This is what you deserve, you damned living scum.

  Yor slung the axe over her shoulder and clicked her tongue in disgust. She had a hard, annoyed look on her face that could have terrified even her own allies—thank goodness she was wearing the helmet.

  "No one can say no to a direct or indirect order from the Supreme Hirashi, no one in the world!!!"

  She shouted loudly, irritated and with a devotion bordering on insane.

  "Excellent work, Yor. You're Lady Hirashi's guard for a reason, after all."

  Zed commented, giving a little applause.

  “It was nothing special! I used a nerfed variant of Void Storm to create these clouds, followed by Void Slash. These trolls weren’t much.”

  As the two talked, the potion took effect on Gabiru, who quickly rose to his feet and approached them, still stunned by what he had witnessed. The storm of death had long since subsided, but the prince remained wary, fearing its potential return.

  "You are...that beautiful woman who came with Lady Hirashi!"

  “Exactly, I’m her attendant.”

  She replied coldly, irritated by the looks the lizard was giving her. She could sense attraction mixed with fear, and Yor didn't like the first of the two at all.

  “You are the foolish lizard who refused to submit!”

  "Hey! Who did you call a foolish lizard?!"

  “You! Haven’t you seen how much trouble you’ve caused?!”

  “You may have saved us, but you still have to respect my title, and-"

  Gabiru took another step forward, but Zed stepped between them and stopped him. It was obvious that if the two talked too much, the prince would end up beaten to a pulp—or worse.

  "I suggest we postpone the discussion. We are here as messengers of Lady Almodea, the mistress of the city of Almy."

  "I've heard about her! Wait... earlier Yor said that Lady Hirashi is this Almodea's sister, but the former serves a certain Almodeus! May I know which faction you belong to?!"

  "Both. Lady Hirashi is my sensei, while Lady Almodea and Lord Almodeus are our masters. They are all part of one great and single faction."

  "Brother..."

  Tokka joined the conversion, approaching the three.

  "They saved me! Dad is alive! I don't know what they told you, but it's all a troll plot! They've subjugated the orcs and now they're about to invade the entire forest with the support of some demons!"

  “Demons, you say?! Are you serious?”

  “Yes! I had to ally myself with the city of Almy to ensure the survival of our species..."

  “Tokka, I'll take care of explaining everything to your brother.”

  It took Zed about ten minutes to explain the situation to the prince and all the soldiers present. He had focused mainly on what Gherd, the Orc Prince, had confessed to Tokka before she escaped. Gabiru's face became a mix of conflicting emotions: anger, sadness, remorse, and a sense of justice.

  You are clearly an inferior creature, you stupid lizard. Only those born of the will of the glorious Queens can live happily in this world.

  Yor smiled wickedly under her helmet. She still remembered how arrogant and condescending Gabiru had been during the previous meeting, where Hirashi had also been present. The woman's memory was making things much worse, but she didn't care whether what she remembered was correct or not. If the prince hadn't been their ally, she would have killed him on the spot with great pleasure.

  “Tokka...did you really make a deal with them?”

  “Yes! I tried to give us as much autonomy as possible.”

  “I understand, but…”

  "It would be better to talk about it later. An attack on the troll base will begin soon. We must be ready."

  Yor silenced them, banging her axe on the ground.

  “The goblin knights who have remained hidden until now will remain here to defend the servants of the royal palace. What will you do, lizardman?”

  “Of course we will support you, as agreed with my sister!”

  Prince Gabiru declared confidently, mimicking the motion Yor made with his trident.

  "How can we reach their base, though? It will take us days. I fear we won't arrive in time for the beginning of the hostilities."

  "It is clear that you are inferior creatures..."

  Yor struck the ground with the heel of her boot, and from the bowels of the earth a huge purple door burst forth. It swung open, revealing a strange spiral of the same color, like a portal to another world. It was an extremely terrifying sight and Gabiru could do nothing but open his mouth wide in surprise. It was the same reaction Zed, Tokka, and the goblin recruits had had when they first used it to reach the lizardmen's royal palace.

