Chief Engin, the second dwarf, and Sadrigh just were not aware that Tang Shaoyang knew their farce. He could feel their feelings, and he could tell when Chief Engin rebutted Sadrigh, the Chief was not that angry. The old man was too calm to do the acting.
As he walked up the stairs, he glanced at Ashley. "That's an excellent offer there. I never thought of asking them to be my vassal at all." He thought they loved living underground, so it was useless to offer them to join him.
However, from their reaction, there was a chance the dwarves would join his empire. Chief Engin did not immediately reject the offer. That was a sign that the dwarf was considering joining his empire. Especially after Ashley said he came from a lower world that was a few months old. He could feel emotional fluctuation from Chief Engin. It was more to excitement.
The only thing he needed to do was to conquer Gigante Forest. By then, the dwarves would follow him of their volition. He was not worried about the dwarves. As he came out of the secret passage, Tang Shaoyang turned toward Aki. "I will head to Kirin's lair by myself. You and the knights go to the Beast Coven's territory. By the time you arrive at the Beast Coven's territory, the battle against Kirin should be over."
Aki was surprised to hear the change of the plan. The original plan was to head the Beast Coven before they went to ambush Kirin and the Dark Tribe. Since they were late, he thought they would go together to Kirin's lair. The rat beastmen was not expecting them to split their force.
However, two things in Aki's mind could be a problem for them. First, could his Lord win against the Dark Tribe and the Guardian Beast? It was not just one Guardian Beast, but two. Second, if they split with Lord Tang, then what about the Gator Tribe? Even with the knights, Aki believed the Gator Tribe should be stronger than them. He did not like this new plan.
"Are you worried about the Gator Tribe?" Tang Shaoyang could read the rat beastmen's concern. There was a Myth Rank in the Gator Tribe. It was the biggest obstacle for them. Of course, Tang Shaoyang was aware of this issue.
Aki admitted and nodded his head. It was not realistic to win against the Gator Tribe with their current force. Not that he looked down upon the knights, but they truly were nothing compared to the Gator Tribe.
Tang Shaoyang then summoned Zaneos, Bronson, and Aerelion, the three Grade SS Spirits. After that, he also summoned the septuplets Troll Warlords, seven Grade S+ Spirits. "They should be enough to face the Gator Tribe. What do you think?"
Tang Shaoyang glanced at Aki. It was fortunate that the room was big enough to accommodate the big wyvern. Aerelion squeezed out through the door. However, the Infernal Wyver was just too big for the gate. It destroyed the gate frame and the wall.
"Oopsie, that's not my fault." After saying that, the Infernal Wyvern flew toward the sky. After advancing to Grade SS, Aerelion became slightly bigger. The clear change happened on the Infernal Wyvern's skin. There was a striking spike that grew on its back with two shorter horns protruded upwards on its head.
On top of all that, Aerelion was not just black. There was a red shade covering its wing and something flame-patterned tattoo on its body in deep red color. Within the blink of an eye, Aerelion disappeared into the sky.
Aerelion must be excited about the advancement and wanted to try something out. Tang Shaoyang shook his head and looked toward Zaneos and Bronson. "You two will lead the septuplets to defeat the Gator Tribe. After you finish the Gator Tribe, you can go back to the Spiritual Space. I still need you guys to fight the Guardian Beasts and the Dark Tribe."
"Ah, so that's your plan, Master…" Zaneos nodded his head.
"What about us?" Mugin, one septuplet Troll Warlord raised his hand and asked.
"You stay with the group and protect them. I need you all to stay with them so I can switch up with one of you to reunite with the group!" Tang Shaoyang had his plan for that. Yes, he would not let the group continue their trip without protection.
"Is there any stronger force than the Gator Tribe?" He glanced at the rat beastmen. The latter was a bit in a daze as he looked at Zaneos and Bronson. The Dark Tremor Beastmen realized where his Master's confidence came from. With strong summons like them, he did not need to worry about his Master's safety.
When Aki heard the question, he paused for a moment before he replied. "We have to face eight more tribes before we can reach Beast Coven's outer territory, but all of them are weaker than the Gator Tribe. Their leader should be around Ancient Rank."
"If it's Ancient Rank, the septuplets can handle them." Tang Shaoyang nodded his head. "Then that's it. I will leave now." He then walked toward the two girls. He hugged them and whispered some gentle words. The surprise was that Ashley boldly kissed him. "Come back, or else another man would warm my bed."
