Even though he had reacted immediately, he still sprayed a mist of blood and flew out with a mouthful of broken teeth under the sweep of the Weapon Enlargement Technique—a technique David himself had nearly fallen victim to before—flattening the Barbarians behind him like a row of toppling bowling pins.

This was already Nifadora showing restraint, not adding Sharp Fang as she had initially.

“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty! My child is still young and ignorant.”

“Half! We are willing to pay half of the treasure!”

“King Jarl!” The other tribal Jarls were immediately restless, but as soon as they tried to speak, they were stopped by a gesture from King Jarl.

This King Jarl was indeed a character, choosing not to check on his son’s injuries like a typical father would have done first, but instead immediately trying to defuse the main conflict and salvage the deal.

A cruel and furious smile appeared on David’s lips.

“This is the first warning, and the last.

“Let me give you a piece of advice: if this is the kind of heir you have, you’d better replace him soon. Otherwise, you had best pray to your War God every day.”

Otherwise, who knew when calamity might descend upon them from above. The group of Barbarians automatically filled in the rest of the sentence in their minds. For some reason, they all felt an inexplicable shiver run down their spines.

“Thank you for your counsel, Your Majesty. I will consider this matter seriously,” King Jarl said.

The Barbarians exchanged glances; seeing their king’s expression, it seemed he was indeed seriously considering the matter!

Prince Sayer had always been King Jarl’s most talented offspring and had even received recognition from the “Father of Battle, Uthgar.”

But they could never have imagined that even more excessive demands would follow.

“Don’t rush, I haven’t finished speaking. If you want my agreement for you to go plundering in the New Continent, acceptable. However, in addition to half the treasure, I also require that the leader of every Barbarian tribe, including you, send their eldest sons to my camp as hostages. Any violation, and the hostages will be killed first.”

The Barbarians, faced with the Red Dragon’s tyranny and cruelty, were nearly suffocating.

But David didn’t seem to care about their thoughts at all, pointing at the injured Child of Battle—who could not speak due to a broken jaw and could only keep growling—and mockingly said, “Of course, replace this one. I, David Uthos, do not accept trash.”

Arrogance

…

On the way back to the Dragon Nest, the excited Green Dragon Nifadora couldn’t contain her curiosity and quietly approached David to ask, “Your Highness, how could you be so certain that they would agree to this distribution ratio?”

Nifadora, skilled at discerning human nature, could see that the distribution method David proposed nearly stepped right on King Jarl’s bottom line. Even by a dragon’s Greed, this distribution was far too greedy. After all, they were just sitting there collecting money.

But David’s answer was, “Because that King Jarl is a smart, rational, and ambitious fellow. The geopolitical situation of the Old Continent has been stagnant for far too long. To carve out a new path on this desolate and barren continent, the Barbarians, with their own limitations, simply can’t manage it. So he clearly understands that he can only choose between a fifty-fifty split or getting nothing. Thus, he wisely chose the former, and also a path where opportunity and risk coexist.

“Actually, I could have asked for even more, but there’s no need. If we pushed them so far that those Barbarians had no treasures left for their festivals to their combat gods, perhaps even the gods themselves would start stomping their feet in anger.”

Currently, it seemed the theft of divinity had been rather too shocking for the War God, resulting in his somewhat ailing state. A plan agreed upon in one go would actually be more intimidating to this group of Barbarians, and also serve as a reference for those who came after. There were still many, many local kings and various small tribes like King Jarl on the Old Continent.

And what David didn’t say aloud was that before he had crossed over, out of interest, he had once come across a book called “Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd.” During the Age of Discovery, the pirate fleets condoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England distributed their loot in this very manner. Most of it, often more than half, went to the crown. The remainder was then distributed under agreements between the captain and the crew.

Since there was already a pioneering explorer like Elizabeth as a reference, David knew that this was pretty much where the plunderers’ threshold for pain lay; he just had to push it accordingly. They would most likely accept it, experiencing both pain and pleasure. This is human nature, this is the human heart.

After all, the one who substantively controlled the seaports was his legendary Dragon Mother, Pafila. In terms of sheer deterrence, Dragon Mother Pafila’s influence was much greater than that of Blue Star’s Elizabeth. She was the uncrowned Queen of Skanis on the entire Old Continent. And those Barbarians would instinctively see him, David Uthos, as Dragon Mother Pafila’s mouthpiece. So, to some extent, David once again, intentionally or unintentionally, leveraged his Dragon Mother’s authority. But the benefits were real and would gradually become evident in the future.

