When the Wanderers whom Rocky had saved in the Ratmen Camp woke up, they found themselves in an unfamiliar place.
All of them woke up roughly at the same time, signifying the end of the Troll Shaman's sleeping spell's duration.
"It's good to see that all of you are awake," an Apostle, who was tasked to watch over the sleeping Wanderers, said. "I know that you must be confused right now, but do not panic. All of you are safe now, and no longer prisoners of the Ratmen."
After hearing the Apostle's words, the Wanderers were still half in doubt as to whether they could believe his words.
But seeing that they were no longer in chains, they were starting to think that they might be dreaming.
"All of you, please follow me," the Apostle stated. "I will take you to our leader."
One by one, the Wanderers stood up and followed the Apostle. They were still too numb to ask any questions and merely thought they might be dreaming in their sleep.
But when they left the cave and saw the beautiful lady whom they had seen countless times on TV, most of the Wanderers started tearing up.
"Why are they crying?" Erica asked. "Did you perhaps hurt them, David?"
"Of course not," David replied. "They started crying when they saw you. Maybe they thought that you would eat them?"
"Hahaha, very funny," Erica crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the Wanderers whom Zion had dumped into her custody. "Listen up. I know that you have a lot of questions, so just ask David here for details."
"What? We both agreed that you'll be the one answering their questions!" David complained.
"Tsk!" Erica clicked her tongue before motioning for the Wanderers to sit around the Campfire and eat with them.
"Eat first, questions later," David ordered. "Depending on the situation, we might need to relocate to a new camp."
The Apostle glanced in the direction of the dark smoke that was still rising up to the sky.
The fire started before sunrise. Hours had passed, yet it was still raging even now.
Erica told everyone in their camp that the one who set the forest ablaze was none other than Zion Leventis.
Although his strategy was effective, David and the others were still on the fence about whether the Legendary Rookie, who was the talk of Pangea, had made the right decision this time around.
An hour later, after everyone had eaten, Erica asked the Wanderers about how they were rescued by Zion.
All of them said the same thingâthe ground beneath their feet gave way, and they all fell at the same time.
They didn't remember anything after that, except that they saw nothing but darkness before they lost their consciousness.
When Erica and the Apostles heard this, all of them became dumbfounded.
'A sinkhole?' Erica frowned. 'Since Zion doesn't have any abilities, does this mean that the Lizardmen helped him in this operation? However, although Lizardmen could dig, I doubt they could dig right under the enemy camp in such a short period of time.'
"I saw how ruthless and decisive you were last night," Drazzat said. "But I'm a bit worried about making you my army's strategist."
"Worried?" Thirteen frowned. "Why?"
"Because you might just treat me and my men like Cannon Fodders," Drazzat answered. "Maybe you will send us to our deaths so that you and your fellow humans will regain your freedom."
"I see. That's a very reasonable concern." Thirteen nodded. "But you don't have to worry about that. You Lizardmen have this ritual called a Blood Pact, right? How about it? Want to become Pact Brothers?"
(A/N: if you read Pact Brothers wrong, please, use bleach to cleanse your brain.)
(E/N: I didn't think of it until you mentioned it. Bleach your brain first.)
Drazzat frowned. Making a Blood Pact with a human had never crossed his mind.
"You're not worthy to become my Pact Brother," Drazzat said.
"Well, it's your loss," Thirteen shrugged. "So, what now? I will guarantee that if you make me your strategist, you will win this war. If you don't want it, then ask your Shaman to remove the markings on our foreheads so that we can leave this place."
"And why should I ask my Shaman to remove the markings on your forehead?" Drazzat inquired.
"Because your Warrior Ancestors will look down on you in the afterlife knowing that you forced children to fight your wars for you guys," Thirteen answered. "I mean, aren't you all ashamed? You're letting kids fight your battles for you. Aren't you all supposed to be proud Lizardmen Warriors?"
The Warriors, who were secretly listening to the conversation, lowered their heads because the teenager was right once again.
The Lizardmen didn't send their young to go to war, and yet, they were forcing the children of another race to fight for them.
It was truly a shameful thing to do, and no Warrior would find such an act honorable.
"It's a shame you are not born as a Lizardman," Drazzat commented. "You would have been a great figure once you grew up."
The Commander of the Lizardmen then glanced in the direction of the forest that was still ablaze before making a decision.
"I'll summon you at sunset," Drazzat stated. "I will have made my decision by then."
Without another word, the Commander of the Lizardmen left to ponder what his next move would be.
He was still doubting whether he should entrust their lives to a human child who could betray them at any point in time.
Still, he had a feeling that this chance might never come again in his lifetime.
Although he still had his reservations, he was starting to think that as long as they were able to drive out the Ratmen from their domain, any strategy was viable.
What he didn't know was that the main reason why Thirteen started the Forest Fire was for Drazzat to start having this line of thought.
Lizardmen might be aggressive when it came to dealing with their enemies, but they still have a conservative mindset just like the Elves.
Thirteen believed that as long as they could overcome this way of thinking, the Lizardmen would not only be able to push the Ratmen back, but they could also end their mortal enemy's tyranny once and for all.