Drax could read the expression on the faces of these lizardmen, and it was obvious that they harboured some iota of disdain towards the Saurian King.
However, Drax knew better than to let a mere expression cloud his judgement of them.
Expressions could be faked and he played it safe by assuming that Borun and Akan had such a skill.
After all, they were both warriors of the lizardman tribe.
"What do you mean by that?" the Elf Prince questioned the lizardman.
Borun lowered his face and looked away, almost ashamed of uttering the same words again.
How could he speak boldly of wanting to kill his king?
It was a necessity but not something he was proud of.
"What do you mean you also want him dead?" Drax reiterated once more, his grip on the hilt of his knife tightening.
Borun slowly sat down and crossed one leg over the other as he sighed.
"We will not fight you, elf," he said, surrendering before Drax and shifting his spear away from him to prove what he said.
"You outclass us, and it would only be foolish to challenge you, but we do not lie to you. Just as you seek to kill the Saurian King, so do we, the lizardmen of this cave, seek to overthrow him."
Drax's ears perked up as he listened to Borun speak.
He turned around to Akan, and even the younger lizardman had pushed his spear away, too, just like Borun had done.
There was no point, after all, in attempting to play hero.
His superior, Borun, assessed the Elf Prince and found him to be stronger than the both of them.
It would only be foolish of Akan to continue this fight.
He also lowered his head and crouched to listen.
Drax certainly found this behaviour surprising.
It was far from what he expected.
Drax came with the mindset of slaying and shredding through the opposing forces with his knife and magic since he was almost a hundred per cent sure that they would attack him.
Now, here he was.
Ironically, these two warriors were about to give him a quiet tale rather than a loud battle.
Drax merely stared down at Borun without saying a single word.
"The Saurian King was not always like this, you know," Borun began. "He used to be kind and good to his people. He was once loved and respected by all of us."
Borun's words struck Drax in a way that left him pondering over it.
His eyebrows furrowed in thought as he listened and also made his assertion from what he was hearing.
"What happened then?" the elf asked, seeking to find out more.
Borun paused and looked at Akan and then at the elf.
The words got stuck inside his mouth, almost like he did not want to say it out loud.
However, seeing the slight movement of the weaponed hand, Borun continued to speak.
"I don't know for certain since I did not witness the incident myself but the story that went around the tribe was that he and his companions had encountered some troubles during a venture."
The lizardman paused and breathed out heavily, the air he exhaled carrying the weight of his next words.
"Since then…" he said, looking at the Elf Prince. "The Saurian King has not been the same. Some say he was possessed by whatever they encountered in that venture. Others say that he had come in contact with power and was overcome by it, and now, he wants even more.
"I don't know for certain, elf. But I do know two things for sure. One is that he truly has changed, so drastically that his present self is the polar opposite of the Saurian King we know. The second thing is that he needs to be put down. Otherwise, we will continue to suffer and for that…"
Borun went on his knees and bowed with his forehead touching the ground.
"...we need your help, elf. I know this is an awkward request, but you are strong, and I believe the gods did not send you here by coincidence."
Drax was also swayed by the words of this lizardman.
'He certainly has a way with words,' Drax thought as he looked at Borun, who still had his head bowed.
As much as he was impressed with the older lizardman, Drax kept his cool and kept his mental state steady.
It was expected for Borun to speak so appealingly.
After all, at a mere glance, Drax could take a confident guess that Borun has lived more than the total of his two lives combined.
"Safe to say that we have a common goal," Akan managed to squeeze into the conversation, drawing the attention of the other two to himself.
He shared the same reasoning as Borun.
"Only that we lack the power to execute it, but you do."
The younger lizardman did just like his superior and bowed to Drax.
'Hmm,' Drax mumbled as he rubbed his chin in thought, considering the possibility of teaming up with these two.
'It should make my work easier if I team up with them, considering that they know this terrain better and could easily lead me to the Saurian King. If they have been harbouring this much hate for a while, it shouldn't hurt to assume that they have some sort of backing no matter the number.'
Drax looked at the two of them critically.
'Killing the Saurian King is my priority. If teaming up with them is the way forward, then I will do it. Whatever happens to their tribe is totally out of my hands.'
The Elf Prince squinted his eyes. 'However—'
"So what do you say?" Borun asked, eager to get an answer from the elf.
His actions and words gave off a whiff of desperation and given his narration, Drax could understand why they wanted him on their side so desperately.
Drax heaved a light sigh and tucked his knife away into its holster.
"Since we are on the same page," Drax said. "I will team up with you until the Saurian King is defeated."
Borun and Akan smiled at each other, almost jumping for joy like children.
"Ahem, there is one little problem…" Borun pointed out while lifting a finger.
"What is that?" Drax asked.
"Since you are not a lizardman, you can't walk in so freely into this place. So here's the plan…"