This Dragon Gathering appeared to have as many as five giant dragons participating.
But ultimately, only Xia'er and Saga were truly discussing countermeasures.
Blue Dragon Rebecca had never been to the Star Mist Archipelago before, and Sea-Dwelling Dragon Tina had just joined and understood nothing.
White Dragon Disos...
Given Disos's current intelligence level, it would be a miracle if he could join the discussion. One couldn't demand too much from a White Dragon.
However, at the exact moment Xia'er asked this question, Sea-Dwelling Dragon Tina suddenly spoke up. "Um, I have some information."
As soon as these words were spoken, the other four Chromatic Dragons immediately fixed their gazes on Tina.
It was the first time Tina had been stared at by so many of her kind, and she instantly felt a bit nervous. Her indigo scales quivered slightly. She awkwardly pulled her neck in, then, as if remembering something, mustered her courage and hurriedly spoke.
"When I was wandering near the Fishman King's Court, I saw many Dwarf ships anchored around the periphery of their reef clusters! At the time, I thought it was a Locathah settlement, thinking it was a perfect opportunity to recruit them as my first batch of followers. If I had known they were Sahuagin, I would never have actively approached or provoked them."
Hearing Tina say this, a strange glint instantly flashed in Xia'er's eyes.
Dwarf ships?
"Can you be sure they were Dwarves, and not human merchant ships or something?" Xia'er asked, opening her mouth.
"Yes, I saw several Dwarves appear, much shorter than humans."
Tina's tail swished back and forth uneasily. "That's exactly why I misjudged. Sahuagin love attacking merchant ships for plunder. If human merchant ships were coming to do business, then those human ships would definitely have powerful forces aboard. But the Dwarf ships didn't!"
Upon hearing this, Xia'er's dragon pupils constricted sharply, flashing with a cold, icy gleam.
Her worst fear had materialized.
The Fishman King's Court frequently sending scouts westward over the past six months wasn't about truly launching a war of western expansion. Instead, they had formed some secret alliance with the Dwarf Kingdom.
"Dwarf ships... appearing at the Fishman King's Court..."
Xia'er's low voice rumbled like muffled thunder through the spacious Dragon Court. Her massive head turned towards Saga. "Have the equipment of the fishman scouts changed? Especially their weapons."
Black Dragon Saga instantly understood what Xia'er meant and immediately responded. "Your insight is profound, my lady! In the recent conflicts, the tridents used by the fishman scouts were of a far superior quality compared to the iron weapons we captured before. The forging craftsmanship was clearly different!"
Previously, most of the weapons used by the fishmen were of similar quality to those of the lizardmen, cast-offs sold to them by human merchant ships.
But now, the fishmen were using refined steel!
On this continent, the most skilled craftsmen in forging were mostly of these short-statured races.
Dwarves, goblins, and the like.
The chain of evidence snapped shut instantly.
Xia'er's heart sank. Everything pointed to a terrifying conclusion: to completely eliminate the threat from the dragonkind, the Dwarf Kingdom was willing to pay some price to secure the cooperation of the Sahuagin, that ferocious deep-sea force, for a joint attack.
In their eyes, Xia'er entrenched in the Star Mist Archipelago and Valentina fighting them in the south were fundamentally part of the same entity—the 'Underwood Dragon Flight'—a unified enemy.
Sigh, getting sandwiched from both sides.
Xia'er exhaled a puff of hot air through her nostrils, finding the situation somewhat troublesome.
However, things weren't actually as dire as they seemed.
After all, the Fishman King's Court hadn't formally declared war.
They were just constantly sending scouts to harass, not launching a large-scale war.
This situation seemed more like the Fishman King was just humoring the Dwarf Kingdom, freeloading off the Dwarf craftsmen to refine weapons for them.
After all, Sahuagin were cunning by nature, always the type to act only for profit.
Without confirming the strength of the dragons, how could they possibly launch a large-scale war?
