"Information from the outside world?"
Chief Dieylong's gaunt, dark face showed shame and panic. He bowed low and said, "I have failed the Hero-sama's trust and did not complete the task the Hero-sama gave me."
Before leaving last time, the Hero-sama had asked him to contact the oasis where the Orcs were located to obtain more information and intelligence from the outside, but he had gained nothing.
Chief Dieylong knew very well that their oasis humans were able to survive safely until now entirely thanks to the power of the Hero.
If the Hero-sama abandoned them, the consequences...
Chief Dieylong couldn't help but feel despair, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Hero-sama, please give us another chance. We will definitely not disappoint you again."
Ya La'er's wheat-colored face instantly turned a little pale, and she spoke quickly with an excited voice.
After hearing those words just now, she felt that Tang Zheng had learned the information he wanted from the mouth of that terrifying giant dragon, and that their oasis humans couldn't help the Hero-sama at all.
They were already useless...
Ya La'er's eyes were red. Living in this desolate, harsh land lacking various resources.
She knew that if you wanted to get something from others, you had to show corresponding value or something that could be exchanged.
Looking at Ya La'er and the other person who had suddenly become agitated.
Tang Zheng was speechless, feeling that the two of them were overthinking things. He had no intention of abandoning this place.
On the contrary, after learning the detailed information about this area from the Dragonkin Ladon, he became even more concerned about this region.
This place was a remote area in the far east, with a large area of desolate desert. Besides the Orc Kingdom that ruled this area on the periphery, there were no other powerful forces.
In case the future Great Tomb of Nazarick could not be defended, this place would be suitable as a retreat.
The reason why the Dragonkin Ladon was able to survive until now was because this place was too remote!
"Chief Dieylong, how many young and strong people are there in the entire oasis human population?"
Tang Zheng originally wanted to explain, but he stopped himself. With his current prestige among the oasis humans, too much explanation would only make people think more.
"There are 2137 people." Chief Dieylong responded quickly, precise to the single digit.
After all, the total population of the entire tribe was less than 5000 people. As the chief, he had to know every member of his tribe.
Half of the population being young and strong was actually a bit alarming, but it was normal for the oasis humans. After experiencing the Gray Dwarf war, food shortages, and other reasons, there were naturally very few elderly people.
Tang Zheng pondered for a moment: "The large amount of food obtained from the Gray Dwarves should be enough to maintain supplies, Ya La'er."
"Yes!" Ya La'er immediately stood straight and responded.
"You will train all the young and strong during this time," Tang Zheng said, making arrangements.
The number of humans was too small to launch a war or even occupy the Orc Empire, so Tang Zheng planned to organize the oasis humans into some kind of "society" force to carry out actions.
Hearing this.
The panic in the eyes of Chief Dieylong and Ya La'er disappeared. The Hero-sama clearly had not abandoned them.
"I will definitely not disappoint the Hero-sama!" Ya La'er responded happily.
Train the young and strong?
Chief Dieylong thought more. The oasis humans were not afraid of casualties. No matter what the Hero-sama wanted to do in the future, as long as they had the Hero-sama's protection, it was enough.
...
Abelion Hills.
Tang Zheng returned to the hilly area with the Dragonkin Ladon.
Thanks to the fact that the other party also had the passive ability of "Fire Nullification," they could pass through the lava. Otherwise, he would have had to kill the other party once and then resurrect them.
Black Ancient Castle.
This was a strangely shaped castle jointly built by races such as Blue Maggots and Ogres. It was said to have been built by the demi-humans controlled by the red-robed magic caster member of Zuranon.
Now.
This castle had been occupied by the Twin Witches and a few others, serving as their current base camp.
There were only three people in the hall.
The Emerald Witch looked melancholic, her eyes a little dazed, sitting tiredly on a wooden chair at the round table.
Becoming the king of the demi-humans in this hilly area for no reason, she was a little excited at first, but now, she felt that she was really not suitable to be a king and rule this hilly area.
Although it was still only in name...
"I should have refused back then," the Emerald Witch muttered softly, raising her hand to support her forehead.
"Hehe."
