Chapter 970 - 93: Dragon Thieves
Losa didn’t plan to knock out all the Latin merchants, as that would be going against his own wallet.
Without Latin merchants, it would only allow Saracen merchants, Jewish merchants, and even Coptic merchants and Syrian merchants to squeeze into their ecological niche, without fundamentally solving the problem. The day would come when the Dragon Slayer turns into an Evil Dragon.
"Looking back, if it weren’t for the help of the Latin merchants, the First Crusade wouldn’t have triumphed, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem would have long since fallen."
Losa chuckled self-deprecatingly, though dismantling the bridge after crossing the river, the bridge must nevertheless be dismantled.
If really traced back, if not for Alexios drafting a contract with the Venetians, the Outville Family’s Norman pirates might have already planted their flag atop the castle of Constantinople.
But precisely because of that poison-drinking deal, the Empire fell into an irreversible plight.
"A philosopher once said, that if capitalists have a hundred percent profit, they will trample all laws of the world. These Latin merchants roam the Mediterranean once, how can their profit be limited to doubling? You are doing the right thing."
Lavinia, from the early twentieth century, had seen the means of unscrupulous capitalists.
People are still that group, not necessarily changed by different eras.
"Forget it, let’s not mention these things."
Losa was evidently in a good mood. These Latin merchants have long accustomed to being arrogant, even Baldwin IV had suffered a lot from them. But trying to take advantage of him was impossible.
His foundation was not just the narrow coastline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, he couldn’t self-sufficiently manage even staple crops or weaponry.
Even if Latin merchants wanted to use blocking trade routes to threaten him, he wouldn’t be scared, unless they were insane enough to assemble a joint fleet, block the coastlines of the Overseas Empire, and assault the Empire’s merchant ships like pirates.
Then Nalosa would have to consider personally visiting the Apennine Peninsula.
When the two finished dealing with the documents accumulated over several days, it was almost dark.
Losa stretched lazily, looking at the judge lady beside him. Since she came to this world, this was the first time they were alone together.
"There’s a saying in the East, ’Roaming the North Sea at dawn, reaching the Cangwu at dusk.’ We’ve been overworked with documents lately; want to relax a bit?"
Lavinia was somewhat surprised: "You want to take me traveling? But with so many tasks on hand, if we handle today’s ones, don’t work tomorrow, many will pile up again."
"Leave tonight, back by tomorrow noon."
Losa stood up to enter the courtyard, aiming to travel to the vast North he visited in Ghost Dragon’s memories, a rare place teeming with Dragon Species.
Including Novgorod, and the Scandinavian Mountains that preserved ancient appearances.
Giant Dragons are the most formidable weapons of war this era; even thin-blooded lesser Dragon Species can exhibit significant might in secular battles. Apart from lethal tools like the Demon-blocking Golden Crossbow, ordinary weapons can hardly inflict damage.
Losa was now a Legendary Ancient Dragon, together with Lavinia, truly a powerful duo.
Entering the previously insignificant "Dragon War," they could achieve a level of absolute leadership, revered as the head among dragons; with this strength, subduing a few high-class Giant Dragons shouldn’t be too problematic.
The judge lady hesitated: "Everyone is working hard, us two leaving affairs for travel seems rather inappropriate."
But Losa wouldn’t let her hesitate, grabbing her slender, gentle hand, reminded: "Hold on tight."
The next moment, amid the judge lady’s gasp, a terrifying giant beast over two hundred meters rose into the sky.
This wasn’t even his limit; with multiple enhancements, Losa at his peak could easily exceed the three hundred meters mark.
...
Northern Europe.
Two men wrapped in thick fur were racing through the mountains and forests. Though no pursuers were behind them, it was as if stared down by ferocious beasts, they ran frantically never turning their heads back.
Until they dashed into a narrow cave, collapsing to the ground gasping heavily.
The tall, slender one gasped while gingerly untying the pack on his back, seeing two items inside, grown with red scales and resembling ostrich eggs still intact before he breathed a sigh of relief.
They glanced at the two red eggs and couldn’t help but laugh together heartily.
"Brest, two Unicorne Lizard Dragon eggs, enough to set us for life."
Brest carefully rewrapped the pack and retrieved a pre-placed smell-proof wooden box in the cave to seal the dragon eggs, saying: "In past years, a single dragon egg couldn’t compare to such worth; we need to thank that dragon-riding king."
Once dragon eggs leave the nest, quickly they become dead eggs, used only as magic potion raw materials.
But even a single dragon egg defunct in Europe today could fetch thousands of gold coins, sufficient to purchase a castle and live as nobility.
Moreover, they could absolutely sell the dragon eggs to clueless countryside nobles, unlike those large noblemen served by witches who could distinguish the egg’s vitality.
Brest sneered: "True, presently which European king doesn’t wish to emulate that Crusader King riding a Demon Dragon; yet these deluded fools are only eligible to be devoured alive by dragons."
The short adventure-seeker curiously asked: "They say the Crusader King’s demon dragon is over a hundred meters long; we’ve never seen such massive dragons in the North. Where did his dragon come from?"
"Rumors tend to exaggerate."
Brest considered himself an expert in Dragonology; he’d seen roughly over fifty dragons, with those exceeding thirty meters being scarce.
Over a hundred meters?
Utterly absurd.
After the initial surge of excitement, they had to face real problems.
"The current issue is how do we transport these two dragon eggs back?"
Brest assured: "Unicorne Lizard Dragon’s differ from those Earth Dragons we dealt with before; these flying dragons, once losing an egg, certainly circle the sky searching for traces. Our legs certainly won’t outrun such flying beasts; to be safe, let’s stay in the cave for half a month."
Their provisions were abundant; freshly laid egg mothers are weak, unlikely to confront them so long, and would ultimately head to sea hunting.
The moment they wear down the mother’s energy causing her departure from the forest, safety would be secured.
His partner was visibly stunned: "Brest, didn’t you forget something? In half a month, it’ll be when the Vikings set sail for large-scale raids."
Though on the surface, the Three Northern European Countries converted to true faith, gone are their barbaric Old God beliefs; their monarchs underwent feudalization, old Viking avengers now declined.
But here they occupied was near the border of Sami and Viking lands.
There still remained abundant Vikings clinging to old beliefs; they frequently sailed dragon-headed ships to ravage the Baltic Sea, holding brutal sacrificial rites appeasing Ancient Gods and Giant Dragons.
And Sami nomads, their women adept in witchcraft, their men proficient in transformation techniques, yet outnumbered and less united than Vikings causing defeats.
Brest assured: "No need to worry about those barbaric Vikings; once we outlast the dragon mother, we head directly eastward, I saved a Sami chieftain prior he’ll host us."
Speaking, as that mother dragon finally realized its offspring had been stolen, let out a roar filled with rage.
The ground shook, they saw with their own eyes a destructive Dragon Flame fell afar, igniting a massive forest fire, outside echoed unceasingly, vibrations and fragments fell at the cave entrance shaking them scrambling deeper in fear.
As the mother dragon finally vented its wrath and fell silent again.
Two dragon thieves crawled back to the mouth of the cave, seeing their provisions buried under the fallen snow and rock fragments, nearly in tears.
Brest kneeled on the ground, face contorted in anguish: "Oh God, is this the fate of thieves?"