Overlord Premise Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! With the Red Eye Tribe joining the Tribal alliance, all that remains is getting the Dragon Tusk Tribe to agree as well. However, the Dragon Tusk are followers of strength, they won’t listen to anyone that’s weaker than themselves. With the overall greatest force of arms within the five Lizardman Tribes, the only way to gain the allegiance of Dragon Tusk is to defeat their Chief! But even if all five tribes come together, can they win against the forces of the ‘Great One’?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 14 – Dragon Tusk and War Preparations

Across the great marsh of the large lake within the Great Forest of Tob, Rororo plodded through the water while carrying Zaryusu and Crusch on the hydra’s back. The sun was already past its zenith for the day, a testament to just how spread out the five Lizardman Tribes were and the size of the great lake itself.

Zaryusu’s eyes closed again as the Lizardman hadn’t gotten much of any sleep last night as he’d stayed up late into the night to explain the plan of the Five Tribe Alliance to the Red Eye Tribe. With a quick shake of his head, Zaryusu opened his eyes again and tried to focus.

Crusch, seeing Zaryusu’s state, rummaged in her grass cloak for a moment. “Zaryusu, you look sleepy.”

“Yeah,” Zaryusu nodded. “Between this and that, I haven’t really slept much the last couple of days.”

“Druids love these Rikiriko nuts.” Crusch handed two brown nuts that grew around the Red Eye Tribe’s territory to Zaryusu. “Try chewing some with the shell on.”

Zaryusu took the offered nuts and chewed on them. “Bitter…” He grimaced, but noticed that the longer he chewed the less sleepy he felt.

“Don’t swallow them, they’ll upset your stomach.” Crusch cautioned as Zaryusu’s chewing continued. “But you don’t feel sleepy anymore, right? It doesn’t mean you’re not tired anymore though, so don’t overdo it.”

“Yeah, thanks…” Zaryusu spit the shewed up seeds out into the water and looked ahead, knowing that the Dragon Tusk Tribe lay ahead and he needed to focus.

-Later-

“Seems like we’re here.” Zaryusu said as he spotted huts atop large trees growing from a portion of solid ground and shallow water within the marsh.

Crusch, never having been to the Dragon Tusk Tribe, leaned over a bit to look around Zaryusu. The Dragon Tusk certainly built their homes differently than the Red Eye, as many of the huts were built upon platform atop the large trees. Those that weren’t in the trees were built on tall posts above the water or on the flat ground around the area.

“Are you really planning to ride in like this? Won’t seeing the hydra put them on guard?” Crusch asked Zaryusu as Rororo kept walking forward into the village.

“That’s the idea.” Zaryusu confirmed as he made no effort to change Rororo’s course. “The Dragon Tusk prioritize strength. If I get off of Rororo right now, they might try to drag me into a pointless fight.” Already more than a few of the Dragon Tusk warriors were gathering, many with spears and clubs, while staying well out of range of Rororo’s heads. “Rororo makes a potent deterrent.”

Crusch had to agree just based on what she was seeing. “I see…”

Once Rororo came to a stop near the center of the Dragon Tusk village, Zaryusu spoke up loudly. “I am Zaryusu Shasha of the Green Claw Tribe! I’ve come to speak to your chief!”

He noticed more than a few of the warriors tighten their grip on their weapons when they heard what Tribe he was from. No doubt that they were remnants of the Yellow Speckle and Sharp Edge Tribes.

“I am Crusch Lulu, acting Chief of the Red Eye Tribe! I’ve also come to speak with your chief!” Crusch said loudly to make sure the Dragon Tusk Tribe heard her clearly. Hopefully, the arrival of a visitor from one Tribe and the Chief of another Tribe would deter any sudden violence.

A splashing sound caught the attention of everyone, and the Dragon Tusk members all seemed to lose a bit of tension. The sound turned out to be the steps of a larger than normal Lizardman as he made his way through the shallow waters within the village.

“So, you made it, huh, bearer of Frost Pain?” The large male Lizardman asked as he stepped forward. In his large right hand was a steel halberd, vastly different from the common primitive weapons of most Lizardmen that were made of wood, stone, and bone.

The male Lizardman was quite tall, just under two and a half meters when standing, making him tower over most other Lizardmen. His scales and jaw were closer in form to a crocodilian, one of the various ‘breeds’ of Lizardmen that their people had amongst their population. His body was covered by several scars, no doubt from a lifetime of fighting and surviving as a veteran of many battles. His most bizarre feature, however, was his asymmetrical arms. His right arm was especially more thick and muscular when compared to his left. On top of that, his left arm’s ring finger and pinky were completely gone, only scarred flesh remained at what would’ve been the base of the missing digits. And on his chest was the crimson ‘Traveler’ mark in the form of a two-headed snake; different from the Green Claw Tribe’s mark, but still retaining the same meaning.

‘A Traveler?’ Zaryusu wondered why this male was speaking up when in most Tribes they’d be quiet when matters of the Tribe were spoken of.

