Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 98: Chapter 47: The Dwarf Warrior’s Oath of Fealty

”Adventurer Mage Razi, I’m impressed by you,” Karon signaled the mage and his adventurer companions not to be nervous. He squatted down, and the robust dragon claw flowed with magical brilliance, a pile of treasures sparkling with bright light appeared in front of the mage.

”I saw your performance last night; you have made a great contribution to defending the territory of the Giant Dragons. You deserve my reward,” Karon’s crimson vertical pupils were filled with admiration for the mage.

”You can choose any one of these treasures as my reward to you,” the Giant Dragon looked down at the mage before him, his demeanor as lofty as ever.

To Karon, Mage Razi’s performance was surely worth his reward, but actually, Mage Razi, like most adventurers, was merely protecting his own life and property.

However, this action by Karon was more to express an attitude, an attitude of the ruler of this territory, akin to spending a fortune on a horse’s bone.

The Giant Dragons would certainly reward those with merit, and they were never stingy, always generous.

Moreover, Karon was keen to recruit these individuals with special skills, but he wouldn’t say it openly; after all, he was the Dragon Lord and couldn’t be too proactive.

Once he expressed his attitude, those with such intentions would definitely take the initiative to contact the Dragon’s Beloved, thus maintaining the dragon’s demeanor, and those humans who approached could not demand more.

But Mage Razi and his adventurer companions and the adventurers around who heard the dragon’s words were stunned. Not because of the dragon’s lofty posture, but because of the dragon’s decision.

It is well-known that dragons are extremely stingy and greedy, especially regarding wealth.

Even the Good Dragons of the Metal Dragon type are the same; although Metal Dragons are friendly, they won’t give you even a Copper Coin.

If you dare to invade its wealth, it will show you what the power and double standards of a Giant Dragon mean, and you will be directly cast into the evil camp, just as the Bronze Dragon, who loves eating Shahua Fishmen, doesn’t acknowledge Fishmen as a wise race.

And the Five-Colored Evil Dragons display even more blatantly; they are not only stingy and greedy but also love to exploit and extort others’ wealth.

Even towards their Beloved, many evil Five-Colored Giant Dragons merely treat these Beloved as objects of exploitation, collecting treasures as much as possible, and much less likely to reward others with their own wealth.

Especially the Red Dragon, famed for being bandits and extortionists in almost all planes, many Red Dragons like to abduct princesses of human kingdoms, not largely because they covet beauty, but to extort those tempting Gold Coins.

Of course, some Red Dragons particularly love the taste of humans and Elf Maidens, seeing humans and Elf Maidens as delicacies.

And now this Red Dragon before them would actually reward others with its treasures, Mage Razi’s eyes widened as if witnessing a mortal defeat a deity; this scene was as unbelievable as a fairy tale.

Mage Razi feared that the Red Dragon before him was testing him; as soon as he reached out, that terrifying big mouth would open and swallow him. So he planned to tactfully refuse the reward from the Red Dragon, as wealth was important, but for a mage, life was even more precious.

But when Mage Razi’s eyes swept across the treasures before him, he felt he should bravely try.

In this pile of treasures, there were red gemstones sparkling as clear as Agate, fist-sized silver-grey glittering ores, and items appearing enveloped in a layer of flame like Refined Iron Block, as well as crystal particles emitting various sparkling lights.

The appearance of these treasures suddenly caused the crowd on the street to exclaim; these adventurers and residents couldn’t resist gathering around.

”My gosh, that’s Secret Silver Ore, its value is at least ten times that of equivalent gold, extremely precious treasure, also possessing tremendous magic power extensibility, indispensable material for crafting many powerful Magic Weapons,”

”And as solid as Dragon Scale, as light as feather,” an experienced adventurer exclaimed.

”And Refined Gold, this kind of Refined Gold is heavy and sturdy, with strong Anti-Magic Attribute, one of the best materials for making Anti-Magic Equipment, a hot commodity in the auction house, many powerful warriors like to mix this unique metal into their armor.”

Mage Razi, of course, knew the value of these treasures, he possessed the dual identity of adventurer and mage, and his knowledge and insights exceeded those of these experienced adventurers.

He was just hesitating, each treasure before him difficult to part with, Secret Silver Ore not only could be used to craft Magic Weapons, but was also essential for every mage constructing their Mage Tower, the Mage Tower’s engraved Magic Array required a lot of Secret Silver.

But those pure Magic Crystals and Magic Gemstones flashing with various magic lights also tempted him, these Magic Crystals and Magic Gemstones were high-grade materials.

They could also help mages accumulate magic power faster and create secret treasure apparatus to help mages recover magic power.

