In the forest shrouded in night, three Lizardman lackeys gathered together, vehemently denouncing the crimes of Rimuru and his group, daring to use such despicable and shameless methods against Lord Gavil, simply a disgrace to monsters. However, the three of them didn't notice that a clown-dressed man had somehow infiltrated their midst.
"Alright, calm down a bit, this is a kind of wisdom of the weak, isn't it?"
On the side, Gavil propped his head up with one hand, tilting his head slightly, looking like he thought he was incredibly handsome, and said. Even now, he only believed that he was defeated by little brother Gobuta because he was careless. If he, Lord Gavil, had been even a little bit serious from the start, he could have easily defeated a mere Gobuta.
"As expected of Lord Gavil!"
"His generosity is as vast as the sea!"
"The next leader!"
"Oh! Gavil-sama is so handsome."
Just as the three Lizardmen were mindlessly chanting their praises, a discordant voice suddenly appeared, completely different in style from the three Lizardman lackeys. When Gavil turned his head to look, he saw a man wearing a completely black clown mask clapping and looking at him.
"It's nothing, just a small matter... Wait, who are you?"
Faced with the praise from the strangely dressed clown, Gavil subconsciously revealed a smug look, but the next second, Gavil reacted and asked, looking at the clown.
"That person was already there from the beginning."
One of the Lizardman lackeys looked at the clown beside him and said indifferently. In fact, he had noticed that there was suddenly an extra person beside him just now, but after hearing him agree with Lord Gavil, he felt that everything must be fine.
"Just like what I heard, you're an amazing man. My name is Laplace."
At this time, Laplace bowed slightly, introducing himself to Gavil. However, although he appeared respectful to Gavil on the surface, his nonchalant manner had already explained everything.
"Laplace?"
"I am an envoy of Lord Gelmud, here to give you some reminders."
"Oh! So you are an envoy of Lord Gelmud!"
The moment Gavil heard that Laplace was Gelmud's envoy, the entire Lizardman was excited. This Lord Gelmud was the Majin who had bestowed a name upon Gavil back then.
"Thank you for making the trip. So, what are the reminders from Lord Gelmud?"
"Hehe... Things have become very troublesome now. This time, the Orc army seems to be really led by the Orc Lord. Although the Lizardmen's leader is not a nobody, he is already old, and I heard that from today onwards, the entire Lizardman race has shrunk back into the underground cave, as if they are ready to give up resisting the Orcs."
As he spoke, Laplace walked around Gavil like a clown, looking at Gavil with a seductive tone.
"To be honest, although I understand the choice of Lord Gavil's father, after all, this battle is too heavy for your father, but does Lord Gavil think this is appropriate?"
Looking at Laplace, who was close at hand, Gavil's vertical pupils narrowed slightly. Especially after he heard Laplace say that the Lizardman race had completely shrunk back into the underground cave, a sense of unwillingness and anger arose in his heart. They were noble and powerful Lizardmen, how could they retreat in the face of mere Orcs.
"Although I originally planned to inherit the position of leader after repelling the Orc army, it seems that it's too late to do so in advance!"
After a few seconds of silence, Gavil vigorously lifted the cloak behind him, looking at Laplace with an incomparably handsome appearance. He had already decided to immediately return to the Lizardman race's territory, forcibly make his father abdicate, and become the leader of the Lizardman race, leading the Lizardman army to repel the Orcs.
"That's right, that's right!"
Laplace looked at Gavil, who had made up his mind, with a strange smile, but he kept agreeing with Gavil's statement.
"Then, Lord Laplace, I will take my leave first. Next time..."
The next second, Gavil jumped directly onto his mount. The other three Lizardman lackeys also hurriedly mounted their own mounts upon seeing this. Then, Gavil turned his head to look at Laplace below, who was holding the back of his head with both hands, looking like he was watching a show.
"It's okay, it's okay. Lord Gavil should hurry back to the wetlands and return to the underground cave first, after all, this is the most important thing."
Laplace interrupted Gavil's words with a strange look in his eyes, as if he didn't care at all about him leaving, and even reminded Gavil that returning to the Lizardman race now was the most important thing. Then, he watched Gavil and his group leave in a hurry.
"Good luck, Gavil-sama..."