  "So? Do you want to stand there like the inferior creatures you are, or do you want to go?"

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After passing through the gate, Gabiru and his soldiers found themselves in front of one of the three mountains that formed the trolls' base, the rightmost one to be precise. They could see large fires in the distance, a sign that the enemy camp was still active.

  “Follow us. We have orders to attack one of the three flanks when the regular army gives the go-ahead.”

  Zed declared, starting to lead the way towards their camp.

  “B-But...is that all your army?”

  Gabiru asked, shocked to note that the only soldiers present in the camp numbered roughly ten thousand. But what astonished him most was that they were all lizardmen; they were using the surviving soldiers from the war against Almodeus as a regular army. He didn't know whether to be furious at this insult or grateful that the good souls at the front hadn't been massacred after the surrender.

  “Of course not.”

  Yor replied, sounding like a know-it-all. It was clear to everyone that she didn't like the prince, so much so that she seemed to be purposely inciting him by using a tone that was anything but respectful. Gabiru wanted to respond in kind, but the winged woman preceded him.

  "These troops will be ground support only. However, our sources have revealed that at the three remaining members of the Fearsome Five are among the enemy forces."

  “Troll like Kuro, then?”

  “Exactly. Not a big deal, but still valuable.”

  Not a big deal, she says...

  The prince had to hold back a sigh. Honestly, the woman was starting to scare him. In less than ten minutes, Yor had destroyed a small army of trolls and annihilated their general—a monster that not even Gabiru himself could do anything about. The winged female had done it all with disarming ease, further proof of just how powerful these beings were.

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  This woman is scary, but she's powerful...and if I remember correctly, she's even a knockout under the helmet. Damn, marrying someone like her would be a dream...

  He couldn't help but think about those frivolities. It was his sister who brought him back to reality with a strong rebuke; despite being the younger, she was the one in charge of the two of them when their father was away. Perhaps that was also why Gabiru respected strong, authoritative women—and was able to respect Yor's impertinence.

  “What’s wrong with you? You stopped and stared into space.”

  “Sorry, I was just thinking and-“

  The words caught in Gabiru's throat, refusing to come out. Tokka almost felt faint when she saw the other's face suddenly blanch; it looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

  “I-I don't believe it!”

  “What? What’s wrong, brother?”

  Gabiru couldn't believe his eyes when he saw several members of the Six Great Lizardmen Heroes standing before them. They were alive and well, lined up alongside the others like ordinary soldiers. He immediately recognized the two leading the formation and almost felt like throwing himself at their feet to beg for forgiveness.

  "Druso? Tiberio? Are you alive?!"

  "Majesty?!"

  The two heroes were visibly as stunned as he was. They expected anything but to see their sovereign in that place, along with the underlings of their new masters, no less.

  “What are you doing here? The castle is— “

  "Please, forgive me!"

  Gabiru didn't even let Druso finish and immediately bowed, lowering his head. He was behaving like a mere servant, despite being the prince. The humility he was displaying wasn't nearly enough to fix the mess he'd made—but it was certainly a sign of his improving personality.

  “I sent you to your deaths without respect! I was blinded by the throne and thought not of the people, but only of my own damned pride! I did not want to be remembered as the King who had reigned when the glorious Lizardmen Kingdom fell. I have made many mistakes, and I ask you to forgive me!”

  The soldiers were astonished by the prince's behavior; they hadn't expected such resentment toward himself to be warranted. Despite what he had done, no one could truly hate him for the mistakes he had made. Gabiru was young and inexperienced; no one had given him the proper support, and this made it easy for the enemy to manipulate and control him like a puppet.

  Tiberio was the first to approach the young prince, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him to his feet. He regarded him with a serious look, but devoid of hatred or resentment. It was clear he bore no resentment toward the son of his former sovereign.

  "There's no need to apologize, Your Majesty!"

