( The Demon King's POV, just outside his castle )
Once it was confirmed that Eren was being held in the human city of Thumba, Anos began his preparations to fly to Thumba as he started to saddle up his Black Dragon Mount.
[ Drogo ] ( Level 775 ) ( Black Dragon )
Anos's pet dragon was called 'Drogo' and even as an adolescent dragon, he was a level 775 beast.
Drogo was so fearsome that nobody except for Anos had the guts to touch him, which was why whenever Anos wanted to ride Drogo over long distances, he had to personally fasten the saddles and help him equip the battle gear.
"Why are we targeting a human territory this time Anos? This is quite unlike your laid back personality–" Drogo said when Anos began preparing him, as unlike his fierce reputation, Drogo was actually a highly intelligent being.
"I have no other choice but to do this Drogo…. The demons under me are growing restless because of the war.
If I don't re-assert my dominance, they will not respect me anymore" Anos said, as while he was a fake strongman in front of the world, in front of his mount he was quite honest.
Anos had learnt quite a lot from Drogo and it was partly because of the black dragon that Anos was not a brainless barbarian like the rest of his species.
Although Anos had obtained Drogo as his mount through trickery, over the years the duo had become genuine friends.
As Drogo matured and grew stronger, he gained the ability to destroy the entire Demon Kingdom if he wished to, however, he did not do so because of his bond with Anos.
Drogo did not mind Anos playing the role of a bigshot and supported him from the shadows, as Anos let him live a life of comfort and luxury.
Anos allowed Drogo to hunt within any part of the Demon territory that he wanted and brought him tons of ancient books to read in his free-time.
Since Drogo was not a mature dragon yet, he could not perform [ Human Transformation ] to take the appearance of a human male, however, despite not being able to transform into a human, Drogo still played and goofed around with Anos as if he were one.
What looked like dangerous sparring between the Demon King and a dragon to his underlings was usually harmless play between two friends, however, it helped Anos maintain his aura of a Supreme ruler.
Usually, Anos was pretty laid back and never asked Drogo to perform any favors for him, which was why Drogo was slightly surprised that he had suddenly taken the decision to attack a human city…. And that too without consulting him first.
"What happened to make you lose respect?" Drogo asked Anos, who let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"There was a human slave who could speak Demon Tongue. He was invaluable in helping decipher the human texts and could have possibly taught us about human technology.
He was Count Vaugn's slave, and I had no claims over him by law. However, since that human promised to bring me glory on the battlefield, I ordered him to be deployed on the frontlines.
Unfortunately, he was captured by the enemy and is now being held in Thumba City….." Anos said, as Drogo intently listened to his story.
"Although nobody has blamed me on my face, many believe that it was my fault that we lost such an asset.
The slave wasn't mine to order around, and now he's gone, so there are a few who question my intelligence.
Of course these are nothing but small seeds of doubt, but I cannot afford to let such doubts sprout.
I must weed them out before they even germinate and for that I need your help my friend" Anos said, as Drogo let out a deep sigh.
"So it's like this….." Drogo muttered, looking towards the sky as he strengthened his resolve to fight.
"Very well…. I'll burn a city for you–" Drogo said, as Anos completed gearing him up, making Drogo look even more terrifying than he did before.
"Thank-you my friend, I knew I could count on you–" Anos said, as he climbed over the dragon's back.
*ROAARRRRR*
As soon as Anos climbed on the beast's back, Drogo let out a primal roar that was heard throughout the Demon Capital.
Common demons shuddered in their boots when they heard this roar, while the higher demons were reminded of the power that the current demon king wielded.
*Flap*
*Flap*
As Drogo started to flap his massive wings, a small cyclone was created through the sheer power of his muscles as the entire Demon King's palace trembled under the force.
As Drogo took flight, he was soon tailed by 12 wyvern knights, who Anos had ordered to follow him, however, the size difference between Drogo and the wyverns was akin to the size difference between a full sized truck and 12 small motorcycles, as compared to Drogo, they looked tiny.
Once in the air, Drogo roared loudly once again, to ensure that the entire Demon Capital saw the sight of their king leaving for war and ensured that the king's image as a brave warrior was branded in the memory of everyone alive.
Naturally it worked, as all that the common demons could talk about for days that were to follow was about the Demon King and how he had rode out to battle with only 12 soldiers behind him, and how the humans were done for.
For a fraud like Anos, moments like these mattered a lot as his entire legacy was built on these lies.
With this attack, he could probably live for another decade in peace without anyone questioning his power, unless some major incident occurred.
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/// A/N - A quick update :- The characters of Anos, Jacob, Elena, Brown Pudding and ChaosBringer have been given for serialization and will be added to the character panel in the next 2-3 weeks. ///