Looking at Gavil's departing back, Laplace revealed an inexplicable smile on his face. Coupled with his clownish dress, there was an unspeakable sense of weirdness. At noon today, Laplace noticed the changes within the Lizardman race's territory.
Originally, he had planned to go and see what had happened in the Lizardman territory in person, but when he planned to sneak into the Lizardman territory, he found that all the entrances to the underground cave had already been closed. For this reason, Laplace thought of Gavil.
Moreover, in addition to the fact that he had originally planned to find Gavil and instruct him to become the leader of the Lizardman race, leading the Lizardman race to fight the Orcs head-on, Laplace did all this in order to make all the Lizardman race become nutrients for the Orcs and the Orc Lord, just like the Ogres back then.
Only in this way can the Orc Lord become a true Demon Lord Seed, collecting enough souls for Clayman to fully awaken and become a True Demon Lord... By the way, this time Gavil's return to the Lizardman race can also allow Laplace to secretly observe what exactly happened within the Lizardman race's territory.
.....
.....
On the other side, the central wetlands of the Jura Forest, within the Lizardman territory.
In the morning, the golden sunlight shone on the huge lake in the center of the Jura Forest. The rippling lake water constantly emitted light under the sunlight, coupled with the surrounding lush green grasslands and the endless forest, forming a scene as beautiful as a painting.
However, compared to the usual beauty of this painting, there were some things missing. All the Lizardmen who were fishing in the lake had disappeared.
At this time, inside the underground cave of the Lizardman territory, the Lizardman leader was standing blankly beside his original throne, with a desperate expression on his gray-black scaled face, staring blankly at everything in front of him.
Inside the dim cave, a chilling chewing sound kept ringing. Above the fiery red flames, a monster that had been gutted and cleaned was sizzling under the scorching heat of the flames, and a rich aroma of meat filled the cave.
And beside the bonfire, the former Lizardman Guard Captain, the Lizardman leader's daughter, Souei, was slowly turning the iron rod in front of her with one hand, and evenly applying the prepared seasonings to the barbecue with the other.
"Souei, is it ready yet?"
A crisp, yet adorable voice suddenly echoed within the cave, laced with faint, sorrowful wails of pain. The Lizardman leader's previously listless body slowly turned, his hollow gaze settling upon Shali on the throne.
Shali, at this moment, was propping up her chin, looking boredly at Cang Hua. In her other hand, she tossed an oval object up and down repeatedly. A closer look revealed it to be a Lizardman's head, its unclosed pupils filled with endless despair and rage.
“Master, it will be ready soon.”
At this, Cang Hua below turned around, addressing Shali with utmost respect. In the flickering firelight of the cave, a trace of blood stained Cang Hua’s once fair face, a bit of minced meat lingering at the corner of her mouth. Moreover, Cang Hua's aura was now about twice as strong as it had been yesterday, immediately after her evolution.
If Cang Hua, who had just received Shali’s name and evolved into a Dragonewt yesterday, had a magic essence level of just over 10,000, barely reaching the Upper-Tier Demon level, then today, Cang Hua’s magic essence level was nearing 40,000. Even as she was currently roasting meat for Shali, Cang Hua’s magic essence was still slowly increasing.
It was as if Cang Hua’s body was gradually absorbing a large amount of nutrients, accelerating her growth.
“Oh, then hurry up, Cang Hua. And after you finish roasting this, you can go and feed.”
As she spoke, Shali on the throne tossed the Lizardman head in her hand towards Cang Hua. Facing the incoming Lizardman head, a smile appeared on Cang Hua's face. She opened her mouth and bit into the Lizardman's head, then raised her head. Accompanied by a chilling crunching sound, she swallowed the entire Lizardman head.
“...Master, our Lizardman tribe has already submitted. Why... why do you still treat us like this?”
Beside her, the Lizardman leader watched Cang Hua’s indifferent and ruthless demeanor, as if the Lizardman she had just eaten was not of his own kind, but a completely unrelated demon. He turned his head, his voice filled with despair and pleading, looking towards Shali.
“Why? It’s very simple.”
