"Cynthia! Jessica, these orc children are yours now." Muria placed several hundred furry orc infants in front of the two red-scaled dragons. "You two can split them."
"Muria, why did you bring orcs to Synapse? Last time, you brought back a group of undead, and at least they had some strength. But this time, you've brought orc children. What use are they besides consuming resources?"
Cynthia resisted the urge to crush the orc babies. If they were adult orcs, she wouldn't mind taking them in as slaves, but she had no interest in caring for a group of orc infants.
"You two are responsible for raising them. Of course, as a reward, when they grow up, they will fight for you." Muria spoke sternly. Among everyone in Synapse, only these chromatic dragons seemed suitable to raise these orcs.
Cynthia was a bit shocked by Muria's words. Orcs? She could easily find an orc tribe, and with a wave of her claw, many adult orcs would willingly follow her and fight for her.
Cynthia internally grumbled but wagged her tail at Muria's feet, putting on a pleading expression. "No, Muria, I don't want these burdens. Give them to another dragon. I don't want to raise them."
"This is an order. Whether you want to or not, you will raise them, and you must raise them well," Muria said sternly. Seeing the two dragons become dejected, his tone softened.
"These are pale orcs. Their potential is among the highest of all orc species, and they mature quickly. In about ten years, they'll be strong enough to fight. For you, that's just the blink of an eye, not long at all."
"Muria, where did you find these orcs? Weren't you out gathering intelligence? How did you end up bringing back so many orcs?"
"This is one of the results of my intelligence gathering." Muria cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed. He had come across numerous orc villages in the area he was exploring. These villages were all conducting rituals in extreme weather to select the strongest infants. Naturally, Muria couldn't just stand by and watch, so he intervened and brought back a group of babies.
"The area I explored was full of orcs and various extraordinary beasts, with nothing particularly noteworthy. So, I returned." Muria was puzzled, as he hadn't found any trace of humans in that area, which was surprising, given that humans could usually be found on every continent.
"A lot of orc villages?" Cynthia pondered, exchanging a glance with Jessica, who also had a look of eagerness in her eyes.
"By the way, Muria, how long until Synapse reaches the Roghagen subcontinent?" The two female red dragons became excited at the thought of the many orcs on the subcontinent they were about to reach.
"It will be a while, about two months." Muria replied. This time, Synapse's voyage across the ocean had been especially long, nearly ten years, almost eleven. The main reason was that they encountered an ocean kingdom ruled by Nagas.
The Naga Kingdom, ruling that part of the ocean, detected Synapse as it passed overhead. Naturally, the Nagas decided to target Synapse for plunder.
For certain reasons, Muria didn't reveal his identity and instead sent his legendary followers and giant army to fight the Naga Kingdom. This led to a six-year-long war, during which countless giants fell, but many also grew stronger. The Nagas' blood stained the ocean red.
Muria didn't rely on his Titan reputation, nor did he even make a move. His legendary followers and giant army alone managed to shatter the Naga Kingdom.
When Muria finally appeared on the battlefield and revealed his identity, the ruler of the Naga Kingdom, a six-armed Naga queen, immediately surrendered and offered her trident to him. From that moment on, Muria gained an ocean kingdom under his name.
After the Naga Kingdom's surrender, Muria established a portal connected to the Naga Kingdom's palace. Should there be any disturbances, Muria could quickly dispatch a legendary warrior to suppress or support them. But as long as Muria lived, these Nagas wouldn't dare to betray him.
…
"What are you planning? A rebellion?" Muria looked up at the council hall filled with chromatic dragons, along with a few curious metallic dragons who had come to watch.
"Muria, we're here to petition."
"Petition for what?" Muria raised an eyebrow, instinctively sensing that these dragons were up to something, so he didn't give them a warm reception.
"We want to have our own followers." Cynthia stepped forward, her loud and clear voice echoing through the grand and resplendent council hall. After much discussion, and fearing Muria might not agree, they had rallied their kin to join them in petitioning.
"We don't need you to support us. We just want Synapse to stay longer on the Roghagen subcontinent so we have enough time to conquer the orcs ourselves."
"I see." Muria's expression softened. This was a very normal request for dragons. Every dragon had a strong desire for control. Except for a few solitary dragons, most dragons would have their own followers. These followers typically appeared naturally as the dragons aged.
As apex predators, they didn't need to recruit followers actively. Just by sleeping, some monster clans would come to them voluntarily. However, the dragons on Synapse didn't have this privilege.
Currently, no dragon on Synapse had a proper army of followers. On Synapse, neither humans, giants, other monster clans, nor their fellow dragons would submit to them.
Even Cynthia, who nominally led all the chromatic dragons, had to consult the other dragons on many matters. She had no servants at her disposal. That's why she got so excited when she heard about a large group of orcs.
"You want to conquer orcs as your followers? I fully support that. Permission granted." Muria nodded. In the war with the Naga Kingdom, he realized that Synapse had no shortage of high-level forces but lacked a low-level unit, commonly known as cannon fodder, to wear down the enemy and reduce the loss of their elite forces. Orcs seemed like they could fill this role.
…
The Roghagen subcontinent, coastal area, Blackstone Village.
In this small orc village of only a few hundred, the adult orcs were preparing to hunt in the mountains for meat, as usual. The hunting party even included female orcs.
With limited resources, all the old, weak, sick, and disabled would be abandoned, all for the sake of survival. So, this small village consisted mainly of young orcs training in hunting skills, adult orcs, and a few elderly orcs with specialized knowledge. This was the basic structure of most orc villages.
At that moment, a crimson meteor suddenly fell from the sky, hurtling straight toward the orc village. The meteor's descent was so fast that it caused a loud explosion in the air, instantly drawing the attention of most orcs.
When the orcs realized the meteor was heading for their village, they immediately scattered in all directions. Even the dimmest orc wouldn't try to catch a falling meteor.
Boom!
The meteor struck the ground, and as the orcs watched in confusion and a bit of helplessness, the crimson meteor smashed into the largest house in the village, reducing it to nothing. Smoke and dust filled the air, but within the cloud of dust, a pair of blood-red dragon wings unfurled.
Roar! A loud dragon roar echoed from within the dust cloud. As the orcs stared in shock, a majestic and fearsome beast stepped out of the dust. She raised her head, her gaze full of arrogance as she looked down on them, her eyes filled with undisguised disdain.
"I am the red dragon Hannah Elbow. You filthy orcs, submit to me, and in return, I will give you better living conditions and relieve you from hunger."
Upon hearing the dragon's words, the orcs exchanged glances. Some orcs, who had been harboring bad thoughts upon seeing the dragon's still-developing form, immediately knelt down after hearing that she could provide food, abandoning all other thoughts.
"Boss Muria was right. As long as you promise food and shelter, subduing orcs is no difficult task." Seeing the orcs fall to their knees with just a few words, the young red dragon Hannah Elbow nodded in satisfaction.
Roar!
In the distance, another dragon's roar echoed faintly. Hannah Elbow looked up in that direction and saw several dragon shadows of different colors streaking across the sky.
"No, this is just one orc village. I need to hurry. It's not just me trying to subdue orcs."
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