Chapter 57: This is a little token of heart from the Great Demon King

Deep in the second layer of the labyrinth lies the Nightmare Homeland, which makes all adventurers in Lei Ming City turn pale at the mention of it.

It is rich in Earth-Worm Rats, Giant Centipedes, and colorful mushrooms, and is the king of pranks and traps in the labyrinth!

It is rumored that deep in the Nightmare Homeland, there is a cave embedded with countless magic crystals. Those magic crystals are like mirrors, through which one can glimpse every corner of the second layer of the labyrinth.

It is said that the little demons usually hide there.

While whispering and discussing evil schemes, they watch the various jokes made by adventurers who fall into traps.

However, ever since Lord Lei Ji Delagong died, those happy days have ceased to exist.

First, the mirror monitoring the entire second layer of the labyrinth lost its magic, and secondly, it lost its supplies from deep underground.

Although the underground labyrinth of Lei Ming City spans hundreds of square kilometers, even larger than Lei Ming City itself, the remaining resources wouldn't be enough to starve the millions of monsters, but living a frugal life was unavoidable.

Including the tens of thousands of little demons in the Nightmare Homeland, all of them were living a life of having the current meal but not the next, either eating bugs or eating fungi.

However—

With the minions sent by the evil Great Demon King, this unlucky life bathed in holy light finally saw a glimmer of a turning point.

Accompanied by the *da-da-da* sound of footsteps, hundreds of Earth Spiders crossed the entrance of the second layer of the labyrinth and arrived at the entrance of the Nightmare Homeland.

The little demons guarding here initially thought that the crazy spider living upstairs named A-la-la-something had killed her way over, until they saw Mixi floating above the heads of that group of spiders and breathed a sigh of relief.

These spiders weren't very difficult to deal with, but getting covered in sticky spider silk was truly too troublesome.

If they had a choice, they would rather bully those four-legged snakes.

"Mixi?!"

Noticing the movement at the entrance of the Nightmare Homeland, a little demon leader flew to the front, looking in surprise at the mighty spider army.

There was a...

Fragrant scent?

She swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"What's the situation with these Earth Spiders?"

Are they edible?

"Don't eat them! They are the minions of the Great Demon King!"

Knowing what this guy was craving, Mixi hurriedly stopped her unrealistic thoughts and shouted anxiously.

"Quick, quick, move aside! I want to see Her Majesty the Queen!"

Not daring to delay Her Majesty the Queen's business, the little demons guarding the gate quickly retreated to the side.

Led by Mixi, the Earth Spiders with large and small bags wrapped in spider silk on their backs marched through the entrance of the Nightmare Homeland and drove straight into the deepest part.

That was Xixi's palace.

It was also the place where tens of thousands of little demons rested.

Directing her little brothers to unload the goods, Arake raised his front limbs and waved, arrogantly leading the team away from the territory of these poor ghosts.

These little demons had also fallen; they were actually so poor they had to beg at the Great Demon King's door.

Tsk tsk.

Truly pitiful!

Regardless of what Arake, the first strategist of the Shadow-Weaving Nest, thought, Xixi, sitting on the rock throne, was truly shocked by the mountain of supplies.

Those sacks were filled with...

Human wheat?!

She couldn't count how much there was; anyway, the things piled there were as high as a mountain to her!

"This guy... could it be he robbed the granary of Lei Ming City?!" Xixi, who had straightened up, looked stunned, her mouth already open in an 'O' shape.

This, this is what kind of evil?!

If this were true, then the strength of this Demon King was simply terrifyingly strong!

At least in her impression, Lei Ji Delagong hadn't had time to do this. And fearing human priests, they only dared to think about the richness of the surface.

Piled into a mountain weren't just sacks filled with wheat, but countless other things.

For example, bread baked to be fragrant!

For example, pine nut oil that could be eaten and used!

For example, sausages that tasted much better than mushrooms!

Not only that—

Faintly, she also smelled the fragrance of refreshing wine!

Smelling that intoxicating aroma, her eyes instantly moistened, and even her voice trembled.

"Mixi... this... what exactly is the situation?"

Is this the Demon Capital of the Netherworld?!

These foods.

Enough for the clansmen to eat for more than a month!

Her shoulders stiffened as if electrocuted, Mixi lowered her little head in fear and trembling, carefully choosing her words.

"Th-th-these... these are all return gifts from the Great Demon King!"

"Return gift? Why return a gift for no reason." Xixi frowned slightly and asked hurriedly, "Did he say anything else?"

