Translator: AnubisTL
"Imps are considered trash in the abyss, but they still hold some value in the Material Plane," Iron Dragon Solgorn mused. "Demon blood is a rare spellcasting material, and spellcasters will pay a high price for it. If we can continuously harvest demon blood from this abyssal rift, and control it properly, it could become a significant resource for us."
Red Dragon Samantha rummaged through the pile, pulling out relatively intact demon bat wings. She blinked and said, "My alchemy inheritance includes blueprints for a flying device made from demon wings. Quasit wings are of lower quality, but they should suffice for now."
Flying alchemy items are notoriously expensive. If they could establish a production line using demon wings as raw material, the Ironforged Tribe could develop a unique product and secure even greater resources.
"Our ancestors seem to have ventured into the abyss," Garos said thoughtfully. "They possessed extensive knowledge of demons and left behind a detailed inheritance." He felt the inheritance's records on demons were remarkably comprehensive.
At the same time, he grew increasingly aware of the abyssal rift's potential value.
Even the lowest-tier quasit could yield decent abyssal material. Higher-level demons, on the other hand, could be worth fortunes, their value rivaling even that of dragonkind.
Moreover, demons could be used for military training.
While their qi had a mind-corrupting effect, every coin has two sides. Warriors who grew stronger through battling demons would forge wills as unyielding as steel.
Of course, opportunity and danger always walked hand in hand.
Garos suppressed his greed, never forgetting that abyssal rifts were fundamentally perilous.
Ideally, the best course of action would be to eradicate the rift entirely. But since that wasn't currently possible, he could, depending on the circumstances, exploit it for resources.
After the imp appeared, the juvenile dragons, driven by curiosity and caution, lingered, hoping to encounter true demons—not just insignificant scraps like imps, which were worthless in the abyss.
But their hopes were dashed.
To their disappointment, no further signs of demons emerged.
"The quasit's appearance was just a fluke," Garos explained. "This abyssal rift hasn't yet been discovered by large-scale demon forces."
The red dragon and iron dragon both expressed disappointment. "If that's the case, it won't bring us much value. There are too few demons."
"Perhaps we could try expanding the abyssal rift?"
Greed flickered in their eyes.
While the evil dragons couldn't eliminate the abyssal rift, they knew that attacking and damaging it had a chance of causing it to expand.
The red-iron dragon shook his head slightly, his expression solemn and serious. "Don't forget the danger of the abyssal rift. It remains a massive hidden threat. We're only leaving it because we can't deal with it now, not because of any potential benefits."
The potential gains from the abyssal rift tempted him.
But he believed its risks far outweighed any possible rewards.
This thing was a ticking time bomb. One wrong move, and Dragon Valley's entire foundation in the southwestern Frontierlands could be destroyed.
"We can profit from the guards' efforts to contain the demons," the red-iron dragon said, his voice cold and firm.
"But we must never allow, let alone actively cause, the rift to expand."
Samantha and Solgorn rarely saw the red-iron dragon in such a state. They both felt a chill run down their spines, knowing he was utterly serious and brooked no argument.
"Understood," they replied.
The iron dragon murmured, "The Ironforged Tribe is already developing rapidly. There's no need to rush. Expanding the abyssal rift could backfire."
Garos's stern expression softened slightly, and he nodded.
Arrogance and greed were the two leading causes of premature death among dragonkind. As the leader of Dragon Valley, he had to set an example by controlling his own desires through reason while also guarding against his subordinates' arrogance and greed leading to missteps.
Soon after, a mixed-unit party composed of various battle groups arrived at the abyssal rift, led by Elvie. They were tasked with guarding the rift, and White Dragon Treacy remained as the final line of defense.
As the dawn's first light painted the horizon, the Ignis Brothers turned back toward Dragon Valley.
"Tell me about the changes in the Ironforged Tribe during my absence," Garos said.
Though he rarely intervened in tribal affairs, he needed at least a general understanding of his people's progress.
The iron dragon nodded and began to recount the situation in detail.
He had been asleep for seven years, awakening roughly five years after Garos's slumber began. He immediately set about managing the territory and guiding the development of their familiars, revitalizing the Ironforged Tribe, which had nearly retreated into complete isolation due to the absence of leadership.
First, there was the tribe's population.
Hyena-Men and kobolds.
Their leisure activity was mating, leading to an astonishingly rapid reproduction rate: a litter every three months, sometimes exceeding ten offspring per birth. Reaching adulthood around age six, they multiplied like weeds in the wilderness, each generation sprouting anew.
