He is just a kobold with only a little talent as a Dragon Vein Warlock. It is estimated that he will never achieve anything as a Dragon Vein Warlock in his lifetime.
As for the dragon's physical talent, he is actually not very strong. If he wants to become a fifth-order monster warrior at a normal speed, it is estimated that it will take at least half a year to accumulate. However, just because he holds this position of investigator, he ends up being ahead of schedule.
The reason?
Burp~ Fula let out a comfortable burp again.
"Praise the Great Lord Black Dragon King~" Fula prayed sincerely from the depths of his heart.
---
Inside a huge and rough palace built of black boulders, more than thirty meters high, a kobold who was 2.78 meters tall and 80% similar in appearance to a dragon man was sitting on a chair, looking at messages one after another.
"The Green Forest Clan's population growth this quarter has exceeded the planned 1,300. The Black Blood Clan's population growth this quarter has also exceeded 800." Skye frowned deeply, feeling a little distressed.
In the past few years, Dragon Nest forces have developed rapidly, and its territory has expanded several times. With the help of the Siglinde family, many of the more advanced food planting technologies, tools, and seeds among humans have been introduced, resulting in the monster population of the Dragon Nest clan doubling directly.
Now, only counting the monster population in the Mountain Stream Dragon Nest, a rough estimate reaches 120,000. If you include the Dragon Nest faction in the Black Blood Valley, the total population will have to add another 10,000, reaching a terrifying number of 130,000.
Yes, scary.
One hundred and thirty thousand big stomach kings, how could it not be terrifying?
This is still under birth control. If it is not controlled, it is estimated that this number will increase several times.
"The north is the territory of the elves. The elves are far stronger than our Dragon Nest forces and cannot be enemies at the moment. The south is occupied by the centaurs and the Queen of Darkness, and they are also enemies that cannot be provoked for the time being.
Going further to the east will lead to the border city of the Albit Kingdom. Now the Albit Kingdom has been dragged into a war by the fishmen.
The west is the base camp of monsters, and there are many hidden intelligent races. Currently, there are three top monsters detected, and there are two places where there are suspected traces of the existence of intelligent races."
Skye analyzed the forces surrounding Dragon Nest, and his frown deepened.
Dragon Nest's power has now reached a bottleneck. The land resources occupied can only support the survival of 150,000 monster warriors at most.
This is even when there is basically no need to supply food to the Master. Now, except for the occasional barbecue meat and all the magic mineral condiments, the lord basically does not need to provide other food. This is also one of the reasons for the population explosion of the Dragon Nest clan.
"Two directions: first, the expansion of the dragon's nest territory. Second, the expansion of food sources."
"Dragon Nest territory has expanded. Now only the Albit Kingdom in the east and the monster territory in the west can attempt to attack. However, such a major matter needs to be confirmed with the master.
As for the food source, it would be great if the monster warriors could also eat the black tumors that the master eats," Skye mused.
Expansion aside, in terms of food, melanosarcoma.
"The master said that we can't digest that kind of black sarcoma. We can only live with the black sarcoma and be assimilated by it. During this process, if we can't survive it, we will be crushed by the chaotic mental shock and become irrational monsters. If we survive and are assimilated and symbiotic by the black sarcoma, we will degenerate into dark and evil creatures, but at the same time, our strength will also increase," Skye said to himself.
---
"Master, Chief Skye wants to see you."
In the empty dragon nest, a cold and respectful voice sounded. It was Sophia, the head maid, who was delivering the message.
"Let them in."
The sound of footsteps echoed, and I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the person.
[Creature Order: 10th High; Thief Level: Level 5 Intermediate Level]
"Skye, what's the matter?" I said slowly. I did not use the identification technique because there was a dependent contract between Skye and me, and I could know it at any time if I wanted to.
The thief profession trained by Skye is not surprising. Today's Dragon Nest Clan is no longer as crude and poor as it was in the beginning. Now all the basic general profession scrolls are available. As long as the clan monsters are interested, they can all apply to learn.
Spellcaster, Rogue, Fighter, Ranger, Archer, Warrior, Warlock, Martial Artists…
Among these scrolls that carry the basic knowledge of general professions, except for the knowledge scrolls of spell casters, which are relatively expensive, other scrolls of thieves, warriors, and rangers are nothing to today's Dragon Nest forces. Even for the monsters' learning efficiency, the Sieglinde family bought ten copies of each of these basic knowledge professional scrolls.
What is really valuable is professional information that records legendary knowledge, as well as rare and powerful special professions. Such high-end goods are basically monopolized by big forces and strong men and are almost never leaked or sold. After all, these high-end and extraordinary knowledge-occupying scrolls are often only single copies and are gone once they are sold.
