Arrangements on All Sides

Iron Dragon Wing Palace, Keosius lay sprawled on the throne, exhaling a breath of Sulfur Scent air.

"Judging by the time, the players should be leaving soon."

"It will be four years before the server actually launches."

All the facilities that were originally in the Hall of Governance were moved here intact.

In particular, the extremely rich collection in the Red Dragon Treasury, under strict surveillance, was continuously transported to the deepest part of the cave by the incredibly strong Frost Giant slaves, a process that still took several days. The poor slaves were even blindfolded and could only follow the instructions of the overseers to carry the loads.

Tens of thousands of Gold Coin are piled up like small mountains, adorned with sparkling gems and crystals of various colors, hundreds of Magic Equipment shimmer with brilliant light, and a vast amount of elemental ores are scattered everywhere. There are even extremely precious Ninth Circle Spell scrolls hidden in the middle. This is the Red Dragon's treasure vault.

All the cave entrances were filled with magically created rocks, and the only place to enter and exit was sealed with a high-level Arcane Lock. Dozens of Guardian Inscriptions were hidden at the entrance, and hundreds of fully armed Hobgoblin guards stood watch at the outer gate, enough to stop and kill any uninvited guests. The Red Dragon even somewhat hoped for the adventurers' arrival, as it might replenish his inventory.

Lang Pu originally wanted to call the building "The Dragon King's Treasure Mountain," but for some reason, Keosius changed it.

As the most greedy of all dragons, the Red Dragon was quite pleased with itself.

Sometimes he would take out some Gold Coin from the treasury and eat them to increase the gold element in his body and enrich his Gilded Scales. Tinia, who was also a dragon, could never understand this and doubted the existence of dragons. How could a dragon be so extravagant as to swallow precious Gold Coin? There were Tiefling Guard patrolling back and forth at the palace gate, and even Wyvern rested on the watchtowers outside the palace. Any unauthorized intruder would be torn to pieces.

At that moment, Keosius was looking through the report that Lang Pu had presented.

Having integrated the territories of the original Lakman and Norton Duchy, along with the original Storm Highlands and the newly occupied Glacier area, the total area is nearly 200,000 square kilometers. However, most of these areas are sparsely populated, and even including the Dragon Vein Kin, the population is only around 400,000.

However, given its current level of productivity, which is close to that of the Middle Ages, the Embers of the Burned Kingdom is already struggling to manage this region. The tasks of population management, taxation, and other aspects are proceeding in an orderly manner, and it is expected that it will take several more years to gradually improve.

Lang Pu has learned a lot of advanced management knowledge from players, but how to apply it in a way that suits local conditions is also a challenge.

Due to its vast territory and sparse population, and its history of warfare, the former princes and nobles of the Lakman Duchy possessed extensive hereditary lands. They forced the poor into labor, forming what is known as "serfdom," and established their economic and legal systems on the foundation of manors, where labor was the primary form of service. This was not an isolated case; almost all the duchies in the the North adopted this seemingly backward system, which at least ensured the fighting strength of their noble private armies and allowed them to gain an advantage in conflicts.

This is clearly not applicable to the current Embers of the Burned Kingdom, since most of the original nobles have been slaughtered by the enraged Tiefling, and even tens of thousands of serfs in the Rackman Dynasty's manor have been declared free. The Red Dragon prefers to establish a centralized empire.

"Haaah—"

Looking at this tedious data, Keosius couldn't help but yawn.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to be too distracted by these things. He only needs to provide general direction and be a hands-off manager. The real problem lies with the ruling ministers, whose lives will become even more difficult during the players' absence.

Just then, Tiefling Guard reported from the doorway.

"Your Majesty, Lord Mezhuolash has arrived."

"Let him in."

"Yes."

The heavy palace doors slowly opened, and Mezhuolash walked in with steady steps, calmly kneeling before Keosius.

"How's the matter I entrusted to you going?"

"I have successfully completed the handover with that player. As you instructed, I have found some innocent people who have suffered oppression from the Lakman Duchy as candidates for the ' Nocturne ' unit. They will become the sharpest daggers in the kingdom's night."

"Very good."

Keosius still decided to hand over the leadership of "Nocturne" to Mezhuolash, both because the people of Tiefling were already bound to the kingdom's war machine and he had no possibility of betraying them.

It's also because Mezhuolash is always decisive and ruthless, and has the ability to Control Undead, so he doesn't have much aversion to doing this kind of dark work.

After all, players are too unpredictable, especially notorious ones like the Lang Li Bai Tiao. It's better to just leave him as a mascot. He's fine for assassination and raid missions, but the truly secretive tasks should never be handed over to him.

However, Keosius was unaware of the story behind this "smooth" handover. The Lang Li Bai Tiao cried and howled over it, even challenging Mezhuolash to a duel. In the end, he was beaten black and blue before admitting defeat, much to the delight and applause of the onlookers.

"The task of gathering intelligence on the various duchies should be put on the agenda. After the training is completed, you will send these Vampire to the the North countries. The kingdom is growing bigger and bigger, and we can't rely on the intelligence of those Yuan-ti alone."

Keosius paused, then continued:

"Four years. Within four years, I want to see detailed intelligence on all countries."

"As for the source of additional funding, I'll write you a note, and you can go talk to the ministers yourself."

"Yes, Master."

Mezhuolash responded respectfully.

His expression was calm, showing neither much joy nor sadness; he simply obeyed the arrangements.

For Tiefling, this arrangement undoubtedly expanded his power, considering Nocturne Keosius's plan targeted more than just foreign lands. It would give him leverage over other tribes within the country, but it would also invite suspicion and hostility from others.

However, this doesn't really matter. After all, the country's power structure is extremely simple, based on the power of an extreme individual. Therefore, as long as one clings to the powerful leg of the Red Dragon, which is comparable to a stone pillar, any trouble will be easily resolved.

Mezhuolash knew this well and often set an example by doing so.

The kingdom has been thriving recently, and various matters have followed one after another. No sooner had Mezhuolash left than the Tiefling Guard at the gate reported again.

"Your Majesty, Lord Freed of the Dragon Oath Hall requests an audience."

"There's been so much going on lately, I haven't even had a moment to rest."

Keosius opened his eyes, which he had just closed, slowly raised his head, and impatiently exhaled a puff of gray smoke.

But Red Dragon still said, "Let him in."