An Evil Dragon would never surrender its wealth.
To Dragonkin who value wealth as much as life, not even the Dragon God can force them to offer up their riches, let alone a human noble—and a Viscount is hardly a high-ranking noble at that.
This applied to both Sorog and Samantha.
Upon receiving the news, their first instinct was to kill the Tax Collectors, skin them, and hang their bones along the Trade Route as a warning.
It was Garros who made them suppress their fury.
For Garros, ceding his own wealth was also painful, but not entirely impossible.
For the sake of better development and long-term stability, Garros was willing to pay a certain price, so he orchestrated the first negotiation with the Tax Collectors from behind the scenes.
Through this negotiation,
Garros faintly sensed that the noble lord behind the Tax Collectors didn't seem interested in long-term benefits.
For instance, the insistence on back-paying a year's worth of taxes and the refusal to budge on the three thousand gold coin minimum made Garros feel that the other party wanted to squeeze him for a massive sum.
However, it was also possible that the Tax Collectors had too little authority, and this negotiation was merely a probe.
To this end, Garros gave them a second chance, allowing the other side to send higher-ranking personnel for a more formal meeting, where the 'Lord' of the Molten Iron Clan would also make an appearance.
"Sorog, Samantha."
"Don't let emotion consume your reason and calm."
Garros's gaze was steady as he said, "This matter concerns our future development; it is no small thing. We must make decisions and respond calmly."
The Red-Iron Dragon's prestige gradually calmed the two of them down.
Samantha's tail lashed the ground as she said, "Three thousand gold coins? Why doesn't that greedy human just come and rob us directly?"
Her vertical pupils contracted dangerously as she said, "My stance remains unchanged. Kill all these insects who dare to offend and provoke us, and tear their Alchemy Golems to pieces."
Samantha lifted her head, sparks puffing from her nostrils.
"In the wilderness, might has always been right. What do human laws matter?!"
"Their deaths will be more persuasive than tax money."
Garros didn't speak, instead turning his gaze toward the Iron Dragon Sorog.
Sorog's iron claws scraped deep furrows into the ground as he said, "Human nobles understand nothing of respect or awe. They arrogantly believe all other races are monsters, even classifying us dragons as such."
"Hmph, if we compromise and pay taxes today, they'll demand we serve as mounts tomorrow!"
The Iron Dragon was more rational than Samantha, but when it came to wealth, this Evil Dragon with a pure Bloodline and Soul was unwilling to yield an inch.
"Kill the Tax Collectors first to let the humans know we aren't to be trifled with!"
The Iron Dragon and the Red Dragon were for once in agreement.
Garros spoke slowly, his low voice echoing in the rain.
"Directly starting a war is the most foolish choice. Have you considered that if we kill a Tax Collector today, the Lothern Federation's Knight Order might arrive tomorrow?"
He said, "The foundation we've built here over many years could be destroyed in an instant."
Pausing, Garros narrowed his eyes and changed his tone. "But if they insist on war, then give them war!"
At worst, it would be a mutual loss followed by relocation.
In truth, due to the Tax Collector's appearance and the Viscount's targeting, Garros already felt a deep sense of risk internally.
As things stood, their peaceful life had been shattered.
The Molten Iron Clan had been forced onto the stage.
And this was only the beginning. There would surely be more probes and prying eyes from all sides. If the existence of several dragons were accidentally exposed, what awaited them would be dangerous encirclement and crusades.
Compared to the wealth three dragons could bring,
the Molten Iron Clan's accumulation on the Trade Route over these years was nothing.
To human nobles, dragon hunting meant immense wealth and glory. Furthermore, there was no need to fear the background of an Evil Dragon. A Hybrid Dragon like Garros was even more precious and highly valuable.
Especially since the Viscount behind the Tax Collector seemed to be in desperate need of wealth.
In such a situation, if their identities as dragons were discovered, the consequences could be imagined.
Garros's thought was:
If the negotiations went smoothly, he would try to stay low and develop for a while longer, acquiring more growth resources during that time while waiting for an opportunity.
If negotiations failed,
he would flip the table. Before he was discovered, he would deny the human legions the chance to encircle them by striking first to deal a heavy blow to the noble who broke his peace, making him pay a bitter price, and then flee with everything of value.
In their long lives, dragons did not permanently inhabit a single territory.
Garros had little attachment to the land beneath his feet; when he decided to occupy the Scale-Earth Rift Road to seek growth resources, he had already anticipated this day.
"Next time they come for formal negotiations, we need to put forward a Lord to represent us."
Sweeping his gaze over the two Young Dragons, Garros said, "None of our existences can be exposed, or it will invite a crusade. Let Karu disguise himself as the Lord for the negotiations."
Sorog and Samantha had no objections.
They were no longer Young Dragons who knew nothing of the world; they knew the consequences of their identities as Evil Dragons being exposed.
At this moment, the Iron Dragon Sorog spoke from his heart about the current situation, whispering, "We should have a Metallic Dragon among us."
