"Shut up!"
Gelmud thought to himself, 'If it weren't for your magicules to strengthen the Ord Lord…'
With a sickening squelch, under the lizardman princess's furious gaze, the trident pierced the lizardman chieftain's heart, ending his life.
As for the lizardman princess and the lizardmen unwilling to submit to Gelmud, Gabiru had them all imprisoned, awaiting further judgment.
"Lord Gelmud!"
Having completed his patricidal coup, Gabiru knelt respectfully on one knee before Gelmud, who now sat on the lizardman chieftain's throne.
"Well done, Gabiru."
"A true hero of the lizardmen, worthy of my naming!"
Though Gelmud spoke these words, his heart was filled with disdain.
A hero of the lizardmen? Nothing but fodder for the Ord Lord.
"Now, gather the lizardman warriors."
Gelmud commanded, "I need your strength."
"May I ask, what are your plans…?"
"The kijin in the western forest have been restless lately!"
Gelmud said, "They're invading and expanding their territory everywhere."
"You know the benefits a dominant monster can gain, don't you?"
Through constant warfare and territorial conquest, monsters could amass immense magical power, achieving evolution.
"I see!"
Gabiru's eyes lit up. "I won't allow the kijin to trample over the lizardmen!"
Like the lizardmen, the kijin were a dominant force in the forest.
But compared to the scarce kijin, the lizardmen clearly held the advantage in numbers.
Hearing that the kijin were preparing for war, how could Gabiru tolerate it?
He thought of the kijin he'd recently encountered, Souei.
That man was likely the kijin's leader!
'No wonder he had such strength.'
Gabiru fumed, 'To think the kijin leader would disguise himself as an ordinary kijin to ambush me!'
Yes, that was Gabiru's logic.
He genuinely couldn't fathom that Souei was just one of the kijin.
How could that be?
He, Gabiru, was the strongest among the lizardmen! The idea that there were many kijin capable of defeating him so easily was unthinkable!
"Excellent!"
Seeing Gabiru's self-concocted conclusions, Gelmud smirked inwardly.
"Go, assemble your legion."
"Once you defeat the kijin, you'll be the overlord of the Jura Forest!"
With that, Gelmud left the coordinates for the army's encampment, praised Gabiru a few more times until he was practically floating, and then departed the lizardman tribe.
"What a fool!"
Gelmud hadn't expected Gabiru to be this stupid.
A few words of flattery from an outsider, and he was so elated he killed his own father and imprisoned his sister.
"But, being foolish is good."
"If you were too smart, my naming would've been wasted!"
From the start, Gelmud had cultivated Gabiru to use the lizardmen as sacrificial offerings for the Ord Lord.
Though the Jura Forest's anomalies had caused some hiccups, Gelmud had faith in the Ord Lord!
Once Gabiru led the lizardman army to the trap Gelmud had prepared, the Ord Lord would surround them with the orcs.
At that point, every lizardman would be devoured by the orcs!
They would become nutrients, fueling the Ord Lord's ascent to Demon Lord status!
"Father, what should I do…?"
Deep in the lizardmen's cavern, in a dark prison cell, the lizardman princess curled up in the shadows.
Her heart was filled with unease and sorrow.
Her father was dead, killed by her brother.
And then there was that majin, Gelmud, whom Gabiru had brought back.
She couldn't understand.
Did Gabiru trust an outsider more than his own family?
"That man is definitely not helping him become chieftain out of kindness."
Trapped in her cell, she could see the situation clearly.
He must have ulterior motives!
Gabiru was merely his pawn.
What Gelmud truly wanted was the lizardman tribe!
"No!"
"I can't sit here and do nothing!"
The thought of the lizardmen being led to destruction by Gabiru forced her to ignore her injuries and search for a way to escape the cell.
Unfortunately, this prison was designed to hold lizardmen.
It had been built with their potential actions in mind.
"Damn it!!"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
After frantic efforts, the lizardman princess not only failed to find an escape but aggravated her wounds.
"Gabiru…"
She wiped her mouth, ignoring the blood on her hand, and shouted at the bars, "I want to see Gabiru!!"
But in the dim underground prison, only her voice echoed back.
What's going on?
Soon, the lizardman princess noticed something amiss.
It was quiet!
Too quiet!
With Gabiru's rebellion, many lizardmen should've been rounded up.
So why was she the only one here?
Where were her imprisoned comrades?!
Step… step…
In the silent cavern, footsteps approached, instantly putting the lizardman princess on guard.
"Ooh~~"
"So this is a lizardman? How interesting!"
"Who?!"
The sudden voice made the lizardman princess's scales stand on end. "Stop hiding and show yourself!"
"Eh?"
A blue-haired girl stepped out from the shadows, flanked by three tall, elegant kijin women.
The three were named Soura, Sourei, and Soumin, close friends who usually stuck together.
Now under Souei's command, they were training in assassination, surveillance, and intelligence gathering.
Not long ago, Souei had assigned them to Rimuru's side to protect her and relay information.
"Um~~ don't be nervous, we mean no harm."
Rimuru gestured for her to calm down.
"Who are you?"
"Wait, you… you're…"
The lizardman princess's eyes widened as she saw the three kijin behind Rimuru.
Her body instinctively recoiled until her back hit the wall, steadying her.
"Why are the forest's kijin here?"
"Could it be… Gabiru's rebellion was orchestrated by you?!"
The possibility struck her, and her gaze toward Rimuru and the others turned wary.
***
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to let you know that right now I'm working on a really good and promising fate fanfic. If you're interested in reading it, feel free to give it a try:
[Fate/Max Level Returner]
Synopsis:
What if you took your max-level account and replayed the entire story from the beginning?
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