351 [Bonus chapter] Scouting the Lycan Lair
“What? Now that you are saying this, I do not know your strength. You seem to be clouded with a mist. Arthur, are you an expert of the Ryumans’ race?
Hattami now saw a beacon of light for his village, and maybe they would not have to leave! Leave was the last thing they wished. The swamp they found a long time ago turned into their home, and it was the perfect place for the lizardmen to live.
It would be hard for them to find another place, and reconstructing a village from zero was not easy too. Hattami did not want to ask Arthur about his strength, as people liked to keep it hidden, but he said, “can you truly win the battle against the Lycans?”
The Lycans had been meddling with the lizardmen’s business for quite some time, and it was not the first time they had done something to them. Once, they even killed some lizards who were out hunting. Hattami, the chief of that village, wanted to do something about it, but it was not possible with his strength, and that could make the Lycans angrier, leading to a full-out attack, like what they said they would do in seven days.
Arthur had just arrived in the demon continent, so he was not feeling like getting involved in too many things, but there was no way he would let the lizardmen perish! So even though they had just met, the lizardmen had offered their home to Arthur and his wives to complete strangers!
“If I want a good reputation inside this demon continent, I must work and help all the other races! Who knows, maybe I can stop the demon continent attack without a war,” Arthur thought.
He still wanted to see exactly how the people living in the demon continent were, but if they were a tiny bit of what those lizardmen were, there was no reason for another war to happen.
Also, Arthur arrived at the demon continent way earlier than expected due to Turquoise’s help, so he could use that time to learn more about the continent and find another way out, one that did not include the death of many.
He was most worried about the people he cared about, who were still back there. If a war broke out, Arthur was not sure he would be able to protect all of them, which would be a shame.
“Hattami, I can help your tribe. In fact, I can take care of the Lycans without you having to risk your people,” Arthur said.
When Hattami heard that, he kneeled in front of Arthur, tossing away his pride as the chief of a village, and he said, “Arthur, our village will be forever grateful to you, and I will spread the word to all lizardmen around the continent about you! You will be considered a savior to us!”
That was precisely what Arthur was looking for. If the word spread about him, then the lizardmen, an entire race of the demon continent, would befriend him, which would help him a lot in the future.
Still, there was a downside, and that was Arthur getting known. The humans living in the demon continent did not know him, and they would wonder where he came from? If Arthur was a citizen of the demon continent, then with his strength, there was no way the other humans would not know about him. So, that would only lead to the conclusion that Arthur was from somewhere else!
But there was nothing he could do about it! Arthur had some goals in the demon continent. First, get more information. Secondly, reach rank 4 to contend against the other rank 4 mages from the demon continent.
To accomplish both things, he needed to explore the continent, which would lead to people knowing him. Well, if his reputation was good, and he managed to get many allies, then there was no reason the rank four mages would attack him, so Arthur would be safe until he reached that level of power too!
“Can you show me what direction is the Lycan’s village?”
~~~~
Wisa, Jane, and Sybille stayed inside the lizardman village to protect them in case someone tried to attack, like a Lycan sneak attack.
On the other hand, Arthur followed the general direction one of the lizards showed him, ultimately leading him toward the Lycan village. Arthur went there to see the level of power of those Lycans and find a way to end the conflict.
For him, the best scenario would be to end the conflict without killing the Lycan tribe. Because no matter how he ended the conflict, the lizardmen would be grateful to him, but if he wiped the Lycan village, he would be the enemy of another race.
Well, if he killed everyone there, the word about it would not spread, and no one would know who killed the Lycans. And it was a small village — Arthur was sure no one visited it.
He ventured inside the woods, passing through the swamp area and reaching a dense forest. Arthur kept going for two hours and finally found where the Lycans lived.
pan,d a-n0vel With his level of power, it was easy to sneak up on them, especially with the help of his invisibility spell and his shapeshifting spell.
No one paid attention to an ordinary-looking bird sitting on a tree’s branch. From up there, Arthur had a clear view of the entire village.
It was in the middle of the forest, in an open area that the Lycans had to clean before building their village, which consisted of holes! Around it was a dense forest, and it was hard to see the holes in the ground leading to the underground cave where they lived.
“I will have to go inside to have a proper look,” Arthur thought.
He could only see some guards patrolling around the area, making sure no one got close to their cave entrance and warning everyone if they saw something suspicious.
Even though Arthur had to go inside, it was relatively easy. Also, no guards were standing right in front of the entrance, making it easy for him to break in.
Arthur cast his invisibility spell and flew toward the cave’s entrance, still in the form of a bird. An invisible bird breaking into the lair of Lycans — that could turn into a great tale in the future.
After getting in, Arthur instantly saw a lot of wolfkins! They were all around the tunnel, sleeping on the ground. He kept going forward until reaching a massive open area, where tons of Lycans slept together, all on the ground too!
They did not build a single thing except for a large throne where the chief of the Lycans slept. Their lair was relatively simple; a hole in the ground with a straight tunnel, then an open room where most of the Lycans, as well as their leader, slept, and then two more tunnels, each going into a different path. Arthur guessed these were emergency exits in case something went wrong.
“Now, how should I proceed?” thought Arthur as he flew above the Lycans, staring at all of them.
He believed no one would notice him there, but the Lycan leader, sleeping on that throne, moved his ears.
It woke up and instantly gazed at the air, directly at an ‘invisible’ bird.