FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Things taken from The Legend of Dragoon game are trademarked to them _

_ Kayla, Calimas, Leaders Council, Nadiya and various other snake characters besides Dahlia, and Dark Lizard Dullock are © V-Disco _

This year will be the year we win! No more starving nights, no more regrets...this time my plan is fool proof! I'll show that Abu....such intelligence and a refusal to make weapons? I can't believe I admired such a bleeding heart like his!

Date: December 24th

Location: ???????

Time: 10:47 pm

"That prize...I can't believe it! It's nearly double than it was three years ago. Not to mention...we get to off "him" at last too. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!", said a voice in a dark room. Four people were sitting around a table in a dark room, having watched the big announcement on TV via a projector. They had been awaiting for their chance to shine once more, each of them planning on competing and splitting the money. All of them agreed on one thing, that winning was all that mattered, "Yea! I'm pysched that we're competing all competing this time! You said that you'd get the bot's ready for all of us right?", asked a younger sounding voice, like a child. Someone banged on the table, seeming to be a bit annoyed, "No they're not ready yet! You forget that Abu made the firmware? It's not easy to crack in the least...not to mention, you're going to go with sloppy heroes I heard. I told you before, evil is always stronger. I already know who I'll pick from the data pool.", replied a gruffer older voice, being certain that his choice will win.

"Now now...relax. The V.U.M.s will be cracked. Big bro used to work under Abu way back remember? Even he acknowledged that our bro had great potential. Besides...I already told you. If evil was so strong, they'd succeed. Solo heroes like Eurasia are the ones who get the job done. Not following any rules, or codes of honor like no killing...thats how you do things.", said the tallest, knowing how he would do things in the upcoming event. There was a cough coming from the far end of the table, an older deeper voice coming from the eldest sibling, "...Remember...regardless of your feelings...you'll all receive a full team...to use how you see fit...whichever of you wins, gets 70 percent. 20 of that 70 will go to savings because I know you'll blow it all on nonsense, and the last 30 will go to the two who didn't win.", he explained, cracking his knuckles and looking at the youngest, "And I know what you're thinking. You don't want to fight your brothers early..I'll take care of that too...", he added, making the youngest brother feel relieved.

• Elsewhere...

Que Bien! I heard the rumors of the Beast Master all over town but....I honestly didn't believe it. His power..is off the charts. Though a bit behind in the times, it's to be expected from someone who lives so far from civilization. Hopefully the other rumors are true about his hatred for....

Location: ????????

Time: 10:50 pm

The light sounds of crickets chirping in the night surrounded two people in a dense jungle. The light of the campfire was the only thing giving them vision, as the dense foliage above prevented any moonlight, "Ya ves? That was the message for the big event...and you saw who would be there.", said a voice with a strong Spanish accent. The fire's light reflected off of his metal helmet with a red plume attached to the tip. He had on some armor, having gauntlets and a breast plate, along with puffy trousers and tall leather boots. He had finished showing the recent world wide televised message to a man of the jungle, who normally would have no cares about the world outside. He sat on a log, wondering what exactly did he see since he didn't exactly grow up with technology.

The screen came out of nowhere and he could not touch it, yet people were shown and voices came from it. Regardless, he saw the mention of the one thing he held on to, gripping the log as his finger dug into it, "....I saw...how...do you know?", he asked, the gruff voice finding it hard to believe that some outside would simply seek him out and give him information for nothing. Although it was quite good news for him, looking up at the strangely dressed man with the funny accent. The long mustache he had was also somewhat weird to him, seeing him play with it for a moment, "Que no sabes? He is a well known ally to the evil N.D.. What he did here...is not really a secret since he's done the same around the world. But no one really wants to come here...there is a reason why this region is fenced away...and Chista Dore has connections. Connections who have the same thing in mind...his death.", answered the Spanish knight looking man while clenching his fist.

