Game World: I Can Share Talents-Chapter 43: Getting Something for Nothing

At the Dragon Tower, as the first hazy light emerged from the horizon, Westheid, Reiya, and Yolanda were already in the High Court inspecting the assembled subordinates.

Following the mobilization order, all the elite Dragon Race members under Scorching Wings from across the Kepal Plain had gathered. At every moment, the whistle of dragon wings echoed from the skies above the tower.

As the Silver-haired Dragon Lady passed through the High Court, all, whether Giant Dragon or Dragon Descendant, prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing respectfully.

"Your Highness."

"Your Eminence."

"Venerable Reiya..."

Walking along, they heard these titles so often their ears were starting to go numb. Westheid noticed Reiya’s somewhat peculiar expression and couldn’t help but ask:

"What’s wrong? Not used to it?"

"...It just feels a little strange." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Reiya turned her head and said, "In the past, my bloodline only brought me scorn and discrimination. I was the mongrel of mongrels. I never thought my lineage would one day be met with such reverence."

Westheid said, "It’s because the hierarchy within the Dragon Race is very distinct. The environment is different now. Besides, do you really care what others think?"

The Silver-haired Dragon Lady smiled. "Of course not."

By now, Reiya had long since developed a mindset impervious to the honor or disgrace bestowed by the outside world.

Whether it was the Radiant Holy Tree or the Dragon Realm, none of it mattered to her anymore. She had only commented on it out of a sense of novelty.

They arrived at the conference hall in the High Court, where the Giant Dragon Execution Officers had already assembled. In the lands ruled by the Dragon Race, Legendary Tier Dragon Lords were generally indifferent to their domains. It was the Execution Officers who were the true administrators and rulers.

Tudor saw Reiya, stepped forward to bow, and handed over a thick stack of lists:

"Her Highness Reiya, the supply manifests and personnel rosters you requested have been prepared. All the resources and troops on the Kepal Plain that we control are listed here."

The Dragon Race was famously crude in its administration. Though in a later era this would be a simple matter of data statistics, completed with a single tap on a Magic Network Terminal, for Dragons accustomed to extravagance and waste, finishing this overnight was a sign of great effort.

Reiya handed the lists directly to Westheid. "West, you check them."

"Yes, Master."

Westheid maintained his meticulous disguise in front of the Giant Dragon Execution Officers. Taking the lists from the Silver-haired Dragon Lady, he began to review them carefully.

For a moment, the only sound in the great hall was the SHUFFLE SHUFFLE SHUFFLE of pages turning.

"How are the preparations for the blood sacrifice ritual Her Highness requires?"

While flipping through the documents, Westheid brought up a topic he had prepared in advance:

"War is imminent. Her Highness needs to recover her strength and heal her injuries as soon as possible. It would be best to complete the ritual within the next few days."

Tudor said with difficulty:

"The materials have not yet been collected. A blood sacrifice of this scale requires at least a million mortals. We haven’t had time to arrange for the slaves because Your Eminence needed to mobilize the legions... But rest assured, although we don’t have enough True Dragons for the task, such trivial matters can be left to the lesser Dragon Descendants."

The Giant Dragon Execution Officer puffed out his chest and guaranteed, "Just give us two weeks, and we can gather three or four million slaves to nourish Her Highness with their flesh, blood, and souls!"

"Tsk, two or three weeks? Who do you think you’re fooling?!"

Westheid frowned and snapped, "Are you going to make Her Highness wait that long? In that amount of time, the enemy from the Celestial Vault Kingdom will have already conquered the Kepal Plain! Forget the mortal slaves. Make do with the materials in the treasury for now."

"But... but, those are the Master’s private collection. We have no authority to use them. Even... even Your Eminence shouldn’t arbitrarily appropriate a Dragon Lord’s private property."

Tudor stammered in reply, holding his ground even under Reiya’s sharp and imposing gaze.

He was, after all, a servant of Scorching Wings. Although he was temporarily taking orders from the noble from Dragon’s Will Peak, she was ultimately just a short-term, parachuted-in leader. He had to protect his true master’s interests.

’The Dragon Realm might all be under one roof, but everyone still eats from their own pot. Every Legendary True Dragon is its own little mountain fortress. You’re not the Divine Ancestor, so what gives you the right to touch Scorching Wings’s treasury?’

"It’s just some materials! So what if we empty it all out? We’ll just compensate you double! Or are you suggesting Her Highness Reiya can’t even afford that much?!"

Westheid roared in a near-bellow, as if he had been gravely insulted.

He was doing a clumsy imitation of Yolanda. Whenever the Qinghui Clan was insulted, she would instantly switch into this "red-hot" mode.

Yolanda: ???

The platinum-blonde girl looked at Westheid with a strange sense of connection, feeling as if he had done something to annoy her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.

"Of course we wouldn’t dare..."

Tudor and the other Giant Dragons lowered their heads, remaining silent.

’It wasn’t that they thought Reiya couldn’t provide compensation. After all, she was of the Divine Ancestor’s True Blood! How could a backwater place like the Kepal Plain even compare to Dragon’s Will Peak?’

’She was a true-blue Lord Jing!’

’But any member of the Dragon Race had a selfish streak. Having money was one thing; being willing to part with it was another entirely.’

’That was why they would rather offend Reiya than face the wrath of Scorching Wings.’

’Besides, they all knew how to handle a superior who didn’t hold the power of life and death over them. Just play dumb and agree with everything they said. "Yes, yes, of course."’

"You still have doubts and think I’ll go back on my word, correct? If that’s the case, I’ll just write an IOU."

Seeing this, Reiya exchanged a glance with Westheid and spoke lightly.

The Silver-haired Dragon Lady then took out a sheet of contract paper and, holding her head high, began to write with flourish as she announced:

"I swear to the Divine Ancestor, Star Abyss Wings, that I must appropriate the treasury of Scorching Wings due to an emergency. All that is consumed will be returned twofold in the future!"

"If I break this oath, may Star Abyss Wings condemn me for my crime!"

Before the stunned gazes of the Giant Dragon Execution Officers, Reiya casually tossed the contract forward and said:

"There. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?"

"It’s... it’s enough! No, Your Highness, you really didn’t have to..."

Tudor answered incoherently, feeling an awkwardness that was neither funny nor sad. He had only wanted to avoid taking the blame, but now it looked as if they had forced Reiya to write an IOU.

’This was an offense he could hardly bear.’

Swearing an oath to a god of the Supreme Heaven was no small matter, especially for a Transcendent within "the system." It directly concerned one’s political career. Even if the Celestial God ignored it, others would ostracize an oathbreaker to death.

Thus, since ancient times, swearing to the heavens had been the most convincing type of oath, more binding than any mortal law or violence.