Chapter 73: Chapter 71: Customs

He didn’t know if it was because he had transmigrated into a Red Dragon.

The energetic David now possessed such incredible energy in his actions that he could utterly demolish his lethargic past self, who earned his wage by the day and seemed perpetually exhausted.

No sooner had he dealt with the trivial matters than he boldly left everything in the camp, including the three dragons, in the capable hands of Nifadora, the Green Dragon teacher renowned for her Virtue and Artistry, whom he had known for just a few days. He then set sail with two Drow and the former Elf commander named Ahmed.
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Yes, he was bringing only three Elves on this trip, plus one Barbarian enforcer and a Winter Wolf trinket…

That’s right, the Green Dragon Nifadora had even managed to capture the timid but cunning Winter Wolf, packing it up and sending it along to David.

As for the four dragons under his command, he didn’t bring a single one.

There was no way around it; the New Continent was Elf territory, and as Chromatic Dragons, they were too conspicuous.

To disguise themselves as Metal Dragons like he did wasn’t impossible. In fact, he had two feasible methods at his disposal.

One: He could simply run up a tab with his mother and use the ninth-level True Polymorph Spell to transform the dragons.

But the problem with this method was that if he, already owing his Dragon Mother a Gold Dragon hatchling, dared to make such an excessive demand, she would probably use her tail to whip him right out of the Dragon Nest.

After all, that was a ninth-level spell, not some common cabbage he could just conjure up at will.

Even if his mother, in a surprisingly good mood, miraculously agreed, the price would be exorbitant. He reckoned the entire smuggling venture wouldn’t even cover the debt.

After all, they were mother and son, but more importantly, they were Chromatic Dragons—Chromatic Dragons who haggled over everything.

Unlike Metal Dragons, for whom draconic sentiment and credibility could occasionally outweigh self-interest.

Of course, even after a friendly assist, close kin would still meticulously settle accounts and divide the spoils.

Two: He could try utilizing a combination of the Pride, Jealousy, and Sin of Lust Authorities to completely transform the target into a Metal Dragon, similar to how he granted Rosinde Endless Rage.

This method had obvious drawbacks as well.

For starters, this was much more difficult than bestowing Endless Rage upon a Barbarian.

Even David wasn’t sure he could succeed. If it backfired, under the frenzy of Lust, who knew if he might turn the target into some indescribable, mosaic-like monstrosity? The risk was simply not worth taking.

Even if, by some miracle, it worked, they would be Metal Dragons forever…

And only in appearance. They might get killed by a passing Chromatic Dragon one day and not even know why.

Furthermore, just as Dragon Mother consumed energy when casting spells, his use of Authorities also depleted his own resources.

Although this power could be restored through daily Seven Sins Meditation, it was like… well, even as young and robust as he was, two full sessions of ’intensive recovery’ in one day would still be too exhausting.

And there was one core issue that ultimately made David abandon this idea before he left.

That was, even if he could change their appearance, he couldn’t change their ’souls.’

Take Lizrite and Mofei, for instance.

Their combined intellect might not even match that of a newly hatched Silver Dragon hatchling, let alone his sister Tania, who had already begun exploring magic upon reaching her juvenile stage.

Even if their appearance was successfully transformed into Silver Dragons, pretending to be his siblings, wouldn’t their clear, innocent eyes—untouched by knowledge—give them away immediately?

Even if the Elves didn’t suspect anything at first.

What if they looked at him with pity and sympathy, comforting him for having to take care of two clearly intellectually challenged draconic siblings at such a young age…?

David reckoned he would be frustrated enough to spit blood.

After much consideration, David decided to stop overthinking and opted for simplicity, traveling light.

It was just a matter of producing more Crimson Ash, right? Relying on Gluttony, he alone could eat more and match the output of three dragons.

It was precisely because of this that he hadn’t even asked the dragons to prepare extra raw materials in the hold beforehand.

After all, if a keen-eyed High Elf guard discovered it, that would be quite troublesome.

Anyway, he estimated the trip wouldn’t take long:

Setting sail in high summer, he should be finished by autumn. Even if selling the goods caused delays, he would definitely be back before the winter solstice, by year’s end.

So, he didn’t even go to say goodbye to his sister Tania or Dragon Mother; he just set sail.

He planned to bring them some local Elven specialties from the New Continent as a surprise upon his return.

With such thoughts, David, having eaten a hearty meal, fell asleep in the hold.

His sleep wasn’t long. While in his dream he was on his 687th mammoth Angus beef burger, dumbfounding the waitstaff and other diners yet finding himself hungrier the more he ate, he suddenly heard a Drow’s wake-up call,

“Master, Master, it’s time to get up! We’re only two hours away from the New Continent.”

“Zzzzz…”

Hiatt, seeing her Red Dragon master’s eyes barely cracked open yet still snoring, helplessly signaled to the somewhat curious Drow Mage and the Barbarian Rosinde nearby.

The Mage, with Rosinde, immediately began huffing and puffing as they carried the freshly roasted tuna over from the deck.

This time, before they could even bring it fully over, David, whose nostrils suddenly flared, lunged headfirst. He gobbled down the roasted fish, steel skewer and all. His half-ton weight then smashed through the ship’s spiral staircase, causing the already dilapidated and poorly repaired Elven ship to rock violently.

“YIKES…” The Drow Mage, slumped in the corner, was nearly scared witless.

If the quick-thinking Barbarian hadn’t pulled her away just in time, she would most likely have become her master’s ketchup by now.

She also mused that it was no wonder bardic chronicles rarely mentioned retainers of Red Dragons. They probably either died in the crossfire of an enemy’s Dragon Breath or ended up in the maw of their sleepwalking Red Dragon master. After a moment’s thought, she suppressed the urge to pray to the Spider Queen. Thinking again, she also restrained the impulse to switch her faith to the Chromatic Dragon Queen, like the Barbarian had. In just those few seconds, the Drow Mage had teetered on the brink of death at least three times. There was a reason she had managed to escape Spider Nest City and survive this long.

Soon enough, after David had devoured an entire tuna—enough to feed a whole shipload of Elves for a meal—and let out a long, contented burp, he slowly came to his senses and asked,

“Are we there yet?”

“Yes, Master,” Hiatt replied with utmost respect.

David glanced at the two Drow disguised as High Elves, his eyes, glinting with a hint of red light, narrowed as he said,

“Take off the makeup.”

The Drow looked up, startled, but quickly complied.

David, having had a good sleep and a satisfying seafood meal, was in a fairly good mood, so he added,

“Hiatt, your disguise wasn’t bad, and your height is passable.”

As he spoke, David’s tail pointed at the forehead of the cowering Drow Mage (Yevgeny) behind her, and he said,

“But this one won’t do. That shifty, timid demeanor, that pipsqueak stature… Anyone taking a serious look for more than a few seconds would know she’s a dark-skin crawled out from the Gloomy Region.

“Our journey is too long. Since we’ll be found out sooner or later, there’s no point in bothering with a disguise from the start.”

David’s tail finally moved away from the pitiable Drow Mage, who had nearly shrunk into a corner of the ship. From the gaps between the scales on his chest, he retrieved the two Magical Contracts.

One was from Hiatt, the other from Yevgeny.

“Use these.

“If we’re interrogated by guards on the way, just claim to be retainers of a Silver Dragon, ’reformed’ by my ’righteous and benevolent’ self.”

That works?

Both Drow, and even the silent Barbarian beside them, were stunned by this tactic.

Even the Winter Wolf, encountering this Red Dragon—er, Silver Dragon—for the first time, was taken aback.

Immediately, Hiatt’s eyes lit up.

Indeed, what disguise could be more genuine and natural than no disguise at all? They were already David’s subordinates, so naturally, there would be no flaws to expose.

The two Drow immediately took the Magical Contracts and used them without hesitation.

The former’s (Hiatt’s) soul was already in David’s possession.

The latter (Yevgeny) had been longing day and night, finally reaching the day she was ’recognized’ by her Red Dragon master. She was so moved that tears almost streamed down her face.

But just as they had finished removing their disguises and using the Magical Contracts, a strange and icy voice suddenly came from the deck, announcing,

“Everyone on board, come out! Dewensen customs inspection!”

David, in the cabin, was startled, and the others couldn’t help but tense up, on alert.

Shouldn’t this be a lapse in the High Elf patrol schedule? When did they patch that up?

As this thought crossed their minds, another excited voice came from outside the cabin, exclaiming,

“Otis! Aha! Looks like you got promoted again! It’s me, Ahmed! I’m back… back from the Old Continent!”

Just as the Barbarian, who thought they had been betrayed and was filled with rage, reached for his twin dragon-fang blades, the customs officer, after a few seconds of silence, shouted back in fury,

“Who the hell are you?! How dare you impersonate the late General Ahmed!

“Take this hideous, coal-black fiend away,

“Interrogate him,

“And see if he’s a dark-skin crawled out from the Gloomy Region.”

“…” Everyone in the cabin, including David, fell silent.

They all mourned the unfortunate fate of the High Elf commander.

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