Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 80: Chapter 34: The Small Rules of the Territory

The drinks ordered by the Mage were quickly served, each glass resembling white berry juice exuding a strong aroma. The impatient Warrior couldn’t resist taking a big gulp.

”Cough, cough, cough,”

The unexpected taste made even the strong Warrior choke, and his stern face reddened.

The Dwarf Adventurers around the tables burst into laughter,

”Those Dragon’s Beloved have monstrous bodies, only a warrior as mighty as me would dare try such a drink. That human boy, if you can’t handle it, don’t drink it, or later your companions will have to carry you back.”

A Dwarf, shorter than most but with well-developed limbs, stood up, his bulging muscles under his short stature making him look like a block of muscle.

This Dwarf Adventurer from the mountains looked at Mage Razi’s team and provocatively said, ”Human boy, if you can’t handle it, give that drink to me, Clagon. I can down a whole glass in one gulp, so you won’t have to force yourself in front of your companions.”

The Warrior’s face reddened. Though Adventurers often encounter such problems during their travels, sometimes one just can’t hold it in through habit alone.

He stood up, placing a hand on the broadsword behind him, and coldly said, ”Little dwarf, do you want to spar with me? Come on, I’ll let you taste the might of the great sword.”

All the customers in the tavern looked over, even the murmuring Centaurs and Kobolds turned with curious expressions towards the arguing parties.

Unexpectedly, the provocative Dwarf Clagon suddenly backed down, shaking his head, his braided beard swinging, and sighed, ”Didn’t expect this human lad to be so calm, looks like I won’t get a drink this time.”

Everyone watching the conflict burst into laughter, and some familiar patrons jokingly teased, ”Clagon, you always provoke newcomers, be careful you don’t get ambushed outside the town just for a drink.”

”Heh, I won’t actually fight them. If they get taken advantage of, it’s just because they didn’t pay attention to the town’s rules,” the Dwarf said with a seemingly honest face but with a hint of cunning.

Seeing the Dwarf’s provocation fail, He’Er stepped forward to explain to the puzzled Razi team.

It turned out that since the Blue Dragon Doss sent Dragon’s Beloved to retake control of the town, many must-follow decrees have been implemented.

One such decree prohibits private fights anywhere in the town. If a private fight occurs, the instigating party bears full responsibility, and all their assets are confiscated.

If a private fight occurs in places like a tavern, the confiscated assets are used to compensate the tavern owner, and a portion is given to patrons affected by the fight.

The consequence of a tavern fight is a complete confiscation of assets, and all present patrons are compensated with a large drink.

Therefore, the Dwarf Clagon would often provoke newcomers to Golden Harbor Town for a drink, with neither the patrons nor the owners Rose and He’Er stopping him.

This has become a local unwritten rule, a fun little game for them, even though not exactly welcoming to newcomers.

After such a lesson, newcomers often become very compliant and conscientious about following the town’s security ordinances. This aligned closely with the original intent of the Blue Dragon Doss’s decrees.

After all, Blue Dragon Doss prioritizes the interest of the Dragon Group, and in his decrees, humans in the town must fully comply with dragon-made order and cannot resist or provoke Dragon’s Beloved.

Of course, Blue Dragon Doss also intended for these humans to become habituated to dragon-made rules, simplifying future exploits.

Those who violated the ordinances often didn’t need the dragon’s minions to act; residents would arrest the violators themselves.

Because everyone gathered here is for fortune and gain, no one wants stable interests disrupted by newcomers with detrimental outcomes, harming their own interests.

In a sense, residents are gradually becoming accomplices to the dragons, even if those dragons are the infamously vile Five-Color Dragons in the outside world.

After hearing He’Er’s explanation, Razi and the team felt a wave of relief, thankful they were cautious from many adventures instead of rashly acting, as the outcome would be disastrous.

The Adventurer members exchanged glances, and the comely Shadow Assassin said, ”Looks like until we fully understand this place’s rules, we should not act carelessly.”

”We wouldn’t want to offend those dragons’ will; if an error occurs, this place doesn’t seem easy to escape.”

The team members looked at the nonchalantly drinking monsters around and nodded in agreement.

”In that case, we’ll rest here for a bit, then disperse to gather information, and regroup at the tavern entrance,”

said the team leader, the Priest.

...

Amidst the crowd, the Mage observed the surroundings keenly, collecting information from other Adventurers while seeking the town center.

Generally, most ordinances and announcements are declared at the town center, and finding it would provide an understanding of most of the place’s operating rules.

As for the other unwritten rules, his companions would explore them, though with the stealthy Shadow Assassin, he wasn’t too worried.

Gathering intelligence is a Shadow Assassin’s specialty, making an excellent information collection expert.

Those purely reliant on raw abilities like rash youth stage Five-Color Dragons often end up glorifying others.

In the bustling crowd, the Mage suddenly noticed a large group of monsters, undoubtedly Dragon’s Beloveds, with the leading Centaur distinctively having Dragon Descendant Species traits.

This Centaur, nearly four meters tall, was covered in dense crimson scales, with its bulging muscles seemingly stretching the scales.

Though the other Centaur Warriors were also large, they appeared particularly frail beside this Dragon-blooded Centaur, let alone the smaller Kobolds behind.

The Mage speculated that the massive hooves of this Dragon-blooded Centaur could easily crush a Kobold Warrior.

In the Mage’s view, this Dragon-blooded Centaur exuded powerful energy waves, making the Mage realize that perhaps his entire Adventurer team wouldn’t stand against this Centaur.

But perhaps the humans here were accustomed to these monsters, showing no fear, anger, or terror, continuing their routine activities.

Some clever Adventurers, upon seeing the notice clutched in the Dragon-blooded Centaur’s hand, followed the Dragon’s Beloved procession.

Observant, the Mage wanted to follow too, recognizing the announcement in the Centaur Warrior’s hand, possibly representing new intentions of the dragons ruling this land, needing to follow for clarity.

But he suddenly sensed shadows approaching from the sky, prompting the Mage to look up.

In the distant towering forest, a sky filled with black clouds arose—a sky filled with flying birds.

Cawing Raven-men flapped wings leading the bird flock, with Giant Eagles as the flock’s eyes, fierce Eagles as the wings’ bones, Cranes as the body, Vultures as the talons, and myriad birds as the feathers.

A massive Dragon, its scales beautiful as jade, stretched forest green wings wide, breaking free of forest constraints, soaring into the sky, flying above the bird flock.

The bird flock resembled clouds beneath the Dragon, their movements changing with the Dragon’s actions, like soldiers moving to honor their emperor under the Dragon’s dominion.

The variously colored bird feathers in the flock fluttered, draping the Green Dragon in a colorful sheer feathered robe beneath.

The bird flock followed this beautiful Green Dragon past the forest, over the town, heading towards the distant plains.

Mage Razi returned to his senses, having seen the Green Dragon of the Gogomola Dragon Group, leaving him to wonder about the splendor of the one known as ’King of Earth and Metal, Tyrant of Flames and Magma,’ the Red Dragon.