"Roar——"
With a loud roar, the red dragon swept across the Rock Fortress with its wings spread wide.
The ogre guards on the ground immediately waved their clubs and cheered, while the wyverns guarding the gates extended their necks, raised their heads, and let out long howls, welcoming the return of the nest's master.
When Cassius returned to the Giant's Mouth Cave, even the chimeras approached respectfully to greet him, not daring to show any negligence.
"Ramp, how have things been these past few days while I was away?"
The ogre mage in front of him wore a pair of intricately crafted silver-rimmed glasses, their oversized head making the tiny glasses look extremely comical.
Ramp deliberately pushed up his glasses, unrolled the scroll in his hand, and while carefully examining it, said, "Currently, there are thirty-eight ogres in the Ashen Nest, four hundred and thirty-five goblins, twenty-six worgs, twenty-seven bugbears, one hundred and twenty-one kobolds, and fifteen wyverns."
He paused significantly before continuing, "Three days ago, the great goblin leader Dolores dispatched twenty-seven worgs cavalry to the Lost Mine. They suffered heavy losses, with only six riders returning, three of whom are wounded. The remaining twenty-one worgs cavalry are all missing."
"Where is Dolores?"
"He's still over at the Goblin Camp. The goblin camp overlapped with the kobolds' nest, and he's currently leading people to dismantle those pups' dens." The ogre mage chuckled slyly, a cunning glint in his eye.
"Understood. Continue your spell research." The red dragon's tone was unreadable.
...
"Lord Dolores, you can't just tear this down; our little ones need this place to hatch their eggs." The kobold leader with gold teeth forced a smile, looking up at the towering great goblin.
"Get lost, you mangy pups, don't get in our way." Dolores waved disdainfully.
Gold Tooth hesitated but ultimately stood his ground: "My lord, we specifically reported this to Steward Ramp, and he approved it. Changing it now would be... unreasonable."
To a war-worshiping goblin, these weak kobolds were worthless, not even qualified to be cannon fodder, let alone their intelligence indirectly causing him to lose dozens of worgs, which had earned him Ramp's repeated ridicule.
Thinking of this made the great goblin leader even angrier, his reddish-brown face now even redder. He kicked the kobold away and spat at it fiercely.
"Ramp, Ramp, Ramp again, just an ogre mage, what's the big deal!"
"If it weren't for the master knowing you, I would've already—"
Just as he was about to continue kicking, he noticed his shadow being covered by a large dark figure, and the kobold on the ground looked up with a hopeful expression.
"Would've done what?" The red dragon's tone was cold.
Dolores's face immediately changed by one hundred and eighty degrees, instantly wearing a flattering smile: "Master, you're back! I neglected to greet you at the door and wasted time here instead."
Gold Tooth, however, knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Master, you must stand up for us kobolds. Lord Dolores means well, but without our nest, how can we...?"
Dolores glared at him viciously and then put on a sycophantic smile: "You misunderstood. I was supervising the construction of the goblin camp, seeing these kobolds causing trouble, so—"
Cassius couldn't bear to watch this farce any longer and interrupted, "Enough. Dolores, give the kobolds some space, and stop stirring up trouble."
Gold Tooth was satisfied, continually offering flattering words until his lips were almost a blur.
"Great master, your mercy and justice are unparalleled, your might..."
"Go continue building your nest."
The red dragon didn't pay much attention to Gold Tooth and casually said to Dolores, "Gather those worgs cavalry. I want to see what caused such a heavy loss."
Dolores, hearing the red dragon mention the worgs cavalry, felt uneasy but noticed the dragon wasn't angry and sighed in relief, continuing to carry out the order.
With howls, several worgs carrying goblins emerged from the camp and kneeled before the red dragon.
The six goblins in front looked terrified, most of them injured, and one was even being carried by a worg, its body covered in scorched wounds and healing herbs, looking as though it wouldn't survive much longer.
Dolores gripped a whip and commanded sternly, "Tell the great master what happened."
"It was a terrifying monster," one goblin said.
"It ate everyone," another added.
"It, it was a shadow."
Like the kobolds' previous accounts, it described a monster that could devour everything, retained vague impressions of a large shadow in the dark mine, and suggested its immense size.
"No useful information at all?" the red dragon scolded.
Seeing the red dragon seemed angry, Dolores cracked his whip loudly, shouting, "Your cowardly retreat has shamed the master enough. Given this chance to redeem yourselves, can't you offer any useful information?"
The goblins, though fearful of the whip, knew nothing more. Even their feeble minds couldn't fabricate convincing lies.
Dolores looked up at the red dragon, changing his expression to one of servility: "Master, please trust me one more time. I will make these wastes useful. Next time, next time I will surely..."
Just as Cassius was feeling disappointed.
The goblin on the worg's back barely opened its eyes, laboriously speaking in broken words: "I, I saw lightning. It, it could use lightning, blue lightning."
The goblin's mind was clouded.
But clearly, the lightning had left a deep impression on it.
Lightning?
And blue lightning?
Could it be a blue dragon?
However, Cassius shook his head, blue dragons preferred deserts rather than dark mines, their proud nature didn't allow hiding in darkness.
Moreover, blue dragons were known for their territorial behavior, making it impossible for kobolds and humans smugglers to enter their territory.
"It seems I need to investigate personally," the red dragon thought.
Given the current circumstances, sending more retainers would just weaken his forces; even if wyverns were sent, they would likely suffer the same fate.
Cassius wouldn't let the gold mine slip through his fingers.