The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 275: He who knows the current affairs is a hero
The shadows of the trees on the outskirts of the forest became sparse, and a strange smell filled the air. The delegation of the Sand Ridge Tribe finally arrived near the Demon King's camp.

Standing at the edge of the woods, Thea gently pulled down the hood of her storm cloak, revealing her light brown and golden scaly skin and her slender amber pupils.

She squinted her eyes, stared far ahead, and whispered to herself.

"We're finally here."

Niema stood quietly behind Xia, like a gray-brown statue, his deep green eyes revealing coldness and alertness.

Her scales changed subtly with the color of the environment, so that standing in the shadows she almost blended in with the surrounding trees.

At this moment, her eyes were fixed on the busy skeleton soldiers and zombies in front of her. Her voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of fear.

"These guys are the 'Sleepless Ones'. Do we...really want to be with them?"

The so-called sleepless ones are the dead.

In the culture of the Janna continent, people whose faith is not strong enough will be abandoned by the gods. They will have nowhere to go after death and can only wander in the wilderness like ghosts.

Thea didn't look back, but responded softly.

"But think about it from another perspective. If they can accept even the dead, why can't they accept us who are alive? That demon king is not a dead ghost. We saw it with our own eyes."

On that day, the decisive battle between the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom and the Demon King's army took place. They were on a nearby mountain and not only witnessed the entire process, but also captured several deserters from the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom.

Later, they cut off the heads of the Ankylosaurs and put them into the trailer containing the heads of the Holy Ankylosaur Kingdom's envoys as a gift to the Demon King.

"I'm just worried... they'll turn us into that too," Nima whispered.

Thea said softly after a moment of silence.

"Don't jump to conclusions, Nima. Now that we're here, let's go see for ourselves what the Demon King is like. It won't be too late to make a decision later."

If she could exchange her own safety for the prosperity of the entire tribe, she would have no complaints.

But Xia felt that she would not be in any danger.

Previously, a lizardman from the Windhowl tribe landed near this camp, and left safely in the end, didn’t he?

Unlike the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom, which would cut out the heads and hearts of messengers at any time, these outsiders who called themselves the Demon King's Army were extremely brutal on the battlefield and did not give the enemy any chance to breathe, but they had no precedent of killing messengers.

The two of them slowly stepped into the outskirts of the camp, secretly observing the location of the Demon King's army along the way, but the more they looked, the more shocked they became.

In a short period of time, large tracts of forest were cut down into wide and flat open spaces. The huge burrow spiders waved their sharp claws and mouthparts to uproot large tracts of dense trees.

On the hill, a fortress was rising rapidly, and the walls made of huge stones were entrenched like a giant dragon lying down... Those buildings were things she had never seen before.

What shocked Xia even more were the strangely shaped tools scattered around the camp. Some of them could lift huge stones, while others could quickly transport a pile of wood from the east to the west of the camp.

This is incredible!
And there were those huge metal tube-shaped weapons... I don't know if it was those things that brought down a rain of fire like a punishment from heaven on the positions of the Holy Ankylosaur Kingdom.

She felt an indescribable oppression from it.

That was not based on any supernatural power, but the shock brought by pure power.

Xia was silent for a long time and sighed softly.

"No wonder the 30,000 elite troops of the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom were easily defeated by them... This strength is truly amazing."

Nima frowned the scales on his brow, and there was a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

"Can this force really be trusted? If they turn around and use it against us, how can we resist?"

Xia was silent for a long time after hearing this, and a hint of helplessness flashed in her soft vertical pupils.

She turned her head to look at Nima and whispered.

"There is no doubt that we can't resist them, just like we can't resist the Kingdom of the Holy Armor Dragon. They are forces that can destroy us in an instant... The only difference is that we can see lizardmen in the Demon King's army, although they are a species we have never seen before. But on the contrary, have you seen the figures of the Sand Ridge Clan on the land of the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom?"

"They never accepted us. They drove us from the mountains to the forests, deprived us of water, drove us to the barren desert, and prevented us from going to the Stairway to the Sun Mountains to worship Mother Earth... The Demon King's Army is certainly untrustworthy, but is the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom trustworthy?"

Nima was silent.

indeed.

Her mother died in the war with the Ankylosaur clan.

Thea paused and continued.

"...The great mother of the clan saw through the hypocritical Saint King at a glance. They had not thought of the ancient contract for the past thousand years. It was not until today when they could not win that they suddenly remembered the agreement with us to jointly maintain the Great Barrier. Even if they pretended to be generous and proposed an alliance, it was only to consume our strength, let us die first, and then crush us completely at the last moment. In this case, we might as well surrender to His Majesty the Demon King. Who knows, there might be a glimmer of hope."

The reality is so cruel.