However, David had barely returned to the Dragon Nest and hadn’t even enjoyed half a month’s leisure.

As the two warbands he had recalled after the peace talks successively returned to camp, David looked at some presenting plundered treasures, and others offering the skulls of Children of Battle—clearly marked with the insignia of a beast spirit. For the first time, he felt a newfound appreciation for the talents of the High Elf captives he used to disdain so much…

Regardless of the past, the combat prowess displayed by these High Elves in this campaign was truly outrageous. To say they were as swift as the wind and as devastating as fire would not be an exaggeration. Indeed, their plundering directly made King Jarl restless. David had originally been preparing to lead the dragons into battle himself; after all, time was running short before he had to return to the New Continent with his Silver Dragon father to strike it rich.

You bunch of sprouts, what the hell took you so long? David couldn’t help but lament in his heart.

Greed

If only these High Elves had displayed such outstanding combat abilities from the start… But David’s reason told him that was impossible, at least for now. Unless David found a way to collectively corrupt these High Elves, they would never pledge loyalty to him, a Red Dragon, bound as they were by race, faith, familial ties, or whatever else.

The reason these High Elves were able to unleash such energy in this Barbarian campaign was due to several factors: the oppression of their three-year ‘potato digging’ ordeal; the accumulated anger from being repeatedly defeated and chased through the mountains by Barbarians like mere farmers; coupled with their decades of combat experience. All of this was ignited by the hope kindled by David’s proposition of a ‘return home.’ Ultimately, it transformed into this terrifying and seemingly unstoppable force.

This kind of extreme, classic example of warfare would, in all likelihood, be impossible to replicate in the future.

At this thought, David sighed and addressed the one hundred and eighty-seven High Elves who had safely returned, standing before the Dragon Nest, “Warriors, you have proven your valor and determination in this battle. And I, in turn, shall fulfill my promise. I grant you clemency and permit your return to the New Continent.

“You are free.

“Take the spoils you have plundered and return to your homeland in glory and honor.”

The High Elves looked up in shock, still finding it hard to believe. This Red Dragon was actually letting them go, just like that? They knew that even though they had given their all, half of the Elves still hadn’t managed to pillage goods worth 10 pounds of Gold or take the head of a Child of Battle. Yet this Red Dragon was granting clemency to all of them at once?!

“We thank Your Highness for your mercy!” a group of High Elves, weeping with joy and excitement, bowed to the Red Dragon on the Nest.

However, this scene appeared utterly comical in the eyes of the other dragons.

But no one noticed Yevgeny, mixed in among the High Elf captives, exchange a glance with David, the Red Dragon Lord on the Nest. Everything was understood without words.

“Go,” David flicked his tail.

A ship was already waiting on the coast for the High Elf captives, eager to return home.

What they still didn’t know at this moment was that on the other side of the sea, only a cold obituary awaited them, along with the indifference and disdain from their superiors—an experience they had already endured once before.

After all the High Elves had departed, David summoned the only remaining High Elf in the Dragon Nest camp. The visitor was Ahmed, the former Elf commander, now wearing a leather hood that likely not even Yevgeny, his once devoted admirer, would recognize if she saw him face to face.

“Do you know anything about shipbuilding?”

“A little. But without a full team of shipbuilding craftsmen and a proper shipyard, it’s virtually impossible to build an Elven warship on the Old Continent.”

“I’m not asking you to build an Elven warship. Just teach a bunch of Barbarians to make small, crude boats that can row to the New Continent.”

“Those Barbarians are going to the New Continent?”

“Yes, to the New Continent. To the coasts of Dewensen, to plunder and harass along the way,” David candidly told the nephew of the Duke of Silver.

Upon hearing this, the High Elf, who had previously lost all heart, showed no hesitation. Instead, a flame of vengeance ignited in his eyes.

“Dewensen, huh… Heh. I shall fulfill your will, My Lord.”

As Ahmed departed, his mind filled with unknown thoughts and plans, David couldn’t help but stretch his claws and yawn. He then turned to his perpetually silent Silver Dragon father and asked, “Father, are the Century Aroma seeds ripe yet?”

“…Almost.”

“Then let’s start preparing. We’re going to the New Continent to see the fireworks… ah, no, I mean, to go to Granyel to study new alchemical arts.”

Watching David’s retreating figure as he walked away from the den, Attilicia was overwhelmed by a profound sense of guilt that was plain to see on his face.

He knew all too well that his child was drifting further and further down his mother’s wicked path.

And yet, as a father, he was so powerless…

He was even, in a way, abetting a tyrant.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep