"Great True Dragon, thank you for saving my lowly life. Please… please accept my worship."
It was worth mentioning that the kobolds spoke the language of dragons, but their accent was so strong that even an orthodox True Dragon like Jose could barely understand them.
Jose held his head high and accepted the kobold's worship.
To the lesser dragonkin and some evil races, the Five-Colored Dragons were equivalent to a triad boss whose reputation spread far and wide. They were the target of worship, and these races would attach themselves to such great existences whenever they had the chance, thinking it an honor to serve the True Dragons.
However, they worshiped the power of the dragon race and not the dragon itself. If they encountered a True Dragon that was stronger, this adaptable group would not hesitate to switch sides. As a result, throughout the many wars between two dragons in history, there had been instances where the weaker dragons ended up realizing that their subordinates had all rebelled and become their enemies.
Therefore, he had to be careful when using these lesser dragonkin. It was best to maintain an absolute advantage in strength.
After a while, he felt that it was about time.
"Get up! Which tribe do you belong to? Why are you being chased by centaurs?"
"Great True Dragon, I am a member of the blood-tooth kobold tribe. As for why I was chased by the gray-tailed centaurs, I originally went to seek help…"
Through the kobold's poor use of the dragon language, Jose understood the whole story.
The blood-tooth tribe and the gray-tailed centaur tribe were originally "friends". The kobolds were good at mining but did not do production. The centaurs needed metal arrows but lacked ores. Therefore, the kobolds exchanged ores for the centaur's food. Both sides worked well together.
However, a while ago, three extraordinary beasts — some petrification lizards — appeared out of nowhere. These lizards attacked the kobolds' mine and chased them out.
Due to the sudden turn of events, the kobolds had only escaped with a small amount of food, and they became desperate due to the hunger and cold. They sent an envoy to ask for help from their old friend, the gray-tailed centaur tribe, but the envoy almost became a slave.
Jose noticed the oddity in the kobold's words. The centaurs were not fools. Why would they let the captured slave escape in the night? He asked immediately.
"How did you escape from the slave quarters? Tell me."
The kobold was excited and quickly answered. "In the battle against the centaurs, I awakened my magic power. I was not familiar with my new ability at that time, so I pretended to be exhausted and got caught. When the guards were napping at night, I used magic to finish them off. Then, I incited the other slaves to set the houses of the centaurs on fire. We escaped during the chaos, and then… you appeared."
After hearing about the kobold's escape, Jose couldn't help but think highly of him.
He was quite a character!
He had awakened as a Dragon Warlock at a critical juncture. However, he was trapped in a tight encirclement where the enemy was too strong for him to fight back. The kobold saw the enemy as vulnerable and took the initiative to be captured. He looked for an opportunity to fan the slaves into rioting and setting fires to break out of the encirclement. This showed that he was brave and resourceful.
Not only was he brave and resourceful, he was also lucky. Awakening to become a Warlock was a kind of luck, and it was even luckier to meet him at a critical moment.
Luck was illusory, but it truly existed. It could not be touched or forced.
If ordinary people wanted to force it, they could only be friends with those who were lucky and wait for them to become rich.
As a dragon, Jose had a better choice. He decided to take this kobold as his follower.
"Very well." Jose spread his dragon wings and held his head high to make his size even grander. "Your courage and wisdom will be rewarded by me. This great True Dragon — Francesco Trinidad Jose — hereby grants you the honor of becoming the servant of a dragon."
The kobold was stunned for a moment before he became overjoyed and knelt on the ground, shouting, "It is my great honor, my… master."
Jose nodded. He was very satisfied with the reaction of the kobold. He took out a dragon scale that had fallen off during his growth and squeezed out another drop of blood.
Seeing this, the kobold was even happier. He was a Dragon Warlock who had awakened recently, and he had obtained some basic knowledge of the Giant Dragon from his bloodline.
The Giant Dragon had three types of followers.
The highest standard was the Blood Essence Contract. There was a lot of blood stored in a dragon, which had the body size of a mountain, but only a small amount in the heart could be considered the blood essence. The Blood Essence Contract used a drop of blood essence forced out by the dragon to be transferred to a follower. It would fundamentally transform the bloodline of the follower and change it into a creature with the dragon bloodline. The follower would then obtain the ability to grow together with the master. However, the Blood Essence Contract was very draining on the dragon itself and would not be used easily.
The middle-level contracts used dragon blood and dragon scales. They used scales as paper and blood as ink, and established a spiritual connection with their followers through magic contracts. The followers would be transformed into dragonkin and could benefit from the growth of their master, but the benefits were not as great as the Blood Essence Contracts.
The lowest form was to be contaminated with the aura of a dragon. They would be bestowed with dragon blood, dragon scales, and even some aura after staying with a giant dragon for a long time. They would have a trace of a weak dragon bloodline. This kind of subordinate would not be able to gain any benefits from the growth of their owner, but they would have more freedom.
Jose chanted an incantation, and the dragon scale and dragon blood slowly rose into the air under the effect of an invisible force. They slowly converged and finally merged into one, and the scarlet scale flashed with a glimmer.
On the side, White Dragon Cassie looked at this scene enviously. He was two or three years older than his boss and had also entered the stage of a teenage dragon, but it was not without reason that White Dragons were known as the disgrace of dragons. He had yet to awaken his ability to cast spells, so naturally, he could not contract any followers.
As the incantation continued, rows of tiny words appeared on the dragon scale. This was a contract written in dragon language. This contract was not drawn up by the dragon present but passed down from the first-generation dragon. After many years of continuous improvement, it could be considered one of the most perfect contracts in the multiverse.
After the contract was signed, the scale slowly landed on the forehead of the kneeling kobold and fused with his skin. The dragon bloodline contained in the dragon scale spread throughout his body, nourishing his flesh and bones, and fundamentally improving the physique of the kobold.
The kobold gritted his teeth and endured the pain. This was the pain brought by the transformation of his bloodline. After experiencing the pain, he would be reborn.
After about ten minutes, the transformation of the bloodline was completed. The tense face of the kobold gradually relaxed as he endured the pain. He opened his eyes, and his bright yellow vertical pupils became slightly red. This was the effect of the Red Dragon bloodline.
Jose felt a faint mental connection with the kobold in front of him and understood that his first follower was born.
"Tell me your name, my servant."
"Master, my name is Ergou."
Ergou? Dog
He was a kobold with a dog head after all; it made sense.
"All right, Dog Two, take me to your camp."
Dog Two?
Ergou had his doubts, but he did not dare to disagree.
"As you wish."
Under Ergou's lead, Jose entered the forest. After walking for a while, they arrived at the foot of a mountain. The blood-tooth kobold tribe that had escaped was stationed in the forest.
They called it a camp, but it was in fact an open-air encampment between the woodlands. Some stones were placed to form a circle, with a wooden frame made with sticks on the side and a hanging pot on the wooden frame. This was the only building in the camp.
The kobolds of the blood-tooth tribe were shocked to see their tribesman return with two mighty True Dragons. The kobolds who were lying on the ground immediately got up and looked at the majestic bodies of the True Dragons with their mouths wide open.
Under the watchful eyes of the kobolds, Jose walked to the middle of the tribe. With a swing of his tail, he sent a rock the size of a millstone flying. With a loud boom, the rock hit a large tree that was as thick as an adult's waist. The tree was broken in the middle with a cracking sound.
"From this day forward," Jose announced loudly, spreading his wide dragon wings against the slowly tilting trees, "you all belong to me."