“I didn’t realize that the Red Eye Tribe was led by a Plant Monster.” The large Lizardman said.

Crusch lifted the long grass cloak away from her face to shoot an annoyed look at the large male. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Learn to take a joke, will ya?” The halberd-wielding male waved off her anger with his left hand. “I am the Dragon Tusk Chief that you seek, Zenberu Gugu! Call me Zenberu.”

“Pleased to meet you, I’m…” Zaryusu began a proper introduction.

“Not necessary.” Zenberu cut him off almost immediately. “How about just your names?”

Zaryusu went along with Zenberu’s abrupt skip of formality. “Zaryusu Shasha, and this is Crusch Lulu.” He motioned to Crusch who was still looking at Zenberu with a slight glare.

Zenberu nodded slightly. “Right, I guess I should ask why you’ve come here.”

“I’m guessing that a strange Monster showed up here recently?” Zaryusu started off the conversation with a leading question to judge Zenberu’s willingness to potentially form an alliance.

“Yeah. Messenger from the ‘Great One’ or whoever.” Zenberu didn’t seem to care much about the one that the strange Monster served.

Zaryusu was glad that Zenberu was aware of the situation and seemed to be taking it in stride instead of cowering or preparing to flee. “That makes this easier then…”

Zenberu held up his left hand to stop Zaryusu’s words. “I have an idea of what you’re going to say. But we only trust the strong!” He pointed his steel halberd at Zaryusu. “If you want me to listen…then take up your sword.”

“What?!” Crusch exclaimed at the sudden challenge.

Zaryusu slid off of Rororo’s back and landed easily beside the hydra. After a second, Crusch followed him down, landing with a small splash in the shallow water. With a single raise of Zaryusu’s hand, Rororo took a few steps back, showing that the hydra wouldn’t be taking part in the coming fight.

“How direct, Chief of the Dragon Tusk.” Zaryusu said as he placed his right hand on the handle of Frost Pain. “That’s a clear, concise judgement, no time-wasting.”

The challenge was accepted.

“And you’re a brilliant messenger. But I guess I should’ve expected that, wielder of Frost Pain.” Zenberu replied with clear excitement for the upcoming fight.

The two males stepped forward, Zenberu wielding his steel halberd, while Zaryusu pulled Frost Pain from his belt.

“That’s Frost Pain.” One of the watching Dragon Tusk members said, just loud enough to be heard.

“The Sharp Edge Chief used to wield it.” The hiss of agitation marked the speaker as a survivor of the fallen Sharp Edge Tribe.

It was true though, Zaryusu had taken over mastery of Frost Pain after defeating the Sharp Edge Chief in the inter-tribal war. Possession of one of the Four Great Treasures of the Lizardmen brought with it a certain respect and status among the Tribes; and possession only ever changed from one Tribe to another upon death of the current owner at the hands of a member of a different Tribe or from the Tribe being completely wiped out…like in a war.

Zenberu, hearing his tribesmen, spoke up powerfully. “I’m only saying this once! If I don’t make it out of this Duel alive, this guy is the new Chief, understand?!” He pointed at Zaryusu with his left hand. Still hearing a few murmurs, Zenberu shot a sharp look at the group whispering amongst themselves. “And if ANYONE’S got a problem with that, I’ll be happy to rip their head off first!”

That made everyone in the Dragon Tusk Tribe go silent in agreement. The Chief had spoken and made his rules clear.

Crusch took a few steps forward and lightly placed her hand on Zaryusu’s back. ‘His muscles are warm…’

Zaryusu turned to look at Crusch as he felt her hand on his back. “…is something wrong?”

“Huh?! I, uh… P-Priest’s Blessing!” Crusch threw out the first thing that came to her startled mind.

“It’s pretty nice of the spirits of your ancestors to help me out even though I’m from a different Tribe.” Zaryusu blinked at receiving a blessing from ancestral spirits not his own. He’d never heard of such a thing within the Tribes. With a nod, he turned back to face Zenberu, both males stepping forward as a circle of Dragon Tusk members formed around the upcoming fight.

Crusch, her face partially hidden by her grass cloak, looked after Zaryusu with worry. ‘Why don’t I want Zaryusu to fight? Is it because I’d hate for something to happen to him?’ She held her hands over her chest as the duel was about to begin.

“Come at me like you mean to kill.” Zenberu said fiercely as he readied his halberd. “I don’t get to fight guys as strong as you very often.”

Zaryusu took a tow-handed grip on Frost Pain. “Got it. And if I die…”

Zenberu let out an amused grunt. “Sure, I’ll get your female home safe.”

“She’s not mine, yet. But okay…” Zaryusu said as he stared down Zenberu.

“You’re totally going for her.” Zenberu shot back. “If I win, maybe I’ll take a closer look at her face?”

“I’m not letting you get that close to Crusch!” Zaryusu denied firmly.

