Alliance on the Brink of Collapse

Analyzing a problem does not equate to being able to solve it.

Hudson was well aware of his own limitations; his strength determined that he could only go with the flow in the face of the changing domestic and international situation.

Having hastily arranged the affairs of his territory, Hudson was preparing to head to the Royal Capital the funeral when he sensed a violent fluctuation of elements.

"Skilled fighters are engaged in a fierce battle in the Mountain Territory!"

The moment this thought crossed his mind, his already bad mood worsened.

To cause trouble at such a critical juncture was clearly a disrespect to him as the lord. However, this anger vanished without a trace after a mere moment.

"Beldens, are you sure this is Maxim getting into a fight?"

Hudson asked, his head aching.

Few Giant Dragon are well-behaved. Especially the five-colored dragons, most of them are thugs and villains, and very few have any moral compass.

In their sense of right and wrong, robbing without killing is considered a favor to the robbed. If they're in a bad mood, the victims are simply turned into snacks.

Just look at Maxim; ever since he stepped off Dragon Island, he's either been stirring up trouble or on his way to stirring up trouble.

Despite the repeated beatings in society, Long has not learned his lesson and is now fighting with someone again.

"It definitely is! The Red Dragon's unique aura is so strong; it can't be that another Red Dragon has run rampant on our territory!"

Beldens said with a smug look on his face.

That expression seemed to say: This bear is more reliable! Your Giant Dragon mount is just a troublemaker.

"Let's go, let's take a look!"

As he spoke, Hudson was already on the bear's back. He could only attribute the feud between Beldens and Maxim to: like repels like.

However, one thing is certain: raising bears is indeed less troublesome than raising dragons.

Just look at Beldens' daily routine; he spends most of his time either eating or sleeping, staying at home.

Trouble? Not a chance. Lord Bear isn't that diligent. It's probably because one of the ancestors of the Earth Bear clan invented a dream cultivation technique, and since then, this race has become obsessed with the life of "eat, sleep, and eat again."

Beldens is young and relatively active. If it were an old, vintage bear, it would probably be even more of a homebody.

Giant Dragon are different. Besides their love of sleeping, they're all incredibly greedy. Those scumbag dragons will do anything, no matter how shameless, to get rich.

"Stop!"

Looking at the chaotic battlefield, Hudson shouted angrily.

"Hudson, you've come at the right time. These guys actually sent such an ugly female beast to tempt me into doing something wrong while I'm in heat. They clearly don't respect me at all!"

Maxim felt wronged, but the mage and guardian knight who were being beaten up beside him felt even more wronged. They hadn't done anything wrong, yet they were being beaten black and blue by the crazed Giant Dragon.

The worst off were the few on the ground, who were now barely breathing. If Hudson had arrived any later, they would all be meeting the Lord of Dawn.

Seeing this, Hudson was at a loss. There was only one explanation for Maxim starting to criticize the female animal's appearance: his heat cycle was over, and his aesthetic sense had gradually returned to normal.

"Mr. Maxim, it is certainly wrong of them to send you the ugly beast, but it is not entirely their fault."

Since you haven't specified what kind of animal you like, everyone else can only choose according to their own standards.

"If you don't believe me, just ask them. In their minds, aren't all these female beasts beautiful as flowers...?"

After spouting a string of fallacies, Hudson successfully calmed his dragon down. As for the injured unfortunate creature, all he could do was apologize.

From the moment everyone started this job, he repeatedly emphasized: this is a high-risk job, and we must remain extremely vigilant.

Similar sentiments have likely been uttered by the leaders of various powerful factions. Just look at the other Giant Dragon breeding bases on the continent; every year, a number of people die due to accidents.

Just because someone got beaten up, does that mean the Giant Dragon involved in the case will come out and apologize?

Even if Maxim were willing to swallow his pride and apologize, they wouldn't dare accept it. Being targeted by a Giant Dragon was hardly a good choice.

"Alright, Hudson. For your sake, I'll let this go today."

However, we still need to do the math. I've been working hard lately...

Before Maxim could finish speaking, Hudson interrupted, "We'll check the accounts when we get back."

Guards, quickly notify the priest to come and treat the wounded. Those who can still move, lend a hand and give the spare medicine to the wounded; don't let anyone die.

