Greem didn't say anything else, only responding with a smile and a nod.
An extremely untimely voice suddenly interrupted this moment of warmth.
"Alright, alright. Let's stop wasting time. Shouldn't we start considering how to split up the frost dragon?"
There was only one person among the crowd who could so boldly disrupt the atmosphere. That was the extraordinarily eager and thirsty Dragon Devourer Oliven.
Oliven circled again and again around the panting frost dragon splayed upon the ground with a bump on her head as if she couldn't wait to leap upon the dragon and start feasting.
The frost dragon had all her limbs dislocated and was bound with countless restraining runes. Despite her immobility, her eyes were wide open and was staring at this enemy of the dragons with hateful eyes.
"Indeed, we finally won this battle! It's time to split up the spoils." Greem turned his head and smiled. His crystal clear eyes fell upon Oliven, "Miss Oliven severely wounded the frost dragon during this battle and limited the dragon's mobility. Truly a great achievement."
A proud smile appeared on the half of Oliven's face that was not obscured by her veil when she heard Greem's praise.
However, Greem's words took a quick turn next.
"Given the exceptional contributions of Miss Oliven, she naturally has priority of choice over the frost dragon."
Oliven's eyes instantly lit up.
"Well then, Miss Oliven, please choose! Do you want the left half of the frost dragon or the right half? Do you want the upper half or the lower half?"
"Half?"
Oliven was instantly boggled. She used her hand and gestured right and left in the air over the frost dragon's body. She was completely confused for a moment.
"Miss Oliven, your contributions are huge, but it isn't large enough for you to claim an entire dragon for yourself. There were four Second Grades that participated in this battle. Your contribution is no more than one-fourth. Still, given all the effort you have put in, I can speak for the others and give you the priority of choice. Tell me, how do you want to cut this dragon up into four pieces? You can pick the first piece…" Greem smiled as he spoke.
Oliven's expression immediately soured!
Chapter 607
One-fourth of a dragon?
Dragon Devourers needed to completely devour an entire dragon to effectively improve and obtain the dragon's bloodline, physique, magic resistance, and soul.
Would the dragon still be whole if it were split into four pieces?
Oliven was extremely frustrated and upset right now.
Yet, when she tried to give the matter some serious thought, she couldn't find anything wrong with Greem's words.
It was only natural that she got a quarter of the dragon when all four of them had worked together to defeat the dragon, mainly when there wasn't much difference between their contributions and power in battle. Still, this was too far beyond the expectations she had been holding onto this whole time!
"You don't intend to give me a dragon leg or a dragon wing every time we slay a dragon, do you?" Oliven furiously squeezed this query out through her teeth. Two dangerous clusters of fire lit up in the depths of her jade green eyes.
"Of course not!" Greem was still smiling brilliantly, "From what I know, only dragons with whole bodies and souls can allow you to strengthen your powers. Why would I ever do something so mean to you?!"
"Then what's your plan?"
"There are only two options currently. One, I give you your spoils after every battle according to your contributions. However, this way you will only be able to get one-fourth of a dragon every time."
"Just talk about the second option."
"Two, you give up on your choice this time and accumulate your contributions. Then, the next time we successfully slay a dragon, you will be able to get an entire dragon; one-half of it at least!"
Oliven's face fell apart once more.
"You mean to say that I have to help you capture four dragons to obtain one complete dragon?"
"That's how the situation is! After all, we are only allies. I can't possibly give you advance payment just to please you when we are only engaged in such a temporary alliance of common interest. So…"
"So I've turned into your free labor and cheap assistant, answering to your every beck and call, all just for the sake of a damned dragon that I might get in the future." Oliven turned increasingly furious as she spoke. An unconcealable rage filled her jade green eyes.
Greem spread his palms and shrugged.
"If you had the ability to hunt a Second Grade dragon alone, you wouldn't need to be bound to me in this manner. Sadly, wind dragons run fast, fire dragons live too far, frost dragons are too annoying, water dragons aren't easy to find, lightning dragons can teleport; you really need to put in some effort if you want to catch them."
Oliven's anger quickly subsided when she heard Greem list out the terrifying aspects of the various pure-blooded dragons. Her eyes were filled with helplessness instead.
She might possess the title of dragon devourer and would always hold the advantage in a fight against a dragon of the same grade.
However, being able to defeat a dragon wasn't the same as being able to capture one!
The dragons might all have different attributes and different fighting styles, but they all had one commonality– that was, they all knew how to fly.
It didn't sound like much, but the ability of flight, when bestowed upon the dragons, was incredibly hard to deal with.
The dragons had robust Physique and Strength that they prided themselves over. They also had sharp fangs, lethal wings, and a long tail in close combat, while also simultaneously having Dragontongue magic and dragon breath for long ranged combat. All these factors already made them incredibly powerful and troublesome to deal with. Throw into the equation their ability to fly, and the dragons now also possessed the right to choose where and when they wanted to fight!
They could dive downward and engage in a ferocious fight if they could win the battle. If they couldn't win, then they could simply turn around, take to the skies, and leave.
