Chapter 547: The Continuation of Dragon Scales and the Blizzard Mercenary Corps

Rod didn't linger with Watching Yuna for long; once they were done, he sent her off to Coral Bay.

Perhaps it was the dark elves' innate artistic sensibility.

Miss Spider had quite a talent for city planning, and Rod intended to leave this side of things to her as well.

But after all, it was her first time.

Through Dimia's introduction, Rod learned of a lady named Ruby among the six-member committee of Shi Ying Town, who had once served on the planning division of a certain large city.

Perfect — he hired her on as a consultant for this matter.

Besides, the shortage of Tu Mu Fa mages needed for rebuilding Coral Bay was no small matter either.

Shi Ying Town had been expanding all along, but what it built were things like city walls and defensive works — the kind of work that called for fairly ordinary technical skill.

Houses and roads demanded a higher level of technical experience, and clearly the people they were recruiting weren't quite suited for it.

That batch of engineering mages who rebuilt New Lank Street had been pretty good.

Too bad, upon receiving the letter, they said they'd taken on a big job and couldn't wrap it up in three or four months.

No way around it — they'd just have to put an ad in the paper and look again.

"Good thing Jin Along has plenty to spare on that front."

Rod dressed neatly and headed out, still leaning on his cane.

The moment he stepped out, he saw Tally bouncing over to find him, transformed into a green-skinned orc.

An orc, she said.

But really, it was just her skin turning green and her muscle definition becoming a bit more pronounced — her features were still absurdly delicate.

Rod, feeling a faint twinge of guilt, quickly shut the door so she wouldn't smell what was inside.

The two chatted as they walked out.

They had just arrived at Henry Farm when they saw the leader of the Blizzard Mercenary Corps, the crocodilian Jeroen.

He was standing by the sheep pen, staring blankly at the plump sheep one by one.

Rod smiled.

He called out to the farm manager in the distance: "Send two sheep to Captain Jeroen's home."

"Understood, Mr. Rod!"

The farm manager was a newly recruited goblin auntie.

Introduced by the goblin merchant Pete.

Like the goblin guide Gemma from the trip to Jade City, this goblin was also one of Pete's relatives.

This side of the farm had originally been watched over by the spider-form elf Watching Yuna.

But she had to go work at Coral Bay for a while, so naturally someone else had to take over.

What?

Why not just let the ghoul Pan Ni handle it?

Forget it.

The farm had already started turning a profit, and on a fairly large scale — the sheep alone numbered close to 500.

Honestly, Pan Ni was a bit dim; letting her run things would probably end in a mess.

Better to keep her specialized as a combatant.

See?

In the Battle of Coral Bay, she'd shown off a pretty impressive ability to spawn troops.

The crocodilian Jeroen over there was startled awake by the shout.

Rather embarrassed: "That's too kind of you, Mr. Rod."

"It's nothing — without you and your men pitching in, we wouldn't have pulled it off so smoothly."

"Honestly, it's embarrassing — all we did was take down one badly wounded black dragon; we didn't do anything else."

He gave a wry smile.

His broad palm, covered in thick scales, held out a few spell pouches.

"These are the dragon materials my brothers and I have divided up — already sorted by body part."

"Oh-ho, much obliged."

Rod's eyes lit up, and he took them.

He immediately found the spell pouch containing the dragon scales.

【Target: Adult Black Dragon Scales (partially incomplete)】

【【Dragon Scale Art】 full absorption remaining: 19 hours 59 minutes】

【Target: Adult Red Dragon Scales (partially incomplete)】

【【Dragon Scale Art】 full absorption remaining: 24 hours (preparing)】

Absorb the black dragon's first, then the red dragon's.

It would take about two days to fully absorb them all.

【Dragon Scale Art】 was, for the most part, Rod's main reliance — its ultra-high defense let him take down enemies almost without a scratch.

As the caliber of his foes jumped once more, reaching the level of an Archduke of Hell.

He was full of anticipation for the next upgrade of Dragon Scale Art.

Once he finished absorbing, should he go kill a few more dragons?

In any case, 【Yulia's Blood Detonation】 came with built-in dragon's grievance, making him naturally dragon-magnet.

"No trouble at all — it's all part of the job."

The crocodilian Jeroen paused, cleared his throat.

"Mr. Rod is a generous man, and I, old Jeroen, can't act recklessly and smash my own reputation. In this dragon-slaying commission, our side really didn't contribute much, so the payment needs to be rediscussed. We've discussed it internally, and we'll probably only charge—"

Rod waved his hand, cutting him off.

"Money paid out, I never planned to take back. Since you didn't contribute much, let's do it another way."

"Mm, what does Mr. Rod mean?"

"Coral Bay is short on people, and even shorter on permanent garrison strength. Two years—your mercenary group stays here to guard for two years, and this matter is settled."

The crocodile-man Jeroen's eyes lit up.

The current continent, not to mention stable, can only be said to be a complete mess.

Not to mention the prevalence of Hell passages, the scope affected by war and rebellion is terrifying, and there are endless worshippers of other dimensions appearing; the slightest carelessness could get you drugged and sacrificed.

Why do they risk their lives as a mercenary group slaying dragons?

Isn't it just to find a stable, prosperous place and live a rich life!

As the edge of the Extreme West, the Twilight Hills clearly don't have much bad business. The worst thing was the descent of the Hell Archduke, and then he was beaten back by some outrageous Forest Ranger.

Why wouldn't I cling to this thigh?!

"Fine. But, I have one question." Jeroen's face turned solemn.

"Let's hear it."

"If our mercenary group's people want to run a business or buy a house in Coral Bay, is there an employee discount?"

Rod laughed: "After applying for a residence permit, 25% off."

"Boss, may you be well, healthy, and may all your wishes come true."

At this point.

The matter of the Blizzard Mercenary Group moving into Coral Bay was considered settled.

Watching the crocodile-man's departing back.

Rod looked at Tally beside him: "Tally, do you want to run some little business or something in Coral Bay?"

Tally smiled and hugged over, taking her master's broad palm and carefully kissing it: "This one's job is to handle master's lust, you know~~ Just being busy with this, this one already has to give it her all, no time left to run any business."

"You mean you want things to stay exactly the same? You know me, Tally, I like novelty."

The succubus's charming face froze, her soft lips pressed against her knuckles motionless.

"Then I'll open a sexy ready-to-wear shop with Little Saucy Deer Girl—my concepts plus her tailoring, it'll absolutely blow up!"

"Convince Little Ke to help you with these things first, then we'll talk."

Rod smiled.

He was just teasing her, didn't take it seriously.

Arriving at the Black Pine area of the forest.

That is, the northern end of Wind Wall Forest, an area of Coral Bay separated by a plain.

Also because it's at the end, the black pine trees here are spaced relatively far apart.

Rod saw from afar the elf Lady Kali, the tree spirit Vivian, and the Emerald Tree's 【Guardian Fairy】 Tammy, the three of them gathered around a pile of saplings.

Walking closer to listen.

He then realized they were picking new tree species to expand the forest.

The Young Lady elf spotted him.

Without a pleasant expression either, she said with a sour face: "Not dying fast enough? Not resting properly, coming here to wander."

(End of chapter)