fight for me!¡± We made it to the zorkid fortress a few hours after we started walking. The fortress itself was built on top of a large hill. The terrain was rocky and dry.


    The area surrounding the hill was mostly empty grassland with a few goats sprinkled around. My troops were hiding behind another small hill while I began to plan out the attack. There were most likely a few groups of zorkids spread around the grassland, probably a few exploding goats as well.


    How do they even work? How does one just blow a living creature up? I just shrugged and said. ¡°Focus! How are we going to attack?¡± The fortress itself was in good condition. It was a square castle, the walls were in good shape and I could even see the gates worked fine.


    I wonder why the humans abandoned this region? Probably got swarmed by monsters. But if they have people like Helga couldn¡¯t they just rip through everything? Helga could kill my entire army in under a minute.


    What a terrifying woman. As I stared into the distance the old bruiser walked up to me and said. ¡°Do you see the enemy, my Queen?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Yeah, they have a few groups spread out around their fortification.¡±


    The best thing for us would be if we could kill the zorkids before they could run back to their fortress. ALright, no more hesitation. ¡°I want all of you to split into battalions of a hundred. Elect someone to be the leader of the entire battalion. I want all windclaws to be in one battalion! In each battalion there are ten groups of ten. Elect a leader within each group. Get to it!¡±


    My orders were met with a resounding. ¡°Yes my Queen!¡± I smiled and yelled. ¡°Alright, the battalion with windlcaws is battalion number 1. Leaders of the rest of the battalions confer with each other and choose your numbers.¡±


    It took almost thirty minutes for everyone to get organized and that honestly that was a miracle in itself. ¡°Battalion number 1! On my order you will sprint as fast as you can at those goats. Throw something at them before getting close, they explode. Battalions 2,3 and 4! I want you all to form a line in between the fortress and the groups in the grassland. I want the rest of you to surround the fortification and kill anything that tries to leave or enter. If they start hitting you with ranged weapons back up but maintain a circle. Go!¡±

 Chapter 56

    The hundred or so windclaws sprinted down the hill, they¡¯re bright red scales glinting in the sun. For some reason the second I claimed them all of my troop¡¯s scales had started to change to a bright or dark red.


    I still had no idea how the biology of this species worked so I¡¯ve just decided not to question it. That¡¯ll be something for Tetel to explain after the battle. I focused back onto the windclaws and winced at the half a dozen explosions from the goats.


    Thankfully my troops had not underestimated the blast radius. It looked like no one had gotten hurt but that was only the first part. I smiled when I saw almost three hundred zorkids running towards the castle. The windlcaws harassed them the entire way, picking off anyone who got too far away from the main group. Battalions 2,3 and 4 were laying on their stomachs in the grass but the second the zorkids got close they sprang up and charged forward.


    I sprinted in as well and began ripping and tearing through the zorkids. Blood and body parts flew through the air as my troops tore through the enemy. The Zorkids were encircled by battalions 1,2,3 and 4 by now. The combat ended pretty quickly after that. The Zorkids were only a problem if they outnumbered us. When the odds were this stacked against them many attempted to break free and run.


    Unfortunately for the few that did make it out a group of around a dozen windlcaws were circling the fighting, killing anything trying to leave. A few bruisers got scared and tried to run but they were either reminded of their duties or simply ripped apart by their fellows. Cowardice is unacceptable. Once the fighting was over I checked my notifications


    You have killed a level 1 Zorkid. x17


    You have killed a level  2 Zorkid.  x8


    You have killed a level 6 Zorkid. x2


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 36 Mud Skink War QueenStolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The level up was welcomed although I wish I wasn¡¯t so far away from my next evolution. It would cement my position as general of the army. It would also be nice if I were a bit stronger in a fight.


    I shook the thoughts away and yelled. ¡°Battalion 1, gather the dead. Put our dead comrades in a different pile than the zorkids. We¡¯ll use the zorkids as food for now until we get some from the city.¡±


    From what I had seen within the castle there were around two thousands zorkids packed in tight. I did not want to charge in, as that would almost guarantee a complete wipeout. Time for a good old siege battle.


    ¡°Battalions 2,3,4 join the encirclement! Leaders of the battalions I want to meet with you!¡± It took a few minutes but nine bruisers and one windclaw stood before me. Unsurprisingly the old bruiser who had been running drills had become a commander of battalion number 7.


    I just shrugged and said. ¡°Do you know what a trench is boys?¡± They shook their heads as I sighed and said. ¡°I want you to dig a large ditch around the entire castle. Dig three of them. Make sure our boys can fit in the trench. We¡¯re in it for the long haul. This is a threat to the city of Tiat, and we¡¯re going to eliminate it.¡±


    A gruff looking bruiser who was the leader of battalion number 2 said. ¡°How are we gonna kill them without attacking them?¡± I smiled and asked. ¡°How much food do you think they have stocked up in there? Probably not that much. We¡¯ll have food coming in from the city soon enough. We¡¯ll starve them out and wait until they¡¯re weak and dying. After that we¡¯ll swoop in and slaughter them. Now get to work!¡±


    The commanders sprinted away as I walked over to a nearby hill overlooking the entire battlefield. I plopped down and yelled for a winclaw. They were fast and would be used to relay orders for me. When one ran over to me I said. ¡°I want to always have five windclaws near me at all times. I need to be able to give out orders as quickly as possible.¡±


    The windclaw nodded and ran off, returning with four more windclaws. I smiled and said. ¡°Perfect, now the waiting game begins.¡± It took four hours for the first trench to be completed. It was the largest and would be used to store our wounded and provisions.


    While we were building the zorkids had decided they were comfortable staying in theri fortress and hurling shit at us. I fell asleep before the next trench was finished but by the time I had woken up they were already almost done with the third and final trench. The third was the closest to the castle and would only have bruisers ready for combat within its dirt walls.


    The second trench was where my troops would sleep. I stretched out and stood up, shaking off the grogginess from sleep. I turned towards a windclaw and said. ¡°Take thirty bruisers, go get my kids.¡±


    My command position was safe enough and I can¡¯t risk leaving them alone in the city for too long. Plus I miss them, it''s been way too long since I¡¯ve hugged them. I¡¯m never making the mistake of not hugging my kids ever again.


    I sat back down and leaned onto my side, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my scales. It was easy to forget that I was now responsible for thousands of lives on top of being a father. Life is strange, it¡¯s strange enough that I live in this world now. Although I quite like my life, it''s nice being a father.

