The giant dragon in front of him was completely beyond Miklos' knowledge of dragons. In his impression, whether it was a metal dragon or a colorful dragon, they were synonymous with elegance, with smooth lines like cats. Not to mention obese, even those who are extremely strong are rare.
Giant dragons have such a body shape not only because they are easy to fly, but also because they have extraordinary digestion capabilities and super energy storage characteristics. A lot of energy is not stored in fat like other creatures, but in the form of fat. The way magic power fills them, coupled with their long-term dragon sleep characteristics, makes it difficult to gain weight.
This black dragon completely broke this traditional perception. She was like a mountain of flesh. The leather-like pieces of flesh squeezed through the limitations of the dragon scales and protruded out. In turn, the dragon scales were wrapped in it. This made her It looked like her whole body was covered with sarcoma. Her neck, tail, and lower limbs were all packed with fat, making her look so thick, including the black dragon's originally skeleton-like cheeks. The fat made her eyes narrow twice, making her look somewhat similar to an unusually strong and fat pig.
She was lying on a huge special throne, and the outline of her limbs could barely be distinguished, most of which were covered by the fat on her abdomen. Her breathing was hard and heavy. Every once in a while, she had to stop eating and breathe quickly. After a few seconds, a new round of eating began.
Normally, elderly black dragons usually have a super large body. She has completely broken this restriction. At least she has a body that is close to the peak of giant size, and her weight has even exceeded that.
Mikros had reason to suspect that the reason why she recruited so many lizardmen and built the royal court was to make it easier for her to eat.
She is simply synonymous with gluttony. Even summoning Mikros did not stop her from continuing to eat. She asked in a huff, "Have you personally entered the Purple Dragon Palace in Cormyr?"
"I visited ten years ago." Mikros replied truthfully, "His Majesty's palace, in terms of size, let alone the Purple Dragon Palace, even the Giant Ruins Palace has to be outdone. It is called the largest in Faerûn. A palace is not an exaggeration.”
Miklos didn't lie. The size of Lizard Queen's dragon palace is indeed amazing, but other aspects are terrible. Whether it is the palace design or workmanship, there is no way to compare with the magnificent Purple Dragon Palace.
This is the art of words.
"Okay, okay, okay." Lizard Queen said without intending to go into details, "Tell me, why do you want to see me?"
All giant dragons are highly intelligent creatures, especially those who are adults and above. They have accumulated a lot of life experience. Even people become spirits when they are old, let alone giant dragons, which are as fat as pigs. The Black Dragon is no exception.
She didn't believe that this human being in front of her came to her home for no reason and gave her millions of gold coins.
Of course, she will accept the gold coins. Whether she does what she asks for or not depends on her mood.
"Before talking about the matter, I would like to ask your Majesty to watch a memory video." Miklos did not go around the bush and went straight to the topic.
"Okay." Kurgor said with interest, completely treating it as a distraction during the meal.
Mikros stopped talking nonsense and directly pressed the seal to release a memory image.
The scene in this video is very single and simple. It is the scene of the Dragon Coast coalition forces continuously delivering various supplies to Ivanso, and finally freezes at the scene of the conqueror's army leaving Ivanso.
Lizard Queen Kurgor couldn't help but stop her endless eating, and her saliva flowed down. This time it was no longer because of food, but because of the large amount of property.
Every dragon is an excellent appraiser, with both acquired rich experience and innate genes. Even through the memory projections seen by others, she can easily judge the values carried by this team. The wealth starts at least tens of millions, and may even be several tens of millions, because the equipment, food, trucks, and even themselves are all considered part of the wealth. With such a large population, let alone selling it, it is a huge sum. The price, even if it is used as a food reserve, is enough for Kurgor to eat for several years. There is no need for his servants to collect food, let alone eat unpalatable magical creations.
Most of the spells are developed by humanoid creatures. When formulating the taste, they are based on human taste buds, not dragons. The supreme delicacy in the mouths of humanoid creatures can be tasted like black dragons with unique tastes. It was terrible. Without the fermentation and decay of rotten water, when it reached her stomach, it would greatly slow down her eating speed. This would naturally slow down her enjoyment of eating, which was the most unbearable thing for her.
Such a huge wealth is far more than ten times that of his own dragon nest.
When it comes to the ability to create wealth, those intelligent creatures, especially humans, are second in the entire Faerûn continent, and no one dares to be first.
Especially when the Lizard Queen's Court has such a gluttonous queen, most of the wealth they create goes into Kurgol's bottomless pit - Thun Swamp is a mid-level swamp with abundant ground water and Groundwater is rich in nutrients and natural products, especially a variety of aquatic and amphibian organisms.
