Chapter 158: This Isn't Just One Tribe's Affair. Cave Lizardman? A Spy in the Shadows.
The Old Priest Lizardman, the eldest among them, spoke up, somewhat dispelling the oppressive atmosphere within the wooden cabin.
Xiasiliu Xia Xia remained silent. He knew that even as the Tribe Leader, under these special circumstances, it was easier for the Old Priest from the Elder Council to steady everyone's hearts.
"They're... they're settled."
A black-scaled lizardman warrior sitting in the corner of the wooden cabin subconsciously looked up and stammered, "There are 50 refugees from the Little Fang Tribe."
"Among them are 30 female lizardmen, 15 children, and five elderly male lizardmen."
"As for the refugees from the Dragon Tooth Tribe, we are still in the process of receiving them, so we don't have a count yet."
This lizardman warrior was a bit nervous when he started speaking, but as he continued, his words became smoother, and his tone even held a hint of excitement.
The lizardmen present naturally knew why. The refugees were basically all female lizardmen from the two great tribes; the number of male lizardmen was pitifully small.
To an ordinary lizardman, this might seem like a good thing, but in the eyes of those present, it revealed some very terrifying information.
"This isn't normal," the Hunting Chief Lizardman said, his voice coarse and rumbling.
This certainly wasn't normal!
Salius Xia Xia, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, shifted his thigh. His scales scraped against the weaponry hanging at his waist, letting out a soft "clack."
A chill ran through him, pausing his impulse to speak and suppressing the irritation in his heart.
It was a pale weapon, emitting a faint glow. It looked like a cross between a sharp blade and a three-pronged staff—it was the sacred treasure of their lizardman race, the "Frozen Fang."
"In any situation, women and children are always the easiest to kill."
As the Tribe Leader, Xiasiliu Xia Xia propped himself up with his thick tail, straightening his upper body. He paused briefly before continuing, "At the very least, the strong lizardman warriors should have found it easier to escape, but none did!"
"The enemy truly showed mercy—"
As he said the words "showed mercy," Xiasiliu Xia Xia clenched his fists. Along with his anger, an inexplicable chill rose from deep within him.
Judging from the current situation, all the lizardman warriors from the two great tribes must have been killed in battle. There is only one possibility for such a bizarre outcome.
That mysterious human is even stronger than the information described, so precise that not a single lizardman warrior escaped.
So much so that they "benevolently" spared the weak women and children.
A display of power? Or complete indifference?
Whatever the case, it was not good news for them.
"The enemy is likely a caster who uses third-tier magic. They can summon two Angel Monsters in a single breath," a priest lizardman added, his voice trembling.
Among the priests present, only the strongest, the Old Priest Lizardman, had reached the second tier of power.
"Based on the current information, the enemy has only shown this one ability. It's highly likely they have other unknown methods."
Another priest lizardman spoke up, "The people from the Dragon Tooth Tribe specifically mentioned that their warriors killed several Angel Monsters in succession, yet they were still overwhelmed by the constantly replenished Angel Monsters."
"We speculate that the human possesses a rather vast amount of mana."
As these pieces of information were brought up one after another, the crowd's panic towards the unknown subsided significantly.
Seeing this, the Old Priest Lizardman said softly, "In the end, the enemy is just one person. Although a caster of third-tier magic is powerful, they are not impossible to deal with."
"The Little Fang Tribe and the Dragon Tooth Tribe collapsed so quickly because they had no information and were caught by surprise. Now that we have information on the enemy, devising a countermeasure won't be difficult."
Before anyone could feel relieved by these words, Salius Xia Xia, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Precisely because the enemy is alone, isn't it possible they are even stronger than what the current information suggests?"
The atmosphere froze!
"This is no place for a traveler like you to speak!" the burly Hunting Chief Lizardman roared, glaring at him in displeasure.
"I am merely speculating," Salius Xia Xia said, his expression flat.
"So what—even if they are stronger, are you planning to run away?!" the Hunting Chief Lizardman glared.
"Are you an idiot? If the enemy's power is even greater, our current countermeasures will likely fail. We need to make more thorough preparations."
"We need to notify the Red Eye and Sharp Tail tribes as well. We must ensure that we kill that human, not let them escape due to our carelessness!"
Salius Xia Xia retorted loudly.
"Enough!!"
The Old Priest Lizardman bellowed, looking at the two who were about to continue arguing.
The room fell silent.
"Tribe Leader, what are your thoughts?" the Old Priest Lizardman asked, turning to Xiasiliu Xia Xia.
"Salius is right. The enemy is alone. If they escape, it will be a true calamity. We must ensure we can eliminate them in one fell swoop."
Xiasiliu Xia Xia looked up and said seriously, "This isn't a matter for our tribe alone."
With the decision made, the entire Green Claw Tribe began to mobilize. Two lizardman squads were dispatched to the Red Eye Tribe and the Sharp Tail Tribe, respectively.
This situation concerned the destruction of two great tribes. No matter how strained the relationships between the tribes were, the higher-ups knew what needed to be done in the face of this threat.
Meanwhile, the Green Claw Tribe mobilized all its lizardman warriors to stand guard day and night, wary of a surprise attack from the human.
On the other hand, they dispatched the Hunting Squad to cautiously investigate the destroyed Dragon Tooth Tribe for more information.