 Chapter 57

    My kids arrived a few hours later and immediately sprinted over to me. I smiled when I saw and laughed as we collapsed into a pile of hugs. After a few minutes they calmed down and I started to explain what was going on.


    James excitedly looked over the battlefield and asked. ¡°Are you fighting enemies right now my Queen?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Yeah, an army of zorkids are holed up in that fortress.¡± He nodded slowly and I could almost hear the gears in his head whirring.


    I suddenly had an idea as I walked up to James and asked. ¡°What do you think we should do with our army? We have nine hundred bruisers, a hundred windclaws and the three trenches. The enemy has around two thousand soldiers.¡±


    James stared at the battlefield for a bit before saying. ¡°Attacking the hill wouldn¡¯t work very well with our numbers and lack of anything capable of destroying the walls. My Queen, you might be able to destroy the wall with your large body but it would still result in a tight choke point. We are the attackers so we¡¯ll be at a disadvantage no matter what. The best thing to do is starve them out.¡±


    I stared at him, shocked that he knew any of this. How does this race work? Do all my kids know this? I turned towards Marlow who was building something out of the mud. ¡°Marlow, what do you think we should do?¡±


    He looked up at me, a dazed look in his eyes as he walked over and said. ¡°I¡­ I think we could a-attack them head on?¡± I frowned and asked. ¡°What were you building over there Marlow?¡± He smiled when I asked and said. ¡°It¡¯s a place where all our sick or wounded friends can stay. We could have people there to help them and it¡¯d be safer. Like a home for hurt people.¡±


    Huh, so one kid was talented at tactics and the other invented a hospital. Weird. ¡°Charlie, Chester, what advice can you guys give me?¡± They both shrugged and started wrestling.


    I smiled and turned towards Tim. He had been staring intently at the trenches the entire time. Without even being prompted he said. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what I can do to help you, my Queen. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. Don¡¯t ever think you have to become something for me to be proud of, Whatever you love doing is what you¡¯ll get to do.¡± Tim smiled and said. ¡°Thank you, my Queen.¡±


    I turned towards Tom but decided not to ask. He was sitting in the back chewing mud up and then spitting it onto Charlie and Chester. I just smiled and said. ¡°Alright kids, I need to talk to some of my commanders. Try to stay quiet.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    I turned towards the windclaws and said. ¡°Summon all of the battalion leaders. Once you¡¯re done with that, have three windclaws go to Tiat and request two weeks worth of food for a thousand soldiers. Tiobella promised us provisions.¡±


    The windclaws sprinted away as I walked a few feet away from my kids and awaited their arrival. It took a few minutes but the ten commanders all gathered around me. A few were talking quietly but most just stared at me. Uh, creepy.


    I shook myself before saying. ¡°Alright, I want each battalion leader to introduce themself.¡± Actually, do I really want to remember their random names? Not really. ¡°Scratch that, I¡¯m going to give each of you new names. First battalion commander, step forward.¡±


    He did, looking a bit confused as he did. ¡°Your name is now Uno!¡± I had tried learning foreign languages when I was younger. I don¡¯t remember what it was called but it would work for now. ¡°Second battalion commander steps forward.¡±


    This one was a small bruiser with a missing eye. He had a few scars criss crossing his face and looked quite ugly. ¡°Your name is Dos.¡± The rest of the naming went pretty quickly. The final tally for the names was Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco, Seis, Siete, Ocho, Nueve and Diez.¡±


    ¡°Alright commanders! Uno give your report!¡± Uno was the commander of the windclaws so I had his battalion foraging in the surrounding countryside while also scouting for any zorkids that hadn¡¯t made it to the castle.¡±


    Uno cleared his throat and said. ¡°We¡¯ve had limited success hunting for food. We managed to feed ourselves but that''s about it. We¡¯ve been eating the zorkids but we won¡¯t have any food by tomorrow.¡±


    I nodded and said. ¡°I¡¯ve sent messengers to the city. Food should arrive soon. If not I¡¯ll go buy some goblins from the nearby farms. Queen Tuobella promised us provisions.¡± Uno seemed to hesitate when I said that so I asked. ¡°Uno, what is it?¡± He sheepishly looked around before saying. ¡°Queen Tuobella, is a bit infamous for going back on her word. I wouldn¡¯t depend on her helping us. It¡¯d be best if we could secure our own supply.¡±


    I frowned and asked. ¡°So basically, it''s going to become a competition between us and the zorkids of who can not starve the longest?¡± Uno nodded and said. ¡°Exactly!¡± Well, that pretty much ruins the plan of starving them out.


    ¡°Uno, have your entire battalions spread out, find every goblin farmer and claim them for me. Then ask them if they can spare any goblins. Don¡¯t threaten them, just ask for a few. Tell them we can buy some as well.¡± I don¡¯t actually have much money but I¡¯ll just say that Queen Tuobella is paying for it.¡± Uno nodded and sprinted away as I turned towards Dos. He just shrugged and said. ¡°Everything seems fine. The zorkids seem content to sit inside and wait.¡±


    I nodded and asked. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re planning anything?¡± He shrugged again and said. ¡°Maybe, they might try something when they start getting hungry but for now we¡¯re doing alright. I¡¯m thinking they¡¯ll realize they don¡¯t have any food tonight or tomorrow morning. We¡¯ll have to worry about desperate raids and attacks after that.¡±


    I sighed and said. ¡°I want four battalions in the trench closest to the castle at all times. Make sure everyone gets time to rest though. Tired soldiers are dead soldiers.¡± Dos nodded and I motioned for Tres to walk up. He just shook his head and said. ¡°My Queen, battalions two to ten have the same report. Morale is high but the food situation is worrying.¡±


    I sighed and nodded. ¡°Alright boys, get back to the trenches and send a windclaw if anything happens.¡± They all nodded and bowed before walking away. I gotta say watchings them bow is hilarious. It¡¯s like a little shuffle and then a slight dip of their heads. God I need to try to take this seriously. I settled down and was about to take a nap when I heard a loud ¡°Thwap!¡± coming from the castle. I looked over towards the castle and saw a goat sailing through the air, screaming the entire time. I was about to laugh when I remembered what those goats did. ¡°Incoming!¡±

 Chapter 58

    I watched with a mix of horror and humor as the goat slammed into the trenches and exploded. I turned towards the last windclaw near me and said. ¡°Take my kids into the nearby forest! Take cover!¡±


    I then sprinted towards the front lines. My mind raced as I tried to think of a solution. If we continued to be bombarded then we would lose, I could already see a few corpses from here.


