Chapter 17 Wolf Riders and Manticores

The heavy wooden door of the Rock Fortress was pulled up by the ogre guards, and the noisy kobolds poured into the valley and were arranged in some dark and damp underground caves - the favorite habitat of these sensitive-skinned creatures.

Fortunately, the Giant Canyon is vast and can easily accommodate all these followers, otherwise if hundreds of ogres came in at once, the temporary manager Langpu would be overwhelmed again.

Cassius flew into the sky and looked down at these weak creatures.

[Based on your strength, you can see the following information]
[Kobold]

Small humanoid (kobold), lawful evil
AC: 12
Speed: 30 feet

Strength - 7
Agility - 15
Constitution——9
Intelligence - 8
Perception – 7
Charm - 8
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive perception 8 ft.

Languages: Common, Draconic

Proficiency: Construction +4, Traps +4, Digging +6, Stealth +6
Features: Sunlight sensitivity, cluster tactics

Action: Dagger, Sling
Challenge Rating: 1/8 (25 XP)

Comments: "Kobolds make up for their physical deficiencies with their talents in digging holes and making traps. With their weak bodies, they are nothing more than a piece of cake for predators, and because they are vulnerable to attack, they have to unite."

Challenge level 1/8. These might be the weakest monsters Cassius has ever encountered. The only value of having them as followers is as miners and engineers. If they are to be sent to the battlefield, they can only serve as cannon fodder.

But considering the gold and the information provided by the monster, the red dragon accepted it as his follower.

Because the ogres were too weak, the fact that the mysterious monster in the mine swallowed hundreds of ogres did not mean anything to him. He needed more detailed information and strength estimates.

But a monster that can grow larger than the current red dragon is probably not someone to be trifled with.

Thinking of this, he summoned Doro, the leader of the earth goblins.

With the support of the Burning Embers, this ambitious hobgoblin warlord ended his days of wandering around and avoiding human hunting. He now lived a very comfortable life. Maybe it was an illusion, but even his rough reddish-brown skin had become smoother.

As a result, coupled with the influence of his leader's aura, Duo Luo became more respectful to his master. His ugly red face was full of smiles: "My powerful master, what do you want me to do?"

"How's your wolf cavalry training going?"

The so-called wolf riders refer to goblin soldiers who ride wolves as mounts.

Goblins and wolves have a unique affinity and can make good partners, and wolf riders are the absolute elite in the goblin army.

The hobgoblin Doro once said during a hunt: "I would rather give up dozens of cannon fodder than save a wolf rider."

And it did so. During that hunt, it caused more than a dozen goblins to be trampled to death by mammoths, but saved a wolf rider who was knocked over.

"Very good, the wargs can't wait to taste the blood of their enemies."

Doro licked his lips, his eyes revealing his natural desire for war.

"Send a few scout teams to the mine the Kobolds mentioned to investigate the situation. Also, search for nearby forces. Once you find any intelligence, report back immediately. Don't incur too many losses."

"Do your will."

The earth goblin respectfully took his leave, turned over and rode on his wolf, picked up the whip and went to greet the wolf riders.

"After studying magic for so long, it's time to go sweep the surrounding area and upgrade my level." The Red Dragon thought to himself.

For some time before, Cassius had been concentrating on studying magic, working to master his own power, and even deliberately suppressed the acquisition of experience and the improvement of his level.

Although the player panel can easily improve strength, Cassius still wants to control his own power more stably and understand the operating structure of spells and the operating mechanism of the world.

He not only needs a strong body, but also a strong mentality, so as not to completely become a puppet of the so-called "system".

The red dragon flapped its wings and took off into the air.

On an unknown high cliff, two horrible-looking creatures were tearing pieces of meat. Their food—although it had been torn to pieces and its outline could no longer be seen, one could still tell from its smooth skin, five distinct fingers, and finely crafted clothes that it was a human, or at least a humanoid creature.

They are huge, about four meters long, with a lion's body and a pair of dragon wings.

The erect mane extends to its back, and the end of its slender tail is covered with bushy spikes. The most chilling thing is their head - they have smooth, hairless, human-like faces, which look particularly weird in this scene with mouths full of blood.

It is a manticore, a notorious monster that particularly likes human flesh and blood. Its appearance is often written into human fairy tales to scare children to sleep, but they are real.

They like to capture humans and bring them to their nests on high cliffs, where they will then slowly feast on them.

Only this time, there was a light mist on the cliff.

Then the fog became thicker and thicker, blinding all living things within it.

However, the Manticore, which often acts as a terrifying predator and was enjoying its meal, had no idea that danger was approaching.

A dark shadow passed through the thick fog, followed by a bright fire that was faintly visible in the fog.

"Fire Breath!"

The red dragon suddenly appeared from the thick fog with a blazing flame in its mouth. The breath directly submerged one of the scorpion-tailed lions, burning its fur and body. It could do nothing but wail.

It can only roll around in its nest.

However, the nest made of dead wood and hay also caught fire and was completely engulfed by the raging flames.

Upon seeing this, the other scorpion-tailed lion let out an eerie scream that sounded like human laughter, then flapped its wings, preparing to escape from the area shrouded in fog and flames.

But Cassius would not give it that chance.

"Instant: Cat's Swiftness"

With the enhanced attribute jokingly called the "Zoo Spell", the red dragon's huge body suddenly became much lighter.

He just flapped his wings lightly and flew through the air, instantly surpassing the scorpion-tailed lion that was trying to escape.

The red dragon showed no mercy. It stretched out its thick and sharp claws and pressed the flying scorpion-tailed lion directly against the rock wall of the cliff.

Suddenly, the entire rock wall shook violently, and broken rocks of all sizes rolled down.

The manticore made a faint sound and uttered a strange whimper, which was a plea for mercy.

"I, surrender."

Tears were actually flowing from that human-like face, revealing an expression begging for mercy, but this expression would be extremely strange in the eyes of any creature with normal aesthetic sense.

"Click"

The red dragon suddenly exerted force with both claws and broke the monster's spine without hesitation.

He loosened his claws, and the huge and ugly body fell naturally, with small pieces of gravel falling along with it.

All I could hear was a "bang" and the sound of gravel falling to the ground, followed by a faint sound of struggling, and then nothing else.

The red dragon stood on the top of the cliff, looking at the ground covered by clouds and mist: "In the future, we will have to occupy human cities and receive players. I need followers who can obey management and at least suppress their wildness."

"And the Chimera is enough for a scare troll, a chaotic evil idiot."

"Besides, this thing is so ugly."

As the smoke cleared, Cassius stared at the distorted face on the ground and couldn't help but complain.
(End of this chapter)