"Hey, kid, what are you doing up here? Aren't you afraid I'll eat you?"
Austin poked his dragon head out from the entrance, putting on a fierce look at Nina. He then stretched his neck and picked her up into his mouth.
When that fearsome dragon head got close, Nina was visibly scared for a moment, but soon calmed down, allowing Austin to carry her into the Dragon's Nest.
As soon as she landed, Nina curiously looked around.
It was a massive cave about eight or nine meters high, with a smoothed-out ceiling and a floor covered with a layer of dry twigs. On top of the twigs was a layer of dry straw, forming a simple dragon nest.
Nina appeared somewhat disappointed because, in her imagination, a dragon's nest should be wealthy, with gold and silver everywhere, surrounded by sparkling clear crystals.
But this dragon nest before her was evidently quite poor.
"Hey, kid, what's that look in your eyes? Why are you here? Hurry up and speak, or else I'll change my mind and swallow you. Aren't you really afraid I'll eat you?"
Austin discontentedly snorted, baring his teeth and claws, grumbling.
"No, because Master Dragon is a kind dragon."
Nina said in a timid voice.
"Hahaha, a kind dragon. Kid, if you spread those words around, you'd probably get laughed to death by the next day!"
Austin burst into laughter. In this world, although dragons aren't considered great villains, they definitely aren't seen as kind. It's not uncommon for adult dragons to vent their displeasure by wiping out a human village for fun, especially for him, one of the Blue Dragons, deemed wicked among the Five-Colored Dragons.
"Tell me, where am I kind?"
Austin looked down mockingly at this anxious little kid.
"I, I..."
Nina stood there with folded hands, appearing uneasy, like a pupil who had done wrong before a teacher.
"Forget it, if there's nothing else, just get lost."
Seeing Nina's appearance reminded Austin of today's unpleasant memories. Those stupid kobolds acted the same way after making a mistake. For a moment, Austin lost interest in teasing this little kobold any further.
So he waved a paw at her, making a gesture to shoo her away.
"Well..."
Nina took a deep breath, brought out a small piece of cooked ash-grey rabbit meat wrapped in leaves, and handed it to Austin.
"Master Dragon, everyone disappointed you today. I'm here to apologize."
Nina looked at the small piece of meat in her hand, her eyes clearly filled with reluctance, but she had brought it out.
It must have been her portion of the food. To Austin, it might just be enough to stick between his teeth, but to her, it was the most precious food she valued, specifically saved.
Perhaps in her world, meat was the thing that could make people happy and forget their worries. As long as they ate meat, it would make Master Blue Dragon forget those unhappy things, and it would make everyone happy.
"This damn world..."
Thinking of the children from his previous life, spoiled by their parents and unaware of hardships, then looking at Nina, struggling for survival since birth and finally settling down amidst precarious winds and rains, Austin couldn't help but curse inwardly.
"Alright, I'm not angry at all, you can take it back."
Austin waved his paw, showing an indifferent attitude toward that small piece of meat.
"Then Master Dragon won't drive us away?"
Nina's eyes lit up, like stars, her tone filled with joy.
"Hmph, I've protected you all for over a month now. If I drive you away now, wouldn't I be at a huge loss? During these days, you've been eating my food and using my resources in my territory, don't think of leaving before I break even!"
Austin lifted his head, speaking with a lofty and proud tone.
"Thank you, Master Dragon!"
In her exhilaration, Nina tiptoed and planted a kiss on one of Austin's scales, then blushing furiously, she dashed away.
Though the cliff was steep, it was full of trees growing on its surface, with branches crossing each other. Austin, used to walking on it before learning to fly, had already paved a path.
Watching as Nina safely descended to the ground via that path formed by the intertwined tree branches, Austin also retracted his neck.
"Damn it! I'm a transmigrator from the Celestial Dynasty, a great scholar who has read through volumes of books, I refuse to believe I can't train these soldiers!"
Although frustrated over the day's training results, Austin forced himself to sleep.
Reflecting on the day's events, perhaps he was too aggressive initially. For this, he had already come up with a solution.
The next day, training continued.
But unlike the first day, the second day's training focused solely on building foundations, with only one training content: standing at attention.
From the lessons of the previous day, Austin deeply understood that one must learn to stand before learning to walk.
Standing at attention served both to straighten out the kobolds' lazy habits and to initially instill a sense of teamwork among them.
Austin didn't forget to provide incentives, such as reducing the day's harvest submission if they stood at attention for a few hours. With this condition introduced, the kobolds' training efficiency increased by more than fifty percent.
With incentives and pressure, this standing at attention was trained for a full three days.
After three days of training, the seven kobolds finally managed to stand with a semblance of murderous aura, though it was just for show, as they would fall apart the moment they moved.
The next step was to teach these foolish kobolds to recognize left and right.
This was extremely challenging for illiterate kobolds, who would forget it in an instant even after several repetitions. Despite all of Austin's intimidating and enticing efforts, it was to no avail.
In the end, the solution came from a humorous anecdote Austin recalled from his past life. During the revolutionary period, recruited farmer soldiers always confused left and right, until a general made them take off their left shoe, with the left foot barefoot and the right foot shod, allowing them to quickly grasp directions.
To deal with the kobolds, Austin employed this method, with a modification, by tying a vine around each kobold's left hand for training.
The third step was marching. With the foundation of the previous two steps, this step was much easier. After a few days of effort, the kobolds at last learned to march neatly, moving more like a squad of professional soldiers.
This adjustment proved remarkably effective, embedding the recognition of left and right into the kobolds' instincts within days.
The fourth step, the final one, was practicing with wooden spears, learning a few simple offensive and defensive maneuvers. Thanks to the previous foundational work, this military training was evidently more successful than before.
Quickly, the kobolds became proficient and practiced well.
In this manner, nearly a month passed swiftly.
In that wide forest clearing, the kobolds lined up in neat rows, gripping wooden spears, striking and retracting in unison, exuding an aura of disciplined bravery.
After nearly a month's effort, Austin's first troop was finally trained and formed.