Life is tough, so Honglong resorts to performing?

Chapter 133 Another Encounter
"This is interesting. There seem to be quite a few unfamiliar faces..."

The little red dragon used an invisibility spell to sneak into the mine, and what it saw was a well-ordered and thriving place.

The mine was fenced off, and the ground and roads where the ore was stored were leveled. Because the vultures lacked their natural reconnaissance capabilities, there were people patrolling the area with alarms. The miners entering and leaving the mine did not have gloomy or worried expressions.

It was completely different from what I had imagined: three out of ten people escaped, leaving only a few desperate individuals who were still holding on.

"It's one thing to not be afraid of dragons in the city, but to be in a place like the buffer zone and not even afraid of us...?"

The little red dragon was now somewhat puzzled.

If you're in a city and there are patrol officers watching over you, then working for the Five-Colored Evil Dragon is really no different from working for someone else. In fact, because of stereotypes, the Five-Colored Evil Dragon might even be more "law-abiding." But buffer zones aren't exactly places of order. Aren't they afraid that they'll lose their bestial instincts and eat you all?
This must be Cuiye City...

Loren muttered to himself.

In the previous city of Lin Yue, my neighbors, friends, and part-time colleagues in the lower city were quite wary of me, but the people in Cuiye City seem to be quite reckless.

Coming to this lawless land to work for a five-colored evil dragon, and yet the more they do, the more they earn.

Come to think of it, he encountered gangsters in Greenleaf City who dared to launch sneak attacks and robberies against Dragonborns who had revealed their identities, and then he ran into an inspector who was planning to use him as a merit...

Well, all I can say is that this place is indeed a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, brimming with vitality.

Loren activated his invisibility spell, wandering around and observing the situation. Just as he said, the buffer zone was not a peaceful place, and magic crystal ore was a valuable commodity. Although this place was hidden, what if something happened?
What if this place has actually changed hands, and I still foolishly fly over and crash into it? Wouldn't that cause an accident?

As the ancients said, "Caution is the mother of safety."

After thoroughly exploring the entire mining area and confirming that he was still the leader and under Johnny Whitesha's command, Loren arrived at the plaza where the mined magic crystal ore was usually stored. He found a spot with a wide view and slowly revealed himself.

The once sunny square was suddenly covered in shadow, and the red dragon's dark red scales gleamed in the sunlight, reflecting a metallic sheen.

Those vertical golden dragon eyes slowly swept over the stunned crowd, a playful look in their eyes, and a low laugh rang out, its tone ambiguous as to whether it was mockery or praise.

"dragon!"

"It's a red dragon!"

"Lord Red Dragon has arrived!"

An experienced employee pulled the newcomer aside to inform Johnny of the good news, but Johnny, who had already learned his lesson, was not about to keep Loren waiting. A roar of "Sir!" came from afar, and a burly figure jumped down from the second floor and sprinted toward them.

"Your acting is a bit exaggerated..."

Loren thought to himself, but still stood still and nodded slightly to the other party.

When it comes to showing loyalty, it doesn't matter how well you act it out; as long as the sentiment is there, that's enough.

"My lord, I have arrived."

A moment later, Johnny arrived in front of Loren, panting. Actually, with his third-tier strength, running those few steps wouldn't have tired him at all, but performances are always like this, and Loren didn't want to embarrass him at a time like this. Instead, he encouraged him...
"Well done."

Johnny felt a surge of satisfaction from those four simple words. He was trying his best to pull people together and maintain order here, all for this reason: to leave a rare and good impression on the Red Dragon!
This time, he finally succeeded!
"This is the food supplies we brought this time. You can also give me the storage bag containing the magic crystal ore."

Loren casually tossed the bag over, and Johnny hurriedly caught it, feeling even more excited.

With an unfathomable background and perhaps a great deal to deal with, Red Dragon has not forgotten the small request he made. Look, if this is not trust, if this is not a sign of becoming a confidant, then what is?

"The newly mined magic crystals are all here, and they were all made according to your requirements."

