Extra Chapter, The Beast Within The Dragon. (Patreon)

Author Note: Hello, dears. Although this extra chapter will be heavy for a celebration. It something I've been working on for a while, and when is it better to release than as an extra chapter to celebrate the 500th chapter?

SPOILER for the chapter between the stars. You can read without reading it, or reading it, you choose.

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The following text happens five years into Yasenia's trial. It tells the first time Yasenia lost one of the girls. It is opposite of the usual HEM chapters, as it is harsh. However, I hope you give it a chance at an appropriate time. Reading it before bed is not recommended.

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Also, this is her after the first five years, remember she stayed twenty two here.

Have a great day, read with a steady heart, and many many hugs dears.

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It had already been five years since Yasenia had begun the trial. During this time, her personality had undergone many changes.

Yasenia has changed from the initial approachable and smiling dragoness into an indifferent and stoic woman. Her only motive, desire, and focus seemed to be to win the war many considered lost.

“Yasenia, you should rest. You’ve been training for twenty hours, and we have a battle in five hours.” The woman who spoke was Yasenia’s second in command.

Yasenia swung her sword and danced with it elegantly, interlocking attacks with her tail, punches, and kicks.

She was much more elegant and refined than her previous brutish sword style that relied on pure strength. The dragoness realized that her strength was only a bit better than the average fighter in this war, so her previous tactics were quickly smashed one by one.

Only fighting smartly could make her feel like she could make a difference. Her skills were strong, her tail was a powerful trait, and her body was strong. Using all of this efficiently allowed her to dominate the battlefield.

Yasenia knew that if she wanted to increase in the strength ladder of this Trial, she needed to perfect these as much as she could.

She was at the Half-Step of the Mental Nourishing Realm. Hence, she didn’t truly need sleep or rest. Cultivating for an hour was enough to recharge her energy and mental condition.

“Yasenia… I don’t understand your fixation on this War. Why don’t we leave the country together? My sisters and I are all worried for you.”

Yasenia stopped her sword dance and looked at the beautiful woman. “I told you since day one. I either finish this war, or I die trying. If any of you want to leave, you are free to do so and bear the consequences.”

Yasenia’s cold and aloof tone made the woman tremble for a second. She could be called the closest one to her. But they could all feel that Yasenia’s heart was as cold as stone, and her closeness to them was only physical closeness.

“Sigh, Yasenia. How about we relax together for a while? We all want to support you in battle, but resting is also important.”

Yasenia walked to her side. She was clad in full-body silver armor. However, even this armor could not hide the perfect body curves of the dragoness, making the woman gulp.

“Relax together? Or do you want me to fuck all of you? Stop the nonsense and prepare for battle.”

The woman paled a bit and looked at her disappearing back. The triple-sectioned tail with the first third black, the second third blue with golden rings, and then the last part of the entirely golden tail tip swayed with Yasenia’s body, making her steps naturally seductive as her waist balanced from side to side with each step.

“Well, even if she is like that… I can feel she at least cares for us.”

Yasenia walked to the top of a tower in the camp and sighed. “Will they forgive me?”

Yasenia’s mutter was carried in the wind, and nobody heard it. She didn’t know who she was speaking about, her dears, or the virtual women she was using without remorse for her goals.

Every sensation here was too real, and sometimes Yasenia had to meditate to remember where she was.

Often times she became too engrossed in killing enemies and almost lost her mind.

Yasenia looked to the horizon, and her sharp eyes could spot their enemy’s camp. “We are five thousand, and they have eight thousand. I need to perform extra well, or the defeat can become tragic. Moreover, my promotion to the general rank will slow down by a lot if I lose. I may also lose one of those girls….”

Yasenia thought of the harem she was building in this trial where everything was not real. ‘Sorry, but I can’t love any of you. My heart must remain steady.’

She sunk into her mind and remembered her dears. Angel’s sweet smile, Cecile’s refreshing presence, Kali’s scarred face, Evelyn’s mischievous laugh, and Andrea’s pampering gaze. Then, she remembered her mother’s caring red eyes, which looked over her and protected her from the shadows. ‘Good, their faces are still clear to me.’