It was the first time she had heard of any lord giving a return gift to a vassal who had completed their duties.

She always felt that things weren't that simple!

Being stared at by those scarlet eyes, Mixi only felt like a little chick being watched by an eagle, and she would lose her life if she wasn't careful.

"It-it-it is... it means a betrothal gift! It's the etiquette of the De-de-demon Capital! Th-that, that proposal, it doesn't matter if you don't agree, th-th-this is just a little token of heart... we-we-we can start as friends first..."

She felt like she had made up a similar lie once before.

But at this moment, she couldn't care about that much anymore, and could only let her short-circuited little brain play itself out.

Stutteringly answering Her Majesty the Queen's inquiry, Mixi pressed her head firmly to the ground, then closed her eyes in despair.

Dead, dead...

This time she was truly dead!

She should have known earlier; one lie requires countless lies to round it off, and there's always a day when lies aren't enough.

Perhaps if she had confessed clearly at the beginning, things wouldn't have turned out this bad...

Of course—

Setting aside the facts, was Her Majesty the Queen completely blameless?

If Youxi had been the one sent to the Demon King's territory, and she had been the one showing off in the territory of the stinking lizard, things wouldn't have turned out like this!

Mixi waited nervously, already prepared to bear Her Majesty the Queen's wrath.

However, she waited for a long time, but waited for nothing.

Mixi looked up tremblingly, wanting to see the expression on Her Majesty the Queen's face, but was stunned to find that the petite figure on the rock throne had disappeared.

Realizing something, she looked back cautiously, only to see Her Majesty the Queen had already flashed to the side of the pile of "betrothal gifts" at some point, holding a bottle of wine taller than herself in her hand.

"Hahahaha! Not bad, it seems that guy—cough, that Lord actually understands us quite well, even knowing what wine we like! Not bad, not bad, *giggle*..."

Not only that—

That guy actually really considered her troubles and solved the food crisis for the Nightmare Homeland!

Xixi, flapping her wings, laughed heartily, her crimson eyebrows like a pair of curved red moons, as enchanting as the spider lilies blooming in the Netherworld.

Mixi just kept her jaw dropped in surprise, watching Her Majesty, who was smiling like a flower, with the whole demon hanging on the wine bottle.

Incredible—

Xixi actually believed it?!

And come to think of it, it was the first time she had seen such a hearty smile on Her Majesty's face.

The silver-bell-like laughter was like a reflection in a mirror, and Mixi, who was fascinated, felt her eyes blur; when she looked back, that petite and majestic figure had already returned to the towering rock throne and sat down.

Her jade-like legs were elegantly crossed on her knees, and she extended her right hand forward, magically producing an exquisite stone goblet and holding it in her hand.

The stone statue puppet that had awakened at some point was holding the wine bottle, kneeling on one knee respectfully beside the rock throne.

Meeting the gaze of those scarlet eyes, Mixi realized her transgression and hurriedly buried her head low.

However—

Her Majesty the Queen seemed to be in a good mood today and didn't blame her for such a small matter.

"Little ones! Listen to me! It's been hard on you following this King all this time; today this King is going to treat you to a big meal!!!"

The high-pitched voice echoed in the Great Hall, and Xixi raised the wine glass in her hand slightly, as if showing off spoils of war.

"Kitchen staff, go get the biggest pot! Scavengers, go pick up firewood, go start the strongest fire!"

"Everyone eat your fill! Just remember one thing—no grabbing raw food! No wasting! No eating yourselves to death!"

This was actually three things.

But at this moment, such trivial details were no longer important.

For the little demons who had been eating rotten mushrooms for several months, nothing was more exciting than eating their fill to their heart's content!

Tens of thousands of little demons swarmed out of the huge rock cave; looking out, it was like a dark cloud, and the entire massive cave was filled with the sound of flapping wings.

At that moment.

The entire Nightmare Homeland was boiling!

Signaling the stone statue puppet kneeling beside her to pour her an appetizer wine, Xixi brought the cup to her crimson lips, savoring it while admiring the busy scene.

That was the most delicious delicacy in the world.

At least for her, nothing was more suitable for drinking than the cheers and happy expressions of her clansmen.

"Awoo awoo awoo!"

"Long live Her Majesty Xixi!"

"Gaga, at a time like this, I should take out my delicious treasure—Cyclops boogers!"

"Don't even think about it! I won't let you add that in even if I die!"