Under normal circumstances, such a force can export a large amount of fish and meat every year. In the spring, summer and autumn of Thun Swamp, it can only barely survive, and in winter it cannot make ends meet. The Lizard Queen will be forced to enter intermittent periods. Dragon Mian is used to reduce consumption, and occasionally he has to use magic to create things to satisfy his cravings.
There is no large amount of external trade, and the Lizard Queen is destined to be unable to fly far away to plunder, so the speed at which she accumulates wealth is naturally very impressive.
This was one of the reasons why they paid special attention to Miklos when they learned that he had brought millions of wealth.
It was not the Lizard Queen who spoke first, but her palace minister, the spirit Naga Alhassan, who said: "What do you mean by showing us this? Do you want us to rob outside the Thun Swamp? What exactly is playing on the projection? where?"
The last sentence directly exposed the nature of the Lizard Queen's Royal Court. They are a group of local aborigines who are stuck in their ways and occupy the land as kings. It's just that the strength of this aboriginal group is extremely strong. Their influence and news are limited to Thun Swamp and the surrounding areas. , they have no way to influence other places, or they are not interested.
This is due to the composition of their army. Although the lizardmen are amphibious creatures, they are relatively dependent on water, especially in summer. Their scales are water-type and they need to take a dip in the muddy water from time to time. Prevent it from drying out and falling off.
Once they have been unable to immerse their whole body in water for more than three days for more than an hour, they are very susceptible to dehydration, and their scales will fall off to varying degrees.
This disease will not kill people, just like a person's fingernails falling off, but if the tender flesh underneath is exposed to wind and sun, it will be extremely painful.
This pain will continue until they return to an environment suitable for their lives - their scales will be regenerated and shed in a continuous cycle.
This is why the lizardmen's life is limited to swamps, freshwater lakes and rivers, and they are less common in inland cities, leaving aside the variants that arise to adapt to unique environments.
For example, there are troglodytes living in the Underdark, such as the Ethiopian lizards in the Enook Desert. It is said that there is also a kind of marine lizard people who only live in coastal areas. They are all a type of lizard people. .
Miklos synthesized information very quickly in his mind. From just one sentence, he extracted a large number of information points that were beneficial to him. At the same time, he quickly responded: "This team is called the Army of Conquerors, but don't be fooled by him." The name is misleading. It is not a pure army, but a huge immigrant team.
It was a young baron of Tethyr named Gavin Nott who launched it in Darauma, preparing to move to the valley.
In the early days, there were only about 18,000 people who were cobbled together here and there. After arriving at the Dragon Coast, they collected nearly 20,000 old, weak, sick and disabled people. They claimed to be an army of 100,000 people, but in fact, they only had a population of more than 40,000 people. , the number of troops is only about 5,000.
Just this morning, they had crossed Bosku, the northernmost city on the Dragon Coast, and officially set foot in the goblin wilderness. They were heading north along the wasteland path. I believe that within two to three days, they would pass near Thun Swamp.
We have received accurate information that the Kingdom of Cormyr does not allow them to use the east road. They must open a new road directly from the wasteland path to the high road, crossing the entire goblin wilderness, including the area between Thun Swamp and the Far Sea Swamp. This area is their best choice. "
Mikros just listed the information completely without adding too many personal opinions.
This is his shrewdness. If he does that, no matter what he says, it will be the advice of others, and his enthusiasm will be greatly reduced.
If they have the same idea as their own suggestion based on their own intelligence, then it is their own plan and idea.
"They will pass by Thun Marsh? And are already on the road? Such important news, why did you tell me now?" Each question of the Lizard Queen was one decibel higher than the previous one. Not only did her head raise, her limbs suddenly With great effort, he actually stood up from the ground.
It's just that for her, this thing is somewhat difficult. The thick and incredible dragon legs are somewhat overwhelmed, and there is a feeling that they are being bent by the mountain of meat supported by them at any time.
Her body shape is even more spectacular than when she was lying there. Her height and length are at the level of a giant at best, but her weight definitely exceeds that of a super giant. From top to bottom, even the tips of her wings and tail, there is no place that is not thick. Everything It is full of fat and fat. Even if it is fat, the dragon's body will be stronger than that of ordinary creatures.
Miklos has reason to doubt whether this guy can still fly. Although the dragon's flight has certain magical factors, its own dragon wings are absolutely dominant. Once the dragon wings are damaged, they will be forced to land.
Lizard Queen's dragon wings were intact, but she was seriously overweight and had difficulty walking. It would be extremely difficult to fly.
The Lizard Queen's last question was obviously unreasonable.
Miklos took it for granted. The other party was a black dragon known for being domineering, perverse and arrogant. This kind of scolding was just an appetizer. He did not eat him in one bite. It was not just that the rich gift in front was taking effect, but also the main reason behind it. There are bigger interests involved, and the other party still needs him.
But this question had to be answered. Miklos answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for this matter."