Mage Razi painfully closed his eyes, wishing all these treasures before him were his.

In the end, Mage Razi made his choice. Panting heavily, he pointed at the piece of Mithril Ore that shimmered with a silvery-gray luster and said, ”I choose this piece of Mithril Ore, my great Dragon.”

Karon nodded and used his dragon claw to pull the baby fist-sized Mithril Ore from the pile of treasures and tossed it to the mage. ”Very well, this Mithril Ore is now yours.”

Mage Razi happily accepted the Mithril Ore, his face beaming. However, the surrounding adventurers began to stir, feeling troubled not by scarcity but by inequality. Furthermore, the dragon’s demeanor made them less intimidated.

”Damn, that mage is really lucky to be rewarded with such a precious treasure,”

”I contributed last night too. I think I should talk to the dragon. Although I don’t expect a reward of equal value, I should receive something.”

”Yeah, we defended the dragon’s territory last night. We deserve a reward from the dragon.”

The crowd began to clamor, gradually surrounding the dragon and its beloved.

The Dragon Descendant Wolfman Saha’s crimson eyes lit up, and his retracting claws popped out as he and his dragonkin blocked the gap between the dragon and the crowd. In his heart, no one was allowed the slightest affront to the Red Dragon.

Kleyna felt the tense atmosphere too. Although these humans weren’t truly a threat to the dragon, she bared her fangs and let out a deep growl as a warning, forbidding the crowd from getting any closer.

Karon’s massive body remained unmoved, watching these humans with cold vertical pupils. His will was not to be swayed.

He had considered rewarding every warrior who participated in last night’s defense against the fishmen, but he changed his mind. He decided only to set an example, and only those who performed outstandingly would receive his rewards.

Under Karon’s gaze, these humans felt the overwhelming pressure emanating from the dragon and gradually closed their mouths, beginning to disperse.

At this moment, the stout Dwarf Warrior Clagon squeezed out from the crowd, his eyes fervently fixed on the piece of iron engulfed in flames—blazing refined gold.

This refined gold is one of the best materials for weapon-making in the world. Weapons forged from it can harness the power of flames, and it’s the most beloved treasure of the dwarf race.

They love crafting it into the warhammers in their hands, which can become artisans’ hammers for crafting weapons or heavy hammers for crafting enemies’ bodies.

The thick voice of Dwarf Warrior Clagon was eager as he asked the dragon, ”Honored Dragon, what conditions are required to trade for this refined gold?”

The Red Dragon’s massive head shook slightly as it said, ”A dragon lacks no wealth; only those who make outstanding contributions to the Dragon Group Territory can receive my rewards, or those who pledge allegiance to the Dragon Group and bring aid.”

Dwarf Clagon’s eyes lit up, and he loudly declared, ”I am willing to pledge allegiance to the great dragon, hoping the dragon would grant me that blazing refined gold.”

”The dragon accepts no useless individuals, dwarf. Speak of your skills, and let me see if you are worthy to pledge allegiance to the dragon,” the deep voice of the Red Dragon echoed in the dwarf’s ear.

Although Karon’s treatment of Mage Razi today was meant to attract others to serve the Dragon Group, he hadn’t expected a dwarf to offer himself up as an example so soon. Nevertheless, he maintained a relatively high posture.

”Haha, everyone in the world knows that every dwarf is an excellent blacksmith. I can forge sharp weapons and sturdy armor for the dragon’s beloved, as long as there is enough good wine,” Dwarf Clagon boomed.

”Very well, I look forward to your performance,” the Red Dragon responded with satisfaction. The territory was currently in need of such skilled personnel. With that, he used his dragon claw to push out that piece of blazing refined gold and tossed it to the dwarf warrior, asking, ”What is your name, warrior of the dwarves, now the dragon’s Artisan Official?”

”Clagon, Clagon Mimm, that is my name, my great dragon,” Dwarf Warrior Clagon, though rough in appearance, replied courteously with a bow.

”Well then, Clagon Mimm, I hope you can obtain more treasures from me,” the Red Dragon stood up, satisfied with today’s demeanor.

Thus, the Red Dragon spread its wide, powerful scale wings and leapt into the sky, riding the flowing wind to its Dragon Nest.

Young dragon Kleyna also ascended into the air, closely following Karon.

The sudden rush of wind blew Clagon’s beard and the braids on his head astray, but he didn’t mind at all.

At that moment, the dwarf warrior tightly gripped the refined gold in his hand and roared up at the dragon in the sky, ”Ha, just wait, my great dragon, Clagon is indeed a greedy dwarf warrior!”