Upon returning to the Golden Nest of Pillar Mountain, Hil had been waiting respectfully for some time.

"What's the situation?" Raphael didn't even look at him, burying his head as he played with a large pile of gold coins.

"He surrendered quite easily," Hil said.

"Oh? What did you tell him?" Raphael asked curiously.

"Alvis's weakness is his family. When I was with him before, I noticed he always wore a locket with a portrait of his whole family. So I used that as my approach."

"Upon investigation, there were no human younglings named Deluca at Erl University, so Alvis must have wanted to provide a better education for his offspring. I threatened him with the law and death to hand over his offspring, and he complied."

Hil calmly finished speaking, as if he had done something trivial.

He added, "Oh, and I told him this was all on your orders. He thought your vast wisdom saw through everything, so he offered almost no resistance. It was actually all my idea."

"That's how you did it?" Raphael seemed a bit surprised.

The previous night, he had called Hil over and told him about the situation and his goals, ordering him to find a way to make things favorable.

He had expected Hil to invoke his name and execute things forcefully. But instead, he solved the problem by finding a small entry point.

"Master, Alvis has agreed to provide insider noble human information daily. The channel is through the blood wyvern guarding him. When should they deliver it to you?"

Raphael pondered, "No rush, I think we should systematize this matter."

Hil said nothing more, quietly awaiting instruction.

Raphael shook out his wings, raising his head from the gold pile, his draconic pupils contracting deeply in thought.

After a long while, he asked first, "What other resources do you have at your disposal?"

Hil recounted, "Hmm…99% of the dragon kin have been redeployed by you to defend against human attacks on Pillar Mountain. I only have two hammer drakes, fifteen blood wyverns, thirty kobolds, and ten rat dragons I can call upon currently. Some are stationed with Alvis and Naisa, so very few are freely deployable."

After the partial war in the south ended previously, Raphael had recalled almost all dragon kin back to Pillar Mountain due to the relentless Ryton attacks day and night.

"I can't give you too many of the kin," Raphael estimated inwardly, believing he could not underestimate the humans by diverting defensive forces for infighting.

"But I can give you some authority—you've been mixed in human society for a while now, so you should be able to adapt well." His voice grew deeper, the dark gold in his pupils constantly flickering.

Hil immediately gave a straight-arm salute: "Master is supreme! I am the blood kin you personally transformed. Worldly power and personal strength are merely tools to serve you loyally. I would never be like Alvis!"

"Well said," Raphael remained unmoved by the impassioned oath, twisting his long neck down like a desire-seeing serpent.

"Hil, you're not a fool like Enokeitie, you have sufficient judgment and sense of responsibility. Nor are you like Milmos—who knows what's in his brain. In the past I've used you as a squad leader of enforcers, but you've proven your talent. I think I can grant you a position no less than Interior Minister."

The rat dragon remained calm, but a sense of being acknowledged and recognized began to flood his crimson eyes.

"As you wish!" Hil responded resolutely.

Raphael immediately raised his head, no longer looking at him, then issued cruel draconic words from on high:

"Go find Naisa and have him appoint you an official position aimed at legally investigating the thoughts, structures, and forms of the Erl commoners, while uncovering the human nobles' tricks up their sleeves. I will not stake everything on Alvis's secret report—he's disappointed me once before. And maintain your previous orders, I must control everything!"

"Yes, master." Hil nodded.

Then he wondered, "What about Erl's garrison? Since the war began, all our kinsmen have gone to the frontlines, leaving only human scouts maintaining order. Now they're almost the second garrison, and I believe some of the bowguns produced by the riverside alchemists have flowed into their ranks."

"Given their armed forces, I may face significant resistance without reinforcements."

"Find a way yourself," Raphael said impatiently. "In any case, I can't withdraw a single force as long as the humans don't retreat their troops. Pillar Mountain is my last foothold—you wouldn't want your master to be stuck living in the human districts, would you?"

"No."

Hil made no more requests.

