Done

"Give it a try?"

Kazvito did indeed feel that impulse flash through his mind at once.

Although several people had been captured, he still had far more men under his command than the enemy. He refused to believe that those few Dark Elves and dozens of hobgoblins could withstand his attack.

Once he killed them, he could not only get rid of this damned lord who kept coming to bother him, but, more importantly, use that little Mind Flayer to lure out the others and finally put an end to this grudge that had lasted for who knew how many years.

If he accomplished all that, he would become the greatest leader in his people's history. Not only that, he would become the true ruler of this entire region.

Yes, as the most outstanding and powerful member of his people, Kazvito might not understand what the word "lord" meant, but he was very familiar with the word "ruler."

They would rule such a vast region, occupy a longer stretch of the Blackwater River, and no longer be constrained by natural enemies. Their people would enter a period of rapid development. Kazvito had even begun looking forward to the day his people became the strongest branch among all the Lizardfolk.

And all it would cost was the deaths of several of his people and some losses in the battle!

What a profit!

However, the wisdom that came with being a powerful individual also prevented him from making an immediate decision based on that impulse.

This was not the first time he had wanted to kill this supposed lord. The last time the other party had come, he had tried, but although the other party had been unable to do anything to them, he had made thorough preparations and ultimately retreated intact. It had been like that last time. Could the other party have forgotten everything this time and come knocking like an idiot?

Of course not!

As for that family of Mind Flayers, there should be one more, right? This was the youngest one? He had come here and dared to appear so openly. Could the other one possibly not come?

Of course not!

Therefore!

After thinking for a long time, Kazvito finally reached this conclusion: Everything exposed on the surface had been deliberately displayed by the other party. They must still be hiding even greater power, and all these words were purely meant to bait him into attacking!

So sometimes, being too wise and too clever was not necessarily a good thing. An overdeveloped brain would always turn things that were clearly simple into something complicated, just like Kazvito now.

If someone other than him were making the decision—any Lizardfolk with sufficient ambition—he would certainly have ordered an attack immediately. But unfortunately, there was no such "if." The leader of the Lizardfolk was still him, Kazvito!

Landen smiled brightly because he had seen the conflict on Kazvito's face. He therefore knew very clearly that his judgment of Kazvito had been completely correct.

His impression of Kazvito naturally came from his memories. In those memories, this Lizardfolk chieftain was very interesting. Despite being so powerfully built and possessing such great strength, he did not seem to like taking action personally. He preferred talking.

Talking to his fellow tribesmen, ordering them to do this and that.

Talking to his enemies, using words to display his strength.

And people who talked too much usually thought too much. The more they thought, the more easily they were controlled by habitual thinking—and, of course, the easier it was for Landen to confuse them with his schemes.

The facts had once again proven Landen right.

"Don't try to bait me, Dark Elf!" Kazvito growled, but he still did not order an attack.

"Bait you? What did I bait you into?" Landen shrugged and pointed at the several Lizardfolk being held captive in the distance. "There has to be an end between us. Either you attack me and rescue your people, or I continue attacking until I completely conquer your tribe. So, if you're not planning to attack me now, does that mean you're not planning to rescue your people?"

With a single sentence, he drew the gazes of every Lizardfolk toward Kazvito.

"Nonsense! How could I possibly abandon my people!" Kazvito roared. He had indeed entertained that thought, but how could he possibly show it?

"Then what are you planning to do?" Landen said. "I don't have much patience. If you don't make a choice, I'll have to act according to my own plans."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at the Lizardfolk captives again. "Starting an hour from now, I'll kill one captive every hour until they're all dead. Then I'll attack your people in all sorts of ways until I've killed you all or you submit to me."

"You dare!" Kazvito's eyes widened as he roared furiously at Landen.

"What is there that I don't dare do? I told you already: there has to be an outcome between us. Since you refuse to choose, I can only do this." Landen spread his hands.

Kazvito did not answer Landen. At that moment, he was whispering with the two Lizardfolk beside him in the Lizardfolk people's unique language, which no one on Landen's side understood.

Landen had no intention of shutting up, so he continued, "Although I can't understand what you're saying, I can more or less guess."

"The subordinate on your left must be advising you not to worry about those captives and to attack us immediately, right? Once you kill us and the Mind Flayer family as well, you'll be the strongest force in this region. And all it will cost is the loss of several dozen members of your tribe."

"Ah, ah, the subordinate on your right must be opposing him. Those are several dozen members of your tribe—the population of nearly one-third of your entire tribe. You can't just give them up. You have to save them!"

"Shut up!" Kazvito finally could not take this fly-like pest any longer. This roar was far louder than any of his previous ones, and his eyeballs, protected beneath his eyelids, were shot through with red veins. It was not anger, but the sign of being driven to the utmost degree of irritation.

"What? Can't make up your mind? I have another proposal. Do you want to hear it?" Landen's smile grew wider. Everything was proceeding according to his plan.

"You're a strong warrior. As far as I know, your strength is the greatest your people have seen in nearly a hundred years. The strong should speak with their strength, so why don't I send someone out to fight you in an honorable battle? The losing side will submit to the winning side."

A choice so simple it could not possibly have been simpler suddenly appeared before Kazvito, whose mind had already been stirred into a muddle. The powerful Lizardfolk chieftain's eyes lit up, and he shouted without even thinking, "I agree!"

Landen shrugged and quietly snapped his fingers.

Done!