    As I walked by the trenches I made a decision. ¡°To me, troops! We¡¯re taking this castle! They think they can hit us and we¡¯ll just sit here? Charge! Kill the vagrant paupers! Charge!¡± My cry was met with a resounding. ¡°For the Queen! For the Queen!¡±


    Hundreds of bruisers hopped out of the trenches and sprinted towards the castle. I did the same and decided I was going to have to act like a siege weapon. I whined and said. ¡°Oh holy taxes, protect me and my brain.¡± as I slammed head first into the gate. I was solid but I weighed a lot and had been traveling quite fast.


    My head rattled as the gate crumpled under me as I stumbled into the castle. Thousands of zorkids stared at me as I walked towards them like a drunk man going for his eighth beer. It took a few seconds for me to realize what planet I was on as I stood up straight, thanked taxes for protecting me and yelled. ¡°I¡¯m gonna eat all of you! Then I¡¯m gonna shit you out and use you to fertilize my fields! Then I¡¯ll eat those crops that you fertilized! Then I¡¯ll shit them out and do it again! You are going to help feed generations!


    I sprinted forward, bruisers all around me as I leaped into the air and belly flopped into the center of their lines. The castle was large but it still struggled to fit two two thousand of the zorkids. This meant that every time I swiped with my claws or stabbed with my tail I killed multiple. Double kill!


    Brusieres and zorkids died all around me as we desperately pushed through their lines. Thankfully it seemed like they hadn¡¯t expected this as their lines were disorderly and barely coherent.


    The fighting lasted for an hour, a desperate melee with dozens dying every second. We were slowly being pushed back when I made the decision. ¡°Orderly retreat! Bruisers in the back grab the wounded! If you are too wounded to fight, leave! We¡¯ve done enough damage for now. Grab a corpse or two if you can! That¡¯ll be our dinner.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a very orderly retreat but it was better than a mass rout. I wouldn¡¯t be joining them yet. I stared at the contraption that had launched the exploding goat. It was a mix of a slingshot and a ballista. And it had to go. I sprinted through the enemy lines, stomping on zorkids as I sprinted forward.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I was getting hit for every step of the way, blood gushing down my sides as I grumbled and winced every time one of the zorkids slammed their weird third arm into my legs. Finally I was a few feet away. I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to make it back through the zorkids so I just sped up and yelled. ¡°Fuck all of you! I¡¯ll be back!¡±


    I crashed into the slingshot and didn¡¯t stop. I fell from the wall, the slingshot under me as I fell nearly thirty feet. I slammed into the ground with a grunt before beginning to slide down the hill.


    I gracefully face planted into the mud at the bottom of the hill, my blood mixing with the swampy area. I laid there for around ten minutes until some bruisers found me and dragged me back to the trenches. I wasn¡¯t even able to stand.


    It took around an hour but I was dropped back at my command position. My kids fussed over me for a few minutes but I had to wave them away. I didn¡¯t want them to see how injured I was.


    The commanders found me about an hour later, sitting in a gigantic pool of blood. I just nodded and at them as they quickly moved me to a new spot. I had stopped bleeding by now and my wounds were already starting to close.


    I sighed as I looked around the commanders and realized that we were missing two. Without missing a beat I asked. ¡°Who died?¡± Dos frowned and said. ¡°Ocho and Tres. They were at the front the entire time. I saw Ocho get swarmed by some Zorkids. He had gotten too far away from the rest of us. I don¡¯t know how Tres died.¡±


    Cinco volunteered the information by saying. ¡°They used a few of the exploding goats. Tres got caught in one of the blasts. The entire side of his face was gone.¡± Cinco shuddered when he said that and I patted him on the head with my tail. This was the first battle for most of my soldiers. Many would be traumatized by the combat.


    I sighed again and said. ¡°Alright, how many soldiers died?¡± Cinco once again spoke. ¡°We lost a bit less than two hundred. The entirety of the third battalion was destroyed. They received the brunt of the exploding goats.¡±


    I winced and said. ¡°Alright, spread the bruisers out so we have nine battalions of brusters again. Have the troops elect a new leader for each battalion. They¡¯ll also be given the title of either Ocho or Tres. They¡¯ll have to live up to their new names.¡±


    My commanders nodded and as I struggled to my feet and asked. ¡°And the food situation? How many of the enemy do you think we killed?¡± No one spoke for a bit until Dos said. ¡°We have over eight hundred zorkid corpses. Those who were injured early in the fight stayed to collect food. We believe we kill over a thousand of them. However most of our soldiers are injured and over six hundred are unable to fight.¡±


    I nodded and said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be careful, we need time to recover. We can¡¯t risk another full frontal assault. Supplies will be coming in soon. Let the troops gorge themselves. Too many are still malnourished.¡±


    Dos nodded and began walking away. I yelled out. ¡°Thank you, for everything, troops. I know you don¡¯t actually know me. I just wanted to thank you.¡± They all smiled and walked away, chanting. ¡°For the Queen! For the Queen!¡±


    I smiled as well and stumbled down the hill after them. I wanted to walk among the troops. I wanted to see what the result of my orders were. I got to the third trench and felt like throwing up. Bruisers missing legs, tails and even parts of their head were screaming and groaning as a few tired looking bruisers tried their best to attend to them.


    I sighed and turned towards a windclaw messenger. ¡°Go grab a hundred caretakers from our district.¡± I paused and considered for a bit before saying. ¡°Grab a couple hundred hatchlings as well.¡± We need people to carry around moss soaked with water, to clean the wounds and to feed the wounded. I stared at the wounded for a bit longer before turning towards a nearby injured bruiser. He stared at me with some uncertainty in his eyes. I stared back and said. ¡°Please, take me to the dead.¡±

 Chapter 59

    They were piled up like a discarded trash heap. I shook my head and said. ¡°Unacceptable.¡± The bruiser who had walked with me nodded and said. ¡°They deserve better.¡± I nodded and said. ¡°Grab a few bruisers, separate the corpses. Try to identify them as well. They deserve to be remembered.¡± I stumbled away and checked my notifications while I walked.