Crusch was hiding her face within her grass cloak entirely now, feeling the skin and scales of her face practically burning with heat. Her heart thumped within her chest as she fidgeted, her tailing swaying behind her.

Near her, two other females snickered at the attention that the Red Eye Chief was getting.

“How nice~” One of the females said playfully.

Crusch tried to sink deeper into her grass cloak, not sure how to respond to Zaryusu’s clear affectionate protection of her.

“You better win then!” Zenberu shot forward to start the duel.

“I plan on it!” Zaryusu said as he followed the incoming halberd with his eyes and backstepped to get out of the range of Zenberu’s first swing.

The first clash of weapons rang out as Frost Pain slammed into the shaft of Zenberu’s steel halberd.

“RRRAAAGGHH!!!” Zenberu broke the deadlock with his greater strength, shoving Zaryusu back.

The instant that Zaryusu’s feet touched the ground, he shot forward again. He struck high, aiming for Zenberu’s face, only for the halberd to be used to block. A feint towards the chest was met before Zaryusu could change his target. The third clash was another block as Zenberu stopped Frost Pain from hitting his leg. The steel halberd came around again, aiming to take Zaryusu’s head off. Ducking that blow only put him in a precarious position as Zenberu proved his strength and experience by instantly swinging the halberd backwards, aiming to bury the pick into Zaryusu’s head this time. Zaryusu leapt backwards to make distance and narrowed his eyes at Zenberu as the larger Lizardman held his weapon with just his right hand.

‘Something feels off…’ Zaryusu considered Zenberu’s speed and reaction time based on their fight so far. ‘He’s got strong arms… His reaction time is good too. Surely he can attack more precisely? Could it be that…he isn’t taking this fight seriously?’

“What’s wrong?” Zenberu asked as he hefted his halberd. “Can’t get Frost Pain to work?” He held up his scarred left hand, prominently displaying the two missing fingers. “I once lost a fight to the guy that used to own Frost Pain. That’s how I ended up like this. Maybe if you use the power like he did, you can win!”

 Zaryusu narrowed his eyes at Zenberu, seeing the goading for what it was. ‘That power if definitely strong… But the number of uses is limited. I can’t just use it on a whim.’ He charged forward and clashed with Zenberu again. Aiming near the shaft of the halberd, right where Zenberu was holding it, Zaryusu managed to knock the weapon out of Zenberu’s hand, sending it spinning off to the side. ‘He’s mine!’ Frost Pain was thrust straight towards Zenberu’s chest.

Blood flew through the air.

Crusch covered her mouth in shock.

Zaryusu leapt backwards, two cuts bleeding freely on the side of his face.

“RAAGGHH!!!” Zenberu charged forward, his claws on his right hand glowing red as he straightened his fingers and thrust his claws forward in a spearhand strike.

Clang

Zaryusu used Forst Pain to block and knocked Zenberu’s hand aside.

“WOOOOO!!!” The Dragon Tusk Tribe cheered for their Chief drawing first blood.

“Hahaha! Not many have survived that one!” Zenberu laughed before he licked the blood from his claws.

“So you’re a Monk.” Zaryusu easily figured out Zenberu’s trick as his long tongue licked the blood from the cuts on the side of his face. ‘Using Chi to harden part of the body… That’s [Natural Iron Weapon] and [Iron Skin].’ He’d heard of such Marital Arts before on his travels.

Zenberu inclined his head with laugh. “How about you use that move already? It’s no fun fighting someone that’s holding back.”

“Sorry, but I’m not planning on using it.” Zaryusu said as he readied Frost Pain.

“Really?!” Zenberu shot forward and threw a kick, his legs surrounded by a red aura. “Then I’m comin’ for ya!”

Zaryusu deflected the kick with Frost Pain, pivoting with the force of the blow to minimize the shock to his arms. He lashed out with Frost Pain, aiming for Zenberu’s chest.

Clang

The magical ice blade bounced off of Zenberu’s red glowing scales.

“[Iron Skin]! I can repel anything! Even Frost Pain, one of the Four Great Treasures!” Zenberu declared after blocking Frost Pain with his right arm.

Zaryusu assessed his condition in the brief lull of the fight. ‘I have multiple wounds, but they’re all light.’ He shot a quick glance towards Crusch. ‘Maybe it’s thanks to the spirits of Crusch’s ancestors?’ Seeing Crusch with her hands clasped together, seemingly praying to her ancestors to protect him, Zaryusu gave her a look. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll win.’

‘My body feels heavy…’ Zenberu looked at his right fist with a critical eye. Looking back towards Zaryusu, he took up his stance again. ‘Additional chill damage… I didn’t know Frost Pain had that power. It makes sense for one of the Four Great Treasures.’ Zenberu charged forward, ready to continue the fight. ‘No. It’s not just the weapon… This guy…’ Zenberu threw a punch, which Zaryusu blocked with Frost Pain. A swiped of his claws from his left hand were deflected by the ice blade. Another kick was blocked, even if Zaryusu skidded backwards a bit. ‘He’s reading all of my moves!’

