Overlord: I’ve Been Recruiting Followers in Another World

In the vast wetlands north of the Great Forest of Tob, a four-headed Hydra with the body of a four-legged dinosaur moved slowly in a steady direction.

Hydras generally possess animalistic intelligence and the habit of raising their young until a certain age before driving them away. However, the multi-headed Hydra before them was an exception.

Its name was Rororo.

With only four heads, it was a deformed offspring in a group of eight-headed Hydras, and as such, it was abandoned by its parents when young. Passing Lizardmen found it and adopted it, bringing it to the Green Claw Tribe to be raised.

Although not physically identical, its domesticated habits led it to treat the Lizardmen who adopted it as close family, one of whom was now sitting on its back.

Black, crocodile-like scales covered his back, arms, and legs. His long tail appeared very sturdy, and his toes were connected by fins. In shallow water or swamps with a certain current, he could move quickly. This was Zaryusu Shasha.

Unlike ordinary Lizardmen, Zaryusu Shasha had a special brand mark on his chest, made from branding iron.

Lizardmen are a closed group and generally do not leave their birthplace, unless they face a life-or-death dilemma. Of course, among any ethnic group there will be individuals who wish to explore the New World and feel uncomfortable staying within their comfort zone.

When such a person appeared among the Lizardmen, he could leave on his own, but would be branded a 'traveler' by his group. This meant he detached himself from the tribe and had no rights to power.

Travelers usually never returned to their tribes, dying in foreign lands, or settling in the New World. Only a few returned to their birthplace. For travelers who had returned to their clan, they would receive high recognition for the new knowledge they brought. However, because they were not qualified for power, they would be less popular on certain special occasions.

However, Zaryusu was fortunate.

His elder brother was the chief of the Green Claw Tribe. Upon returning to the tribe, he received strong support from his brother, and the useful knowledge he learned during his journey could be applied within the tribe. In addition, he himself possessed one of the four Lizardman treasures—Frozen Pain—so he was still highly respected among the tribe.

This time, their clan faced the threat of unknown monsters, and Zaryusu was summoned to go to the Lizardman tribes beyond the Green Claw Tribe to lobby for the formation of an alliance.

Seven Lizardman tribes once lived in these vast wetlands: Green Claw, Small Tooth, Sharp Tail, Sharp Sword, Macula, Dragon Tooth, and Red Eye. In a crisis of starvation and genocide, the Lizardman groups waged internal wars, and a three-clan alliance—Green Claw, Small Tooth, and Sharp Tail—eliminated two tribes: Sharp Sword and Macula.

So, now there were only five Lizardman clans living in this area.

Small Tooth and Sharp Tail were former allies of Green Claw, so it was not too difficult to form a new alliance with them. These were the two remaining clans, Dragon Tooth and Red Eye, that Zaryusu was responsible for contacting and negotiating with.

Within the Dragon Tooth clan were the remnants of the Sharp Sword and Macula tribes that were defeated back then, making it the most difficult to persuade them to join the Green Claw Tri-Clan Alliance. Zaryusu was prepared for the worst-case scenario.

If the Dragon Tooth clan refused the alliance, he would defeat them first. This was a proper consideration for Green Claw's future survival.

Because the Dragon Tooth clan's refusal to ally would create two possibilities: one, surrendering to the enemy, or two, non-intervention.

If the Dragon Tooth clan surrendered, the Green Claw Tri-Clan Alliance might be attacked by the Dragon Tooth clan when they were engaged in battle with the Great Tomb of Nazarick organization.

If the Dragon Tooth tribe remained neutral, even if the three-tribe alliance could repel the enemy's attack, its strength would certainly be greatly damaged, and it would lag behind in future survival competition with the Dragon Tooth tribe. Both of these outcomes were something Zaryusu did not wish to see.

This wasn't about a noble-hearted Lizardman; he was simply a Lizardman warrior fighting for his clan. Fighting a clan alone was not something that could be done easily.

Zaryusu touched the enchanted short sword hanging at his waist.

The magic weapon Frozen Pain had three special abilities: a magical attack that caused freezing gas damage to enemies, increased self-freezing gas resistance, and could release [Ice Burst] three times a day.

This, combined with his own warrior abilities and Rororo, should be able to inflict severe trauma on the Dragon Tooth tribe that refused the alliance.

Even if he himself might die for it.

Just as Zaryusu was lost in thought, Rororo, who had been walking, suddenly stopped. This anomaly immediately caught his attention.

"Huh?"

Zaryusu vigilantly sensed a presence ahead of him.

Crocodile scales, a long tail, walking upright on two feet—nothing was wrong with the Lizardman's features. However, the powerful aura emanating from the other's body, as well as the apron shorts, which looked crude but were actually magic armor, all indicated how strong that individual was.

Zaryusu's thoughts raced for a few seconds. He patted Rororo's neck, and the multi-headed Hydra skillfully grabbed his arm, lowering him from its back.

Upon arriving before the mysterious Lizardman, Zaryusu opened his mouth and asked, "Your Excellency, what are you doing blocking my path?"

"Young man, draw the sword from your waist, and let us first communicate with each other through our weapons."

The mysterious Lizardman slowly raised the spear in his hand, pointing it at Zaryusu and saying. His spear was strange; its shaft was made of hard wood, but the spearhead was sharpened from the bone of an unknown beast, giving off a faint sense of oppression brought by the talent of a higher being.

The person insisted, yet Zaryusu saw no hostility in his eyes.

Although Zaryusu was hesitant, after a moment of thought, he drew Frozen Pain from his waist.

If purely in terms of strength, the person in front of him was undoubtedly a powerful enemy. So, he didn't speak much or engage in excessive taunting. He stomped hard on the swamp water with his right foot, using his fastest speed to launch an attack.

His level reached LV19, equivalent to the strength of a human Mithril-ranked adventurer. Zaryusu's attack was actually very fast and powerful.

However, he saw the mysterious Lizardman merely twirl his spear casually to the side, easily blocking several of his attack combos. He thrust his spear and directly struck Zaryusu.

Pounce!

Zaryusu fell hard on the wet ground, one hand clutching his chest. He felt only a few broken ribs, and a burst of dull pain.

"Launch your strongest attack, otherwise, you have no chance of defeating me."

"That's what you said."

Zaryusu stood up trembling, and after taking a deep breath, he attacked again!

The mysterious Lizardman still stood motionlessly with ease, not even adopting a defensive posture, and displayed immense confidence.

As the distance between the two sides instantly narrowed to less than five meters, Zaryusu suddenly halted his steps and lowered his body, "[Ice Burst]!!!"

With a loud shout, Frozen Pain was thrust into the ground by Zaryusu, and ice spread rapidly, sweeping around.

Effective?

The cold air formed a freezing mist that blurred Zaryusu's vision, but his faith in the secret treasure made him anticipate it.

The next second, a strong gust of wind blew away the frost, and an astonished expression appeared in Zaryusu's eyes.

The sharp tip of the barbed bone spear stopped just between his larynx, giving a tingling sensation even without making contact.

The [Ice Burst] attack was already his strongest attack method, but it had no effect on the mysterious Lizardman in front of him.

"I lost."

The weapon in Zaryusu's hand slowly drooped, and he immediately conceded defeat. He then asked the other, "You can now tell me your purpose, right?"

"Of course."

The mysterious Lizardman withdrew his spear and gave an answer that surprised Zaryusu, "I came to save the Lizardman race."

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