..."

After saying a few perfunctory words to reassure them, Hudson left the scene. These people were just temporary partners, not his underlings; there was no need to try and win them over.

Inside the lord's manor, Maxim extended his claws and said with a serious expression, "In recent days, those female beasts have laid a total of 5,371 eggs and cubs. We're not counting the pregnant female beasts that are about to give birth for now."

As per our agreement, I will charge 150 gold coins for each monster cub, and the total cost is now 805,650 gold coins.

"I won't haggle over the odd change, just give me 810,000 gold coins!"

Upon hearing Maxim's method of calculation, Hudson nearly spat out his water. He'd seen plenty of rounding down, but never anything like this where rounding down resulted in an even larger sum.

"Dear Mr. Maxim, you've made a mistake. The nutrition allowance is for supplementing your nutrition; only the surplus will be given to you directly in the form of gold coins."

These days, you've been indulging in food and drink every day, which is quite an expense, totaling 85,650 gold coins.

The account list is all here; you can check it to see if there are any errors or omissions.

As he spoke, Hudson tossed over a stack of ledgers. They clearly recorded Maxim's daily meal arrangements.

After a cursory glance, the impatient Red Dragon did some mental calculations and, finding no problems, said with a frustrated expression.

"I never spend money on these things normally. It's my bad luck to be with a stingy knight like you."

However, you'll have to cover half of these expenses. Let's round it down to 40,000 gold coins.

"Eight hundred and one thousand minus forty thousand, that's still seven hundred and seventy thousand gold coins. Hudson, hurry up and pay!"

This is typical of Giant Dragon accounting methods, leaving even Hudson speechless. Anyone with a modicum of integrity wouldn't utter such shameless words.

"Mr. Maxim, don't rush. Gold coins don't have legs; what's yours will be yours, it won't run away. Now let's continue checking the accounts."

First of all, not every monster egg can hatch successfully. According to the agreement reached earlier, you can only receive nutrition fees if a monster cub is successfully hatched.

There are still eggs in the eggs, continuing to hatch. Therefore, you will only be entitled to nutritional compensation for eggs that have successfully hatched.

Including the offspring born directly, there were a total of 3,826 monsters. Total cost: 573,900 gold coins.

The 85,650 gold coins you just mentioned are only for your daily food expenses. In addition, there are:

Over the past year, you have repaired the Dragon Nest seven times, with a total construction and maintenance cost of 13,000 gold coins;

The cost of repairing the territory's infrastructure and the compensation for the mental distress caused to innocent people, totaling 37,000 gold coins;

The compensation paid to the injured for medical expenses and to the deceased for consolation money totaled 23,000 gold coins;

Because of your cruelty, a large number of female beasts died, including two female demon beasts. You need to pay a total of 34,000 gold coins in compensation.

After deducting these fees, your net income is now exactly 280,000 gold coins.

Of course, this is only the income that has already been realized. In the future, as the number of Warcraft cubs increases, you will have a large amount of income.

Mr. Maxim, if you have no questions about these accounts, please sign here!

Seeing Hudson pull out the list, Maxim immediately began to doubt Long Sheng, wondering why his expenses were so high.

However, every expense had a detailed source. Judging from the paper alone, he couldn't find any fault with it for the time being.

"Hudson, the prices in your Mountain Territory are way too high!"

Look at what's recorded here: a cow costs thirteen gold coins, a sheep costs three gold coins, and even a brick costs five gold coins... This is blatant robbery!

..."

Thinking he had found a loophole, Maxim began to unleash a barrage of attacks.

"I'm sorry, these are normal prices. Mr. Maxim, please remember that the beef and mutton you eat are all processed."

In addition to the cost of the beef and mutton, there are also processing fees and the cost of spices. Therefore, it is normal for the price to be higher than that of beef and mutton in the market.

The bricks used to replace the dragon's nest were all made from carefully selected high-quality clay and fired by the best craftsmen using the most advanced technology.

A simple comparison will reveal the difference between these and ordinary bricks. You get what you pay for; better quality bricks naturally command a higher price.

Mr. Maxim, if you feel that your current standard of living is too high, I can help you lower it a bit.