Zaryusu deflected another claw swipe. He struck out against Zenberu’s glowing red punch from his large right fist to stall the blow. A powerful tail swipe sent him skidding backwards as his clawed feet dug into the dirt. ‘His tail is large and further strengthened by [Iron Skin], it’s a formidable weapon in its own right!’ Even blocking with Frost Pain hadn’t saved him from the force.

“YEAH!!!” The Dragon Tusk Tribe roared as the fight continued between the two warriors.

‘That’s the strongest Lizardman male for you!’ Zenberu thought to himself as he staggered backwards from another clash with Frost Pain. “Hah! Damn it all…” He stood tall and lowered his arms. “That’s it! I lose.”

“Huh?”

“Why?”

The confusion among the Dragon Tusk was understandable, until they all looked closer and saw the thin covering of ice over various parts of Zenberu’s scales.

Now that the duel was over, with Zaryusu as the victor, Crusch swiftly moved to his side.

“Are you alright?” Crusch asked as Zaryusu kneeled on the ground.

“Well, none of these wounds will kill me.” Zaryusu said simply.

Crusch smiled and held up her hands. “I’ll cast some Healing Magic on you.”

“Thanks.” Zaryusu nodded with affectionate look in his eyes.

“You’re welcome!” Crusch smiled, being able to a bit better than most Lizardmen, probably due to her rare breed.

Zaryusu looked at Crusch’s smile for all of a second before speaking. “You’re beautiful.”

“What?!” Crusch squawked as her tail rapidly thumped the ground. “[Middle Cure Wounds]!” She cast a healing spell on Zaryusu to try and calm herself down.

Zaryusu sighed and closed his eyes as his injuries quickly healed up.

Zenberu walked towards the two stiffly, his body slowing down and locking up as his blood cooled due to Frost Pain’s chill that he’d come into contact with over and over again. “…sorry to interrupt, but…white one, could I get some healing too?”

Crusch, having already finished with Zaryusu’s light injuries, sighed and moved over to Zenberu as the larger Lizardman sat down. “Sure thing…”

“Well…that was a whole new level of hurt.” Zenberu said as the light green glow slowly healed his injuries and thawed him out. “Felt like I was frozen to the bone.” He slowly flexed his hands as the feeling returned to them. “Guess I was naïve to treat Frost Pain as just a hunk of ice without its special ability.”

“Feel like talking now?” Zaryusu asked Zenberu as Crusch finished healing the Dragon Tusk Chief.

Zenberu shook his head once. “Nope.” The chuckle in his voice made it clear he’d be smiling if he could. “First…alcohol!”

Zaryusu and Crusch both blinked at Zenberu, even as the Dragon Tusk Chief hollered for his tribesman to build a bonfire for a celebration.

-Dragon Tusk Village ~ Sunset-

“Thanks for the healing, Plant Monster.” Zenberu chuckled as Crusch brought over some food from the large gathering of partying Dragon Tusk tribesmen.

“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?” Crusch gave Zenberu a flat look. It was either ‘Plant Monster’ or ‘white one’ with the crocodilian-like Lizardman. “I noticed the Great Wine Pot in the center of the party.”

The Great Wine Pot looked similar to a large earthenware pot, but with red glyphs painted onto the side in an unknown material. It had a large, thick rope tied around the rim as well, woven from an unidentified fiber that had never faded from its slightly off-white coloring in all the many generations that the Lizardman Tribes had possessed it. If an outsider ever saw it, they’d probably not even realize the Treasure was magical unless they tried to empty the wine and discovered that it would never empty no matter how much was taken from it.

Zaryusu looked in the general direction, but couldn’t see one of the other Four Great Treasures through the crowd. “So…Yellow Speckle’s survivors did take it with them.”

Zenberu nodded as he drained an entire bowl filled with wine from the magical pot. “Yeah, they brought it with them when they became part of Dragon Tusk.”

“It makes sense for the moderate Yellow Speckle Tribe to have been the ones to possess it.” Zaryusu said as the Great Wine Pot produced limitless wine that tasted great to Lizardmen, but was regarded as ‘not very good’ by other races. “Sharing a drink together often facilitated meetings between Tribes to prevent wars in the past.”

Crusch, sensing a drop in the mood, quickly changed the subject. “So, have you two finished talking?”

“Pretty much.” Zaryusu nodded to her.

“We’re going to form an alliance and fight then?” Crusch looked at Zenberu.

Zenberu laughed. “I was always planning on fighting!”

Crusch looked at him like he was simpleminded. “War-crazy through and through, huh?”

“Hahaha! Stop, you’re gonna make me blush!” Zenberu took Crusch’s words as a compliment (even though it wasn’t). “I even went on a journey to get stronger.” He lightly touched his ‘Traveler’ mark. “It was just such a shock when I lost to the guy that used to own Frost Pain.” He took another gulp of wine. “The Dwarves that I met on my travels taught me Monk Skills.”

