Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 144 - 143 Fire Melt Salamander

Chapter 144: Chapter 143 Fire Melt Salamander

Since the Efreeti took nearly a year to transform the Steam Lake into the Molten Lava Lake, awakening a dormant volcano should not be easier than the former. Leon originally thought it would take a year or two, but unexpectedly it would only take a few days or a month, which made him overjoyed.

He cannot be blamed for his ignorance; his body did not inherit practical knowledge from his parents, only a soul from another world—a soul that belonged to a student of the sciences, who did not study geography too well... Heaven knows why geography is considered part of the humanities.

How could he know the origin of the Steam Lake, what geothermal heat and hot springs are? A dormant volcano is merely not erupting; its magma chamber is no longer active, but still maintains a certain temperature and pressure, waiting for a trigger to erupt.

"What else?" Leon asked, "Apart from the time consumed, are there any magic materials needed?"

The components of a spell are material conditions that must be met when casting that spell. It might be words, gestures, or materials. Only when all the components required by a spell are fulfilled, can the spell be cast.

Words and gestures are easy, but for high-level spells that require refined gold worth hundreds of Gold Coins or diamonds worth thousands of Gold Coins, these are the most troublesome.

"Others may need them, but I don’t because I am the Lord of Blazing Flames." The Efreeti said boastfully, "Your lordship only needs to protect me during the ritual."

"Awakening a dormant volcano will definitely cause a great commotion," the Efreeti continued. "I’m not worried about ordinary adventurers, but I do worry about the high-level adventurers, as well as the bronze dragons, or even Marids."

Between life and death there is great terror; Leon also fears death, and he fully understood the Efreeti, laughing: "Rest assured, as long as I am here, no one can harm you. Unless a Mature Bronze Dragon comes along... even Mature Bronze Dragons are no match, it would take at least an Elder Bronze Dragon to be a threat to me."

As he moved into adolescence, Leon’s confidence grew even more. He wouldn’t dare to storm the Empire just yet, but overseas he feared nothing.

"I believe your lordship can definitely protect me," the corner of the Efreeti’s mouth curved into a smile, "but I cannot always keep you by my side."

"What are you planning to do?" Leon asked.

"On my way flying here, I discovered some very interesting creatures living here, things that are not found in the desert. Maybe we can capture them and make them slaves," the Efreeti laughed heartily. "Has your lordship seen Molten Salamanders before?"

"No," Leon shook his head.

Leon truly had never seen Molten Salamanders, but he knew of them, also known as Fire Melt Salamander people, which is easier to understand. They belong to a humanoid amphibious species that likes to live in an environment where warmth and humidity coexist. Once they depart too far from their warm and moist source, their spirit and body both become lethargic, and if they lack heat for a long period, they will enter hibernation.

"So now, let me take you to see them," the Efreeti was eager.

"Alright."

The Dragon Form is incredibly destructive and excellent for traveling, but it’s not very convenient for daily activities; it’s uncomfortable to not have a spacious enough area to land, so Leon changed back into his humanoid form... to be precise, his Dragon-man form, as not having wings and the inability to fly would be too inconvenient. Anyway, he didn’t need to worry about attracting attention in the wilderness.

The Efreeti led the way, with Leon closely following, landing near a small pond on a volcanic island.

"From now on, you are my slaves," the Efreeti announced with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly, completely ignoring the Molten Salamander people’s expressions of confusion, shock, anger, and bewilderment.

Not discussing confusion, shock, or bewilderment, no matter how angry they were, none of the Molten Salamander people dared to say anything once they saw the Efreeti as tall as a tree, presumably one swing of that Big Scimitar could end the life of a Molten Salamander person.

After a while, a Molten Salamander Knight riding a Strider stood out, with a fierce look but apprehensive heart, and shouted at the Efreeti: "Monster, you want to enslave us, dream on!"

"Then die," the Efreeti responded without courtesy, swinging his blade. But it was dodged by the prepared Molten Salamander Knight, and the Efreeti’s fiery temper surged immediately. The tiny Molten Salamander people did not obediently stand in place to let him chop off their heads, and they even dared to resist; they truly did not know the immensity of heaven and earth.

"What language are you speaking? Why don’t I understand? And what exactly did you say? Why has it suddenly turned into a fight?" Leon asked, utterly confused. He had not mastered the Universal Language and could not understand what the Fire Giant and those Molten Salamander people were saying.

Hearing Leon speak, the Efreeti lost his temper and explained: "We were speaking the language of the Fire Tribe; your lordship might not understand... Just now, I demanded their surrender to become my slaves, but that Molten Salamander Knight dared to resist me."

"I will have them find someone who speaks the Universal Language now," said the Efreeti, turning to the Molten Salamander people, "Now, send out your village chief, priest, elder... I don’t care who it is, just call someone who can speak the Universal Language to come out."

