Weeks passed as I charted a sixty kilometer radius around my lair, it was a manageable distance and wasn't hard to keep track on whatever was happening inside said radius, with the current number of minions at my disposal thanks to the new arrivals, there was no problem with keeping some constant patrols while having the rest do other activities such as finalizing the excavations and starting expanding the entrance to the basement where I would eventually move my hoard at.

It was while relaxing on top of my hoard when I remembered that group of humans hunting goblins, reminding me about them, I honestly didn’t have much information about them, other that they were generally the weakest of the sapient races on average and thus generally not sought for or worried about, however it was not their physical prowess I wanted, I had kobolds for that, but their nimble hands, it would be hard to get better servants from here after all and I was lacking on options in terms of more…. thoughtful approach to problems rather than brute forcing them away.

However, where would I find goblins here? with the amount of kobolds in this area it was clear that any chance for goblins to move here was practically zero, however if they went through the frontier to the human realms then there should be a source of them relatively close by, probably a few days worth of travel by air if taking in to consideration those in the mountains probably traveled for weeks, perhaps exiles of some kind forced out for a reason or other.

Didn’t matter in reality but an interesting though nonetheless, flying a few hundred kilometers parallel to the frontier should give me enough distance to see any notable movement of them without losing track of my own location in the unlikely scenario of anything going wrong, the further away from the human lands the more likely I was to see more development in their part if the kobolds were of any sign.

Knowing I shouldn’t delay this endeavor for much longer I got some of the first kobolds that joined me willingly to keep track of events on the camp and ensure work was being done, with the increase of manpower and the way I acquired it meant that trusting them blindly was a fast way to undo my accomplishments, once I get goblins however, I could probably get them to make weapons for some of my minions with their superior craftsmanship compared to kobolds, it wouldn’t be much in reality due to the materials at hand, just spears that don’t break immediately after use and perhaps even shields, even though they would probably need external help to put it on and off, perhaps they would need to fully rely on their scales for the time being after all.

After that was done I took off heading north, some instinct telling me it would be colder meaning that kobolds would most likely be scarcer there due to their reptilian nature, at least that was the theory assuming they wanted to avoid the cold at all cost, however they wouldn’t be sapient if they couldn’t ignore their instincts, this though made me realize that unless I found unorganized tribes and villages whos chiefs fully relied on trust and charisma to keep it’s followers then I should expect some resistance and unlike kobolds who had absolutely no talent for any type of range combat goblins did, meaning I couldn’t just go in blindly without risking getting hit by spears and perhaps arrows, I doubted they would pierce my scales due to their lacking physique but that could not be said the same about my wing membranes.

Holes in the wings could completely ground me for weeks and perhaps months depending on the damage done, while I could attempt to fly higher to let the projectiles fall back down it would not be of any use as my flames wouldn’t be strong enough and would just dissipate and just give a very warm sensation to whoever had dared attack me.

Focusing on flight once more I turned to look the repeating scenery below, it was better than staring into nothingness, eventually I managed to glance through the trees canopies at a rather large figure roaming the woods below, it was definitely a quadruped but I couldn’t discern any more details, my curiosity about this thing and the boredom of long flights got the better of me as I descended to glide near it to get a better look, after all what risk could it poses to me if it couldn’t even reach me?

It appeared to be canine, similar enough to a wolf but besides being triple the size it had a brown fur similar to that of mud, suddenly it stopped and glanced around, then looked upward, did it see my shadow or heard the beating of my wings? it was definitely clever, more so than I expected, but what was it capable of? I got an answer to that very quickly as stones seemingly flew towards it and changed forms like a liquid becoming flat and being layered on top of it’s skin like some sort of armor, it stayed in place unmoving, the weight of the stones probably hindering it’s movements to a point that it was better to just not move at all and continued to look at me, possibly waiting for me to strike, something I was not inclined to do.

With my curiosity satisfied I went to gain more altitude before it learns to throw the stones and to continue my search, the encounter was insightful to say the least, it was not hard to guess that thing possessed magic and the ability to manipulate it outside its body, something exceedingly rare if my memory about such animals were right, they could also be incredibly dangerous even for me, this led to me thinking of what would a human mage be like? replacing ferocity and instinct with discipline and training would make them even more of a terrible force to reckon with.

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I should plan carefully for when I venture the frontier in search of valuables and more servants, perhaps I could even get them to come to me, lure them outside their yet to be wall without needing to worry about their armies chasing me down, but how I could do this is yet to cross my mind, but those are thoughts for later, for now I needed to focus on getting those goblins to serve me.