Personnel from the Three Great Tribes began to gather.
Amidst this chaos, within the Green Claw Tribe, a somewhat frail-looking lizardman with a fish basket on his back occasionally greeted the lizardman warriors patrolling the street as he walked towards the outskirts of the village.
The current situation was not suitable for leaving the tribe. However! For the lizardmen, who enjoyed eating raw food and sought fresh fish, acquiring food was also a major affair.
Fortunately, the tribe was built near a lake. The lizardman quickly arrived at the nearby lake. After a swift check to ensure no other lizardmen were around, he jumped into the lake with a "plop."
A black figure swam swiftly through the lake, heading toward the depths.
When this lizardman emerged from the lake again, his originally somewhat sturdy body began to narrow at a visible rate.
The coarse black scales on his forehead began to shrink, and sharp, thorn-like protrusions emerged.
In just the blink of an eye! This lizardman had shrunk by half. From a distance, he looked like a miniature version of a lizardman.
No! He wasn't a lizardman at all, but one of the rare cave lizardmen who lived in the Upper Lake region of the Great Wetland's depths.
The thorn-like protrusions on his head were proof.
The cave lizardman raised a slender hand with sharp nails, upon which he wore a ring that emanated a dim, black light.
It was a magic item! It was precisely by relying on these magic items that he could disguise himself as a lizardman and live in their tribe.
"A bunch of simple-minded fools. The Lower Lake Wetlands should be under our rule."
The cave lizardman sneered in a low, hoarse voice. With a hopeful glint in his eyes, he carefully scanned his surroundings and quickly advanced towards the depths of the Upper Lake.
Compared to the suitable and safe environment of the Lower Lake Wetlands, the Upper Lake Wetlands was home to a large number of dangerous magical beasts, as well as the equally detestable frogmen.
Soon, the cave lizardman passed the periphery of a frogman's territory and immediately spotted frogmen who were about the same size as lizardmen.
They were lazing about in the mud, occasionally rolling over. Not far away, several other frogmen were doing the same.
These frogmen obviously noticed the cave lizardman right away, but after a single glance, they lazily looked away, completely unconcerned.
"Damn it!" the cave lizardman cursed inwardly, but he behaved very cautiously, quickly passing through the area without daring to make contact with any of the frogmen.
Unlike the xenophobic and rigid lizardmen, the frogmen were not exclusionary. They wouldn't show much hostility towards passing wild beasts, monsters, or other creatures.
Were the frogmen friendly? No! They were a group of creatures even more cold-blooded than the rigid lizardmen.
These frogmen might seem friendly, but in reality, their race naturally lacks any concept of hierarchy, let alone friendliness.
They were simply not hungry at the moment! Of course, this was on the condition that the creatures passing through their territory posed no threat. Otherwise, these frogmen would immediately react with frenzied actions.
In the cave lizardman's eyes, both lizardmen and frogmen were fools. Despite their own intelligence, his kind occupied the smallest territory.
The environment of the Wetland Jungle in the depths began to grow more complex. The cave lizardman, however, moved with great skill and speed, soon arriving at a place overgrown with strange vines and moss, hidden within a faint, dense fog.
He was before an Abandoned Ancient Castle, about three stories high, located deep within the woods.
Arriving here, the cave lizardman's face immediately filled with reverence, and even his movements became cautious.
"Hee hee, what do I see?"
"A cute little lizard."
Suddenly, a somewhat sinister and strange, low chuckle sounded from behind the cave lizardman. Just a moment ago, there had been nothing behind him.
The thought flashed through the cave lizardman's mind, but his body moved faster than his thoughts. He immediately dropped to his knees, burying his head low.
"Great Master, something has happened with the lizardmen."
"Oh? What happened?"
"I hope it's something worth my attention," the strange, delicate laughter became ethereal.
As the cave lizardman recounted the events.
"Interesting indeed. Be gone."
Hearing this, the cave lizardman kept his head bowed, not daring to look up, and quickly turned to leave.
At the gate of the gloomy ancient castle, a slender figure appeared, yet its shadow on the ground was split in two.
"You heard that, right?" the strange, delicate laugh came again.
"I'm not interested in such boring matters. You've already wasted too much of my time. You had better pray that the recent results satisfy me."
A flat voice came from the third floor of the ancient castle.
Creak!
A rotten window was pushed open.
From the shadows, the cold face of a hook-nosed man in a black robe was revealed.
A human!
No one would have ever imagined that a human existed deep within the Great Wetland.
The debris and dust falling from the rotting window frame were instantly repelled by the waves of mana surging from the black-robed man.
Merely by standing next to the window, an invisible pressure and mana began to emanate outwards, filling the surrounding air with a sense of terror.
"An angel? Someone from the Theocracy?"
"I hope they don't interfere with my plans." A cold glint flashed in the Hook-nosed Mage's light-brown pupils as he gazed into the depths of the jungle.
......
Dragon Tooth Tribe.
Tang Zheng put down the scroll in his hand and rubbed his temples.
During this time, he had been studying the magical knowledge and techniques passed down by the lizardmen. It was a good thing he had deliberately spared a priest lizardman.
"Two days have passed. I wonder what the lizardmen are up to?"
Tang Zheng straightened his back, stretched, and reached out to pat the head of the Ghoul Dog lying beside him.
(end of chapter)