Chapter 401: Kroq-Gar

"Good heavens, Outelakesi has made quite a profit these years; where did he get such sturdy Suoluoshi!"

After all, this was his own territory, and the previous timed Rune communications had shown no anomalies, so Snorri did not maintain high vigilance and chose to land normally. Soon, a squad of Lizardmen warriors approached.

Lizardmen are the perfect soldiers crafted personally by the Old Ones, but this group before him was undeniably too sturdy; if not for the lack of iconic Skull helmets, he would have thought they were Temple Guard.

Their gazes were firm and filled with killing intent. As a battle-hardened veteran, Snorri could sense something akin to a "military soul" in these guys. Compared to Dwarfs and Elves, Lizardmen, who do not die of natural causes, are the true long-lived race and are more likely to form this kind of spiritual resonance.

"King of the Warm-blooded, this way!"

A taller Lizardman, equipped with a long spear and a large shield, pushed aside his subordinates and stepped forward. Snorri knew this was a Scar-Veteran; it had lived longer than its kin, and its scales had become thicker and harder.

"Something is wrong, twelve out of ten parts wrong!"

They sandwiched Snorri and his guard in the middle and turned to walk into the port. As the Lizardmen turned their backs to him, Snorri's gaze was drawn to the yellow birthmarks on their backs.

When a batch of Lizardmen is luckily influenced by the power of the Old Ones during incubation, their outer skin will develop unique colored birthmarks, indicating which Old One these warriors are blessed by.

Among the Lizardmen, they are called Sacred Spawn, while outsiders call these terrifying enemies God-Blessed Warriors. The yellow birthmark represents the ruthless Raz-Zokto; the mental state of those Lizardmen will no longer be affected by changes in the surrounding environment, and only death can force them to stop acting.

Even during the stage when the Old Ones remained in this world, God-Blessed Lizardmen were not common, let alone now, after more than ten millennia have passed.

Snorri was not sure if Lustria could still sporadically hatch Sacred Spawn, but a fifth-generation Slann like Outelakesi, who even had to find outsiders to repair a geomantic building, couldn't produce a Sacred Spawning Pool even if he sold himself.

The cargo unloading area of the port was not large to begin with, and just as Snorri had finished pondering, he was ushered into the central plaza. The once-bustling markets on both sides had been cleared by a large group of Lizardmen, leaving behind only a murderous atmosphere.

"This is? This light claw, could it be Kroq-Gar? That would be giving me too much credit!"

Sitting alone on the opposite side of the plaza was a Lizardman, a long spear stuck to its right side, looking up into the distance as if contemplating something. Looking at it, Snorri suddenly thought of the line, "The hero in the wind sighs in hesitation, a silver spear stands by his side."

It was clad in golden armor shimmering with magical luster—more for the ritual purpose of indicating status than for protective effect. The scars and growths left by being wounded and healing time and again made its blue skin mottled with colors, also granting it defensive power far exceeding its peers.

More crucially, the bracer on the Lizardman's left claw had an archaic design, but the terrifying energy contained within it exceeded anything Snorri had seen since he transmigrated—whether it was the Dwarf's collection of treasures, Nagash's evil tome, or Mogelimu's War Gear, all looked dim and lusterless before it.

This bracer is called the "Hand of the Gods," which, as the name suggests, is a product blessed by the Old Ones together. The war spear stuck in the ground also has a great background; it is rumored to be the Artifact of the bellicose Old One goddess Tlanxla!

"Gulp!"

Snorri swallowed a mouthful of saliva. When he first established contact with the Southlands Slann, he had worried about the Old Ones of Lustria coming to his door. Having been at peace for so many years, he had already relaxed his vigilance, never expecting that a Chakax would arrive at this juncture.

"Ahem! May I ask if you are Kroq-Gar, the last defender of Ashuotu'o?"

Since things had reached this point and could not be avoided, Snorri could only walk up quickly to pay his respects to this most legendary Lizardman commander. The legendary life of Kroq-Gar, the Zhao Yun among lizards, began in the spawning pool of the City of the Sun, Ashuotu'o.

Because it was too long ago, it is unknown which or how many Old Ones favored it. Relying on its innate talent, Kroq-Gar obtained a similarly gifted Tyrannosaur as a mount and soon became the army leader of Ashuotu'o.

A few hundred years after it was born, Chaos invaded. Ashuotu'o faced the brunt of the attack, the city fell, and the Slann were killed. After Kroq-Gar led its troops to break out, it fought a guerrilla war for hundreds of years centered on attempts to retake the city. By the time the Great Vortex was established and the Daemons were repelled, Kroq-Gar's comrades were all dead or wounded, and the entire Ashuotu'o was left with only it and one Dragon.

"You are that Warm-blooded one who invaded the rainforest? To actually know my name."

Kroq-Gar withdrew its thoughts from contemplation. It looked Snorri up and down, and the Dwarf felt its gaze was like a physical low temperature, making his hair stand on end.

"Indeed, I am Snorri Thorsson, King of the South World's Edge Mountains, returning to my homeland following the guidance of my race's Ancestor Gods."

"Roar!"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Before Kroq-Gar could respond, a tyrannical roar erupted from the nearby rainforest, and accompanied by a series of heavy footsteps, an orange-red giant beast lunged out from the shadows of the ancient giant trees.

"This is Quimok?"

The pungent smell of blood made Snorri twitch his nose involuntarily. The monster before him was basically the same as the restoration drawings in the museum of his past life—two stories tall, a powerful torso, sturdy hind legs, short forelimbs, and a thick, long tail used for balance.

"You even know its name?"

Kroq-Gar gently stroked the giant head of the Tyrannosaur that had pressed against the ground with its right claw, as if petting a cute big dog. In their thousands of years of combat, they had been through life and death together, forging a bond that surpassed that of kin.

"What a perfect combination of strength and wildness!"

Snorri looked up and admired this ancient Tyrannosaur. Perhaps in the entire rainforest of Lustria, only the God-Blessed Tyrannosaur Gargantuan, known as the "Beast of the Old Ones," could rival it; its gaping maw had sent countless Greater Daemons back to the Warp.

"I am here by the order of the Lord of Hexoatl, having crossed the Shijie zhi Chi. Not long ago, a group of Elves visited the City of the Sun, and their leader claimed that some ignorant fellows were attempting to interpret the Great Plan."

"Interpret the Great Plan? Teclis is really good at setting people up! I don't remember telling him about this!"

Kroq-Gar's words were shocking, and Snorri hadn't expected that the conversation at the Xuri Zhi Ta back then would bring them here.

"After I arrived here, I also discovered that you stole the wisdom and technology belonging exclusively to the Eldest Children of the Old Ones, right, Warm-blooded."

"This, actually it is..."

"You do not need to explain to me. Lord Mazdamundi wants to see you; I am only here to execute his order."

Kroq-Gar raised the Hand of the Gods to signal Snorri to stop, then took out a crystal ball.