"...We have no spare land to accommodate you; please look for other places."

Inside the spacious tent.

After listening to the proposal of the shark people to join the tribal alliance, the elderly man slowly shook his head.

His name was Tartak, he was the Chieftain of the Stone Lizard Clan and also the King of the River Bay Tribal Alliance.

The one standing before him at this moment was the young leader of the "Greyfin" tribe, named Kun Jia—a shark person who claimed to have been blessed by the Dragon God.

Although to humans, shark people and lizardmen seemed to be entirely different creatures, from the latter's perspective, they saw things very differently.

The blood coursing through both of their veins was recognized by the Dragon God; it was only a matter of proportion and quantity.

It was for that reason that Tartak found it so difficult to refuse them.

"No land? Then let's take it from the humans!" Kun Jia stepped forward, clenching his webbed talons, "The fertile land south of Shattered Rock Peak is rightfully yours, and ours as well! We can join forces, you attack from the land, we from the coastline, and we'll split the land we take evenly!"

In the face of that fervent incitement, the lizardman elder remained unmoved, only responding with a hoarse voice.

"That was a thousand years ago... The Isaac Dynasty has long since fallen. Not just them, our own spark has been extinguished and reignited many times. To this day, we do not wish to start a war, lest we lose the very last of the land gifted to us by the Dragon God."

These foreign kin did not understand the terrifying divine might that Saint Sis had brought down upon this land. Even Hell was powerless against the human world, and these weaker beings were not even qualified to be considered adversaries.

Fortunately, for the time being, the Ryan Kingdom simply regarded them as demonic creatures, not really bothering with them...

Kun Jia was silent, not saying a word, while the shark people warrior beside him spat on the ground in disdain.

"Coward."

The atmosphere between the two sides instantly became tense, eyes staring down one another, claws poised over their weapons.

Tartak quickly raised his hand, signaling his clansmen to remain calm. He then looked at the young Kun Jia and said,

"We welcome you to stay here as guests, but there will be a limit... You must leave by next spring at the latest."

Kun Jia didn't speak but locked eyes with the old man, nodding, then casting a meaningful glance at his heir behind him before striding out of the tent with his attendants, swaggering along.

Murderous gazes followed their backs until their silhouettes vanished at the end of the campfire's glow.

These troublesome relatives were detestable.

However, not all lizardmen felt this way.

Take for instance, Az, Tartak's heir standing behind him.

After a long silence, the young heir began to speak slowly.

"I think he's right... Our people are growing in number, and there is no more land for them to live on; whereas the Campbell Duchy has just been greatly weakened from the war with the Demon King, they don't deserve such vast territory. This once-in-a-millennium opportunity is right in front of us, why don't we seize it? If we join forces with the shark people, we can effortlessly reclaim all the territory we've lost over the past thousand years!"

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

"My child, that road you speak of is endless. The Campbell Duchy is just a corner of the Ryan Kingdom, and behind the kingdom lies the empire... Do we intend to fight endlessly like Hell?"

Az looked at him puzzled, his eyes filled with even more confusion.

However, out of respect for the Clan Leader and his father, he ultimately chose not to argue further but to endure.

"Perhaps you're right... I just wanted to say, if we do nothing, we are bound to disappear from this world sooner or later."

As he spoke, Az paused for a moment, turning his gaze towards the sky outside the tent.

"Last night I had a dream; in it, I heard the battle cries from afar... Those sounds came from the Dimension Desert, crossed the Brass Pass, and echoed through the entire Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range. I think it may be a sign that we ought to do something."

Tartak looked at his child in astonishment, speechless.

He was well aware that what his child described was much more than a simple dream.

It could very well be a prophecy from the Dragon God!

To say why...

Because he himself had similar dreams when he was younger.

He dreamed of the tribe's tents burning in a fierce fire, of his people dying in the flames... and this happened just before his father was to pass on the leadership to him.

He had lived his life as if on thin ice, carefully considering every decision, even rejecting the Demon King's temptations… all because he could never forget the tragic scene he had seen in his dream.

That prophecy had influenced his entire life.

Now, his own child had also received a prophecy from the Dragon God, and it presented a vision entirely different from his own.

Could it be...

that my destiny is coming to an end?

Tartak's heart harbored no sadness, but rather a sense of relief. It seemed he hadn't misjudged...this intelligent child was indeed the most suitable successor.

"Perhaps..."

"But please bear with it until the right time comes."

...

Outside the tent.

Kun Jia, his face grim, led his subordinates wordlessly towards the coastline.

That was where the tribal alliance had lent "Greyfin" a place to stay.

Just then, several cloaked lizards suddenly appeared and blocked their path.

Kun Jia's eyebrows rose as he looked at the few unimpressive lizards in front of him and said.

"What's the matter?"

The lead Lizardman removed the hood that concealed his face and locked eyes with Kun Jia as he spoke.

"My name is Niles. We are messengers from the Stone Lizard Clan."

Kun Jia didn't speak, and the shark warriors carrying harpoons on their shoulders disdainfully curled their lips.

"Stone Lizard Clan, what's that supposed to be?"

Niles, struggling to contain his anger, continued in a low voice.

"We once served Hell, but we have now seen the light and returned to the embrace of the Dragon God."

So... a turncoat?

The shark warriors squinted at the lizard before them, their lips curling in an even more playful smile.

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

However, a trace of interest flitted through Kun Jia's eyes, and he slowly began to speak.

"What are you trying to say?"

"The swamp has no warriors you need, only cowards clinging to life."

Niles glanced back at the tent not far away.

It wasn't just the shark warriors.

He too had been recently rebuffed there and had also suffered humiliation at the hands of the Stone Lizard Clan.

"...It just so happens that these cowards occupy the scarce land remaining outside the human domain, and within a thousand miles, no unclaimed territories are left—unless you plan to flee to the mountains...but I think that's not what you want."

Kun Jia narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So?"

"So why not consider going underground? The conditions there are no different from here— in fact, they're much better!"

Looking earnestly into the eyes of the shark people's leader, Niles laid out the words entrusted to him by the Clan Leader.

"The Demon King is dead, the rest are all fighting amongst themselves... as long as we join hands, defeating them one by one shouldn't be a problem!"

"When that time comes, the land near the mountain range will be ours, and the territory along the coastline will be yours!"

"Sounds interesting..." Kun Jia's mouth split into a cruel smile, then he turned to a shark warrior beside him, "Sordo, take some men and have a look."

The harpoon-bearing shark warrior stretched his neck and glanced at the diminutive lizard.

"Since the Clan Leader has spoken, I might as well go have a look."

Seeing the other party agree so readily, Niles breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help harboring a faint anxiety.

He always felt that introducing external forces into the labyrinth's strife was not a good idea.

But with the threat of the new Demon King looming large, and the Little Demons on the second level seemingly swaying towards the Demon King's side,

faced with a series of existential crises, they really had no better choice...

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