Chapter 447 - 302: Unscrupulous Silver Dragon

"You must have remembered it wrong," Sivia retorted.

Levi and Baisitina exchanged a glance. Seeing that the two were about to clash, they quickly left the room, closing the door behind them.

Listening to the sounds of arguing from the room, the Lord clasped his hands behind his back. He looked at the Beastman children in the distance building a snowman that vaguely resembled him, shook his head, and lamented, "The world is going downhill. Even Dragon Hearts aren’t what they used to be!"

"Fight all you want, but if you break anything in High Cliff Castle, you’ll have to pay for it!" Sensing that things were about to get physical inside, he yelled out, then quickly made a run for it.

...

Because of this incident, Levi deliberately avoided Sophia for the next few days. He even postponed his trip to the Wind Speech Tribe.

A few days later, a rare sunny day arrived. Although the north wind still howled and the world was a blanket of white snow, the temperature was noticeably warmer.

Everyone in High Cliff Castle was eating in the mess hall. The Lord was eating his meal, but he felt ill at ease. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and looked up at Sophia beside him.

The Silver Dragon Maiden was staring intently at the ring on the Lord’s hand with her big eyes. Meanwhile, she was viciously tearing at a leg of lamb held in her hands, her expression ferocious.

"Do you have to be like this?" The Lord was exasperated. He had thought that if he avoided her for a few days, she would forget about it.

But alas, he had underestimated the persistence of this miser.

And then there was Sivia, that unscrupulous Silver Dragon. After promising to come back and deal with the Red Dragon Soul after a while, she had left that very day and disappeared, leaving him alone with this mess.

"I have a use for this ring. Tell you what, I’ll trade you this Magic Ring for it." Levi took off the Green Ring from his thumb.

He had been worn down completely by Sophia.

Anyone who got up in the middle of the night to relieve themselves would not be indifferent to finding a moving snowman squatting by their door.

That’s right. She had stood guard at his door all night, to the point that she was completely covered in a mound of white snow.

It was only because of a Giant Dragon’s powerful constitution. Any normal person would have frozen to death long ago.

"Really?!" Sophia’s eyes instantly lit up, and she asked excitedly.

She could feel the dense Magic Power contained within the ring, which meant it was also a Magic Item.

Levi couldn’t be bothered with her and tossed the ring over.

To be honest, this Magic Ring wasn’t very useful to him. The magic it contained could only inflict damage within a hundred paces; a single Holy Light Infusion of his was stronger than that.

He might as well give it to Sophia to stop her from haunting him like a persistent ghost.

Sophia took the ring and, overjoyed, immediately tossed it into her small pouch.

The ring was clearly made for a man; her fingers were too slender for it to fit securely.

Having received her compensation, her demeanor changed completely. Like a little kid who’d just been given candy, she immediately settled down and went back to eating her meal.

"Marquis." A short Rabbit People Guard came hopping in from outside, its fluffy tail twitching. "Lord Gus and Lord Hog have returned, and they have a lot of people with them."

"They’re finally here." Levi, who was just about to eat, had to stop again. "Let’s go take a look together."

...

High Cliff Castle was a castle built on a hill, but it was more like a small town than a castle.

The perimeter was a red wall eight or nine blades high. Inside were rows of orderly houses and clean, tidy roads. Even the ground was paved with red bricks, so there was no need to worry about mud.

Below the hill, along the banks of the Bengyong River, stood blast furnaces belching thick smoke. Surrounding these furnaces were countless rows of blacksmith shops, as well as crowded yet orderly residential houses.

This area was not only where High Cliff Castle’s weapons were forged, but it was also the designated residential area for its slaves.

A large group of people was now gathered here. They were sallow-faced and dressed in tattered cloth strips or animal skins. One could call them savages and no one would argue. They formed a stark contrast with the High Cliff Castle slaves around them, who were at least wrapped in thick clothes and had plump, healthy-looking faces.

Their gazes were a mixture of curiosity and fear, laced with deep envy.

This made the Kobold and Giant slaves puff out their chests with pride. Compared to the people before them, they were undoubtedly much more respectable.

"My Lord, these three are the Clan Leaders of the Split Claw Tribe, the River Valley Tribe, and the Shadow Stone Tribe, respectively."

Jos, who was stationed at the iron mine, had come along and was now introducing them to the master of High Cliff Castle.

These three Clan Leaders perfectly fit the Wilderness People’s standard for choosing a leader. They were exceptionally burly, standing a full two blades tall—a bit taller than the Lord himself—and looked like black bears.

These were all pure-blooded Northern Old People who had hidden away in the Kas Mountain Range at some unknown time and were only now revealing themselves to the world again.

But compared to the other two, they looked as ridiculous as little kids.

Zat and Orak were Beastmen as tall as three blades and as burly as Giant Beasts. Right now, like the two Heng and Ha Generals, they flanked the Lord, who was draped in a large cloak.

The two of them looked down on the three Clan Leaders with hooded eyes, their shadows enveloping them. Although they said nothing, the oppressive aura of two gods of slaughter was not something an ordinary person could withstand.

The three Clan Leaders were clearly not tough guys. They immediately bowed down low, their faces full of flattery.

"My Lord, in the Wilderness, you are like a soaring eagle surveying its domain. We are all your subjects, and it is only right that we are ruled by you." The first Clan Leader wrung every last word he could from his mind.

"We have long hoped to return to High Cliff Castle, but alas, you were away. Today, we can finally return to your rule." The second Clan Leader could only chime in, somewhat dejectedly.

"The Wilderness has finally welcomed its own sun!"

The last Clan Leader proclaimed excitedly, chanting in the tone of a Minstrel.

"Suck-ups," Zat muttered under his breath.

The other two Clan Leaders glared angrily at him.

"Ahem." Although the Lord tried his best to suppress it, the corners of his mouth kept turning up for some reason. "First, tell me why you want to join High Cliff Castle."

Although he could guess why these Northern Old People had come out of hiding, the Lord still wanted to hear their true thoughts from their own mouths.

The three Clan Leaders exchanged a look and ultimately chose to tell the truth.

Legend had it that this Lord of High Cliff Castle was a Bloody Demon King from the Abyss.

He wielded a Heavy Sword with infinite strength. With just a sweep of his gaze, even the strongest and bravest of Warriors would be banished to the grim and cold Hell World, never to be reincarnated.

Moreover, he possessed the ability to see into people’s hearts, and no scheme or plot could be hidden from him.

"My Lord, although the weather had already begun to grow colder in recent years, our tribes were still doing reasonably well. We had friction with rival tribes, but it was kept within certain limits."

"Until this year. It has snowed for almost the entire year. The heavy snow covered the mountains, draping them in a beautiful yet cold cloak. Our livestock froze to death, and our crops were frozen in the ground before they could even sprout."

"The prey hid in their caves and wouldn’t come out. Even the most valiant Warriors could only return empty-handed."

"The elderly froze to death. The women and children could only hide in their houses, relying on faint flames for warmth."

"If we stay in the Kas Mountain Range, we will only starve or freeze to death."

"We heard that you are a tolerant ruler to your subjects, and that you accept all Races. That is why we chose to come and join High Cliff Castle, to become your people."

"We will sow rye seeds in the spring and wait for the autumn harvest. We will store hay before the winter comes. And we will sing the Hymn of the Ice and Snow Goddess when the first snow falls."

"Please, you must take in this group of poor souls who have nowhere else to go."

The Clan Leaders tearfully recounted their tragic circumstances.

"We just want to survive."