"Oh, how about that other matter?" Raphael suddenly asked again.

"You mean finding suitable outsiders?"

Crimson dragon had previously instructed him to look out for certain outsiders—ones with strong growth potential, lack of social burdens, and sufficient intelligence.

"There are some, though I'm unsure what you want them for. If it's for administrative or espionage assistance, I could summon several suitable candidates to meet you directly."

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"No, I want them to become dragon kin," Raphael corrected darkly.

Hil seemed surprised. "You want to expand our dragon kin? But haven't the studies of sages of dragon shown that intelligent life exposed to dragon blood undergoes unpredictable changes? Milmos was just a special case."

"Not a widespread transformation, just a few individuals," Raphael flicked his tail, stirring up a wave of gold.

"But no need to rush. Take your time finding them, preferably ones unknown to the world who could disappear for years and return unrecognized. We have plenty of time."

Hil nodded. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. Crimson dragon reigns supreme!"

After giving a straight-arm salute, the rat dragon departed on a blood wyvern.

Just as Raphael was about to rest, a guard reported, "Master, Milmos requests an audience."

"Let him in," crimson dragon reluctantly unburied his body to sit upright.

Milmos hurriedly came forward, opening with complaints: "Master, there are too many affairs at Pillar Mountain now! I cannot handle it all alone!"

The drawbacks of dictatorial rule were now exposed. Most dragon kin lacked independent thinking abilities and only obeyed their superiors' orders.

The superiors in turn only obeyed their own superiors, making decisions at most on technical matters but deferring choices upwards to the highest level for handling.

The highest level was Raphael, but this lazy dragon could not be bothered, so Milmos had to process tens of thousands of tasks daily.

And he could not simply do things haphazardly. Every decision would be executed in reality, and the resulting outcomes had to be satisfactory, demanding immense time and effort. The matters were even interlinked, requiring careful balance.

"Master, I cannot bear it any longer!" Milmos cried out.

His eyeless sockets were covered in white filaments, his hunched body almost folded like a shrimp—clear signs his vigor had been utterly depleted.

"Please, call those two human ladies back! They were at least exposed to the operations for so long and could somewhat share the burden," Milmos pleaded bitterly.

However, Raphael rudely berated him: "You useless waste! Can't even handle a trifling matter!"

Milmos could not even inwardly complain, only lament his misfortune as he bent over sobbing.

"Those humans cannot possibly be called back, they have greater use," Raphael's tone softened slightly. "We're short on manpower everywhere. That Garry is the daughter of House Vattier—she's indispensable for a soft coup. And the human called Evelina cannot be separated from her; if one leaves, they must both go. You'll just have to bear with it."

"But…I fear I may truly collapse from exhaustion one day, leaving you without even an Interior Minister."

"You make a fair point…" Raphael had to consider it objectively—the workload at Pillar Mountain was indeed too much for one person.

"Then find yourself an assistant from the dragon kin. After all, that traitor Enokeitie is dead, and no former leader remains to bar you from promoting others."

"Very well, I'll try." With a sigh, Milmos departed.

Finally free of disturbances, Raphael could comfortably immerse himself in the golden pile to slumber after issuing his instructions.

...

Hil descended on a blood wyvern at the northern outskirts of Erl.

It was now mid-afternoon. Looking into the distance, Pillar Mountain was shrouded in dust and dark clouds, occasional loud booms ringing out as draconic silhouettes lingered on the horizon—magic and uranim residues polluting everything there.

But the closer one got to Erl's city center, the brighter the sky became. Large, fluffy white clouds floated lazily in the azure, vibrant autumn sunlight bathing this newborn land. Though some wisps of smoke rose from the riverside, they were quickly obscured by the open expanse, barely noticeable.

After observing the aerial view for a moment, Hil turned northward into the outskirts instead of heading for Naisa's palace.

Gradually, a large encampment appeared on the horizon—Heretic Wing mercenary company's station.

