Chapter 418 202: Continuing Development

The Snake-men boarded the Undead Fortress and immediately received a warm welcome. All the Undead stared at them in silence—they were the very center of attention.

GULP.

The Snake-men gulped in unison, a mix of nerves and terror. When had they ever been treated like this?

Besides the Undead visible to the naked eye, they could feel gazes from within the buildings locking onto them.

"M-Minotaur brother, do the Undead always stare at people like this?" Zaliki asked, shifting uncomfortably as his eyes darted everywhere.

"Not always," Tas Tuling said, shaking his head.

"So why are they doing it now?" Zaliki's terror grew.

"They're just curious. Once you've lived here for a while, the Undead won't pay you any mind," Tas Tuling said calmly.

When the Tabu Minotaur Tribe first came to live in the Undead Fortress, the Undead had treated them the exact same way, watching their every move. The Minotaurs' reaction then had been no better than the Snake-men's now. The Undead eventually stopped, though. They were simply curious, and it was only natural for them to study any creature they had never seen before.

What Tas Tuling didn't know was that besides curiosity, there was another important reason the Undead were watching them: they needed to memorize their Life Energy to avoid accidental harm.

To the Undead, living creatures were fundamentally different. Their enemies were almost always the living. But Li Ziyu had recruited these Natives, making them allies. To prevent unnecessary conflict, the Undead had to memorize the Life Energy of every living being on the Bone Plate Platform to distinguish them from all the others.

Under the unwavering gaze of the Undead, the Snake-men huddled together. They followed Li Ziyu and Tas Tuling, inching forward bit by bit, not daring to take a single step out of line for fear of provoking hostility.

After they had walked for a while, Li Ziyu turned and beckoned Zaliki over. Pointing into the distance, he said, "Over there is the Tabu Minotaur Tribe. Take your people there shortly. You'll be living there from now on. Make sure you get along with the Tabu Minotaurs. If you have any problems, ask Tas Tuling first. If he can't solve it, you can ask the Undead or come find me."

Zaliki looked where Li Ziyu was pointing. Sure enough, there was a small cluster of buildings. They weren't built from white bone but from wood—clearly not Undead Architecture. A group of Minotaur women and children stood around the buildings, watching them curiously.

'So we'll be living with the Minotaurs from now on.' The thought made Zaliki a little uneasy, but he still put on a smile and waved at them. The Tabu Minotaurs froze for a moment before raising their hands and waving back.

Li Ziyu gave Tas Tuling a few more instructions, telling him to get the Snake-men settled in and prevent any conflicts. He reminded him that although Minotaurs and Snake-men both belonged to the Beastman Race, their customs and lifestyles were different, and they needed to be tolerant of one another.

In the future, the Undead Fortress might house even more Races. Li Ziyu couldn't possibly set aside a new plot of land for every single one to build their own settlement. He could only have them live together, which would require mutual understanding from everyone.

'As for whether anyone will stir up trouble...' Li Ziyu didn't want to think about it. If anyone did, the Undead would take care of it. He could just be a hands-off manager.

For that matter, the Undead were practically the finest examples of the Legalist School. Their judgment of right and wrong was completely rational. After all, for them, most worldly temptations—things like power, beauty, or money that could cloud one's judgment—simply didn't exist. None of it was nearly as appealing as Soul Energy or a fresh corpse.

The Tabu Minotaur Tribe had already fallen into a routine. Whenever a problem arose that they couldn't solve themselves, they would ask the Undead to arbitrate. The Undead were the most impartial judges. Whoever they declared to be in the wrong, was wrong. Whoever they declared to be in the right, was right. No one ever disagreed.

"Well, that's settled. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going," Li Ziyu said, then turned and headed toward the main tower.

"Take care, Lord City Lord," Tas Tuling said with a bow. He then turned to Zaliki with a smile. "Gather your people and come with me. We're neighbors now. I hope we can all get along."

Zaliki nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course. Of course."

The Snake-men followed Tas Tuling toward the Tabu Tribe's settlement. As they walked, Tas Tuling explained the rules, how to get by, and where to acquire resources.

As Li Ziyu walked to the main tower, his face was an icy mask. He was furious. Absolutely livid.

'That Dragon Lizard Lord has crossed the line. First, he was just Plundering Native Tribes, but now he's actually attacking Liu Xingxing. That bastard is too arrogant, he's gone too far!'

After returning to the main tower, he opened the system chat.

[Private Chat]

Don't Want to Get a Driver's License: Peng, find that Dragon Lizard Lord. Now.

Conscience Merchant: What's wrong?

Don't Want to Get a Driver's License: Xingxing got attacked. The Dragon Lizard Lord did it.

Conscience Merchant: Holy shit, is that guy insane? He's not just going after the tribes, he's coming after us now?

Don't Want to Get a Driver's License: Enough said. If he wants a war, he'll get one.

Conscience Merchant: Understood. I'll get intel on him as fast as I can.

Don't Want to Get a Driver's License: Okay.

After closing the chat with Zhang Peng, Li Ziyu went to find Batubohe. 'The Dragon Lizard Lord is powerful,' he thought. 'If I fight him alone, my losses would be huge even if I won. I'm not an idiot. Why wouldn't I use an available ally, especially since Batubohe has a grudge against the Dragon Lizard Lord?'