Of course, Amos didn't know that someone was slandering him behind his back.
He swam all the way to his abandoned nest.
Over the past four years, the white dragons had harvested a great number of fine pearls with the help of the Murlocs. Every day when the dragons slept in their pearl beds, their smooth scales would touch the round pearl and make a pleasant and crisp sound, which felt very comfortable and cosy.
However, pearls were no better than gold. If you weren't careful when sleeping, the pearls would be crushed into powder.
The dragons were heartbroken because of this. To ensure that their wealth wouldn't shrink continuously, Amos came up with a way to trade pearls for gold.
On the Nord Hill mainland, the colourful deep-sea pearls were also sought-after high-grade jewellery, and the world's production was low, the annual production of fine pearls was far from meeting the market's demand, and prices were high.
But for these white dragons, the last thing they needed were pearls, on the contrary, the gold coins in their collection were far from sufficient.
Therefore, Amos contacted the black market businessman Rockvin, who immediately signed an agreement with white dragon's to become a partner in the face of the windfall.
As a result, the secret abandoned dragon nest was reopened and became a trading hub between the two sides, where the Murlocs usually stayed to sell pearls and receive information from black market merchants.
The Murloc sentry hiding on the reef saw the arrival of the white dragon and hurriedly greeted him.
"Great master! Murloc Gem salutes you."
"Well, when did the last transaction happen?"
"The merchant shipped a batch of goods the day before yesterday."
Amos frowned. The frequency of trade with the black market merchant was once every half a month.
This time, the Murloc in the abandoned dragon's nest also heard movement, and a fat Murloc took the lead to greeted him.
A few years ago, Amos accidentally discovered a Murloc with a talent for arithmetic and trained it to become his assistant, letting it take over the specific matters of trade. This Murloc was the fat Murloc—Momor.
"Salute! Wise, powerful, unmatched ..."
"All right! Let's get down to business!"
Amos interrupted Momor's endless praise and gave him, who had gained a few extra pounds, a quick glance. He was really worried that one day, Momor in front of him might be as fat as a balloon and soar up in the air!
Amos's tone was serious: "Momor, I want you to contact Rockvin as soon as possible. I need to talk with him in person!"
Seeing Amos' serious expression, Momor put away his flattering gesture, stood up straight, and replied loudly: "Yes!"
Amos nodded satisfactorily, Momor had done a good job over the years, bringing the white dragons plenty of wealth and intelligence, so this fat Murloc could keep a firm grip on the foreign trade gap.
Well, he was getting fatter, too.
"Has Rockvin delivered any important news lately?"
"No, except for the news about some nobles in the Lowe Kingdom, other events are far away from us, but there is news about a red dragon."
"Oh?"
Amos was very interested in such news.
"The high-level legendary Red Dragon, the Flame of the Molten Mountain, has been revived. According to the news, the Western Fairy Forest has suffered and the three cities on the periphery have become a sea of fire. The Elf King rushed to fight the red dragon, regardless of the outcome."
"Now, the Elf Kingdom has gathered adventurers from all over the continent to fight the Flames of the Molten Mountain. There is a rumour that the legendary Silver Dragon Duke has also gone, but no one has seen him."
Amos wanted to inquire whether there were any strange movements in Bailey, but he hadn't expected to hear news of such a big battle between the top powers of the realm.
However, Amos was far to the northeast of the mainland, separated from the battlefield by the entire continent. So he could neither watch the excitement nor worry about the flames of the war, and could only leisurely chat with his younger brother and sisters in his spare time.
...
Late in the evening.
The sun set on the horizon, clouds shone brightly in the sky, and in the distance, the tired bird returned to its nest crossing the setting sun.
A small boat carrying three people, which moved silently but was fast. The boat rowed in the slight waves, turned left and right, and came to a stop around the bright and dark reefs right above the abandoned dragon's nest.
Leaving the boatman to guard the boat, Rockvin and a strong man jumped into the water, accompanied by the Murloc, into the abandoned dragon's nest.
"Rockvin is so happy to see you, my dear friend!"
Amos laughed and smelled before he arrived, and the shrunken Amos saw Rockvin who opened his arms and walked quickly towards him.
"Welcome, Little Raven."
(TL: Amos calls him Raven aka Rockvin)
Amos cracked open his mouth, revealing what he thought was a decent smile, but those who didn't know would think that he was showing his sharp white fangs.
Rockvin laughed.
"What an ugly smile you have! My friend!"
"You look exciting too!" Amos countered: "My little friend!"
Amos put a lot of emphasis on the words "exciting" and "little".
Rockvin still smiled, "I also often wonder if my father was a caveman."
Rockvin had no father since he was a child, and with short stature and different facial features, as ugly as a caveman, but he didn't care about these things and even made jokes about them from time to time.
However, Amos would not underestimate him because of this, Rockvin was a genuine high-ranking Shadow Mage and was only one step away from entering the Master rank.
It was his background that made Amos more afraid than his ability. He was the head of the Black Raven Chamber of Commerce in the north of the Lowe Kingdom and also an official member of the Raven Council.
"Every time you contact me, something good happens, so what's your surprise this time?"
Naturally, Amos could hear Rockvin's hidden meaning - Don't bother me if there is no profit!
Rockvin did not care about his appearance nor fame, all he cared about was the yellow-gold coins, and the friendship between him and Amos was directly proportional to the benefits Amos brought him.
Amos was more comfortable in dealing with such people because, as long as he brought him enough benefits, he would never have to worry about his betrayal.
Clearly, the benefits of their cooperation far outweighed the benefits of hostilities.
"Rockvin! I need to customize a batch of armour and weapons for large humanoids."
When Rockvin heard that, he became interested, the arms trade was a profitable industry no matter where it was, let alone custom-made.
Rockvin's old face bloomed like a daisy, "My friend, you are indeed my lucky star, so how much do you need?"
White Dragon's tone was flat: "First, two thousand sets. In addition, I need a batch of alchemical bombs and at least 20 plague bombs."
The world's technology was a bit skewed, the Industrial Revolution was nowhere to be seen, but biotechnology was booming.
A long time ago, a certain technical nerd, Witch Demon Ao Nai Zu, invented the plague bomb and used it in the invasion war. Several creatures on the material plane became charcoal and fell into a poisonous gas-shrouded land. The lethal power of the plague bomb shocked the entire multiverse.
The death of a large number of mortals angered the gods of justice, and the gods of justice issued an order to the church under their command to hunt down Ao Nai Zu, and the cunning Ao Nai Zu, who was informed in advance, hid in the realm of the dead and remained at large.
Later, somehow, the plague bomb manufacturing process flowed out and gradually developed and expanded. The scope involved was beyond the capacity of the Gods of Justice. They had no choice but to put the plague bomb on the list of high-risk contraband and prohibit all individuals or organizations from using the plague bomb.
"You're crazy! If this is found, you will be hunted by the Church of God!"
Amos raised his brows and said disdainfully, "So?"
Rockvin's face was uncertain, and a moment later he smiled silently, thwarting his hand, and his eyes narrowed into slits.
"It'll be expensive!"