In fact, the disturbance here had already alarmed other places. A Fire Melt Salamander holding a Nail Head Hammer came out from behind the bushes and said, "I can, I can speak Universal Language."

"An Yimixi Contract Mage?" The Efreeti, coming from the Fire Element Plane and knowledgeable about all things related to the Fire Element, saw through the identity of the Fire Melt Salamander at a glance, "The words you speak should hold weight, right?"

The society and culture of Fire Melt Salamanders are based on the worship of the evil Prince Yimixi of the Fire Element. Yimixi Contract Mages hold an exalted position in the society of the Fire Melt Salamanders.

"Do you know who I am?" The Efreeti grunted.

The Molten Salamander Contract Mage had some insight and respectfully said, "A powerful Efreeti."

"Then do you know that I can easily wipe out you and your kin?" The Efreeti raised his Big Scimitar and heavily slammed it to the ground, threatening fiercely.

"I know." The Molten Salamander Contract Mage looked up at the Efreeti, well aware of the Efreeti’s strength, especially those bold enough to raid the Material Plane.

"Now I want you to be my slaves... No, not my slaves, but the slaves of this noble." The Efreeti gestured towards Leon, "Do you agree? Choose one—the choice is between agreement or death."

The Molten Salamander Contract Mage looked at Leon, no more than a Low-Level Spellcaster himself, and thus unable to discern Leon’s true identity. He was simply astonished that a Human’s status could be higher than that of an Efreeti.

"Don’t be so nervous. The Efreeti speak for themselves; I do not need you to be my slaves," Leon spoke.

Unlike the Efreeti, Leon disdained slavery. He believed that slaves only work under the supervision of overseers, completely lacking in work efficiency, and often leading to unrest and conflict... He couldn’t articulate it specifically, only knowing that the system of slavery is outdated.

In fact, the system currently in place at the Molten Lava Lake was slavery, given that it had always been managed by Efreeti, because back then he had no interest in developing power, right? Anything would do.

Now having decided to properly establish power and manage it, Leon would naturally not allow slavery to continue... Slavery must be eradicated from the start, otherwise, changing the system later on would be troublesome. Capitalism and socialism are far too advanced; a central authority with feudalism is still manageable.

The Molten Salamander Contract Mage stole a glance at the Efreeti.

The Efreeti didn’t understand why Leon would reject slavery. Perhaps it was because he had been with Tassera, the Blue Dragon for too long and was influenced by her; in any case, he was just a servant and couldn’t be bothered to advise otherwise. Whatever the Red Dragon wanted to do, he would just go along with it and would naturally not speak up.

"If the noble doesn’t need us as slaves..." The Molten Salamander Contract Mage said, "What does the noble want us to do?"

"Citizens, nationals," Leon said, "Do you understand?"

"Yes, we understand." The Molten Salamander Contract Mage swallowed hard, "If we become the noble’s nationals, can we still worship the Gods?"

"I am very open-minded, so it’s not a problem. As long as you obey the laws, pay taxes on time, serve in the military, etc., you have the freedom to believe in what you want and worship whoever you choose." It is a world with real Gods, and Leon did not have the courage to challenge the Divine Beings; at best, he could play little tricks, such as prohibiting people with religious beliefs from holding office in his nation.

Leon couldn’t help but laugh to himself. He didn’t have anything yet and was already thinking so far ahead. Besides, with his personality, he might grow tired of being a King or Emperor at any time.

"In that case..." The Molten Salamander Contract Mage bowed, "We are willing to pledge our loyalty to the noble."

"I accept your loyalty," Leon replied without reserve, and after a moment of thought said, "Now tell me everything about this island, and then find me a place to stay. Deploy sentries to watch the surroundings and notify me of any situations at all times, and also prepare food, lots of food..."

In the past, when living at the Molten Lava Lake, Leon mostly sought out food for himself, because the desert was scarce in food resources. It was too much to demand the Salamanders, who could not fly, to trek long distances to fetch food for him. Now, by the sea, where food is abundant, he didn’t want to bother anymore.

"That will do," Leon said and waved his hand, then signaled to the Efreeti before heading back to the mountaintop.

While the Efreeti busied themselves awakening the dormant Volcano, Leon sat by, enjoying the view and reading a book. He wondered if he should show off by reverting to his Dragon Form, but decided against it, in case he scared away all the residents of Watchtower Port at once.

It had to be said that the Efreeti were indeed quick to act; the dormant Volcano began to smoke the next day.

Leon trusted their word that within days or a month, the Volcano could be awakened, and he also believed that Watchtower Port would surely make some move. They couldn’t just watch a dormant Volcano suddenly become active without doing anything.