Johnny hurriedly handed over several storage bags, each one filled to the brim, with more contents than the last time.

"What's going on with all these extra people?"

Loren couldn't help but ask.

"These people came here voluntarily with other miners, sir. Someone as wise as you should know that in a place like the Lower City, unless you are blessed by heaven with exceptional talent, there is no way to rise to prominence on your own."

Johnny said this, and after careful consideration, Loren also deeply agreed.

In places like the Lower City, without mutual help among individuals, many people would be driven around like stray dogs, which is why there are so many gangs in the Lower City.

The advantage of sticking together is that it increases your chances of survival, but the downside is that once you have the idea of ​​escaping this quagmire, those who were once close friends suddenly become hateful.

Having witnessed too many such groups over the past decade or so in the lower city, Loren found it difficult to fully integrate into a system and become a true part of it.

For him, maintaining this status quo—basic freedom with someone to rely on—is comfortable, just like his current relationship with the druids.

Although once he truly becomes an Ancient Dragon, according to the Federal Ancient Dragon Recruitment Act, he will still have to integrate into the system, but by then he will have enough power, and that power will bring him enough individual voice.

"So they're all in small groups, and they were recommended to come here?"

Although he already had the answer in his mind, Loren still asked.

"You are indeed wise and quick-witted; you found the crux of the problem right away."

Johnny nodded and complimented Loren, and the little red dragon accepted it all, after all, he was a very clever little red dragon!
"Did you encounter any problems?"

As usual, Loren inquired about the living conditions of the employees here. Logically speaking, such long-term fieldwork should have caused some problems.

"There is indeed a problem that needs your help to solve."

Johnny White Sand's expression turned serious upon hearing this. It seemed that a kobold nest had moved to the vicinity of our mine. If we allowed them to roam around nearby, it might cause us some trouble.

"Oh?"

Loren became interested upon hearing this. Unlike goblins and gnolls, the kobolds were considered a relatively well-urbanized evil race because they feared light, worshipped dragons, were skilled at mining, and were hardworking.

Most of them live in the mining cities of the dwarves or in some underground cities inhabited by dragons. They work diligently all day long, and their overall living conditions are considered quite good among the lower-ranking races, that is, among the wild monsters of the past.

Not to mention that they themselves possess extremely weak dragon blood, and dragon blood preparations are now quite widespread and abundant in the city, enough to help them produce dragon vein sorcerers.

Therefore, there shouldn't be many kobold tribes in the wilderness, and they shouldn't be here at all. "Hmm, I'll go take a look in a bit."

Loren agreed. The kobolds naturally worship dragons, and he might be able to bring them here to work, since this place is also considered a mine.

"Then I wish you a triumphant return."

Johnny Whitesha spoke respectfully, while Loren shook his head and said...
"It's fine if you come back, but we won't see each other again for another week, or some other time. Who knows?"

Aren't you going to take a look anymore?

Johnny's eyes widened. So busy? I haven't even had a chance to show my skills yet!

“I’ve already seen it, that’s why I said you did a good job.”

After praising Johnny again, Loren spread his dragon wings and took off, disappearing in an instant.

"He really is incredibly busy..."

Johnny watched the red dragon disappear into the distance, his heart filled with emotion.

Following the direction Johnny had indicated, Loren quickly found what appeared to be traces of the kobolds.

It was a hilly area about two kilometers northwest of the mine, with several simple cave entrances hidden behind bushes, and some rough stone tools and scattered ore fragments on the ground.

"As expected, they are kobolds, and the old version at that."

Looking at the structure, which was exactly the same as the one he had inherited from his memories, Loren smiled, a rare occurrence for him.

The little red dragon lowered its flight altitude, and its keen sense of smell detected the unique kobold scent in the air, a mixture of soil and minerals, with a faint dragon-like aroma.

He could even smell a hint of mushrooms and moss, a typical kobold recipe, so classic that even Loren thought there was something wrong with it.

Is it reasonable and normal for such a standard old-fashioned monster camp to still exist these days?