Basically it sounded like they wanted him to do their job, even though it was exactly what he wanted to do for over 20 years. As he thought about it even more, a loud roar made the jungle shake, Chista looking nervous with the rocks on the ground starting to jump and dance. A rhino was running rampant late at night, having been spooked by another predator. However this rhino was over 20 feet tall, being much tougher than any normal rhino. Chista readied a rifle, having come prepared incase of such nonsense would crash his party. He took aim and shot right at the forehead, the bullet hitting its mark dead on but not doing any visible damage. The monstrous animal was still coming their way, Chista jumping out of the way while it continued at the male who stood up from his log. He merely held out one hand, stopping the animal right in his tracks without moving an inch. A rush of wind blew behind him, the force of the rhino immediately being canceled out as he fell to the ground, the sudden stop like hitting a wall face first.

Chista was blown back by the Rhino's falling body, having to wipe off the dirt and such from his outfit and visible surprised at how strong he was, "...That..was unexpected...But I see why you're called the Beast Master. We'll keep in touch...Max.", said the slightly shaking armored male, vanishing in a flash of light to leave the area. Max merely turned to see the animal who he knocked out, patting its cheek to assure it that it would be alright, "...you sensed that evil too...His blood-lust...regardless...my revenge against...Aisarue!...", he said mentally, smashing a fist on the floor and causing a small earthquake, shaking up most of the avian creatures living on the tree tops. Although it would be some time until he could act, he would spend all the time preparing for that moment where that foul beast will finally fall by his hands.

• Meanwhile....

I feel like my life has been nothing but problems since I became a dragoon...sure I was bullied as a child, all up until i was recruited....but things...just seem to get worse...can I really..overcome it? And...can I........

Location: Slithin Soul, Snake Territory Calimas

Time: 11:20

It had been an hour since the dragoon and the python had their fun, resting up close to the warm snake before he stirred in his sleep. The light sound of something rumbling awoke him, his face ended up face first into her breast. The python was sleeping away the satisfaction gained tonight, as it had been awhile since she had fun, "Mmm..?..", mumbled Michael, looking around and crawling over to look at the floor, seeing his pants vibrating. Suddenly realization hit him hard, quietly crawling off the bed and reaching into his pants, answering the call in voice only mode and holding the P.I.C. to his ear, "H-hello?", he asked, not even seeing the number as he was too groggy to properly look at the screen. Michael fell over as he got a loud yell into his ear, one that stirred Nadiya from her sleep, "MIKE! WHAT THE HELL! WHY DON'T YOU EVER PICK UP!", shouted Ruru, the tone obviously one of anger which was a odd reaction for being late.

"Umm...whats wrong? I know I said I"d be back at ten, but I got into an eating contesting--", the dragoon of fire tried to explain, but he was quickly cut off by his friend, the dragoon of wind not caring for any excuses now, "Dude, I don't care if you were knitting or whatever, get back here! Shit's gone down...way way down. Brian is joining us too, he'll fill you in!", he continued, quickly hanging up the line and making Michael worried. Nadiya peeked over, giving a light yawn as she heard a bit of the commotion. It seemed the strawberry had things to attend to, startling him as he turned around and noticed her looking. He was still completely naked, though finally not throbbing as he was before, which was a small shame, "Mmm...sounds like you have business...You should get to it. The washroom is over there if you need to get freshened up sugah.", she pointed, a door to the other side closed shut though it was a simple push door.

Michael rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, feeling bad that he woke her up, but washing up was a good idea. Least he had the extra shirt to use, giving a smile to the kind python, "T-thanks..I"m sorry for waking you. I know you have alot to do in the morning...hopefully I can come back soon and enjoy more of that food!", he said with alot of enthusiasm, making her smirk since she enjoyed a man with an appetite. With the amount of money this human had, he would make a fine customer, wondering what he would order next, "Of course. Take some to go if you have to for your friends next time. Any winner of the Two Ton Challenge is welcome to buy his fill at my restaurant.", she exclaimed, patting the Human's head and seeing him nod at her before walking to the washroom. With the Slithin Soul left to her apprentices for the evening, she decided to get back to sleep, yawning lightly before putting a small blanket that barely covered her front over her while the dragoon took 10 minutes to get himself clean.

