Chapter 30: System Mission: Recruiting Troops and Horses
The tenth day after hatching.
After several days of noise, adaptation, and repeated adjustments, the three little ones finally got completely used to their respective nesting areas, and the entire Dragon Lair finally regained a rare sense of order, no longer at risk of being demolished at any moment like in the previous few days.
Kalendil spent his days near the lava pool on the east side, spitting fire at the lava pool whenever he had nothing better to do. With every opening and closing of his little mouth, the magma in the pool splashed everywhere, and he played with great delight.
These past few days, he had also self-taught a new skill—drawing pictures on the rock walls with flames, constantly scorching the stone walls all day long.
The piece he was most proud of, and spent the longest time on, was supposedly a draconic portrait of Livia, which he specifically carried over to her for appreciation.
Livia stared at the crooked pattern, which looked like a fiery cloud, for a long time. She really couldn't see how it resembled her at all, but she still managed to nod and offer a reluctant compliment.
Valerion, on the other hand, had completely rooted himself in the reinforced stone chamber on the west side. His daily routine consisted of only one thing—eating rocks.
The walls of the stone chamber were pitted and uneven from his gnawing, covered in deep and shallow tooth marks, with almost no intact surface left.
Livia worried that eating randomly might upset his stomach, so she successively tried various foods for him, including fresh meat, berries, and dried fish.
She finally discovered that this child preferred a type of black ore with a particularly high iron content.
Every time after eating it, his dull scales would brighten slightly, making him look much sturdier.
Aetheriel stayed on the high ground to the north, quietly practicing controlling his inherent power of lightning and fire every day.
The rock walls of the highland were covered with dense scorch marks from his electricity, and some rocks had even been fused into smooth glass by the high-temperature electric arcs, subtly gleaming under the light.
He was indeed making gradual progress, having learned to deliberately restrain his electrical output.
Although he would still occasionally leak electricity by accident, the frequency had plummeted from over forty times a day initially to only a dozen times a day, which was a considerable improvement.
Livia lay in the very center of the main hall, savoring this hard-earned tranquility.
Just as she closed her eyes, intending to rest properly, a line of system notification suddenly popped up, abruptly shattering her drowsiness.
[New Mission: Establish a Vassal Army]
[Mission Description: A true Dragon cannot be alone; subdue the local natives and build a territorial defense system.]
[Mission Reward: Territory Defense Formation Blueprint, Vassal Loyalty Display]
[Mission Time Limit: Three Months]
[Failure Penalty: None (But are you sure you want to miss out on a free blueprint?)]
Livia stared at the last sentence, which was slightly provocative, 'But are you sure you want to miss out on a free blueprint?', and remained silent for a full three seconds.
She silently judged in her mind: System, you are getting more punchable these days.
She closed the mission notification and instead clicked on the newly unlocked feature.
[Dragon Lair Perception]
[Description: Scan surrounding biological distribution with yourself as the center point; you can filter by species, quantity, and strength level.]
Livia casually tapped the activation button.
A faint, formless, and intangible wave slowly spread out from her body, penetrating the hard rock walls and the thick layers of soil, continuously expanding toward the surroundings of the volcano.
In just three seconds, a clear, semi-transparent, three-dimensional map directly appeared before her eyes.
All active creatures within thirty kilometers of the crater were marked as light spots of varying sizes, instantly visible.
She magnified the map and began to carefully filter them one by one.
The first thing that caught her eye was the location on the south side at the foot of the volcano.
[Kobold Tribe]
[Quantity: 47 (32 Adults, 15 Young)]
[Racial Traits: Skilled at mining, digging holes, and setting traps; low intelligence, easily tamed; possess natural reverence for Dragons.]
[Location Coordinates: Rocky Canyon, Southern Foothills of the Volcano, approximately 12 km away.]
She zoomed in on the light spot and could vaguely see the dots constantly moving: a few small dots were guarding near the cave entrance, likely acting as lookouts; more dots were gathered deep inside the cave, probably mining, transporting, or resting.
Livia stared at those dense little dots and fell into brief contemplation.
The history textbooks from her previous life mentioned that it took humans tens of thousands of years to domesticate dogs.
Now, she was expected to tame Kobolds directly?
...At least these things look a bit like dogs; it should be slightly easier than dealing with three little dragon whelps, right?
She continued scanning downward.
On the mountainside of the volcano, at the location of the eastern cliff, another cluster of light spots appeared.
[Fire Hawk Nest]
[Quantity: 12 (9 Adults, 3 Young)]
[Racial Traits: Skilled at flying, reconnaissance, and fire attacks; medium intelligence, trainable; possess territorial awareness toward Red Dragons.]
[Location Coordinates: Eastern Cliff of the Volcano, approximately 8 km away.]
She zoomed in on this area and could see several larger light spots circling around the nest, likely adult Fire Hawks out hunting; there were also a few unmoving small light spots in the nest, clearly young hawks or mother hawks incubating eggs.