With the setting sun I continued on, not much of interest happens as the thick vegetation gave way to a drop into a large valley with even more ruins on it, old cities and towns, with how often they appear they got increasingly boring to look at as well but it was a good break from the stale greens that the constant vegetation gave, eventually the exhaustion of flying a whole day catched up to me my body saying it was time to land and get some rest, not giving much thought as to where thinking that no animal would dare get close to me else they want a quick death and if anything did try to do something my scales would offer adequate protection.

Getting to the ground I laid down on the soft grass and sleep came swiftly, eventually a new day dawned marked by annoying sunlight waking me up and signifying the start of the search once more, after this was done I would most likely spend an entire week resting on my hoard, I am not even sure if that is even an exaggeration.

Going to the skies with renewed energy I resigned myself given task and after more hours of monotonous flying I finally spotted something of interest, smoke coming from ruins, suddenly they become of interest again, choosing to descend and glide close to the ground to avoid being spotted or heard was the best option if I wanted to have the element of surprise for this, no need to alarm them of my presence yet.

Trying a different approach other than burning everything would be the best idea as having them join willingly would make my next plans a lot easier, hopefully I won’t have to turn it all in to ashes but as long as they know their place in the hierarchy then it should go smoothly, all I need to do is wait for an opportunity… or create one myself, this was an option I hadn’t gone over yet, using the magical beast would take too much time and effort, not counting how dangerous that thing can be and while it would be for the best to come up with something only involving myself I couldn’t remove the possibility of using it.

For anything to be done I would first need to know what I would be dealing with and at a safe distance away from their repurposed settlement I awaited for nightfall, content with observing whatever they were doing for now as the thought that this would take longer than I expected hit me, rejecting myself once more to be separated from my hoard for a longer period than than wanted I continued observing the town and its surrounding, moving from place to place to get a better picture in my head of what the extent of their roots looked like, buildings that went years without maintenance were hastily reinforced with logs, rocks and fiber, some building that presumably collapsed were completely cleared and built over with huts, occasionally I spotting them moving around doing what I presume were last minute things.

It was clear they settled here years ago, for how long I didn’t know but it wouldn’t make a difference as it would all be abandoned in the end, now for how I could actually get them to move out of their little settlement and to become more of my minion, an idea popped into my head, one used and tested, call out for some of them, just a roar and it was guaranteed to get the attention of them, let them search in hopes that their fears were just that, then reveal myself to a small group, let my might overtake their brain, draconic tales of old will flood through their minds, demand their worship for I am their lord, but as much as I wanted to do so, doing it would take time, weeks to months or even years to completely replace their old ways, time I would rather spend doing something other than converting mere goblins.

After all, this was just another step towards my never ending goals, but firstly I needed to secure my place in the region, thus goblins are required to start setting up a proper workshop not only for the capability to make weapons that can actually withstand a fight but also tools, sapients aren’t really known for how well equipped they are biologically speaking, sure kobolds may be brutal and efficient killers but there’s a reason they still prefer to make spears even if they aren’t as durable as their claws.

I continued to observe their settlement until daybreak committing its location and size to memory and I took to the skies before it got too bright going back south to think over what I would be going to do and what it will take, definitely using that magic beast, I will need to get rid of it sooner or later and the sooner that it is no longer a threat the better, as well as the bonus that the mana that flows through its veins will undoubtedly be a boost to my growth once I consume it.

Going back into the forest I attempted to go over my steps, a hard thing to do considering I flew most of the time, only really walking in my lair and surrounding area, thankfully the sleepless night wasn’t that bad, considering I didn’t spent that much energy flying, I could continue my way back thinking on how to bait the beast while feeling the sunlight and cool morning air on my scales, overall a relaxed pace considering the past few weeks, now with a clear mind I wondered where my brother and sisters went and what would they do, they were competition of course, there was just so many riches and influence one could claim but one’s kin must alway be respected, perhaps I would encounter them again or attempt to find them and keep track of them as it could be of great use for future opportunities, and if mother wasn’t dead she would most likely be soon, abandoning a hoard would be as painful as being at the gates of death itself, and there was little way there was a way to move it all in short periods of time even with hundreds of servants it would be impossible to move that quantity of treasure any meaningful distance before being caught.

This distracted me from worrying much about what I was about to try and do, magic is a powerful force to be reckoned with, rare and powerful, I wouldn’t face it head on, just attempt to push in to running into the valley and cause as much mayhem in it’s panicked state, if I manage to get it to panic in the first place of course, perhaps a nap would be good before trying something like this.