In Xia'er's view, the ally the Dwarf Kingdom should have sought was actually the Frost Giants to the north.
The giant race was already historically hostile to the dragon race and possessed formidable combat prowess. They would absolutely be the most suitable alliance partner for the Dwarf Kingdom.
But the Dwarves probably couldn't get there either.
The land route was blocked by Valentina, and the sea route was cut off by herself.
Allying with these fishmen might truly have been their last resort.
The Dwarf Kingdom seemed unimpressive, but Xia'er was equally vexed.
Lack of intelligence.
Xia'er didn't even clearly understand the true strength of the Dwarf Kingdom. She only knew there was a Dwarf King, Jandres, with a challenge rating of level 15.
Her current situation was clear: loyal but limited in number followers, several capable but equally young dragon companions, and Tina, who had just joined, was wounded, scarred, and lacked practical combat experience.
The island resources she currently occupied were limited, and strategic depth was practically non-existent.
Once the Dwarves launched a large-scale attack from the southern land and the fishmen attacked simultaneously from the eastern deep sea, forming a 'pincer attack' situation, her dragon flight would instantly be plunged into an extremely passive position.
Valentina was entangled with the main Dwarf force in the south. It was hard to expect her to provide timely reinforcements; she might even be struggling to protect herself.
Xia'er's deep emerald dragon eyes swept over the dragons in the hall. Her low, authoritative voice echoed through the stone chamber. "Saga, Disos, heed my command!"
"Immediately lead the Bullywug and lizardmen legions to contract into the core defensive perimeter of White Pearl Island. Construct defensive lines relying on the reef fortresses. Mobilize all the grain stockpiled over the past five years. Prioritize ensuring supplies for our followers. If the main fishman force invades westward, preserving combat strength is paramount. Abandon outlying strongholds if necessary. Retreat in echelons to the Dragon Court mountain pass. Use the smallest possible cost to stall the eastern front!"
"Yes."
Saga and Disos lowered their heads simultaneously, acknowledging the order.
After speaking, Xia'er turned her gaze to the wounded and scarred Tina. "Tina, you will remain deep within the Dragon Court to hibernate and recuperate. By the time your scales regenerate, I want to see the waves beneath your wings churning for the dragon flight!"
"Okay."
Tina ducked her head and nodded.
One of the special abilities of dragons was that if injured, they could recover their wounds through the form of dragon sleep.
It was actually somewhat similar to Xia'er's 'Limb Regeneration', except the difference was that 'Limb Regeneration' was an enhanced version of recovery through dragon sleep, allowing Xia'er to heal injuries without entering a deep slumber.
Finally, Xia'er's gaze fell upon Rebecca. "The kobold guard unit will accompany me south to investigate the true strength of the Dwarves!"
Between confronting the Dwarves and the fishmen, Xia'er chose to confront the Dwarves.
The fishmen's main lair was underwater. The islands they occupied didn't actually have many fishmen inhabiting them. If she were to take action against the fishmen, Xia'er would be at an absolute disadvantage underwater, and it would also be difficult to capture their main lair.
The Dwarves were different.
Although Dwarves were a demi-human race, they lived on land. Their cities were mostly located inside mountains and deep underground, built by carving through rock. Some cities were even similar to human cities, built above ground.
Therefore, compared to underwater, Dwarf cities were easier to locate.
More importantly, if fighting underwater, aside from the Bullywugs, only Saga could charge into battle alongside her.
Sea-Dwelling Dragon Tina needed dragon sleep and couldn't provide effective assistance.
The other dragons could only watch helplessly from the air.
But attacking the Dwarves was different.
Everyone could participate in the battle.
This time, Xia'er wasn't going to defeat the Dwarves. She wanted to probe their true strength.
And incidentally...
Complete a Slaughter Mission.
The mission to kill 1000 supernatural beings wasn't finished yet.
Still halfway there.
It should be fulfilled using the Dwarves!