Chapter 3: The Reappearance of the Evil Dragons
Komer’s sharp gaze quickly spotted the hidden trap in the other party’s words. Mining and processing gemstones was far less complex and difficult than mining metals like iron or copper, nor did it require as stringent transportation conditions as coal mining. Gemstones, along with other precious materials such as diamonds, amber, jade, and agate, had always been major commodities exported by the barbarians in exchange for food and other necessities for daily life. Under any circumstances, such mines should not have been offered as a bargaining tool, even if they desperately needed support. Yet this guy was so generous as to offer shares in the gemstone mines in exchange for concessions on his military supplies quota—this certainly raised suspicions.
“Hmm, gemstone mines are indeed a great temptation for merchants in the Caucasus. But the nobles who own these mines are fully capable of mining them themselves—why give such favorable terms to outsiders? I’m not quite sure about this,” Komer cleverly avoided directly revealing the intentions of the Caucasus lords. To the merchants, the gemstone mines might seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch; there are often unknown secrets behind such things.
Voren never intended to deceive the other party on this issue, as it was also the main purpose of his and Solos’ trip to the Caucasus to seek help.
“Lord, to be honest with you, our Sanjia tribe—no, actually, the entire Mountain People Alliance—has encountered some minor troubles, but the situation is more serious for our Sanjia tribe.” Licking his thick lips, Voren didn’t try to hide much. “We discovered this gemstone mine with the help of professional dwarf prospectors, and both the ore quantity and quality are quite satisfactory. But we’ve run into problems while mining—it. Two evil dragons have taken an interest in this mine. They’ve settled here, driving away our miners and preventing us from mining. Despite trying every possible method, we still can’t drive them away.”
After a pause, Volen seemed to be thinking about something. After deliberating for a while, he spoke again: “Volen can sense that the lord seems dissatisfied with the small number of young earth dragons we have given him. However, this was not our intention. Earth dragons living at the foot of the Baden Golden Mountains only mate once a year, laying usually one to two eggs. Each female earth dragon will guard and incubate only one of them, while the extra egg is hatched by our tribes using special methods to produce young dragons. These young dragons, after training, become mounts for our mountain people’s earth dragon warriors. But before hatching, earth dragon eggs emit a special glow, which makes them prey for the evil dragons that love collecting various jewels and luminous objects. Over the past few years, our Sanjia tribe has lost at least fifty such eggs, meaning we’ve lost at least fifty earth dragon warriors. But faced with these divine beasts, our mountain warriors have an innate fear of them, coupled with their terrifying power. That’s why we’ve come here to ask the lord for help in driving these two evil dragons away from this region.”
So that’s how it is! Only then did Komer realize why the other party was offering such generous terms—it meant he had to fight to seize food from them. But since evil dragons always lived at sea, why would they deviate from their usual behavior and come into the inland areas? And why two of them at once?
Seeming to notice the confusion in Komer’s eyes, Volen quickly added, “Lord, these two evil dragons don’t seem fully grown. From our observations, they are still in their youth stage. Um, they also appear to be a pair, which is why they appear together. Our gem mine is located on the eastern foothills of the Baden Golden Mountains, not far from the sea. For evil dragons, that distance is nothing.”
“Mr. Volen, you’re overestimating me. How could Kormer possibly compare to a Nether Dragon? Hehe, it’s not an ogre—ogres are like infants compared to it. Who would dare to offend its scales?” Shaking his head, Kormer firmly rejected the request. The other party was being unrealistic, trying to use such naive tactics to tempt him. He already knew about the power of Nether Dragons from Mihajic and Rebril. For years, Nether Dragons had ravaged the southern part of the Abyssal Sea, killing countless merchant ships and caravans, yet no one had dared to challenge them. Now, with two Nether Dragons, it was even more impossible. “This isn’t even an adventure—it’s pure suicide. I don’t believe anyone would dare to risk fighting two Nether Dragons at once. I may like gems and dragon eggs, but I value my life even more.”
Hearing Kormer’s firm refusal, Volen wasn’t discouraged. No one dared to easily challenge Nether Dragons—that was common sense. If the other party had agreed right away, Volen would have doubted their sincerity.
“Lord, these two Nether Dragons aren’t as dangerous as you think. First, they’re still immature and lack the strength of adult Nether Dragons. Second, they weren’t born here; they should be living at sea. But for some reason, they came here a few years ago. If we can show that we pose a certain threat to them, these two ‘in love’ dragons won’t risk their mates. They’re more likely to leave, and all we ask is for them to go away.” The unskilled mountain man also tried his best to speak eloquently. Though simple, such plain words might be more persuasive.
“Mr. Volen, you seem to underestimate the power of Nether Dragons. They’ve lived here for years. As you say, they must have gathered many gems and dragon eggs. Would they easily give up such a hard-earned nest? Besides, if it’s as simple as you say, you mountain people could drive these two Nether Dragons away on your own. Why come to the Caucasus for help and pay such a high price?” Kormer wasn’t swayed by the other party’s words and retorted coldly.