Chapter 258: Great Joy

The camp where he was stationed was not far from Poitou, unlike the previous formation of the entire army. This time, George traveled light and simple, taking less than three hours to ride back into the city.

Of course, this was partly due to the excellent horse; this was not just a fine steed selected from thousands. After all, no matter how pure or excellent the bloodline of an ordinary warhorse was, it was still just a horse, an ordinary animal.

The horse was entirely red, like burning charcoal, without a single stray hair. From head to tail, it was ten feet long, and from hoof to top, it was eight feet high. When it neighed and roared, it looked as if it was soaring into the sky or diving into the sea.

Most importantly, fine scales were attached to the chest of this fine horse. This showed that he had an extraordinary bloodline—Dragonborn. The large, shiny striped or flake-like scales felt very smooth to the touch. Paired with its bright blue-green eyes, it perfectly matched the description of the large Merchant Guild that sold it—it belonged to the bloodline of a Red Copper Dragon.

This type of Dragon liked to play pranks, tell jokes, and ask riddles to test others. Charismatic, mischievous, and witty, the Red Copper Dragon was obviously the smartest and most interesting among Dragons—at least that was what they said.

Usually acting as strategists and thieves, Red Copper Dragons tended to become charismatic villains. Even the few Evil members of this race would show off their eloquence and sarcastic sense of humor.

This kind of colt was also called a Dragon Horse. They possessed the bloodline of a Giant Dragon. They were a special breed that completely surpassed ordinary warhorses in load-bearing capacity, stamina, sprinting ability, survival ability, and intelligence. They could bring a huge leap in the strength of cavalry units. Moreover, no matter how advanced the breeding and selection methods were, it was impossible to breed a mount even close to the quality of a Dragon Horse from ordinary warhorses.

The most important thing was that a Dragon Horse was not just physically much stronger than an ordinary warhorse. Even in temperament and personality, Dragon Horses were different from ordinary warhorses.

Even a well-trained fine horse would often show timidity and panic when facing ferocious beasts. Just like in the previous battle between the human cavalry and the Dark Elf lizard cavalry in the Kingdom of Lucia.

When the bloodthirsty and aggressive swift lizards saw ordinary horses, they would immediately show excitement and thirst as if they saw food. But the mounts on the human side were somewhat hesitant to move forward; even when running under their masters’ whips, they seemed restrained. The previous severe setback suffered by the Lucia cavalry regiment in battle despite having superior numbers was not unrelated to this.

However, if these Dragon Horses appeared on the battlefield, the Dark Elf cavalry would probably be surprised to find that their own mounts were not eager to try as before, but were even somewhat shrinking back. This was the instinctive fear of the weak for the strong, buried deep in the blood of creatures. On the contrary, those Dragon Horses would be as excited as if they had been stimulated.

Although they were still not as good as powerful mounts like the Wind-Rider or the Unicorn, such horses were the favorites of ordinary riders and even Knights. Because the former were rare and not so easy to control. Their brains, no less intelligent than ordinary people or even smarter, would sometimes make people confused about who was the master and who was the mount.

Somehow, this always reminded people of the jokes between Sorcerers and their Familiars.

Familiar: “Croak… Trash! You idiot, how dare you throw a Fireball like that~~~”

Sorcerer: “Yes, yes, you are right to teach me…”

Familiar: “Croak… Moron! Even I, a toad, can see that Balo is playing tricks, how could you just walk right into their trap…”

Sorcerer: “Yes, yes, you are right to teach me…”

This possible reversal of status was probably one of the reasons why many qualified Nobles hesitated to get one!

Relatively speaking, ordinary Dragon Horses did not have those limitations and were more compatible with ordinary people. It could be said that this creature was an important strategic material, just like the excellent warhorses before the crossing. However, for those large Merchant Guilds with strongholds all over the Continent, as long as the demand did not exceed 50 horses at a time, there was always a way to gather them within a year.

Of course, the price in this regard was definitely not cheap. The price of a 3rd to 5th generation female Dragon Horse was about 700 Gold Coins. Although 1st and 2nd generation Dragon Horses were powerful, some of them might encounter the same problems as other powerful Magical Beast mounts. If the bloodline was too pure, it was not necessarily a good thing sometimes. After the 6th generation, the strengthening of strength often appeared somewhat insufficient, so the price dropped directly to 500 Gold Coins.

Of course, castrated stallions were slightly cheaper in price. However, if one wanted a stallion capable of breeding, the difficulty was much greater. In fact, George had previously inquired about this matter with the Merchant Guild but never received a positive answer.

Later, according to the news obtained from the Thieves’ Guild, it seemed that only stallions after the 7th generation were available for sale. However, by that stage, the dragon blood in the stallion itself had become so thin that it was barely detectable. At most, it was used to slightly improve the quality of the herd.

With this road blocked, George was not without the idea of starting from the source of Dragon Horses, but although the difficulty in this regard could not be said to be unsolvable, it was quite difficult with the resources George could currently mobilize.

