Chapter Seventy-Eight: Next Steps

As the day passed, Loya discovered that the number of powerful Flame Serpent warriors had decreased.

On one occasion, he even saw giant fire serpents fleeing in panic towards the edge of the Fire Serpent Canyon.

By this time, Loya understood that the Flame Serpent Canyon would no longer resist him.

However, the killings and battles continued.

Because, in a corner of the Grand Canyon, there are still powerful, solitary fire serpents unaware of the situation. They are still obediently staying in their lair, ruling their territory as kings.

This is the kind of guy Loya likes best.

Time flies, and another day has passed in the blink of an eye.

Loya practically cleaned up the entire core area of ​​the Flame Serpent Canyon.

Immediately afterwards, he turned and rushed towards the outer area of ​​the Grand Canyon.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Loya roared loudly, letting his voice spread beyond the Great Canyon, so that many extraordinary creatures in the outside world could hear it.

His roar was filled with a peculiar flavor, causing the sound to continue to expand and letting certain wild beasts and magical creatures know that the Flame Serpent Canyon had become his. And he was to become the next ruler of the Flame Serpent Canyon.

After making his declaration, Loya couldn't wait to return home.

However, the sensation he caused was spreading wildly.

In the jungle west of the Grand Canyon, there is a tribe of lions with the heads of lions and the bodies of pterosaurs.

At this moment, the clan chief was filled with worry. "A giant dragon, seemingly in its adult form, has arrived in the Flame Serpent Canyon. I wonder if it will have any impact on us."

Beside him stood several aged lion-dragons. They said, "Don't worry, the Flame Serpent Canyon is vast; it shouldn't affect us. However, we must warn those little brats not to go into the canyon to hunt Flame Serpents. Otherwise, they might be devoured by that giant dragon."

"Besides, should we go and get to know our new neighbor, the dragon, so we don't have any conflicts later?"

"There's no need. That dragon doesn't seem like a good thing. Let's not go near it."

...

While the Lion Dragon tribe was discussing amongst themselves, monsters in other directions were also chattering away.

Some of these monsters felt terrified, while others were overjoyed.

"I've heard that dragons like to recruit followers and clans. I want to go and join them, I want to become a dragon's servant!" A kobold with a fanatical expression roared in the wilderness.

"With the arrival of a new top hunter, we weaklings will inevitably become his prey. This place is no longer suitable for me." On a certain mountain, a huge black tiger stared intently at the core area where the Flame Serpent Grand Canyon was located.

"I wonder if this ruler of the Great Canyon allows us to hunt the Flame Serpent?" A primitive man, who also had a human form but was not a pure human, pondered.

...

Loya's announcement is still spreading.

Perhaps in a few days, the fame of Loya's dragon will spread throughout the surrounding area.

...

At home.

Loya sat on a huge rock throne and said leisurely, "Next, you will find some valuable local specialties and go out to trade, buy some materials for me. Of course, you can also capture some slaves with a brain, whether they are humans or other monsters, I will accept them all."

On either side, the baby dragon sisters were listening attentively.

Elena nodded repeatedly, looking delighted.

"Oh, right. Slaves should ideally be fire-resistant," Loya added.

“Yes, sir, I guarantee I will complete the mission.” Elena said confidently, “As long as I have enough wealth, I can buy any kind of slave.”

This world is too chaotic and too cruel.

Slave traders were practically everywhere.

Moreover, apart from some high-quality slaves, the other cannon fodder slaves are also very cheap.

“Yes, I’m at ease leaving it to you. After all, you’re not like those two ignorant dragon cubs who’ve never left the house.” Loya nodded.

Orpheus retorted, "What's so difficult about that? We can do it without even leaving the house."

Finland yawned, "This is so boring. Now that the entire Flame Serpent Canyon is ours, why are we so busy? Let's just focus on some quiet meditation for a while."

Loya was furious at their lack of ambition: "Meditation without sufficient resources is nothing but asceticism. Besides, can't you guys have some ambition, some drive? Is the Flame Serpent Canyon really something to satisfy you?"

Finland wants to say that its ambition is to grow up and find a way to escape.

But she couldn't say it, otherwise, Loya might very well crush her ambitions.

"Sigh, I'm really worried about you two." Although he couldn't see what Finland was thinking, he could sense that his younger sister was very dissatisfied. He continued, "You two will also go with Elena on this business trip. It will be good for your future. In short, I won't allow you to argue."

The baby dragon sisters nodded: "Okay, okay."

Actually, they also had some expectations in their hearts.

After all, they haven't really traveled much or seen much of the world. Now that they have the opportunity, it's quite nice.

Elena frowned. These two baby dragons were quite troublesome, and if they were taken out and their true identities were discovered, it would be just as troublesome.