    You have killed a level 1 Zorkid. x54


    You have killed a level 2 Zorkid. x31


    You have killed a level 3 Zorkid. x23


    You have killed a level 4 Zorkid. x19


    You have killed a level 5 Zorkid. X6


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 37 Mud Skink War Queen


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 38 Mud Skink War Queen


    The level ups were welcome but felt a bit guilty to get. I had only gained from this fight. There had been no personal loss, nothing. So why did it still hurt? I cried as I walked back towards my command post.


    Tetel ran up to me when he saw me. ¡°My Queen! I just heard what happened! Are you alright?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, no need to worry.¡± Tetel nodded and said. ¡°I have the goblins with me, will you begin the training now?¡±


    I shook my head and said. ¡°We¡¯ll be using them for manual labor then food. I¡¯ll have to buy some more for my idea later. There''s so many wounded. We¡¯ll need to kill some goblins tomorrow.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Tetel nodded and asked. ¡°What can I do to help?¡± I smiled sadly and said. ¡°You could help me dig a grave for the two hundred or so soldiers that died.¡± Tetel nodded sadly and said. ¡°It would be an honor, my Queen.¡±


    I walked over to a nice hill overlooking a meadow. I looked around and said. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start digging.¡± It took six hours for us to make a good sized mass grave. It was shallow and wide, I wanted each soldier to not have another stacked on top of them.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll put each soldier in individually. Tetel, go make sure my kids are alright.¡± He nodded and said. ¡°The caretakers were just starting to gather when I left. They¡¯ll be here soon enough.¡±


    I nodded and said, ¡°Thank you Tetel, for everything.¡± He was a dependable rock of a butler. Definitely giving him a raise. Wait, do I pay any of them? Huh, guess not. Can¡¯t really remember negotiating pay. Kinda insane to just sign up without worrying about money.


    Is that my fault? Nah that''s on them. Oh well, I¡¯ll take care of them anyway. I shoved the strange thoughts of contract management away and focused back on the task at hand. Slowly soldiers started filtering in carrying the bodies of the deceased. Once around five hundred of my soldiers had gathered I began to talk.


    ¡°Troops! It has been an honor to serve with you. But today we are here to honor those who no longer serve with us. Over two hundred of our proud brothers were murdered by those peasants. Two hundred skinks that won¡¯t be able to see the proud nation we will become. But they fought for our right to see that beautiful nation. Their lives were not wasted. They sacrificed themselves so that we could live on!¡±


    The bruisers around me let out a resounding cheer as I stood as tall as I could and yelled. ¡°In honor of this sorrowful day I name today as a day of remembrance! I want to hear stories about the dead. I want you all to eat as much as you want! Get to it!¡±


    My soldiers scattered into various groups, chatting and grieving in their own ways. I just limped back to where I had placed my command post and collapsed. My wounds were still incredibly painful and I needed some rest. Someone delivered a goblin that I gratefully ate.


    After a while my kids joined me and I watched them play. They were doing their usual war game although this time one side defended a small fortification. The fortification was a small fort built out of sticks and mud. Marlow, Tim and Tom defended while James, Charlie and Chester attacked.


    At first James¡¯s team seemed content to sit and wait until the defender got bored. But just as I was beginning to fall asleep myself James made a clicking noise. I looked up and saw that Charlie and Chester were sprinting towards the fort from either side.


    James waited for a moment, looking for where no one was going to go. Then he was off, sprinting forward and leaping higher than I had thought possible with his small stubbly legs. He landed inside the fort and quickly began viciously biting the defenders.


    Unfortunately for him he didn¡¯t have anyone protecting his rear and proceeded to be belly flopped on by Marlow. I laughed as he gave me a wounded look and walked away to sulk. I grabbed him with my tail and pulled him in for a hug. He tried resisting but after a while he just sighed and snuggled up next to me.


    After a few more minutes all of my kids were cuddled in with us. We all fell asleep soon after that. We were woken up by Tetel calmly walking towards us. The sun still wasn¡¯t up but it would be soon.


    He nodded respectfully towards me and said. ¡°My Queen, we caught two deserters. What would you like us to do with them?¡± I walked towards him and said. ¡°Walk with me.¡± We walked a good distance away as I leaned in and siad. ¡°Kill them. Desertion will not be tolerated.¡± Tetel nodded and said. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡±


    Desertion, what an idiotic idea. Soldiers think they can just leave? After others died to protect them? No. ¡°Tetel, don¡¯t kill them. But I want them in the front when we charge in. They¡¯re brothers died to protect them so they could fight on. I will not let their sacrifice go in vain.¡± Tetel nodded and said. ¡°Thank you, my Queen.¡± I just shrugged and walked back to my kids. I need some more sleep before facing the rest of the day.

 Chapter 60

    The next five days passed quickly. It was mostly filled with down time other than one tense moment. On the third day the Zorkids had streamed out of the castle numbering in the hundreds. Over five hundred of the annoying little shits. Thankfully they were spotted instantly and I led a force of six hundred to meet them. The other two hundred or so were still recovering.


    The first battalion had returned with weeks worth of food from the surrounding farms and over a thousand claimed farmers. They also told me that a few of the outer farms had already been claimed by me, demonstrating Az¡¯s efforts.


    The Zorkid hadn¡¯t even tried to fight, instead they attempted to retreat into the mountains. Unfortunately for them the windclaws of the first battalion were a bit faster than horses and a lot faster than some bipedal goats.


    They were run down and turned into a feast in short order. The next two days had been peaceful and no one else had tried to desert. Finally at the beginning of the sixth day I got up and stared at the castle. The gates were still destroyed and one of the walls was missing a large section. The zorkids had most likely been starving for the last few days and should be sufficiently weakened. But it was still with a heavy heart that I gave the order. I gathered my entire force right at the base of the mountain.


    A bit more than eight hundred soldiers gathered below me. We had started at around a thousand. But these weren¡¯t the same skinny fresh faced bruisers from before. They had been fed well over the last week and they had all seen combat.


