Obey or Perish

Landen had seen the power of Hobgoblin Knights more than once. After all, Hobgoblins and Rock Lizards were very common creatures, and the training methods for Hobgoblin Knights had long been spread in that world. Therefore, in that world, Hobgoblin Knights had become one of the essential troop types for many lords.

However, in this world, this was Landen's first time witnessing the performance of Hobgoblin Knights in the truest sense. Especially due to the terrain, these Hobgoblins could be said to have performed almost perfectly. Such shock was far greater than any previous time!

Returning to the small opening of the path, Landen took a deep breath as he took it all in, muttering to himself, "It's no wonder they're my troops, they're just that good!"

Avina, who had followed Landen up, rolled her eyes slightly behind him. In her heart, she added a new label next to Landen's "pervert" tag—arrogant.

However, at the same time, the girl also sighed in her heart, "They really are amazing, both those Hobgoblin Knights and... Lord!"

The first wave of battle, from the moment the little Mind Flayer found its targets until all the Lizardfolk were captured, lasted less than a minute. Most of that time was spent on the little Mind Flayer luring the bait and then leading the Lizardfolk to chase it. Therefore, this battle could be called a blitzkrieg.

The first step of what Landen named "Operation: Save the Lizardfolk Citizens" was thus perfectly achieved.

Although it was the first step, it was also the decisive one. In Landen's entire plan, only this step had some unstable factors. For example, the Lizardfolk might not be attracted by the little Mind Flayer; or perhaps the combat power of the Hobgoblin Knights was insufficient to handle the first wave of Lizardfolk.

Of course, it seemed now that these were no longer problems, and the subsequent steps were, naturally, not problems either.

"Are they all tied up?" Landen left the path and came to the cleared battlefield.

All the Lizardfolk had been tied up. To Landen's delight, not a single Lizardfolk had died, though one was seriously injured. This was from a Hobgoblin Knight with Low-tier Black Iron strength. Since their promotion, his strength had improved significantly, now nearing Mid-tier Black Iron. This caused a slight deviation in his control of power, and the hammer he swung was a bit too forceful.

However, this injury was only to the flesh and bone, not the internal organs, and was not difficult to treat, so Landen did not blame him.

Seeing all the Lizardfolk tied together in a line, Landen waved his hand, "Back to the camp, eat and rest!"

Although he was eager to return to check on the experimental field, some things couldn't be rushed. Just like now, after capturing the Lizardfolk, Landen led everyone back to the camp instead of pursuing victory. He only sent a few Dark Elves out to continue scouting.

"Report, my Lord. Those Lizardfolk have organized a second search, but they still found nothing," Ibaka reported.

"Mm, I know. Have the Lari Brothers continue scouting. You, Mikhail, and Dedmond can go rest first," Landen nodded.

After resting, another half a day passed. This time, the report came from Big Lari.

"Report, my Lord. The Lizardfolk have organized a fourth search, completely scouring a kilometer radius around the camp. This time, their chieftain also came out!"

The Lizardfolk chieftain was a warrior far larger than an ordinary Lizardfolk, possessing Black Iron Peak strength. He was easy to identify and was someone Landen had specifically noted.

"Oh? He's finally out. It seems he's truly anxious. But then again, nearly a third of his subordinates have been missing for two days, and they've searched everywhere nearby without finding even a corpse. It's strange if he's not anxious."

Landen threw away the fish head he had finished gnawing on, clapped his hands, and stood up, saying, "Alright, it's time to meet this chieftain. Let's go!"

With nearly a third of their kin missing, the nerves of all the Lizardfolk in the camp were stretched to the limit. Therefore, when Landen and his party arrived outside the camp, it immediately caused a huge reaction.

A horn sounded, and almost all the Lizardfolk in the camp dropped what they were doing, grabbed their weapons or anything that could be used as a weapon, and rushed out. Eyes filled with killing intent stared at Landen and his group.

The Hobgoblin Knights and the little Mind Flayer were absent, and even the Lari Brothers were missing from the Dark Elves. At this moment, only Hogg, Avina, and three Dark Elves were by Landen's side.

But Landen was fearless, watching the Lizardfolk opposite him from a distance of fifty meters.

"Hiss! Who are you?" A Lizardfolk stepped forward a few paces, glaring at Landen, and asked in the common underground tongue with a distinct Lizardfolk accent.

"You don't recognize me? We should have met not long ago," Landen said. "My name is Landen, and I am the lord here."

"Hiss! Landen... hiss hiss, the lord. I remember now, I did see you. Useless... lord." The Lizardfolk let out a mocking laugh.

"Useless? If I were useless, how could I have captured so many of your kin in one go?" Landen sneered.

One sentence drew dozens of dagger-like gazes. The Lizardfolk stared at Landen with icy eyes and asked, "Hiss, you... what did you say? It was you... you captured... captured..."

"Enough, stop showing off your pathetic underground common tongue here. Go call your chieftain out. Only he can decide this matter!" Landen waved his hand impatiently.

"Hiss! Enemy... damn it!" The Lizardfolk didn't fall for it at all. He leaned forward slightly, tilting the stone spear he held, and directly assumed a combat stance.

"What? You want to kill me? Are you sure?" Landen looked at him like an idiot, then waved his hand again.

The first wave of his hand showed his attitude, while the second wave was an order.

Immediately, twenty Hobgoblin Knights appeared in the stone forest area not far away, herding thirty Lizardfolk. The little Mind Flayer had already jumped onto a stone pillar and grabbed a Lizardfolk's head, its tentacles writhing, seemingly about to pierce in the next moment.

"Hiss! Enough!" A deeper voice sounded from within the camp, followed by the emergence of a tall, sturdy figure. His physique, far exceeding that of an ordinary Lizardfolk, and the metal ring on his head indicated his identity—the Lizardfolk chieftain, Kazvito.

"State your purpose, Dark Elf!" His underground common tongue was much better than the previous Lizardfolk's. He looked at Landen coldly and said.

"My purpose is very simple: surrender to me and become my people, or face annihilation." Landen spread his hands and then pointed at the Hobgoblin Knights, "If you don't believe me, you can try."