As Hil approached the camp's outskirts, the demi-human mercenaries were lazily sunbathing in the open grounds. Some napped in chairs while others gambled in small groups, shouting boisterously.

Hil walked in unnoticed, his appearance at first glance resembling a ratman, just darker red in color with a larger build.

"Strike low! Go for below!"

"You damn snakeman are too sly! How can you bind your opponent like that?"

Surrounding jeers and taunts came from the mercenaries sparring and skirmishing as onlookers crowded around, placing bets.

"Looks like Alvis merely oppressed this unruly lot through cruelty and harsh laws," Hil observed the band of demi-humans idly lounging about in altered military uniforms, realizing their ruffian nature had never been reformed—and likely never could be.

After the southern war ended, these demi-human soldiers had nothing to do.

Raphael could not possibly allow large armed outsider forces into Pillar Mountain, nor did he intend to command this lot through the human nobles and Alvis.

Meanwhile, with Shena semi-retired and Moran busy formulating economic plans, the two key liaisons were unavailable. The rest of the nobles simply did not recognize the mercenary leadership to negotiate.

Alvis too was mired in conflicts, lacking spare time to operate this power base.

Left unattended by all sides, the mercenaries were stationed here idly.

Hil strode briskly alone into the core camp, Zenny's black silhouette standing out prominently.

"Who's there?"

The black dragon had been napping when an unfamiliar scent caught her nose, alertly raising her head with a jerk.

The wooden door banged open as the wolfman Anubis suddenly burst out, gripping a military bowgun.

"Well now, I thought no one would notice until I entered that cabin," Hil dryly mocked. "At least there's some sentry around the core."

"Ah, it's you—crimson dragon's leader," Zenny recognized the rat dragon she had fought alongside before.

Then she sneered derisively, "Indeed? I thought perhaps a human cook or entertainment troupe had arrived. I didn't expect the 'noble' blood kin of dragonkind to deign to visit this filthy, chaotic camp."

The black dragon tossed her head, the purple mane covering half her face. "My apologies, milady was unaware the great rat graced us with his presence, so no seats or tea were prepared. You're welcome to leave."

Hil showed no reaction to her words, while the initially indignant Anubis seemed to lose some of his bluster.

Casually leaning the bowgun against the door, he forced an awkward smile and came forward.

"Dear dragon kin, you're Hil, correct? Leader Hil, Zenny meant no disrespect to crimson dragon. She witnessed your master's great power firsthand that night. Why, she even insisted on sharing Saphirette's bedroll out of fright, just like a little girl climbing into her parents' bed after a scary story…"

"You damn pup! I'll gut you!" An enraged draconic roar burst from Zenny.

But Anubis showed no fear despite their disparity in power and build, even tilting his head defiantly. "Female lizard, you were just like that!"

The wolfman and dragon traded insults back and forth, yet showed no intent to actually fight.

Hil interjected smoothly, "The grand leader and other three leaders seem quite deeply bonded, almost like family. "

No longer bickering over old history, Anubis turned with a smile and an invitation, "Why don't we take this inside for a proper discussion? Surely you didn't come out of boredom, you must bear an important burden. I'll do whatever I can to assist."

Hil nodded and entered the cabin while the black dragon Zenny scoffed rudely, "Damn glory-blinded mutt, I'll have to clean up his mess sooner or later!"

The blazing hearth inside instantly dispelled the chill from Hil's body.

He glanced around—this wooden cabin had a reasonable layout with bedroom, dining room and parlor arrayed in sequence. Yet there was no artistry to the sharp interior corners, clearly the purely functional design of a dwarf architect conditioned by draconic pragmatist doctrine.

In the parlor's center were three long sofas arranged around a willow coffee table, its surface stained with remnants of food and sauces, with shattered plates scattered on the thick monsterhide rug below.

Other two core members of Heretic Wing were present—the witch Saphirette sat atop the table emotionlessly licking a honeypot lid, while the black priest Paladin clutched his bishop's staff ensconced in a corner stool.