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After entering Dragon God Island, Tang San, Nian Nian, and Meng Meng flew for a while, observing the rolling mountain ranges and numerous interconnected paths leading to small stone houses scattered throughout the landscape.
Tang San decided to land and inquire about their surroundings.
Upon reaching a small town, Tang San noticed that its inhabitants were all werewolves. They regarded Tang San, Nian Nian, and Meng Meng with curious expressions.
In the minds of the werewolves, humanoid creatures with so little hair were usually serpentfolk, lizardfolk, tortoises, or fishfolk. They had never seen beings like Tang San and his companions.
"Are you merfolk?" A young werewolf, about half the size of an adult, approached them boldly and asked, "I've heard that among the fishfolk who live in the sea, there's a branch called the merfolk. When they come ashore, their fish tails turn into legs. You resemble the pictures I've seen on parchment."
"No, I'm human." Tang San resisted the urge to pat the inquisitive young wolf and introduced his companions. "They are elves from the Easton Forest."
"Elves!" the wolf child exclaimed. "I thought they were just legends! I didn't know they actually existed. But humans... I've never heard of them."
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm the clever young werewolf, Peter Jack Trask Griffinel."
Meng Meng blinked, "Are all beastmen names this long?"
"Of course not. My name is long because I've inherited the noble bloodline of the Howling Moon clan," Peter Jack Trask Griffinel said proudly, though the ragged shorts he wore didn't quite support his grand claim.
"Haha!"
The werewolves around them laughed.
"Peter, there you go boasting again."
"Stop trying to fool people."
"Poor little werewolf, can't even cultivate battle energy."
"..."
Peter's eyes flickered with resentment at the mocking voices, but he seemed used to it. He didn't argue back, instead turning to Tang San and saying, "Guests, do you need a guide? I know this town and the surrounding villages and towns very well. For just ten copper coins, I can be your guide and show you around."
Tang San took out a gold soul coin and handed it over, asking, "Will this currency do?"
The young werewolf sniffed it, then nodded, "It's gold!"
Glancing around nervously to make sure no one was watching, he quickly pocketed the coin. Then he rummaged through his belongings, pulling out a collection of odd items: a red copper coin with worn-out patterns and a half-meter-long black bone.
"The pattern on your gold coin is intricate. It must be from the Elf Kingdom, right?"
In truth, the Elf Kingdom didn't use currency. Since Easton Forest provided for all their needs, they typically traded goods instead of using money.
Even though the Blue Silver Network had been established, the elves still traded in their traditional manner, exchanging goods based on mutual liking.
The elves, a simple and pure race.
At least, that was the case for the elves in the Easton Forest.
On Dragon God Island, however, they had established towns and villages and even developed a currency system. But in terms of civilization, they didn't seem much more advanced than the elves of Easton Forest.
"By the Holy Dragon above!"
"I swear, I've never seen such beautiful coin engravings!"
"But I can't make change, so I'll have to offer these instead. Does that work for you?"
Seeing the young werewolf scratching his head nervously, Tang San chuckled and said, "It's no big deal to me. Don't worry about the change. Just guide us around and tell us about the customs and culture here. How does that sound?"
"No problem at all."
The young werewolf beamed with joy, panting slightly as he hurriedly scooped up the copper coins from the ground and stuffed them into his pockets. He then strapped the black bone he was holding onto his waist.
That black bone was actually a dragon bone, extremely tough and capable of channeling dark energy when infused with soul power. Its value far surpassed that of a single gold soul coin.
But Tang San didn't want to take advantage of the young werewolf. Besides, there seemed to be plenty of these bones around...
At least, Tang San had already seen a pile of similar black dragon bones stacked in a corner of a blacksmith's shop in town.
"Guests, follow Peter Jack Trask Griffinel as I show you around the town!" The young werewolf proudly brandished the black bone in front of him like a general leading an army, full of enthusiasm, his tail wagging excitedly.
Perhaps, for him, earning a gold coin was cause for great joy.
"The black bone in your hand, what kind of magical beast is it from?" Meng Meng, sensing the dark energy within it, couldn't help but ask.
"This?" The young werewolf grinned. "It's the bone of a magical beast called a Dark Dragon. According to legend, they are descendants of the Holy Dragon. Their leader once tried to overthrow the Holy Dragon, but failed and was killed. As a result, all of their descendants were reduced to the lowest form of magical beasts."
"Unlike other magical beasts, no matter how powerful these Dark Dragons become, they can never gain intelligence. It's said the Holy Dragon stripped them of their right to wisdom."
"But in return, the Dark Dragons developed a remarkable ability to reproduce. Among all the dragon-type magical beasts, they breed the fastest."
"In fact, every thousand years, all the beastmen on Dragon God Island have to band together to clear out the Dark Dragons from the Dragon Mountains. It's rumored that those who slay the most are rewarded by the Holy Dragon."
"Not that I've ever gone—after all, I'm only one hundred and thirty-two years old."
If what the young werewolf said was true, the most important takeaway was this:
The Holy Dragon is quite petty!
The Dark Dragons were likely its descendants who attempted a "patricide" and failed, leading to their demise. Then, the entire Dark Dragon species was stripped of its intelligence.
However, despite losing their wisdom, the Dark Dragons evolved a unique reproductive ability that surpassed all other dragon species.
This outcome was probably unexpected by the Holy Dragon.
Additionally, the fact that beastmen are rewarded for killing Dark Dragons shows that the Holy Dragon wishes to exterminate the species entirely. Yet, due to its status as the mount of the Creator God, it must maintain an appearance of mercy. Personally exterminating the Dark Dragons might draw criticism, so instead, it opts for this [trial-and-reward] system.
In doing so, the Holy Dragon not only manifests every thousand years to strengthen the beastmen's faith but also purges the Dark Dragons—killing two birds with one stone.
All in all, the Holy Dragon seems a bit more diligent than the King Easton. After all, most elves in Easton Forest have only seen the pets raised by the King Easton, while the king himself spends most of his time hiding in his cave, sleeping.
(End of Chapter)