That bard is such a charmer!

Chapter 5: Both the Red Dragon and the Poet Have New Plans

Richard's idea can be broken down into three steps.

The first step is to find all the necromancer's tools.

The second step was to find a way to use the power contained within the props—this was difficult for him in the past, after all, he was a poet, not a mage, and his understanding of magical things was very limited.

But now he can try to use the charm item directly. If he succeeds, then everything will be fine!

The third step was to use this power on the dragon to see if he could change the power relationship between the two souls within it, allowing the red copper dragon's soul to gain the upper hand and dominate the body!

At that time, given the copper dragon's innate kindness, he won't need to fight the dragon to the death and will be able to leave the dungeon smoothly!

Of course, it must be admitted that this idea is very idealistic.

Those magical items may not still exist, and they may not be able to charm anymore. Even if they are charmed, they may not be able to work wonders on dragons again.

But no matter what, it's still worth a try.

Richard couldn't think of any other more feasible solutions at the moment.

He then asked the helmet, "Do you know that tower, or rather, where those items are scattered?"

Helmet's response:

[Right at the westernmost edge of the underground city, that stone tower lies conspicuously on the high ground!]

However, that area is also the lair of the kobolds.

Getting close would be quite difficult...

As they were talking, the helmet suddenly fell silent, and no matter how Richard asked it, it stopped responding.

It seems that it has reverted to being an ordinary item, just like a one-handed sword.

Richard gave it a final pat, making sure it was securely placed on its owner's skull.

Then he stood up and paced around the room, thinking.

Is the destination near the kobolds' lair?

This is not a good situation...

Especially after he had already killed several kobolds, those monsters would certainly become more wary and difficult to deal with.

With his current strength, he can handle two or three head-on, but any more than that and he'll easily get injured or killed.

Thinking this through, Richard sighed softly, and then made a decision...

Let's eat first.

Eat and then take a nap.

After a long day of work, he was completely exhausted. Even if he racked his brains to come up with a solution, he couldn't implement it. He might as well rest for the night and see how things go tomorrow.

Richard took out some jerky, put it in his mouth, and started chewing.

噫。

It's so hard and tastes awful.

It felt like biting the sole of a slipper belonging to a woman from Northeast China.

Oh no, I can't make that connection...

Richard gritted his teeth, quickly finished the whole strip of jerky, and then explored the entire blacksmith shop.

He found the place to be quite large, with a front door, a back door, and an attic filled with rusty armor designed for dwarfs—luckily, these items were too heavy for the kobolds to wear, otherwise he would have been in big trouble.

Overall, this place is very convenient for hiding and escaping.

I might as well just sleep here.

Once he had made up his mind, Richard took action.

He first used door panels, armor, and threads removed from clothing to set up simple traps at the entrance, ensuring that the kobolds would trip over the threads as soon as they entered, indirectly knocking over the armor bound by the threads, thus making a loud noise to warn him.

Then he ran outside and trampled around, leaving some footprints leading to other places. He also collected a pile of dust and sprinkled it around the area to cover up as much of the traces of his entry into the blacksmith's shop as possible.

After doing all this, he hid in the attic, lay down behind a pile of protective gear, and slowly drifted off to sleep...

The words are divided into two parts.

The dog-headed people won't be able to sleep.

Upon finding the corpse of his kind, the kobold warlock immediately realized that the human he had been hunting seemed unafraid of the darkness and possessed considerable combat prowess.

He then changed the arrangement, changing his men from groups of two or three to groups of five or six.

This greatly increases the strength of each group, so even if they encounter Richard again, they won't be wiped out in one fell swoop.

However, the efficiency of the search inevitably dropped by half.

In the end, after spending the entire night, the kobolds found nothing.

This terrible result angered Zoya once again.

As soon as the sun rose the next day, the red dragon summoned the dog-headed people to its front and hurled insults at them.

"There's only one human on the other side, just one!"

"Not only did you fail to capture him, but he also killed three of you and stole your weapons?"

"If that's the case, what use are you to me!"

Faced with Zoya's gaping maw, the kobold warlock could only beg for mercy, pleading for another chance.

At the same time, the voice of the copper dragon Grace also rang in Zoya's mind.

"Little Zoya, why are you so angry?"

"Oh, so it was the kobolds who made the mistake~"

"What mistake did I make? Did I betray you or poop in your food? Oh, so I failed to catch that human~"

"I remember not long ago, a red dragon made the same mistake. To be fair, why don't you scold her in front of the mirror too?"

"Speaking of which, that human is really good at creating surprises. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing him again... Ah, no, it's better if I don't see him..."

Grace's sarcastic words fueled Zoya's anger even more.

But after hurling insults for several minutes, the cunning in her blood overwhelmed her anger, allowing her to regain her composure.

She had to admit that she had underestimated that human.

That guy does have some skill.

Their own kobolds were too weak, numbering only twenty or thirty in total, and apart from a warlock, there weren't any decent professionals.

It seems unlikely that they can find the person in a short time.

But it's okay.

This is no challenge for the great Zoya!

The word "difficulty" doesn't exist in Zoya's dictionary!

After a moment of contemplation, Zoya shook her dragon head and glared at the kobold warlock.

"Coo, coo coo (Master, Master)?"

"I forgive you."

"Goo-ga (Thank you, Master, you are so kind!)"

"I've come up with a new plan that I need you to implement."

"Gaga (Give the order)!"

And so, amidst the whispers of the dragons and kobolds, a new conspiracy gradually took shape...

A few hours later.

Inside the blacksmith's shop.

Richard slowly woke up, stood up from the pile of armor, and stretched his limbs.

To be honest, he didn't sleep well last night.

The ground was too hard, and strange noises kept coming from outside, making it impossible for him to relax.

But what can he ask for at this moment?

After silently chewing half a piece of jerky, he picked up his sword and walked out the door.

He planned to go west to take a look, even if he couldn't get close to the kobolds' lair for the time being, he could at least get a feel for the situation from the outside.

However, after walking only two hundred meters or so, he froze on the spot.

The sound of the dragon's wings flapping was like a whirlwind, echoing throughout the entire underground city.

He quickly crouched behind a nearby wall, poked half his head out, and peered into the city center.

Just then, Zoya flew out of the temple and headed straight for the main gate of the underground city.

There was a huge rock several people tall, which partially covered an even larger doorway.

She pushed the boulder aside, and with the influx of sunlight and fresh air, she flew out of the ground and disappeared into the vast天地 (heaven and earth) outside.

Then one minute, two minutes, three minutes...

A long time passed, and Zoya never returned.

The gate was no longer blocked by stones and was left wide open, with only a few kobolds wandering around nearby.

Richard rubbed his eyes.

On the one hand, he was not used to the bright sunlight that he hadn't seen for most of the day, and on the other hand, he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

What does that mean?

Why did that red dragon leave the exit open?

Are you not going to keep him locked up anymore?