mijobooks Chapter 120 The Returning Caravan
Chapter 120 The Returning Caravan
The purified red dragon bloodline within him endows Thor with extremely strong elemental affinity, while the monster templates such as Rathalos and Glavenus further enhance his control over high temperatures.
That is why he dared to expend such a large area of flames, and why he dared to burn the entire interior of the low mountain to a crisp by his own strength.
If it were an ordinary red dragon of the same size, it wouldn't be able to melt the gold and fossils as quickly as he did, and it would probably have exhausted its blood just from leveling the mountain.
Even he himself cannot maintain this explosive output for a long time; after each burst, he must rest for a period of time.
In this way, after working for one or two hours each day, the rest of the time is left to his evil creatures to clean up the lava that failed to flow away and the solidified obsidian.
Time flies, and another half month has passed. The interior of the entire hill has been gradually hollowed out, forming a huge bowl-shaped cavity.
The lava that flowed out spread a layer on the ground around the entire mountain. After solidifying, it resembled a black plaza, exuding a cold and desolate aura.
After that, Thor had nothing more to do; his grey dwarves and kobolds took over the task of carving and decorating the entire mountain and its interior.
Once the tiered stands are completed, this colosseum will be fully finished.
At that time, Thor will once again expand his territory and extend invitations to the evil creatures of the entire wilderness.
He even welcomes neutral or benevolent creatures without question, and doesn't demand their loyalty. As long as they are willing to enter the arena and fight, the winner will receive a reward.
In return, both the audience's passionate emotions and the loser's soul will provide him with a considerable amount of valuable insights.
Once his fame spreads, he can use it to charge admission fees or open a casino to make a fortune.
As for whether the arena's reputation can spread, Thor is absolutely confident.
Among the miscellaneous items he has collected so far, there are quite a few good things. Whether it is their intrinsic value or their ability to enhance his strength, they are all very attractive.
In the days that followed, the nascent hill was enveloped in a series of clanging and banging sounds.
To speed up the progress of the kobolds and grey dwarves, Thor even exchanged some sparrowstones specifically to have the grey dwarves forge a batch of harder and sharper pickaxes.
When these blue ores were presented to the gray dwarves, several experienced blacksmiths were nearly speechless with astonishment.
Throughout their hundreds of years of life, they had never seen such a unique metal, which looked as clear as ice, yet had extremely high hardness and toughness.
With just a little refining and forging, it can produce exquisite items comparable to magical weapons.
After all, according to the setting, the performance of the Sparrow Steel forged from Sparrow Stone is 10 times that of ordinary steel.
Although Thor felt there was some exaggeration involved, the ability to cut through iron like mud was certainly not an exaggeration. After being processed by the gray dwarf blacksmiths, the blades of each tool were coated with a touch of azure, and the carving progress was greatly accelerated.
…………
On this morning, amidst the noisy excavation sounds, a clear, crisp bell rang out.
Having finished his "sheep-hunting" for the day, Thor crawled out of his den and looked into the distance. In the wilderness, a caravan was slowly approaching.
He then remembered that his original intention in building his nest here was actually to rob people on the road.
Has this caravan returned from the wilderness? Judging by the time, it's been almost two months since the first batch; they should be back by now.
…………
Mark sat on the edge of the carriage, gazing at the distant, low-lying mountains, a feeling of awe or a vague sense of relief welling up inside him.
The transaction went more smoothly than he had anticipated; the beastmen and kobolds forcibly placed in the caravan played a significant role.
After all, they are creatures who have lived in the wilderness their entire lives. They are not only experienced and able to sense and deal with various dangers, but also better able to communicate with those wilderness dwellers.
Some tribes, wary of the outside world, would attack humans the moment they saw them, giving them no chance to speak.
However, when the tall tiger-man appeared, the other party immediately became patient, and after some communication, several deals were successfully made.
But this is both its strength and its weakness.
Under the watchful eyes of these dragons' minions, Mark's original plan to leave via another path has now become a pipe dream.
I wonder how my companions who were left behind are doing now. I just hope that the red dragon will have mercy and spare their lives.
As for the valuables in the carriage? Mark didn't even dare to think about it. Throughout history, no one had ever heard of anyone managing to leave a dragon's territory safely with treasure.
…………
"Look who's here? Tiny insect, I'm glad you kept your promise and passed through my territory again."
As a special treat for returning customers, this time I will only take half of your goods and wealth, and return your manpower.
Of course, this is on the premise that you bring all my men back safely.
As the crisp sound of horses' hooves entered the valley, strange and evil creatures were drawn out from the rock walls on both sides.
A resounding dragon roar echoed across the sky, and a crimson meteor, trailing a long, fiery tail, crashed into the front of the caravan, creating a scorching shockwave.
The blast of hot air made Mark instinctively raise his hand to shield his face, and then he smelled a burning odor. Only after his companion reminded him did he realize that his hair had been set on fire by the flying sparks, and he hurriedly started to pat it off.
After finally extinguishing the flames on his head, feeling the burning sensation on his scalp, he felt like crying but had no tears left.
But when he looked up at the red dragon in front of him, all his emotions vanished instantly, leaving only intense horror.
It's too big! It's absolutely too big!
In just two months, the red dragon had grown a whole size larger.
And what about those blade-like wings and tail, and those armor-like scales? Is this what a normal red dragon should look like?
That damned dragon has become even stronger.
Mark managed to suppress the turmoil in his heart thanks to the composure he had cultivated over most of his life. Facing Thor, who was looking down at him from above, he smiled ingratiatingly and said...
"Thank you for the great red dragon's kindness! Your minions have provided us with much help on this journey."
"I have successfully completed my mission and brought them all back safely; they are all here."
Thor glanced at the faces of the evil creatures in the caravan, and apart from the tall tiger-man, he didn't really recognize the others.
After taking stock of the number of people, he summoned a kobold and ordered it to bring over the humans belonging to the caravan.
Not long after, the kobold returned, but there was no human behind it. Instead, it whispered a report to Thor in dragon language, which included barks.
What do you mean by the number of humans remaining here not matching up, that there are a few missing?