Translator: AnubisTL
When discussing the Frontierlands' most powerful tribes:
Humans, with their balanced development across all aspects, intelligence, and rationality, were considered acceptable.
Orcs, brave and warlike, unafraid of bloodshed and death, boasted formidable warrior units, making them passable.
Serpentmen, venomous and cruel, excelled in various spells and curses, with a high concentration of sorcerers and shamans, barely making the cut.
Goblins?
Are you kidding me? What the hell are goblins?!
This was the initial reaction of newcomers upon learning about the Frontierlands' Four Great Tribes.
Goblins, synonymous with treachery and weakness, left a universally unfavorable impression on other sapient races. Greedy, deceitful, and prone to lies, few intelligent creatures willingly dealt with them.
Yet goblins possessed their own merits.
They were universally shrewd in business, masters of trade.
Nearly every goblin firmly believed:
The concept of 'trade' first emerged in ancient times, originating from the goblin race.
They invented trade, nurtured its growth, and laid the foundation for the current era of prosperity.
Other races stole the goblins' intellectual property without compensating them for their knowledge. Therefore, in the goblins' eyes, any means they employed to amass wealth were justified and legitimate—debts owed by other sapient races.
"Goblins, Gold Tooth Tribe."
The red-iron dragon's tail carved deep furrows into the ground as he mused, "This isn't my first encounter with goblins."
Or rather...
The first time he felt genuine danger, igniting his murderous intent, had been because of goblins.
It was back when he had just left the protection of the iron dragon maiden, living in the Hemlock Hills with only his master and servant alongside an Earthstorm Bear.
After slaying the goblin wolf riders who were hunting Red Dragon Samantha, he clashed with the goblin clan, driving them to utter extinction—not a single one survived.
"The first time I tasted black oil and realized its importance was also because of goblins."
Now, arriving in the Frontierlands, he encountered goblins again, and they were one of the four most powerful tribes in the region. This gave Garos a peculiar sense of déjà vu.
Meanwhile, Iron Dragon Solgorn sneered, "These vile vermin claim ownership of the entire Estonian Great River shoreline near the Frontierlands." His thorn spikes bristled slightly as he continued, "They even dared to send envoys to Dragon Valley, demanding taxes from us!"
The Gold Tooth Tribe had roamed the Frontierlands for centuries, even trading with the Bloodhoof Clan.
They were well aware of the recent upheavals in the southwest, but instead of fearing the dragons' arrival, they brazenly attempted to pry gold coins from the dragons' jaws.
In the eyes of dragonkind, goblins ranked no higher than kobolds.
These wretched, crawling creatures dare demand taxes from dragons?
This was a complete inversion of the natural order. The Gold Tooth Tribe's audacity filled the iron dragon with incandescent rage.
The red dragon Samantha harbored an equally deep-seated hatred for goblins. The humiliation of being hunted by goblin cavalry in her vulnerable youth remained vivid in her memory.
"If you ask me, we should burn every last one of these vermin alive," the red dragon growled. "Goblins are so repulsive, I wouldn't even deign to eat them. Only by reducing them to ashes can I find any satisfaction."
Garos ignored Samantha's outburst.
He turned to the iron dragon and asked, "Did you kill their envoy?"
The iron dragon took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. "No. I suppressed my fury and drove the Gold Tooth Tribe's envoy away, but I did not kill them."
Killing an envoy would mean declaring war.
During his confrontation with the goblin envoy, the iron dragon had been consumed by rage, itching to flay the goblins alive for their insolence. But considering Garos's slumber and the inadvisability of war between Dragon Valley and the Gold Tooth Tribe, he had forcibly suppressed his violent fury. Thanks to his mind mage class's control over emotions and his own growing maturity, he had managed to restrain himself.
His innate nature made him despise the Gold Tooth Tribe.
Yet his reason told him that as one of the four most powerful tribes in the Frontierlands, the Gold Tooth Tribe could not be underestimated. Otherwise, they wouldn't dare tax the dragonkind.
After a fierce internal struggle between his instincts and reason, the iron dragon's rationality prevailed over his evil dragon nature.
