In the God-Forsaken Land, where seasons did not exist, time flew by exceptionally fast.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
“I am about to enter my deep sleep,”
Irene said, closing the spellbook in her hands and rubbing her temples.
“Please rest assured, Your Grace. We will not fail to meet your expectations.”
Fido stood behind Irene, clad in a suit of iron armor.
The weapon in his hand was no longer a stone spear, but a long spear.
Irene turned her head. “I heard you took in a child?”
“Yes, Your Grace,”
Fido nodded without hesitation.
“His name is Cezar, and he is a very promising young lad.”
“He is already among the top tier of the Black Knights. He even led the team that conquered the last few tribes.”
Irene nodded slightly.
“It seems you have good judgment.”
“This is all thanks to the dragon blood bestowed by Your Grace.”
Fido complimented her from the bottom of his heart. Looking at the black dragon in front of him, who currently resembled a little girl, he was filled with deep emotion.
He recalled the past, before they met Her Grace. The daily life of the Iron Tooth Tribe was no different from that of the wild beasts in the desert.
They barely scraped by, feeding on cultivated fruits and hunting the animals that came to the oasis to drink.
If other tribes attacked, or if human merchants arrived, they had to live in constant fear,
terrified that their entire tribe would be wiped out.
But now,
under Her Grace's blessings, they not only had enough to eat,
but also possessed immense power.
Her Grace's arrival was like a gift from the heavens, bringing greater and greater changes to the tribe.
First of all, over the past half year, they had occupied more and more oases.
With more oases, they brewed more red wine.
Having amassed a large stockpile of wine, they attempted to market and sell it to other traveling merchants.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the sales volume left them utterly astounded.
When those barrels of red wine were exchanged for piles upon piles of gold coins, Fido felt as if his eyes were about to be blinded by the glitter.
Yet, when he brought these gold coins to Her Grace, she only took ten percent.
He still remembered her words from that day as if they were spoken yesterday.
She had said:
“These gold coins are nothing more than decorations to me.”
“Gold coins that can't be spent serve no purpose. In the future, you only need to keep ten percent from each transaction to decorate my lair.”
“Use the rest to expand our influence, purchase food, equipment, and whatever else is needed.”
“This applies to both the Iron Tooth Tribe and the conquered tribes.”
“Arm my vassals. Let them breed freely and eat to their hearts' content.”
“Arrange stricter training, and train the finest soldiers to become Black Knights.”
“I do not need a bunch of old, weak, sick, or disabled subjects.”
“What I need is a continuous, endless, and powerful force!”
Even as the wisest and oldest kobold in the tribe, Fido was shocked beyond belief when he heard these words from Her Grace.
Was this truly a black dragon?
Was this truly one of the greedy, tyrannical chromatic dragons of legend?
He still remembered that when he announced this news, all the surrendered tribes erupted in deafening cheers.
They even called Her Grace the Seraph walking in the darkness.
With sufficient resources and Her Grace's guidance, he finally understood.
When a tribe could barely fill its stomach, it was simply impossible for them to think about anything other than foraging.
Things like development, creation, or...
The current Iron Tooth Tribe, along with all the other tribes that had submitted to Her Grace, were no longer the primitive tribes of the past.
In just half a year, they had rapidly transitioned from the Stone Age into the Iron Age.
With enough food, the warriors could finally undergo more formal training.
Following Her Grace's requirements, the Black Knights even began to learn magic.
As dragonborn, they naturally inherited a portion of the dragons' abilities, so none of them were slow to pick up magic.
If things continued to develop like this, it probably wouldn't take many years before the entire God-Forsaken Land was unified by Her Grace.
“Fido, go select a portion of the Black Knights and have them separate from the main force.”
Irene suddenly spoke after a moment of silence, her eyes half-closed as she looked drowsy.
“Yes.”
Fido nodded in agreement. He took two steps forward before it finally registered. Spinning around, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head deeply.
“Your Grace, did I do something wrong recently? Please point it out, and I will correct it immediately!”
“No, you have done very well.”
Irene shook her head, forcing herself to stay awake.
“Although we have conquered many tribes and the number of Black Knights has multiplied, they are stationed across different oases. They are too scattered.”
“This doesn't do much to improve the defense of the dragon lair.”
Hearing this, Fido finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up and asked,
“In that case, should we recall all the Black Knights?”
“No,”
Irene yawned before continuing,
“Without the strength of the Black Knights, those tribes' defenses will be left empty.”
“If they are destroyed during this time, our development will slow down or even grind to a halt.”
“I plan to establish a squad dedicated to guarding the dragon lair. You will select a group of elites from the Black Knights to form it.”
With those words, the little dragon girl transformed into her dragon form and lay on the ground, whispering with her eyes closed:
“After I fall asleep, continue to expand the ranks of the Black Knights.”
“Every year, select a group of elites from among them to join this squad to reinforce the security of the dragon lair.”
“Yes, Your Grace. What should we name this squad?”
Fido asked, his eyes filled with anticipation.
“Let's call them... the Imperial Guard.”
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