‘So that’s how he knew them.’ Zaryusu thought back on his own travels and how his main focus had been on finding new ways for his Tribe to be more self-sufficient.

Zenberu tossed a grilled mud crab into his mouth and snapped down on it before swallowing it with a happy sigh. “Anyway, you beat me…you wanna be Chief in my place?”

“…nah, I’ll pass.” Zaryusu denied the idea of him taking over as the Dragon Tusk Chief.

“So.” Zenberu finished off his current bowl of wine. “Do you think we can win?”

Zaryusu was silent for a second before he answered. “I don’t know. But our opponent is being careless. If we can take advantage of that, we might have a shot.”

Zenberu tilted his head. “How do you figure?”

“Do you remember what the Monster that delivered the message said?” Crusch asked Zenberu.

“Ah, no… I was taking a nap.” Zenberu admitted while rubbing his head.

Crusch looked at Zenberu incredulously. ‘How did he sleep through that?!’

“It said ‘Put up a futile resistance’…” Zaryusu summarized the main point of the message.

Zenberu scoffed. “Tch! So they’re looking down on us right from the start? They must have a huge army.” It was the easiest explanation for their enemy to be so cocky.

“Well slap ‘em upside the head.” Zaryusu said firmly. “We’ll gather the five Tribes and show them the greatest power we can muster.”

“Sounds good! Now you’re speaking my language!” Zenberu tapped wine bowls with Zaryusu in a simple toast.

Crusch felt that she had to speak her mind as she saw how excited Zenberu was getting for a battle they might not win. “Hey, Zaryusu, I understand the issues with evacuating…but I’d rather be alive and enslaved than…”

Zaryusu gently cut Crusch off as he motioned to the celebrating Dragon Tusk Tribe. “Can you hear that? Everyone’s voices? We’re finally able to live in peace…would you really be okay with all of that getting destroyed?”

“But still, Zaryusu…” Crusch looked into Zaryusu’s eyes. “Don’t die, okay?”

“I won’t.” Zaryusu assured her. “Not until I hear your answer.”

Zenberu downed the last of his wine and let out a long sigh at the two lovebirds. “Sheesh…” His tone gave away that he’d be grinning at the two if he was able.

-Capitol City of Re-Estize Kingdom ~ Re-Estize-

A carriage pulled to a stop in front of a small mansion that had been rented out for the duration of the new arrival’s stay within the capitol city.

Sebas stepped down from the coachman’s seat and moved to the door of the carriage. He opened the door and Solution stepped out, the two once more assuming their roles of spoiled young Lady and her faithful butler. Sebas walked Solution to the front door of the mansion and opened it for her, as would be expected of a servant, and then made sure to close the door behind him as he went through the motions of getting his ‘Lady’ settled.

Everything had to appear as perfectly normal and ordinary. There was no room for any suspicion to crop up while they were in the capitol fulfilling Lord Momonga’s orders. Solution retired to the master bedroom, closing the curtains to block out anyone that may be trying to peer inside, while merely looking as if she was about to take a nap from her travels.

Sebas exited the mansion and began unloading the carriage of the luggage, making sure that he went about the task properly and with the same physical limits of a human man. He could’ve easily carried every piece of luggage, perfectly balanced in a tall stack, with a single hand. But that wouldn’t be something that a normal human could do, so Sebas took each large piece of luggage into the mansion one at a time. While he went about the task, seemingly not paying attention to anything around him, the Head Butler of Nazarick kept his senses spread wide for the feeling of anyone watching him or anyone trying to be stealthy.

‘This city seems peaceful as you ride through it…but it’s got its hidden shadows.’ Sebas thought to himself, having seen more than a few vagrants and homeless people tucked away in small alleys between various buildings. Further back in the shady alleys would undoubtedly be the underbelly of the Kingdom and those who worked in the criminal world. ‘But discovering the criminal organizations with the most power isn’t the main focus of our task.’ Sebas put the thought from his mind as he continued to move the luggage inside. He and Solution were here to make potential connections for Nazarick’s future.

Seeing dark clouds rolling in, and smelling rain with his sharper than human senses, Sebas sped up just a little to make sure he finished before the rain started to fall.

-Nazarick ~ Momonga’s Office-

Albedo handed Momonga the report that had just been delivered from Entoma regarding her task of watching over Cocytus in his first leadership role. “My Lord, Entoma’s report.”

“Thank you, Albedo.” Momonga took the report and began to read it over. As he read he managed to keep a straight face, though his thoughts were different. ‘Simple tactics are being discussed among Cocytus and his strongest subordinates. No signs of any outside interference and the Lizardmen haven’t launched any kind of preemptive attacks. But Cocytus hasn’t sent out a single scout to any of the Lizardman villages? Knowing the size of your enemy’s forces is the most basic tactic to gauge their strength! Surely Warrior Takemikazuchi didn’t leave out tactics and battlefield planning from Cocytus’s creation…did he?’ Momonga let out a slow sigh. It actually wouldn’t surprise him if his old friend hadn’t added such things to Cocytus. ‘Warrior Takemikazuchi was always into warriors and their honor and respect towards each other, the warrior’s code and everything. But he wasn’t a tactician, he was a frontliner.’