    I sighed, took a moment to compose myself then started talking. ¡°Soldiers! Today we will conquer this fortification! We will eradicate these bipedal goats and usher in a new age of glory for our race!¡±


    My speech was met with a resounding cheer as I waited a moment before continuing. ¡°But that isn¡¯t the only thing we are doing today. Today I declare the formation of the kingdom of Zayan. Not the city state. I declare myself queen of Zayan and all of my claimed as citizens! Do any of you object?¡±


    No one spoke up as I smiled and said. ¡°Togher, we will unify the city states. Together our race will carve out a permanent place in the history books. We will rule more land than any of you could comprehend! To start this grand project, all that''s standing in our way are the zorkid. Dirty animals starving and hiding within their walls. Do they deserve to hold this fortress?¡±


    My soldiers all yelled no at once as I smiled and said. ¡°Soldiers! Today they face the first legion of Zayan! Today they will die and we¡¯ll eat them! We will take revenge for our fallen brethren and forge a new life for our people! So what are you waiting for? Charge! Kill the enemy! Rip them apart!¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I ended my speech by sprinting up the hill and beginning the assault. My troops hurried after me. The zorkids had seen us gathering outside and a large group of them held the gate house. I didn¡¯t stop running when I saw them. Instead I sped up and slammed through them. It didn¡¯t stop, instead I continued running forward, slashing and stabbing anything in front of me.


    The zorkid lines buckled as I drove a wedge through them. My soldiers filled the gap I left behind and began to destroy the enemy. We had similar numbers now and without outnumbering us the fight was over before it began. Hundreds of zorkids died every minute as my troops and I gleefully tore through them.


    Twenty minutes after I had first slammed into their ranks the zorkid were dead. Fifty soldiers had died in the fight. All of my commanders were still alive although the new Ocho was limping while walking through his troops, checking on them.


    I myself was sporting a few injuries but nothing that really slowed me down. Tetel found me after the combat, chewing on a zorkid while staring at the battlefield. ¡°My Queen! The battle was a success. What would you like me to do?¡±


    I sighed and said. ¡°Call the commanders over, I want to talk to them about what happened here. I also want to leave our army here when I go back to the city. I need to speak with Tuobella. I¡¯ll keep my kids here as well. We¡¯ll be evacuating most of our district and moving them here.¡±


    The city of Tiat was not an ally of mine. But they could still be useful. Especially since I was close to controlling the entirety of their food production. Tetel nodded and walked away as I found a nice patch of grass to chill in. The castle itself was pretty bare bones but it would be a nice palace.


    It had been an impulsive decision to found the kingdom of Zayan but it made sense in the long run. I wanted to take over the entire region and to do that I would need to have my own nation. It was a good idea. And my kids are now princes! Ooh, I wonder if I can get them cute little suits.


    Focus Aya! What''s the next move? Do I declare war on Tiat? Should I try allying with Itzal? Nah, no reason to owe any favors. The best thing would be if I could get a few more queens on my side. A nation won¡¯t survive without other competent leaders and the population needs to grow.


    But how can I make it seem like I¡¯m not desperate? It¡¯s obvious my nation doesn¡¯t have any other queens. I won¡¯t be able to keep up with the attrition. Suddenly an idea popped into my head just as my commanders started to arrive. I archived it for later and said. ¡°What''s the damage? How¡¯re the troops doing?¡±


    Uno answered first, an excited look on his face. ¡°Forty three of our brothers died in the fighting. But the entire zorkid force has been eradicated. We now have a steady supply of provisions from the goblin farmers and a home base!¡±


    I nodded and smiled before saying. ¡°Yes, that brings me to my next point. Most of the army will stay here. We¡¯ll be moving our own citizens here as well. We¡¯ll be establishing a new city. I just can¡¯t trust the other queens of Tiat to be that close to us. My children will stay here as well. I¡¯ll be returning to the city to see if I can get us a few more political allies.¡±


    They all nodded and began talking worried about having to build a whole city. ¡°While I¡¯m gone I expect all of you to work hard. I want a wall built around the second trench. It can be made of mud and sticks. We just need something. We¡¯ll make it better later.¡±


    They all nodded as I smiled and said. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you soldiers, no matter what I will always be proud of you. So please protect my children. Uno, I¡¯m taking your battalion with me. I have a plan that might result in some altercations and it would make me feel better if I had some help.¡± He puffed up and smiled as I stretched out and said. ¡°We¡¯re going to do a heist.

 Chapter 61

    I needed more queens to join me, but I also don¡¯t want any political rivals. From what I could gather the broodmothers didn¡¯t participate in politics. The perfect queens to join my new nation. I would have more queens eventually, but not now. Although there was that one queen that was nice to me. Maybe I should try to act like I tolerate them?


    Hmm, good plan. I need to move my people as well, so I can''t let them get caught in the crossfire. And I want to find out more about how many guards the city of Tiat has. Okay the heist has been postponed. But I still think it would work pretty well. Or it wouldn¡¯t, either way it¡¯d be fun.


    I sighed and turned towards Tetel. He was happily playing with my kids while also instructing various bruisers on what to do. I waved the commanders away before walking over to him.


    He bowed his head as I walked up and said. ¡°Tetel, We¡¯re returning to the city now. I need to speak with my kids. Tell Uno to make sure his battalion is ready to go.¡± He smiled and walked away as I motioned towards my kids. They waddled over to me as I smiled and said. ¡°Kids, I¡¯m going on a trip for a few days.¡±


    They looked confused but I just sighed and said. ¡°You see the castle up there? That''s yours now. That is our permanent home. No more moving around, we¡¯re home.¡± The words hit hard as it was the first time I had actually thought about it. I had a home now, a stable environment.


    It felt good. I hugged each of my kids one last time before turning towards Uno and his soldiers. ¡°Troops, we may be returning home but you must be vigilant. We are going to be entering a hostile environment. I will be threatening the other queens with starvation if they don¡¯t listen to me. We will most likely have to fight. If it does come down to that our goal will be to evacuate safely. I won¡¯t antagonize anyone until our people have left the city and come here.¡±


    There was no reason to rush and risk others'' lives. The best thing to do was to try to grab some allies while the entire population of my district was fleeing. Actually, how many people lived in my district?


