Saving Azeroth (By Stealing the Black Dragon Princess) - 21

Chapter 21: The Brother-in-Law Visits

Morning mist clung stubbornly to Dustwallow Marsh despite the rising sun. The air already permeated with pungent chemical reagent odors—yet this smell now made the dragonspawn feel oddly at home.

"Third fertilizer batch! Load up! Move quickly!" A dragonkin overseer with distinctive blue-gray scales stood on a wooden platform, cracking a whip while shouting commands. The whip tip produced crisp whistles through air, yet always maintained safe distance from workers' backs—since implementing the "performance wage system," overseers had discovered gold coins motivated better than pain.

Six strong dragonspawn shouldered bulging sacks, marching in neat formation toward the dock. Their newly replaced leather shoulder guards gleamed in morning light—purchased from goblin merchants with last week's bonuses. Each synchronized step produced rustling sounds from the densely packed fertilizer inside sacks.

"Careful with that reactor!" Onyxia's sharp reprimand echoed from the acid-fog-filled workshop. She floated in elf form mid-air, precisely pouring sulfur powder into the massive cast-iron container. Dark red hair was casually tied with copper wire, several strands plastered to her neck with sweat. Suddenly the container emitted an ominous gurgling sound. She lightning-quick jumped back three steps—

BOOM!

Yellow-green smoke erupted violently from the observation port, corroding the newly painted rust-proof coating into honeycomb patterns. Several dragonspawn apprentices expertly grabbed backup neutralizing agents to splash over the spill, foam, and toxic fog, producing teeth-aching hissing sounds on contact.

"Thirty-seventh formula improvement failure." Onyxia wiped black soot from her face with the back of her hand, pulling out parchment from under the workbench to record the loss. When she saw "Material Loss: 2 gold 15 silver" written in her own script, her dragon tail unconsciously emerged from under her skirt, irritably slapping the ground hard enough to crack tiles.

Clanging sounds came from the newly built residential area on the swamp's east side. Over twenty dragonspawn were constructing the sixth row of wooden houses with surprising efficiency. Using their prehensile tails to coil hammers and pound nails, they resembled giant reptilian tailors. A young dragonspawn held up a newly purchased gilded mirror, admiring himself from multiple angles, then accidentally dropped and shattered it—surrounding companions immediately voiced empathetic groans of shared financial pain.

Deren squatted on the newly built watchtower, a feather quill clenched between his teeth. His ledger was densely filled with numbers:

March 17:

• Dragonspawn wages paid: 47 gold 32 silver

• Goblin Express shipping: 8 gold

• Jaina's land tax: 5% net profit

• 4th thermometer Onyxia broke: 1 gold 50 silver

Suddenly, commotion erupted from the beach direction. The Captain of the goblin merchant ship "Gold Coin" waved his gold-trimmed tricorn hat frantically. "Mr. Deren! Steamwheedle Cartel ordering three hundred more tons! Cash deposit ready now!"

When the iron-bound chest of gold coins slammed onto the dock with resounding impact, the entire swamp fell into stunned silence. Every dragonspawn's pupils transformed into thin vertical slits fixed on the gleaming treasure.

"Extra meal tonight!" Deren declared loudly, foot stamping the wobbling chest for emphasis. "Roasted whole cow! Dragon breath barbecue sauce unlimited!"

Jubilant cheers startled vultures from the swamp. Onyxia somehow materialized behind Deren, claws still covered in chemical reagents settling possessively on his shoulder. "Overtime shifts now, I presume..."

Deren said without changing expression, "With overtime pay, naturally!"

Early next morning, the mist was torn to shreds by sudden violent wind pressure.

Dragonspawn shouldering sulfur sacks toward the reactor suddenly shivered collectively—an instinct etched deep into their bloodlines, like prey animals sensing approaching predator footsteps. Liquid in the reactor rippled without visible cause. Tiny stones on the ground began trembling ominously.

"Going to rain?" A young dragonspawn looked up nervously, his iron shovel clattering to the ground.

No clouds marred the sky. Only an ever-expanding shadow, spreading like spilled ink with relentless speed. When that massive shadow swept over the entire swamp, even sulfur granules vibrated in response.