They’d left most strategy and tactics for Ainz Ooal Gown in the capable hands of Ankoro Mocchi Mochi during the days of YGGDRASIL.

Sometimes Momonga hated being right in his predictions about the actions of the former NPCs.

‘There’s still a few days… Let’s just wait and hope that Cocytus realizes what he needs to do. If he can gain an understanding of tactics and battlefield leadership, then he’ll grow and become an epic general for Nazarick’s forces! That would be amazing to see!’ Momonga thought to himself, wanting to see his old friends’ creations develop beyond their simple AI routines and become individuals with more complex personalities.

“Is something troubling you, my Lord?” Albedo asked after hearing Momonga sigh.

“No, no, Albedo…” Momonga shook his head once. “Things are going exactly as I predicted.” He assured her. ‘And that’s the problem. But I can’t just say that! Being able to make accurate predictions is something all of the Floor Guardians respect me for, and if I say that it’s a bad thing then who knows how they’ll take it!’

Albedo’s smile, and the gentle flapping of her black feathered wings behind her, were clear indications of her joy that Momonga’s prediction was correct. “As expected of you, Lord Momonga!”

“Has any reply come from Seimei yet?” Momonga asked as he wanted to move away from his problems of being a leader.

“Not yet, Lord Momonga.” Albedo shook her head once. “I’m sure he’ll get back to you shortly though. Any correspondence from the Fox Lord will be brought directly to you as soon as possible.”

Momonga nodded, knowing that he’d sent a rather lengthy letter to his old friend from YGGDRASIL filled with various questions on how he’d managed to set up his territory and any tips that he could give to Momonga to do the same. “I’m sure Seimei is busy, and my letter was rather long. I’ll just be patient and wait for his reply.”

-Fox Lord’s Territory ~ Imperial Castle ~ Meeting Chamber-

“Please, Fox Lord, this is my Queen’s most heartfelt desire!” A man in stately clothes bowed low to the Fox Lord, kneeling and pressing his head to the floor before the titanic Fox Monster lying before him, the flickering ethereal flames lighting up the room making the silver fur of the great creature seemed to shine like stars in the night sky.

Seimei looked down at the begging man in his kaiju-sized nine-tailed fox form. His nine tails waved through the air slowly behind him, casting shadows across the meeting chamber from the foxfire burning in the sconces on the wall and the immense chandelier high above. “You request me to destroy an enemy that is not my own. Yet you say it is your Queen’s most heartfelt desire, and that she does it out of care for her people.”

“Yes! It’s the Queen’s greatest desire! The Slane Theocracy has stopped lending us assistance recently! We can only keep them at bay for so long with our own forces!” The man didn’t raise his head at all, only continued to plead with the Fox Lord.

“You kill them, they kill you, the Slane Theocracy takes advantage and further spreads their hatred of non-humans.” Seimei said as he looked up at the high ceiling. “And all this killing continues because none of you will simply see the other side as equals, as intelligent beings that’re equally deserving of life.”

The man couldn’t argue with that. Just coming to the capitol of the Fox Lord’s Territory had shown him what true acceptance and equality looked like as humans and demi-humans of many types lived in the territory peacefully under the Fox Lord’s rule. “I-Is there no possible way to gain your assistance, Fox Lord?”

“A tower of riches, for a tower of wishes.” Seimei spoke as he turned his gaze back onto the prostrating man.

“F-Financial compensation can be w-worked out…” The man stuttered out, feeling the breeze generated by the Fox Lord’s words. “To h-have your assistance…I’m sure my Queen would c-compensate you fairly!”

Seimei slowly swayed his tails through the air, sending the foxfire flames flickering and making the man on the ground shiver in panic that he’d overstepped. “I am Magic Fox, former destroyer, the auspicious Lord of Nine Tails.” He referenced his history and just how he’d claimed his territory from the ones that used to rule over it, along with his unofficial Title as Lord of the territory. “Your Queen should be the one making this plea for her people if she truly cares for them so much. Or does she believe that the one she requests help from is of no more consideration than a servant?”

“NO!” The man shouted, looking up suddenly from his prostration before the towering Fox Lord. “My Queen sent me because we did not know if you’d be open to the idea, Fox Lord!” He suddenly seemed to realize that he’d raised his head and shouted at the great beast and nearly slammed his forehead back onto the floor. “Please forgive me! I spoke out of line!” Not being killed or hearing any condemnation from the Fox Lord, the man continued after a moment of silence. “If you are open to listening to my Queen’s request, then I will return to the Kingdom and inform her as fast as I possibly can so that she may come meet you herself, I assure you!”

“You may go then.” Seimei bade the man to leave. “Send word when your Queen will be arriving within my lands and I shall meet her here.”

