Alvis frowned, not expecting Raphael to suddenly intervene now.

"Connect, just don't say anything rash," he found a stool to sit on, covering his nose and mouth with his left hand as he awaited the outcome.

However, his constantly fidgeting right leg revealed his inner unease and prayers.

When Hil heard the word "master", he too fell into a strange state, repeatedly lowering his head and pacing around, his claws restlessly fidgeting as he didn't know where to put them.

As for Baron Komo, he went completely blank, standing motionless in the chair like a statue with an expression of impending doom.

The fear brought by Raphael had taken deep root in the heart of every person he affected.

Milmos infused his magic power into the communication orb. The orb's light rippled outwards like water, then a familiar draconic cry resounded through the room:

"Milmos, I want you to prepare ten large ships immediately. Travel upstream against the current of the Central River to the Dragon Domain—I believe your past experiences mean you know the way. Use the Firebird sigil to write Hil an order, and it will cooperate with you."

Then there was a brief silence, but the communication was not cut off, with the faint rustling sounds of dragon scales continuously transmitted.

"Don't choose any humans for the sailors, dwarves are more suitable. I've asked Enoquette to send Ceda wyverns to assist with sailing, they should arrive tonight. Have them set off in the morning, I'll wait here."

With that, a map appeared on the crystal orb, clearly marking the destination along with the words "Eastern Trade Dragon Valley" beside it.

Milmos quickly copied it down on paper, exchanged some pleasantries, and then Raphael closed the communication himself, leaving the room in silence.

"Lord Milmos, do you have written orders for this operation?" Hil was the first to react, having been assisting Alvis' plan all along but overlooking this crucial step.

"Don't you trust me?" Milmos had no choice but to put on an act, glaring at Hil threateningly.

After a moment of silence, Hil didn't pursue the issue further, for both he and Milmos were direct dragon kined offspring of Raphael, their loyalty unquestionable.

With this small disruption resolved, Alvis also came to his senses, rising to take the sheepskin map and examine it.

"What are you thinking?" Milmos asked.

"I'm thinking about how to help you get this done," Alvis estimated the distance and said, "When I previously traveled on a blood wyvern, I saw the harbor ships were in good condition, but the port itself was destroyed and hasn't been repaired yet, so to set sail we must first carry out repairs."

"The master wants dwarves on the ships, plus the Ceda wyrm, so our available manpower will be quite limited," said Milmos.

At that moment, a communication blood wyvern landed outside the window:

"Leaders, the designated humans have all been arrested now and are being brought over as we speak."

It thought for a moment then added, "Also, the populace is becoming somewhat restless and uneasy. With the loss of such immense control, they don't seem too happy about the new dwarven arrivals."

Milmos couldn't help but scoff, "Hmph! Now we may lose even these dwarves!"

"Continue to observe the situation in the city, notify us immediately if anything else happens!" Alvis ordered briskly.

"Yes sir!" The communication dragon flapped its wings and flew away.

Alvis then turned to Hil, "Great Leader, I'm considering this solely for the future development of this regime. Any overstepping on my part is truly unavoidable, but rest assured your master will not be disadvantaged when it comes to interests - we're all on the same path here."

"So please don't misunderstand, just follow my instructions."

Recalling how dedicated Alvis had been in helping Raphael cultivate his forces in the desert, Hil silently nodded.

"Good." Alvis felt relieved. As long as the leader of the strongest force in the city area was on his side, things wouldn't get out of hand.

Hil's dragon kined clan were the scarlet dragon's elite combat forces, not functionary clans bred solely for violence. Plus they were independently stationed, outside of Milmos' authority.

Utilizing his previous relationship and common goals to bring them on board was the most crucial step. Otherwise, the dwarves and city watch could never have caused a disturbance - at the first sign of unrest, Hil would have deployed his dragon kined to arrest and suppress the rioters, including even the battle-hardened Pozz hammer drakes capable of fighting young dragons.

"Once people start stirring up large-scale unrest, you know what to do," Alvis instructed again.