Ferrous Dragons and Metallic Dragons were not on good terms.
In fact, in ancient times, Ferrous Dragons also belonged to the Metallic Dragons, but they were exiled for some unknown, secret reason, splitting off to form the Ferrous Dragon race. Because of this, the relationship between Ferrous Dragons and Metallic Dragons was very complicated.
Despite this, Iron Dragon Sorog still said he wanted a Metallic Dragon ally.
On one hand, his dream was to build a dragon Empire, which included Metallic Dragons.
On the other hand, the status of Metallic Dragons as good dragons made things so much easier to handle. Many nobles even took pride in befriending Metallic Dragon allies, unlike Evil Dragons, who would face crusades from all sides the moment they showed their faces.
Samantha was blunt: "I hate Metallic Dragons. I don't want to live with one."
Garros narrowed his eyes and didn't speak, though he agreed with Sorog's idea in his heart.
The Iron Dragon was right; a group consisting entirely of Evil Dragons was too conspicuous and dangerous.
Although Garros was a Red-Iron hybrid and a natural Evil Dragon who also disliked Metallic Dragons, he could restrain his nature.
Judging rationally, Garros believed that if a Metallic Dragon ally could stand at the forefront, it could smooth over many unnecessary troubles. Moreover, while most Evil Dragons were perverse, Metallic Dragons were actually easier to get along with.
However, solitary Metallic Dragons were rare.
Garros thought back carefully and could only remember the Copper Dragon who loved riddles.
It had been more than ten years since their last meeting; that Copper Dragon should be over 25 years old now, reaching the Young Adult Stage.
"If I can see that Copper Dragon again,"
"I'll find a way to pull it in."
Garros thought to himself.
The presence of a Metallic Dragon could make those who wanted to crusade against him hesitate out of caution.
Thinking back now, Garros felt a bit of regret for being too heavy-handed before and not realizing this point. He swore that the next time he saw the Copper Dragon Deborah, he would never steal her things again but would instead treat her kindly.
Next,
Garros gave instructions to the Gluttony Demon Karu, telling Karu to disguise himself as the Lord of the Molten Iron Clan to represent him, and asked Samantha to forge a set of armor that could hide his dragonblood features.
Karu was big and burly, but he had a meticulous mind.
He was capable of this task.
Time passed day by day.
Soon, a week had gone by, and Viscount Ironthorn's people had not yet arrived.
However, the monsters of the Molten Iron Clan keenly noticed that the number of caravans traveling on the Scale-Earth Rift Road had decreased by nearly a third and was continuing to drop, which affected the Molten Iron Clan's trade.
They inquired with the merchants and learned that Viscount Ironthorn had raised the road tax of the Scale-Earth Rift Road to the maximum.
According to the trade laws established by the Federation, there was a cap on road taxes, but rarely was any road tax actually collected at the maximum limit. Now, with the road tax of the Scale-Earth Rift Road raised to the cap, many merchants were staying away.
To prevent tax evasion,
the Tax Collectors and The Fearless One Alchemy Golems were stationed directly at the entrance of the Scale-Earth Rift Road to personally collect from passing caravans.
Garros also learned of this.
Clearly, this was the Viscount demonstrating his power to apply pressure ahead of the upcoming negotiations.
He was telling the Molten Iron Clan that if they didn't pay the taxes, he had plenty of ways to deal with these primitive and crude beasts.
As for the Viscount himself, although his long-term interests would be affected, he was currently pursuing short-term gains. Furthermore, his industries weren't limited to the Scale-Earth Rift Road, so he didn't rely solely on it for money, giving him the confidence to act this way.
Additionally,
the casters of the various tribes also discovered some hidden Alchemical Items used for tracking among the recently traded goods.
Garros had foresight.
He had long ago established rules.
All goods traded from the Trade Route would not be transported to the territory immediately. Instead, they would be gathered and repeatedly checked by multiple casters to prevent accidents. Checks were even stricter for items needed by the dragons.
This foresight
prevented the location of the Molten Iron Clan's core territory from being directly exposed.
As for the source of the Tracking Items,
it was undoubtedly Viscount Ironthorn's handiwork.
Perhaps to apply further pressure or to prepare for failed negotiations, he wanted to obtain the coordinates of the Molten Iron Clan's territory first.
But he underestimated Garros's caution and wisdom.
To prevent the Viscount from using more Advanced, undetectable Tracking Items, Garros had his vassals pile all recently traded goods in the wilderness without bringing them to the territory, and then temporarily halted trade with the caravans.
Those Tracking Items hidden in the goods were scattered and thrown into the territories of powerful Vicious Beasts and monsters.
If any scouts followed the tracking signals, their subsequent experience would certainly not be pleasant; they wouldn't find the core territory and would instead be attacked by powerful Vicious Beasts and monsters.
Even before the formal negotiations had begun, an invisible clash was already underway.