Chapter Ninety-Three: Little Red, the Giant Dragon

I’ve realized you’re a lucky star! Liu Wen said, glancing at Ma Yi. By now, she no longer had much to worry about when it came to him. Ever since she had met Ma Yi, it seemed that as long as he was there, everything became strangely simple to deal with.

The first time they encountered the undead, Ma Yi had rescued her at once. Though he had been bitten, the events that followed proved that this had actually been the most fortunate outcome. If he had not been bitten, the future might have unfolded into an entirely different ending. It was precisely because he had been turned that he could wander wherever he pleased without restraint, never needing to worry about the undead outside. Food and water had never failed to reach Liu Wen, either.

Ma Yi, transformed into an undead creature, not only lived well himself, but had also taken undead under his wing as his followers, leading them to awaken intelligence far earlier than they otherwise would have. Though he was always restless, roaming about everywhere, if he had not done so, would his power have risen so slowly? And if he had remained weak, then when faced with all manner of difficulties, he would surely have found them hard to resolve.

Perhaps they would not even have waited for that fool of a man to arrive; perhaps it would have been the beauty, or the hammer, that had already flattened the villa district. It was precisely Ma Yi’s unruliness that had created the man he was now, and the peace now enjoyed in the villa district. Though she worried about him often, Liu Wen knew that without Ma Yi, everything might have been entirely different.

Liu Wen understood that without Ma Yi, she might never have seen her parents and younger sister again. She might have become, as Li Li had said, one of those beautiful women in the gathering place who were treated as goods—goods to be used up, then given away or exchanged. At best, she would have suffered only the harassment of lustful men; at worst, she might have endured monstrous cruelty and even lost her life. Not only she, but her parents and younger sister as well—if not for Ma Yi, the paths of their lives would surely have changed. They might have been oppressed by the strong, or targeted because of their looks. Whether they could even have lived to this day was an open question. Now, though their range of movement was limited, whenever they truly wished to go out, there were always large numbers of powerful undead warriors protecting them. Their lives were so comfortable that they surpassed even the retired old men and women of the peaceful age by far. Most importantly, their bodies were healthier than before. All of this was thanks to Ma Yi’s existence.

“I’m not a lucky star. I feel like I used up all my luck just meeting you all. Now I’m nothing but a jinx,” Ma Yi said with a bitter smile, looking at Liu Wen. Truthfully, he really did feel terribly unlucky, as if whatever happened in the world would somehow end up finding him.

“You’re always so good at flattering people. How come I never noticed that before?” Liu Wen said, her cheeks lightly flushed, reaching out to twist Ma Yi’s ear.

“Ow! I’m not flattering anyone. I’m only speaking from the heart.” Her pinch did not hurt much at all given Ma Yi’s physical defenses, but he still wore a pained expression and complained with a miserable look. In truth, he felt somewhat guilty toward Liu Wen. He did not consider himself flirtatious or promiscuous, but without realizing it, there were already two or three women around him with whom he had become intimate. So whenever Liu Wen wanted something done, he would see it through perfectly. Beyond his affection for her, there was also a touch of atonement.

“Hmph, that’s more like it.” Liu Wen gave a deliberately angry snort, yet her hand gently stroked the side of his face.

“All right, you two don’t need to show off your affection in front of me. Why don’t we first talk about how to deal with all those undead warriors below?” Ruhu said helplessly, looking at them.

“Right. The urgent matter is how to handle this enormous ocean of undead. Let’s call Iron Pillar and Hound over first,” Ma Yi said, looking back down the mountain. As soon as he finished speaking, a strange sound rose from his mouth. The pitch was extremely low, yet it could travel astonishingly far.

Before long, Iron Pillar and Hound flew up from below.

Ma Yi then repeated everything that had happened before, and now he laid the problem before Iron Pillar and Hound: how to deal with the vast number of undead below.

I think I’ve got a method in mind, though I don’t know whether it will work. Iron Pillar looked at Ma Yi, then at Liu Wen and Ruhu, and spoke slowly.

I think I’ve thought of something too. Let Iron Pillar speak first.

Could it be that we thought of the same idea? Hound said after a moment of thought.

Then let Iron Pillar go first, and we’ll hear yours after that, Ma Yi said, glancing at Hound.

“It’s like this, Boss. I noticed that many of our men were injured in this battle—some seriously, some less so. So I was wondering whether we could have our warriors devour those undead that have not yet developed intelligence to replenish their bodies. That way, we can reduce the size of the corpse horde, while also helping our warriors recover and increasing their strength at the same time,” Iron Pillar said after a brief pause.

Mm, that does seem feasible. But they’re still lives—Ma Yi had not finished when Hound cut in.