Saying this, Shali, staring at Lu Minghao above her head, jumped down from the throne and walked in front of the Lizardman leader. Looking at its hollow, despairing eyes, a sweet, adorable smile appeared on Shali's porcelain doll-like face. She gently reached out and touched the Lizardman leader's smooth, cold, scaled head.
“Of course, it’s because you Lizardmen are Shali’s toys. Although I originally intended to make you Shali's backup food supply, Shali discovered that you Lizardmen are not only ugly, but your brains are also problematic. Shali is afraid of becoming stupid after eating you, so I’ll just give you to Cang Hua as nourishment for her evolution. Also.....”
At this point, Shali's small hand, which was gently stroking the Lizardman's head, tightened slightly. A powerful force directly lifted the Lizardman leader up. The sound of cracking bones echoed continuously. Under the intense pain, the Lizardman leader subconsciously let out a wail.
“You are Shali’s enemies and toys, so Shali can do whatever she wants. Besides, because Shali and Minghao are now kind Oni + Slime, we have decided to mercifully grant Cang Hua a name, and let your entire Lizardman tribe be neatly reunited inside Cang Hua’s body. That way, Cang Hua alone is the entire Lizardman tribe, isn't that good?”
The crisp, adorable voice now sounded like a demon’s whisper in the Lizardman leader’s ear. Looking at Shali’s sweet, adorable smile, the Lizardman leader, who was wailing, suddenly stopped. His body hung limply in Shali’s hand, seemingly dead despite still being alive.
“So boring, you are Shali’s worst temporary toy.”
Shali casually swung the seemingly dead Lizardman leader in her hand a few times, a hint of disgust appearing on her adorable face. One should know that humans or demons who survived on the battlefields of the Western countries, even those at the Lower-Tier Demon level, would not be so easily broken.
Yet the Lizardman leader, possessing strength nearing the Upper-Tier Demon level, was so easily broken. Shali originally had a little expectation for him, after all, Shali thought she could play with the Lizardman leader a bit more, considering his arrogant and powerful demeanor yesterday.
“Cang Hua, do you want to eat him?”
The next second, Shali turned her head and asked Cang Hua, who was still single-mindedly roasting meat. At this moment, Cang Hua seemed to have completely ignored Shali’s actions of breaking the Lizardman leader, only turning her head to glance at him after hearing Shali’s voice, as if her own father, the Lizardman leader, was not as important as the meat she roasted for Shali.
“Master, I have decided to devour him last.”
After casually glancing at the Lizardman leader, Cang Hua raised her head and said to Shali with an adoring and respectful expression, then turned her head and evenly sprinkled the last of the seasoning on the roasted meat, carefully handing it to Shali’s mouth.
“Ah woo.”
Shali opened her small mouth and bit into the roasted meat in front of her. The rich aroma and crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture brought a satisfied smile to Shali’s face. She casually threw the Lizardman leader she was holding onto the ground like trash, took the roasted meat, and hopped back to the throne, starting to eat a bite herself and feed Lu Minghao a bite.
Below, after seeing Shali’s satisfied expression, a contented smile appeared on Cang Hua’s indifferent face. Then, she turned around, walked in front of the Lizardman leader, and squatted down, looking at the motionless Lizardman leader on the ground.
“.......”
Cang Hua silently watched the motionless Lizardman leader on the ground. After a few seconds, she stood up and walked out of the cave. Soon, shrill screams, fighting sounds, and pleas for mercy echoed continuously, gradually fading away as time passed.
Several hours later, Cang Hua, already full and unable to eat any more, returned with a body covered in blood. Expressionlessly, she walked to the throne, guarding Shali, who was playing with Lu Minghao, just like she had been as the Lizardman Guard Captain.
Four days later.
Since learning from Laplace a few days ago that the Lizardman tribe had completely retreated into the underground cavern, Gavier, determined to forcibly become the Lizardman leader, led three lackeys to rush back to the entrance of the underground cavern.
However, at this moment, the entrance to the underground cavern was completely sealed by a dark, shadow-like substance, blocking Gavier and his group's path forward.
At the same time, inside the underground cavern, Cang Hua ate the last piece of meat in her hand, then wiped her mouth and looked towards the entrance. Now, the entire Lizardman tribe, except for Gavier and his group outside and the Lizardman leader, had all merged into her body.
