Chapter 36: A Silver Tongue
The interfafolded before Cassius.
[You have broken someone’s mental defenses with words, earning the achievement 【Silver Tongue】]
Achievement 【Silver Tongue】
“My tongue be a thorned rose or a poison-coated sword; it all depends on your choice—a quote from an unnamed devil of the underworld.”
New Passive Trait Acquired: 【Persuader】
Persuasion +6, Deception +4, and an additional spell 【Suggestion】
You are a rare persuader, wielding words as your stro asset. Your rhetori drive others to follow you to any end; your wiles disguise all crimes. Your words turn bto white and pluhe world into chaos.
【Suggestion】
2nd-level Entment Spell
You influence a creature within range by impnting a suggestion (your words must sound reasoo ence the desired a).
“Not a bad passive trait—it’ll e in handy in the right circumstances.”
That was Cassius’s evaluation.
Although it’s not particurly useful in bat, having more skills is never a bad thing. Sooner or ter, it’ll prove its worth, especially with a rare 2nd-level spell included.
The ret intrusion by the Eagle Guards had dealt signifit losses to the Ember , which was still in its infancy.
Acc to Langpu’s tally, two wyverns, seven ogres, eighty-six goblins, and y-five kobolds perished, with tless more injured. Even the chimera was severely wounded and temporarily uo fight.
This i had alerted Cassius.
Goblins and kobolds were expendable; he could quickly replenish their numbers. By year, there would be hundreds of new recruits, and he might eveo cull the popution a bit.
But the loss of wyverns, which were both powerful and slow to reproduce, stung Cassius.
Moreover, if he hadn’t returned in time, the losses could have been far worse.
This was not a good sign.
Cassius realized that the quality of the Ember ’s minions was beginning to g behind his rapidly growing power, which could lead to a dire situation:
Iure, after otle, his ir could be pletely wiped out by the enemy before he even had a ce to rest.
With this in mind, Cassius turned his gaze to the special ability oerface, “Bloodline Gift.”
【Bloodline Gift】
[You are a natural leader, capable of influeng creatures within your territory through your powerful aura. By perf a ritual with your own blood, you create bloodline-bound minions.]
[Ohe ritual is plete, they will be bound by your bloodline’s power, being your eternal vassals, along with their desdants.]
“Spending a bit of blood to create loyal and reliable subordinates seems like a fair trade.”
Cassius thought.
With that decision, Cassius let out a distant roar, summoning all his minions to gather in the valley’s clearing.
“Roar—”
This was the first major assembly for the Ember .
A summons from the red dragon himself—it seemed something signifit was about to happen, and each leader of the various groups took it very seriously.
Langpu lectured the ogres on discipline, Dolo donned his intimidatiher armold-Fang polished his scales, and even the wyverns growled in low tones, exging words of curiosity.
The entire Ember was abuzz, with only essential guards left at their posts while the rest poured out.
Over a thousand monsters of every kind filled the valley, crowding, bickering, and creating a cacophony—even goblins and kobolds cshed with each other.
Both numerous aively weak, goblins and kobolds were naturally at odds. The goblins believed they were the inal founders of the , while the kobolds felt they had a closer kinship to the dragon and regarded the goblins as mere on fodder.
“Move it, goblins!”
“This is our spot!”
“You came te, so go to the back!”
Some of the taller kobolds chattered defiantly, blog the front.
The goblins, eried to force their way through, and the kobolds surged forward in response.
“Step aside—you’re blog us!”
The goblins parted, and the t hobgoblin leader, Dolo, stepped forward.
Several burly bugbears fnked him, promptly kig the kobolds back several meters.
Despite the low status of on goblins, the hobgoblins and bugbears anded powerful respect as the military and stru overseers of the , a power even Gold-Fang, the kobold leader, dared not challenge.
The rebuffed kobolds slinked away, muttering quietly.
came the lizardfolk, leading their tribe.
They numbered just over fifty, rger than goblins and kobolds, about human-sized, resembling a cross between upright lizards and crocodiles. They bore crude wooden spears and carapace shields, showg their formidable strength.
However, as newers to the Ember , still g a stable foothold, they refrained from provoking any other tribes.
This was the Bg Lizardfolk tribe, who joined while the dragon was away in the depths.
They had previously dwelled in abandoned caverns, fleeing a camity caused by a Green-Footed Drake, and had been temporarily accepted by Langpu, who mahe ir in Cassius’s absehey had yet to receive the dragon’s formal approval.
The lizardfolk chieftain had yet to meet the red dragon in person, only having glimpsed his majesty in battle, which solidified their resolve to submit.
Their leader, Ack Longfang, bore the name for his dagger-like rge teeth.
Uypical lizardfolk, his massive, muscur frame stood over two meters tall. His head fin rose high, vibrant like a , signaling both strength and a tool for attrag mates.
He wielded a trident made of crocodile bohe symbol of leadership in his tribe.
Yet, Ack Longfa uneasy, unsure whether the mighty red dragon would accept him.
He g the elderly shaman beside him, Koda Bckscale, a bent, grizzled lizardfolk with cloudy eyes and a single bck scale on his chest.
“Koda, do you think we’ll find refuge here?”
The lizardfolk shaman did not respond, merely smiling knowingly auring behind them.
Several brawny lizardfolk were carrying heavy chests, guarded on all sides.
From the cracks in the chests, glints of gold shohrough—filled with assorted golden treasures, some looted from human caravans, others uhed from caves, representing years of wealth accumuted by the Bg tribe.
“You always t on a red dragon’s greed.”
The old shaman spoke softly, reg an a proverb.
