Chapter 185 - Black Dragoness

Alasha shouted in anger, "I said, all of you go back. This is an order."Although this woman was clearly shorter than most of the miners and had a comparatively delicate build, she possessed an extraordinary power of deterrence. All the miners hesitated for a moment and then, carrying their picks dejectedly, retreated to the entrance of Old Axe Village’s cavern, casting uneasy glances this way.

Alasha stepped onto the city wall and said, "I’m here now, can you release my people?"

The middle-aged woman was true to her word and let go.

The freed guards hurried to Alasha’s side.

Alasha waved her hand and said, "You go back first, I have something to discuss with this lady."

"Yes, ma’am, if there’s anything, just give me a call." The guard didn’t dare to look back and ran hurriedly to the crowd.

Not until the guard had walked away did Alasha furrow her brows and say, "I still don’t know how to address you, ma’am. How did you learn my name?"

"My identity is not important," the middle-aged woman said with the same expression, one of indifference tinged with a trace of condescension. "I have a transaction I want to discuss with you."

"I don’t make deals with strangers." Alasha, now unencumbered, rejected the proposition without hesitation.

"This deal is not with you, but with the notorious Black Dragoness Shanoba," the middle-aged woman said, her tone devoid of threat, but her words were full of intimidation.

At the mention of the name Black Dragoness Shanoba, Alasha’s gaze flickered as she said, "You want to do business with a notorious robber? Go find her; why come to me?"

"Madam Shanoba, your Alter Self might fool these foolish miners, but many are not so easily deceived, especially the War Mages. If you refuse to acknowledge it, in a few days it won’t be me coming for you, but the War Mages from Komeer. I believe they would be very interested in this information," the middle-aged woman remained expressionless.

"Who exactly are you?" Alasha’s eyes flickered, displaying the vertical pupils of a Giant Dragon. Her appearance remained the same, but her aura underwent a dramatic change, becoming aggressive and overpowering as if she were a predatory beast ready to pounce.

"As I said, my identity is not important," the middle-aged woman continued, showing no intention of revealing her identity. "No one would have thought that the same person behind Black Dragoness Shanoba, who has rampaged along the High Road for five years, is Alasha, the fiery-haired chief of Old Axe Village. Is it the Black Dragoness disguised as the fiery-haired, or Alasha posing as Shanoba?"

"Hmm, that doesn’t matter. It’s unrelated to the deal we’re discussing today," the middle-aged woman swiftly changed the subject. "It’s interesting that a Dragonborn, disguised as a human, is leading a group of humans in mining. What’s more amusing is that on the other side of the Rocklands, there’s a Half-Elf leading a tribe of Gnolls mining. Don’t you think this is the biggest joke of the year?"

Neither woman laughed; both were expressionless.

The bodies of the two women tensed like hunting cheetahs, as if they were ready to pounce on each other and tear out each other’s throats at any second.

"Madam Shanoba, I advise you not to do anything foolish. Whether you can defeat me is one thing, but do you really think you are the only one who knows this?" said the middle-aged woman. "As long as our deal is not made, regardless of whether I return or not, the message will be conveyed to Komeer..."

"You are from the Santarin Association," Alasha suddenly blurted out.

The middle-aged woman paused mid-sentence.

Alasha didn’t wait for a response and continued, "There’s no need to deny it. In the Rocklands, the only ones with the disgusting means and ability to discover my identity are from the Dark Intelligence Net. Speak, what kind of deal do you actually want to make?"

The middle-aged woman did not contradict her, tacitly confirming her identity. "If this matter is successful, it will be beneficial to both parties. I have just mentioned that there’s a Gnoll Tribe called Blackwell to the east of the Rocklands, led by a Half-Elf. Your task is to replace and become the new Leader of the Blackwell Tribe, which I believe should not be difficult for you." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

"And then what?" asked Alasha.

"You become the Leader of the Blackwell Tribe first, and only then can there be a ’then’. Before that, there’s no ’then’."

"When do we start?"

"Immediately, right now."

"Where?"

"One hundred kilometers east along the High Road, someone will be waiting for you there to show you the exact location. Looking down from the sky, you won’t mistake it."

"How can I be certain you’re not plotting against me?"

"If I had plans against you, would I need to go through all this trouble? I could simply reveal your identity to the War Mages and be done with it. But doing so would be of no benefit to me."

"May I ask why you are doing this?"

"I need a Leader for the Blackwell Tribe, someone who is willing to trade and cooperate. That Half-Elf is not the right candidate."

"Afterward, will you hand over the rule of the Blackwell Tribe to me?"

"As long as you are willing to trade with us in the future, you can rule the Blackwell Tribe."

"I hope you keep your promise... Awooo..."

The fiery-haired Alasha howled to the sky, and a pair of huge black dragon wings burst forth from her back, tearing through the miner’s garb. A slender dragon tail extended from her rear, its tip curved like a scorpion’s stinger, flashing with a deadly black radiance, unmistakably venomous.

Her body swelled rapidly, transforming into an immense creature. She crouched on the ground with her thick hind legs, her body covered in heavy scale armor, resembling a Giant Dragon but not quite one.

Because she had no forelegs, her arms were fused with the black dragon wings.

"What’s happening? How did Chief Alasha turn into such a monster?"

"It’s a Giant Dragon!"

