1763 Touring The Inner Court
Grey stayed with the Dragons for a few more days as he awaited the arrival of his father. Over the past few days, he had accompanied the Dragons on multiple occasions. Today, he was traveling with them to meet up with another top Magical Beast. Although this beast isn't on the same level as Dragons in terms of bloodline, it was still very powerful.
When he asked the old man from the Vaergahl Family the reason for the Dragons' repeated visits to other Magical Beast's clans, he found out that they were pitching the idea of joining humans against the Gnomes. From this, Grey could tell that the Dragons had plans of joining them; they just didn't want to be the only Magical Beasts from the countless Magical Beasts clans. As long as they could find a few more Magical Beast's clans to join them, then humans had a good chance of escaping this calamity. However, if they failed to achieve this, there's a chance the Dragons wouldn't want to help since it'll be a losing battle in that scenario.
Today, the Dragons took him to meet with the Crow Clan. These Magical Beasts are quite unique. Although they weren't as powerful as Dragons, their high numbers, as well as their high sentience also made them very powerful allies. Most Magical Beasts don't develop their sentience as rapidly as Dragons and Phoenixes, hence the reason they're generally regarded as superior to other Magical Beasts. The strength of a Dragon's bloodline also shouldn't be devalued. The Vaergahl Family grew to fame thanks to being a family that is able to refine Dragon blood essence, using it to increase their own power. The fact that a Dragon's blood essence is enough to change one person's aptitude is enough to show just how precious these Magical Beasts were. Other than Dragons, Phoenixes also have the ability to achieve the same feat.
Crows might not be as precious as Phoenixes, but they weren't that far. Compared to Snakes and Lizards, which have diluted Dragon blood in them, Crows have their own special bloodlines and are mythical birds like the Phoenix, only less powerful and popular.
"Astarot, I know that you have a soft spot for humans. But not learning from the last time will only bring the downfall of your clan."
A large four-meter-tall Black and White Bird spoke to the Black Dragon while perched on a tree branch, staring into the eyes of Sir Astarot, who was standing in an open space.
"I'm not doing this for the sake of humans." Sir Astarot didn't get upset with the way the Crow spoke to him, "You should be aware of how things are with those Gnomes."
Crows, unlike Dragons, have constant relations with humans even with how these Crows carry themselves. They might not be willing to do anything that'll benefit only humans, but they do tend to do a lot of business with them since they know there are a few treasures they need humans to gain access to. The relationship between Crows and humans is purely based on mutual benefits, and as soon as the Crows find themselves in a position where they won't attain any benefit, they always withdraw from that position.
Take for instance, over the past few weeks, they've had fewer and fewer contacts with humans. It's not that they were afraid of them, but they didn't want to implicate themselves. The chances of being attacked by the Gnomes were very low, so they didn't have any plans of fighting them.
"The reason I'm keeping away is because I'm aware of how those things are." The Crow spoke coldly, snorting as he added, "They are just as evil as humans."
When the Crow made this statement, it didn't forget to glare at the old man from the Vaergahl Family, as well as Grey.
The Dragons didn't enjoy having too many people moving about in the Inner Court, so after settling the people from the Vaergahl Family, Sir Astarot had them remain in the cave, and only the old man who was the Family Head, as well as Grey was allowed to move around with him since he's representing his father.
"We all have our sad stories concerning humans." Sir Astarot said in a soft voice, before returning to his usual deep voice, "But that doesn't mean we'll fold our hands and watch those little things take over our world. As much as humans have a share in these lands, so do we. Leaving it for only humans to defend is not different from giving up our birthright."
Hearing Sir Astarot's words, the Crow didn't speak, rather, pausing to weigh the consequences of any decision he makes. Fighting the Gnomes is not something he hoped to do, nor would he willingly put the lives of its fellow clansmen in danger just for a few benefits.
"Astarot, as much as your words are convincing, I can't make a decision for the rest of my clan. It'll take a long time for us to discuss the matter to see if it's worth the risk or not." The Crow spoke after a few seconds of consideration. This was a serious matter, something that involved the overall lifestyle of the Crow clan.
In the Aurora Continent, this Black and White Crow is seen as a leader among the Crows, so its words carry a lot of weight in the Crow community.
The meeting went on for a few more minutes, and the end result was the same as the other meetings Grey had gone with Sir Astarot and the old man from the Vaergahl Family. None of the Magical Beast's clans they've visited agreed to join them. They were all aware of what was happening, but they believed since the Gnomes didn't find any trouble with them, there was no point in coming out to fight against them. Not only that, but they've already concluded that the only reason humans were this agitated was because they didn't have any hopes of winning. Knowing how humans usually operate, the Magical Beast's clans all felt they wouldn't need the help of Beasts if this was a fight they were even at least fifty percent certain of winning.
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