Chapter 57 This is a little gift from the Demon King
Deep in the second level of the maze lies the nightmare land that all adventurers in Thunder City fear.
There are earthworms, giant centipedes and colorful mushrooms in abundance here, as well as the king of tricks and traps in the maze!
It is said that deep in the nightmare land, there is a cave inlaid with countless magic crystals. Those magic crystals are like mirrors, through which one can see every corner of the second-floor maze.
It is said that the little devils usually hide there.
They whispered and discussed evil plots, while watching the various jokes made by the adventurers who fell into the trap.
However, since the death of Lord Reggie Dragon, such happy days no longer exist.
First, the mirror that monitored the entire second floor of the maze lost its magic, and secondly, the supplies from deep underground were also lost.
Although the underground maze of Thunder City spans hundreds of square kilometers, even larger than Thunder City itself, the remaining resources will not cause the millions of monsters to starve to death, but it is still inevitable that they will live a difficult life.
Including the tens of thousands of little demons in the nightmare land, they all live with no food to eat, and either eat insects or mushrooms.
but--
As the evil Demon Lord sent his minions, there was finally a glimmer of hope in this unfortunate day of holy light.
Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, hundreds of subterranean spiders passed through the entrance to the second floor of the maze and arrived at the cave entrance of the Nightmare Land.
The little devils guarding here initially thought that it was the crazy spider named Ah La La that lived upstairs that was coming to kill them, until they saw Missy floating above the heads of the group of spiders and they breathed a sigh of relief.
These spiders aren't very difficult to deal with, but getting covered in sticky webs is a real hassle.
If they had a choice, they would rather bully those four-legged snakes.
"Missy?!"
Noticing the movement at the entrance to the Nightmare Land, a little demon leader flew to the front and looked at the huge army of spiders in surprise.
There is a...
What a nice smell? She swallowed.
"What's up with these crypt spiders?"
Can I eat them? "Don't eat them! They are the minions of the Demon King!"
Knowing what this guy was greedy for, Missy quickly stopped her unrealistic thoughts and shouted anxiously.
"Get out of the way! I want to see Her Majesty the Queen!"
Not daring to delay Her Majesty the Queen, the little devils guarding the gate quickly stepped aside.
Led by Missy, the crypt spiders with large and small bags wrapped in spider webs on their backs passed through the entrance of the nightmare land in a mighty procession and went straight to the deepest part.
That is Sissi's palace.
It is also a resting place for tens of thousands of little demons.
Commanding his men to unload the goods, Arakdo raised his front legs and waved them, then proudly led his team to evacuate from the territory of these poor guys.
These little devils are so depraved that they are so poor that they have to beg for food from the Demon King.
Tsk tsk.
How pitiful! Regardless of what Arakdo, the wisest general of the Shadow Weaver Nest, thought, Sissi, who was sitting on the rock seat, was really shocked by the pile of supplies.
Those sacks contain...
Was it human wheat?! She couldn't count how much there was, but the pile of wheat there looked like a mountain to her!
"This guy...did he rob the granary in Thunder City?!" Sissi sat up straight with a look of surprise on her face, her mouth opened into an O shape.
How evil is this?!
If this is true, then the power of this demon king is simply terrifying! At least in her impression, Reggie Dragun did not have time to do this. And they were afraid of human priests, and they only dared to think about the richness of the surface.
The hills were filled not only with sacks of wheat but also with countless other things.
For example, the fragrant baked bread! For example, the pine nut oil that can be eaten and used! For example, the sausage that tastes countless times better than mushrooms!
Not only that—
Faintly, she also smelled a refreshing aroma of wine! Smelling that intoxicating aroma, her eyes instantly became moist, and even her voice trembled slightly.
"Missy...what...is going on?"
Is this the devil's city of hell?! These foods.
Enough for the tribesmen to eat for more than a month!
Her shoulders stiffened as if she had received an electric shock, and Missy lowered her head in fear, choosing her words with trembling hands.
"This, this, this... these are all gifts from the Demon King!"
"Return a gift? What kind of gift is that?" Sissi frowned slightly and asked hurriedly, "Did he say anything else?"
It was the first time she heard of a lord giving gifts in return to a vassal who had fulfilled his obligations.