The White Mist Witch saw her sister's distressed face, like the expression after eating a certain extremely bitter fruit in the past, and couldn't help but let out a light laugh:
"Even if you say that, Sister, you wouldn't dare to refuse the Master's command, would you?"
The Emerald Witch reached out and knocked on the table, glaring at the White Mist Witch, expressing her dissatisfaction with her sister's schadenfreude.
"Kurushe, what do you think we need to do next?" The Emerald Witch looked at the third person in the hall and asked for advice.
Through their interactions during this time, she had discovered that the Lizardman Kurushe seemed more suited to be the king ruling this hilly region than she was. Therefore, recently, she would consult him on some matters.
Back when she was in the Great Marsh, the Emerald Witch had vaguely heard that there was a different kind of lizardman in the lizardman tribes. She hadn't expected him to become a colleague now.
He had once been the chief of a lizardman tribe, so it was no wonder he was so familiar with certain matters.
The Lizardman Kurushe didn't respond immediately. His white-scaled claws were folded on the wooden table, and his red pupils flickered with the light of thought.
After a brief contemplation, he said, "I believe that the hills have just suffered from the double disaster of the undead and the drought, so it is not suitable for major changes."
The Lizardman Kurushe's voice was gentle, and the white-scaled tail behind him swayed slightly.
"Is that so?"
The Emerald Witch also somewhat agreed, but a hint of worry still appeared on her face: "The master's goal should be to have us control the entire hills. If we let things be, will the situation get out of control?"
"That's right."
The White Mist Witch tilted her upper body, shaking her shoulders from time to time like someone with multiple tics. She spoke with some apprehension and anger: "That 'Seven Color Scales' Kokash is not someone easy to get along with."
"Although he outwardly obeys our arrangements, he actually has quite a few hidden intentions."
"And the 'Beast General' Hector Weiss, as the only remaining one of the original 'Ten Heroes' in the hills, his attitude is friendly, but his true thoughts are unknown."
When these two were mentioned, the hall fell silent for a moment. All three were somewhat apprehensive.
After all, these two were genuine "Hero Realm" demi-human powerhouses. One had powerful individual strength, while the other could achieve "one against ten" when commanding an army.
None of the three of them were their match.
"Because of the master, Go Gin is on our side, so it's not impossible to contend with them," the White Mist Witch stopped shaking and her pleasant voice rang out:
"Also, Kurushe can use Fourth Tier magic to create rain clouds, and he has great prestige among the current demi-humans in the hills."
"It's not enough," the Emerald Witch shook her head.
Demi-humans revered the strong. Relying solely on the Lizardman Kurushe's prestige was not enough to subdue all the demi-humans.
In this regard, the prestige of that 'Seven Color Scales' Kokash was even higher!
"As long as the master is here, none of these are problems. That 'Seven Color Scales' Kokash and 'Beast General' Hector Weiss can be easily dealt with."
The White Mist Witch spread her palms, leaned back in her chair, and said with a relaxed, smiling tone.
"White Mist."
The Emerald Witch reminded her seriously: "We can't rely on the master for everything."
"Any plan the master has in the hilly region has a meaning that we cannot understand, whether it's the Human Holy Kingdom, the Slane Theocracy, or even the terrifying leader of Zuranon."
"They are all being played in the master's hands by his plans."
When the Emerald Witch said this, her tone held a hint of excitement and fanaticism.
As someone who had personally experienced it, although she didn't fully understand the master's overall plan, through her conversations with the White Mist Witch and the Lizardman Kurushe during this time, the three of them had confirmed things with each other. Even though the entire hills incident was over, they could still only vaguely see the framework of the master's plan.
"The master is too amazing," the White Mist Witch supported her chin with both hands and agreed with equal adoration.
He had created such a huge incident on the hilltop by himself, yet no one had discovered it. Instead, he was able to withdraw calmly, and even received thanks from all sides, and gained control of the hilly region.
Thinking of this, the three Emerald Witches felt a sense of "shared glory" and worship.
"If it were just about strength, the master alone could eliminate these rebellious guys among the demi-humans."
"Since the master wants us to control the hilly region, he probably wants us to truly control the Abelion Hills, not just control it in a rough manner."
The Emerald Witch stated her thoughts, but still had no clear idea.
