Under the Red Dragon

It was several months later when Ross and Hull crawled out of the crowded hold and set foot on this land of gold, and the simple bay that originally belonged to the ogre tribe had already transformed.

The natural harbor was almost packed with ships, with freighters loading cargo. Due to the shortage of labor, even private soldiers with family crests printed on their leather armor were personally involved.

They casually tossed bundles of exquisite animal skins onto the decks of the freighters, which were then moved into the holds by the cargo workers.

There were also boxes upon boxes of agate, giant clams, and gemstones. These resources, originally monopolized by the ogres and unusable, were now being harvested and sent onto the freighters.

Precious minerals such as gold, silver, refined iron, frost iron, and mithril required on-site workshops for simple smelting and processing before being loaded onto freighters bound for the empire.

Ross could even see plumes of thick smoke rising from the dense forest in the distance, though he didn't know that was where the smelting workshops were located.

The boundless forest provided an inexhaustible supply of building materials. Wooden houses constructed from thick logs stood in rows in this bay area, and even the forest near the bay had been cleared to create a vast open space.

The outermost perimeter was simply guarded by sharpened log barricades, as the camp needed to expand every so often.

Guard posts made of stacked giant logs were scattered around the camp, with sentries in leather armor holding longbows, these were the nobles' elite guards.

There were no fixed patrols, as the adventurers constantly moving through the forest served as the outermost sentries, exploring in groups.

In case of emergencies, they would fire signal arrows to alert the camp, giving the people inside enough time to react.

The number of people remaining in the camp at this time wasn't large overall, but it was still lively. The adventurers who had reaped rewards returned to rest, chatting and laughing with the guards hired by the merchants.

They boasted about their gains for the day, creating a scene that made the two young men feel as if they were still in the Cathay Empire.

It was now noon, and wisps of smoke began to rise from the wooden houses scattered throughout the camp. Ross noticed that many women began to appear in the houses where smoke was rising.

Adventurers never brought ladies with them on adventures, unless they were also adventurers. Therefore, these ladies must be traveling prostitutes.

The residences of the nobles and mages were located in the very center of the camp. Even though they were built with simple logs, the houses looked distinctly exquisite and grand.

It could only be said that these ladies were as adept at sensing gold coins as the adventurers were.

"Hey, you two new, foolish lads, what are you standing there for? Come with me. When you come to this place, you have to follow the rules. I'll explain the rules to you properly, for just five coppers."

An old man walked up to them. The merchants' teams had dedicated people to receive them, and he couldn't squeeze in, so he targeted these two young men who looked very foolish.

Ross and Hull exchanged glances and followed the old man's pace. After all, they were unfamiliar with the place, so it would be good to learn more about the situation, and five coppers was an acceptable price for them.

"That's where the mage masters and noble masters live. Don't casually go there to disturb these masters, lest you be caught by the guards and used as laborers. There's a severe shortage of people in the camp right now."

After receiving the five coppers, the old man was quite conscientious, explaining the situation in the camp to the two ignorant young men while taking them to register at the camp.

"Also, when you register later, remember to write down your skills and your purpose for coming here. You have to pay taxes and fixed security fees every month according to a certain percentage if you plan to stay in this place."

Ross scratched his head. "But we just arrived, and we don't have any money to pay taxes and security fees. Can we owe it first?"

"Hehe," the old man smiled, revealing his mouth with several missing teeth. "There's a shortage of people everywhere in this place right now. Even if you don't know anything, you can earn money with just your strength. The merchants and nobles are thinking of spending a lot of money but are still short of people."

"But if you plan to work on your own, you can postpone the payment of taxes and security fees, but it will increase by a certain percentage on schedule. You'd better get some money as soon as possible, otherwise, you can only be driven out of the camp and fend for yourselves in the forest."

"Also, you'd better not provoke the nearby centaurs, kobolds, and green goblins, those are…"

"Dragon, that's a white dragon," a white dragon roared across the sky above the camp, its wings, spanning eleven meters, casting a shadow over everyone in the sunlight.

A blue dragon, more than ten meters in size, followed beside the white dragon, like the white dragon's loyal guard, its scales, the color of the sea, shimmering with bright blue light.

The streamlined and full muscles, solid dragon scales, and thick dragon claws exuding a cold light in the sunlight attracted the two inexperienced young men.

Ross and Hull widened their eyes, looking straight at the sky with a shocked expression.

"Tsk tsk," the old man shook his head. He was used to the shocked gazes of those who had just arrived here. He quietly waited for the dragon to fly over and sink into the boundless forest.

Then he said to the two young men who had recovered, "That is the dragon that rules this land. Although it is still a young dragon, it has many monster tribes as its dependents. Even the powerful blue dragon is willing to obey its orders.

My suggestion to you is not to easily provoke those dragon's dependents. This is the law that must be followed to survive in this place."

The old man didn't know when those nobles and mages reached an agreement with the dragon that ruled this land, but everyone in the camp knew that the dragon's dependents would send people to this camp every month to collect the benefits they should receive.

Including simple weapons and iron arrows after casting, and also a lot of various refined ores. Surprisingly, these dragon dependents were not interested in those treasures.

They turned a blind eye to the boxes of gems and gold, which really broke many people's stereotypes about dragons.

Of course, there were also greedy adventurers who wanted to find the dragon's treasure. A mere young dragon and juvenile dragon could not stop their greedy hearts, but they were unexpectedly discovered by the goblins and kobolds scattered in the forest near the dragon's lair.

Then the centaur warriors who had changed into sophisticated iron armor would rush out, kill these stupid and greedy adventurers, and hang them on the wooden stakes in the forest.

Perhaps lucky adventurers would rush to the vicinity of the Dragon's Nest Mountains, but the frozen ice sculptures and piles of coke with the smell of ozone revealed the reckless end of these people.

The two young men nodded solemnly. These words were really worth the five coppers, but the young man named Hull suddenly became curious and asked, "This white dragon is so powerful, its name must be very loud."

The old man shook his head, opened his leaky mouth and muttered, "Who knows, anyway, I dare not ask, but as the king who rules this land, people in the camp call it 'White King'!"