"It's within my duties," Hil shook his rat-like ears and turned slightly, not wanting to discuss further. He had clearly realized he was being used, but Alvis carried significant weight for him, so he could only accept it silently.

"Good, everyone follow me!"

With a sweeping gesture, Alvis strode out of the room, Milmos and Baron Komo following behind while Hil remained, unwilling to be too involved.

The dwarves had sent a few elderly, staid elders who, being in an inferior position, could only wait outside. Seeing the humans emerge, they hurriedly surrounded them, "How did it go? I saw those humans really did get arrested and brought over, I never expected that! Can we dwarves take over power now?"

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Although they had phrased it so nicely before, now that the enticing aroma of "actual authority" was right under their noses, it was impossible for them not to salivate and yearn to devour it as soon as possible.

"Heh, plans often don't keep up with changes," Milmos gave them a wry smile. Hearing this denial, the dwarven elders felt their hearts drop into an abyss, their faces turning ashen as resignation and resentment naturally surfaced.

"Ah, we didn't expect it… didn't expect…"

One of the elders mumbled these words of discontent to console himself as he began shuffling aimlessly down the hallway.

"Who says so! Come with me!"

Alvis' confidence only grew higher, showing no signs of faltering.

His assurance was infectious, leaving the dwarves and Milmos unsure of where his conviction came from as they followed him outside.

There, many of the arrested were gathered chatting. Seeing the door opened, they immediately looked over, only to see an unfamiliar man.

"Where's Baron Komo? Call him out!"

"How dare he openly collaborate with the dragon kins to usurp power! Did the regents approve this subversion?"

The noble scions and hangers-on began venting their resentment and rage.

That the city watch and dwarves - seen as lower-class lapdogs and tools - dared unite to detain them was outrageous insolence.

Were it not for the ugly monsters and sturdy hammer drakes tacitly approving this behind him, these people would have stormed in without hesitation. They would fight to their dying breaths rather than meekly surrender, for this violated the established order favoring them.

But the dragon kins' presence meant the true sovereign authority - the shadow of the crimson dragon - loomed over all, its will driving everything.

These noble factions' members were shrewd enough to know that in the Erl regime, all power came from the crimson dragon. No one else's obedience or defiance to the rules mattered - its will was irresistible here.

Yet after being detained outside this central building, they began having second thoughts upon discussion: There was no sheepskin emblazoned with the firebird sigil, no howling winds heralding the crimson dragon's arrival. The eerie calm revealed something amiss.

Logically, a dragon kin should be loftily announcing the crimson dragon's will in clumsy human tongue upon their gathering. Then they would begrudgingly but obediently accept being dismissed, leaving this mess for the crimson dragon itself.

But that process never occurred. Could schemers be plotting something?

"Do not panic, esteemed sirs, allow me to introduce myself - I am Alvis Deluca," Alvis smiled meaningfully. "I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other from now on."

"What Alvis! Call out Komo to confront us directly! Who gave his city watch permission to detain us?"

"Wait, the Deluca family is some imperial magic beast breeding giant from Natteris, aren't you?"

The clamor continued endlessly below until the sight of the grotesque beasts and steadfast hammer drakes made them reconsider storming in.

Then the dwarves and Baron Komo emerged together, eliciting an even greater uproar:

"Komo! You can't be seriously colluding with these filthy dwarves?"

"Your whole family is still in the estate cluster! How dare you directly move against us?"

Alvis gestured to a nearby kobold, "Make them be quiet."

Recognizing Leader Hil had granted authority, the kobold immediately unslung the dragonbreath artillery cannon on his back and aimed it at the humans.

This draconic magic technology lacked the sheer destructive power of uranium-fueled bowguns, but the stored dragonbreath ensured lethal force at short range.

Of course, the dragonbreath inside was not Raphael's - his domain's magic research had yet to reach that level. It was Augustus' corrosive dragonbreath, the original workshop destroyed by his loyalists after the black dragon's death to deny the invaders.