"Miss Anri..." The Lizardman Kurushe mentioned a name softly, but closed his mouth before finishing his sentence.
"Anri is currently following the 'Beast General' Hector Weiss, learning the ability to command troops, and is clearing out the remaining undead in the hilly region."
The Emerald Witch shook her head and spoke calmly.
Although she didn't say it explicitly, her meaning was clear: some things were not suitable for Anri to know.
"If only Anri had truly mastered that power, that 'Seven Color Scales' Kokash must have gotten detailed information about Anri from the 'Beast General' Hector Weiss."
The White Mist Witch snorted coldly and spoke with some dissatisfaction:
"Knowing that Anri cannot freely unleash that terrifying power, he has become arrogant during this time."
"Alright," the Emerald Witch frowned and interrupted.
Truth be told, among the twin witches, the Emerald Witch had a relatively better relationship with Anri.
The White Mist Witch didn't usually appear much, and for most of the time afterward, she stayed in the hilly areas, so her impression of Anri was rather ordinary.
Silence returned to the hall.
The three of them clearly didn't have a good starting point for conversation at the moment.
The Emerald Witch pondered for a long time, her amber eyes falling on the Lizardman Kurushe opposite her, and suddenly said, "Kurushe, what are you working so hard for?"
"Ah?"
The Lizardman Kurushe was stunned.
"I can see that you must have some kind of request, right?" The Emerald Witch smiled slightly.
"Probably..."
"Probably, I want to bring my fellow Lizardmen living in the Great Wetland to the Abelion Hills."
"The environment and resources here are richer, which should allow the tribe to develop better."
The Lizardman Kurushe's hands, which were folded on the wooden table, moved unnaturally as he spoke in a low voice.
"Is that so?" The White Mist Witch was a little surprised. It was the first time she had learned of the Lizardman Kurushe's thoughts:
"You are indeed very suitable to be a chief."
Upon hearing this, the Lizardman Kurushe became a little embarrassed.
Opposite them.
The Emerald Witch, on the other hand, was lost in thought. She had caught a useful piece of information from the Lizardman Kurushe's words.
"External aid"!
The reason for their low control over the demi-humans in the hilly areas was that there were too few of them, and they had no fellow tribesmen at all.
"White Mist and I are only two people, and we have no tribesmen. Kurushe's Lizardman tribesmen are a good choice."
"This matter requires the master's consent, and there's no time now. Perhaps we can first win over those demi-human tribes with smaller populations."
The Emerald Witch was deep in thought.
Buzz—
Suddenly.
The air not far away suddenly rippled, and then a terrifying pressure surged, causing the faces of the three Emerald Witches to change drastically, as if they were being targeted by some terrifying beast.
The next moment!
A figure appeared in the hall.
"Oh, are you three all here?" Tang Zheng looked at the three of them and greeted them with a smile.
"Master!"
"Master!"
"Mas... ter."
Their wary expressions disappeared, replaced by two respectful voices and one slightly hesitant and nervous voice.
He noticed the magical fluctuations surging from the three of them reflexively.
Did the "Dragon Might" generated by the Dragonkin Ladon spread along with the teleportation process?
Tang Zheng's eyes flashed with thought, and he glanced at the Lizardman Kurushe unexpectedly: The other party didn't call me master before, but always called me "Human Lord".
Did he change his address along with the two Emerald Witches?
Tang Zheng didn't care about these small matters.
"Are you three gathered together because you've encountered some trouble?" Tang Zheng asked curiously.
The White Mist Witch and the Lizardman Kurushe exchanged glances, a little hesitant.
"No, Master."
The Emerald Witch was the first to speak.
"En."
Tang Zheng nodded: "Have the Dark Dwarves in those hills been settled with the Dwarf craftsmen?"
"They have been settled. These Dark Dwarves are very obedient and are currently led by the Dwarf craftsmen," the Emerald Witch immediately replied.
"That's good."
"Have these Dwarves forge two thousand... or three thousand sets of magic armor and weapons. There should be no shortage of raw materials in the current hills."
Tang Zheng ordered, planning to prepare a complete set of magic items for the oasis humans first: "I will give you a list of the specific equipment."
Since he had usable craftsmen, there was no reason not to use them.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 999+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------