She always felt that things were not that simple! Being stared at by those scarlet eyes, Missy felt like a chick being stared at by an eagle. If she was not careful, her life would be in danger.
"That's it... it means betrothal gift! It's the etiquette of Demon City! It's okay if you don't agree to the proposal. It's just a token of my appreciation... Ke Ke, we can start as friends first..."
I always feel like I have told a similar lie before.
But at this moment, she couldn't care less and could only let her short-circuited cerebellum play its role.
After stammering in response to Her Majesty's question, Missy pressed her head to the ground and then closed her eyes in despair.
Dead, dead...
I’m really dead now!
She should have known that one lie requires countless lies to cover it up, and there will always be a day when lies are not enough.
Maybe if I had been honest and clear at the beginning, things wouldn't have turned out as bad as they are now...
certainly--
Putting aside the facts, is it true that Her Majesty the Queen did nothing wrong? If it was Yusi who was sent to the Demon King's territory, and if it was me who showed off my power in the stinky lizard's territory, things would not have turned out like this!
Missy waited nervously, ready to bear the wrath of Her Majesty the Queen.
However, she waited for a long time but got nothing.
Missy raised her head tremblingly, trying to take a look at the expression on Her Majesty the Queen's face, but was surprised to find that the petite figure on the rock seat had disappeared.
Realizing something, she turned around cautiously, only to see that Her Majesty the Queen had appeared next to the pile of "bride gifts" at some point, holding a bottle of wine that was taller than her.
"Hahaha! Not bad. It seems that guy - well, that gentleman knows me quite well. He even knows what kind of wine I like to drink! Not bad, not bad, hahaha..."
Not only that—
That guy actually considered her troubles and solved the food crisis for Nightmare Land!
Sissi was laughing heartily while flapping her wings. Her rosy eyes were like a pair of crescent red moons, as beautiful as the red spider lilies blooming in hell.
Missy just dropped her jaw in astonishment as she looked at His Majesty, who was smiling like a flower and whose whole devil was hanging on the wine bottle.
Unbelievable——
Lady Sissi actually believed it?! And speaking of which, it was the first time she saw His Majesty smile so happily.
The bell-like laughter was like a mirage in the water. Missy, who was fascinated by it, only felt a flash before her eyes. When she looked back, the petite and majestic figure had returned to the towering rock seat and sat down.
Her lotus-like legs were gracefully placed on her knees. She stretched out her right hand and, like a magician, produced an exquisite stone goblet and held it in her hand.
The stone puppet, which had awakened at some point, was holding a wine bottle and kneeling on one knee respectfully beside the rock seat.
When she met those scarlet eyes, Missy realized her overstepping of authority and lowered her head in haste.
but--
Her Majesty the Queen seemed in a good mood today and did not blame her for such a trivial matter.
"My little ones! Listen up! You have been following me all this time and have worked hard. I am going to treat you to a big meal today!!!"
The loud voice echoed in the hall, and Sissi slightly raised the wine glass in her hand, as if showing off a trophy.
"Kitchen workers, get me the biggest pot! Scavengers, get me some firewood and make the biggest fire!"
"Everyone, eat as much as you want! Just remember one thing - don't fight over the raw ones! Don't waste them! Don't stuff yourself to death!"
These are actually three things.
But at this moment, such trivial matters are no longer important.
For the little devils who have been eating rotten mushrooms for several months, there is nothing more exciting than eating to their heart's content!
Thousands of little demons swarmed out of the huge cave, looking like a dark cloud, and the entire huge cave was filled with the sound of flapping wings.
That moment.
The entire nightmare land is boiling!
Signaling the stone puppet kneeling beside her to pour her a glass of pre-dinner wine, Sissi put the glass to her rosy lips and sipped it carefully while admiring the busy scene.
It is the most delicious delicacy in the world.
At least for her, there was nothing more delicious than the cheers and happy expressions of her people to go with her wine.
“Ahhhh!”
"Long live Lady Sissi!"
"Haha, now's the time to take out my delicious treasure - the Cyclops' booger!"
"Don't even think about it! I won't let you join in even if I die!"
"Woohoo! Bread! Damn! It smells so good! I'll just have one bite!"
"Ugh! Ugh! It's too big! Quick! Someone help me!"
