Master Head of the Dragon Soul novel Chapter 1

The North Pole, a land with nothing but ice and snow, with the earth and the sky in different shades of the same white, and in the deepest corners of this land, in a place undetectable even by satellite imagery, a military base towered above all else.

It had the best elite soldiers, a state-of-the-art medical team and top-notch weapons, but only insiders knew this world-class military base was not built for research or intelligence purposes, but to protect one man—a man who’d been locked away, but was capable of bringing glory to the three million soldiers of the Donghua Armed Forces!

In the blizzard, a muscular old man with sharp eyebrows strode through the base, his military boots stepping on the snow with an audible crunch.

“That boy’s illness is acting up again? What’s the situation?” The old man’s voice rang out as clearly as a church bell; on his shoulder, three golden stars gleamed.

“Marshal!” A military doctor wearing a white lab coat saluted him, then sighed. “The Dragon Head is getting worse. It’s the third time this month. Not only that, his aggression and destructive abilities have more than tripled! We’ve purposely reinforced the room wall with the sturdiest aeronautical alloys, so he can rampage all he wants, but… ” Before the doctor could finish, a dozen elite soldiers emerged, struggling to carry a twenty-centimeter-thick chunk of the alloy metal wall.

The wall itself was covered in dents made by sandbag-sized fists, along with big footprints and even a dent from a headbutt; all of the dents were clearly defined and, judging from the extensive force used, they were almost enough to puncture the wall itself.

“That boy did all this?”

“Yes, yes.”

The old man felt a prickle on his scalp; a twenty-centimeter-thick, reinforced wall made of aeronautical alloys was sturdy enough to withstand the explosion of a small missile, and now, this man had all but turned it to scrap metal. With a force so strong, tanks seemed like nothing in comparison.

“I want to see him,” the old man said calmly.

The doctor became nervous and hastily said, “Marshal, the Dragon Head has just recovered from his fit of aggression, and it might come back at any moment. It’s too dangerous, so you—”

The old man strode inside without a word. In a custom-built room made of alloy metals, a young man sat on a chair with his limbs cuffed and his body shirtless. Although his skin was a gleaming bronze and his muscles were bulging, he was covered in wounds and scars that criss-crossed over one another—the sign of an honorable warrior. However, his eyes were completely devoid of emotion, and his aura reeked of death and despair.

A corner of the old man’s mouth twitched, his heart feeling a stab of pain. “Didn’t die again?”

The young man laughed at himself, his chiseled features expressing his mockery and dejection as he replied, “I’ve almost crippled myself fooling around like this, but Satan just won’t let me into hell. I think even if I did cripple myself, not a single soul would care.”

“Bullshit!” The old man suddenly raged when he heard that, flipping the table before him with a single kick and scaring the doctors nearby.

“Who the heck is Satan to lay a finger on a soldier who belongs to me, Qin Shihuang?” He seized the young man’s hair and gripped it tightly. “Listen to me, Chu Feng. You’d better live, and live well! No one gets to kill you on my watch. No one, you hear me?!”

Qin Shihuang couldn’t help but tear up at the sight of this demotivated man, his heart feeling as if it’d been stabbed. Chu Feng, Head of the Dragon Soul squad and valued asset to Donghua, was the best soldier the nation had for decades, and Qin Shihuang was proud to have trained him since he was young! An immensely decorated soldier, he was the pillar of faith and glory among Donghua’s millions of fighters!

Three years ago, Chu Feng had even led his squad in the sacking of the holy grounds known as the 'First Organization'. Even when separated from others, he’d blown his way through the seven Thrones of the grounds, filling the place with complete bloodshed. It was this heroic feat that earned him this godlike status, and the title ‘God of War’.

However, he was also inflicted with the diabolical ‘Mandraka Poison’ in the same battle, subjecting him to fits of aggression. When those fits were triggered, he’d go on beast-like rampages and harm indiscriminately, and there was no cure even as the fits became increasingly frequent. In the end, all Chu Feng could do was to be tortured until he was nothing left but a senseless beast and watch himself hit rock bottom after rock bottom; such was his cruel fate.

“Live? What’s the point in me living?” Chu Feng said monotonously, his eyes completely emotionless and blank. “I idle away every day in this godforsaken place, worrying about when my fits will be triggered again, worrying about harming my fellow comrades. Old man, I am no longer able to fight. I’m not fit to be a soldier, and what else do I do besides using up precious resources? Living is torture to me, and death is my only release.”

It was not that he didn’t fear mortality anymore, it was just that he’d become numb. He couldn’t see any hope, any future or even a tomorrow. He felt so guilty every day for the brothers in arms he’d hurt during a fit, for everything he’d done… Such cruelty it was for a proud soldier who had once fiercely defended his land, that death would have been a pleasure in comparison to living a life like this!

The soldiers standing around empathised so much that they started tearing up; even Qin Shihuang had fallen silent, speechless.

“Marshal, the Dragon Head’s condition is getting worse and worse. If he stays demotivated like this, it won’t end well. It might even be fatal…” A doctor walked over and presented a bag of crystalline white powder. “If this goes on, I’m afraid we’ll have to use this…”

Qin Shihuang froze; he’d always been a decisive leader, but now he found himself in painful hesitation. This was the God of War he’d single-handedly brought up, the pride and joy of the million-strong army. Was he really going to resort to this? But if he didn’t, then what would it mean if he continued succumbing to these fits thrice a month? He could only only end up becoming a mindless monster at any moment, a heartless beast!

“Get out. Out!” Chu Feng was suddenly angered and kicked the bag away forcefully as he bellowed. “I am a soldier, the renowned God of War! You dare let me use this thing, and turn me into a drug addict? How can I dishonor my fallen brothers in arms, the uniform on my back?”