Looking at these Fire Hawks, Livia instantly recalled the more than twenty Fire Hawks her sister Caesar had brought over back then.
They had all been wiped out in that massive sulfur explosion, not even a single intact feather remaining.
She hadn't expected that not long after, another nest would appear nearby.
...Should I incorporate them as aerial combat power just in case?
She didn't stop, continuing to scan deeper into the volcano.
Near the extremely deep lava river inside the volcano, three exceptionally bright orange-red light spots appeared.
[Fire Elementals]
[Quantity: 3]
[Racial Traits: Pure elemental creatures, skilled at transportation, combat, and survival in lava environments; extremely low intelligence, only capable of obeying simple commands.]
[Location Coordinates: Lava River deep inside the Volcano, approximately 5 km away.]
Livia magnified the view and could see three shapeless masses of flame tumbling in the magma, sometimes forming squat, stout humanoids, sometimes dispersing into a shower of sparks, playing freely in the high-temperature lava.
Pure elemental creatures, extremely low intelligence, only capable of obeying simple commands.
Livia automatically translated in her mind: Perfect tools—they don't fuss, don't demolish the lair, and can work and fight.
She stared at these three light spots, her eyes shining slightly.
Just as she was preparing to continue browsing, at the very bottom of the map, an exceptionally abrupt light spot captured all her attention.
That light spot was not the usual white, but a conspicuous red, and it was marked separately, distinguished from all other creatures.
[Unknown Creature]
[Quantity: 1]
[Racial Traits: Unable to identify]
[Strength Level: Unable to assess]
[Location Coordinates: Underground cavern on the north side of the volcano, approximately 18 km away.]
Livia stared intently at that still, silent red light spot for a very long time.
Unable to identify the species.
Unable to assess strength.
What in the world is this thing?
She frantically magnified the map, but the system could only display the general direction—the north side of the volcano, extremely deep underground, in a hidden cavern she had lived near for over twenty years but had never explored.
She had stayed in this volcano from birth until now, knowing every passage, every lava flow, every small cavity like the back of her hand, except for the deep underground area on the north side; she had never been there once.
What exactly was hidden there?
The red dot remained quietly in place, motionless, neither attacking nor moving, as if it were slumbering, or perhaps silently waiting for something.
Just then, the system prompt popped up again at an inconvenient time.
[Friendly Reminder: This creature poses no immediate threat to you. It is recommended to complete the Vassal Army mission and enhance territorial defenses before exploring.]
[Second Friendly Reminder: If you choose not to heed the advice, you bear the consequences.]
Livia remained expressionless for three seconds, directly closed the notification, and stood up.
Almost at the same moment she stood up, the three whelps poked their heads out of their respective nesting areas in unison, six eyes staring at her unblinkingly.
Kalendil was the first to speak, his voice clear: "Mother, where are you going?"
"Out."
"Where to?"
"Down the mountain."
"For what?"
"To recruit troops and horses."
Kalendil froze on the spot, tilting his little head: "What is recruiting troops and horses?"
Livia explained simply and directly: "It means finding younger brothers."
Kalendil's eyes lit up with a'swish,' and his tail wagged excitedly: "Can I go?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Too small."
Kalendil immediately drooped, shrinking his head back in disappointment.
Valerion slowly poked his head out next, still chewing on a piece of freshly gnawed ore, and asked vaguely: "Mother, can I go?"
Livia glanced at him and was merciless: "No."
"Oh."
Valerion didn't fuss at all, obediently shrinking back to continue chewing his stone.
Aetheriel was the last to poke his head out, his left eye flickering with tiny sparks and his right eye flashing with faint electric arcs. His gaze was clear and innocent as he softly asked: "Mother, when will you be back?"
Livia stared at him for three seconds, patiently replying: "At night."
"How long is night?"
"...When the sun sets."
"How long is it until the sun sets?"
Livia took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes: "When it gets dark."
Aetheriel thought seriously for a moment and continued to press: "When is it dark?"
Livia was finally stumped by the questions: "...Why are you asking so much?"
Aetheriel's gaze became even clearer, and his tone was incredibly sincere: "I want to know when Mother will return."
Livia's heart softened slightly. After a second of silence, she didn't explain further, simply turning and walking out: "I'll be back when it's dark."
Aetheriel's clear voice immediately came from behind her: "Mother, come back soon!"
Livia's steps paused slightly. She didn't look back or reply, continuing to walk into the passage toward the cave entrance.
Outside the cave, the sun was blazing high, and the scorching sunlight baked the volcanic rocks until they almost smoked.
She spread her Molten Gold wings, which had grown wider and stronger after her evolution, and soared into the air.
She flew over the churning, steaming crater, over the steep mountainside, over the low foothills, flying southward the entire way.
Behind her, the familiar volcano grew smaller and fainter in her vision.
But Livia knew very clearly that in that small cave, three little heads were obediently lying in their respective nesting areas, quietly waiting for her return.