The man looked up, pushing his upper body off the floor, only to then bow repeatedly to the Fox Lord. “Yes! Of course! Thank you, great Fox Lord, for your consideration! Thank you! Thank you!” He bowed a few more times before he got to his feet and then slowly backed out of the massive room, the hanging bamboo screens rolling down one after another as soon as the man passed them on his way back down the corridor that led to the room.

“Hah…” Seimei exhaled and his titanic form was consumed in a blaze of foxfire. When the flames dispersed, Seimei was in his human form, dressed in his Onmyōji robes, in the center of the massive room. “I usually don’t mind listening to the occasional visitor that’s come to make a plea. But to get involved in a war…even if only to wipe out the majority of one side’s forces and break their morale…that’s a very heavy request.” He’d turned away such pleas in the past, of course, not wanting his territory to be targeted anymore than it already was from outside forces. “But a heartfelt plea for the sake of others…” Seimei sighed as he walked towards the lone, hidden door in one spot along the wall of the huge meeting chamber. “Let’s see just how sincere this Queen is before I make a decision.”

For now, he had a letter from Momonga to reply to.

As Seimei walked through the hidden door and then closed it behind him, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a small charm made of two strips of cloth, one alternating stripes of red and yellow, the other alternating stripes of yellow and blue. It wasn’t magical in the slightest, just simple cloth folded and tied together into a little charm, but it was important to him. “I haven’t seen those two in a while. I know their busy, of course, but their last letter mentioned a new request they were taking on, though it was secret and they didn’t tell me what it was.” He gently rubbed the little cloth charm as he thought about the two that had made it for him and what had led them to meet in the first place.

-Razor Tail Tribe Village ~ Next Day-

Zenberu looked at the village that had come into view. “Oh, hey. We can see it now, the Razor Tial Tribe’s village.” Riding on the back of Rororo had certainly shortened the trip here.

“Won’t they be suspicious if we just ride in like this?” Crusch asked Zaryusu as Rororo got closer and closer to the village.

“No, my brother should already be here.” Zaryusu assured Crusch as they got closer to the gate without any calls of alarm being raised.

The large form of Shasuryu stood at the gate. “Hey, you made it, little brother!” He called out to Zaryusu in welcome.

Rororo came to a stop in front of Shasuryu and all four heads came down to be petted and receive praise from the Green Claw Tribe Chief.

“You did well, Rororo.” Shasuryu said to the hydra with a chuckle, always amused that his brother had managed to tame such a creature that was usually a massive threat to everything else around it.

Zaryusu and Zenberu both jumped down from Rororo’s back, making splashes in the shallow water. Zaryusu helped Crusch down from the hydra’s back gently and set her on her feet.

“Who’s the Plant Monster?” Shasuryu asked as he saw the thick grass cloak.

“The female that I’m in love with.” Zaryusu answered instantly.

Shasuryu let out a tiny snort of amusement. “Oh? And you were always the one that said ‘Oh, I can’t get married…’ weren’t you? I told you that you’d nock that arrow one day. It was just a matter of finding the right female.” He looked at Crusch and Zenberu for a second. “Anyhow, I’m the Green Claw Tribe’s Chief, Shasuryu Shasha.”

Crusch gave a short bow to Shasuryu, pulling the grass cloak away from her face to greet him. “I’m acting Chief of the Red Eye Tribe, Crusch Lulu.”

“I’m Zenberu Gugu, Chief of the Dragon Tusk Tribe for the moment.” Zenberu introduced himself, sizing up the other male that was almost the same size as him. “This may be sudden, but wanna fight?”

“I’m not opposed.” Shasuryu said as his right hand reached up to gently rest on the handle of his large sword.

Zenberu tightened his grip on his steel halberd in response.

“But…it looks like the ones sent out to scout have returned.” Shasuryu said as he let go of his sword. “We should learn some details about the enemy. You can wait until after that, right?”

A short time later and the four of them were in a large hut that the Razor Tail Tribe used for meetings.

The Chief of the Small Fang Tribe, Sukyu Juju, a master of tracking and projectile weaponry, had led the scouting party to gain information on their enemy. He was a mostly yellow Lizardman with light brown markings from the tip of his nose all the way down his back and to the tip of his tail, the marks also extending from his shoulder to his fingers and from his hips down to his feet. He had a small sail-like fin atop his head, a remnant of the Lizardman races more aquatic origins.

“The enemy stronghold is in the forest; their forces are just under five-thousand strong.” Sukyu informed the other Chiefs and Zaryusu. “It’s mostly zombies and skeletons, an undead horde. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to locate this ‘Great One’ of theirs.”

“Our force numbers just thirteen-hundred, they outnumber us over three-to-one.” Shasuryu said with a light hiss of agitation.

Zenberu raised his large right hand a bit, curling his fingers inward to show off his sharp claws. “We just have to take out three or four each, right? That seems easy to me.”

