The tauren blacksmith — Hebul — also sensed that something was strange. He had once studied under the Dwarven Master Blacksmith of Sun Sail Harbor named Fire Forger. Over the years, he had interacted with his teacher and many other people. He could be considered to have a wealth of knowledge in many things.
However, he had never felt this way before. Just the smell alone was enough to make him tremble in fear. If not for the fact that his mind was still clear, he would have turned around and fled.
"Damn merchant! What did he hide from us?!"
Back then, the boarman merchant came to him and said that a kobold tribe wanted to hire some blacksmiths to teach them how to forge iron while also hiring them to forge a batch of ironware.
Hebul had wanted to refuse, but the boarman merchant had offered him something he could not refuse — food. It was enough to make up for the lack of food for the tauren tribe in winter, with extra portions left behind.
Under the expectant gazes of the chief, elders, and children, Hebul's heart had softened.
The kobolds were weak. He could leave at any time if he was unhappy as his few apprentices could fight.
With this thought in mind, he had agreed to the boarman merchant's request, and now he was filled with regret, praying silently.
"Oh Earth Mother, please protect us."
Turning around a corner, Hebul saw a huge beast wrapped in flames. The boiling flames lit up the entire cavern, and the rocks on the ground showed faint signs of melting.
"What—what is this? Flame Demon Balor?!"
"Oh, the guests are here." The fire elements in Jose's body flowed back into his heart, and he returned to normal. He looked at Ergou, the boarman merchant, and the seven taurens.
Actually, everything that they saw along the way had all been planned by Jose.
The ordinary boarmen were left in the first living area and attended to adeptly. They were not allowed to go to other areas because after everything was over, they would be leaving with Hulk. There was a need to guard against the problem of the ordinary boarmen leaking secrets when they went out.
Everything after that was to show off his strength. His goal was to intimidate the boarman merchant and make the tauren blacksmiths accept reality.
Incidentally, the moment the tauren stepped into the blood-tooth mine, Jose had no intention of letting them leave, at least not the way they came in.
He stood up from the ground and looked down at everyone who entered.
The boarman merchant hurried forward and stopped five meters from the Red Dragon. He bowed and said, "I offer you my most sincere greeting, Master."
Jose said in a low and husky voice, "My servant, I hope the blacksmiths you brought will satisfy me."
An intense chill penetrated deep into Hulk's bones. The boarman merchant could not help but tremble as he took a deep breath to regain his composure.
"Of course. Please allow me to introduce you."
The boarman merchant pointed at the black-skinned tauren and said, "This is Blacksmith Hebul. He is the student of a famed Dwarven Master Blacksmith in Sun Sail Harbor — Fire Forger. Although Hebul himself is not a Master Blacksmith, he is not far off. The others are all his apprentices and can forge military-grade weapons."
Jose looked at the tauren, his lava-like eyes assessing the latter closely.
The tauren had the head of a bull, the tail of a bull, and the hooves of a goat. It was also covered in long fur, but the other parts of its body were similar to humans. However, it was much more majestic than a human. Its muscular arms were thicker than an adult's waist, and some of the tauren had decorative iron rings on their noses and horns. This exuded a primitive sense of beauty in the wilderness.
These strong individuals, who could kill any bodybuilding champion in Jose's previous life, were like chicks in the cold wind shivering in front of the Red Dragon.
There was only one exception. The leader of the blacksmiths took a deep breath and stepped forward, intending to compliment the Red Dragon and create a good start to their conversation.
"Esteemed True Dragon, seeing you, I feel very… very… uh…"
"Surprised, shocked, and scared," Jose said in place of what the tauren was about to say. He also understood that he was facing a traditionally good tauren that was not good at lying.
"That's right. I ordered Hulk to lure you here."
The Red Dragon's frankness made Hebul feel uncomfortable, and he did not know how to reply. He could only hang his head and listen to what the Red Dragon said next.
"But you don't have to worry, and you don't have to be afraid either. I invited you here just to build weapons and armor to equip my army."
"But I'm different from ordinary Red Dragons. I'm a reasonable dragon. The price that you agreed on with Hulk will not be lower by a cent."
The tauren doubted that. Everyone knew that dragons loved money as much as their own lives. The only way to take gold coins from a dragon was to defeat him.
"Maybe you have doubts about what I said, but honestly, there's no point in doubting it." Jose pressed forward and moved closer to the tauren with his huge head, as if he was confident in subduing them. "Do you understand?!"
Hebul's moist cow nose was puffing with steamy white air as his fists clenched tight.
"Dragon! You're strong! But don't try to enslave a free tauren! A tauren is fearless!"
Sensing the aura emanating from Hebul, Jose realized that the tauren was actually an Intermediate Warrior, and one of the stronger ones.
He retracted his head and said, "I don't doubt the courage of the Tauren Warriors at all. But look behind you. It's fine if you're not afraid of death, but are you sure you want to drag them along and implicate your whole tribe?!"
"Ah!"
Becoming a bargaining chip for the Red Dragon to force their leader, the eyes of the six tauren turned red as they let out low angry roars. But Hebul, who was in front, unclenched his fists and sighed.
There were not many black-hoofed tauren to begin with, and the apprentices he brought were all elites of the tribe. If they died in the kobolds' mine, Hebul would not be able to face his ancestors in death.
"You've seen it all along the way." Jose circled around the tauren, his huge body causing the ground to rumble. "My strength increases with each passing day. My army is ready to go. In a few years, the entire Triangle Plains will be shrouded in the shadow of my wings!"
As he spoke, Jose spread his wings and showed off his huge body and strong muscles. His slender neck bent into a circle, and he moved his eyes to the same level as Hebul. His gaze was aggressive, and his sharp fangs appeared and disappeared as he spoke.
"When the time comes, where will your tribe and your people go?!"
Hearing this, Hebul felt bitter.
He had to admit that, if nothing unexpected happened, what the Red Dragon had said would definitely come true. There was no force in the Triangle Plains that could stop a single dragon, a dozen petrification lizards, and a thousand kobold warriors.
"But on the other hand, if you join my side at this time, you will be contributing heavily to my rise. When the fruits of victory ripen, you will be meritorious subordinates. I promise you that when the time comes, you will receive my praise and your tribe will receive preferential treatment for your achievements."
At this moment, the taurens no longer had any fighting spirit in their hearts. However, they were still furious after being deceived.
"I'm very lenient towards valuable and talented individuals. You don't have to give me an answer right away. Go and think it through."
Jose waved his hand, gesturing for Ergou to bring the tauren away.
After the tauren left, only Jose and the boarman merchant remained in the spacious cave.
The boarman merchant hung his head like a prisoner awaiting trial.