Golden Dragon: Six Thousand Years of Empire

Therefore, there is an extremely rare mutation among goblins, or rather, it is not a mutation, but rather the appearance that the goblin race should have.

City goblins, integrated into the grand event of human-like civilization, become city residents, engage in high-intelligence professions such as merchants or inventors, or serve as servants and stewards for nobles with special preferences.

This is the most special aspect of goblins; they are the only race among all the demons in the wild that can enter human civilization as a member of the Wisdom Race.

Because the original goblins were one of the creators of civilization. This is what Noah, as the Ancestor Dragon, found in the oldest memories regarding goblins.

This is information that many find hard to believe, but it is indisputably true. Goblins once established a very glorious civilization, did not research magic, did not delve into fighting spirit, possessed no extraordinary power, yet could still change the world, destroy plane civilizations.

Unfortunately, the goblin civilization had long been lost, the ancient empire had collapsed, and now most remaining goblins have become monsters in the wild, at the mercy of others. Even the goblins that still possess intelligence have forgotten the glory of the past.

"They are a group of greedy, irritable, ignorant, and extremely arrogant individuals."

A magician who had seen the goblins establish city-states in the west, and even recommended them to Noah, had no positive comments about these green-skins.

"It seems your western journey was not very smooth."

Noah was not concerned about these evaluations; he had already examined the various firearms brought by this magician from the west.

Those weapons, devoid of any extraordinary power, could nonetheless inflict quite severe damage on low-level professionals, and some particularly powerful ones posed a lethal threat to professionals below Glory Gold.

Therefore, Noah is very interested in these western green-skin goblins; in Noah's view, these goblins are limited by materials. Hence, the power of the weapons they craft is limited.

If he could provide higher-quality materials, then combined with their unrestrained creativity, they would certainly be able to create more powerful equipment. Most importantly, the requirements for wearing these equipments would be low enough.

"What kind of price do you think I need to pay? To enlist all these goblins for my use."

Noah bluntly asked.

"Do you want to enlist all the goblins of that entire city-state?"

The magician was a bit surprised.

"Is there something impossible?"

"Your Majesty, you only need to recruit goblin engineers. Even in that city-state, the vast majority of goblins can only engage in repetitive and tedious hard labor, which does not qualify them for recruitment."

The magician sincerely suggested.

"How many goblins live in that goblin city-state you visited, and how many engineers are there?"

Noah neither agreed nor disagreed with the advice, but instead continued to inquire.

"More than half a million goblins live in that city-state, yet within them, less than three hundred have obtained the title of engineer."

"Then, I want to know, do goblin engineers possess the title of engineer and corresponding knowledge from the moment they are born?"

Noah posed an obvious question.

"Of course not. Every goblin engineer must not only master a vast amount of knowledge but also undergo verified learning in practice. Many engineer apprentices die during the learning process due to research into explosives."

The magician was momentarily stunned, then quickly replied, as he already understood the thinking gap between himself and the Holy Dragon. In his view, offering a high price to recruit some of those goblin engineers would suffice. As for the goblins in that city-state, who are of no assistance to the Holy Dragon Emperor, they need not be considered.

But this Holy Dragon Emperor not only wants current goblin engineers but also future engineers, hence choosing to recruit the entire goblin city-state.

"Given this, why wouldn't I recruit future engineers as well?"

"As you wish, my Emperor!"

The magician bowed deeply.

"So, what kind of price must I pay to possess that goblin city-state?"

Noah inquired again.

"No price is needed, just a war, a war that will make the goblins despair, and you can possess the city-state established by the goblins along with their loyalty."

The magician answered without hesitation.

If it's only a matter of recruiting some engineers, money would suffice, but if the entire city-state is to be brought to submission and eternal service, then war is essential.

Loyalty gained through monetary temptation will ultimately betray you in the face of greater profit; only death and despair can achieve true conquest.

"Which legion do you need?"

Noah straightforwardly asked.

The Golden Dragon did not care whether attacking the western city-state without any preconditions would invite any criticism, because no one cares about goblins.

Nowadays, goblins are essentially kicked out of the Wisdom Species category, no better off than the Shahua Fishmen who were expelled due to the Bronze Dragon's favor.

Although goblins are rightfully Wisdom Races, their status as such is acknowledged only in very limited areas, while in more places, they are still regarded as low-level demons.

Even in cities where goblins are allowed to live, they have no social status, little better than slaves at best, with many goblins being less than even slaves.

Most critically, goblins do not worship any divine spirits. Most goblins, even if not unbelievers, are barely better off for long.

Their devout prayers receive no response from the gods, making them a race detested by all gods.

"I don't need any legion, just some Cloud Giants to assist me, and I can conquer that goblin city-state for you."

"Cloud Giants? Sure."

Only then did Noah remember that he had a fair number of Cloud Giants under his command. It's not that Noah deliberately ignored their existence, just that under the threat of a nephew with Titan Blood next door, cultivating Cloud Giants posed no small risk.

The call of a Titan to the Giant Species is undeniable, and Noah is not at all eager to test whether the Cloud Giants' allegiance to the spirit of contracts can surpass their admiration and yearning for Titans.

Although this risk exists, Uranos continues to follow the ancestral code, refusing any Cloud Giant's loyalty.

Because the Augustus family cannot guarantee the stable inheritance of Titan Blood, which means it cannot ensure the Cloud Giants will always support the Augustus family. If a generational gap arises, the outcome is unpredictable.

"Please wait patiently. Within a year, I will certainly offer the goblin city-state to you!"

In reality, less than a year would be needed. Facing hundreds of Cloud Giants able to walk on clouds, most of the weapons crafted by the goblins became ineffective.

Their airships were shot down one after another, and their proud war series armaments were as fragile as a pile of blocks in the face of the Giants' might.

"We have failed!"

Standing on the oil-stained, rust-smelling steel city walls, an elderly goblin, whose attire differed in no way from other green-skin goblins, looked up at the giants towering on the clouds, casting thunder upon the land, and sighed.

"No, we have not failed. As long as we can keep persisting, until we create the Giant God Weapon..."

"Stop dreaming. With the resources we presently have, it is utterly impossible to create a real Giant God Weapon, not to mention that what we have is merely a fragmentary blueprint. Our wisdom is not enough to repair and perfect the blueprint. Surrender!"