In front of the powerful tribe, the weak tribe did not have the right to decide their own destiny. They could only choose one that had a relatively more elegant eating manner.

Deciding the fate of the Janna continent and all lizardmen is an ambition that only the Holy Ankle Dragon Kingdom is qualified to have. This is too luxurious and too far-fetched for the Sand Ridge tribe.

Their only goal is to survive.

Slowly raising her head, Xia looked at the fortress that was about to be completed, with a bright light in her deep vertical pupils.

"I have a strong feeling that this will be a storm that sweeps across the Janna continent. The annihilation of 30,000 armored dragon soldiers is only the beginning of everything. Even the power displayed by the Demon King is only the tip of the iceberg of his full strength."

"The Janna continent will undergo drastic changes in his hands. No one can escape. We can only try to find our place in this storm and secure living space for our Sand Ridge tribe."

Niema was silent for a moment, and finally a hint of recognition appeared in her eyes. She nodded slightly and regained her usual coldness and calmness.

"I understand."

Thea smiled softly, adjusted her cloak slightly, and her tone turned soft and steady.

"Let's go... The Demon King is waiting for us up ahead. You can be more natural with your expression."

Nima nodded slightly, trying to make his expression look more natural.

Just at this moment, a tall lizardman corpse walked slowly towards them with heavy steps.

The scales on his body were grayish-white, his eye sockets were sunken, and behind his amber pupils there was a faint dark green soul fire, and he looked lifeless. However, Xia noticed that every step he took was accompanied by a palpitating sense of oppression.

"Welcome, both of you." Octo said in an emotionless voice, "His Majesty the Demon King agrees to see you. Come with me."

The moment Nirma's eyes met the corpse ghost's, his gaze froze and his body instinctively tensed up.

Different from the other undead around.

This undead ghost that looked like a corpse exuded a powerful aura that was no less powerful than the strong ones in the Sand Ridge clan, and was even more powerful!

Could it be that this undead spirit has also awakened extraordinary powers? !
But...how is this possible? !
"This undead is very strong." Nima whispered as he got close to Xia's back, "His strength may have reached the level of a Saint General... or even a God General!"

God general level? !

Xia looked at Nima with some surprise. She knew that Nima would never make such a judgment easily, and she was secretly shocked.

However, neither of them would have thought that this lizardman undead who seemed so powerful that it was unnerving to Nima was just a silver-level corpse according to the power system on the continent of Os. He was only a backbone force and could only bully adventurers at most.

Although he is quite powerful in the Demon King's army, he is only a BOSS on the first level of the maze, and cannot be considered a top-tier strongman.

Xia suppressed her surprise, nodded slightly to Octo with a gentle face, and said politely and softly:

"Thank you for introducing us. Could you please tell us your name?"

"Octo."

Octo turned around lifelessly and said something indifferently.

"Follow."

"Yes……"

Thea didn't say any more nonsense and followed him obediently.

Niema remained silent, but tightly grasped the cloth bag containing the head of Trakl, the envoy of the Holy Ankylosaur Kingdom, and subconsciously retarded his steps to make his presence seem smaller.

When the two followed Octo into the camp, the players who were busy with their own things nearby raised their heads curiously and looked at the two new species of lizardmen with interest.

"Hey, look, there are two NPCs coming in over there. How come I haven't seen them before?"

"It's obvious that these two lizards are not locals. Their skin color is different. Are they a new force?"

"Maybe it's a new quest line!"

"But speaking of which, don't you think that rich golden-scaled lizardwoman girl is pretty attractive?"

"Fuck, you have such a strong taste, brother. You even don't let go of lizards?"

"No, I'm serious. Look carefully, the light-colored lizard man has very delicate features! He still has an oval face, but it's a little flat in the front."

"Hurry up and tell me you're from the international server!"

"In the Ganges, printed."

"%￥#@!"

The players' discussions came one after another. Although Xia remained calm, she tightened her tail a little and wrapped it around her elegantly. Nima glanced at the undead coldly, instantly shutting up several laughing players.

Not that I'm scared anymore.

The main reason is that I don’t want to lose the favorability of the new NPC.

"Tsk, this cool and beautiful lizard lady has such a strong aura."

"Don't look at me randomly. This is probably the envoy from the Sand Ridge Tribe, the honored guest of the Demon Lord."

"Sand Ridge Tribe? Is the new map finally going to be opened?"

"You don't even look at the updated information on the official website..."

Amid the players' interested whispers and speculations, Xia and Niema slowly walked through the center of the camp and followed Octo to the tent where the Demon King was.

……

In the tent in the center of the camp, the dim lights flickered, making the figure sitting on the tall chair look even more mysterious and majestic.

Xia and Niema walked slowly into the tent, and almost the moment they saw the Demon King, they felt an indescribable oppression and majesty.

