Chapter 59: Five Years

  Snow accumuted aed repeatedly oorm Highnds.

  In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.

  For a long-lived dragon, five years could pass in a mere nap, but for short-lived creatures like humans and goblins, it was enough time for their world to undergo drastic ges.

  So, what happened over these five years?

  First, the number of followers in Ember greidly, and its territory tio expand.

  Egg-ying creatures like kobolds and lizardfolk could y dozens of eggs at a time, while viviparous creatures like goblins reproduced at a breakneck speed, birthing seven ht offspring per year—a crucial factor for their survival in the wild.

  Soon, Giant’s Valley could no longer tain them all.

  Cassius's followers had to expand outward.

  Now, Ember ’s territory spahe eorm Highnds, with many tribes quered or absorbed. Dozens of valleys and caves became homes for Cassius’s followers, with only the stro, most elite followers remaining in Giant’s Valley, receiving the red dragon’s unscious blessings.

  Living in Giant’s Valley was sidered an honor.

  The valley’s name was even ged ton’s Valley.”

  Currently, Ember hosted three chimeras, forty-one wyverns, sixty-five ogres, four hundred sixty hobgoblins, three hundred seventy lizardfolk, two hundred four satyrs, and tless goblins and kobolds.

  Their numbers likely exceeded ten thousand.

  Smaller, newly subjugated tribes like snakefolk, lizardmen, and orcs weren’t individually ted as they merely paid tribute.

  Additionally, the eorm Highnds had bee Ember ’s “pasture” and “mine.”

  Hobgoblins, known for their beast-taming skills, transported goods and onry over long distances using oxen and horses, just like more civilized races.

  They unicated via tamed crows and used fierce wolves to guard prisoners and protect their camps, just as Ember ’s hobgoblins did.

  Led by Dolo, the goblin fa included hobgoblins, goblins, and bear goblins.

  They began systematically herding woolly mammoths, aurochs, and giant rhinos to provide ample meat for the followers. They even started breeding tundra saurians, although there were currently only three, which would eventually be used in battle and for transport.

  Meanwhile, Langpu primarily trolled the ogres, kobolds, and lizardfolk.

  Numerous goblins and kobolds established aensive underground miniwork, stantly supplying the valley with metals and elemental ores.

  These metals were smelted in underground furnaces and fed into crude ons for the army, while the elemental ores were stored in the red dragon’s cave as energy reserves.

  However, these creatures were hard to manage, frequently attempting to escape with stolen gold whenever ht was x. sequently, Langpu deployed a signifit number of lizardfolk and ogres as overseers.

  During this time, Langpu remaihe head steward of Ember , approving all matters—even those from the goblin fa.

  Although Dolo often harbored dissatisfa and schemed i, he still had to report his as to Langpu as protocol dictated.

  They maintained a surface-level peace, ensuring Ember ’s basiternal order, as her wao risk incurring the red dragon’s wrath due to infighting.

  Each awaited the other’s misstep, hoping to report them to the red dragon upon his awakening and bring them down.

  As for the skirmishes among goblins, kobolds, and ogres, they were tless, almost daily and being routine.

  “When the Master wakes, hmph, that position of his won’t st long.”

  —This was something Dolo often said to his closest followers.

  Additionally, Ember ’s iions with humans grew more frequent.

  Sager Towed as Ember ’s puppet. The “Friendly Trade” caravan led by Hart tio supply human armor, ons, and books.

  Perhaps due to the bounty, over the past five years, adventurers dreaming on-sying and overestimating their abilities frequently intruded into Ember .

  Langpu “weled” these rude, uninvited guests with enthusiasm—turning their heads into neckces to decorate the entrance.

  However, the ogre mage often pined about not being allowed to eat intelligent creatures, menting how long it had been since he tasted such “snacks.”

  Langpu even captured a few so-called nobles, extrag a hefty ransom from their families and obtaining a few spell scrolls as leverage, expanding his spell colle.

  Ember ’s rapid expansion had, in fact, drawention of human powers like the northern kingdoms.

  Not only was the La Duchy o, but the Bosk Grand Duchy further south and the ti-spanning anization of justice, the Harpers’ Alliance, had also sent scouts, most of whom never returned.

  With Cassius still in slumber, Langpu harbored ambitions of world quest but dared not recklessly start a war without the red dragon’s permission.

  sequently, despite minor skirmishes, Ember avoided direct frontation with any major human forces.

  And so, Cassius remained asleep for five full years.

  A dragon’s slumber, due to its magiature, has profound enviroal effects. A white dragon’s sleep would frost the ground, a blue dragon would turn soil to sand, a bck dragon would transform forests into ss, and a red dragon would create va.

  Cassius’s presence filled the cave with va.

  Occasionally, when the red dragon shifted in disfort, loud noises would echo, releasing scorg steam and spttering va at the cave entrance, injuring several hobgoblins statiohere.

  This filled his followers with both fear and reverence for the red dragon’s immense power.

  Meanwhile, Cassius unsciously released “bloodline blessings.”

  The range and potency of this influence grew, until nearly all the followers in Giant’s Valley dispyed the traits on-blooded creatures, bearing the distinct characteristics of a red dragon.

  These creatures were narded by nearby adventurers as extremely dangerous, earning the reputation as the “Dragon’s Minions,” not to be provoked.

  The progress was accelerating; soon, the ea test phase would likely ence.

  AnnouA big thank you to [jan] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.

  FAL