At present, Luo Yan was not aware of the names of these four Demon Generals, or whether they had any association with Reggie Dragon's family.

But there was no hurry for this.

He would encounter them eventually.

Looking at the shivering goblin, Luo Yan pronounced his fate.

"Octo, take him to the dungeons of the Demon King Territory."

Octo bared his teeth in a ferocious smile and accepted the command with both hands clasped in a fist.

"Your will be done!"

Watching the goblin being led away, an elder who remained motionless seemed like he wanted to say something. However, out of consideration for the Demon King's earlier orders, he dared not speak up and could only stand there silently.

As the goblin was taken away, the Demon King, perched atop the spider, finally turned his gaze to him and asked in a commanding voice.

"What is your relationship with the fifth-level rebels?"

The unmoving elder was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Those Ogres claim to be the most faithful followers of the Demon God. After His Majesty Reggie Dragon's death, they came to us proposing an alliance, to defend the labyrinth from humans together. We agreed to them and were once allies, but it seems now that was just wishful thinking on our part," the elder said.

Luo Yan looked at him and continued to inquire.

"How did you cooperate?"

The elder answered.

"They provided us with charcoal, Demon Crystals, and other necessities in exchange for our excrements."

Luo Yan's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Charcoal?"

The elder nodded slowly.

"Yes, it is one of our food sources and provides us with ample energy."

Luo Yan continued.

"What else do you normally eat?"

The elder continued.

"Coal, soil – especially soil that is rich in organic debris. Of course, magma is our main sustenance, the hotter the better."

Luo Yan looked at him unexpectedly and said.

"There is magma here?"

The elder nodded and replied.

"Deep within our lair lies a pool of molten lava. One of our jobs, back when His Majesty Reggie Dragon was still alive, was to monitor that area to prevent the magma from becoming too active and flooding into the labyrinth."

There were frequent movements in the Earth's crust near the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, particularly along the northeastern coast near the Vortex Sea.

The high-temperature silicate lava often contained rich mineral deposits, and Luo Yan speculated that the excrements of these clay golems must be rich in metal resources. The Ogre tribes relied on these metals to forge weapons or produce other alchemical equipment.

In that case, the traits of the Rock Soul Tribe could complement those of the Mole People of Iron Teeth City.

An exchange of products?

It felt somewhat distasteful.

At this moment, the unmoving elder did not understand the intriguing expression on the face of the young Demon King who had just arrived.

Luo Yan, looking at the massive clay giant resembling a mountain, asked the last question he was most curious about.

"There is one thing I do not understand, how did you gain self-awareness?"

The elder shook his head and said in a heavy voice.

"We do not know. It happened suddenly one day. Many clay golems, including myself, suddenly realized that we were different from other golems. His Majesty Reggie Dragon generously took us in and granted us this territory on the third level of the labyrinth to recuperate and proliferate..."

Beyond that, the elder shared much more about their tribe.

Like the way they reproduced, their habits of life, and so on.

After recounting these things, the towering Mountain Giant fell silent for a good while before finally asking the question that concerned him the most.

"What do you intend to do with us?"

Luo Yan spoke without hesitation.

"As my subordinate said, some of your people will be demoted to slaves until you prove your loyalty."

At this point, he paused before continuing.

"Moreover, from now on, you will be known as 'Stone People,' and I will treat you differently from the mindless clay golems. As for the name of your tribe, that's for you to decide. As long as you ensure your faith and loyalty, I will not interfere too much in your internal affairs.

Hearing this bitter-sweet verdict, the unmoving elder sighed softly, respectfully bowing his much smaller head before the young Demon King.

"Thank you for your mercy."

To the victor belong the spoils.

Having lost, they only had to accept their fate.

Aside from gratitude for the Demon King's mercy, he had no other choice.

...

This was different from the conquest of the Gecko clan.

Because the Rock Soul Tribe consisted of "Stone People," Luo Yan could not use their remains to summon zombies to spy for him, so he had to grant them a high degree of autonomy, while assigning the Geckos' priests to oversee their indoctrination.

Fortunately, besides the Rock Soul Tribe, the third level of the labyrinth also contained Iron Teeth City, populated by Mole People, who could keep watch over them on Luo Yan's behalf.

After completing the subjugation of the Rock Soul Tribe, Luo Yan immediately set out to notify Iron Teeth City, having Chieftain Zhuangzhuang arrange for hundreds of Mole People pushing carts to transport the "clay ore" originally designated for the Ogre tribe on the fifth level back to Iron Teeth City.

At the same time, Luo Yan instructed Alakdo to lead a group of Earth Cave Spiders to haul part of the Demon King Territory's overflowing coal supplies to Iron Teeth City, as trade goods for future deals with the Rock Soul Tribe.

He preferred mutually beneficial cooperation to one-sided exploitation, seeking a win-win situation.

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