"Master, the Dragon Knights of the Ryan Empire. The Red Wizards of They Guild. The Kingdom of Albit now has an army of fishmen and tide warlocks…." Skye continued to report what happened recently.
"How our Dragon Nest forces should act, please let the master decide." After speaking, Skye lowered his head slightly, ready to listen to the master's order.
"So many things have happened?" I squinted my eyes. Listening to the news Skye said, I felt that the mainland was turbulent and that it seemed it would turn into a mess at any time. However, what does this have to do with me?
No matter how chaotic the mainland is, given the current situation, it will not be able to affect me in a short time. Even though the Albit Kingdom next to it is now in chaos, the size of the kingdom is there, with a population of tens of millions, an army of at least hundreds of thousands of professionals, and a lot of high-level professionals and master-level professionals, these basic stocks did not suffer much loss.
The number of murlocs seems to be exaggerated, ranging from tens to millions, but in fact, most of the individuals are very weak. They may use the strength of a first-level professional in the water. Once they leave the water area, they are goblins. The kobolds are top-notch, and ordinary farmers can fight them fiercely with a hoe, and the outcome is unpredictable.
The same is true for those murloc tide warlocks. It seems that they gather together to cast spells and flood hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, which is extremely terrifying, but their limit is this. In the inland, without the blessing of huge waters, they are actually ordinary low-level water system warlocks with low attack power and brittle skin. Without water, they lose their flexibility and are not worthy of attention.
As for the rebels who launched wars and invaded other noble territories on the border of the kingdom, they were just a group of small fish and shrimps. The kingdom could quell the rebellion at any time if it had free hands, kill some, surrender another group, and distribute another group.
If you want to truly destroy the aging but still terrifyingly powerful lion of the Albit Kingdom, your opponent must be a male lion, and it must be the kind of lion with 'sharp teeth.'
What is a lion with 'sharp teeth'? For example, the fish-men tribe has legendary strongmen.
If the fish-men tribe does not have a legendary strongman, then at most it will only deplete some of the vitality of the Albit Kingdom, and the true foundation of the kingdom will not be shaken.
'There is no need to get involved in Dragon Nest for the time being. Let's see how things develop first.' I thought for a moment and then responded. However, after thinking about it, I added,
"I've been paying more attention to the news from the Centaurs recently. I guess they may take the opportunity to act. They hate the kingdom so much."
"Master, I thought so too, so I sent several teams of thieves early to keep an eye on those centaurs." Skye said respectfully.
"Well, is there anything else?" I glanced at Skye, who looked troubled, and asked curiously.
I rarely saw this kind of expression on Skye's face. Usually, it was [firm], [respectful], [calm], and [thoughtful].
"If you have something to say, just say it. If it's your own private matter, for the sake of your loyalty for so many years, as long as it's not too much, I will agree to it, and it will be considered as a reward for you." I said lazily.
When Skye heard this, his heart warmed and he was extremely moved, "Thank you, Master."
Afterward, Skye explained his thoughts about 'Melanosarcoma.'
"You want to use black sarcoma to create a group of dark evil warriors?" I looked at Skye with a puzzled look on my face.
"Skye, do you have any idea about the origin of these melanomas?" I asked calmly.
"I don't know, please let me know, master," Skye also realized at this time that the origin of this black sarcoma was definitely not simple.
Originally, he thought that the master banned the use of this kind of black sarcoma on his dependents because the side effects were too great, but now it seems there may be another hidden reason.
"Haha, although it may not be accurate, I guess that the source of this black sarcoma should be related to the gods," I said meaningfully.
Skye was stunned for a moment, and then his heart became cold as he felt a sense of fear.
Gods are no strangers to the intelligent beings in the material plane of Tal, because this material plane has many beliefs in gods.
Among them, Skye, who is a kobold, knows the name of their race's god—Kortalmak.
'Kortalmak,' the kobold god of war and excavation, is a great being who has reached moderate divine power.
It is also considered famous in the endless material planes of the star realms, not because of its strength. Of course, its strength is considered mid-range among all gods, and it is definitely not weak. But one of the reasons why Kortalmak is so famous is because he was a god who ascended from the body of a weak kobold. A long time ago in the history of the star worlds, when Kortalmak suddenly ascended to the throne of God, it set off a storm in the entire star world—a storm of consternation, shock, and disbelief.
Can this fucking kobold become a god?