Onyxia was engraving protective runes on a newly arrived reactor. Her dragon claw blade suddenly scraped three-meter-long sparks across the rock wall, dark gold vertical pupils contracting to pinpoint slits. "Nefarian."

The air itself exploded.

Sky-obscuring dragon wings stirred hurricanes that flattened vegetation. Twelve sacks filled with ammonium nitrate were swept up like weightless feathers. A newly built wooden house had its entire roof torn completely off. Some unfortunate dragonspawn's newly purchased gilded toilet traced a shining parabola through the air before crashing into the swamp.

A black dragon even more massive than Onyxia's true form landed thunderously. The swamp's mud crystallized instantly into obsidian upon touching his superheated claws. Nefarian elegantly folded wings with practiced grace, each scale gleaming with laboratory-tempered cold light—perfect armor forged from the flesh and blood of hundreds of chromatic whelps in his experiments.

"Sister." His voice rumbled like lava flowing over granite. "Father is intensely curious." His dragon tail swept casually past the reactor, specialty steel groaning under the strain. "What adorable house-playing game are you operating," nostrils flaring to spit sparks, "in this fertilizer workshop?"

The entire swamp fell into deathly, terrified silence. Cheap glass jewelry was crushed to powder in some dragonspawn's unconsciously tightening grips.

Onyxia's elf form appeared as tiny as an ant in her brother's true form shadow. Yet she stood perfectly straight, dragon tail emerging from under her skirt to slam down and shatter three floor tiles. "Mind your wording, brother." Fingertips radiating shadow corruption magic's ghostly light. "This is a workshop with an annual profit exceeding fifty thousand gold coins."

Nefarian's pupils flashed unmistakable surprise—that figure equaled Blackrock Mountain's entire ten-year slave labor income. His calculating gaze swept over trembling dragonspawn workers, suddenly freezing on a human audaciously standing behind the reactor.

Draconic aura pressed down like crushing physical weight. Deren's bones immediately creaked in protest. Yet he actually walked forward under that pressure, holding an open ledger like a shield. "Lord Nefarian, your reputation precedes you. Allow me to introduce next quarter's projected earnings—"

The black dragon's breath, like massive furnace wind, nearly scorched Deren's bangs to ash. "Human, you carry two scents I most detest." One massive claw pointed accusingly at Deren. "Copper stink from gold coins, and..." nostrils contracting violently in disgust, "my sister's scent."

Three meters away, Onyxia positioned herself protectively in front of Deren, fingertips condensing black flame, shielding him from her brother's overwhelming presence.

"Actually." Deren suddenly poured a pile of gold coins from his spatial bag onto the table between them. "These shiny little treasures are the bond connecting the Princess and myself. Don't you find them remarkably lovable?"

"I was planning to visit Her Highness's distinguished brother eventually. After all, you are one of her closest relatives. Now that Her Highness discovered such a lucrative money-making opportunity, how could we possibly exclude family?" Deren said smoothly, fingers constantly toying with the coin pile in hypnotic patterns.

Nefarian's face twitched involuntarily. His eyes remained fixed unmoving on that glittering pile. Though these few hundred gold coins were insignificant to him personally, realizing his sister possessed so much wealth she could casually let a mortal safeguard hundreds made his pride sting uncomfortably.

After brewing his words internally, he retracted his intimidating dragon form and transformed into a high elf appearance—tall, aristocratic, dangerous. Landing gracefully before Onyxia, he coughed, politely greeting his sister as if they were genuinely close siblings. Then addressed Deren, "You are that human pet, agricultural advisor Deren, belonging to my sister?"

Deren responded respectfully, "Yes, Your Highness. Deeply honored you have heard this mortal's name. Since Your Highness personally graces us with your presence today, why don't we discuss cooperation to make agricultural fertilizer development bigger and stronger?"

Nefarian nodded with an expression of 'You are begging me; I will reluctantly listen.' Deren led him to a nearby wooden house, having dragonspawn servants brew and serve quality tea. Nefarian watched with undisguised curiosity as dragonkin skillfully performed the ceremony, eyes revealing thoughtful calculation.