As he quickly got clean and fresh, carrying the dirty shirt in his arm with the Pass pinned to his new shirt, he ran back to the dining room to find the two Snakes he left hanging. Chances are they could be angry as he took over an hour with Nadiya, seeing that the place was practically empty. Klaire was finishing re-arranging the bottles of vodka before standing back up above the table and noticing the human who had won earlier. He seemed to be looking around, knowing exactly why, "Hey....Eurasia was it? You're looking for Kayla and her friend right?", she asked, making him turn around with a nod. It was cute that he was worried, though a little intrigued that he did not seem tired at all after taking a woman more than 4 times his size. She was a bit curious herself, but for now, she would keep it at bay even if there was no one around to judge her, "Don't worry. They said to enjoy your prize and to say "Thank you for the shopping, dinner and entertainment. We should do it again sometime, but go to Kayla's place after wards."...oh and Kayla said to "Behave or Non will get you.", quoted the purple snake, wondering if the human even knew anything about that nonsense fairytale.

Least things ended on a good note, but now the realizing what he did. The potent aphrodisiac was wearing off, his body finally burning it away and making him feel uncomfortable. But not was not the time to worry about that, giving a respectful nod to the kind snake, "Ah...thank you. Have a good night!", he said, running off to the door quickly while the purple snake waved to the human who seemed to be in a hurry. Her co-worker was taking a nap on the the employee lounge in the back, having done all the work and seriously needing to recharge. With the last customer out of the Slithin Soul, Klaire locked the door and proceeded to make herself a special snack, the dragoon feeling his heart sink from not being able to understand what came over him. In a flash of light, he vanished, teleporting back to his best bud to see what was going on.

• Immediately

Location: Orez Delivery company Basement, Saint Falda

Time: 11:35 pm

The dragoon of fire arrived in the brightly lit basement, his friend dressed blue jeans and a dark green shirt as he took a moment to change pending the massive news. Abu was sitting on the edge of Michael's bed, waiting with a pensive look on his face through his glasses while in his lab-coat with jeans. The mood was certainly quite depressing, wondering what exactly did he miss, "Uhh...guys? What's going on? This can't be over me being late.", he asked, Ruru face palming at the cluelessness of his bud. If he hadn't seen the news, then he was doing something that had no TV or link to the outside world. Abu however stood up and adjusted his glasses, having other things to discuss with the naive dragoon before explaining anything else, "Boris, before anything. I need to do a full examination like I did with you. It'll be 20 minutes.", remarked the scientist, walking towards Michael and grabbing him by the wrist. It made him drop the food covered shirt as he was pulled away to the employee lounge, which really was just a place for Ruru to talk to his customers when any serious packages had to be delivered.

It was a standard room with a sink, fridge, table, and a fully stocked medical section. The door was closed and Michael took a seat, almost forgetting at times that Abu had a PhD in basically every form of science out there, except one but it had no interest to him, "Okay? I really wanna know what's going on....", he asked, getting a bad feeling since he wasn't receiving any answers. The scientist took out his P.I.C., a slightly different model from the one the dragoon of fire had, "Relax. We'll tell you in a moment..for now, I need to ensure you are up to the challenge presented at us. Luckily I don't need to draw blood from you...technology is that good now.", he replied, pointing the top end of the slightly bulkier P.I.C. and shining a thin beam of light at Michael. It was scanning his body, starting from head, to toe, which was much more efficient, faster and convenient for everyone. After about 30 seconds of scanning like one would take an X-ray, Michael remained still while Abu got a proper examination of his whole body.

"...body temperature at 104 c...little higher than normal...wait...what is this..?...trace amounts of..and...what is...", he mumbled to himself, looking quite shocked at the numbers turning up. As the scan finished, he put his P.I.C. on the table, putting a hand over his face and taking off his glasses for a moment to wipe the sweat from his face, "Eurasia...what were you doing exactly? These numbers..don't make any sense...apparently you had...120,000..calories worth of food in a 24 hour period, and I detect trace amounts of an illegal drug...that's not like you.", he asked Michael, seeing him rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. The dragoon began to explain his day, beginning from the time at the Slithin Soul and about the Two Ton Challenge he was roped into. He also explained that he did something he would not normally do, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with himself since he wouldn't just go into bed with a female he just met. Luckily he avoided getting to graphic, being as vague as he could, which was more than enough for Abu to understand.