    I turned towards Tetel and said. ¡°How many skinks have I claimed?¡± He looked up at me and smiled. ¡°You currently have over twenty three thousand claims, my Queen.¡± Good lord! I staggered back and asked. ¡°How many in the district?¡± He frowned and said. ¡°Not including the military, over two thousand live within your district. Many are hatchlings that were never helped by the guards. We try to help the oldest evolve but the brood mothers continue to dump more and more on us.¡±


    I frowned and said. ¡°I don¡¯t want any hatchlings younger than a month to evolve. Let them play and learn before joining the real world. Have the bruisers hand feed them goblins to level the ones older than a month.¡± He nodded and told a nearby windclaw to relay the order.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I shooed away everyone but Uno and Tetel. They moved towards me as I whispered to them. ¡°We need to plan out what''s going to happen if I die.¡± They both recoiled like I had just smacked them and Uno said. ¡°Why would you die?¡±


    I smirked and said. ¡°There is a good chance that I do die. But we need to risk it, Zayan won¡¯t survive without more queens. And we need to get our people out of there. If I die I want you two to protect my kids. No matter what. You still have political leverage so find a new queen to claim all of you. Just stay safe, no sacrificing yourself after I die. No point.¡±


    They both glared and said. ¡°We will die long before you do, my Queen. But we will protect your children.¡± I smiled and said. ¡°That''s all I needed to hear. Now come on, let''s go headfirst into a nest of vipers.¡± They both looked a bit confused but I thought it was an appropriate comparison for the situation we were in.


    The first battalion and I left the new settlement and made it to the city before the sun set. Before we entered I addressed my small group of soldiers. ¡°Move through our district and tell everyone that I¡¯ve ordered them to gather out here. I want twenty five of you to stay here and protect everyone. Once everyones here checks the district one more time. We can¡¯t leave anyone behind. Once you¡¯re sure you have everyone make your way to the castle. We have a good supply of food from the farmers so we should be good at that. Move out!¡±


    The windclaws sprinted away as I slowly walked into the district. Tetel was by my side the entire time. As we walked I asked. ¡°What queen should I try tracking down first? Do we know any who will for sure join us?¡±


    Tetel paused for a second before saying. ¡°Queen Tiktelazertoli is known to be an avid supporter of your new military. However I must advise you my Queen, she is an opportunist. If she thinks she can gain power and wealth by joining with you then she will. However if presented with a better opportunity she will leave you.¡±


    Sounds like someone finally understands how this world works! Everyone lately has just been swearing their undying loyalty left and right! It¡¯s nice to talk to someone who acts like a real noble. ¡°She sounds perfect. I¡¯ll never have to doubt her loyalty, because I know she isn¡¯t loyal!¡±


    Tetel looked a bit taken aback but he just chuckled and said. ¡°Of course my Queen. I¡¯ll request a meeting right away.¡± I nodded as he sprinted away. I turned down a random road and found myself facing a large crowd of my claimed.


    They all stared at me for a few seconds before one stepped forward and said. ¡°Is it true we have to leave?¡± I nodded and said. ¡°The peace won¡¯t last, this city will soon be turned into a warzone. I want to make sure you all stay safe, so please corporate.¡±


    Most of them still seemed uncertain so I just sighed and said. ¡°Please, I won¡¯t be able to go through with my plan if you¡¯re still in the city. If you¡¯re truly loyal, leave the city and follow the windclaws orders.¡±


    They all nodded and walked away. It was still strange how loyal they were. Is that what abandonment issues look like? Am I just taking advantage of their insecurities? I shrugged and continued wandering for the next hour.


    Tetel showed up after a while, a tired but triumphant smile on his face. He stared up at me and said. ¡°My Queen! Glorious news! Queen Tiktelazertoli has agreed to a meeting. She said to give her a few more hours to gather herself. She¡¯ll send someone to guide you to her district. She seemed receptive to an alliance, my Queen.¡±


    I smiled and said. ¡°Perfect! We¡¯ll help our district evacuate while we wait.¡± Tetel nodded and walked away as we spent the next six hours carrying hatchlings, goblins and food to the camp outside the city. Soon, we would leave. And then everything would start going to shit.

 Chapter 62

    By the time the guide arrived almost the entire district was ready to move. I even told Uno to leave the second time everyone was ready. I predict things will fall apart pretty quickly. The guide who had been sent to retrieve us was beautiful.


    He was a windclaw with scales so bright it was almost blinding. He smiled when he saw us and walked over. He bowed his head slightly and said. ¡°I am Zek, it is an honor to meet you, Queen Aya.¡±


    I shrugged and said. ¡°I know! Now take me to your queen. We have much to discuss.¡± Oh my goodness I bet I sounded so cool just now! ¡°We have much to discuss.¡± I sounded so serious! I bet everyone around me thinks I¡¯m cool now.


    I turned towards Tetel and he looked like he was about to cry. I just smirked and started walking after Zek. Walking through the city I felt a bit weird, like something was crawling under my skin.


    Had I accidentally paid too much in taxes? But I don¡¯t pay taxes. Strange. It¡¯s probably just indigestion. We made it to Tiktelazertoli¡¯s burrow after around twenty minutes of walking. Her burrow was elegant. That was the only way to describe it.


    Multiple streams ran through a large open air room. Eggs were placed sporadically in beautifully decorated nests. In the center Tiktelazertoli sat on a nest made of feathers and furs. She smiled when she saw me but it felt wrong.


    It wasn¡¯t a happy smile, it was more predatory than anything else. I mimicked the smile and sat down, not waiting for her to ask me to. We stared at each other for a few seconds before she sighed and said.


    ¡°Queen Aya, why are you evacuating your district? And where have you been? You were supposed to be raising an army.¡± I shrugged and said. ¡°I found somewhere else to live, it¡¯s cleaner, less rats.¡±


    Her smile disappeared when I said that as I sighed and turned towards Tetel. He was still standing happily in the corner, enjoying the triumph of his mission. ¡°Tetel, please run to our camp and have everyone move to the new city, I¡¯ll join you all shortly.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    He stared at me confused but I just waved him away. He sprinted away as Tiktelazertoli frowned even more and said. ¡°Queen Aya, please tell your servant to come back, travelling alone can be dangerous. Accidents could occur.¡±


    I burst out laughing when she finished saying that. ¡°What are you? A comic book character? Who actually says that? Were you joking? If not thats fucking hilarious!¡± I couldn¡¯t stop laughing as she just stared at me in horror. I stood up to my full height and said. ¡°Alright Tiktelazertoli. You¡¯re funny, but you also betrayed me. I¡¯m gonna kill you now.¡±


    She scrambled away and said. ¡°Why? How have I betrayed you?¡± I shrugged and said. ¡°Something seems off. And doing anything to cause me harm is betrayal. When we first met you said we should be friends. You aren''t acting very friendly right now.¡±


    A wall of bruisers stood between us now as she shouted back. ¡°You just said you are gonna kill me! How am I the one being unfriendly?¡± I just shook my head and said. ¡°Disappointing, you chose the wrong side. I had such hopes for you.¡± Geez, now I sound like a comic book character.


