Chapter 1215: New allies
The Dragonborns found themselves adjusting to their new lives with mixed reactions. They did like the way that they had become stronger, more resilient, more powerful.
They had successfully gone from the 7th stage of Body Formation all the way to the 9th stage in one fell swoop.
However, this evolutionary benefit came with unwanted things as well. First of all, they were so vastly different from their previous bodies that hardly anyone recognized them.
The Orcs almost fighting with the Dragonborns were not the last time that happened. Some of the guards and soldiers they had stationed around New Sparta were alarmed to see three new unknown people wandering the premises.
It wasn’t until Michael himself made an announcement did people finally begin to recognize the truth.
After that, things went pretty smooth sailing. After all, the Dragonborns may have looked human, but they were just as monstrous as they were before.
Sheina still directed Rebornians with a spartan attitude. She kept things on track even with all of the things happening around their territories. She did it with a smile, which looked horrifying to those who already knew her personality.
Jaku was still a monster at swordplay. Despite being late to every single training, he still wiped the floor against every person that he came across. Some hated him for it. After all, this new power spike gave more excuses for Jaku to laze around and sleep all day rather than train.
Umisu didn’t appear to the public that much. But whenever a sudden rainfall and gust of wind battered their nation, everyone knew that the shy Dragonborn was getting emotional somewhere around the territory.
And then there was the matter of Zion. Or the Dragon.
It didn’t take long for Rebornians to see him flying through the skies, casting a large shadow on the ground. And his presence caused destruction everywhere. Anytime he landed wrong, a building would collapse. Even after a few days of getting used to his new body, he still made the same mistakes as before.
But it wasn’t all that bad.
The Dragonborns’ reputation had spread all around the Royal Continent.
Multiple companies and territories met with the Reborn company to discuss automobiles and such.
They all basically went in the same pattern:
Representatives would meet Michael in their headquarters. They would request the purchase of automobiles for their organization or territory or company.
"We hope that you’d prioritize our orders," they would say.
Michael would give them a price. An inflated one, making the excuse that they didn’t have that much production capacity. But in truth, this was just a basic negotiation tactic. Make the first price bigger so that when the opponent counters, the eventual price would level out to the original number.
But instead of countering, they just accepted without lowering anything!
"Ver–very well, sir. We accept!"
At first, Michael thought that they were just desperate to get automobiles. But then, he noticed that they all kept looking around the room as if they were looking for something. No, for someone.
"What’s wrong?" he asked them.
They fidgeted in their seats. "Umm... we’ve heard that you have the famous Dragonborns by your side. Is it... is it true about what they said?"
Michael’s eyebrows raised. Has the knowledge about the Ancient Roar already spread that far?
"About?"
"That the Dragonborns are descendants from the Ancient Era! Their lineage has allowed them to become extremely powerful. I heard that they could even beat those guys from the Upper Echelons!"
As it turned out, the Dragonborns had gathered quite a fanbase amongst themselves. Somehow, it had been spread that the Dragonborns were somehow connected to the Mythical Beasts and the Ancient Humans.
He thought they’d be famous for the Ancient Roar.
The Shadow Orcs then explained to him about what happened.
Among the elites and the Upper Echelons, it was true that the Dragonborns became famous because of their Ancient Roar.
That reputation seemed to have bled over to the general public. But the public still had no idea about the Ancient Roar. They just know that the Upper Echelons and elites were regarding the Dragonborns with a lot of respect.
Of course, the Dragonborns’ actions during the New Sparta attack also helped their reputation within the public.
They became the Civic Protectors.
In fact, they seemed to be the very reason why some of the territories around Reborn suddenly changed their minds and wanted their protection.
"We wish to be defended by the Dragonborns!" they pleaded.
Now, this wasn’t just a case of adoration. It was also necessary.
They’d seen and heard about the attacks from marauders, robbers, and thieves targeting populations with automobiles.
As leaders of those communities, they were the ones getting blamed for the lack of action being taken. They couldn’t afford to build a better army, so it would just be better to ally themselves with Reborn.
The Dragonborns’ reputation definitely helped with that decision. If they could fight against the Upper Echelons, then they could definitely protect them from those low-life thieves.
Michael accepted their terms as he always needed more allies in the south. Unfortunately for them, they were under the impression that the Dragonborns were too busy to meet, even though they were actually right in front of them.
"Haaaa... I’m tired," he said, slumping in his seat.
These meetings were endless. More than a week of the same discussions had made him utterly exhausted.
"Lord Michael, we still have work to do," Sheina said, standing in front of his desk with the same sharp posture she had from the beginning. How could she not be exhausted?
"Our new allies have promised us trade that we have sorely needed. We’ll need to compensate them as well," said Castelle, standing beside Sheina.
Those new alliances helped supply them with the raw materials they needed to keep up with the automobile demands.
This was good, of course. But in exchange, Reborn had to solve their problems, like trade, protection, etc.
Flanked by his two strict bosses, Michael couldn’t help but sigh.
Was this what they called suffering from success?
