Chapter 404 - 197: Viper Snake Woman (Part 2)

The Minotaurs understood Tas Tuling’s cue. As the Snake-men looked on, they all flexed their muscles, each one posing like a bodybuilder.

The lead Snake-man hesitated. These Minotaurs were all brawny and well-fed, certainly not like the Undead; in fact, they seemed to be living quite well. His hesitation made the other Snake-men anxious.

"Clan Leader, you can’t trust them! Those are Undead!"

"That’s right, Clan Leader! He’s lying to us!"

"The Undead might not kill them, but they’ll kill us!"

"Yeah, let’s just fight!"

The Snake-men grew agitated, creating a clamor. Suddenly, the lead Snake-man hissed, "Silence!"

As the Clan Leader, the lead Snake-man naturally commanded respect. The other Snake-men immediately fell silent, their eyes turning to him.

The lead Snake-man glanced at the Undead, who were still drawing closer, then back at Tas Tuling. After a long moment of hesitation, he asked in a strained voice, "Can you guarantee the Undead won’t attack us?"

Hearing their leader’s words, the surrounding Snake-men trembled. ’The Clan Leader is compromising...’

Tas Tuling nodded and said earnestly, "The Master of the Undead is not a bloodthirsty person. As long as you don’t cause trouble and follow instructions, the Undead will not harm you without reason. You can rest assured on that point."

The lead Snake-man was still hesitant. He stammered, "Then... what about the Alliance Army before...?"

Tas Tuling rolled his eyes and said irritably, "They were asking for it. Think about it. Did the Undead go looking for the Alliance Army? No! They were the ones who gathered a massive force and marched on the Wraith Mountain Range. What, are the Undead not allowed to fight back?"

’What he said... actually makes sense.’

With this reminder, the lead Snake-man suddenly realized it was true.

Compared to the three "cancerous tumor" races, the Undead were quite peaceful. He had never heard of them wantonly bullying other clans. In fact, before this great war, he hadn’t even heard of the Undead Race at all. The only reason he knew about the war was from the propaganda spread by the Cancerous Tumor Alliance Army.

’Our knowledge of the Undead comes entirely from legends. But in reality, the Undead of this Wasteland seem different from the stories—or rather, completely different. I haven’t heard of them rampaging across the land, slaughtering and conquering the Wasteland. They just keep to themselves in the Undead Mountain Range. What’s so wrong with that?’

"The Master of the Undead is almost here. You’d better make a decision," Tas Tuling said to the lead Snake-man, glancing back. The front ranks of the Undead were already close.

The lead Snake-man looked at his own people—filthy, barely clothed, and so starved their faces were sallow and their bodies gaunt. Even the hands gripping their swords trembled with hunger. Then, he turned to look at the Minotaurs, who were broad-shouldered, muscular, and clearly living well. He finally made his decision.

’I have to take this gamble. I’ll bet that the Undead are just as that Minotaur described—that they won’t kill us, and might even give us a safe place to settle down!’

’If the Undead could accept the Minotaurs, then they can accept the Snake-men too!’

"Tell our people to come back," the Snake-man Clan Leader said slowly, suppressing his own unease.

"Clan Leader, no!"

"It’s too dangerous."

"Let’s fight them, Clan Leader!"

The Snake-men erupted into unrest again, their anxious faces all turned toward their leader.

"Listen to me! Tell them to come back!" the lead Snake-man commanded, sheathing his Dual Swords as he spoke.

The Snake-men fell silent. Their instincts screamed that this was wrong, that it was like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den—the Undead would kill them all. But their Clan Leader had spoken. Could they really disobey him?

That was how the clan worked. The Clan Leader’s word was final. For generations, the clansmen had obeyed their leader’s commands; it was a deeply ingrained habit. The same was true now. Since the lead Snake-man had made his decision, they had no right to object.

The resigned Snake-men sighed, then used their clan’s call to summon their kin to return.

The fleeing Snake-men heard the call and were clearly taken aback. They stopped in their tracks, staring back in confusion. After exchanging bewildered glances, they hesitated for a moment before slowly, cautiously starting to head back.

Just as Tas Tuling was speaking with the lead Snake-man, Li Ziyu finally arrived with the Undead.

A chill ran down the Snake-men’s spines as they watched the ghastly white skeletons, the towering Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors, and, in the distance, the Skeleton Longbowmen who had halted and were now silently watching them, Longbows in hand.

’So these are the Undead?’

’Those three ’cancerous tumor’ races must have had a death wish to provoke beings like this.’

The atmosphere was a bit tense. Li Ziyu beckoned over ten Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warriors before he felt safe enough to walk to Tas Tuling’s side.

The lead Snake-man stared, stunned, when he saw Li Ziyu. ’What is this? A Human mixed in with a group of Skeletons? And by the looks of it, the Skeletons are protecting him.’

As the lead Snake-man sized up Li Ziyu, Li Ziyu was also sizing him up. ’Something seems off, not quite what I imagined. He’s not a complete man... Er, that could be misinterpreted, but it’s true. The Snake-man before me only has the upper body of a Human. From the waist down, it’s a long, serpentine tail. He’s even wearing a leather skirt.’

These male Snake-men stood nearly two meters tall on average, much taller than a normal Human, and that wasn’t even including their tails. If you measured them from head to tail-tip, they would probably be about four meters long.

"What’s the situation?" Li Ziyu asked, stepping up beside Tas Tuling. He glanced at the lead Snake-man, then at the others who were slowly approaching in the distance.