Life is tough, so Honglong resorts to performing?

Chapter 30: A Temporary Combination (Please continue reading during the trial period)

"It feels good to keep quiet when you should say something."

Looking at the figures crawling at the foot of the hill, Loren felt as if he were seeing things from hundreds of years ago.

Back then, before the Federation was established, the young dragons of the five colors all played like this.

Driven out of their homes, they find a gnoll/goblin/kobunny tribe, subdue or intimidate them, establish their own lair, become a lord, and begin eating, drinking, sleeping, and raiding...

A few promising individuals are said to develop industries, and many even do some earth-shattering things.

But those idyllic days vanished with the establishment of the Federation.

The last time a young dragon like him could command respect through his size and strength was when he was confronted by a group of low-intelligence mutated rats in the sewers.

Faced with the subjugated crowd, Loren began chanting incantations to layer magical protection upon himself.

He hadn't forgotten that the core magic crystal armor of this group was a third-generation vulture, known for its reconnaissance and damage absorption capabilities.

The Vulture was not a popular civilian crystal armor until the complete development of a systematic combat theory led to its popularity.

In the civilian combat armor market, reconnaissance aircraft that can provide vision and initiative are finally beginning to outperform the original popular all-around aircraft that are marketed as capable of fighting, resisting, and escaping within large-scale organizations.

The various organizations realized that as long as they could detect and locate the enemy in advance, the rest could be left to the scattered magic crystal cannons, which were distributed to individual units for output.

Once the vultures provide the location, the rest of the crew can simply fire towards the locked location.

This is why Loren had to use high altitude and high speed to instantly explode ten fireballs, plus dragon breath, before the opponent could react, to destroy the vulture.

In organized battles where there is a numerical advantage, reconnaissance capability is more important than firepower output capability; this is common sense in modern warfare.

Since this group of people chose the third-generation vulture, it means that each of them may have some scattered magic crystal weapons.

Even the kind of explosives that can be used only once.

We can't be careless. Loren doesn't want to lose out on the other party's most valuable asset and then suffer a setback.

That would be incredibly embarrassing.

After confirming that he had cast all the protective spells he knew, Loren leisurely flapped his wings and came to the crowd at the foot of the mountain.

As he landed, an invisible dragon's might swept across the entire area, making the kneeling crowd gasp for breath. Only then did he speak in standard Common Language.

"Who is the leader? Stand up and answer."

"I'm."

A man leaned on his sword and struggled to his feet, trying to look up and stare directly into the red dragon's golden vertical pupils.

Loren sized the man up and down. Judging from his strong, muscular physique and not-so-cheap clothes, what he said was probably true.

Loren guessed what the other person was going to say and spoke up jokingly before he could.
"Your backer is dead, and your organization, that so-called Speed ​​Hands Brotherhood, has also been destroyed."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just a hyena that comes here to collect scraps."

"What did you say!"

The man was clearly stunned. He had intended to use the identity of the person behind him to intimidate this reckless red dragon that had appeared out of nowhere, and then get it to leave after paying a price in terms of wealth.

However, the moment the other party opened their mouth, they knocked him off balance. What did they mean by "the backer is dead" and "the organization has been destroyed"?

He didn't come from the wilderness and get greedy because he saw that there were people guarding this place; he came from Greenleaf City from the very beginning!
He forcefully destroyed their magic crystal armor the moment they met. Who knows which lord commanded this behemoth, a creature specifically used for accumulating wealth?!

"Are you going to go through the proper channels to resist, using the thing you're hiding in your arms, or should we simply hand over some things so I can let you live a little longer?"

Loren briefly explained the situation, his golden vertical pupils staring directly at the trembling man. He didn't care about loyalty; everyone was just putting on an act anyway.

This group of people definitely won't be able to return to Greenleaf City anytime soon. Going back would be suicide, so they might as well help him mine in the buffer zone for a while longer.

The man began to consider the possibility that the red dragon in front of him was deceiving him.

He quickly came to the conclusion that it was possible, but very small and not very significant.

Or rather, they are not worth it.

This is clearly a kind enough adult.

The fact that he was able to kill the man dressed as the third-generation vulture before they could even react meant that it wouldn't take him long to kill everyone here.

He did this, presumably to spare their lives, not wanting his dragon claws to be stained with too much blood.

Of course, it's also possible that they're after a recruitment fee.

Although recruiting a batch of new miners and arranging a few guards and thugs wouldn't take too much effort for these big shots.

But ultimately, a sum of money will have to be spent.

In any case, the fact that the other party is willing to continue using this group of old people with tainted pasts already demonstrates their benevolence.

Because he could have killed them all and then replaced them with a new group.

"By the way, he described himself as a hyena. Perhaps he, like us, once lived on the margins?"

"Even now, powerful and noble, would they still be willing to cast a single pity on scum like us?"

The man looked at the red dragon with suspicion, and finally had a clue.

He knelt on one knee and spoke solemnly.
"Thank you for your kindness and generosity. If possible, you may come to collect the mined magic crystals once a week on Wednesdays."

"I will guarantee that it will be of the same quality and quantity as before."

Then, he boldly continued to probe.

"If you wish, when you come, you can bring us some easily stored grains and vegetables, as the food in the buffer zone is really hard to swallow."

"Okay."

Loren thought about it and decided to agree; it was just some food, not worth much.

Anyway, he didn't expect these people to mine here for long; they would definitely run back. He figured he could earn money one day at a time.

Loren's answer further solidified the man's suspicions and stirred up a storm within him.

Now that the organization has been destroyed and its backers have collapsed, isn't this person in front of us just another powerful ally being offered up?

The other party was generous and kind, willing to subsidize them, who were originally dead, out of their own pocket.

With such a powerful background, and having just transported the mined magic crystals there the day before yesterday, and with the organization's destruction just around the corner, he came knocking on their door.

He didn't have any particular fetishes, at least not like the previous guy who needed them to find him interracial prostitutes in the buffer zone...

If this isn't a golden thigh (a metaphor for someone powerful and influential), what is it?
If he understood Eastern languages, he would surely choose a good tree to perch on at this moment. If you do not reject him, I am willing to become your godfather.

However, as a soldier who had switched jobs two or three times, he knew that what people like them, who had risen from the bottom, hated most was swift betrayal.
Even if each of them might have betrayed their way up in the same way.

But the more people lack something, the more they tend to care about it.

He must develop a relationship with the Red Dragon over time before he can express his willingness to serve them.

(End of this chapter)