  “But I sent you to your death, or so I thought! The report said…”

  “We died as warriors, and that's fine with us all! However, Lord Almodeus has given us a second chance..."

  "What?! Almodeus resurrected you? He can...bring people back to life?"

  "So it seems, Your Majesty! But now enough delaying! We must save the King!"

  "Yes, you are right!"

  “You arrived on time! The commander was just waiting for your arrival to discuss the battle strategy.”

  Gabiru turned to see who was leading the formation—until then, he'd thought it was Druso and Tiberio—but to his surprise, he recognized Hirashi. He certainly couldn't forget a woman that size, and she wasn't alone; she was accompanied by two Oni, a young and handsome redhead and an older white-haired one.

  "Will Lady Hirashi lead us?!"

  He asked, quite frightened by the sight of the messenger who had brought death to his land. It wasn't the white giantess's active fault, but she had nevertheless brought the death sentence to their kingdom.

  "Only temporarily. Lady Hirashi, Yor and Hattori will go upward to liberate the upper floors of the mountain. We, led by Shen, will go to free your King from the underground prison."

  Zed replied, reassuring the prince. He could understand his concern, but the plan was for Hirashi to thin out the enemy lines, leaving the incoming forces to eliminate the rest.

  “If this is part of your plan, then I can only go along with it.”

  Gabiru stated, trying to hide his disappointment.

  “Thank you for your understanding, Prince. Now, I will explain to you exactly how we will proceed after we get past the troll army. Please pay attention…”

  With that, Zed began to explain how they would split up within the mountains: Hirashi, Hattori, and Yor would head for the upper levels, home to the strongest and most respected warrior of the mountain trolls, Hyo-Zan-Ryu; a team led by Shen and the lizard heroes would instead head for the lower levels, where the prisons were located—the mission's objective was to free Lizard Magnus and offer the orc guards submission in exchange for their lives; a team led by Almodea, who was currently absent, would instead attack the area where the Orc King was supposedly being held prisoner; finally, Almodeus himself would face Yeddu, the Troll King.

  These people are terrifying, one more powerful than the other...

  Gabiru was having a hard time believing what he was hearing. His new allies were certainly powerful, but they were talking about eliminating some of the most fearsome beings in the Dark Jade Forest as if it were a walk in the park. He didn't doubt their strength, not after seeing Yor defeat with a single blow an enemy he'd been powerless to do anything against, but their confidence still seemed excessive.

  And if I'm the one who thinks that, then we're in a really bad situation.

  Gabiru sighed softly, clutching his father's trident.

  “So, Sir Zed...what are we waiting for?”

  “Air support.”

  “Air support?”

  "Exactly..."

  The prince squinted, certain he'd misheard. None of the creatures present were capable of flight—could anyone know which Zed unit he was referring to? He decided to ask for an explanation when a shadow fell over the area, plunging their camp into pitch darkness. It was early morning, and the sun had yet to rise, but such darkness was completely unnatural.

  “Speak of the devil and he comes. Or should I say undead?”

  “Huh?”

  At that moment, something appeared from behind the few clouds covering the sky, and Gabiru's jaw almost dropped to the floor in amazement.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Ipaka was polishing his blade in front of the campfire, watching the rest of the army rest before him. They were all trolls and orcs, armored to the teeth with demon steel and enhanced with the Ruthless Devourer ability, which made them easier to control, but not necessarily loyal.

  What a bunch of incompetents, only a few would be considered truly worthy of the gift bestowed by our King.

  He had always been loyal to Yeddu since the very beginning of his ascension to the throne, and even before. He saw in that troll the true ideal of strength, the very embodiment of absolute power. Ipaka had become the first of the Fearsome Five, earning himself the title of supreme general of the troll armies. Despite this, he despised almost all the soldiers under his command. Very few were considered worthy of valor.

  I told the King that it would be best to give his gift to a select few, but I can understand why he didn't listen.