"I...don't know..I just..felt like I wanted to...but that's not me! I don't know what to feel aside from shame.", remarked Michael, holding both hands over his face as he felt disgusted with himself for succumbing to those kind of feelings. Abu sighed, the naive nature of his friend at work in front of him, "Relax Eurasia. The reason this specific drug is illegal because it doesn't force you to do anything. If you weren't...shall we say, needing of close company, you wouldn't have gone for this...python girl. The ban was due to the fact it was used to incriminate political leaders, and since they weren't forced to do it, it merely had them indulge in their inhibitions willingly since it removed all doubt or worry from your subconscious. It was a very dangerous tool to have....anyone who were unlucky enough to take some would basically be ruining their own reputations, but it is a good tool to see what inhibitions people are hiding.", explained his scientist friend, patting him on the shoulder to try and calm down his "patient". This wasn't the kind of talk he would normally have, Michael being somewhat shy about discussing anything of a sexual nature out loud.

Abu cleared his throat, wanting to move on to the next object of business, "Well try not to worry...everyone needs relief. Let me warn you...even with your high metabolism, you aren't immune to packing the pounds. If you ever eat that much in one sitting again, you'll regret it. You probably won't feel the effects of it as you were fasting this whole time, but promise me you won't ever indulge yourself this wildly.", asked the scientist in a very serious tone, knowing the serious health risks that could happen. Michael quickly nodded, having eaten his fill and most likely won't do it again in such a fashion, "Okay. Next thing...I know you ate alot...and you paid for him..but all of that food couldn't have been 1 million kash...I know you have a 2 million a month spending limit which granted you months ago, and you really haven't spent a single piece since today. Please, don't impulse buy anymore. Money is now a big problem...", continued Abu, looking away for a moment, before putting his glasses back on. A small ding came from his P.I.C., having completed the full scan and the data ready for reading.

"Wait...you said I could use the money how I wanted...I just never had anything I was interested in getting. Not like I'm going to buy anything else now...", remarked Michael, twiddling his thumbs as Abu checked the data. There seemed to be nothing abnormal about Michael's body aside from the initial findings, his overall health looking more optimal than it was the past month. Everything else was merely mental, which would be solved easily, "Alright. Overall you're healthy...those calories will be burned away by tomorrow, to compensate for the lack of intake the past month. Though your reflexes are a bit sluggish, that can be regained quickly. Now I'm sure you're still pondering why we needed you here...come. We'll return to the basement.", finished Abu, putting the P.I.C. into the pocket of his lab-coat and exiting the employee lounge to join the dragoon of wind, who was watching some more TV.

Quickly he turned off the screen and saw the two come out, seeing that it only took them 7 minutes to do that examination, "Man you really streamlined the doctoring business Brian. I remember taking like an hour at the office, and still waiting a few days for the blood tests. So you told him yet?", he asked, cracking his knuckles while the two walked towards him. Abu shook his head, not quite happy that he was referred to by his real name but letting it slide this time from their friendship, "No, I thought he should see the video first...then we'll discuss our options.", responded the scientist dragoon, Ruru worried about his bud's reaction. All the shit that had happened, and now it just got worse which may drop down his psyche even more. Abu had planned this time in-case he would dig a deeper hole into his depression, as now was no time to lay around doing nothing.

"Video? What?", asked Michael, Ruru not answering as he prepared his P.I.C. and played the recorded video from earlier. It was timestamped at 10:30, which suddenly a black screen was shown. For a few seconds there was nothing, before N.D.'s face was shown on the screen, making Michael glare since he knew that everything that had happened was because of him, "Everyone, I interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcasting because I can. More so, I hope you're enjoying your down time, before the new year. Just a reminder...this spring will once more...be time for the Smash Clash Tournament! That big tri-annual event where you all fight for my amusement and the entertainment of millions all over the world!", he said in a happy go lucky tone, holding his hands up with an assortment of colors flashing in the background. It was basically an advertisement for some tournament coming up soon, nothing really to worry about so far.