"Idiots, a Giant Dragon has four claws, this one only has two. It’s a Wyvern!"

"A Wyvern is still a dragon, run, retreat to the caverns, and seal the entrance."

"But what about Chief Alasha?"

"Are you blind? She’s no longer Chief Alasha. That wyvern is what Chief Alasha has become; she’s the monster. Wait until she comes back to eat you!"

"If Chief Alasha wanted to harm us, would she have waited until now?"

"That seems to make sense."

"Could it be that external woman’s doing?"

"Possible, if that’s true, then the Alasha chieftain is in danger. Let’s go save the leader."

"Save with what? With the mining picks in our hands?"

The miners who were watching from the caverns of Old Axe Village were completely dumbstruck as they witnessed a wyvern suddenly appear atop the city walls. They were abuzz with discussion, utterly clueless as to what was happening.

There were those who wanted to retreat, but due to the consideration of face, they didn’t dare to act alone.

There were those who wanted to rush out, but they didn’t have the courage.

So they just stood there, frozen.

Shanoba, having completed her transformation, vigorously flapped her wings a couple of times. She thrust her powerful hind legs against the ground, soaring into the sky, her slender dragon tail swishing as the poisonous tail sting lanced towards the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman was caught off guard, having just reached an agreement, and it was too late for evasion. She met the incoming strike with her right hand.

Thud!

The venomous tail sting pierced right through the palm of the middle-aged woman, creating a large hole that was coated with black venom.

In Felen, wyverns are also known as flying dragons, and their venomous tail stings are infamous. Flying dragon venom can burn through the victim’s heart and arteries via the bloodstream, killing a creature within seconds.

However, the middle-aged woman, even after being poisoned by the flying dragon venom, didn’t change color, nor did she make any noticeable reaction.

The black venom on her palm flowed out with her blood, and then her hand healed at a visible rate.

Primordial Body!

Vajra Body!

This was a Martial Monk with more than eleven Professional Levels.

Martial Monks are precisely the bane of wyverns.

Their Vajra Body grants them a Supernatural Ability that renders them immune to all toxins, including flying dragon venom.

Once she confirmed this, Shanoba turned and left without hesitation.

The middle-aged woman called out indifferently from behind, "This kind of thing only gets one chance. If there’s a next time, don’t blame me for not being polite."

Shanoba seemed not to hear, continuing to fly away directly.

The middle-aged woman glanced at the miners of Old Axe Village in disarray, her eyebrows furrowing. She was not very satisfied with the current outcome.

If the Black Dragoness Shanoba had avoided transforming in front of these miners, they might still hold some value for control and to threaten the other party.

But judging from the other’s decisive attitude, the moment her identity was exposed, she chose to abandon this place.

This way, the Black Dragoness Shanoba had become a kite without a string, unpredictable in whether she would act as desired.

The only slightly comforting thing was that Shanoba’s direction of departure was eastward.

The anxious middle-aged woman took a deep look at the miners of Old Axe Village and then turned to follow the wyvern, ensuring that the other party translated intentions into action.

Shanoba did indeed fly eastward along the High Road as the middle-aged woman had hoped.

She encountered several merchant caravans along the way, some coming from the valley and others heading towards it.

Without exception, these caravans blew their warnings upon spotting the black shadow overhead, immediately retreating to their wagons, brandishing their crossbows, and one of the caravans even pulled back their wagon’s canvas to reveal a specially made high-shooting ballista cart.

The name of the Black Dragoness, especially along the Rocklands stretch of the High Road, wasn’t established through bragging but through very real killings; she had robbed dozens of caravans over the past few years.

Even Komeer’s War Mages were alarmed, specifically mobilizing a targeted task force to track and hunt her.

Under pressure, Shanoba gradually reduced the number of her robberies and instead sought new paths, eyeing the extremely pure iron ore produced by Old Axe Village, along with the ruby specialty, preparing to lead the remaining miners to make a fortune here. If she could mine enough gold coins here,

Shanoba believed that countless human miners would pour in to seek gold. Under her leadership, Old Axe Village would regain its former glory.

Having been operating here for close to a year, Old Axe Village was beginning to show signs of improvement with its yields gradually increasing.

The daily harvest, naturally, couldn’t compare to the amount of a single robbery, but was building steadily over time. Most importantly, the risks were relatively lower.

Shanoba hadn’t robbed for nearly half a year, focusing solely on growing and strengthening Old Axe Village. She aimed not only to become the largest iron mine in the Rocklands but also the strongest power in the area. At that point, Skull Rock Town would be the best target for annexation.

Her plan was cut short with the emergence of the Blackwell Tribe.

Shanoba was not hearing this name for the first time.

In fact, she had frequently heard this name mentioned in recent times, especially in the past half a month.

Now, the name made her teeth itch with hatred.

Because the number of caravans coming to Old Axe Village to transport iron ore had been dwindling, only those from the Goblin Margins with spare capacity would stop to supplement some iron ore here.

In the last half month, even those who came to supplement iron ore had decreased.

The reputation of the Blackwell Tribe had spread among the merchant caravans.

Those who regularly traveled this route now all knew that,

in the Rocklands, less than thirty kilometers from Tivandun, there appeared a Gnoll tribe ruled by a Half-Elf, which was dealing iron ore on a large scale.