Yasenia took a deep breath and exhaled. “Maybe, I should write a note or diary. I don’t want to forget anything about them. I should read it before I leave this place so that Angel and the others don’t find anything wrong with me….”

Yasenia frowned. “Angel and the others? Since when did I stop calling them my dears? It is happening more and more often….”

“Yasenia~.”

The dragoness heard the sweet voice of a girl, and Angel’s face flashed in her mind. However, she knew that this voice was not hers.

Angel’s voice was silvery and soft like cotton, making you feel she was lovely, pure, and with a transparent heart like glass.

This one was sweet, like candy, and cheery, making you feel like she was a vivacious and gentle girl.

The dragoness turned around, her face cold, and looked at the short black-haired girl smiling at her. The petite woman walked forward and hugged the armored Yasenia. “Why are you here, Yasenia?”

Yasenia looked at her in a daze, and her hand subconsciously went to her head to pat her.

The girl giggled and pushed against the hand, snapping Yasenia out of her daze. She calmly retrieved her hand and asked. “Why are you not training, Flame? Last time you almost got into an accident.”

Flame pouted. “But I want to be with you, Yasenia!”

Yasenia frowned. It has been four years since she knew this girl. Yasenia had always liked petite, soft, and cuddly girls, so when she decided to create a harem, she did not hesitate to add her.

‘This might have been a mistake. My heart is sometimes too soft to her….’

“You know you can’t, Flame. I need to spend equal time with all of you.”

Flame frowned. “Yasenia, I feel you shouldn’t be like this, spending the same time with each of us as if it were a duty. We all love you, so you being natural and spending however much time you want with us should be the correct thing.”

Yasenia answered almost hastily. “I can’t.”

Flame was surprised by the firm rejection and pouted again. “Can I at least have a kiss?”

“No. Today is not your turn to have intimacy.”

Flame sighed and separated. “Okay. We all know how stiff and cold you are. It is our fault for falling in love with a stone plate.”

‘Cold and stiff, eh….’

Yasenia turned around and sighed.

“Say, Yasenia…”

“Hm?”

“If any of us dies… Would you be sad?”

Yasenia frowned, feeling uncomfortable. “You won’t die. I could take care of all of you until now, and that won’t change.”

Flame saw Yasenia’s expression and smiled. “Ha! You indeed love us a little bit, or else you wouldn’t have been sad.”

Yasenia’s heart shook, and she said coldly. “Leave.”

Flame was confused. “Huh?”

“LEAVE!”

Flame jumped with a start. Then, she ran away while laughing. “Yasenia, you can’t hide your heart from me~. I love you!”

Yasenia returned to her tent, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind. ‘You are five years in, Yasenia. At this pace, the war should last at least another five, so remain focused. You need to win this assault to capture the region they are defending. Then, with the current general’s plan, we can launch a big offensive in this passage. The main army can’t come because the general is taking care of it.’

Yasenia opened her golden eyes, a tint of red staining them gradually. ‘I must slaughter all those bastards so I can finish this quickly. In this battle, I will go at a faster pace. I can protect myself. After five years of fighting, I’m much more refined and stronger.’

‘The girls should also have proper ways of defending themselves after what I’ve taught them.’

Yasenia cultivated until the morning before the battle. Then, she stepped out of the tent and climbed onto a wooden platform.

She turned around and saw the five thousand people right before her eyes. At the front, a group of one-hundred-and-twenty-six women stood in different armors than the rest. They were her elite group and also her harem.

She had been recruiting them one by one during the last five years. Whenever she saw a competent woman with potential, she approached and asked directly.

Her fame was widespread in the army, so few women denied the seductive high-ranked woman with great sex techniques that increased the strength of others.

The general also knew that only those Yasenia accepted could benefit, so nobody tried tying down Yasenia and changing her into a sex slave.