Because of greedily stuffing a whole loaf of bread into his mouth, a little devil turned into a flying dachshund, running around in the sky in pain.
Fortunately, her companions all knew magic, and they pulled her back from the brink of death. They cut the bread into eight pieces and shared them.
Xixi laughed and scolded the little thing a few words, but did not punish it.
The entire nightmare land was in chaos, but she didn't think it was a bad thing.
In fact, this is what this place should be like - this is the hometown of the "kings of mischief" in the maze! The little guys have been working too hard for too long.
It's time to relax.
…
On the other side, in the southwest outside the maze, hundreds of bonfires were burning slowly on a muddy swamp. The taciturn lizardmen were like dead trees floating on the shallows, guarding the silence, desolation and the long frontier.
In the eyes of arrogant humans, this is the territory of lizard people.
It doesn’t matter what kind of lizard it is. The lords of the Kingdom of Ryan only know that this land is bad and difficult to manage.
However, in the eyes of the Lizardmen themselves, this is the territory of the "River Bay Tribal Alliance", belonging to thousands of tribes large and small.
They have their own culture and customs, and believe in the great and omnipotent dragon god.
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Although after thousands of years of evolution, their bloodline is no longer as pure as it was thousands of years ago, they still maintain their ancient traditions very seriously and equally hate all outsiders who enter this land.
Even the mermaids who also have beautiful scales and claim to be descendants of the Dragon God...
"…We don't have any extra land to accommodate you. You should go somewhere else."
Inside the spacious tent.
After listening to the mermaid's request to join the tribal alliance, the old man slowly shook his head.
His name is Tartaq, he is the chief of the Stone Lizards and the king of the Riverbend Tribe Alliance.
Standing before him at this moment was the young leader of the Grey Fin tribe, named Kunga - a merman who claimed to be blessed by the Dragon God.
Although from the perspective of humans, mermaids and lizardmen are not the same species at all, the latter have a completely different view.
The blood flowing in both parties' bodies is recognized by the Dragon God, it is just a matter of proportion and amount.
That was why Tartaq had such a hard time rejecting them.
"No land? Then go grab it from humans!" Kunjia took a step forward and clenched his webbed claws. "The fertile land south of Broken Rock Peak originally belongs to you, but also to us! We can join hands. You attack from the land, and we attack from the coastline. We can split the land we grab in half!"
Faced with the menacing incitement, the Lizardman elder remained unmoved and just spoke in a hoarse voice.
"That was 1,000 years ago... The Isaac Dynasty was destroyed long ago. Not only them, but our own flame has been extinguished and reignited many times. To this day, we do not want to start a war again, or even lose the last territory given to us by the Dragon God."
These foreign compatriots had no idea how terrifying the power of Saint Sith had been on this land. Even Hell was helpless against the human world, and they were so weak that they were not even qualified to be opponents.
Fortunately, the Ryan Kingdom currently only regards them as monsters and does not really want to deal with them...
Kunga remained silent, but the mermaid warrior standing next to him spat on the ground.
"coward."
The atmosphere between the two sides instantly became tense, with pairs of eyes staring at each other and claws pressing on their weapons.
Tartak quickly raised his hand, signaling his people to stay calm, then looked at the young Kunga and said.
"We welcome you to stay here as guests, but there is a deadline... You must leave before the beginning of next spring at the latest."
Kunga did not speak, but just stared into the old man's eyes and nodded, then looked meaningfully at his heir behind him, and then swaggered out of the tent with the guards beside him.
Pairs of murderous eyes stared at their backs until the shadows disappeared at the end of the outline of the campfire.
These troublesome relatives are annoying.
However, not all lizardmen think so.
For example, the heir Az standing behind Tartak.
After a long silence, the young heir slowly spoke.
"I think he's right... Our people are growing in number, and there's no land left for them to survive. On the contrary, the Principality of Campbell has just been badly damaged by the war with the Demon King, and they don't deserve to own such a vast territory. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is right in front of us, why don't we seize it? As long as we unite with the mermaids, we can easily take back all the territories we've lost over the past thousand years!"
Looking at the child who understood nothing, Tartak shook his head and just sighed softly.