This was not the first time they had faced a powerful being, but the Demon King before them seemed to have an endless abyss hidden behind his indifferent smile, which made people instinctively feel awe. Saint General level?
Or... the strongest god-level general?
Xia couldn't assess his strength, but she felt that even the shadow reflected on the ground revealed an unfathomable power.

Quickly calming herself down, she bowed her head and saluted respectfully.

"Your Majesty, my name is Xia, and this is Nima, my guard... We are from the Sand Ridge tribe. On behalf of the Sand Ridge tribe, I would like to express my sincere respect to you."

She gestured to Niema, who lowered his eyes and silently placed the bag containing Trakl's head on the ground.

Thea paused for a moment and continued softly.

"For a long time, our Sand Ridge tribe has been oppressed by the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom. They brutally slaughtered our people and used us as sacrifices to the Dragon God. They didn't care about our situation at all. Now they persuade us to become your enemy. The respected tribe mother saw through their evil tricks and immediately chopped off the head of their messenger."

"We hope to be able to submit to your command, and we beg you to give us a chance to prove our loyalty and worth to you."

Luo Yan narrowed his eyes and looked at the two Sand Ridge envoys in front of him with interest.

Their scales shone faintly under the light, with light brown with gold and dark brown complementing each other, which was very different from ordinary lizardmen.

The silk robe and the bone pieces inlaid with totemic carvings were also quite exotic, a style he had never seen before.

Do not misunderstand.

Luo Yan examined the value of these two lizardmen purely from a human perspective... just like when he saw the messenger from the Wind Howl Tribe.

If the Windhowl family is more similar to the pterosaurs in Jurassic Park, then the prototype of the Sandridge family is probably the chameleon living in arid areas.

They have slender bodies, big eyes, and pointed chins, which makes them somewhat exotic. They are even more in line with human aesthetics than the geckos that have lived with humans for many years... But that's not the point.

The point is that their skin can adjust its color according to the surrounding environment, or even completely blend in with the surrounding environment, just like optical camouflage.

These guys are born assassins!

In his mind, Luo Yan recalled the information about the Sand Ridge Clan that he had tortured out of the Ankylosaur captives.

These lizardmen, who are close relatives of chameleons, live in the vast and desolate central desert of the Janna continent, in the heart of the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom.

Their social structure is similar to that of the Shadow Weavers, a relatively primitive matriarchal clan ruled by a leader known as the Clan Mother, and the tribesmen worship an ancient being called Atea, Mother Earth.

According to what he learned at the Demon King Academy, this Artea was probably the God of Earth Element in the First Age, and one of the gods that disappeared in the long river of history.

The Sand Ridge people are good at stealth and concealment. The most elite among the warriors are called "Quicksand Assassins", who have swift and deadly combat skills and often assassinate the enemy unexpectedly. Although their extraordinary powers are not outstanding, they are hard to find opponents in the desert with their extraordinary lurking skills.

Of course, this is also related to the "thin spiritual energy" of the Janna continent, and there are no overly powerful extraordinary people.

Placed in a maze, these Quicksand Assassins can at best be considered elite adventurers or elite monsters.

Looking at the two envoys bowing before him, Luo Yan smiled gently and spoke with interest.

"...I'm curious, aren't you afraid that I will use the Sand Ridge tribe as a sacrifice like the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom did?"

The scales on Nima's head tightened and his whole body froze instantly.

Xia was also slightly stunned, but her expression soon returned to normal, her eyes were clear and gentle, and she spoke respectfully in a voice.

"I did have such concerns before I met you, but after meeting you in person, all my doubts disappeared."

Luo Yan: “Oh?”

Thea nodded slightly and continued respectfully yet gracefully.

"I feel your majesty and power that is no less than that of the gods. Why should a supreme being like you serve other mysterious high spirits? The throbbing from the depths of my soul tells me that you are a living god. And we believe that we who are alive will be more helpful to your great cause than our flesh and blood and souls."

Luo Yan laughed out loud when he heard this.

"Interesting answer."

Luo Yan didn't think that this guy could sense Youyou's presence like himself, but the second half of her sentence was indeed correct.

Living people are more useful to him.

Especially these chameleons that have built-in optical camouflage skills.

It was not a problem that the soul level was a little lower, as his own divine nature could just make up for the shortcomings of the Sand Ridge Clan for thousands of years.

As long as they sincerely offer their loyalty and faith to themselves.

Xia keenly noticed that Luo Yan was quite satisfied with her answer, so she seized the opportunity and spoke.

"This time, we not only brought you the head of Trakl, the envoy of the Holy Armored Dragon Kingdom, but also brought one hundred of the most outstanding young talents in our tribe. Including Nima next to me, they are all the best of the younger generation of the Sand Ridge tribe. They are not only powerful hunters, but also excellent incubators. They are superior in both combat effectiveness and fertility."