Before Kortalmak ascended to the throne of God, no matter which plane they were in, kobolds were basically one of the lowest races. They were low-level beings stepped on by all five alignments (Good, Neutral, Evil, Law, and Chaos). Creatures could be slaughtered and conquered at will. Even the kind elves would not think it was wrong to conquer the evil and savage kobolds.
However, among such low-order creatures, a great being with medium divine power actually appeared. This is simply amazing.
It is comparable to an ordinary savage, who has never been exposed to learning, suddenly one day building a star destroyer cannon and obliterating stars.
Another reason why Kortalmak is famous is because he frequently brings miracles to the material plane. Even a small tribe of kobolds in the wild may one day usher in Kortalmak's arrival.
These kobold tribes blessed with miracles will almost all become fanatical and loyal fearsome believers, and Kortalmak will give them knowledge and teach them many principles.
It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Kortalmak's code of conduct can basically be summarized in this sentence. Of course, the 'people' here are just kobolds. For other races, except for believers, Kortalmak is still indifferent.
"Okay, you can return now." I looked at Skye, who looked frightened, and grinned.
I actually had the same thought as Skye, but it only flashed through my mind and was quickly buried in my heart.
The existence represented behind this kind of thing is not something he can touch now. Although the power of the void can swallow this power, it cannot hide my weakness in front of the gods.
'But if someone makes me anxious, don't blame me,' I groaned in my heart.
If my life is threatened, then I naturally don't have to 'protect' the world.
At that time, everyone will face the frenzy of darkness and transformation together, and even the possible gaze and invasion of gods.
However, if I become a high-level mage and master the teleportation spell and the coordinates of other material planes, then this method will not lead to mutual death, but a life-and-death escape.
Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, I woke up after the feast was strengthened.
I looked at my current panel:
//
Status:
Name: Barbatos Caesar Volaric
Race: True Dragon
Biological Order: 12th (Advanced)
Occupation Level: Mage LVL 9 [Intermediate]
Body Length: 31.4M
Vitality (VIT): 56.02
Current Feast Tier: 131
Feast Cooldown Time: 30 Days
Spell-like Abilities:
Darkness…
Spell Rune:
Zero Tier: Mage's Hand (Return to Nature), Communication (Proficient 5%)
First Tier: Water Blade (Return to Nature)
Second Tier: Water Element Strengthening (Return to Nature), Water Therapy (Return to Nature), Invisibility (Proficient 35%)
Third Tier: Reducing Technique (Entry 3%), Acceleration (Return to Nature), Guard Barrier (Proficient 30%)
Fourth Tier: Any Door (Proficient 77%), Rupture (Proficient 96%)
Abilities:
Earth Mana Affinity (LV 4), Water Mana Affinity (LV 6), Dragon Scales (LV 12), True Dragon Breath (LV 12), Draconic Vitality (LV 14), Draconic Might (LV 5), Draconic Magic (LV 7), Fly (LV 11), Dragon Eyes (LV 5), Bite (LV 12 + 0.1), Claw (LV 12 + 0.1), Wild Scream (LV 6), Atomic Furnace (LV 3), Armor Shredder (LV 4), Evil Eye (LV 3)
//
Judging from the panel, the progress in both creature order and mage level over the last three years has been monumental. For any other dragon, such advancement would take decades, if not longer. But for me, the acceleration has been staggering. A typical dragon's growth is painfully slow, yet my own order has improved several times faster, and that's despite my upper limits being far higher than those of an ordinary dragon.
The increase in mage level is secondary; the real triumph lies in my spell mastery. In these three years, I've developed three return-to-true level spells and refined multiple proficiency-level spells. Even those I previously struggled with have seen substantial improvement, all without significantly increasing my workload. The key lies in the vast growth of my spiritual power and the strengthening of my soul—a benefit gained from the feasts I've indulged in. My understanding of magic has deepened, and my efficiency has skyrocketed.
'Five years ago, defeating Bray required effort. I suffered some minor injuries—nothing serious,' I mused.
Bray, the gryphon I vanquished, was a formidable 13th-order beast at the time. Now, he's ascended to the 14th order, significantly stronger than before. Yet, if I were to face the Bray of five years ago now, my mind calculates that I could end the fight in a single blow, no matter his resistance. Even against my 14th-order self, the result would be the same: an instant kill.
"15th order is the threshold for mastery, the pinnacle of power for creatures like me. The gap between 14th and 15th order is immense—five times the strength, perhaps more. The me of the future would obliterate the current me in an instant," I concluded aloud.
Although these scenarios were constructed in my mind, even in real combat, the outcome would be no different. This leaves me with only one conclusion—my strength now rivals that of a 15th-order Bray.