The humans immediately fell silent, realizing Komo did indeed have dragon kined backing.

Alvis continued, "I have long and deep ties with your regent Raphael, one of its earliest vassals. So you need not look at me with the arrogance of masters viewing lowly slaves. I assure you, if forced to choose between killing you or me, it would undoubtedly choose you."

"This temporary work stoppage is truly unavoidable, for I believe Erl's current power structure is unhealthy. Raphael monopolizes sovereignty yet lacks experience, placating through superficial obedience. You old noble factions, with your years of cultivating networks, resources, and granted administrative power have become a monstrosity - don't be afraid! I don't mean you are monstrosities, I mean the 'monopoly' is."

The disdainful expressions below showed his words made no impact.

Alvis smiled, "I know simple reason alone cannot change reality. One cannot wrestle meat from a beast's jaws without physical force. So I used some methods to bring certain like-minded allies together against you."

"Just resign yourselves to camping out here for a few days."

The crowd below scoffed derisively, "Hmph! In the end you have no written authority from the crimson dragon, do you? Fine! We'll freeload here a few days. Then we'll see if it returns to have you killed or us once it discovers this!"

These people engaged in actual work better grasped reality, knowing this was merely a laughable attempt at usurpation.

Simply put, since Raphael monopolized sovereignty, only its word mattered.

Milmos gritted his teeth as he approached, "The plan's blown, Alvis! My good captain! These people are too clever, even Hil knows anything requires the master's written orders! Your bluster is useless!"

Whether ignorant of the situation or simply deranged, Alvis remained overconfident.

"Is that so? I feel the plan is quite stable - this cooperative group won't cry, fuss or suicide, so things should proceed smoothly."

"But I must send the dwarves away! The master directly commanded it, I have to make it happen no matter what!" Milmos fretted. "This is completely beyond your plan. How will we control Erl now? How do we ensure production and construction proceed stably?"

That was the bottom line - no matter what, they could not let Raphael suffer losses, or all rationale became meaningless.

"That is a problem," Alvis admitted with rare difficulty. "But not an insurmountable one. There are around 2000 work teams here, each with only 3 technical supervisors during operations while the rest handle monitoring, attendance, and statistics. Only around 1300 have been detained when there should be 6000 total."

"Have the remainder concentrate and redistribute the workload evenly. A few days should be manageable."

"But you arrested all the district administrators, who will concentrate them?" Milmos raged.

"Baron Komo surely understands the internal management processes, just have him take charge."

"But where will we get the manpower from?"

"Which is why I said to have you summon dragon kins from Pillar Mountain."

Finally losing patience, Milmos asked one last question: "Very well, as you wish - invoke Komo and the dwarves, then leverage the stationed dragon kins' might to successfully seize power. Then what? You've indeed temporarily formed your personal dominion by cobbling together disparate factions. But the master will inevitably return, and this foundationless edifice will eventually collapse. What then?"

Alvis patted Milmos' smooth, tender scales. "So you admit being incapable of governing millions, your perspective too small and lowly. Just do as I say and you'll be richly rewarded regardless."

He mused, "Raphael's sudden order to send the dwarves away did exceed my expectations. But 'the military has no constant formation, water no constant shape.' This is an opportunity to seize the initiative."

"What do you mean?"

"It told you to write orders, did it not? Do you know how to make use of borrowed resources?"

Milmos, formerly a roaming surveyor charting dragon domains, shook his head in bewilderment.

"Make an excuse. For instance, to gather ten ships you need repairs, the harbor itself needs rebuilding…"

"Leave that to the dwarves and humans, they'll finish it overnight," Milmos interrupted.

"Of course, no problem…but you have discretion. What if you happen to lack certain materials, yet those old noble estates have them?"

"Then we'd have legitimate reason to enter! With the master's authority, they couldn't refuse. Perhaps we could even take the chance to eliminate them, like if they refuse to provide assistance!" Milmos' eyes glinted maliciously.