"What's going on?!"
"I'm not sure either. My subordinate brought back the message."
Jose's expression darkened and brightened uncertainly as he recalled the day more than two months ago when he slaughtered Centaurs on the Great Prairie and rescued Ergou.
After saving Ergou, he had hastily cleaned up the battlefield and left. Presumably, after the two dragons entered the forest, Centaurs investigating their missing kin had discovered the dragons' tracks.
Yet the Graytail Centaurs had remained still for the past two months, and now they had begun scouting the Bloodtooth Mines...
Right! Winter was approaching!
Jose found the key to the problem—the Centaur chieftain's younger brother, who had been roaming outside as a bandit, had returned!
"Keep watching the Centaurs' movements. Notify me immediately if there's any news."
"Understood!"
After ending the call, Jose no longer felt like playing cards. He pinched his three-horned chin in thought.
Seeing the Red Dragon deep in thought, Tilly and Ergou did not dare disturb him.
The Elven Maiden's eyes rolled as she swiftly gathered the cards from the wooden stump and ran after Ergou toward the dragon's lair exit.
Inside the empty dragon's lair, Jose muttered, "Perfect. I can deal with both of them at once..."
At nightfall, Jose left the dragon's lair and headed toward Living Area Number Five.
As he walked through the dark, downward-sloping tunnel, he heard the rushing sound of water. It was an underground spring excavated by the Bloodtooth Kobolds' ancestors.
Many years ago, while mining downward, the Bloodtooth Kobolds' ancestors had struck an underground spring. The water had flooded back into the tunnels, submerging a large section of the mine.
But the disaster had turned into a blessing. The Bloodtooth Kobolds no longer needed to carry drinking water in from outside. Later, because too many people came to draw water and clogged the tunnel, they simply expanded it into a new living area.
Passing through the tunnel, Jose entered Living Area Number Five and took in the scene within.
Living Area Number Five resembled a yin-yang fish. Half of it was water, while the other half was land excavated afterward. Stairs had been carved into the land for the Kobolds to draw water more easily, while Kashi's lair had been dug into the rock wall above the water.
Jose heard snoring from the cave, and his face twitched.
"Dinner!"
"Mm... Mm?! Dinner again?!" Inside the cave, Kashi woke up groggily, stood, stretched lazily, and walked toward the entrance.
Wake up and eat, eat and sleep. This life was far too comfortable~. Praise Boss Jose.
With that thought, he reached the entrance and saw the Red Dragon on the opposite shore. His mind jolted, and he instantly woke up.
"Boss Jose?!"
He spread his wings, glided before Jose, and greeted him with a smile. "Boss, why are you here?"
Jose did not answer. He looked over his White Dragon underling. After not seeing him for two months, he had actually put on some weight.
"Come on. Let's go out and get some exercise."
The Red Dragon walked ahead while the White Dragon followed, and they talked as they went.
"Kashi, someone has their eye on us. The Graytail Centaurs. We probably didn't clean up properly when we saved Ergou, and they found us."
At the mention of serious business, Kashi's expression also turned solemn.
"Boss, what's your plan?"
"Since they want a fight, then we'll give them one!" Jose was full of confidence.
If the Graytail Centaurs truly thought they could secure victory with a single Advanced Stage Warrior, then they were gravely mistaken. With Phoenix Heart at full power and Data Vision activated, he could even contend with an ordinary Master-level opponent.
Sensing the confidence in his boss's words, Kashi felt inexplicably reassured.
After more than three years together, he knew his boss was extremely cautious and would never do anything without confidence.
"This time, we're going out to gather some Goblin cannon fodder," Jose continued. "I originally planned to save this cannon fodder for the Moss Hide Gnolls, but since the Graytail Centaurs have come knocking, they can have the first taste."
"Oh, right. When gathering cannon fodder this time, besides conquering them by force, we can also lure them in. For example, tell the Goblins we have more than enough food here..."
After teaching Kashi how to trick Goblins along the way, the two dragons left the Bloodtooth Mines.
"Kashi, have you figured out where the Goblin tribes are?"
"I have."
"Good. Move out. You take the west, I'll take the east."
Using the night sky as cover, the two dragons flew into the air and headed off in opposite directions.
Against the backdrop of the clouds, Jose looked down at Moka Peak Forest in the darkness. As the border region between the Karakoram Mountains and the Gloomy Forest, Moka Peak Forest was not particularly large, but it was by no means small either. Even the combined territories of the Kobolds and the Moss Hide Gnolls occupied only one-tenth of the entire region.
Ever since exhausting the Kobolds' territory, the ambitious Red Dragon had ordered the Harpies to scout the surrounding areas.
Goblin tribes, Gnoll tribes, other Kobold tribes, and even Extraordinary Beasts—one by one, they had appeared on the simple map drawn by the Red Dragon.
Now, that prudent scouting had come in handy.
Jose picked out a Goblin tribe and dived down.
First came the rustling of leaves whipped by the gale, followed by the crackling of a few snapping branches, and finally a thunderous crash.
Before the awakened Goblins could make any move, the terrifying pressure of a higher life-form descended upon them.
Jose smelled the fresh stench carried by the night wind. Many Goblins had already wet themselves in fright. He withdrew his Dragon Might and swept his gaze around.
At least the Kobolds had mine tunnels to hide in, but most Goblins slept in the open air. There were only three crude shacks made from thatch and branches.
There was no need to think about it—the ones who could live in shacks were the Goblin tribe's upper ranks.
"Get out here!" His voice was hoarse and low, carrying the tyrannical implication that those who disobeyed would bear the consequences.
Inside one of the shacks, a Goblin opened the door and staggered out trembling. At the sight of the crimson figure in the darkness, his legs shook.
"G-Great True Dragon, G-Goblin Nick Green Skin is at your service."
Jose looked at the speaking Goblin. He had come out from one of the shacks and had a little beer belly, making him particularly conspicuous among the generally thin and gaunt Goblins.
Compared to the other Goblins, who had been frightened by Dragon Might to the point of being unable to stand, this Goblin possessed exceptional courage. Not only could he remain standing, but he also spoke with clear logic.
That made Jose look at him twice.
But that was all.
While Jose was observing the Goblins, several Goblins obediently crawled out of the shacks. After that, there was no further movement from inside.
No movement inside did not mean there was no one there.
"Disobeying orders! This is what happens!"
Jose could not be bothered to care whether those Goblins had fainted from fright or were deliberately hiding. His long dragon tail swept through the air with a howling gust.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
All the shacks were smashed to pieces by his dragon tail. Blood flowed from beneath the wreckage and spread outward.
The Goblins shivered in the night wind.
"Lowly Goblins! Congratulations! You have been chosen by the great True Dragon! You are about to become the True Dragon's subjects!" Jose spread his dragon wings, making himself appear even more imposing.
"Travel west! Go to my realm! My followers—the Kobold race—will accept you! There are warm tents to shield you from the bitter wind! There is plentiful food to free you from hunger!"
"You have my promise."
Having said that, Jose beat his wings and flew into the sky.
As he rose, he whispered in a voice only he could hear, "What you gain, you will also lose."
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