MTLNOVEL Chapter 98: Substitution
"I assume, since you dare to come before me to discuss compensation, the ins and outs of the matter are clear enough without my needing to elaborate.
"The current situation is that my kin are missing, and the cargo I brought has been all but lost!
"My heart is bleeding, I tell you!"
When they heard David's shameless opening remarks, the group of Drow matriarchs immediately began cursing him furiously in their hearts.
Who the hell doesn't know by now that your subordinate slipped out the back door of the tavern with the goods at the first sign of trouble? At least three of their families had even secretly dispatched members to ambush the fleeing Drow along their escape routes, impersonating members of House Flavia to intercept the cargo. But who could have known that, aside from that Shadow Dancer, the seemingly weakest Barbarian was so ridiculously strong? His twin dragon-tooth blades, dancing on their chains, easily slaughtered the ordinary Drow Wanderers from their families—those not adept at direct combat. And when they tried to ambush him with long-range attacks, that kin of the Red Dragon could even exhale Dragon Breath! Although it wasn't as powerful as David Uthos's, the Drow Wanderers on the periphery still suffered heavy losses from the unexpected attack. Finally seizing an opportunity to separate Hiatt, that Drow, from his support, four Shadow Dancers used Shadow Instant Step to simultaneously plunge at least eight poisoned daggers into the Barbarian's vital points. But the Barbarian just bellowed in rage. He didn't die outright and, instead, seemed to instantly enter an even deeper state of berserk fury! Not only did his combat power surge, but he also ignored the wounds to his vital areas, wielding twin dragon-tooth blades wreathed in fierce flames. He utterly stunned the group of Drow Shadow Dancers who thought they had succeeded. Incredibly, under pursuit from teams sent by three families, he covered the retreat of those two Drow and the Winter Wolf carrying the goods, breaking through the tight encirclement and escaping unscathed—can you believe it? And now, this shameless Red Dragon, to extort more compensation, was blatantly distorting the facts, defying all reason! Yet they, the victims, had no choice but to put on benevolent expressions, bowing and scraping with smiles, not daring to utter a single word of protest.
This was the sorrow of the defeated—destined to be at the mercy of the Dragon.
Of course, if the situation were reversed, it would be the same.
As Drow, their behavior toward their enemies, especially those lying on the chopping block, unable to struggle and only to be slaughtered at will, would be even more merciless and cruel.
Then, they experienced the ruthlessness and cruelty of a Red Dragon:
"Considering that Matriarch Flavia has been executed and her house razed to the ground, we need not concern ourselves further with the grievances between her and me.
"But you filthy creatures dared to send people to kill my kin and rob my goods. This is a debt we must settle clearly, isn't it?"
David lacked evidence. He hadn't even seen his own kin, who were escaping with the goods, being attacked by Drow. However, he knew the Drow well enough. Under such openly hostile circumstances, the other Drow families would undoubtedly clarify the intelligence as quickly as possible and start looting amidst the chaos!
And, in fact, this guess wasn't just a shot in the dark; it pointed directly at the truth.
If the battle involving David hadn't erupted and concluded so quickly, it wouldn't have been a matter of just three Drow families. Instead, all Drow families in Spider Nest City capable of action, who had received the intelligence, would have joined this battle for wealth.
This was the evil nature of the Drow, already determined. It was, one might say, their destiny.
Although this was the truth, the Drow at this moment would never admit it, especially since they hadn't succeeded at all. Instantly, they all began to protest their innocence:
"That's not true, Lord David Uthos! Please hear my explanation..."
"This must be some cruel jest of fate..."
"The situation is this..."
Unable to tolerate the Drows' yammering, David, once again inflamed with Wrath, growled,
"Shut your traps, all of you!
"I don't need your explanations!
"I don't have the time or the inclination to figure out which one of you did it—or if all of you did!
"All I know is that because of the Greed of you idiots, I've suffered actual losses.
"And because of my mercy and generosity, you're all still standing here safely,
"instead of lying in some ruins!
"So, by all rights, every Drow present, including every Drow in Spider Nest City,
"owes me, David Uthos, their life.
"Since it's life-debt money, you'd all better cough it up willingly!
"Every living Drow must hand over silver coins equivalent to their own body weight."
David actually wanted to demand Gold equal to their body weight, but even if his head were filled with lava, selling all the Drow in Spider Nest City a hundred times over wouldn't amass enough.
Even so, upon hearing David's draconian demand, all the Drow matriarchs visibly paled:
"You might as well kill me!"
"Urgh..." One matriarch even rolled her eyes and 'fainted' on the spot, attempting to play dead—hoping, of course, that the debt could be settled in flesh.
"But my house has already been wiped out in your previous Wrath..."
"Where would Spider Nest City get that much silver?"
This was exactly what David was waiting to hear. He immediately declared in Wrath,
"Then pay with Gold!
"I can't be bothered to count each Drow head.
"Each Drow house owes me a life, so each house shall compensate with Gold weighing as much as I do—that's 1,372 pounds of Gold per house.
"If you can't come up with the Gold, then precious gems, Magical Items, Alchemical Tools, and luxury goods will suffice as substitutes.
"I won't disdain them; I'll accept anything.
"Be grateful for the mercy from me, David Uthos!"
But David, now much calmer, knew clearly that with nearly half of Spider Nest City leveled and the Spider Temple almost looted bare, it was impossible for these Drow to marshal such wealth in a short time. They probably couldn't even gather a third of it. However, war reparations have always been about demanding the sky and then settling for what can actually be obtained. Yet he didn't have the time to wear these Drow down slowly, nor could he adopt the posture of a conqueror from Blue Star, gradually extracting reparations over decades using the power of an entire nation. Because his trump card, the one that could incinerate cities, had undergone a change after that single clash with the Spider Queen's divine power. At the moment, he didn't have time to slowly figure out just what the Protection of Tiamat actually protected. He could only take full advantage of the fact that these Drow, thoroughly terrified by the Wrath of Tiamat, had not yet realized this. Before the Spider Queen reconnected her divine power, he intended to fleece them for all they were worth, down to the very roots.
Perhaps the Drow didn't understand the former point, but they were painfully aware of the latter. Nor did they dare gamble that the Spider Queen wouldn't be 'knocked offline' a second time by the Chromatic Dragon Queen. Therefore, they also felt there was still some room for negotiation, a chance to reduce their losses as much as possible.
If they could just hold onto a root, who knew? It might grow back someday. As long as they could safely send away this domineering scion of the Crimson Calamity. Letting a bit of blood was an acceptable sacrifice.
While the Drow 'cried to the heavens and beat their chests,' each sobbing desperately as if possessed by an award-winning actress pleading poverty, a matriarch suddenly interjected,
"We have an alternative to cover the difference, something you will definitely be interested in."