Making Things Difficult

"You actually dared to deceive me!" the Gnoll Overseer roared furiously.

Clever as he was, he immediately imagined the whole scene: the Dragon Hatchling had feigned injury to avoid battle and deceive the merciful Overseer.

If he did not teach this hateful Red Scamp a lesson, how could he lead his troops in the future?!

With that thought, the Gnoll Overseer tightened his grip on the sharp blade in his hand.

"Overseer! Don't attack! The sky! The sky!" Jose quickly backed away to widen the distance.

According to humanity's standards of strength, there were five ranks: beginner, intermediate, advanced, master, and legendary.

The Gnoll Overseer who managed the Dragon Hatchlings possessed advanced strength, while the Young Red Dragon was merely at the beginner rank. Although elite creatures like dragons could fight above their level, crossing two major ranks was almost certain death.

The Gnoll Overseer had intended to attack directly and establish his authority, but upon hearing Jose's warning and recalling the many dragons in the sky, his expression changed. After weighing the pros and cons, he turned and left in fury.

The moment the Gnoll Overseer departed, the dragons erupted into an uproar.

"Ha! So this guy had been pretending to be injured to avoid fighting!"

"Pah! Coward!"

"A disgrace to Red Dragons!"

"..."

The idle chatter of unimportant people had no effect on Jose. He ignored the Dragon Hatchlings' mockery.

Seeing that their target showed no reaction, the Dragon Hatchlings found it dull and gradually returned to their caves.

Jose remained outside, overlooking the scenery of the Red Nest amid the mountain wind.

The Red Nest lay in the northern reaches of the Tydanore Continent, at the heart of the Karakoram Mountains. It was a towering dormant volcano. Its crater resembled a nest, and an Ancient Dragon-level Red Dragon dwelled there, hence its name: the Red Nest.

From the summit to the foot of the mountain, all vegetation had been cleared away, revealing the crimson mountainside that had been stained by Red Dragons living there for ages. The mountain was covered in countless caves, all of them dwellings belonging to the Red Nest Matriarch's subordinates.

The entire Red Nest resembled a pyramid, with residents arranged from top to bottom according to strength. At the very peak was, naturally, the Red Nest Matriarch. The Dragon Hatchlings' living area was halfway up the mountain, while farther below lived the Red Nest Matriarch's main forces. At the bottom lay the shantytown where low-ranking monsters lived, stretching several miles outward from the mountain's base until it reached the pass between the mountains.

Straining his eyes, Jose gazed toward the primeval forest beyond the mountain range.

Ever since he had transmigrated here, he had wanted to escape this troublesome place. Now, his resolve to flee only grew firmer.

Two days later, Jose was resting in his cave when the Gnoll Overseer suddenly strode in from outside and lashed the wall with a whip, sending dust flying with a crack.

"You! You! And you! Come out!"

Without any surprise, Jose was among those called. He glanced at the other two companions who had risen with him: the Golden Dragon Loli and a White Dragon.

Heh. A slave, a fool, and an outcast. What kind of "good thing" is waiting for us?

The three dragons traveled in silence, following the Gnoll Overseer around to the rear of the mountain, where they arrived before a cave bustling with people coming and going.

"Go in," the Gnoll Overseer sneered, his scarlet eyes fixed on Jose as he tried to find fear, regret, or some similar emotion on his face.

Unfortunately, he got no such satisfaction. Jose's expression did not change at all. He simply entered the cave as instructed.

"Hmph! I hope you can stay as calm as you are now later!"

Meanwhile, the three dragons entered the cave and saw a female elf wearing a willow wreath seated behind a stone table.

Of course, an elf could not possibly be one of the higher-ups in an evil dragon faction. This was a dragon who had taken elven form. Any dragon capable of transforming into humanoid form was at least a Young Dragon, and the one before them was no exception.

Jose caught a fishy-sweet scent. It was the smell of a Green Dragon.

While the dragons examined the Green Dragon, she examined them as well. She could understand why a slave and an idiot had come here, but a Red Dragon...