  The skill allowed the user to absorb the life energy of the devoured being, giving a portion of it to the Troll King himself—like a sort of food chain. Ipaka had figured out Yeddu's plan: to passively gain power while his subordinates plundered his enemies, empowering themselves in turn.

  -Ingenious in theory, but unfortunately poorly applied in practice.

  At that moment, there were only three members of the Fearsome Five in the army. The two missing, Zog "the Sadist" and Kuro "the Wizard Slayer," had been sent on filler missions of relatively little importance. The former was chasing a prisoner who had somehow escaped, while the latter had been tasked with exterminating the lizardmen.

  They're just weak, especially Zog.

  He wasn't a fan of the other members of the Fearsome Five. He acknowledged that Zog was superior to the normal trolls in terms of strength, but he was nothing more than a slightly stronger-than-average. In Kuro’s case, things were different; he was skilled at analyzing magical opponents and possessed good technique, but he couldn't be considered exceptional enough to be compared to what the King's elites were supposed to be.

  Hmm? What the hell is going on out there?

  As he mulled it over, Ipaka noticed some trolls arguing in the distance. As a general, his camp was right at the front of the army. He snorted in annoyance when he heard his subordinates shouting, saying he'd seen something moving in the bushes.

  “What are you waiting for? Go check it out, okay?”

  “B-But, Sir Ipaka...it could be a trap!”

  “So what? You’re trolls! Don’t you dare forget it!”

  For someone like Ipaka, it was embarrassing that they had to worry about traps when they had regenerative abilities like theirs, not to mention demonic steel armor. However, he could understand his soldiers' concern—according to the report of a demon named Laplace, their enemies were undead of considerable power.

  He wasn't worried, but some of his people were.

  “Come on! Go check it out, you idiots!”

  The two arguing trolls swallowed and nodded immediately, approaching the suspicious bush. They were fueled by the Ruthless Devourer skill, but that didn't entirely erase their innate fear of high-level undead. It was always in their nightmares that the bones of the monsters they'd eaten would rearrange themselves in their bellies and disembowel them from the inside out while they slept.

  “Let’s see- Huh?!”

  To everyone's surprise, there was indeed an undead behind the bush. It was a skeleton dressed in civilian clothes and a bandana, holding a large keg of gunpowder with the fuse pointing upward. The trolls weren't sure whether it was a hallucination from hunger or reality, and they stood there for a few minutes, staring at the strange skeleton.

  "Skeleton!"

  One of them shouted, unsheathing his sword.

  "Skeleton!"

  "Skeleton!"

  “Enemy skeleton!”

  The others shouted en masse, ready to attack.

  “Shhhhhh!”

  As soon as he realized his danger, the undead snapped his bony jaw, sending out small sparks that ignited the fuse. Within seconds, the barrel he was holding exploded in a grand fashion, taking the lives of at least five trolls.

  “What the fuck?! What the hell happened?!”

  Ipaka couldn't believe his eyes. The armor had been almost useless against that powerful explosion, something he couldn't believe. The casualties had been negligible, considering the force of the blast, but...

  An undead never acts alone.

  ...that damned species had a nasty habit of attacking en masse.

  “Soldiers! In formation!”

  Determined to investigate, Ipaka unsheathed his battle axe, ready to lead the search. It was obvious to everyone that they were under close observation. Unfortunately, the general didn't have time to give further orders before another dozen or so bangs rang out. Other explosions had occurred, following the same modus operandi: skeletons were being blown up with barrels of gunpowder.

  The death toll was rapidly rising, and Ipaka found himself powerless to prevent it. If the battle continued like this, they would surely lose. Of his dead comrades, only burned corpses remained, unable to regenerate.

  “What the hell is going on?! Attack! Or at least defend yourselves?!”

  “General! Something is coming! In the sky!”

  “Huh?!”

  Ipaka's jaw almost dropped as he looked up at the sky. The entire troll camp had fallen into shadow, and something was emerging from the clouds. It was something large, powerful, and...ghostly.