On the surface, within the territory of Baron Ackman.
A border town.
In front of the Lord’s Mansion.
A man wearing coarse linen clothes, with a slender build and carrying a wooden bow, was speaking in a low voice to a guard dressed in leather armor.
The guard’s expression changed constantly with the man’s words and finally he quickly ran into the Lord’s Mansion.
Before long, a man dressed in a sophisticated noble-style coat with a small mustache came out with several guards.
"Are you sure you discovered a cave inhabited by kobolds in the back mountain?"
The man with the small mustache asked gravely.
"Lord Baron! Absolutely! I entered the mountain to hunt a deer and inadvertently passed by the mountain, which, to be honest, I’ve passed by countless times before.
This time only! I actually heard strange roars from inside, which piqued my curiosity.
Upon careful investigation, I found an entrance to a cave under a huge rock leading into the mountain.
I followed the entrance and slowly went inside, only to be attacked.
A barrage of stones came crashing down on me, luckily I reacted quickly and dodged them. As I started to escape, the attackers tried to chase me, and I got a good look at them.
They were kobolds with candles on their heads! No mistake! Lord Baron!"
The man in linen said quietly, his expression full of excitement.
Kobolds.
A kind of short, ugly creature.
They mostly dwell in dark, damp underground environments or dense forests.
If encountered in the forest, no one would pay attention.
But finding kobolds within the mountain, now that’s different!
That signifies a mine!
Kobolds are a naturally servile race, and it is said that since their creation, they have always been the servants and retainers of some powerful creatures.
They have served powerful creatures for generations, which has taught them the exceptional skills of prospecting and mining.
These creatures either don’t enter the mountains at all, or if they do, there’s a significant chance it means it’s a mountain with a mine!
By the gods above! I might just hit it big!
The Baron with the small mustache shouted internally, but showed no emotion as he patted the hunter before him, whispering:
"Very well! If everything is true, I will give you a satisfying reward!"
"Thank you, Lord Baron!" The hunter rejoiced.
.................
In the dim cave.
A young red dragon, four meters in length with red scales covering its back and black scales only on its chest and belly, and a somewhat smaller young black dragon are enthusiastically eyeing a pile of bright white ore in front of them.
"Fiona! According to our agreement, I shall take away thirty percent of this!"
Little Black Dragon exclaimed excitedly, clawing the ore closer to itself one paw at a time.
"No problem, but Ed! You can only take what’s yours!" Xiao Female Dragon Fiona stared intently at Little Black Dragon.
After a moment, she slapped Little Black Dragon’s paw away with a swipe.
A piece of ore fell, making a strange sound as it hit the ground.
"Fiona! What are you doing?" Little Black Dragon glared displeasedly at Xiao Female Dragon.
"This is mine! Ed! You’ve already taken your 42 pieces of ore."
"This clearly should be mine! Fiona! There are 142 pieces in total, I take thirty percent! Naturally that’s 43 pieces!"
"Fool! Can’t you even do basic math? Is your Dragon’s Legacy incomplete? You only get 42 pieces!"
"No! It’s 43 pieces! You idiot!"
"It’s 42 pieces! Ed! Are you looking to get beaten?"
The two young dragons argued angrily, their necks stretched, their heads pressed against each other in a contest of strength, with Little Black Dragon Ed retreating under Fiona’s dominance.
"Fiona! That’s too much! If you keep this up, I’ll go wake up Land! We’ll have nothing left if he gets involved!" Little Black Dragon roared.
"Land! Land! Always Land! Ed! Stop using him to threaten me! I am Fiona! A mighty dragon with Red Dragon blood!
As long as I continue to grow, Land may not even be a match for me!
Just wait! When I surpass Land, all these treasures will belong to me!"
Xiao Female Dragon Fiona’s nostrils flared wide, angrily spewing two hot streams of air.
"Hmph! I look forward to that day!" Little Black Dragon said before quickly nabbing another piece of ore, a satisfied grin on its face.
Xiao Female Dragon did not stop him this time.
In this round, Little Black Dragon gained a slight edge.
"Giggle-lee-lee!"
A strange roar pulled the attention of the two young dragons away from the ore.
A kobold with a candle on its head came trotting over in front of the two young dragons, bowing repeatedly before babbling a series of strange sounds.
This was Draconic.
As a servile race for generations, kobolds naturally flatter powerful beings, especially the Five-Colored Dragons.
Passed down through generations, some of them knew Draconic, albeit just some simple phrases.
The two young dragons could roughly understand the meaning.
There were human intruders who discovered this place, but they were driven off.
Human intruders?
Just some trash chased away by kobolds, do they need to be concerned? Probably not, right?
The young dragons impatiently told the kobolds to scram and continue with what they were doing, then took the ore back to their chambers, rolling around on it.
Both had satisfied smiles on their faces.
Feeling an extreme sense of happiness and satisfaction.
Fiona’s thoughts drifted slightly, as if she was taken back to two years prior...
.............
When Land first fell asleep, the two young dragons exhaled heavily and spent a week safely in the earthen cave.
But soon, they began to feel bored.
However, it didn’t matter!
They could play Five-in-a-Row!
This was a game Land brought along from his past life to kill boredom and suppress berserker urges, diverting attention.
And it was quite beloved by the two young dragons.
The common human belief is that dragons enjoy sleeping and seldom feel loneliness.
But this is actually incorrect.
Such habits are those of adult dragons.
Dragon hatchlings, though possessing the Dragon’s Legacy, knowing many things from birth.
But after all, those weren’t personally experienced. They still had curiosity and innocence toward the world and were lively and exuberant, desiring to explore new things.
If they were on the surface, they could run freely in the woods, perhaps get lucky and find a beast, or climb trees to gaze into the distance.
They could also learn to fly, shrieking wildly.
But in the Underworld, Land strictly restricted them from running outside and yelling loudly. The daily food was monotonously soil, and only occasionally with good luck, could they find some meat added in.
This life was truly torturous for the dragon hatchlings.
Thus, Five-in-a-Row was invented.
And they played it for almost a year straight because of it.