What amongst ordinary magical creatures could deal with such a harsh and annoying piece of meat?
Oliven might be known as a dragon killer and possess the dragon-slaying abilities, but even she couldn't force the dragons to stay if they fled the moment they saw her.
That was the main reason why she had actively sought out Greem!
Greem knot only possessed tremendous power, but also the manpower required to realize his plans. Only someone like him could carry out a well-planned operation and trap a dragon lord in a situation with no escape.
That was why Oliven was no more than extra help and an extra layer of insurance for Greem when it came to slaying dragons. However, Greem was an irreplaceable and extremely significant factor for Oliven and her ambitions.
Their standing had never been equal from the very start!
Every time she remembered that she needed to help Greem defeat another three Second Grade dragons to obtain an entire dragon, Oliven felt herself getting frustrated again. She couldn't calm down.
Still, someone who could wander the multiverse alone was no angel either. Oliven rolled her eyes and immediately swapped out her expression with a smiling face.
"Sir Greem, could you truly bear seeing a lady get caught in such suffering?"
Oliven had changed her strategy. She instantly turned into a sad, mourning, and dejected lady, slinking toward Greem with graceful steps as she held her hands over her chest as if she was heartbroken.
In all honesty, there weren't too many people who could resist such seduction, especially when it was a beautiful lady with a dynamite figure who was trying to charm you. Still; this was a matter of a dragon, every one of which was worth over a million magical crystals. There was no room for negotiation even if God himself came down to speak.
Greem immediately betrayed a lewd expression. He extended an arm
and wrapped it around Oliven's soft and slender waist before bending down to her ear and whispering, "If Lady Oliven's willing to visit my adept's tower tonight, I can pass you my portion of the dragon. How about it? That's one-half of a dragon in total, you know."
Mary's cold snort came from not far away.
Oliven couldn't help but feel chills run down her spine when Greem placed his hand on her.
She couldn't wait to use her claws to add a few more holes in this wicked adept's body if it weren't for the alliance. Even though Oliven had been the one to attempt seduction, she was the first to fall apart when Greem responded with a perverted expression.
Oliven twisted her waist and quickly got herself out of Greem's grasp with her skills as an assassin. She walked away without looking back.
"Keep my portion of a dragon for me. However, you won't hear the end of it if even one gold coin is missing from my portion of the hoard." Having said that, Oliven quickly vanished from the scene.
The very next second, the tender flesh on Greem's waist was pinched and twisted by a pair of snow white hands.
Three times to the left and three times to the right. There wasn't much force in the pinch, but that intense pain still went straight to Greem's heart.
"You're not allowed to hook up with that girl!" Mary wickedly left this sentence behind and went without looking back, much as Oliven had. Her slender waist swayed like a willow in the wind as she walked. Every step tempted and plucked at Greem's heartstrings, causing lust to rise in him. He couldn't help but lick his lips.
He had been too engrossed in the organization of the Crimson Clan and the excavation of Lance over these past few days. It seemed to have been a long time since he last had some 'proper communication' with Mary. He had also unlocked a couple of interesting moves lately. He could probably consider letting loose for just a bit.
Sadly, before Greem could put the thoughts in his mind to action, a goblin engineer swiftly ran out of the flying ship while waving both of his hands. The goblin had a piece of note in his hand.
A guest has arrived. Return ASAP!
This was the brief message that Gazlowe had sent over via the communication device aboard the flying ship. It was vague and inconclusive, as if Gazlowe was intentionally leaving the matter a mystery.
It shouldn't be an enemy. Otherwise, the cowardly and fearful Gazlowe would take a much more urgent tone.
But a guest?
Greem was slightly surprised.
He didn't seem to have any acquaintances here in Lance. It couldn't be that some adept that had wandered here from the World of Adepts was visiting him, could it? No, wait. It seemed it was possible, probable even, that he had an acquaintance here in Lance.
A flash went off in Greem's mind. He had a vague idea of who the visitor was.
Good. It was about time to have a proper talk with him.
After hastily cleaning up the snowy mountain, Greem boarded the flying ship with all his subordinates. The vessel then slowly took to the skies and started on its way back to the metal fortress.
Lonepeak Snowmountain had to hold something special about it, given that Frost Dragon Aruntini had chosen it as her lair. Abandoning the mountain this way was a bit of a waste. Still, the Crimson Clan had to keep their fist held tight if they wanted to expand their forces in Lance while remaining hidden. They absolutely couldn't spread out their strength and have the enemy slowly snap each one of their fingers.
All the adepts retreated to the metal fortress after the battle to avoid any unfortunate incidents from happening. Yet, they couldn't easily forsake an excellent base like this either. Greem left one goblin engineer, two goblin technicians, five construction machines, and ten combat magical machines in the ice palace.
The task Greem gave them was to do a comprehensive and detailed survey of all the creatures, minerals, and plant resources within the frost dragon's territory, with Lonepeak Snowmountain as their temporary base. They were not to start any conflicts with the large-scale native tribes unless absolutely necessary. They were to do their best to figure out the distribution of resources within the frost dragon's territory.