For example: from now on, all beef and mutton will be delivered fresh and will not undergo any processing; and instead of using fancy special bricks to repair the dragon's nest, silt will be used directly...

Besides, as long as you don't cause trouble or get into fights, your expenses will definitely decrease significantly.

Hudson continued to bluff his way through the situation.

The usual threat of force was no longer an option, and Maxim, lacking experience in the ways of the dragon, was naturally no match for Hudson.

Just as Maxim was about to ask for his money after the dragon's claw imprinted on his hand, he received another thick bill.

Seeing the words "Magic Crystal Consumption Fee," the Red Dragon completely deflated. All daily expenses, no matter how high prices were, were traceable and their origins could be found.

The cost of daily cultivation was a complete mystery. Maxim only knew that his cultivation speed had increased significantly after following Hudson, but unfortunately, the exact amount of magic crystals consumed was a mystery.

"Hudson, from now on, I must personally witness every absorption of magic crystals; otherwise, this dragon will not acknowledge it!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Beldens, who had been watching the commotion, jumped out and shouted, "Mine too!"

With both dragon and bear on the same side, Hudson was not annoyed at all. Instead, he said with a friendly expression, "No problem! Don't you trust me to handle things?"

"Maxim doesn't know, but don't you, Beldens, know either? You've seen firsthand how many magic crystals have been consumed in recent years!"

Indeed, it was evident that all the magic crystals and Magic Core sent by the Church and seized on the battlefield were transformed into energy by Hudson.

Part of it was used for daily needs, and the rest was stored in the Mysterious Compass. Previously, Hudson had worried about how to monetize the large amount of stored energy.

Now there's no need to worry. He has a group of magical beasts to raise, which can be used directly as additives in Potion-Making. He doesn't even need to refine them himself; he only needs to infuse them into pills that can hold energy.

In fact, these actions were all tactic to deceive others. If he weren't worried about arousing suspicion, he wouldn't have bothered using the pills; he could have simply injected energy directly into the cub's body.

The only regret is that the potion he concocted only increases the strength of magical beasts, but cannot increase their size.

However, these are all minor issues; a simple explanation of the medication's side effects can perfectly cover it all.

After all, the monster-growing-fasting potions that everyone has developed all have some side effects.

Even if they got the pills, everyone would just assume that Hudson used special methods to extract energy from the magic crystals.

Hudson felt no pressure at all to spend the money he received from dragons and bears to raise his own monster army.

Looking at the more than three hundred gold coins he finally received, Maxim couldn't help but shed tears of grievance.

Hudson, quick-witted and agile, immediately took out a porcelain bottle to accept it. Dragon Tears were a rare commodity; even just a few drops could fetch hundreds of gold coins outside.

Just thinking about Maxim leaves me speechless. He toiled away for a year, only to find that the wages he received were less valuable than the tears he shed.

With the minor incident over, Hudson had to consider a practical matter. Maxim's heat cycle had ended, which also meant that the work at the monster breeding base was coming to a close.

Once all the pregnant female animals have given birth, this international collaboration will come to an end.

The base may not be shut down, but the main personnel will definitely be evacuated. The representatives who remain will only be responsible for observing and waiting for the Giant Dragon to mate next time.

If things go well by then, we might be able to collaborate again. But if things break down, there will be no future.

The power of the Giant Dragon must be acknowledged. Based on the current data, after the mothers have finished giving birth, the number of Sub-Dragon Beast cubs born this time will likely fluctuate around 11,000.

The number sounds enormous, but when spread across the entire Northern Continent, it becomes negligible.

Even the most powerful Alpha Kingdom could only acquire a little over 3,600 Sub-Dragon Beast cubs.

If distributed equally among each province, there would only be about a hundred. This wouldn't be enough for the powerful nobles alone, let alone the middle-ranking nobles who would also want a share. Add to that the needs of the Standing Army, and everyone would get even fewer.

If you want to build a large-scale Warcraft army, you have to raise these cubs as soon as possible and then reproduce them.

Undoubtedly, the Mountain Territory was ahead in this regard. According to the prior agreement, the Mountain Territory was allocated approximately four hundred cubs.

Fortunately, Hudson had sold off a batch of animals beforehand; otherwise, given the current situation, the Mountain Territory, holding so many cubs, would soon be in dire straits.