Ke Xiu Si steadily walked out of the mine with his night vision, only to find that the people had not run far yet.
Although the battle just now was dangerous, it actually did not take much time.
However, it would take ordinary humans a lot of time to get out of the deep mine, not to mention in such a chaotic situation.
Jin Ya greeted him at the entrance of the cave, arching his back in an exaggerated posture: "Oh, my great Master, your power is unstoppable; even the strongest monsters cannot withstand your blaze ember."
And those humans, looking from afar at the Red Dragon covered in blood emerging from the cave, were all terrified.
If the monster in that mine was already so terrifying, then to what extent would this Great Dragon, who possibly defeated that monster, be?
They used their last strength to desperately flee.
Many people had already been devoured by monsters in the mine, and some were crushed to death by falling rocks in the mine.
Originally, more than a hundred people entered the cave, but now only more than fifty people managed to escape; most of the rest were forever buried in that dark and deep mine.
Jin Ya cozied up, asking, "My great Master, how do you plan to deal with these despicable humans?"
A hint of cunning flashed in the Kobold's eyes.
He had once been enslaved by humans, and now the opportunity for revenge had come.
"I have my own plans."
The Red Dragon didn't care; he just flapped his wings with effort, took to the air, and caught up with the crowd.
The crowd was in an uproar, terrified, and ran even harder.
But how could running speed catch up with flying?
Soon, the shadow cast by the Red Dragon enveloped the panic-stricken crowd.
However, the people did not wait for the imagined blaze ember, nor the imagined sharp claws, nor the imagined gaping maw.
"Humans, you have encroached upon the territory of Ember Nest."
"But the benevolent Red Dragon is willing to forgive your transgressions."
"This time, I will only give the culprits their deserved punishment."
The Red Dragon swooped down, skimmed the ground, and only grabbed the most conspicuous one, wearing armor—which was Hart.
Then he flew back to the cave entrance.
Hart, who had just been clutched in the Red Dragon's claws, fell heavily to the ground; he immediately knelt down, not daring to stand up at all, so frightened that his tongue began to tremble: "G-Great Dragon, I was wrong."
"No, no, no, don't eat me, I-I'm not tasty."
The once arrogant slave trader was now trembling with fear.
Ke Xiu Si looked down at him from above and found that this Hart was actually a third-level warrior; he feigned anger: "Who gave you the courage—to invade the territory of Ember Nest and seize the Great Dragon's gold?"
According to the Red Dragon's shameless propaganda, the gold mine had already become his own property.
The Kobold beside him, seeing his former slave owner in such a sorry state, secretly felt pleased and couldn't help but threaten: "You are nothing but a despicable human; how dare you infringe upon the great Great Dragon's property and enslave the Great Dragon's people? Your fate is but one—to be torn to shreds!"
Upon hearing the words "torn to shreds," Hart immediately collapsed to the ground in fear.
His face was covered in snot and tears, and he kept muttering: "I didn't do it, it was, it was someone else who ordered me, someone else told me to come."
Hearing that there was someone behind him, Ke Xiu Si became interested.
"Who is it?"
"Tell me the name of that thief."
Hart, sensing a glimmer of hope for survival, immediately grabbed onto it like a drowning man clutching at a straw, answering without hesitation.
"It's Baron Todd!"
"Todd Lachman!"
Upon hearing this, Ke Xiu Si's interest grew even stronger, and he asked:
"From the Lakeman Family?"
"Is it that so-called North Wind Eagle, the ruler of Northwind Fortress?"
Hart nodded repeatedly, eager to answer; in his moment of life and death, his tone was so sincere.
"Yes, yes, yes, Great Dragon, it's that Lakman."
Hart knelt on the ground, carefully raising his head, tears streaming down his face.
"Great Dragon, you must do justice for me!"
"It was this Baron Todd; he controlled me with evil magic and threatened my family's lives, forcing me to obey his orders, which is why I came here and encroached upon your property."
Since things had come to this, Hart no longer cared about so-called loyalty; saving his life was paramount, and any blame could be shifted onto that Baron.
"How interesting."
As far as he knew, the old duke of the Lakeman Family was a Vampires, and most of his descendants had also become Derivatives or new Vampires, and this so-called Baron Todd was likely also a Vampires—and this would become his opportunity to gain intelligence on Northwind Fortress.
The Red Dragon grinned: "Where is this Baron Todd you speak of now?"
Hart was startled for a moment, then quickly replied: "Great Dragon, I can take you to him; he must compensate you for the losses."
A clear act of betrayal.
"Good, but we'll have to wait a bit first."
The Red Dragon grabbed the human, flapped his wings again, and flew straight towards Ember Nest.
Ember Nest.
Ke Xiu Si still landed amidst the welcome of the wyverns.
However, this time, his body full of wounds caused various speculations among his dependents as to who could have injured him so badly, but at this moment, no one dared to speak, fearing to enrage the injured Red Dragon.
Dolo, the Earth Goblin, also led a squad of dire wolf riders to greet him at the entrance, his face full of flattery.
The Red Dragon casually threw Hart in front of the Earth Goblin and said, "Watch this human; don't let him escape, and don't let him die."
"Yes, great Master, I will definitely complete the task and will not disappoint you again."
The Earth Goblin readily agreed, waving his whip to give instructions.
Immediately, several strong Goblins carried a piece of animal skin forward, placed the human on it, and transported him to the military camp dungeon.
Having given his orders, the Red Dragon flew directly back to the Giant's Mouth Cave.
He went directly to the deepest part of the cave and moved away the stone that had previously blocked the entrance.
"So that's it; no wonder I felt a palpitation earlier."
"It's time to clear out the hidden dangers in the lair."
Ke Xiu Si muttered to himself.
He leaped directly into the cave.
Inside, lava was splattering everywhere, emitting plumes of white smoke and hot steam.
But the scorching lava was just hot water to the Red Dragon, and the sulfurous heat made him feel the familiarity of home.
He continued downwards for a long time, not knowing how many meters deep he had descended, until he finally saw another cave entrance—only it was blocked by continuously flowing lava.
"Splash!"
The Red Dragon leaped out of the lava.
Lava splattered, scorching the hard rock.
It was an incredibly narrow, seemingly endless tunnel.
The cave entrance was only a little over four meters high; the Red Dragon had to shrink his wings as much as possible to barely enter, and he continued to grope his way forward.
