Chapter 431 206: The Name of My Lord (2)

This was why most Tribes in the Wasteland championed freedom, preferring a hard life over casually submitting to a Great Tribe.

But this was no longer a matter of whether they chose to submit or not. The Undead had declared this land as theirs, and any Tribe on it was now their subordinate. It wasn't an invitation to submit; it was a unilateral declaration.

The old Dogman Clan Leader didn't need to think hard to know what the consequences of refusal would be.

'In that case, I might as well just agree.' The Tribe had just suffered a great disaster and its numbers were severely depleted. The Dogmen were not a powerful Race and couldn't afford to clash with the Undead Race. His only worry was what the Undead Race wanted from him. So, he asked, "O mighty Knight, what must we contribute to the Master of the Undead? How much food, or what kind of supplies? We will prepare them in advance."

'Now that's what I like to hear. Very perceptive of you.'

The flames in the Skeleton Knight's eyes softened, no longer burning so fiercely. Its voice once again echoed in the old Clan Leader's mind, much gentler this time. "We do not require food, nor has the Master of the Undead asked you to offer supplies. However, your Corpse Remains and graveyards will henceforth belong to us, the Undead."

'This... is a very strange request.'

The old Dogman Clan Leader fell silent, weighing the pros and cons. On the surface, the request seemed quite reasonable—just bodies and graveyards. But in reality, the Beastman Race practiced Ancestor worship. What were graveyards? They were where their forefathers, their Ancestors, were buried.

This seemed even harder to accept than contributing food and supplies.

He stole a glance at the Skeleton Knight, then turned to look at his own tribespeople before saying softly, "Can we contribute something else instead? The graveyards... that is the final resting place of our Ancestors."

The Skeleton Knight stared at the old Dogman Clan Leader. "Your Ancestors buried in the ground—can they move? Can they transform into Heroic Spirits? Can they bring you any benefits? Have they ever defeated your enemies for you?"

'Shit, if our Ancestors could do all that, they wouldn't be Ancestors, they'd be Undead... huh?'

The old Clan Leader froze. Something wasn't right. Corpse remains, graveyards, the Undead... 'Holy shit, so that's what this is about!' He finally understood.

'What the Master of the Undead wants is troops!'

The Skeleton Knight's words did make a lot of sense. They worshipped their Ancestors because of their bloodline, not their corpses. For the Beastman Race, heritage was often passed down through blood. Furthermore, some powerful Beastman Warriors could indeed transform into Heroic Spirits after death, due to lingering regrets or other reasons. That was why they worshipped their Ancestors.

But the Dogman Race had never seen or experienced such a thing. Their Tribe wasn't very old, nor was it large. Their graveyard was just a graveyard. There were no cases of Ancestors rising again or becoming Heroic Spirits. They didn't even have a single Priest.

'From this perspective, giving the Corpse Remains and graveyards to the Undead Race didn't seem so unacceptable after all.'

The old Clan Leader glanced at his tribespeople behind him, gritted his teeth, and said to the Skeleton Knight, "We are willing to offer our Corpse Remains and graveyards. May the great Master of the Undead protect us."

'Smart.'

The Skeleton Knight nodded. "Permitted."

"Clan Leader, you can't!"

"We can't hand over the graveyards! Our Ancestors are there!"

"How can you treat our Ancestors like this!"

The moment the old Clan Leader finished speaking, the Dogmen behind him erupted in protest, each one trying to stop him.

The Skeleton Knight silently turned to look at them, the flames in its eyes flickering. 'Hmm, these ones don't get it.'

Seeing this, the old Clan Leader quickly moved to stand in front of the Skeleton Knight and snapped without turning his head, "Shut up! Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"Clan Leader, you can't do this!"

Hearing the voices behind him, the old Clan Leader couldn't help but shout, "If the Lizardmen had won just now, we'd all be corpses! Would you still be shouting like this? If the Lizardmen had won, would we still have our graveyards? Would we even be able to protect them?"

The voices of the Dogmen gradually died down, and they lowered their heads in shame.

The old Clan Leader had a point. During the battle with the Lizardmen, they had thought about fighting to the death, they had thought about running away, but not once had they thought about protecting the graveyards or the Ancestors within them.

Now that they'd been saved by the Undead, suddenly the graveyards and their Ancestors seemed important again.

There was nothing wrong with Ancestor worship, but for a Tribe like the Dogmen, with no Priests and no long cultural history, their Faith wasn't particularly strong. When faced with life and death, their own survival came first.

Losing their Ancestors didn't matter. Once the Tribe was stable again, they would die, be buried in a graveyard, and in eighty or a hundred years, they would become the Ancestors!

But to just hand them over without a fight... that was another matter entirely. It just didn't sit right with them.

Fortunately, the old Clan Leader had authority, and his words made sense, bringing them to their senses.

The Skeleton Knight's gaze fell upon the old Clan Leader again. "You seem to be having trouble managing your tribespeople. Do you require my assistance?"

The chilling intent in those words made the old Clan Leader shiver. He quickly shook his head. "No, no! You are too busy, mighty Knight. I wouldn't dare trouble you. I will teach them a lesson."

The Skeleton Knight glanced at the Dogmen, who kept their heads down, not daring to meet its gaze. "Very well. Leave the Corpse Remains here for now. We have other tasks. More of the Undead will come to collect them."

The old Dogman Clan Leader hurriedly replied, "Yes, of course."

Only then did the Skeleton Knight turn its Soul Warhorse and gallop off in the direction of its comrades. It hadn't gotten any useful information about the Dragon Lizard Lord from the old Clan Leader, but its companions still had live captives. Perhaps they could get something out of them.