Therefore, each female that wanted to be stronger would most likely not reject Yasenia.

“Today’s battle is a turning point. The enemies managed to gather three thousand more men than us. However, numbers mean nothing when each of us can fight two of them. Our strength is undeniable. Our battle tactics are superior. Our armors are tougher. Our spears are sharper. They have nothing but numbers against us.”

Yasenia’s cold and powerful voice spread throughout the camp, reaching everyone’s ears.

“My elite group will be the spearhead. Once we open a tear in the formation, enter like starving dragons, and rip apart our enemies!”

“YEAH!”

The collective shout of five thousand soldiers filled the land, reaching even the other camp.

Yasenia summoned [Draconic Heart] and walked to the front of the formation, mounting a war horse. There weren’t many, but the country would give you one after reaching a certain strength. It was a sign of honor and accomplishments in battle.

Of her elite group, ten of them had one. Flame was between them.

Flame approached Yasenia’s black horse with a smile and spoke. “Yasenia, please take care of your little girls one more battle.”

The others chuckled and said simultaneously. “Take care of us, husband~.”

Yasenia nodded. “Today, I’ll go a bit faster, like we trained before. Try to keep up. If you feel it is impossible, remember to use the signal so we can regroup and change strategies. I’ll be the spearhead, so follow behind me and rip through our enemies.”

“Yes, husband!”

Yasenia didn’t say anything, her face as cold as winter and her golden eyes shining with killing intent.

After reaching the flatland where they would fight, Yasenia commanded.

“Group one to three, advance from the right.”

“Group six to eight, prepare long-range attacks to cover our brothers and sisters.”

“Group fifteen, begin preparing the traps in case we need to retreat or use attack formation seven.”

“The rest follow me into a frontal attack.”

Then, Yasenia pointed her giant sword forward and pulled the reigns of her horse. “CHARGE!”

Yasenia’s horse began galloping together with everyone else.

Her face had no hesitation as she charged forward.

“Huh? They didn’t tell us the Cruel Dragon was against us!”

“Fuck, that murderous thing is here?”

“Oh my heavens, she is still undefeated!”

“Don’t falter! We have three thousand more troops! Not even that crazy woman can overcome this numerical advantage!”

Yasenia took a deep breath and then roared to the sky.

“ROAR!”

Her deep and resounding dragon roar spread around the battlefield as her throat trembled because of the power behind it. The dragon cry made Yasenia’s enemies tremble, and her allies shouted with her.

“[Sun Assimilation].” Yasenia absorbed Sun’s energy like crazy, her golden slit eyes shining more brightly as she approached the enemy army.

When the distance between the armies finally reduced, Yasenia roared. “[Sun Dragon Claw].”

The enormous forty-meter-wide phantom claw slashed at the front soldiers and exploded in a golden nova of flames.

However, many spells rained on that area, dissipating the heat and healing the ones that didn’t die instantly.

Yasenia’s warhorse slammed against the first shield wall and blasted a few of them flying. Then, Yasenia used [Sunrise], [Sunset], [Starry Sky], and her domain, [Moonless Night], to dominate the battlefield.

Her giant sword swung up and down, precisely slamming against her enemies.

She dodged, blocked, parried, and sliced heads in half. Her energy emissions from the attacks damaged the enemies near the ones she fought.

Flame galloped behind her, together with another three women, casting defensive spells to block most of the barrage directed at Yasenia.

‘There is an attack coming from the left.’

‘Use that weakness in the armor.’

‘Dodge that spear.’

‘I need to generate more Sun energy.’

‘Good, I have enough stars.’

“[Starfall].”

Over three hundred stars rained on the battlefield, damaging many people. However, the strength of the soldiers made even a direct hit not strong enough to finish them off. ‘As expected, they are strong. They all would be considered geniuses back at home. Hm?’

Flame shouted. “Yasenia, be careful! A strong foe is charging at us!”

Yasenia turned her head carefully while she fought and saw another person charging at her on a red warhorse.