The goblin engineer that acted as the temporary captain had to maintain long-distance communications with the metal fortress every three days to report their findings. The metal fortress would also send out resources, logistics, and reinforcements at important times using the flying ship.
Once everything had been arranged, the flying ship rose into the clouds and quickly flew toward the Stonetalon Mountains under cover of night. Due to the lack of special alloys, the engine room of the flying ship was still the old space furnace; the newest magic generator furnace hadn't been installed.
Greem had already exhausted a third of the Queyras alloy dug out of the ruins of the Steel Capital to construct a powerful magic generator furnace that could sustain the entire metal fortress. The remaining Queyras alloy could, at best, be used for three to five miniature magic generator furnaces.
However, the blueprints of the miniaturized magic generator furnace were still being calculated and optimized. They couldn't be used to sustain the explosive growth of the magical machine army in the short term.
Ordinary magical machines could get by with improved versions of the magic energy batteries. The ones that genuinely needed miniature magic generator furnaces were the elite magical machine warriors. The performance of the Goblin Shredder and the Goblin Bomberman during the battle of the Swamp of Sorrows were the most eye-catching of them all. They were also undergoing improvements and optimization.
Once the newest Second Grade magical machine warrior was completed, it could be paired with Tigule, who was known as the Goblin God of War. When that happened, it was very likely that another combat unit with Second Grade power would emerge within the Crimson Clan.
Chapter 608 Metal City
The one waiting at the gates of the metal fortress was indeed Greem's old friend– Thunder Dragon Arms.
It was evident that Arms had disguised his identity for this trip. Not only had he transformed into his human form, but he had also masked his appearance by covering himself with a long, thick robe.
Arms stood alone before the towering metallic walls of the metal fortress. He silently lifted his head and watched as a massive hundred-meter long metallic creation emerged from the distant horizon and rapidly arrived before his head.
The flying ship stopped for a quick moment above the metal fortress embedded within the mountain. The creaking sounds of gears rang out as an opening quickly appeared in the metal fortress that perfectly blended into the mountain.
The flying ship slowly sank into the fortress under Arms' surprised gaze.
From a distance, it looked as if the metal monster within the mountain had devoured the flying ship with a single bite. It was an intimidating and shocking sight.
The goblins had already moved past the steam power era. All of the energy consumed within the metal fortress came from the magic energy furnace. Without those large pots and steam engines of the past, there were none of those huge clouds of steam.
It was almost as if the metal monster had emptied the insides of this massive mountain. It had been turned into a base that was half mountain and half a metal fortress. Arms was speechless at the thickness of the metal wall that had replaced this half of the mountain.
More importantly, this metal wall seemed perfectly clean and smooth. Arms couldn't find any entrances or exits along the entire thing. That left Arms with no other choice to enter other than breaking down the wall.
A loud and reverberating dragon's roar rang out from the depths of the Stonetalon Mountains while Arms was still silently considering his options.
The calm and collected Arms instantly turned anxious upon hearing this roar.
"Lord Arms, welcome to my territory! Please."
Arms didn't know when, but Greem was already standing graciously in front of the metal wall. The metal gates before him slid to the sides, revealing a massive ent
rance five meters tall and ten meters wide. Two rows of tall and ferocious metal golems were lined up along the two sides of the opening. They numbered approximately three dozen.
Arms turned back for a fleeting look. He could see the black dot that had suddenly appeared on the distant horizon due to his excellent dragon eyesight. Even though the figure was over fifteen kilometers away from here, Arms could already vaguely sense the immense aura of fire elementium.
It was a fire dragon.
According to Arms' memory, there seemed only to be one fire dragon living near the Stonetalon Mountains and the Swamp of Sorrows. It was the powerful Fire Dragon Girl Philippa, who stayed in Doomsday Castle.
Dammit! That's a powerful Third Grade fire dragon. Moreover, she's a dragon with a nasty temperament that particularly likes fighting. Who would have expected these human adepts to make enemies with such a terrifying individual the moment they got here? Dammit, dammit, dammit!
Arms was furiously cursing to himself.
Even he, for a brief moment, didn't know if he was cursing the female fire dragon or Greem.
Arms didn't bother with any etiquette for Greem and quickly strode into this wondrous fortress forged entirely of metal. It seemed he didn't want to deal with that fire dragon either.
Arms was stunned by the sight in front of him the moment he entered!
How was this a fortress?! It was definitely a terrifying, wide, and fully functional metal city!
The silver-colored metal floor extended endlessly under his eyes, as towering metal warehouses and buildings filled both sides of the road. The intersecting and interconnected metal roads could reach any corner of this metal city, while the ones who walked upon them were fearsome magical machines trudging about with heavy steps.
As many as twenty security magical machines gathered at every traffic hub. Their appearance gave away the fact that they were composed of several magical machines of different models and functions. Some of them looked like spiders. Their disc-shaped metal bodies were filled with lots of strange, honeycomb compound-eyes.
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