"So what does this have to do with me? Or us?...I know it's N.D. but..", wondered Michael, not seeing anything threatening until the screen moved over. It showed his brother, looking towards the ground and dressed in a torn up coat that he had worn in the past. The dragoon of fire finally focused and heard everything that the Lord of the Planet had to say, making him shudder in fear, but also growl in anger. Too many feelings were going through his head now, seeing the full commercial before it cut off, Abu now hoping his friend would see why it was urgent that he would see the next big issue at hand, "...I trust now you understand. You're being called out...and..you saw the prize...if you can call it that. Starting tomorrow, you're getting back into shape. I don't care what excuse, what depressing emotions you're feeling, you had enough time to cope. Ruru did not want to say it but any more weak hearted whimpering will not be tolerated until the day of the tournament.", said the scientist, making Michael gasp, then clench his fist tightly.

"How can you say that?! You don't know how it feels to lose someone close to you, let alone two! They nearly killed each other and hate--", yelled Michael, before being cut off by Abu, "THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I LOVE NO ONE! WHY I CHOSE TO BE AND WORK ALONE! GROW UP EURASIA! Did they tell you to your face that they hate you? Or are you just being a child and merely assuming that!? UNLESS THEY TELL YOU DIRECTLY AND HONESTLY, YOU CAN'T DROWN YOURSELF IN THE SORROW THAT YOU BELIEVE IS THE TRUTH!", he shouted back, the dragoon of fire feeling tears go down his face, clenching his teeth quite hard and grinding them. Ruru shook his head, knowing that his nerd friend was on the dollar, doing his best to comfort his bud but also trying to help him overcome the depression.

"Mike...You can't live in that hole forever. Despite what Abys--...I mean Jeff said to you...his mannerisms and tone said otherwise when he refused to come with us. Like how you won't admit to yourself that Rizan and Shyranrya probably still want to talk to you, your brother does want to be with you. He just...is lost deep in his own ditch of shame and regret.", added in the dragoon of wind, having his arms wrapped together with a serious look on his face. Michael fell to his knees, punching the ground and making a dent with his fist which annoyed Ruru slightly considering it's his place but letting it slide this time. Their words took a moment to process in his mind, the dragoon of fire wiping his tears and standing back up with a deep sigh, "...Okay...I'm done crying...I'm done moping...N.D. won't get away with this.", he said with a deep conviction in his voice, Abu giving a slight smile upon seeing his friend's funk finally finished.

"Oh right! Before I forget...Fyre told me to tell you something.", remembered Ruru, making his friend turn over with a confused look. It had been sometime since Michael had seen her, being worried about his depression and going over several times to see her fated dragoon partner. He told her each time that he did not want to see anyone, taking the hint on the 3rd time. He realized now that he may have hurt her feelings, the guilt gliding over his worried mind, "...I hope she's okay..I told her to...leave me alone...more than once...", remarked Michael, Ruru shaking his head at the response, "Well she said that she has faith that you'll recover. But she mentioned the signal of another dragon had caught her senses. But it faded fast, almost immediately. She's currently looking around the planet for it...and with a planet this big, it'll take some time. Though this means that...we'll have another powerful ally soon...and maybe just as big.", continued Ruru, the dragoon of fire surprised to hear such a thing.

It does make sense though, as every original dragon had a dragon partner with them all up until after the Dragon Campaign. It was unknown what happened to the original group aside from Michael's Ancestor, but it is common knowledge that there were more dragon partners, and each had an incredible amount of power, "I see. Thank you Boris. Sorry for slacking...I'll get in gear asap--oh and...sorry for the floor.", apologized Michael, knowing that it was done out of anger. Everything was square though, Abu giving his goodbyes and going back to his lab so no one would be suspicious of his sudden vanishing. Michael went to his bed and quickly fell asleep, trying not to let his mind bother him about what he had done with Nadiya, nor his guilt over the two dragonesses.

• Elsewhere....

