[Last Emperor] Chapter 26 - Burning Desire of an Emperor

It was a risky decision to make, but one that Tao Zi had to do simply because Tiger refused otherwise. He feared the orange bastard would snap its neck with how hard it was fighting against the stone boulder that dwarfed it. 

He grabbed onto it and nearly pushed it out of the way. 

Tao Zi did not have the time to marvel at his new found power and how easily the boulder moved. It proved that if Zarfu or any monster at the Journeyman Stage with opposable thumbs showed up to his cave then he was not safe with just the boulder. He would need to figure out a new defensive system later. 

Now, he had to chase after Tiger. 

The rascal bolted into the forest without looking left or right. No sense of danger, a certain type of reckless abandon he did not come to associate with the tsundere cat. 

It weaved back and forth through the bushes. Tao Zi struggled to keep up with its speed and changes in direction even with his considerable advantage in both forms of cultivation. Tiger was a blur of orange and white. 

Going full speed as though it had been summoned urgently by someone or something. 

Tao Zi feared the worst. Anything that would be a difficult fight would instantly turn into a life and death battle if he could not escape. He was almost dry of any Qi at all. The dragon was working overtime to produce more, but it was a slow process that took multiple phases to succeed within his core. 

Azure Flames of the Dragon Ancestor had its weaknesses including its many strengths. 

Tiger broke into a clearing in the distance. Bright sunlight entered the darkness of the canopy around him from that area meaning it was large and without any vegetation. It would be impossible to hide or sneak up to anything there.

He stopped for a second as he heard the telltale hooting, grunting, and shoutings that were the definitive sounds of chimp language. They laughed and hollered at each other. 

Tao Zi stepped closer and looked into the area. Tiger was currently facing off nearly a dozen chimps with its back arched, hackles raised, and letting out unholy sounds that were worse than anything demonic it had shown him previously. The chimps pointed and laughed at it. A few licked their lips, some circled around, others turned away and returned to what had them occupied from before—

“Fuck.” Tao Zi cursed. 

He backed away and circled around the area. There was no way he could leave the clearing after what he saw. How Tiger had sensed it was beyond him, but the reaction was applicable. He would have done the same exact thing had he known. 

The possibility of having a second human being, alive, healthy, and able to communicate with him was something he could not ignore. 

Lying to himself was something he had done pretty often for the sake of procrastination, but this was more than that. Tao Zi could already feel the effects of his lack of social contact. It didn’t need to be direct person to person discussions and social gatherings, but just the presence of another human being was enough to satiate that burning need.

One that reared its head at this moment and made that urge much stronger. 

He looped until he was at the closest point to the three that were currently spinning the spit that they tied a young girl to. She was currently unconscious, dry blood stuck to her head and soaked her hair from what looked like head trauma.

The fire under her burned intensely. 

Not a single burn mark on her meant that they had just put her on the spit right before he and Tiger showed up. Even her dirty rags that were supposed to be robes haven't caught fire and lit up yet. Though they had an ungodly amount of blood on them. 

Tao Zi did not wait any longer. He charged forward, activating the little Qi he had left and sending out a blast of flames that roared loud enough to make him wince at the bulk of the ground that were gathering before Tiger. Mocking his little rascal. Insulting him to his face with smiling eyes and poking at him with their makeshift spears. 

He did not look to see what happened with the ground as he set his sword on fire and decapitated the first chimp, the one spinning the spit, before the other two could break out of their shocked expressions. The next tried to stand but only got up enough for him to cut in half, cauterizing both sides instantly. 

Flames roared to life as they ate away at the surroundings. 

Tao Zi could hear the beating of his chest as though it was a distance away. All the other sounds were equally muted around him, the screaming and shouting. Crying sounds and others filled with irrational amounts of pain and fear. He turned to face the last chimp only to freeze. 

The monster backed away while seated. Eyes wide and filled with something he had never encountered before. Something he had never seen directed at him. Abject terror filled its shaking and trembling body. 

It raised a hand and pointed at him. “Dragon.”

He stepped back. A blur of orange passed by him and set on trying to kill the flames. Tiger’s paws tried to stamp it out, but it was simply too small to prevent such a large fire from continuing to burn so fiercely. Seeing that helped him break out of whatever funk he had fallen into. 

Everything sped back up and the noise slammed into his ears. He reeled back for a moment but gathered himself quickly. He refused to look at what happened behind him, he could hear the raging dragonic flames behind them roar as though it was a real dragon. Lighting the entire clearing up with bright blues and whites. 

Instead, he grabbed the entire spit and ripped it off the cooking station it was built upon. 

Tiger led the way back to the cave. It kept the same pace and speed that it had taken to get to the clearing. Nearly losing Tao Zi a few times simply because of how busy his mind was. It was difficult to clear it after the look the chimp had given him. 

It was a strange feeling. 

Being feared for the first time felt…

Tao Zi took a deep breath as they broke out of the forest and directly in front of the cave entrance. The boulder was still out of its place. Heron stood at the entrance like a guardian, arms crossed and surveying the surroundings. 

Tiger bolted in and he followed. 

He set the girl down on a second bed he pulled out of his system. This time it was a little pink kitten playing with an equally pink ball of yarn. Not that he noticed at all. 

No, he was busy trying to figure out what this new feeling was. 

Why it was affecting him so much? 

It took him some time, but he figured it out eventually. He did not like what he discovered one bit the longer he thought on the matter and what he felt exactly during the moment with him and the chimp. It all happened within a partial second, yet it was a vital moment. 

Tao Zi discovered that he felt … Joy? Satisfaction? He wasn’t sure what form it was exactly except that it itched at something primal within him to see the fear and terror the chimp expressed at his arrival. 

Only that now it left a bad taste in his mouth. 

Not because he cared about the chimps or their feelings, but the potential of what he could become overall. Enjoying death and terror was not on his board of things he wanted to be. If anything, his pursuit of power was highlighted by a single most crucial point that he refused to renegotiate or change. 

He wanted to be strong enough that being lazy or procrastinating would not affect him so directly anymore. So he could lounge without anyone ever asking him why or advising him of things he could be doing better. 

Tao Zi wanted to be a a fucking Emperor with servants to do his bidding.