Chapter 107: Taming

The shapeshifter was incredibly good at bluffing! Along the way, they encountered several magical beasts below Tier 3, all of which fled in panic at its realistic dragon roars.

As for the fierce wild beasts, they had already fled far in advance upon spotting its colossal dragon form from afar.

Thus, the journey passed without incident as the army bypassed several mountain ranges on their return. Counting the travel time, it was already the afternoon of the second day.

Badi stood on the city wall, gazing into the depths of the forest, his heart filled with anxiety.

The villagers in the city shared his apprehension; most of them had already packed their bags, ready to flee at a moment's notice.

Since they had not returned by now, it seemed Lord Keen had likely met with disaster.

Badi sighed as he watched the blue sun slowly sinking in the distance.

Once tonight passed, he would lead the villagers away and head for another city.

He turned to walk down the wall.

"Lord Badi!" a town guard suddenly shouted, pointing to the sky. "Look!"

"Hmm?" Hearing the shout, Badi spun around. Following the direction of his subordinate's finger, he saw countless Lulutos appearing in the sky, flying toward the city. A look of pleasant surprise immediately washed over his face. "It's Lord Keen's Luluto unit!"

Hearing the shout, the villagers surged onto the city wall. Sure enough, they saw countless giant bees flying toward the city.

Everyone began to cheer—this meant Lord Keen was still alive!

Bolint held his wife's hand, gazing anxiously into the distance. The couple was deeply worried about Tina, eager to see their daughter safe and sound as soon as possible.

With a low rumble, the army of a thousand giant bees flew closer. There seemed to be some sort of colossal creature following within their ranks.

On the ground, Wolf led the kobolds in a rapid sprint, quickly arriving near the city gates.

"Where is Lord Keen?" Badi immediately shouted to Wolf below.

Wolf understood the name Keen and knew it referred to Jia Zhengjin, so he turned and pointed to the sky.

With a buzzing roar, the giant bee unit parted to both sides, revealing Jia Zhengjin and the others surrounded in the center.

"A dragon!" Upon seeing the shapeshifter, the villagers instantly fell into chaos, screaming and running in all directions.

The town guards grew panicky as well, Badi included.

"Don't panic, everyone!" Jia Zhengjin shouted from atop the dragon's head, looking down at them. "This dragon has been subdued by me!"

"Subdued a dragon?!" In an instant, every human in the city froze in place, the air seemingly turning to ice.

Jia Zhengjin had the giant bees drive the shapeshifter toward the beast pen, then jumped down.

[Message: Tameable creature [Shapeshifter] discovered. Place it in the beast pen?]

It really was tameable! Jia Zhengjin was thrilled, though he was also a bit puzzled. The shapeshifter had transformed into such a terrifyingly massive dragon. With its wings spread, it was six or seven times the size of the beast pen. Could it really fit inside?

Despite his doubts, the moment he clicked confirm, the "dragon" before him was instantly dragged into the beast pen, shrinking down into a miniature version of a dragon.

[Message: Taming the shapeshifter will take 48 hours. Proceed?]

Good grief! It actually took two full days to successfully tame it. Nevertheless, Jia Zhengjin decisively clicked confirm.

"So, this isn't a real dragon, but a strange creature that can take the form of one?" Badi quickly grasped the situation. "Aside from its intimidating appearance, it basically has no actual combat power?"

"Exactly!" Jia Zhengjin laughed. "I'll go tell the villagers right now and let them know the truth."

"No!" Badi immediately stopped him. "Lord Keen, you cannot tell the villagers the truth!"

"Why not?" Jia Zhengjin turned to him in confusion.

"Right now, because they believe you can subdue a dragon, the villagers have unprecedented trust in your strength! Once they believe that even a legendary dragon is no match for Lord Keen, their feelings will turn into fanatical worship and support. The villagers will gain an unprecedented level of self-confidence! From now on, no enemy will ever be able to make them feel afraid again!" Badi explained. "But if you tell them the truth, though they will still be overjoyed, they will still feel fear when facing future crises. Do you want villagers who fanatically support you, trust you, and are completely fearless, or do you want the same cowardly villagers as before, who only think of how to run and save their own skins when danger strikes?"

"But... wouldn't that be a lie?" Jia Zhengjin asked.

"As a leader, if it is for the collective interest of everyone, you must lie when you have to!" Badi said solemnly. "What this place needs is Lord Keen, a super-power capable of subduing dragons! Furthermore, if the major factions learn that you have subdued a dragon, no one will dare to provoke you again!"

"Hmm... you have a point," Jia Zhengjin said, pinching his chin. "But Tina and Pellin both know. They might let it slip."

"Lord Keen, they are your women," Badi said, "and they are your followers!"

Jia Zhengjin quickly had Tina and Pellin called over, then asked them in a low voice, "You haven't told anyone that this thing isn't a real dragon, have you?"

Pellin shook her head expressionlessly.

Tina, however, looked at him and said, "I was just about to go home and tell my parents!"

"What if I told you that you cannot reveal the truth about it not being a dragon, not even to your own families...?"

"Understood!" Pellin replied crisply.

"If it's what you want, Keen, of course I won't say anything!" Tina nodded in agreement. "I'll just feel a bit guilty toward my parents."

Are followers always this obedient? Jia Zhengjin glanced back at Badi in surprise.

Badi seemed to read the question in his eyes and nodded with a smile.

"Oh, right!" Jia Zhengjin also called the werewolf Wolf over. "You aren't allowed to tell anyone that this thing isn't a real dragon either."

"Understood, Master. But even if I did, they wouldn't understand!" Wolf shrugged.

"Just in case! I didn't understand anything at first either, but after using a Basic Knowledge Potion, I could speak the local tongue!" Jia Zhengjin said.

"My lips are sealed!" Wolf made a motion of zipping his mouth shut.

"Great!" Jia Zhengjin finally felt relieved. "Once it's tamed, our city will essentially have an extra dragon! Hey, do you think if we take it out hunting, the magical beasts will be too terrified to fight back?"

"Lord Keen, when faced with a life-or-death situation, I believe even the most terrified creatures will instinctively fight back," Badi replied.

"Nonsense!" Jia Zhengjin pointed at the shapeshifter inside the beast pen. "This silly thing only knew how to roar, and it got beaten to the ground in no time!"

"Uh..." Badi looked quite embarrassed. "Lord Keen, I have never heard of such a bizarre creature. It is probably one of a kind, isn't it?"

"True enough," Jia Zhengjin agreed. He recalled that although the magical beasts along the way had fled in terror, if they actually pursued them, those beasts might fight back to survive. As for this shapeshifter, its only attack was its roar; once a real fight broke out, the jig would be up.