Yasenia squinted. ‘Strong. I need to use [Day and Night] to fight him. Who is he?’

“Oh! The Captain has made it in time!”

“Hahaha, that dragoness is done for!”

Yasenia felt her heart sink. ‘Captain? Why is someone like him here? He is one rank above my current strength!’

“Cruel Dragon, today is the day you die!”

“We’ll see about that! [Absorption of Celestial Light: Day and Night Cycle]!”

*BOOM!*

Yasenia’s aura burst with monstrous momentum, pushing away every soldier and skill near her. However, even with that show of strength, the captain’s face didn’t change as his charge didn’t even slow down.

“[Thousand Miles Spear charge].”

Yasenia saw the spear shine brightly as he and his horse accelerated toward her with blurry speed.

Yasenia’s face turned fierce as her voice echoed like a whisper. “With the coming of the night, I call upon the [Crescent Moon]! Coat me in my [Celestial Dress] as I dance with these fools in my [Moonless Night] Domain!”

Yasenia’s armor disintegrated in particles of light as her body-hugging white dress appeared on her body. The long skirt covered the black warhorse’s body as Yasenia’s aura further skyrocketed.

Yasenia then swung her sword without holding back an ounce of her strength and slammed it against the incoming spear.

*BOOM!*

The shockwave blasted everyone around them.

“KYA!”

Yasenia heard Flame’s shout and used her Spiritual Sense to see what had happened.

The shockwave had flown her away from her horse.

“Yasenia, focus on the battle. Leave Flame to us!”

Yasenia’s heart clenched, feeling a dreadful premonition. However, her sword kept swinging against the captain, sending waves of Moon Energy everywhere.

“To think that the Cruel Dragon was this strong! You’ve surprised me, but you are still not strong enough! [Thousand Bodies Spear Thrust].”

Yasenia’s heart clenched as she saw the spear gain enormous energy. Out of pure reflex, she quickly chanted. “As the Crescent Moon grows, it becomes [FULL MOON].”

All her Moon energy exploded from her and formed a silver sphere around her in the shape of the Moon.

Then, the attack released by the captain arrived.

*BangBangBangBangBangBangBangBang!*

Yasenia could barely see the spear as it repeatedly struck against her shield. The [Full Moon]’s absolute defense quickly weakened as Yasenia felt the aftershock through the skill.

*CRACK!*

“As the [Full Moon] collapses, [Dusk] arrives, and my strength increases!”

Yasenia swung her sword vertically, timing it perfectly with the destruction of her [Full Moon].

*CLANG!*

The two warhorses took many steps back as the attacks canceled each other.

Yasenia didn’t lose the chance of the distance they gained after the collision.

Her tone increased and became loud and clear. “After dusk and the [Sunrise], time passes, and it becomes [NOON].”

With dusk, Yasenia’s Moon energy transformed into Sun energy and combined with the previously accumulated Sun energy.

Then, Yasenia pointed her sword at the sky, and it shone with the brilliance of the Sun.

“DIE!”

Yasenia swung her sword as her meridians pumped energy wildly and summoned a monstrous beam of Sun energy.

“Cruel Dragon, I’m not that fragile! [EMPIRE’S SHIELD]!”

*BANG!*

Yasenia saw incredulously how her attack was stopped entirely. ‘Shit, maybe only [Midnight] can deal with this man. But I need to gather energy and keep being alive.’

“AHH!!”

Yasenia heard the loud shriek, and her heart sunk to the bottom of her stomach. She turned her head and saw Flame’s arm gushing blood as most of it flew into the air.

Then, he heard the captain’s laugh. “Finally, you’ve arrived!”

A woman holding a white saber looked at them with an indifferent face. “The fact that you can’t deal with that youngling shows you are getting old.”

“Don’t speak like that to your Master!”

Yasenia felt something inside her heart slowly awakening as she looked around and saw three of her girls, decapitated, lying on the ground.

“Y-You… You! ROAR!”