"A wise ruler is never driven by emotion."
"You have experienced countless failures, but each one has become fuel for your success."
"Solgorn, you have truly impressed me."
Garos showered him with praise.
Had this been the young iron dragon before his slumber, he would have succumbed to his violent impulses and slaughtered the goblin envoy.
The growth of the Ignis Brothers was palpable.
As the saying goes, "One who keeps company with vermilion becomes red; one who keeps company with ink becomes black." Garos's practice of governing his power and desires through reason had subtly influenced the surrounding dragons, making them better at controlling their own impulses and more aware of the importance of rationality than ordinary dragonkind.
"Neither emperors nor prime ministers allow their emotions to dictate their actions."
"I have studied the Monarch Theory and Lordship Theory extensively and always understood this principle, yet I could never put it into practice."
The iron dragon returned the compliment, saying, "Garos, my dear brother, you gave me the courage and determination to fight against my desires. It is my honor to build the Dragon Empire alongside you."
The two brothers exchanged praise, their mutual admiration evident.
"What about me?" the red dragon couldn't help but ask.
"Dragon Valley can no longer function without your Sulfur Hills," Garos replied. "You've done an excellent job."
Hearing this, Red Dragon Samantha nodded in satisfaction. Then, as if remembering something, she hurried to add, "I almost forgot! I have urgent matters to attend to. I'm the first-circle of the alchemy workshop's production line, and I can't be away for too long."
The red dragon had gained wealth through industrial production, but it had also reduced her free time.
Still, as long as wealth was the reward, she didn't mind the busy life.
After bidding farewell to Garos and Solgorn, Samantha left Dragon Valley and returned to the Sulfur Hills.
"Since being rejected, the Gold Tooth Tribe hasn't attempted further negotiations," Solgorn said, perched opposite the red-iron dragon. "They've also ceased reinforcing their defenses along the western riverbank."
"But ever since we made contact with them, fewer ships besides those of the Gemstone Merchant Guild have been willing to trade with us."
"Even the Gemstone Merchant Guild's ships have been warned. Arrows have struck their hulls, each carrying a note: 'Trade with us again, and face the consequences.'"
"I believe the Gold Tooth Tribe is behind this."
The Gemstone Merchant Guild was a formal trading organization established by Nick in recent years. Garos had learned this during their journey back to Dragon Valley.
The red-iron dragon didn't rage at the Gold Tooth Tribe's petty schemes. Instead, he chuckled, "It seems the goblins want to wage a trade war. They're trying to cripple our trade routes through commercial tactics, hoping to force us to pay taxes."
Rather than resorting to brute force, they were attempting to resolve the issue through economic means. This was arguably more 'civilized' than the human nobles they had encountered on the Scaly Earth Rift Road.
As for why merchant ships from truly civilized nations would cooperate with the Frontierlands' goblin tribes, upon reflection, it made perfect sense.
The Frontierlands were barren and harsh. Even after exhausting all its resources over countless years, it had only sustained four tribes.
Yet the Frontierlands also possessed advantages.
There were no black oil reserves here, rare magical minerals were scarce, and no legions from powerful kingdoms threatened its borders.
In contrast, the Sierre Wilderness could support a vast number of tribes, yet Garos had never encountered a single wilderness faction organized at the tribal level.
The Lothurn Federation strictly forbade the existence of tribes in the Sierre Wilderness.
Any nascent tribal formations were ruthlessly crushed before they could take root.
The Sierre Wilderness was populated only by struggling clans of creatures, large and small, and countless ferocious beasts and demonic creatures—an environment deliberately cultivated by the Lothurn Federation.
They viewed the entire Sierre Wilderness as a "pasture and mine."
To return to the main point, the Four Great Tribes controlled the vast majority of the Frontierlands' resources. Merchant ships trading with these tribes could often acquire desired resources at low prices and then transport them back to the Southern Federation for substantial profits. The Gold Tooth Tribe, being the largest trading partner, naturally attracted merchants eager to cooperate for mutual gain.
(End of the Chapter)
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