Tang Shaoyang knew the girl was joking, so he just smiled at that. He waved his hand at them as he walked to the sky using [Sky Walk]. The moment he stopped waving, he ran fast through the air.
"Jet! Now you can guide me to where Kirin's lair is?" The Dark Abyss Raven knew Kirin's Lair.
—Yes, My Lord. Kirin's Lair should be in the north of the Gigante Forest. Just follow my direction, and we will arrive quickly there.
Tang Shaoyang followed The Abyss Raven's direction. After two hours of flying, he finally reached his destination. It was a big canyon with two enormous rivers around. There was a rock cliff between the two rivers that reached the sky. It looked taller than the mountain, as he barely saw the end of it.
—This place does not change, at all…. Kirin stays at the peak of that cliff!
A hatred-filled voice rang in his head.
***
Aki assisted Ashley in leading the force into the Gator Tribe's territory. During his Lord's absence, he was not idle waiting for his Lord to come. He had done a lot of research about the Gator Tribe. Thanks to that, they avoided the Venomous Gator's territory.
'But where are they?' Aki asked himself as he looked around. They entered the Earthern Gator's territory. It was an open space with just red soil. There was nothing around, not even a single tree or even a boulder. It was an open field, and their force was in the open. This was the worst path, but they chose this path over the venomous swarm.
The rat beastmen felt uneasy as the Gator Tribe just let the force enter the territory. 'Or are they afraid of us after the clash against Lord Tang?' That was a possibility. The Gator Tribe might let them pass the territory.
"It seems they are preparing an ambush ahead of us. Careful of the traps." Ashley's intuition told her that this was not a pass from the Gator Tribe. The Gator Tribe might have planned something, or something else. She was not sure, but there was an advantage of open space. They could not get ambushed by the enemy even though the enemy would easily surround them.
"Then I will be the vanguard. I will check if there's a trap or not." Zaneos volunteered to be on the front. The Demon picked up his pace. After another four hundred meters of marching, Zaneos suddenly stopped and signaled the force behind him to stop.
"Fall back, now!" He yelled at them to fall back while he remained on the spot. Ashley did not know what happened, but she ordered the force to fall back. The force retreated fifty meters away from Zaneos as suddenly the red soil opened up. It was just like a giant creature opened its mouth.
Within the blink of an eye, a few hundred meters' areas sunk down, creating a massive pit. The pit was around thirty meters deep, but Zaneos did not try to escape. He let himself fall into the pit.
"What have you prepared for me, Gator Tribe? Just come at me." The Void Sword muttered in a low voice as he spread out his sense. At this moment, the bird's loud caws rang. Zaneos noticed shadows hovered from the sky. He looked up to find an enormous group of birds were above him.
Meanwhile, Aki was paled at the sight of the birds. He recognized that group of birds. "Why are they here?" The rat beastmen blurted out.
"Do you know them?" Ashley asked the rat beastmen.
"Yes, they are the Fiery Rook Tribe that lived in the deeper part of Gigante Forest. They are not supposed to be here." Aki panicked. There was a reason for him to panic. The reason was that the Fiery Rook had two Myth Rank Leaders and ten Ancient Rank Elders.
"This is bad. We should call Lord Tang." Aki turned around toward Bronson, the undead spirit. "Quickly contact Lord Tang and ask him to come. We can't win against the Fiery Rook Tribe, and the Gator Tribe combined. We need him."
However, Bronson furrowed his brows at the cowardly rat. "Shut up, Rat! Don't you ever dare to contact Master, or I will beat you up into pulp all the time in the Spiritual Space." Bronson then threatened the septuplet Troll Warlords.
The seven Troll Warlords looked at each other in fear. Seven Troll Warlords had tried to fight everyone in the Spiritual Space. The result was a disaster, especially when they fought against Bronson. The Undead Spirit showed no mercy and beat them to the brink of death. Of course, they could not die, but the beating was terrible enough for them to feel they were almost dead.
Under Bronson's sharp gaze, Seven Troll Warlords nodded their heads. Bronson then turned toward the Rat. "Just stay where you are right now if you are afraid of losing your life. Leave the battle to us."
The Executioner then looked toward the sky. The giant group of crimson-colored feather birds spewed out fireballs into the pit. Just like Ashley said, the Gator Tribe prepared a trap for him. If the force was still in the pit, they could not escape from the rain of the fireball.
"What about him? Will he be okay?" Ashley worriedly asked Bronson about Zaneos. Thousands of fireballs fell toward the demon. That was a scary sight to behold.
"He will be fine, Lady Ashley." Bronson nodded his head.