The Lizard Queen didn't react for a moment, so she could only follow his train of thought and asked, "What crime?"
"The crime of ignorance is that I didn't know about His Majesty's existence before this. I didn't contact His Majesty as early as possible to express my respect and that of Sambia. Isn't it an unforgivable crime?" Miklos said with extreme humility. able.
Although the two had not been in contact for a long time, he found that the Lizard Queen's combat power may be higher than that of the Dark Castle Chairman Manmeng, but in terms of knowledge and methods, the two were not at the same level.
Even the spirit naga who thinks he is smart is relatively limited, which is caused by their knowledge.
As an important branch of the dark intelligence network in the southwest, Ximanmeng has so much power and resources, especially intelligence resources. The number of intelligence resources he handles every day is astonishing. Many of them are not even limited to Faerun, but may come from other continents or the multiverse. , the knowledge is definitely the top group of people on the entire continent.
Even if the Lizard Queen and the others live longer, their footsteps and knowledge will only be limited to one-third of an acre of Thun Swamp. What they can see and think of is only so high and so far. It is determined by one's vision.
Therefore, some vulgar tricks are very useful for them, and they even use this trick.
As expected, after the Lizard Queen heard this, the dragon's heart was overjoyed, and he laughed loudly and said: "Okay, I will forgive you..."
"Wait a minute." The spirit naga stopped hurriedly, "Your Majesty, I have an important question to ask Mr. Miklos."
"What question can't you ask after we have discussed this matter?" The Lizard Queen, whose interest was interrupted, showed strong dissatisfaction in her words. In view of the notorious racial character of the black dragon, she did not angrily ask the spirit naga. A dragon's breath shows that the other party is still extremely important in her mind.
"This matter is closely related to the next decision, so your majesty might as well wait for a few minutes and wait for me to finish asking before making a decision. Please believe that I will always stand on your side and seek more for you. Wealth and power, because you are not only our queen, but also the new god of all our scaly species." Spirit Naga's expression is fanatical and sincere, and every word he speaks comes from the bottom of his heart. , because he firmly believes in it.
The highest level of deception is to deceive yourself, and then everything becomes true.
In comparison, Miklos was still far behind. He just didn't dare to lie rashly.
At the same time, he gained a deeper understanding of the ambitions of this pair of monarchs and ministers. They were not simply satisfied with being kings in a swamp, but actually attempted to become gods.
For a moment, Miklos didn't know whether to shock their arrogance or ridicule their ignorance. Being a god is not as simple as having thousands or even tens of thousands of people believe you are a god.
If it were that simple, gods would have roamed all over Faerûn long ago. All the wealthy people in Sambia were gods walking on earth. They paid tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people to worship themselves as gods. Very simple thing.
But last year, the gods came to Faerûn as saints, and then several mortals were promoted to gods. This made many arrogant people think that becoming a god was a very simple matter, thus giving birth to unrealistic delusions. , obviously, this lizard queen is one of them.
The only thing Miklos could do was to remain expressionless, as if he didn't understand what the other person was saying.
"You ask." The Lizard Queen's thick tail swung back and forth, showing a hint of impatience, "Hurry up."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty." After the spirit naga bowed and saluted, the eyes formed by the fusion of human and snake features flashed with dangerous light, "Where did your information about Your Majesty come from? Is it the darkness in the north? Fort? Those Zhentarim slave traders who are full of lies?"
Before coming, Gost had already warned Miklos, emphasizing that the relationship between the two parties was not good. Now it seems that it is not only bad, but also a blood feud.
The only thing Miklos could do was to tell the truth: "Yes, it was General Gost from Dark Castle who told me about His Majesty."
Since entering the Dragon Palace, he has noticed that he is enveloped by an invisible magical force. It is similar to the magic that detects lies, but it is more powerful than that. Once he lies, the other party will notice it immediately.
Everything you have done before will be in vain.
Before coming, Mikros also fully considered this matter. Do you need to use magic to shield your mind and lies from detection? Those powerful forces will definitely master this ability and will definitely use it.
But doing so can easily make people doubt whether they are spies sent by the enemy, which will backfire and make everything fail before it even starts.
It is better to lay out the horse and horse from the beginning and take a gamble.
The greed of the dragon, the lure of wealth brought by the Conqueror's army, finally outweighed the hostility to the Darkhold.
"It's indeed them." The coldness on the face of the spirit Naga became more obvious, "I want to see the memory projection of your meeting, without missing any trace."
This time, even the lizard queen did not stop her. Instead, she regained her composure, crawled back, and started a new round of eating.
It was obvious that they had suffered a loss at the hands of the Dark Castle, and it was not a small one. The Lizard Queen still remembered it and dared not look down upon it, for fear that she would accidentally fall into their conspiracy.
(End of chapter)