All of the other Chiefs let out exasperated sighs at the simplistic view of battle on this scale.

“First, we need to make a proper chain of command.” Shasuryu said. “Perhaps we could form brigades centered around each of the Chiefs?”

Zaryusu shook his head once. “No, we should have a separate unit consisting of ONLY the Chiefs.”

“Traveler want to make unit of elite warriors, yes?” Kyuku Zuzu, the Chief of Razor Tail, figured out what Zaryusu was going for easily, even if he spoke simply and a little slowly.

He was a greyish-brown Lizardman with reddish eyes and wore one of the Four Great Treasures of the Lizardmen, the White Dragon Bone armor. The bones that made up the armor had been carved from Frost Dragon Bones long, long ago and originally had no magic. Over time though, the armor gained Magic, so many saw the armor as cursed. The Treasure became harder and more durable by draining the wisdom and intelligence away from the one that wore it. The greater the wearer’s wisdom, the stronger the armor became…but the intellect and wisdom didn’t return when the wearer took the armor off. Chief Kyuku had once been famed among all the Lizardmen Tribes for his great wisdom, insight, and intellect…but he’d given that up to the cursed armor, making it stronger than it had ever been before, all for the sake of protecting his Tribe.

“That’s right.” Zaryusu confirmed. “The enemies’ numbers are great, taking out their leader may be the only way to win. If the leader is protected by even stronger foes, then it will take our strongest to do the job.”

“But won’t that leave our side without commanders too?” Sukyu asked, not liking the idea of leaving his tribesmen without leadership.

Zaryusu nodded, quickly thinking of a different idea. “Then let’s keep the elite unit in the rear and have them issue orders to the Head Hunters, who will then issue them to the rest of the warriors as the situation demands.” It was a simple chain that should get orders spread to all of their forces in a very short amount of time.

“So, we’re planning for a siege then?” Crusch looked at the others for confirmation.

“Siege difficult. Here marsh. Bad footing. Walls…break easy.” Kyuku said, pointing out the flaws of a siege in the marshlands.

Zaryusu crossed his arms as he considered their options. “We do need to keep a siege in mind, given how outnumbered we are.”

Crusch nodded and offered a solution. “Then we of the Red Eye Tribe will reinforce the walls.”

“How will you do that in a marsh?” Zenberu asked a little confused. “Kyuku’s right, the ground isn’t good for it.”

“We’ll make a mud wall.” Crusch replied easily. “A thick and built up mud wall is hard to break down. It’s only weakness is heavy rainfall.”

Sukyu nodded, knowing vaguely of the Red Eye Tribe’s technique. “That’s sounds better than just relying on wooden fences. Though we’ll probably still need them between the mud walls where we can’t build them up well.”

“We should consider splitting the elite unit if necessary in this first skirmish.” Zaryusu suggested as he looked at the five Chiefs. “If a powerful enemy appears that’s NOT this ‘Great One’ we can’t risk all of our commanders on a single fight.”

“Makes sense.” Kyuku nodded.

“So, three of us head out to the battlefield if necessary, the other three hang back on defense to continue leading the alliance.” Sukyu summarized the idea.

Shasuryu looked at Zaryusu and then the other Chiefs. “I’m for it. It gives us flexibility to deal with an unexpectedly powerful foe that may very well appear before this ‘Great One’ shows themselves.”

“I volunteer to be one of the three that goes out to fight.” Zenberu said firmly, clearly not taking ‘No’ for an answer.

Zaryusu nodded to Zenberu. “I’ll go as well.”

“Then I’ll go too!” Crusch said quickly before anyone else could volunteer. “With two warriors, you’ll need a Magic Caster in case of emergency. I can heal, summon, and use Magic to deal with afflictions that the enemy may use against you.”

Zenberu laughed. “Sounds good to me! As long as we’re covered against Magic, then there shouldn’t be an enemy that we can’t take down!”

“We only have four days left before the attack, make sure that no one wastes a moment.” Shasuryu said with such finality that everyone nodded immediately.

The Alliance of the five Lizardman Tribes, a first in all of their long history, would rise up and stand together against the ‘Great One’ and his army.

Four days remained.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The Dragon Tusk Tribe requires a fight before they’ll agree to join, but Zaryusu wins and makes it work out!

For the first time ever, all of the Lizardman Tribes are allied! Will it be enough though?

Cocytus doesn’t seem to be doing the things that a good military leader should do…but Momonga wants to give him a chance to try.

Meanwhile, Sebas and Solution arrive at the capitol of the Re-Estize Kingdom to begin their mission there! Already Sebas notices that there are shadows and dark parts of the seemingly ‘bright’ capitol. Perhaps that foretells troubles to come?

Meanwhile, we see that Seimei also has something going on…a plea for assistance from a Queen who’s Kingdom is being besieged by an enemy that they used to have the Slane Theocracy help them hold off.

Will this affect Nazarick in any way, or will it be handled by Seimei without having to bother his old friend from YGGDRASIL?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!