We've been reduced to mere spectators of the evenly matched fistfight between two hulking lizardmen leaders. At a loss, Celo stared stupidly at the local overlords.
"That's Chief and Fearless Spear Tribe's Chief Tethra fighting... It can't be. Have things already escalated too much? Why wasn't I informed of this sudden call to arms!"
I glanced at the green Lizardman carrying me. Celo definitely had gotten my attention. It's just been a week and a day after I managed to successfully convince Celo and his lizard buddies to lay off an unfortunate yellow scaled lizardman.
I have a question.
How have things between the two factions in the twin forest already devolved into this... This small war?
The two chieftains are duking it out. Fist for fist. Grit for grit. The intensity of their battle had long transcended a playful spar. The two are dead serious! Trees are getting snapped. Boulders and rocks couldn't help but get tossed into the air as well!
"Celo! This past week after my visit to your tribe. Has anything fishy been happening?"
"Fishy? The fishmen are stuck in the fish lake. Unable to move out nor cause harm from the suppression of our two tribes."
"I didn't mean that type of fishy! I was asking if you heard or caught on to some suspicious events!"
"The past week has been full of headaches! Beast hunts for ceremonial had ended in disasters! The Giant Wolf we had been tracking for days meticulously had been cornered. Yet out of the blue, a few fishmen got the jump on us!"
"Turning a hunt into a near calamity. Fortunately for me, I'd rather return defeated than risk the lives of my men. And the next day, I personally experienced being an inch away from death during one of our hunts."
My frown deepened. Lizardmen may be reckless muscle heads but they are able to think properly and even plan a little. Especially when it comes to hunting.
Giant wolves or great bears are high leveled monsters for my current strength. They were part of the reason villagers from Cain Village dreaded the Twin forest. Lone creatures lording over Twin Forest's somewhat deeper parts.
For fishmen to appear deep inside the forest. Far away from their lake situated somewhere near the outskirts. It's unthinkable! They would've gotten severely dehydrated by staying too long outside the water.
Celo started moving away from the two hulks violently smashing each other. He pried off his eyes with bitterness as he ran again.
"That's not the end of it yet. An aspiring merchant from our Grim Guard tribe had set out on a journey. Aiming to reach the Magan kingdom in order to start his business. A trip he prepared for in a matter of years! Yet one day later our shaman flew into a rage. Filling the camp with hexes and curses."
I felt Celo's grip on my legs tighten. The lizardman had fallen eerily silent.
I'm starting to piece everything together.
The first piece of the puzzle that had started this whole mess was about the case of the stolen or missing sacrificial animals. An essential part of Lizardmen's life. Without such offerings, the shamans couldn't perform a ritual for class awakening.
Leading to the two faction's suspicion of each other.
Second. Sabotage. All succeeding hunts lead to failures. Fishmen being the catalyst for those failures.
And third... It's obvious from Celo's words. The lizardman that set out to become a merchant died. No. The person was killed.
It's obvious that someone's messing with these scaly heads and leading them to bite one another. But what could be the motive behind it? I can think of a few suspects. Though... Gaining knowledge of the true motive is essential to narrow the suspects down to one.
The fishmen, my prime suspect... They're annoying walking fishes that grew legs and arms aggressively attacking anything that moves. Ravenous in nature, they are a threat. A threat that the Lizardmen actively suppress.
Some brave villagers heading towards the fish lake to have a look recount tales of seeing countless corpses of fishmen being burnt.
The lizardmen's suppression.
By suppress... I mean kill off. For some reason, the fishmen keep re-appearing in the fish lake no matter how many are killed. They're like cockroaches damn it.
Remove the head and it can still fucking fly in your room for some ungodly reason.
And by the next few days, a few more cockroaches would've already moved into your house.
After getting hit by a truck and getting reincarnated. I am a hundred percent convinced that anything is possible now. Maybe the leader of the fishmen had been plotting out this thing for years now.
Make the two tribes wound each other before swooping in for a quick double kill. The more I think about it, the more reasonable it gets.
"We're... here..." Celo notified me of our arrival into the Grim Guard tribe.
I was stunned at the scenery.
Blood was being spilled all over. The sonorous cries of blades and loud warcries full of rage all mixed into a cacophony of utter violence.
Yellow and Green scaled lizards shedding the same crimson blood.
Houses shattered and torn under the heated conflict.
A peaceful balance ruined.
I managed to see a certain small figure in the sea of blades and warring lizardmen. It was a small green lizardman. Only about two feet tall. He was undoubtedly a child yet there he was. Fighting in the frontlines. Cuts running throughout his whole frame as his eyes showed fright and madness.
The sight of it all sickens me to my core.
"I forgot that reality is an ugly mistress. It seems that even here, there are still individuals who want to see the world burn."
Whoever orchestrated these events. They wanted the lizardmen gone.
No wonder Cain Village was ransacked according to the developers.
Lizardmen alive and peaceful. Equals a safe Cain Village.
Lizardmen gone and all dead means a doomed Cain Village.
A doomed Cain Village means that my peaceful days are over.
"I'm not having any of that shit..." Mumbling... I slapped Celo's shoulder.
I could feel my vision visibly darkening. These hands of my violently twitching and my heart cold and dark.
"I understand now. Your shaman is injured and is in need of dire healing. Yet due to your race's inherent nature of being warriors, it was already a blessing enough for a shaman to appear in your ranks."
"Smoothskin..." Celo put me down. At a loss on what to say as he just stared at the ground with guilt.
Us heading to the tribe means danger. Celo certainly is aware that he is endangering a squishy human by doing so. He is guilty.
I don't care about your damn guilt.
This sickening scene. I want it over in a flash.
If I want something. I'll do my best to get it. And nothing would stop me.
"Take me to the shaman. And make sure no one gets the jump on me when I am healing them. I'm sure it would take a short while."
My healing magic is undoubtedly stronger than before. But I surmise that the injury I am about to treat is worse than my expectations. A lizardman's shaman is strong. And is versed in magic arts.
They should be able to do some minor healing to themselves but looking at this scenario. Would lizardmen still trade blades if one shaman was awake?
The shaman's words were only second to the chieftains. A shaman's importance to the tribe speaks volumes in affecting a chieftain's train of thought.
And those two chieftains are now busy killing each other.
The wind blew past me. I ran and navigated through the swathes furious lizardmen. Avoiding slashes and attacks aimed at me.
"A human? Die!" A large yellow lizardman noticed my presence and barred my path. Both arms raising up in the air and bringing down an oversized stone mace.
I glared at him. My mana roiling inside me as I commanded it to move.
"Get out of my way." I growled.
Bluish mana wafted out of my body and condensed into a small drawer that smashed onto the back of the lizardman.
Boom!
"Kuh!"
"HugAh!"
Violent mana gushed outwards. Knocking back a few lizardmen surrounding me as they staggered backward with alarmed shouts.
A green shadow flew past me.
Celo appeared at the front of my path. With his gladiuses cutting through the wind and incapacitating his kin and enemies left and right. Opening a path.
A chance presented itself to me. And I took that chance. Further fueling my dash as a mana barrier condensed around me. During the duration of Celo's sprint towards the Grim Guard tribe. My mana had fully regenerated.
I ran through the camp gates. Ignored the broken tents and the blood staining everything around me.
It came into view once more. The Grim guard tribe chieftain's tent. Heavily encircled by green lizardmen holding large shields that formed a circular wall.
"Human! How dare you intrude in our territory at times like these!"
"Do you have a death wish???"
They all glared at me.
I only have one wish. And my mood is already as bad as it is.
"Celo... Clear a path for me."
Get these brain dead lizards out of my way.