"Sob, sob, sob, bread! Damn! Too fragrant! I'll just taste one bite!"

"Ugh ugh ugh—too big! Quick! Someone help me!"

Because she greedily stuffed a whole loaf of bread into her mouth, a little demon turned into a flying dachshund, running around in the sky in pain.

Fortunately, her companions knew magic, which pulled her back from the gates of hell, cutting the bread into eight pieces and sharing it together.

Xixi laughed heartily, scolding the little thing a few times, but didn't impose any punishment.

The entire Nightmare Homeland was a mess, but she felt this wasn't bad.

Even, this was how it was supposed to be—this was the hometown of the "Kings of Pranks" of the labyrinth!

The little guys had been working hard for too long.

It was time to relax.

On the other side, southwest of the labyrinth, hundreds of campfires burned slowly on a muddy marshland, and the taciturn lizardmen, like dead wood floating on the shallows, guarded that silence and desolation along with the long border.

In the eyes of the arrogant humans, this was the territory of the lizardmen.

As for which specific kind of lizard it belonged to, the lords of the Kingdom of En didn't care; they only knew this land was rotten and troublesome.

However, in the eyes of the lizardmen themselves, this was the territory of the "River-Bay Tribal Alliance," belonging to thousands of large and small tribes.

They had their own culture and customs, believing in the great and omnipotent Dragon God.

Although after a thousand years of evolution, their bloodlines were no longer as pure as they were a thousand years ago, they were still seriously maintaining ancient traditions, equally hating all outsiders who entered this land.

Even if they were Merfolk who also had beautiful scales and also claimed to be descendants of the Dragon God...

"... We don't have extra land to accept you; you should go somewhere else."

Inside the spacious tent.

After hearing the request from the Merfolk to join the tribal alliance, the elderly man slowly shook his head.

His name was Tartak, the chieftain of the Stone-Lizard clan, and also the King of the River-Bay Tribal Alliance.

And standing before him at this moment was the young leader of the "Grey-Fin" tribe, named Kunja—a Merfolk who claimed to have received the blessing of the Dragon God.

Although in the eyes of humans, Merfolk and lizardmen didn't look like the same species at all, the latter had a completely different view.

The blood flowing in both sides was recognized by the Dragon God, just a matter of proportion and amount.

It was precisely because of this that Tartak was so conflicted when rejecting them.

"No land? Then go snatch it from the hands of humans!" Kunja took a step forward, clenching his webbed claws, "The fertile land south of Broken-Rock Peak belongs to you, and it also belongs to us! We can join hands; you attack from the land, and we attack from the coastline, and we'll split the snatched land in half!"

Facing the aggressive incitement, the lizardman elder was unmoved, only saying in a hoarse voice.

"That was 1,000 years ago... The Isaike Dynasty has long since perished. Not only them, our fire has also been extinguished and rekindled many times. To this day, we don't want to start another war, to the point of losing even the last territory the Dragon God bestowed upon us."

These foreign kin didn't understand at all what kind of terrifying divine power Shengxisi had descended upon this land. Even the Netherworld was helpless against the human world, and they, being weak, didn't even have the qualifications to be opponents.

Fortunately, the Kingdom of En currently only regarded them as monsters and didn't really want to bother with them...

Kunja remained silent, while the Merfolk warrior standing beside him spat on the ground.

"Coward."

The atmosphere between the two sides instantly became tense, pairs of eyes glaring at each other, and claws pressing onto weapons.

Tartak quickly raised his hand, signaling his clansmen not to be impatient, then looked at the young Kunja and said.

"We welcome you to live here as guests, but there is a time limit... at the latest before next spring, you must leave here."

Kunja didn't speak, just stared at the old man's eyes and nodded, then looked meaningfully at the successor behind him, and then left the tent swaggeringly with his guards.

Pairs of murderous gazes stared at their backs until the shadows disappeared at the edge of the campfire's outline.

This group of troublesome relatives was annoying.

However, not all lizardmen felt that way.

For example, Azi, the successor standing behind Tartak.

After a long silence, the young successor spoke slowly.

"I think he's right... Our clansmen are growing more and more numerous, and there is no land left for them to survive; conversely, the Principality of Kanbeier has just been severely damaged by the war with the Demon King, and they don't deserve to possess such vast territory at all. This once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity is right before us; why don't we seize it? As long as we unite with the Merfolk, we can easily reclaim all the territory lost over the past thousand years!"

