Blood Wolves, a large group of beasts roaming the nearby forest, numbering in the hundreds, led by the Blood Wolf Leader, which has already entered the domain of low-tier magic beasts.
A year ago, when Austin was out hunting, he nearly fell prey to that pack of Blood Wolves. It was the most dangerous moment in Austin's life as a dragon, and he holds a deep-seated memory of that pack of Blood Wolves.
In the past year, Austin had several encounters with that pack of Blood Wolves but was always forced to flee in embarrassment.
If it were one-on-one, Austin has ninety percent confidence in snapping the neck of the Blood Wolf Leader, let alone a regular Blood Wolf.
However, every time the Blood Wolves move, they come in droves, making it impossible for Austin to fight them alone, which has only increased his hatred for them day by day.
Moreover, the rampage of this Blood Wolf pack has severely affected the nearby ecology, forcing Austin to find a way to eliminate them.
And these Kobolds will become Austin's best soldiers to deal with those beasts!
Of course, that is after the Kobolds have undergone military training.
Austin flew ahead, leading the group of Kobolds to a more hidden cliff bottom.
This is a steep cliff, with trees densely covering the vertical cliff face, hundreds of meters high, hiding a very secretive cave entrance amid the foliage that one cannot see without careful observation.
That is Austin's lair. Standing at the cave entrance and looking out, one can have a panoramic view of the vast green sea forest, with an exceptionally pleasant view.
The six or seven Kobolds enthusiastically became the first batch of Austin's clan, building their new home at the foot of the cliff.
...
Time flew by, and ten days passed quickly.
In the initial few days, Austin didn't have any requirements for the Kobolds, letting them settle in by themselves.
The Kobolds first found many dry branches from the forest and used them to build a simple wooden hut on a giant ancient tree over a hundred meters tall. The ground was infested with snakes, insects, and rodents, making it unsuitable for living, especially during rainy days when the whole house could easily collapse into the mud.
Then, they covered the top of the tree branches with thatch, thus creating a temporary dog den, looking like a messy nest growing on the tree.
Of course, this is only a temporary transitional house. If they truly settle down, they will naturally build better ones in the future.
Under the simple settlement, Nina tiptoed and labored to help her mother hang the giant vines on the trees to dry.
These are the items Austin ordered to be collected. Although the Kobolds didn't know why the Blue Dragon wanted these things gathered, as the lord and master of the Kobolds, they just obeyed orders.
For this one and only command from the Dragon so far, the Kobolds did well, deliberately bringing back old vines whenever they went out to gather resources.
"Mom, will we live here forever?"
Separating the crossed vines, Nina's small hands suddenly slowed down as she whispered to her mother.
"Hmm, Nina?"
The Kobold mother turned her head inexplicably and found Nina looking back at her, her eyes earnest as she said:
"Mom, I like it here. Let's live here with the Dragon from now on, okay?"
Because Austin could regularly eliminate predators within a kilometer or two, food was abundant nearby, with various fruits and numerous small herbivorous animals. Every time the Kobold leader led the clan out, they returned fully loaded.
Although according to the customary rules on the Seta Continent, clans must turn over at least eighty percent of their harvest to the lord, even the remaining twenty percent is far better than their life during their wandering days.
As for the Kobolds wisely turning over their harvest, Austin did not refuse. Even though the Kobold's contributions were negligible to him, and they struggled to survive on the remaining twenty percent; Austin still accepted it.
Because it concerns an art of management.
In his previous life, Austin had heard a classic case.
Two startups, one offered ten thousand a month salary when hiring employees. Since this salary was higher than the average of three thousand, initially, employees were very grateful to the boss and worked hard. But a year later, with no salary increase, employees were less grateful, and two years later, when the company decided to lower the salary to eight thousand due to management issues, employees became generally dissatisfied, worked passively, and some even considered resigning, even though the monthly salary was still far above the market average.
The other startup offered a starting salary of three thousand but raised it every six months. Employees were very grateful, and two years later, the salary increased to eight thousand. When the company faced difficulties, employees worked together to help the company overcome them.
In both two-year scenarios, with the same final salary and encountering difficulties, the situations were vastly different, demonstrating the art of management.
The same applies now; Austin could have outright refused the "taxes" he deemed insignificant, but that would plant a seed of discord in his future rule.
Of course, the Kobolds had no idea about the Blue Dragon's thoughts.
In the dark, they were immensely grateful to Austin, feeling incredibly fortunate to have encountered the incredibly benevolent Blue Dragon.
According to customary rules on the Seta Continent, clans must turn over at least eighty percent of their harvest. In other places, it's often ninety percent or even ninety-five percent or more.
In the Beastman Tribe where this group of Kobolds once lived, they had to turn over every last bit of their harvest to the tribal chief.
Compared to that, Lord Austin seemed like a father deity incarnate, a Divine Envoy sent by heaven to save them.
"Nina doesn't want to eat those bitter and astringent Tsumu berries, doesn't want to eat those tree barks, and doesn't want to sleep in those cold and damp hay piles..."
Nina timidly looked at her mother, whispering.
For Nina, the past few days had been the happiest of her life, like a dream.
Living in a house felt so comfortable, and filling her stomach felt like this; the world's best-tasting thing wasn't bones, but something called meat...
Since she could remember, they had been fleeing, living a life of hunger and uncertainty.
Nina didn't understand what being part of a clan meant; she just didn't want to return to the past and hoped such days would last forever.
"Nina..."
The Kobold mother bent down, holding Nina in her arms, wanting to say something but unable to find the words, her voice somewhat choked.
Days slowly passed by ordinarily without any conflict or war.
With ample food, the Kobold group grew stronger after nearly a month of rest and recovery, no longer appearing as gaunt as they did a month ago.
And once the Kobolds had recuperated, Austin began his military training plan.