    I stood up, stretching as my tail slammed forward and went right through the skull of a nearby bruiser. The corpse collapsed to the ground as I leaped forward, tearing into the orderly ranks. Blood splattered all over me as I bit, stabbed and clawed my way towards Tiktelazertoli.


    She was sprinting away but her large, bloated form was slow. Her evolution wasn¡¯t inherently fat but she had clearly enjoyed food a bit too much recently. It would be her undoing in the end. I picked up half a corpse with my tail and tossed it at her.


    It slammed onto her back and she screamed in horror. Her scream was more of a squeal, like a dying pig. I bounded over to her and leaped into the air, slamming my two front feet into her.


    Her spine crumpled beneath me as her scream was cut off. I ripped her head off with my powerful jaws and impaled it on my tail. I took a quick shit on her decapitated body before walking out of her burrow and yelling.


    ¡°I am Aya! Father, queen and your god!¡± After making sure everyone knew who had killed her I sprinted away. An army of guards would be raised soon and I couldn''t risk dying. I had already accumulated far too many wounds from that fight with only two dozen bruisers.


    It felt strange to fight other mud skinks. It felt dirty, wasteful even. They¡¯re lives would have been better spent if they had simply sworn loyalty to me. Oh well, I can''t win it all. Although her betraying me does kinda mess up my plans.


    I wonder if she was actually going to betray me. The meeting itself seemed suspicious but I probably shouldn¡¯t have jumped to conclusions. I kinda fucked up didn¡¯t I? Eh, she annoyed me. At first I thought it¡¯d be refreshing to interact with someone like her, but it just didn¡¯t feel right.


    Also why did she act like a freaking weirdo? It was pretty clear she was threatening Tetel but why? Did she just not understand what I did? Oh shit! I didn¡¯t tell her I claimed all the farmers! That was the entirety of my leverage! Shit. I fucked up. I really fucked up.


    Deep breaths! We¡¯re chilling. Just gotta get back to my kids. At least I¡¯ll get to hang out with them in the new city. Yeah, that''s a good thing! Happy accident! Scratch that, I did all of that stuff on purpose. Hell yeah, time to see my kids!

 Chapter 63

    I sprinted through the streets, reaching my district in only a few minutes. It was empty, a ghost town. Which means my plan worked! Now I just have to distract anyone that tries to chase us!


    I ran over to the camp and saw in the distance, my people marching home. I smiled and settled down in the camp. I placed Tiktelazertoli¡¯s head on a nice rock and promised myself I wouldn¡¯t forget it. It¡¯d be nice to start a collection again. I want Bella¡¯s skull next. I own a castle now, I should have a room for these.


    I played around with the head for around twenty minutes before the first group of pursuers arrived. Twenty bruisers stared at me in horror as I drew various pictures on nearby rocks with Tiktelazertoli¡¯s blood and brain fluids.


    They screamed and charged at me. I just smirked and sprinted towards them. My tail whipped out and began to rip through their ranks as I contributed my claws and teeth to their suicidal charge. They would all get to meet their queen soon enough.


    Goodness gracious it feels good to let loose! No more acting nice! No more hiding! My ascension is nigh! Soon I will rule the world! I paused in the slaughter as the only remaining bruisers tried to crawl away, I had crushed his hind legs.


    Am I the comic book villain? Planning world domination? Nah, I¡¯m the main character! ¡°Get over here you coward! I¡¯m gonna shit on you!¡± After dealing with the last one I sat back and checked my notifications.


    You have killed a level 11 Mud Skink Bruiser. x8


    You have killed a level 12 Mud Skink Bruiser. x5


    You have killed a level 13 Mud Skink Bruiser. x2


    You have killed a level 14 Mud Skink Bruiser. x3


    You have killed a level 15 Mud Skink Bruiser. x1


    You have killed a level 85 Mud Skink Bruiser. x1


    You have leveled up. You are now a level 39 Mud Skink War QueenIf you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Hell yeah! I¡¯m so close to level fifty! I¡¯m pretty sure that''s when I¡¯ll evolve. Although that level eighty five bruiser makes me think otherwise. How fucking old is that guy? How has he not evolved? I¡¯ll ask Tetel, for now I¡¯m going back home.


    It feels nice to have somewhere to go back to after a long day of murdering stuff. I kicked a corpse as I walked away. I also happened to awkwardly fall right after kicking the corpse as it is quite hard to balance on three legs.


    After gracefully face planting into a pile of corpses I started sprinting towards the castle, Tiktelazertoli¡¯s head on my tail. There was still the population issue of not having any more queens in my nation but honestly I can deal with it.


    Once the city skinks starve for a few days I¡¯ll open up negotiations. I¡¯m going to kill all of the queens except for the brood mothers. I don¡¯t want to deal with any traitors that can birth an army. If any new females are born from the broodmothers I¡¯ll raise them like they¡¯re my kids. It¡¯ll take a while but I should be able to conquer all of the nearby city states and replace all the queens with my own brain washed loyalists.


    Okay I¡¯m definitely more of a cartoon villain that Tiktelazertoli was. But I mean, is it really that bad? My kids will be set for life, treated like nobles until they die of old age. Oh I don¡¯t like that. Maybe I can get them to outlive me? I¡¯m sure they will with the amount of fights I get into.


    Should I put some things in place to keep my kids alive? A special division of troops to protect them maybe? Ooh a royal guard! I can hold a competition! That¡¯ll be fun. I¡¯m still angry that I wasn''t able to watch that tournament with Hanno.


    Hmm, I haven''t thought about Hanno in a while. I wonder what he¡¯s up to? Probably just duking it out with the Bear clan. He isn''t a bad kid but I never want to see another human. They ruined my life. They enslaved me, left my kids defenseless. Maybe I do wanna see some humans, purely for revenge purposes.


    I slap myself and yell. ¡°Focus! Uniting an entire race! That is the current goal.¡± I focused during the rest of the journey, planning out what I would do next when I arrived at my city. I arrived at around midday.