Looking at the child who understood nothing, Tartak shook his head and sighed lightly.

"My child, the path you speak of has no end. The Principality of Kanbeier is only a corner of the Kingdom of En, and behind the Kingdom of En is the Empire... Do we have to keep fighting like the Netherworld?"

Azi looked at him in confusion, the bewilderment in his eyes growing stronger.

However, out of respect for the patriarch and his father, he ultimately didn't continue to argue, choosing to endure.

"Perhaps you are right... I just wanted to express that if we do nothing, we will eventually disappear from this world."

Speaking of this, Azi paused for a moment, casting his gaze toward the sky outside the tent.

"Last night I had a dream; in the dream, I heard war cries from afar... The sound came from the Dimensional Desert, passed through the Brass Pass, and echoed throughout the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain Range. I was thinking, that might be some kind of hint, we should do something."

Tartak looked at his child in surprise, unable to speak.

He knew very well that what his child said was far more than just a dream.

That was highly likely a prophecy descended from the Dragon God!

If you ask why...

Because he had also had a similar dream when he was young.

He dreamed of the tribal tents burning in flames, and his clansmen dying in the fire... and it was on the eve of his father's impending succession.

He had lived his whole life walking on thin ice, repeatedly weighing every choice, even rejecting the Demon King's persuasion... just because he could never forget the miserable scene he saw in the dream.

That prophecy had influenced his entire life.

And now he had finally not failed the Dragon God's expectations, guarding the crumbling tribal alliance.

Now, his own child had also received the Dragon God's prophecy and seen a scene completely different from what he had seen.

Could it be...

Was his destiny about to end?

There was no sadness in Tartak's heart, but rather some relief; it seemed he hadn't misjudged... this clever child was the most suitable successor.

"Perhaps..."

"But before the time comes, please endure for a while."

Outside the tent.

Kunja, with a gloomy face, led his subordinates toward the coastline without a word.

That was the place the tribal alliance had lent to the "Grey-Fin" for shelter.

Just then, a few lizardmen wearing cloaks suddenly came up and blocked their way.

Kunja's eyebrows twitched, looking at the unremarkable lizards before him and saying.

"What's the matter?"

The leading lizardman took off the hood covering his face, looking straight at Kunja and saying.

"My name is Nils; we are envoys of the Earth-Dragon clan."

Kunja didn't speak, and the Merfolk warrior carrying a harpoon on his shoulder curled his lips in disdain.

"Earth-Dragon clan, what kind of thing is that?"

Nils suppressed his anger, continuing in a low voice.

"We once served the Netherworld, but now we have abandoned darkness for light and returned to the embrace of the Dragon God."

So... a two-faced traitor?

The Merfolk warrior narrowed his eyes, examining the gecko-man before him, the playful smile on his lips growing even wider.

He didn't take these little guys seriously at all.

However, a look of interest rose in Kunja's eyes, and he spoke slowly.

"What do you want to say?"

"There are no warriors you need in the marshland, only cowards struggling on the brink of death."

Nils looked back at the tent not far away.

It wasn't just the Merfolk.

Not long ago, he had also been turned away there and had been humiliated by the Stone-Lizard clan.

"... It just so happens that these cowards occupy the few remaining lands outside the human sphere of influence, and there is no ownerless territory within a thousand miles. Unless you intend to flee into the mountains... but I don't think that's what you want."

Kunja narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So?"

"So why not consider underground? The environment there is no different from here, and even much better than here!"

Looking seriously into the eyes of this Merfolk leader, Nils told him everything the patriarch had instructed him to say.

"The Demon King is dead, and the rest are just guys fighting on their own... As long as we join hands, defeating them one by one is not a problem!"

"When that time comes, the land near the mountains will belong to us, and the territory near the coastline will belong to you!"

"Sounds interesting..." A cruel smile cracked on Kunja's lips, and then he looked at the Merfolk warrior beside him, "Sodo, take some people and go take a look."

The Merfolk carrying the harpoon moved his neck and glanced at the short gecko.

"Since the patriarch has spoken, then I'll go take a look."

Seeing the other party agree so readily, Nils felt relieved, but also couldn't help but feel a faint, lingering worry.

He always felt that introducing external forces into the disputes within the labyrinth wasn't a good idea.

But right now, the threat of the new Demon King was imminent, and the little demons on the second layer seemed to have leaned toward the Demon King's side.

Facing this series of survival crises, they truly didn't have a better choice... ===== CHAPTER 58 =====