Chapter 215 - 176 Each with Their Own Scheme _1

Chapter 215: Chapter 176 Each with Their Own Scheme _1"If we really encounter that Red Dragon, how much can I offer?" Blood Claw asked again. "One hundred thousand Gold Coins," Nord replied, "That’s all our gold. You can only use these Gold Coins to secure him, otherwise... there is no otherwise... hahaha... Go!" "Understood." Blood Claw saluted and left the tent to assemble his Hunting Team, cursing the madman in his heart. All the Black Reapers were a bunch of madmen; there were hardly any sane ones, and that Nord just now was the biggest madman of them all. Staying sane in this camp of madmen was nothing short of a miracle, but he was not far from becoming one himself. It was equally a bizarre miracle that such a warband could grow and expand. But their strength couldn’t be denied. At its peak, the Blood Claw Tribe that he had led nearly amounted to three thousand people, although half were Goblins. But in front of these beast races, they couldn’t even withstand two rounds of a charge before being crushed. Even many Hobgoblins shivered at the thought of their frenzied, bloodthirsty fighting style, let alone Goblins. Blood Claw assembled twelve Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry, but they were not his trusty Elite because this mission could very likely turn into a suicide mission, and taking them along would just be sending them to their deaths for no reason. When Blood Claw left the Black Reaper Camp with his Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry, a squad of five Cavalry of the Slaughter Fang followed close behind. Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although there were only five of them, each of these Abyssal Jackalweres with black fur had five Professional Levels, making them core members of the Black Reapers. This small squad of five could easily scatter Blood Claw’s Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry in just two passes. Their purpose was clear: they were there to monitor Blood Claw and his team. This was a typical tactic of the Black Reapers, who trusted no one, including the average Jackalwere, only these core members who were infused with Abyssal powers. The Hunting Teams previously sent out by the Black Reapers all followed this pattern. Non-core members who had pledged their allegiance formed the vanguard, while a small number of core members followed to reinforce from behind. If there was profit to be had, the Cavalry of the Slaughter Fang would be a powerful backup force. When they charged, it would signify victory in battle and the start of a bloodthirsty frenzy. Their innate love for bloodshed and the Abyssal powers within them would not cease until they had drunk enough fresh blood and reaped enough souls. If the situation turned highly unfavorable for them, they would not hesitate to abandon the vanguard and retreat in advance. In recent days, the rampage of two Giant Dragons seemed to have dealt a significant blow to the Black Reapers, but in reality, they hadn’t suffered any serious damage; the dead were all non-core members. They were cannon fodder recruited by forceful means, and the Black Reapers could easily gather more if they wished. As for the core members at the rear, they had slipped away early at the first sign of trouble, except for a few who were not so savvy and perished under the Dragon Breath. In Nord’s view, such fools deserved death. There was no room for fools among the elite of the Black Reapers. The attacks of the two Giant Dragons on the Black Reaper Hunting Teams were indeed not a coincidence - they really had set their sights on them. Not long after Blood Claw and his team left the Black Reaper Camp, huge shadows began to pass frequently overhead. Blood Claw felt lucky today. There was a fifty percent chance that he had come across the fiery-colored shadow sweeping across the sky. "Lord Red Dragon, we come with good intentions. We are willing to exchange a substantial amount of Gold Coins for peace," the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry shouted in unison, advancing while calling out loudly. Without any of them capable of flight to catch up with the Red Dragon, their only option was to use the potential benefits to attract it from the air for a dialogue. This was the most helpless and foolish method. But oftentimes, the foolish method proves effective. The fiery red silhouette of the Red Dragon no longer swept back and forth but hovered not too far ahead, at just the right distance. Blood Claw was overjoyed, sensing there might be a chance. It was clearly leading the way. "Follow it, and don’t stop calling out," Blood Claw commanded as he spurred his mount into a frenzied run. They pursued for four or five kilometers. The Red Dragon eventually landed on an isolated stone peak over twenty meters high, tilting its head, waiting for them. Blood Claw ordered his Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry to halt five hundred meters away; he then voluntarily dismounted and walked toward the Red Dragon. Considering the Red Dragon’s cautious behavior just now, this gesture of showing no threat was likely to please it, minimizing misunderstandings and preventing the outbreak of conflict. True enough, until Blood Claw got within twenty meters of the stone peak, the Red Dragon made no aggressive moves. From a glance, Blood Claw noted that the Red Dragon appeared quite young, in its teenage or adolescent stage, but it looked rather emaciated as if malnourished. Giant Dragons could go hungry? A flicker of doubt crossed Blood Claw’s mind, but he dared not ask more, loudly proclaiming, "I am an emissary of the Black Reapers. Our Leader offers his deepest apologies for the infringement upon your territory. To express our remorse, we are willing to present a generous tribute. Our Leader also mentioned that should you be willing to accept our offer of war mercenaries, we will provide a hefty reward. After the conflict, you will have the first pick of the spoils." At this moment, Blood Claw was not concerned with the limitations Nord had previously set; he lavished promises of benefits to placate the star above, for now. Perched atop the rock was the young Red Dragon Roderick. He had not expected the half-elf to have such audacity. After emerging from the Fairy Wilderness, he had laid out the task