Yasenia turned her warhorse and charged at the white saber woman with golden-red eyes.

“Cruel Dragon, we are not done yet!”

Yasenia’s aura exploded as she turned around and smiled wildly. “I knew you would follow, old man. [SOLAR STAR CHARGE]!”

“MASTER!”

Yasenia became a golden meteor surrounded by stars and smashed against the Captain in a head-on collision.

*BOOM!*

An enormous golden explosion illuminated the battlefield as the white stars created hundreds of secondary explosions.

The captain’s body was flung far away, and they could all see its bad shape.

He had an arm missing, and his skin was severely burnt.

Yet, the man actually flipped in the air and landed on his feet, making Yasenia look at him incredulously.

“Tsk, I let my guard down. It has been seven hundred years since I received a wound like this one.”

“MASTER! BE CAREFUL!”

“Huh?”

“DIE ALREADY!”

Yasenia dismounted and arrived before him rapidly, swinging her sword downwards while it shone brilliantly, her white dress flowing behind her because of her speed.

“[SUNSET].”

“[Thousand Spear Swipes].”

The man swung his spear with the remaining arm, ignoring the carbonized skin falling off, and collided against Yasenia’s attack.

[Sunset] activated the secondary effect, exploding on contact and burning him more.

“Cruel Dragon! I’m Going to slaughter your toys!”

Yasenia didn’t turn around and continued attacking the almost-dead man. She had to finish him off first.

The captain shouted. “Girl, run away quickly. I can’t contain her much longer.”

The saber woman’s face twisted in hatred, and her gaze became murderous.

Yasenia finally smashed the spear away and went forward, dodging his final punch.

The man smirked, and then his leg quickly moved, aiming at Yasenia’s waist. Yasenia sneered as her tail moved and blocked the attack.

The man’s smirk turned to surprise as he felt the sturdiness of the tail.

Yasenia’s feet sank into the ground because of the kick’s strength. However, she recovered quickly, and her body spun, her giant sword making a swift arc and landing on his neck, slicing the head off high up into the sky.

“CRUEL DRAGON, THIS IS MY VENGEANCE!”

Yasenia turned around quickly and saw the saber of the woman piercing forward toward Flame’s chest.

Yasenia’s eyes turned mostly red with golden cracks as every muscle in her body tensed to the limits. Her meridians ruptured as her dantian fed her body with monstrous amounts of energy.

The floor below Yasenia sank as she pushed against it, and her legs went from bent to straightened.

The skin on Yasenia’s legs ripped open, and blood flowed because of her utterly ridiculous strength.

Then, with a Boom that resonated in the battlefield, Yasenia shot forward like a cannonball fired from a powerful weapon.

“DON’T YOU DARE!”

However, it was too late.

Even with her ridiculous speed far above her current limits, the saber was faster and pierced Flame’s heart, releasing an energy wave that burst Flame’s chest open.

“AHH!!”

Yasenia’s lamenting scream echoed as the last shred of golden in her eyes was consumed by red.

The woman wanted to run after killing Flame. Yet she didn’t have time to do it because Yasenia arrived one instant later, her sword coated with pure energy.

[Draconic Heart] impacted the woman, and the colossal momentum and energy burst her body like a staff hitting a water balloon.

Yasenia’s momentum carried her forward, and she used it to destroy a line of people from the enemy army.

After stopping, Yasenia turned around and looked back at the place where Flame was.

However, what entered her eyes was a corpse without life left. Not only Flame but seven of her girls had died.

“No…”

Yasenia’s face twisted with wrath as she roared like a wild beast. ”AHHHH!!”

Then, everything turned red for Yasenia.

She used every single skill in her arsenal to enter the enemy lines and slaughter everyone without a shred of mercy.

Her sword was like the scythe of death as bodies flew across the battlefield with each swing of her sword.

“DIE! DIE! DIE!”

The dragoness rampaged through the battlefield until there was no one left alive from the enemy camp, as the harsh feelings of losing someone close consumed her for the first time.