Their numbers swelled like a swarm of locusts.
Were it not for Iron Dragon Solgorn's use of whip lashes and starvation to control them, their sheer numbers would have overwhelmed the Fertile Plains.
Even so, the Steel Will Legion's size surpassed that of all other battle groups combined, placing a strain on the Ironforged Tribe's resources.
The tribe's existing pastures struggled to sustain such a massive population of Hyena-Men and kobolds.
To curb their numbers, they were ordered to charge ahead during hunts of powerful ferocious beasts and demonic creatures, their flesh and blood filling the lairs of the southwest's monster lords.
Now, the Ironforged Tribe had largely eradicated the ferocious beasts and demonic creature lords in the southwest, either absorbing or crushing the few remaining stubborn clans.
The tribe had completely seized control of the southwest Frontierlands, leaving only a handful of formidable monster lords who proved difficult to subdue.
The Steel Will Legion deserves much of the credit for this.
While ogres, centaurs, graymane werewolves, and similar races weren't as prolific as Hyena-Men and kobolds, they were still adept at reproduction, albeit with longer maturation periods.
Thanks to their improved living conditions, the number of young and middle-aged individuals among these races had surged dramatically.
With this population boom, the number of naturally gifted warriors, sorcerers, shamans, and other specialized units steadily increased, leading to a significant influx of elite bosses and commanders.
During Garos's time in Dragon Sleep, he had worried that the Ironforged Tribe's population growth couldn't keep pace with the territory's development, causing him some anxiety.
Now, however, the limited resources of their southwestern territory were the bottleneck restricting further population expansion.
There's a reason these inherently savage and ignorant intelligent creatures have managed to secure a foothold in the Material Plane, Garos mused silently.
Take the Hyena-Men and kobolds, for example. Though weak and lowly, with few exceptional individuals, they could thrive in any harsh environment, like weeds that spring back after being burned.
"Don't forget about me! My Sulfur Hills are now a pillar of Dragon Valley!"
Red Dragon Samantha held her head high, like a proud swan, recounting the recent developments in the Sulfur Hills.
She had established the production line Garos had described.
Kobold miners delivered raw ore to the furnaces, ogre artisans hammered steel ingots with quenching hammers, and alchemists inscribed runes. In the Sulfur Hills, specialized familiars and other alchemists managed different stages of the process, transforming mined ore into various alchemical industrial products. These were then sold to merchant caravans traveling along the Estonian Great River, generating immense wealth.
The Ironforged Tribe's alchemists had also made progress.
The former alchemy apprentices, having matured over the years, could now be considered true alchemists. They were capable of imbuing Fine Steel Armor with alchemical runes through spells, and the number of newly recruited alchemy apprentices had tripled.
Another noteworthy point:
The Ignis Brothers had already agreed on the specific distribution of profits.
Even brothers must keep clear accounts, especially since evil dragons are notoriously sensitive about wealth and cannot be trusted with such matters.
The wealth generated by Samantha's alchemy industry was divided: a portion went into her private hoard as compensation, while the remainder flowed into Dragon Valley's treasury, belonging to Chief Garos.
The iron dragon managed the territory and its familiars, receiving his compensation directly from Garos.
For the iron dragon, witnessing the gradual growth of his territory was more captivating than wealth itself; his greed paled in comparison to that of the red dragon.
As for the White Dragon Treacy, she was only entitled to a portion of the spoils from her own kills.
Essentially Garos's "slave," she received no compensation for her service to Dragon Valley.
Only if she chose to remain after her initial fifty-year term would she have the opportunity to earn proper compensation.
"Now, let's discuss the Four Great Tribes," Garos said, shifting the topic after gaining a basic understanding of the territory's situation. He turned to Iron Dragon Solgorn. "I recall you mentioning earlier that the Gold Tooth Tribe had minor conflicts with us during my slumber."
The Gold Tooth Tribe was the formal name for the goblin tribe.
The iron dragon nodded.
"Before we arrived in the Frontierlands, the Gold Tooth Tribe understood the importance of trade better than anyone else."
"They were located in the southeast, near the Estonian Great River, and had established trade routes with merchant guilds along the river for years. Their alchemy industry was also more advanced than ours."
The iron dragon snorted coldly. "Those treacherous, vile vermin! They tried to monopolize the trade routes along the Estonian Great River. They fortified the riverbanks east and west, and occasional encounters with our forces led to friction."
(End of the Chapter)
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