But considering that this is the boundary between the city and the wilderness, a buffer zone, Loren thought it was quite reasonable.

Loren continued to conceal himself with magic, hovering slowly in the low sky while silently casting spells on himself to prevent any accidents.

These kobold caves appear to have been dug quite neatly, with even simple support structures at the entrances, suggesting that this tribe was not a group of inexperienced wanderers.

Occasionally, a few small figures would peek out of the cave. They were about a meter tall, covered with dark scales, with flat noses and long, thin tails trailing behind them. They carried simple pickaxes or baskets on their backs.

"An ordinary kobold tribe, a group of miners with basic experience, as long as they have come into contact with those city people in the wilderness and can operate those rudimentary magic crystal machines, they should be taken to the mining area to mine, right?"

"If they were wild animals, how did they manage to reach the buffer zone without encountering anyone?"

Loren couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Such scenes of ancient, inherited memories should appear in history textbooks, not in reality.
With doubts in its heart, and after using magic to complete basic reconnaissance and confirming that there were no traps, the dragon finally revealed itself to the group of former servants and slowly descended.

Regardless of any conspiracies or dangers ahead, in a buffer zone like this, it all comes down to blades clashing, to the exhilarating combat that the red dragons love most.

This means that the weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons.

He folded his wings, like a huge dark red shadow, and slowly landed on a relatively open flat area in front of the kobold cave.

Its heavy body caused the ground to tremble slightly upon landing, raising a little dust.

"Dragon! It's a dragon!" a kobold screamed in a high-pitched, trembling voice, a dialectal variant of dragon language that Loren could barely understand.

"A real dragon! Red scales! A magnificent dragon!"

Another kobold shouted in response, and it even tried to crawl forward a few steps before lying prostrate on the ground.

The commotion quickly spread throughout the hills.

More kobolds poured out of the caves, and upon seeing Loren, they all fell into a brief daze, followed by a chorus of exclamations and kneeling in worship.

Their eyes were filled with fanaticism, a deep-seated worship of dragons.

Just like five hundred years ago before the Federation was established, or perhaps in an even more distant past.

Loren felt a slight sense of relief.

It seems these kobolds still maintain a traditional reverence for the true dragon, which might make it easier for him to extract information and obtain some useful data.

He raised his head, his golden vertical pupils sweeping over the ever-growing, trembling yet excited crowd of dog-headed figures before him. Finally, he spoke in pure and majestic dragon language, his voice echoing like thunder across the hills:
“Insignificant Scaled Ones! I am Loren! Loren the Red Dragon, tell me, who is your leader?”

A commotion arose among the kobolds. Soon, a kobold, slightly taller than the others and wearing several necklaces made of glittering minerals and beast teeth around his neck, tumbled and crawled out of the crowd, flashing Loren an exaggerated smile.

"Great...Great True Dragon! Supreme Lord of Flames!"

The old kobold prostrated himself before Loren's paws, his voice trembling with excitement.
“I…I am the shaman of the Shattered Scale tribe, Grak, you…your humble servant, heed your command!”

Is it a shaman and not a warlock...?

Do they have ancestor worship, or do they worship some strange natural spirit?
The so-called shamans are an ancient profession similar to druids, who worship spirits. They are a combination of clergy and druids, and have been absent from the city for a long time.

Perhaps this guy simply didn't know what a warlock was, and just worshipped some kind of thing on his own, actually awakening the abilities of a dragon vein warlock.

After all, this is an era in which the gods have lost contact, and this place is a buffer zone near the wilderness, where anything is possible.

Loren muttered to himself, as a professional mage, he wasn't too happy with this chaotic use of names, so he tentatively inquired,
“I have a job opportunity for you. Work for me, and I may be able to give you some true dragon blood to complete the transformation of your bloodline. Can you make this decision completely?”

"Please wait a moment, I need to go and ask for instructions."

The old kobold gave Loren a deeply apologetic look, which shocked Loren considerably.

You actually have one here? You're actually a shaman?
(End of this chapter)