Udi followed Shiji with curiosity.
A moment later, the man and dragon arrived at the so-called Black Blood Tribe.
Dozens of kobolds, thin and less than a meter tall, wandered around more than a hundred meters from the tunnel entrance.
Some were carrying wood, others had baskets filled with stones, and some wielded stone sabers to carve up prey.
The entire Black Blood Tribe currently consisted of only five wooden huts, all encircled by a fence over two meters high, forming a simple gathering place. Among them, the wooden hut situated in the middle was the largest, standing four meters tall and occupying over two hundred square meters. The other four huts were quite small, only two meters tall with an area of a hundred square meters each.
Clearly, the former was the residence of Shiji, the Tribal Chief of the Black Blood Tribe, while the latter small huts were inhabited by ordinary kobolds under a meter tall.
A patrol team of kobolds wielding wooden spears to fend off beastly disturbances noticed them.
Upon seeing the mighty and strong Black Dragon behind Shiji, their expressions changed.
Not fear, but excitement!
A burst of puppy-like barking ensued, soon making the entire Black Blood Tribe lively.
Seeing this, Shiji immediately stepped forward, angrily shouting, "Everyone, shut your mouths, come gather and meet the great True Dragon Master!"
Shiji's prestige was high, and almost instantly, the barking throughout the tribe disappeared, and all kobolds dropped their work to quickly gather on the open space in front of the tribe.
Soon, the Black Blood Tribe members were all assembled.
Shiji turned around, respectfully saying to Udi, "Master, these are all the members of the Black Blood Tribe, a total of ninety-three, with fifty young and strong kobolds and forty-three female kobolds.
Udi glanced at these kobolds, whose expressions hid a fervent enthusiasm, and his previously folded Dragon Wings unfolded instantly. With a gentle flap, he rose into the air.
The shadow cast by the Dragon Body covered many kobolds.
Just by a simple action, without uttering a word, nearly a hundred kobolds were kneeling down, bowing and worshipping him.
Murmuring: Great True Dragon Master...your Dragon Wings can obscure the sky...the graceful Dragon Body is splendid and powerful...
Mostly simple words of praise and admiration for Udi's strength.
"Alright, everyone shut up," Udi spoke calmly.
All the kobolds below instantly fell silent, trembling, while kneeling.
"You are weak in body and lacking wisdom, originally you could only exist as the lowest tier within the Dark Forest, waiting for misfortune to befall you..." Udi paused.
Yet, being so admonished by the True Dragon, the kobolds showed no intention of retorting, instead nodding and wagging their tails humbly.
Every inch of their bodies seemed to be saying 'Yes, yes, right, right.'
Udi grinned, feeling as if he were speaking to a pile of stinking dog manure.
What he originally wanted to say was instantly aborted, turning instead into blunt, straightforward language,
"Alright, you crawlers, if you want to gain power like Shiji, then you must desperately work for me!
This dragon does not wish to accept a bunch of useless trash as servants!"
Udi landed heavily on the ground from mid-air, his Dragon Body weighing tens of tons caused the ground to tremble, and the kobolds nearby, their legs weakened, felt fear and excitement. Through this move, they more clearly and deeply felt the immense physical power of their True Dragon Master.
Worship value increased! Obedience increased!
After feeding a simple lecture and promises to a group of weaklings, Udi looked down at Shiji, slowly saying,
"In the future, my nest will be inside the valley at the Water Pool. Come find me if there is an urgent matter."
"Yes." Shiji responded respectfully.
Leaving these words, Udi spread his wings and left the Black Blood Tribe.
Behind him, Shiji below watched Udi's departing Dragon Shadow with a determined expression.
Thus, Udi settled down at the place named 'Black Blood Valley' by Shiji, at the edge of the Western Region within the Dark Forest.
.....
"Finally completed."
Udi looked at the curved underground tunnel he had dug out below the Water Pool, grinning contentedly.
The simplistic underwater Dragon Nest, seven meters high and occupying over five hundred square meters, was successfully developed.
This took Udi five days.
If it were a ground-based Dragon Nest, the kobolds from the Black Blood Tribe could have helped with digging and construction, but dozens of meters underwater...the weak kobolds were incapable.
So the effort of the Master Udi personally digging and constructing the Dragon Nest was inevitable.
The Dragon Nest, initially built, was empty.
However, Shiji contributed over a dozen Ancient Silver Coins, which he had found during hunting over half a year, in nests belonging to beasts and demons, which were probably the last remains left by mercenaries or hunters who came to sustain their lives in the Dark Forest.
Due to the scarcity of coins, and since Udi wanted to try something novel, he consumed them in one go.
After trying them, he found them tasted alright, but the quantity was too small to significantly benefit Udi's Dragon Body, offering almost negligible improvement.
According to Udi's estimation, if there were tens of thousands of silver coins used as a feast's ingredient, it might bring a considerable enhancement.
Unfortunately, tens of thousands of silver coins...the only quick way might be robbing human cities.
"Never mind, simplicity is simplicity, only strong personal strength is the most fundamental." Udi was not overly concerned about the lavishness of his Dragon Nest.
At least for now, while he is still weak, he isn't very concerned.
Whether as the current Evil Dragon or his former Human identity, Udi enjoyed wealth.
But he wouldn't, like those dragons influenced by instinct, amass treasures without utilizing them for improving his strength.
In Udi's view, that was somewhat foolish.
Of course, this was only Udi's perception as a dragon.
Giant Dragons hoard treasures for another reason as well. Being surrounded by 'treasures' can accelerate the growth of the Dragon Body.
Here, 'treasures' refer to items possessing Magic Metal, Magic Crystal, Magic Gemstone, Magic Equipment, among other treasures infused with Magic Elements.
A large quantity of pure magic-infused valuables gathered together will attract and concentrate surrounding elemental power, and the abundant elemental power will accelerate the growth speed of the Giant Dragon's body.
Thus, treasures are not only ornamental and collectible for Giant Dragons.
Udi was aware of this, but from his viewpoint, sacrificing treasures for enhancement in strength during moments of weakness to swiftly escape danger was more aligned with his growth philosophy.
Once he achieves great unmatched power, accumulating treasures wouldn't be a breeze?
Is it necessary to meticulously calculate the slight benefit of accelerated Dragon Body growth by hoarding vast treasures?
After settling down for half a month, Udi adapted to the entirely new environment around him.
He began preparing sufficient ingredients for the upcoming Banquet.
This time, without the offerings from Giant Demon Leader Gray and other three tribes, Udi had to rely on his own resources to stockpile ingredients.
As for the Black Blood Tribe?
Too weak, without Shiji, hunting some powerful beasts would result in the deaths of many kobolds.
Hence, Udi temporarily did not plan to let them participate in hunting, but rather in mining.
Although kobold combat power is weak, they excel at mineral searching and mining.
The kobolds of the Black Blood Tribe had discovered an iron ore mine within the valley a month ago.
However, it was inconvenient to mine, that plus the tribe's initial establishment, under-resourced manpower, it was temporarily placed aside.
However, after Udi settled down here, mining the iron ore was put on the agenda.
A Banquet is likely to utilize the iron ore as an ingredient.
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