    The city looked pretty similar to before except for the large wall surrounding the second trench. It was easily ten feet tall all around. My troops had been working hard while I was gone. Another thing that had changed was the population. The refugees from Tiat had combined with goblin farmers who had gotten bored. Over six thousand skinks lived around my castle. Burrows and nests dotted the ground.


    I even saw a few canals running through. I¡¯d have to ask about that soon. But now was not the time for that. It¡¯s time to hug my kids! I sprinted through the city, waving my tail at the skinks I passed. I leaped over a small horde of hatchlings, a singular goal in mind.


    As I approached the castle gates eight skinks who had been standing at the doors stepped aside as I slammed through. The gates had been taken down and were simply left open.


    My kids were in the middle of the courtyard. However they weren¡¯t the only ones within the castle walls. Hundreds of hatchlings were locked in combat. There were two clear sides. James¡¯s and Marlow¡¯s. James had less hatchings on his side but seemed to be winning. He was a brilliant tactician.


    I gently shoved hatchlings out of my way as I picked each of my own children out and plopped them onto my back. When I reached James and Marlow they were fighting personally. Marlow was a force of nature on the battlefield. He had continued to grow since I had last seen him and was easily three times the size of the next largest hatchlings. James was small and aggressive.


    I tossed both of them onto my back and walked over to an empty piece of land. I plopped down and smiled as my kids started hopping around, hugging me and squealing with joy. I love my kids.

 Chapter 64

    I spent the rest of the day lounging while my kids ran around me. It was nice to relax. They had all chosen different parts of the castle to use as their personal rooms. There were a few rooms built into the walls of the castle.


    Tim and Tom had decided to share one of the large hallways. They had already had it covered in all manner of fur and dried grasses. Marlow wanted to live outside, as he explained that the stars looked very nice when he was falling asleep. So adorable. Charlie and Chester had decided to sleep in adjacent rooms.


    James told me he would sleep wherever I was, no matter what. He acted so differently compared to the rest of my kids. He didn¡¯t play as much as they did, but when he did it was almost always some form of war game. When he couldn¡¯t convince the other five to play his games he would hang out with my commanders.


    He would talk with them about all manner of things. Sometimes the weather, sometimes how effective an army of goblin soldiers would be. The answer is not very effective. Goblin¡¯s time is better spent as food. Or at making us trade goods. Tetel had already taken a thousand from the nearby farms. They were busy training and soon I would ge to see the final product.


    After around four days of familial bliss and ignoring all of my responsibility, reality knocked on my door. A windclaw was panting, anxiously looking for me as I waved at him. He trotted over and said. ¡°My Queen! A force of two thousand bruisers is two hours away from our walls.!¡±


    I stared at the windclaw for a second before saying. ¡°Go summon every single citizen. Tell them to gather around the castle. Also have thirty bruisers sent here to guard my children.¡± The windclaw sprinted away as I sighed and yelled. ¡°I¡¯ll be home late tonight kids! Make sure to get a good night''s sleep.¡±


    They all said goodbye as I smiled and walked out, my muscles tensing as excitement began to overcome me. Finally, No more complicated plotting. Just a big battle. I can collect more skulls. I hope Bella¡¯s here, she''s gonna be my centerpiece.


    I walked over to a ledge overlooking the five thousand or so residents of my city. They stared back at me with a mix of what looked like religious zeal and fear. I just smiled and yelled. ¡°My people! The ugly little shits from Tiat are attacking us! Who wants to fight with me?¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Every single skink below me screamed ¡°Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!¡± I smiled even wider and said. ¡°All who wish to fight with me are welcome to! Except for the hatchlings! I have a special job for you guys.¡±


    A horde of hatchlings stared up at me in confusion and horror. I just continued to smile and said. ¡°How many of you would like to join the royal guard?¡± I now had over four hundred bodies to throw between my kids and whoever came near them. I love fanatics.


    I called my commanders over and said. ¡°Alright boys, the strategy for today is simple. You¡¯ll all keep your battalions. They¡¯re a bit more disciplined than the new recruits. I¡¯ll take direct control of the new recruits. We¡¯ll charge in a big mass. Their boys are experienced but we outnumber them. Your battalions will protect our flanks and hit theirs. Objections?¡±


    Uno nodded and said. ¡°I would like more windclaws. If I had more I could lie in wait and at a pivotal moment slam into their rear, cutting off their escape.¡± I thought it over and said. ¡°Sure, how many do you want?¡±


    He seemed deep in thought for a moment before answering. ¡°I think an additional two hundred will do.¡± I smiled and said. ¡°Perfect, the remaining windclaws will act as messengers.¡± My commanders all stared at me for a few seconds.


    I maintained eye contact and said. ¡°Troops, a lot of mud skinks are going to die on both sides. But we will win in the end. The kingdom of Zayan will rise from the ruins of Tiat. Gather your troops. The fate of our nation will be decided before the sun sets tonight.¡±


    They bowed, said. ¡°For the Queen!¡± and walked away. I smiled and walked over to where the three thousand new fighters had gathered. They stared at me as I walked towards them.


    I stopped a few feet away from them and yelled. ¡°Soldiers! These poor people have dared to interrupt my family time! We will kill them all and then we will march on the city of Tiat! This is the day that will decide whether our nation will exist for thousands of years to come or if we will simply die.¡±


    The mob of skinks in front of me didn¡¯t respond. I stared at them for a few seconds, a fuzzy feeling beginning in my head. My vision blurred as I heard a laughing voice behind me. ¡°Finally found you, filth.¡±


    I stumbled forward, a sharp feeling of pain sweeping over me as I turned and saw the largest bruiser I had even seen in my life. He was easily double my size and yet he had still managed to sneak up on me.


    He also had nine tails, one had the club part but the rest had the same tail spikes as I do. The fuzzy feeling was from five of his spiked tails impaling themselves in my chest. I collapsed to the ground vomiting blood as he laughed and said.


    ¡°Revolt¡¯s over. Please back away from the traitor.¡± Even though he had been laughing just a second ago his voice was emotionless. I desperately tried to stand up but all that did was cause more blood to exit my body.


    The skinks around me didn¡¯t do anything, they just sat there in shock. The large bruiser walked forward and with a satisfied grunt slammed his tail club into my side. I was sent flying and slammed into the nearby dirt wall. He grunted again and said. ¡°Where are you children? They must die as well.¡±