After the dragonkin served tea and departed, Nefarian observed his sister sitting comfortably with Deren, clearly pondering implications. Deren immediately spoke before the silence grew uncomfortable. "Prince Nefarian, consider this—the Princess and I are developing Kalimdor agriculture, producing revolutionary agricultural fertilizer in critically short supply. Annual income reaches tens of thousands of gold coins, exclusive business. Even goblins desperately beg to cooperate. But goblins, as everyone understands, only recognize gold, not people or loyalty. Currently they are restricting our raw material supply, demanding more concessions and better profit shares. Though we have the Princess's formidable deterrence, one tree cannot make a forest. Since elder brother visits fortuitously, you must help shoulder some burden. After all, her money counts as black dragon wealth. Rather than let goblins profit, why not keep it in the family?"

The prospect of shouldering the pressure of earning gold coins— Nefarian very much wanted to help his sister with that particular burden. But he understood nothing about agriculture or chemistry. He asked with genuine curiosity, "What can I actually contribute? Making fertilizer and such technical matters, I don't really understand."

Deren explained methodically. "I heard the Burning Steppes is Elder Brother's territory?"

Nefarian nodded with pride. "Correct, that is my primary headquarters."

"Excellent! I heard that region has volcanic lava everywhere and should possess abundant sulfur deposits. Princess Onyxia's fertilizer workshop requires massive quantities of sulfur—the higher the purity, the better. Goblin prices grow increasingly outrageous with each shipment. Why not have Elder Brother become an alternative raw material supplier? Give family pricing. Payment on delivery." Deren spoke while deliberately rubbing the coin pile on the table between them. Finishing his pitch, he pushed forward dozens of gold coins. "Rare for elder brother to grace us with your distinguished presence. A small meeting gift, trifling respect, hope you will accept."

Nefarian said, "How could I possibly?" while waving his hand in mock protest—the table coins swept cleanly into his spatial storage in one smooth motion. The smile on his face could barely be contained.

Onyxia said coldly, "Father sent you to investigate me. What exactly do you plan to report?"

"Everything appears completely normal!" Nefarian said decisively, already having calculated his response. "She is merely inciting relations between goblins and humans, attempting to use financial leverage to buy influence and increase racial conflicts for our advantage. Also, under the pretext of producing fertilizer, potentially attempting to pollute the continent's farmland for future destabilization."

Facing her brother's serious nonsense with a straight face, Onyxia widened her eyes, staring at him in utter disbelief.

Deren calmly pulled out a detailed ledger. "Come, Prince. Let us discuss specific business cooperation terms and profit margins."

Nefarian looked at his sister skeptically. "Your pet makes financial decisions for you?"

"In business matters, he has full authority." Onyxia said with complete confidence.

"Acceptable." Nefarian looked deeply at both of them, feeling he had discovered something fascinating. But what did it matter? As long as he obtained large quantities of gold coins, his chromatic experiments could continue indefinitely. His sister's personal affairs—irrelevant!

Subsequently, the Black Dragon Prince negotiated cooperation with a mere human. Finally they agreed—giving ten percent shares to Nefarian, but sulfur required delivery to Onyxia's swamp factory. Dividends are settled quarterly with no exceptions.

Nefarian was genuinely satisfied with this arrangement—execute first and evaluate results later. If annual income reached fifty thousand gold coins as claimed, he would receive five thousand. All he needed was to send subordinate minions to collect otherwise useless sulfur from Burning Steppes and deliver it to his sister's operation. Essentially a no-cost business generating pure profit.

When the massive black dragon departed Dustwallow Marsh, his eyes had literally transformed into gold coin symbols. In an excellent mood, his draconic aura restrained considerably, humming some ancient tune while taking flight.

Onyxia watched her brother's departing figure and couldn't help embracing Deren's shoulder with genuine affection. "Pet, you performed admirably. Even Elder Brother cannot resist gold coins' magical allure."

"Hehe, whether dragons, humans, or goblins—who isn't ultimately a servant of these shining little treasures? Except certain orcs who only understand using brute force to rob rather than trade. But soon—they will also quickly realize gold coins' magic proves far more powerful than any weapon." Deren said with expectant satisfaction.

"Don't forget our true plan." Onyxia reminded in a low, serious voice.

"Relax, everything remains under control." Deren grasped a certain dragon's palm in return, fingers intertwining with scaled hand in comfortable intimacy.