"Out of admiration for your majesty, we all volunteer to join the Demon King's army. As long as you nod in agreement, we will immediately join your army, and from now on, you can command us at will."

After Xia finished speaking, she lowered her head respectfully and waited quietly for the Demon King's reply.

The tent fell into a brief silence again.

Luo Yan leaned gently on the back of the chair with a thoughtful expression on his face, looking at Xia who bowed her head respectfully and Nima who stood nervously behind her.

This is a good proposition.

Following the gecko family, players now have another species of lizardman to choose from, and this one comes with optical camouflage.

He nodded slightly and spoke gently.

"I accept your loyalty, but you must know that if you want to gain our protection, it is not enough to offer only one hundred young talents."

Thea nodded and said.

"We are ready to sacrifice everything, no matter what you ask... even if it means having our clan mother come here in person to swear allegiance to you, or even become one of your concubines."

Sarah, who was distracted at first, suddenly had a sharp look in her eyes.

Luo Yan coughed lightly and raised his hand to stop the guy.

"That's not necessary."

He admitted that these lizardmen were quite handsome, but he was not so hungry that he was not picky about race.

"I need you to regularly provide us with lizard eggs that can hatch into offspring, and convert to our faith."

After a pause, Luo Yan continued.

"Of course, you can keep your traditions and sacrificial activities, but you must not resist or hinder the monks of the necropolis from preaching in your living area."

Xia hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"no problem."

Being able to retain the original traditions and sacrificial rights is the best outcome for the Shaji tribe.

If it were the Holy Ankylosaurus Kingdom, those arrogant guys would certainly not give them the chance to choose their own fate, but would wipe out their traditions and bloodlines from this land.

As for the tribute of lizard eggs, that's nothing.

They would occasionally eat some eggs that were not developing well, or even bite weak cubs to death, to ensure the overall strength of the tribe and the quality of its bloodline.

Looking at Xia who agreed to all the conditions, Luo Yan nodded slightly and ended the negotiation with a hint of joy in his voice.

"I am glad to see that you have made the right choice. From now on, the fate of your Sand Ridge clan is tied to my throne."

After hearing Luo Yan's promise, the tense expression on Xia's face finally relaxed, and she nodded gratefully.

"Thank you for your kindness. Our clan mother will come to your tent as soon as possible to swear allegiance to you. It's just... this may take some time."

Luo Yan looked at her playfully and said with a smile.

"It seems you have something else to report to me."

"Yes... I definitely didn't mean to hide it from you, but I think you may have guessed that our current situation is not optimistic."

Xia looked at Luo Yan with embarrassment, lowered her head, and continued speaking carefully.

"Although we have been very careful, the news that we intercepted the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom's envoys still reached Assam City and angered the arrogant pseudo-king. In order to deter other tribes, they sent a hundred thousand troops to us... With the current strength of the Sand Ridge tribe, we are simply unable to resist this attack."

When she said this, Xia humbly lowered her head to the ground, with a hint of pleading in her pleading voice.

"We beg you, Your Majesty, to lend us a helping hand... Only your power can save our clan from destruction."

Luo Yan guessed she would say that.

Moreover, this is actually the brilliance of the Sand Ridge Clan.

They saw clearly that the Demon King's army was plotting against the Janna continent, and that the conflict with the Holy Armor Dragon Kingdom had reached an irreconcilable level.

If the Demon King's army wants other tribes on the Janna continent to submit wholeheartedly like the Sand Ridge Clan, they will certainly not ignore the Sand Ridge Clan who surrendered to them first.

Although he was used once, Luo Yan didn't hate it.

He likes smart people and hates those who are smart but fence-sitters.

Since the Sand Ridge Clan risked everything and stood on his side, how could he let down these loyal servants?

"Don't worry, they won't be around for a few days."

Xia and Nima were surprised when they heard this and looked at each other. Although they didn't know why the Demon King was so confident, they could only believe that he was serious and not just making up stories.

Otherwise, the delegation under her command might be the only remaining bloodline of the Sand Ridge Clan...

Of course, the clan mother also took this into consideration, so she entrusted the young talents in the clan and the direct bloodlines of each family into her hands.

But if possible, she hopes the worst will not happen.

Looking at Xia whose thoughts were racing in her head, Luo Yan didn't intend to waste time explaining to her. He stood up from his seat and spoke in a voice with a hint of interest.

"Now, take me to see your people... Let me see what they are capable of, and by the way, see what your Sand Ridge tribe is capable of."

Quickly putting away her complicated thoughts, Xia did not dare to be negligent and nodded respectfully.

"Yes, sir... Please follow me."

(End of this chapter)