The creation of Dragon Horses was not necessarily always natural; such products could also appear after certain experiments by Mages. However, the result of how many generations of Dragon Vein effects could be achieved would depend on the raw materials invested, the ability of the Mage, and some accidental variables.

There were not only too many uncertain factors, but the related investment was also extremely huge. The most important thing was that biological modification technology was not something available on every street corner. There was no candidate in the Duchy of Nohan capable of performing this experiment, whether Mage or Druid, which forced George to dismiss this idea.

The other option was to start with the Giant Dragons, and the Red Copper Dragon bloodline like the one George sat on was a relatively easy choice to obtain. Dragons were naturally lustful; when they reached their mating season, they would not think about controlling themselves.

And often most of them lived alone without a suitable partner. Finding a similar kind was not an easy task. So in this situation, they usually chose to find other creatures to vent their desires.

This was a bit like the industrial workers working in other places; among them, those who could have their wives by their side were the minority. Of course, some of them might find it difficult to get a wife; after all, in that era when there were more men than women, finding a suitable partner was not an easy thing.

So various entertainment venues became their best choice; in their view, a transaction where money and goods were cleared was the best choice to solve the problem. Could this immoral behavior be entirely blamed on those workers? Of course not, this could only be said to be the price that must be paid for rapid industrialization, the sorrow of the times.

Along with those Giant Dragons solving their physiological problems, many Dragon Vein creatures on the Western Continent came into being this way. Of course, some Dragon Vein Sorcerers insisted that their ancestors were true love, but the truth was often only known to heaven.

The type of Dragon Vein was often closely related to the living habits of the Giant Dragons. Red Copper Dragons lived in temperate hills and mountains. As exceptionally swift and agile fliers, they liked terrain that allowed them to take advantage of their innate abilities.

They established their territories near Human settlements or borders. In fact, many Red Copper Dragons chose to live in Human cities. Most Red Copper Dragons did not have the ability to use Human form, so Red Copper Dragons living in cities either hid in deep Underground cities or basements beneath the streets, or obtained the understanding of local rulers, allowing them to live in remote Manors or royal palaces as “Nobles,” protectors, or advisors.

Red Copper Dragons that did not reach such agreements nested in abandoned buildings or ruins. Old Castles, Underground cities, or monasteries were ideal locations because such places had thick walls and were easy to defend and hard to attack. Nests that overlooked the surrounding countryside were particularly valued.

Such living environments provided quite convenient prerequisites for the appearance of Dragon Horses. If a Giant Dragon lived in a swamp or even the ocean, most of the Dragon Veins they left behind would belong to aquatic animals. Being close to Humans also facilitated interaction between the two parties.

In fact, the last time when threatening the life of that Green Dragon, it was definitely possible to demand its Dragon Vein offspring in exchange—if it had any. If no one mentioned these hybrids, the Giant Dragons would probably have forgotten them long ago during their long lifespans. However, the possibility of Green Dragons living in the forest having horse blood relatives within three generations was not high.

At the same time, Humans and other civilized races strongly attracted Red Copper Dragons. Red Copper Dragons treasured any kind of fine art, especially beautiful metalwork. Well-made jewelry would fascinate most Red Copper Dragons, igniting the greed in their hearts.

The greedier Red Copper Dragons would associate with robbers, thieves, and bandits. More than one Thieves’ Guild secretly accepted the domination of a Red Copper Dragon. Red Copper Dragons also had good relations with Fey Creatures—such as Yaoguang, Elves, Satyrs, and Centaurs. However, Red Copper Dragons did not like to associate with stupid or bloodthirsty monsters. They wanted to be surrounded by Retainer who could appreciate their wit and humor.

This made transactions between certain forces and Red Copper Dragons a possibility, although it could not be said to let the other party choose a horse as the object during the mating season. Such a proposal would seriously hurt the self-esteem of the Giant Dragon; if you did not want to take a mouthful of Dragon Breath, such words had better not be spoken.

But it was relatively easy to obtain the mistakes left by the other party when they were young through long-term interaction. George had always suspected the source of his little guy, or the source of its ancestor’s bloodline, was exactly this.

George, who had sent so many emotions towards his mount, handed its reins to the groom specifically responsible for feeding. However, the ambition in his heart to form a Dragon Horse unit had never changed; at the very least, the members of the City Guard had to be equipped with such mounts.

Walking into the City Hall with familiarity, the busy civil servants nodded to George one by one to say hello. Although George was always rushing, he still returned their greetings politely.

The sound of footsteps, thump thump thump, seemed quite hurried; on the stairs where there was no one, George obviously sped up. Because he hoped to know earlier why he was recalled to the Territory in such a hurry.

If there were not some incredible sudden event, Viscount Bolerum would not have made such a move. What exactly happened? George, who did not know the reason for a moment, always felt restless.