“Boss, right now isn’t the time to talk about whether the other side is the same kind of being as we are. Don’t forget how many we’ve already killed. Over the past few days of fighting, counting the ones who died by our hands and in our traps, there have been at least tens of millions, if not more. If all of those were devoured by our warriors, I dare say we could create an unrivaled legion made entirely of warriors above level six. Besides, if we don’t devour them, we can’t manage that many anyway—they’ll just end up devouring one another!” Hound’s words snapped Ma Yi, who had been hesitating, out of his indecision.

Ma Yi was stunned for a moment, then came fully to his senses. His two defensive lines had already slaughtered millions of undead, and yet he had still been thinking of playing the good man, worrying about whether the other side was also a form of life or not. Didn’t that have a bit of the smell of a hypocrite? To accomplish great things, one had to be ruthless.

“All right, I understand. By the way, you said you had an idea earlier—what is it?” Ma Yi asked, looking at Hound again.

“My idea is also devouring, but letting them devour one another. We only keep the strong. As for the weak, we let them fight among themselves. Once enough of the strong remain, we bring them into our legion.”

“Yes. I think this should be done together with what Iron Pillar suggested. Our people devour them, while they devour their own kind; we keep only the strongest. Besides, didn’t Boss say that the giant dragon has already submitted to him? Then that works perfectly—it can either serve as Boss’s mount, or we can build another army out of it. After all, our Unparalleled Legion already has three armies, doesn’t it?” Hound said, both heads spraying spittle in excitement.

Makes sense. We’ll combine both of your ideas. Come on, let’s go talk to that little dragon. Darling, you two head home first, Ma Yi said with a smile to Liu Wen and Ruhu, then took Iron Pillar and Hound and flew down the mountain.

“Let’s go. Since the men are handling business, we’ll go home and make something delicious,” Liu Wen said, watching Ma Yi’s retreating figure as she linked arms with Ruhu and walked toward the villa.

“Mm,” Ruhu replied. She also understood that if things truly developed as Ma Yi had said, then the villa district’s power could well become the strongest force within thousands of kilometers, without question.

The giant dragon was first stunned when it heard Ma Yi’s words, but after thinking it over, it realized that it was now under his command. From that standpoint, the method was indeed workable.

So everyone came to an agreement at once, and a scene straight out of hell erupted instantly within the sea of corpses!

“Ah, from now on, you count as one of us too. I should give you a name,” Ma Yi said, glancing around. Everywhere he looked, there was slaughter and devouring. He sighed inwardly; truly, every great achievement was built upon a mountain of bones. Strength always came at a price. Turning around, he saw the corpse king dragon and suddenly remembered that he still did not know what to call this fellow.

“I have a name! I’m called Tiamat Gorchus!” Facing Ma Yi’s expression, the giant dragon suddenly had a bad feeling and hurriedly said its name.

“What kind of name is ‘Tooth-picking Horse Toilet’? Way too long, and not nice at all. From now on, you’ll be called Little Red. Just look how catchy it is, and how easy it is to remember. It’s far better than those messy names of yours,” Ma Yi said with an eye roll, then completely ignored the giant dragon’s already terrified expression and spoke indifferently.

“I’m male. Isn’t ‘Little Red’ a bit too feminine?” The giant dragon tried hard to resist, but seeing Ma Yi’s expression, it seemed its protest would have little effect.

“What does male or female matter? A name is just a label, something to help others remember you better. Little Red suits your temperament and your features very well.” Iron Pillar and Hound stood to one side, watching Ma Yi and the giant dragon, and inside both of them, delight was practically bursting.

“Also, now that we’re all on the same side, you need to get to know the people on my end as well. You must not let certain people suffer even the slightest harm. For matters like that, consult Iron Pillar and Hound more often. Though the two of them may not be as strong as you, they came before you, so you can only rank behind them. Understand?”

Ma Yi looked at Little Red and then thought of something else.

After considering it, Ma Yi continued issuing instructions: “Later I’ll take you to meet my family. Among these people, there are some whose words should be treated as though they were my orders, and there are some whose words can be taken or left as you please. Learn the details from the two of them. For example, my wife, Liu Wen, and Ruhu—whatever they say to you, whatever they tell you to do, you must treat it as if I said it myself. You must do it wholeheartedly. As for my little sister-in-law, Liu Xue, if it’s a normal matter, you can go ahead and do it; but some of her more risky or aggressive ideas, you can ignore. The exact measure of all this, you’ll have to judge for yourself. Understood?”

“Okay, I understand.”

Seeing that his objections had failed, Little Red could only miserably accept the name. He had made a pact with this fellow, and he could not go against his will. Who told him he was now the man’s subordinate? For such things, he could only swallow the broken tooth himself.