Mr. Fisher paused for a moment after listening and then sipped his wine before responding,
"There aren’t any..."
"Oh, no wonder, no wonder..."
Keken nodded in understanding after listening and sighed, as if lost in thought.
Mr. Fisher seemed to notice something and realized his return might have something to do with Rafael; thus, he tapped the table in front of him with his finger and asked,
"What happened? You came back from the South Continent so urgently, could it be that your city was attacked by goblins, Dragon-man Species, or other humans?"
"Attacked? Oh, no, there’s nothing of the sort. My city is fine, and there’s no danger, at least not for now... I directly sold the city I had in the South Continent to someone else and then came back with my two wives, intending to expand here..."
"Sold it directly? For what reason?"
As previously mentioned, going to the South Continent to expand required a special permit from the Nali Government, let alone building a city there. Selling the hard-built city was undoubtedly a loss-making business, and the money was from his family. It didn’t sound like it was his family’s decision, so there must be a very special reason for his actions.
"It’s , Mr. Fisher... Last month, many Nali City Lords continued to expand southwards, you know, there are many undiscovered mines buried in the forests to the south. I am also a member of the Nali South Continent City Lord Alliance, so I learned of this news."
Mr. Fisher took a sip of his wine, signaling him to continue,
"Then, during their expansion, they had intense conflicts with many native demi-human tribes, including one particularly fierce conflict with a settlement known as the ’South Branch’ of the Dragon-man Tribe. We fought back and forth around two or three times, with heavy losses on our side, but in the last battle, we succeeded in killing the Clan Leader of that Dragon-man settlement."
"The City Lords Ratatu and Buck, who originally led the war anticipating a counterattack from the Dragon-man, made preparations in advance to deal with it. However, after a long time, the Dragon-man did not retaliate..."
Keken, who easily got drunk after drinking, became more excited and animated as he talked,
"When they went to investigate that area again, they found that the Dragon-man had actually taken the initiative to move further south and run away! Buck and Ratatu, the two City Lords who led the war, were very happy at the time, thinking that it was a great thing to have driven away the stubborn Dragon-man who had lived there for generations without using any troops. I felt right away that something was not quite right..."
"I gathered some intelligence and it seems that there was a Dragon-man leading them in their strategic retreat. The Dragon-man who led his tribe away was definitely no ordinary individual. And indeed, not long after moving further south, that Dragon-man did something even more unexpected; they actually started a war with other Dragon-man Tribes to the east!"
Mr. Fisher raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and then guessed with a smile,
"Let me guess, those City Lords, eager to divide the mines and demi-human slaves in the forests of the south, also thought the fighting between the Dragon-man settlements was a good thing, so they didn’t spend money to send troops to intervene?"
Keken nodded vigorously, resenting the stupidity of those City Lords. If they had one-tenth of Fisher’s intelligence, they would not have disregarded his advice,
"Exactly! That’s what I was worried about. Those short-sighted fools thought there was nothing valuable in the east, so they were too lazy to send troops... If the East Branch Tribe had won, it wouldn’t have mattered, but if the Dragon-man from the South Branch won, I dare not even imagine what would happen! According to my intelligence, she has already allied with the Bat Species Subhuman and Centaur Sub-human living in the coastal valley. I suggested that the other City Lords send troops, but they just told me to spend my own money!"
Mr. Fisher now had a rough idea of the situation. He looked at Keken, who had drunk a little and started to speak louder, and summed up,
"So that’s why you sold your city and left the South Continent."
"That’s right. I felt... something was a little off. Though it seemed quite normal for now, a group of people divided many minerals and demi-human slaves and made a fortune, making me somewhat regret selling my city. But I heard that the Dragon-man who led his tribe away is a rare red female. I subconsciously thought of that little dragon who had been following you at the time.."
"I was a little frightened. The speed at which that little dragon was organizing the tribe and expanding was beyond imagination. I feared that soon it would be too late to return, so I hurriedly sold everything I could and returned to the Western Continent."
"But everyone in the family is blaming me for being incompetent, for selling the city that cost a lot of money and fleeing. I’ve been unable to lift my head up within the family these past few days, just like a coward... Suddenly, I remembered you were in Nali and forgot to come visit and congratulate you on publishing your theory..."
Mr. Fisher took a sip of wine, but his mind raced.
That clever little dragon must have realized her father, the Clan Leader, had been killed on her return to the tribe, or else she wouldn’t have allowed a frontal conflict with humans.
She would leave the entire forest filled with treasure to the Nali City Lord Alliance that was encroaching in the south, moving her tribe further south to settle down while they divided the forest’s wealth. Meanwhile, she launched a surprise attack on the Dragon-man Tribe in the east. If he wasn’t wrong, she probably intended to unify all four Dragon-man Tribes of the South Continent...