Red Dragon Emperor

"Mm…"

Li Hao's consciousness awakened from the darkness, and he felt as if all the bones in his body were falling apart. The pain was unbearable, and he could not help but moan in response.

What was going on?

Right!

There was a girl in the neighborhood who jumped off a building. He ran over to help pull the cloth to catch and save her. He was looking up when suddenly… her butt fell from the sky.

He shuddered at the memory of the splotchy roundness wrapped in tight jeans, feeling frustrated.

Could this bone-deep pain have paralyzed him?!

Li Hao opened his eyes and looked around. He soon became stunned.

What greeted his eyes was not the modern hospital he had imagined, but a simple, man-made cave.

In the hemispherical space, the dark red walls were rough and covered with vines. The ground was rough and flat, and he was lying on this slightly warm ground. The golden beam of light from the narrow ventilation shaft shone in front of him, and the dust within the beam of light floated aimlessly.

Compared to waking up in this cave, what scared him more was that he was not the only guest here. There were more than twenty giant lizards sleeping beside him. These lizards had horns on their heads, bat wings on their backs, and scales on their bodies. At first glance, they looked like the Western dragons he had seen from movies.

Upon closer inspection, they were indeed dragons!

"What's going on? Am I dreaming?!"

He was starting to doubt reality. He raised his hand, wanting to touch the dragon beside him to determine if it was real or fake. However, he was horrified to realize that the hand he extended could no longer be called a hand. Instead, it was a claw covered in scarlet scales and had sharp nails!

???

Memories flooded into Li Hao's mind and played rapidly like a video at 10 times the normal speed.

"I… I transmigrated?!"

As his memory played, he realized that he had indeed transmigrated to a strange and bizarre fantasy world into the body of a young Red Dragon named Jose.

Just like most Five-Colored Dragons, Jose was born in the Mother Dragon's lair.

"An evil dragon. As one would expect of an evil dragon!" Li Hao sighed in his heart.

When it was still a young dragon that was two or three years old, the original owner of the body was kicked out by its mother.

Losing the protection of his progenitor, Jose joined his brothers and sisters, who were born from the same batch of dragon eggs, to survive on their own. They ate the weak and avoided the strong in the wilderness until, one day, they too became prey.

After witnessing their sister being devoured alive, the surviving baby dragon brothers hardened their will and signed a protection contract to seek refuge with a powerful existence of their own kind. This was the unparalleled Mistress of the Red Nest.

Li Hao was puzzled when he recalled the grand achievement of wiping out a country by this Mistress of the Red Nest.

"Why would my body get injured when I have such a powerful backer?"

He tried hard to internalize his memories. It turned out that a year after he had joined the Mistress of the Red Nest, the Dragon Slaying War had erupted. The Human Alliance Army had launched a large-scale attack.

The battle situation was critical. Even baby dragons, who only had potential and could not be used as combat strength yet, were dragged into the battlefield. The last scene in the baby dragon's memory was a burning meteor falling from the sky.

As for what happened next, Li Hao was able to make a rough guess based on his imagination. The severely injured baby dragon was carried back to their nest after the battle, but it had died due to its injuries being too severe. As for himself, he had been killed by Little Sister Lin's butt and had transmigrated here to occupy the body instead.

"I guess I died because of a woman." Li Hao felt hopeless.

Self-criticism had no effect on his current situation. He tried his best to adjust his mindset and control himself from thinking about his sad parents. He psyched himself, trying to accept and adapt to his new identity.

"I am Jose now. I must live well."

He encouraged himself to face reality and check his injuries.

The fragments of the meteorite's explosion had hit the side of his body, leaving a burn mark the size of a basin. His dragon scales had cracked, and several ribs were broken.

I need treatment, he thought.

In his previous life, he would have needed to recuperate for at least a month even if he received the latest tried-and-true treatment for his injuries. However, in this magical world, he only needed high-level Priests to cast high-level healing spells, and he would be able to move without any problems.

After thinking for a moment, Jose gave up the idea of asking for help from a high-level Priest. The treatment resources in the Red Nest were limited, and he had no strength or background, so he would not be able to receive such help.

There was no other way. There was only one solution — to eat a lot of nutrients and speed up the healing of the wound.

"Thank God, food is not a problem."

Jose tried to stand up but realized that his broken bones could not support his massive weight. If he tried to move forcefully, his injuries would worsen.

He felt that something was wrong and looked at the other dragons around him.

Perhaps he could ask his "roommates" to help bring him food… However, these roommates did not seem reliable.

Oh wait, I have a 'dear' brother.

He turned his neck, searching for his brother among the surrounding dragons.

Found him!

"Barron!"

Not far away, the Red Dragon resting his head on the ground did not even raise his head. He glanced sideways at his brother, who was the source of the sound, and then closed his eyes to sleep.

Jose swallowed the words that he was about to utter to ask for help. In those eyes, he could not see any kinship, only disdain and contempt.

After thinking for a while, he realized the reason why Barron was so cold. The Five-Colored Dragons of the evil faction were cold by nature, and the strong were respected. He, who was heavily injured, had already become the weak in the eyes of the dragons, and the weak were only worthy of being bullied!

After thinking all of this through, Jose felt a chill in his heart, and his body trembled. At the same time, he also understood that asking the other dragons for help would only be asking for humiliation.

What to do?!

The thought that he would die in pain and hunger — his body thrown out of the cave like garbage by the other dragons — filled him with endless fear.

No! I cannot die like this!

An idea flashed in his mind. He remembered the gold coins that the previous host of the body had hidden when cleaning up the battlefield.

"Barron!"

Barron suddenly stood up and walked over aggressively. His huge head got close, and he wrinkled his nose to reveal sharp, serrated fangs with bright red flesh hanging between his teeth. "Twice! Twice! You'd better give me a satisfactory explanation! Otherwise…"

"I want to hire you. The reward is thirty-two gold coins."

"What kind of dragon do you think I am? Trying to bribe me with just some gold coins? Oh, wait, you were talking about gold coins just now?!"

"…"

Not long after, a bull whose skin had been peeled off, revealing bright red muscles and white bones, was placed in front of Jose. In order to live, he did not care about the psychological barrier of eating raw meat. He simply closed his eyes and buried his head into the meat. He opened his mouth wide and used his sharp teeth to bite and swallow the meat and bones together, devouring everything he could.

Eh?!

After taking the first bite of the bone and meat mixture, Jose, who was prepared to feel nauseous, surprisingly discovered that although the food was not delicious, it was still acceptable. This should be a change brought about by the transformation of the body.

He was overjoyed and wolfed it down.

With a gust of wind, the entire cow had entered his stomach. Under the digestion of the dragon's powerful stomach fluids, the bones and flesh turned into nutrients that were transported to various parts of his body by the blood circulation system.

His wound was slightly itchy, and he could feel his body slowly recovering. He could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

Then he kept his promise and told Barron where the buried treasure was.

The eating habits of dragons were similar to that of snakes. A single full meal for an adult dragon could last for a few months. The energy consumption of a young dragon with a long body was slightly higher, but after eating, he could also survive for 10 days without eating. After 10 days, he should be able to live and take care of himself.

"No need to worry about my injuries worsening anymore."

To be well fed, filled with warmth, and… to feel safe.

It had to be known that this was a time of war. From the situation before he fainted, their side was still at a disadvantage. This transmigrator could not help but worry about his future.