The naturally lazy Five-Colored Evil Dragons did not think too deeply. News had arrived from the front line that they needed a batch of cannon fodder with a decent store of magical knowledge. As for who became that cannon fodder, what did it have to do with her?

"Greystone Fortress has discovered something unusual in the forest within its territory. Their detection magic has been interfered with, making them unable to investigate the forest's interior. Your task is to go to Greystone Fortress and assist the fortress commander in determining the cause of the problem. This is your proof of assignment." As she spoke, a parchment scroll rose into the air under an invisible force and flew before Jose.

Jose accepted the parchment and gave a slight bow to show his respect and understanding. "Beautiful senior, we will take our leave first."

The Green Dragon in elven form was rather surprised. She looked up at the retreating Red Dragon, finding him more pleasing to the eye the longer she looked.

"Oh~."

Such a polite and handsome little dragon was rare. It would be too much of a pity if he died so young, but she was too lazy to go looking for trouble.

"Little one, Greystone Fortress's commander is a Black Dragon—O'Neal. He likes ice and sweets."

The sweet, languid voice came from behind him, and Jose's heart leaped with joy.

Being courteous never hurts, older women like younger boys—the folks online hadn't lied!

After thanking and bidding farewell to the Green Dragon, the three dragons left the cave and found an unoccupied corner.

"You both heard what she said just now. Something unusual has happened in the forest under Greystone Fortress's jurisdiction, and detection magic has failed. It is almost certain that this is a scheme by the Human Allied Forces. Our mission supposedly involves assisting with the investigation, but in reality, we are cannon fodder sent to trigger traps."

Jose felt annoyed. He had to admit, the Gnoll Overseer had played this borrowed knife to kill beautifully.

"No matter what dangers lie ahead, sticking together can only benefit us. I propose that we form a temporary alliance. Who agrees?"

The Golden Dragon nodded. "I agree to an alliance."

"I... I... I agree too."

Jose glanced at the stammering White Dragon. The White Dragon truly deserved its reputation as the shame of dragonkind. At eight or nine years old, he was nearly at the Juvenile Dragon stage, yet he could not even speak Draconic Language properly.

Still, being able to use Draconic Language correctly during the Dragon Hatchling stage and barely communicate with other dragons already made him something of a prodigy among White Dragons.

Since the Golden Dragon was present, they could not swear an oath to Tiamat, the god of evil dragons. Instead, the three dragons swore in the name of the God of Justice and became temporary allies who would watch over and aid one another.

Having become allies, the relationship among the three dragons grew much closer.

"I'm Jose."

"Yaligris."

"Ka... Ka... Kashi."

Jose looked at the White Dragon in surprise. He actually shared a name with Hatake Kakashi. Under normal circumstances, that would have amused him for a long time, but the thought of their mission left him unable to feel happy.

"You saw the situation earlier as well. Getting along with our superior can only help us. That Black Dragon named O'Neal likes sweets and ice. We cannot waste that information. Ice is easy enough, with Kashi here."

The White Dragon beside him timidly raised a claw. "It's Ka... shi."

Jose: ...

"Fine, Kashi. Yaligris, we need to find some sweets. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Yaligris tilted her head and thought for a moment. "We could check the kitchen. There's fruit in the kitchen."

"Alright, wait here. I'll go take a look."

Jose immediately spread his wings and flew toward the dining hall. After savoring for a while the novel sensation of air flowing beneath his wings, he pondered how to build a good relationship with his Black Dragon superior as he flew.

An ordinary dragon might have simply shown up at the door carrying ice and sweets, but Jose was a transmigrator. He wanted to do something more creative. Only by making his Black Dragon superior happy could he ensure his own safety.

After thinking for a while, he came up with an idea.

Jose was so absorbed in thought that he failed to notice the Gnoll Overseer patrolling below.

"Huh?! Why is that cunning Red Dragon brat flying this way?"

The Gnoll Overseer immediately followed him.