Location: Slender Slick Pub, Small town of Haze

Time: 11:50 pm

Far from Saint Falda or Hydion, was a smaller town which catered to drifters and anyone who needed a quick stop before carrying on. There was a considerable distance between city to city, with the only roads available were the ones to major cities, not small ones like Haze. Despite its size, it was quite a popular place for bounty hunters, since the bounty claim service was close by. During the late night, the Slender Slick Pub was open for business despite the holidays were rolling in. It was a semi full house of very famous people, least they thought so as they had been in the papers many times. Most of the species were of lizards and dragons, being on the bottom of the caste system meant that they had little options for places to live. Least in Haze, your species didn't matter though it was far from a safe town.

Information was a powerful currency here, aside from Kash, and information was most sought after from the head pubmaster who was finishing serving up many rounds of brews for his patrons. The idle talk was broken as the wooden swinging doors were opened, and the silence was so strong that the footsteps could be heard. It was then that someone gave a shout, making everyone cheer and raise their glasses, "Dullock's here! Bet you he just turned in yet another bounty!", yelled someone, everyone giving a cheer and toasting to the best of the best. The Dark Lizard was renown for his skill and body count at the bounty claims, not that he wanted such fame. He merely scoffed, everyone expecting such a reaction which meant that he did indeed try to cash in a bounty. Everyone else had been enjoying the light peace, now wanting to use their earned cash to drink their worries away, until the final day of the year, where the updated bounty list would be revealed.

Dullock's bright orange skin made it hard for him to not get attention, with his black hair shoulder length and in dreads. He had a few braid beads on his hair, in sets of 3 and in the colors of yellow, green and red, which swayed slightly as he walked towards the bar. His armor, gray and consisting of breast plate, ankle plates and forearm was made for full flexibility with the gray pants he chain-mail pants he wore. His armor was held together by leather straps going over his shoulders, and around his ankles, even having a few on his tail to protect from sneak attacks due to people thinking that a tail would be a weak-point. Overall, he was a 6'9" tall muscular weapon on legs, with most of his targets seeing those red eyes with yellow slits before their death at his twin blades, held against the back of his armor for added mobility.

Typical of the Dark Lizard, sat in his chair and rubbed at his tough yellow scales on his chin, having the equivalent of a beard for his kind and adding on to his rough appearance. The owner and pubmaster was a swamp lizard wearing a suit, being a bit shorter than Dullock but not intimidated by him, "Well now pardner. I take it your bounty thar was declined? It is the holidays ya know.", he explained, Dullock grumbling a bit and banging the table somewhat. He was more grumpy than usual, as the bounty claims closed an hour before he got his target to the place, meaning that he wouldn't be paid until the 31st, "...Yea...only 30 Million but..gah...Lager, just give me usual. With crackers this time...saltless.", ordered Dullock, getting a nod from the Lizard and going to the back to whip up something simple. Despite being a bar, Dullock only came for a meal, anything alcoholic not allowed for the type of soldier he was since it was considered an impurity.

Within minutes, Lager returned with a small plate containing steamed vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, and a few pieces of baked drumsticks, and another place with many dry unsalted crackers for his friend. It was a simple meal but it was enough to make sure he would stay in proper shape, "Well here ya go. I was thinking ya'd stop by so I had the stuff on hold. Why not enjoy some entertainment?", he offered, holding up a P.I.C. similar to what the dragoons had but with much less features. Immediately a screen appeared against the wall, having a projection of current news. It wasn't anything interesting to Dullock as he bit into the chicken, and a few crackers, before the channel suddenly showed a red screen for a few moments, making everyone wonder what was on the tube.

"Everyone, I interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcasting because I can. More so, I hope you're enjoying your down time, before the new year. Just a reminder..", said N.D. as he appeared in the same commercial from earlier. Dullock looked up with curiosity, not having seen this message since he was out and about. Lager rubbed his head and made the screen larger for everyone to enjoy, even though the majority had already seen it, "Oh right...you were out. Check it out. Its the Smash Clash Tournament again.", explained the swamp lizard, getting a shrug by Dullock who had no interest in such things. Normally Lager would not press the subject, but he knew this year was a bit different, "You may want to lookie at this pardner..I reckon this will interest you.", he added, the dark lizard chewing on some veggies, then looking back up.