“Father, what is the reason that made you call me back in such a hurry?” George asked quite rudely just after pushing open the door of the room.

Viscount Bolerum seemed to have known that the other party would make such a move: “Because I am going to Karada soon. Moreover, there will be a very important matter in the Territory that needs someone to preside over immediately. Under this situation, I have to let you come back to take charge.”

“Going to Karada immediately? What exactly happened!” George immediately understood the urgency of the matter.

“To handle the settlement of those Dwarves and Gnomes. From now on, these nearly ten thousand people will be subjects of the Duchy of Nohan! Among them, at least 1000 will settle in the Bolerum Territory; you had better be mentally prepared for this, George.” The message revealed in Viscount Bolerum’s words stunned George.

“Could it be, could it be that the Dwarf Kingdom doesn’t need this batch of their compatriots? Just like that, just like that leaving them to us.” George asked in disbelief, while feeling a burst of ecstasy in his heart.

Viscount Bolerum shook his own: “Let them go back? George, how much do you know about the current Dwarf Kingdom, Danzo.”

Dwarves used to be purely Underground Kingdom residents a long time ago; the current Dwarf state is no longer the representative of the Underground Kingdom, which can be said to have started from an event more than a thousand years ago.

In the past, the Dwarves who called themselves the pioneers of the Underground Kingdom had a very bad relationship with the Half-Giants of Mandias. The main reason was that for Half-Giants, mountains were symbols of great divinity, yet Dwarves kept digging into the mountains. War ensued.

This war was just the beginning; the Half-Giants living on the Surface could do nothing about the Dwarves hiding Underground, and the Dwarves could not inflict substantial decisive damage on these Half-Giants either, finally leading to a stalemate that lasted nearly a hundred years.

However, the Dwarves finally suffered; a digging accident awakened an ancient Purple Worm dormant Underground. These messengers of Lamashtu, sealed by the gods deep Underground in ancient times, destroyed the Dwarves’ Underground Kingdom at an unimaginable speed. If the Dwarves had not figured out the operation of the ancient sealing spell in time to seal the Purple Worm 1000 meters Underground, preventing these Purple Worms from continuing to attack the Dwarves, the current Dwarf Kingdom would have long ceased to exist.

The Council of Elders, quite afraid of this matter, finally resolved that Dwarves would never dig downwards again, only maintaining the existing depth, and decided to start developing towards the Surface.

From then on, the Half-Giants and Dwarves spent more than two hundred years trying to understand each other. During this period, many bloody incidents occurred; now, the two sides have signed an eternal Contract, which is said to be inscribed on a drop-shaped purple meteorite fragment.

According to records in documents, the place where this meteorite is kept is quite secret; even the Council of Elders of the Dwarf Dynasty does not necessarily know the exact location.

After the Surface era officially began, the Dwarves built the first Surface city, which is Silver Pine City. Strictly speaking, this name was not given by the Dwarves, but by the Half-Giants at the time to help the Dwarves establish a home in what is now Mithril Valley.

The Half-Giant Druids moved the thousand-year-old silver pines growing in the upper area of Mandias to this valley, which calmed the eternal strong winds caused by the special terrain, making the Surface here habitable. Today, this Silver Pine still stands at the top of Silver Pine City.

The name of Mithril Valley is actually not related to the rare mineral Mithril. Mithril is a symbol of nobility for Dwarves, and its price is far higher than gold. Although it loses to Star Iron in hardness, its status in the hearts of Dwarves is absolute. As for Adamantine, that black color does not really fit the Dwarves’ aesthetic. And for Dwarves, Mithril Valley is the noble valley, hence the name Mithril Valley.

The subsequent Kingdom of Danzo developed slowly on this basis. Before this, most Surface Dwarves appeared as clan settlements or cities. There had never been a kingdom to rely on.

Just after George finished explaining what he knew, Viscount Bolerum asked again: “In that case, let me talk to you about the political system of Danzo…”

A republican system operated jointly by the King and the Council of Elders was an ancient tradition of this Dwarf Dynasty for a thousand years. Although the King was still the master of the country, the King needed to be responsible to the Council of Elders.

In substance, when discussion items were raised in the Council of Elders, the King would usually attend to confirm the meeting process and final resolution of the Council of Elders, and then announce government orders after reviewing the resolution document.

And the bills the King wanted to promote also needed to be announced in the Council of Elders before they could be implemented. Although the attribution of authority between the two was quite complex, simply put, as long as it was approved by the Council of Elders and the King, any government order could be implemented.

Such a government structure led to Dwarves being divided into two main factions in history. The struggle between the Pro-King faction and the Elder faction had not been less in this thousand years. History has also seen several bloody incidents proving that there were problems with the Dwarves’ government structure.

However, for Dwarves, changing this tradition of government structure had absolute difficulty.

Before Viscount Bolerum finished speaking, George keenly detected the problem: “You mean that the return of this batch of Dwarves might affect the existing political stability in the Kingdom of Danzo.”