"My child, the road you mentioned has no end. The Principality of Campbell is only a corner of the Kingdom of Ryan, and behind the Kingdom of Ryan is the Empire...Are we going to keep fighting like hell?"
Az looked at him in confusion, the confusion in his eyes becoming even stronger.
However, out of respect for the patriarch and his father, he finally did not continue to contradict them, but chose to be patient.
"Maybe you're right... I just want to express that if we don't do anything, we will disappear from this world sooner or later."
When he said this, Az paused for a moment and looked up at the sky outside the tent.
"I had a dream last night. In the dream, I heard a war cry in the distance... The sound came from the dimensional desert, passed through the Brass Pass, and resounded throughout the Wanren Mountains. I was thinking that this might be some kind of hint about what we should do."
Tartaq looked at his child in astonishment, too surprised to speak.
He knew very well that what his child said was far more than just a dream.
That is most likely a prophecy from the Dragon God!
Why?
Because he had had a similar dream when he was young.
He dreamed that the tribe’s tents were burning in flames and the tribesmen were dying in the flames... and it was the night before his father was about to pass on the throne to him.
He lived his whole life on thin ice, repeatedly weighing every choice, and even rejected the devil's persuasion... all because he could never forget the miserable scene he saw in his dream.
That prophecy influenced his life.
And now he has finally lived up to the Dragon God's expectations and defended the crumbling tribal alliance.
Now, his own child has also received the Dragon God’s prophecy and has seen a completely different picture from what he saw.
Could it be that...
Is his destiny about to end? Tartak did not feel sad, but rather relieved. It seemed that he was not wrong... This smart child was the most suitable heir.
"Maybe..."
"But until the time comes, please be patient."
…
Outside the tent.
With a gloomy face, Kunga led his men and walked towards the coastline without saying a word.
That was the shelter lent to Gray Fin by the tribal alliance.
At this moment, several lizards wearing cloaks suddenly came up and blocked their way.
Kunga raised his eyebrows and said as he looked at the unremarkable looking lizards in front of him.
"What is it?"
The leading lizardman took off the hood covering his face and looked directly at Kunga.
"My name is Nils, and we are the messengers of the Earth Dragon Clan."
Kunga said nothing. The mermaid warrior with a harpoon on his shoulder curled his lips in disdain.
"Earth Dragon Clan, what the hell is that?"
Niels suppressed his anger and continued in a low voice.
"We once served Hell, but now we have turned from darkness to light and returned to the embrace of the Dragon God."
So... a slave with two surnames? The mermaid warrior narrowed his eyes and examined the gecko man in front of him, and the playful smile on the corner of his mouth became even wider.
He didn't take these little guys seriously at all.
However, a hint of interest appeared in Kunga's eyes, and he slowly spoke.
"What do you want to say?"
"There are no warriors in the swamp you need, only cowards who are struggling to survive."
Nils looked back at the tent not far away.
Not just mermaids.
Not long ago, he was also turned away there and humiliated by the Stone Lizards.
"...It is precisely these cowards who have occupied the few remaining lands outside the human sphere of influence, and there is no unowned territory within a thousand miles. Unless you plan to escape to the mountains... But I don't think that is what you want."
Kunga narrowed his eyes slightly.
"so?"
"So why not consider going underground? The environment there is not much different from here, or even better!"
Looking seriously into the eyes of the mermaid leader, Nils told him everything the patriarch had told him to do.
"The Demon King is dead, and the rest are just guys fighting on their own... If we join forces, it won't be a problem to defeat them one by one!"
"When that time comes, the land near the mountains will belong to us, and the territory near the coastline will belong to you!"
"It sounds interesting..." Kunga's mouth cracked into a cruel smile, and then he looked at the mermaid warrior beside him, "Sodo, take some people over to take a look."
The mermaid holding the harpoon stretched his neck and glanced at the small gecko.
"Since the clan leader has said so, I'll go take a look."
Seeing that the other party agreed so readily, Nils felt relieved, but also couldn't help feeling a little worried.
He always felt that it was not a good idea to introduce external forces to intervene in the disputes within the maze.
However, the threat from the new Demon King is imminent, and the little devils on the second floor seem to have sided with the Demon King.
Faced with this series of survival crises, they really have no better choice...
(End of this chapter)