"As you all know, this year the Smash Clash will be hosted in Saint Falda, at Former Vanaxxis Castle since it was turned to rubble by a certain dragoon trouble maker. Though speaking of him...and I know you'll see this soon. You have a special place in my tournament, so special that you don't even have to pass the preliminaries. Isn't that nice of me Eurasia? For those who don't know, Eurasia is the dragoon of fire, a vicious evil criminal who should be approached with extreme caution. Though as with all worthless criminals, he'll have immunity during the tournament.", continued on N.D. with a big cheesy smile, showing a picture of Eurasia with his bounty for all to see. Although he was classified as vicious, and his bounty was at a rather high 300 Million, the whole Tavern laughed, finding it hard to believe that N.D. would advertise such a pathetic looking human. Aside from one other, no human has ever had a bounty so high. Even with his reckless exploits such as destroying Vanaxxis Castle, and destroying the Bastille Maison Des Dymons, no one is able to take him seriously.

"That's a joke! That human is pussy looking!", said a few in the room, while a few dragons were skeptical about it, "I dunno...dragoons are pretty strong. He may be worthy of that...though I have to say, he's doesn't look powerful in the least...", remarked a few dragons, Dullock seeing new info on a target he thought was not worth the effort. The commercial continued on after N.D. made the picture of the dragoon vanish, "Keep in mind though...your entry is optional..you can choose to ignore my message and carry on with your pathetic excuse for a life with those filthy dragons you hold dear. But that would mean you would miss out on the prize! Last year was 500 million....but with the amount of entries this year..we're bumping it up to 1 Billion Kash! Yes, I said that. You can pick up your jaws now.", said N.D., everyone whistling at the prize money. One Billion could buy you alot, and would basically set you for life, an amount that made even Dullock raise an eyebrow. Over his lifetime, he had gained over one billion in bounties for his kind to fund the expensive battles his people fought, but to get it in one sitting was very intriguing.

"Yes...ONE....BILLION...DOLLARS!...And to top it off, that's not the only prize this year. For the first time, we're giving two prizes to the winner. You get the honor of stabbing and claiming the bounty of this loser. Live, in front of millions!", pointed the evil lord to the side, though leaning his head to signal the cameraman to turn it to what he was pointing to. That was where everyone gave a loud cheer once more, seeing the chained down and starved looking Abyssion. His clothes were quite torn, looking down at the ground with his eyes closed. Abyssion's bounty was 550 Million, given to him for betraying N.D. many years ago, and it was the only human to date where his bounty definitely showed his power, "So think of it. One billion, plus 550 Million...all yours when you impale your weapon in him. So good luck to everyone next year, and remember. Life Insurance doesn't cover death in the tournament. So leave a proper will to your loved ones!", advised N.D., giving a wave to the audience before static overtook the screen, returning it back to the local news.

The entire bar was going crazy with the second announcement of the Smash Clash, many of them considering entering for that prize. Dullock though liking the sound of it, thought that it wasn't worth the headache considering it was a team thing. However what really caught his interest was the bounty presented under the dragoon of fire, the amount not updated yet in the bounty boards, "That human..is worth 300 Million now? For causing our bounty business to boom? Hmm...maybe he is worth the claim...", he muttered to himself, finishing off his plate and snacking on the remaining crackers. Lager was no idiot though, knowing that the dragoon of fire was no joke, but according to his sources, Dullock outclassed him in every field, "I'd say he's probably worth...the 100 he was before. 300?...Nah...he'd probably put up a fight..but he's not enforcer level...that I know for sure..", remarked the swamp lizard, cleaning cups and taking the dark lizard's plates.

Dullock stood up and wiped his mouth off with a napkin, turning to head out, "Thanks for the grub. I'm off to mediate. These blades aren't going charge themselves. Don't wait up!", Dullock said as he set forth for home. The rest of the tavern said goodbye as well, Dullock merely nodding as he knew he would be back at some point. Lager wondered how the tournament would go this time, the line up being one of the most intense to date, even more so if the dragoons were to fight. If only Dullock would fight, he'd probably be one of the people he'd know would probably win the gold. Anyway things had to be clean and the swamp lizard went back to work, giving the customers more beer and entertainment.

Next Chapter: Chapter 18 - End of the line! The Duel between Men!