of attacking the Black Reaper hunting team, then went solo. Roderick hadn’t considered running away. After all, his lair had already been emptied, leaving him with nothing to hold him back. If push came to shove, he would swallow his pride and ask his mother for help. Perhaps she would have a way to deal with the problem of the soul totem being held by someone else. But then he thought again, if the other side dared to do this, they must have their own confidence—they were not afraid of him running away, and even if he did, they could capture him again. If all this happened before he could return to his mother, he knew very well how pitiful his fate would be. Even if he made it back to his mother, his fate wouldn’t be much better. When he originally left the nest, he had casually stolen a few treasures from his mother’s hoard. He estimated his mother’s anger hadn’t subsided yet, or rather, it would never subside. A dragon’s hoard is extremely private, with no concept of inheritance or gifting, not even for their own children. Not to mention the greedy and evil colored dragons, even most of the metal dragons of the good alignment behave this way. Many blood relatives fight over treasures, resulting in life-or-death battles. He wouldn’t think of escaping now, not at the time when the other side was most vigilant and focused on him. But rather, he would wait until their guard was down. As for the current contact with the Black Reaper envoys, it was not prompted by Gaven but sprang from the Red Dragon’s greedy instincts. After escaping from Gaven’s control, Roderick’s first action was to visit his dragon’s nest, which by then had been stripped so clean that not a single feather remained. These past few days, he had been suffering, feeling as if a piece of his heart and soul had been gouged out. This sense of loss and pain was even greater than the misery he felt when he was trapped under the cliff. But confronting Gaven and going to war to retrieve his treasure was something he didn’t have the guts to do, nor was it possible—those three pieces of magic equipment he had risked his hide to steal from his mother’s dragon nest, one was with that demon priest, while the other two were with the devil half-elf. Now hearing that there were offerings to be made, spending a hefty commission to hire him, of course, stirred his interest. Roderick didn’t plan to betray Gaven, but rather to viciously exploit these fools before betraying them at the crucial moment with a couple of shots of dragon breath. By then, even the devil half-elf wouldn’t have anything to say against it. The young Red Dragon, lost in his own thoughts and assuming a contemplative pose, made Blood Claw believe that their offered stakes were not alluring enough. Blood Claw directly jumped to the maximum offer: "One hundred thousand gold coins, that’s all the cash we, Black Reapers, can come up with. But rest assured, we’ve found a prime raid target, a curtain to the Fairy Wilderness. In the Fairy Wilderness, treasures are everywhere, not only full of fairy treasures, but also those beautiful creatures of the fae race. With one transaction, they can be sold at a super high price among those human merchants. If you are willing to join us, all fairy treasures will be yours to choose from after our success, and we will gift you thirty percent of the revenue from the slave trade. After taking down the Fairy Wilderness, not far away there’s a thriving Gnoll Tribe with a half-elf leader. I’m willing to lead you there to subdue that Gnoll Tribe and make it your vassal." Gnoll Tribe? Half-Elf leader? Why does this sound so familiar? Roderick, grinding his teeth, said, "You’re not talking about Gaven Nort, and that Gnoll Tribe called Blackwell, are you?" The hatred in his voice wasn’t a pretense, but came from the heart. Hmm, usually he was angry but didn’t dare to speak out. Unexpectedly, here he found familiar faces, suddenly unleashing the desire to rant. If he couldn’t rebel, why not release some verbal artillery and vent a little? Blood Claw’s eyes lit up, thinking there was a chance, and he hurriedly said, "Yes, exactly that Tribe. Initially, my Blood Claw Tribe was nearby, but they colluded with humans from outside the Rocklands and developed too quickly. Reluctantly, I had to lead my tribe to leave and eventually join the Black Reaper. Do you know them, sir?" "To say I know them is an understatement. We have an irreconcilable enmity," the young Red Dragon said with mixed sincerity and jest. "Those bastards, together with that brat called Aivensa, the Red Copper Dragon, have been opposing me at every turn, causing me all sorts of trouble. But they’ve got a bunch of anti-air ballistae from humans now, making them quite troublesome." "You must have seen the strength of the Black Reaper over the past period. As long as you are willing to work with us, I guarantee that after we succeed, I will lead troops to flatten that Gnoll Tribe," Blood Claw assured, pounding his chest. "Don’t worry, sir, the Black Reaper is primarily here for plunder and won’t stay for long. After the success of our endeavour, this region will still belong to you." Blood Claw felt this assurance might just be the decisive factor that made the young Red Dragon agree to be hired by them. The young Red Dragon asked greedily, "What about the commission?" "The commission is as I mentioned before, not even half a gold coin will be missing." "Paid upfront?" "Paid upfront." "Time and place of my choosing?" "Time and place at your choosing, sir." "Very well," the young Red Dragon said with satisfaction, nodding his head. "Now you can go back and prepare the commission. Tomorrow morning, I will come to collect it. Use chests, each holding ten thousand gold coins. No more, no less, a total of ten chests. Bind them with ropes, so I can easily grab them." "Yes!" Blood Claw agreed repeatedly. "I hope you will keep your promise, or else await the descent of my wrath," the young Red Dragon dropped a threat before flapping his wings and taking to the sky. Only when the red figure completely disappeared. Did Blood Claw’s taut nerves finally relax slightly, his entire body going limp, thoroughly soaked in sweat. One can’t deny the top predator’s presence, the pressure of close interaction was extraordinarily heavy, but the result was positive, at least he had dodged a bullet.