However, considering Loya's strength, the severity of the trouble lessened somewhat.

“And I won’t let you work for nothing. Next, I will bestow upon you inscriptions to make you even stronger.” Loya stretched out his hand, gesturing for Elena to come over.

Elena did not hesitate for a moment.

"I'll give you the intermediate Steel Body first, and then the intermediate Wind Acceleration." Loya spoke quickly, but his speed in gathering runes wasn't that fast.

"Me too!" Ophie chimed in. She had been wanting to add runes and magic patterns to herself to increase her strength. Now she finally had the chance.

Loya ignored Orpheus and continued, "Finally, I will place a soul mark on you."

Upon hearing the word "soul imprint," Elena's expression changed, and her body instinctively wanted to retreat, but in the next instant, she forcibly suppressed this impulse.

"Soul Imprint, let's skip it?" Elena tentatively suggested.

Loya said matter-of-factly, "You absolutely must have it, and you can't refuse it. This thing is my treasure for contacting you remotely, for meeting you, and for restricting you."

Yes, a soul imprint, strictly speaking, is similar to the mental projection that Salu previously revealed, except that it has more effects.

For example, 1. The brand allows Loya and Elena to communicate telepathically.

Of course, this is also limited by distance. Even now, it is extremely difficult for Loya to transmit sound over two thousand miles.

2. The mark can also allow Loya's mental projection to descend into the past, or even possess them, turning Elena and the others into temporary clones of himself.

Alternatively, they can be seen as mobile eyes that move remotely.

Yes, he can treat them as his eyes and temporarily see the scenery through their eyes.

3. Restrict Elena and the dragon sisters to prevent them from revealing any information about him. If they do, even if he doesn't know it, his soul imprint will automatically activate the punishment mechanism, potentially even killing them.

...

"Okay, okay."

Elena knew the power of the soul imprint, which was why she had panicked earlier. She had planned to use this trade to spread the word, hoping the Kingdom of Philar would find a way to rescue her. She even intended to attract the attention of the god who wanted Loya.

Wouldn't that be incredibly awesome?

Unfortunately, Loya didn't give her that chance.

When Loya saw Elena's appearance, he gave her a meaningful smile.

Having spent so much time with Elena, he hadn't completely hidden himself. It's not impossible that Elena might know his identity.

Therefore, for safety and to avoid being harmed, he prepared the [Soul Imprint] to restrict the servants around him.

Loya worked for three hours before finally stopping.

If it weren't for the soul imprint, Elena would be very satisfied.

Because of the inscriptions Loya added to her, her strength increased dramatically. Now, she felt she could go toe-to-toe with a master-level transcendent being and put up a fight.

"Hooray, this is so awesome! Now I can definitely deal with ordinary level one silver superhuman creatures." Finland was also very excited.

Orpheus, however, was far from satisfied: "I think I'm now comparable to a Gold-level extraordinary being."

Loya said irritably, "What are you thinking? You guys are so weak, it's already a lot of work for me to forcibly raise you to the Silver level."

After speaking, Loya handed the spatial ring he had taken from Elena to her, saying, "There's a lot of money inside, as well as various materials for the Flame Serpent. You can decide what to do with it."

Elena: "Yes, thank you for your trust."

Loya? What a load of rubbish! He's completely locked Elena up in his hands. Otherwise, how could he let Elena act like this?

Elena continued, "My lord, live fire serpents are also valuable, especially the young fire serpents with low resistance. If they are sold and raised and tamed by others, they can be excellent companions."

Loya didn't take it to heart: "When you leave, you can take a batch of fire serpent cubs with you. You can do it if you want, as long as you don't go too far or fail too badly, then I will give you enough freedom."

Loya is delegating authority, allowing Elena's talent to flourish freely.

Elena's expression turned serious.

Don't think that Loya's laissez-faire attitude is super good.

Because there's a prerequisite: she has to create wealth that satisfies Loya. If she fails, she doesn't think Loya will take it easy on her or be indifferent to her mistakes.

"Catching snakes? I'll go right now. By the way, I also want to test my strength." After hearing Loya and Elena's conversation, Finland couldn't wait to run out.

"Wait for me, I want to go too." Orpheus quickly followed.

As the dragon's power increased, her sinful blood also boiled. She couldn't wait to unleash her power and proclaim her strength.

"Stop messing around! The Flame Serpents are my treasures, you'd better cherish them!" Loya roared at their backs from behind.

Elena bowed slightly: "Don't worry, I'll take care of them."

After saying that, Elena followed.

Loya looked at Elena's retreating figure with suspicion: "Strange, why do I feel like she values ​​Finland and Orpheus so much? She treats them like her own children, even more like an older brother than I am. Tsk, you're my servant, how can you do this?"

In the end, even Loya got a little jealous.