Dark Tide Water Lizard

Tick-tock—

In the pitch-black underground, water droplets seep from the rocks, just before they fall to the ground.

A pink tongue suddenly appeared from the side, swirling the water droplet into its mouth.

This is a soft and flexible tongue, with small bumps and sticky substance at the tip.

But its owner is not like a frog.

If someone were to hold up a torch here, they would discover that it is a wrinkled lizard that looks like its scales have been peeled off.

Moreover, this is because they live underground for many years.

Its body is almost transparent, so you can see the shape of its internal organs without even opening its abdomen.

"Hiss—"

The nearly transparent lizard emitted a long, thin hissing sound.

From the darkness behind it came more faint footsteps, the sound of dozens of transparent lizards that looked similar to it.

These creatures that live underground are naturally Devil Beast.

However, they were not patrolling their territory; instead, they had crossed the original boundaries of their species and were advancing toward their neighbor's territory with menacing eyes.

"Hiss—I can taste their scent in the air."

"We're very close!"

"The greedy gopher is right ahead!"

The lizard that hisses softly is called the Dark Tide Water Lizard.

They are a species that has lived underground in the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest for a long time, mainly relying on hunting blind fish and insects underground for survival.

One year ago.

Their leader was killed in an underground battle.

Without the leaders of the Fifth Stage, life underground is no longer as easy as it used to be, and even normal population migrations cannot be sustained.

After lingering in the vicinity for a long time.

Just a month ago, these Dark Tide Water Lizard finally got their chance.

The Groundhog Clan that originally lived here had a leader whose strength was almost at the peak of the Fifth Stage, and now they were trying to advance to the Sixth Stage.

Unfortunately, the result was unfortunate.

Despite the help of the Three Pillars Lake, the leader of the Groundhog Clan still lost his life due to the Dragon Beast's extraction of the Essence.

Conversely, this presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Dark Tide Water Lizard.

Both groups have lost their leaders. If they can launch a battle as soon as possible and quickly seize the other's territory, they can settle here and hasten the birth of a new leader.

Thinking of this, the Dark Tide Water Lizard leading the group felt a surge of emotion. "They've occupied Three Pillars Lake for too long; it's time for them to give up this place."

"We're almost there! We're almost there!"

"A new leader must be chosen as soon as possible!"

In the Dark World beneath the ground, the Dark Tide Water Lizard moves swiftly forward.

Due to its topographical structure, the underground space of the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest contains numerous tunnels and cavities. Before long, these Dark Tide Water Lizard arrived in the territory of the Groundhog Clan.

However, there is still one last step before we can face them.

A thick earthen wall separated the Groundhog Clan's nest from the tunnels to the outside world. This was the last obstacle they had to overcome before launching their attack.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

"Dig it open, charge in, and kill!"

The lead group of Dark Tide Water Lizard immediately lay down on the earthen wall.

Having long adapted to the underground environment, they have a very useful organ.

A type of webbed claw.

These claws allow them to swim quickly in water, and they are also an excellent choice for clearing paths when they encounter soil or small pebbles that obstruct their progress.

Splash—

In the darkness, the Dark Tide Water Lizard moved swiftly, their webbed feet shoveling up dirt and stones with each swipe.

The digging sounds were faint yet frequent.

In the blink of an eye, these Dark Tide Water Lizard can dig a small hole in the wall. After their kin throw away the excess soil, they have already dug through the wall in front of them in just over fifteen minutes.

"Squeak?"

Across the earthen wall was a young ground squirrel.

Near Three Pillars Lake, ground squirrels have always been the most powerful group.

This little creature had no idea what the death of its leader meant for its entire species.

So after noticing the sound of digging in the soil.

Instead of thinking about potential dangers, it came over with the carelessness of its past life, intending to see what was going on.

"Hiss!"

In an instant, a pink tongue covered in slime wrapped around the baby ground squirrel.

An irresistible force dragged it toward the mouth of the Dark Tide Water Lizard, which then smacked its teeth a few times and swallowed the tiny ground squirrel whole.

The Dark Tide Water Lizard, which had swallowed the little ground squirrel whole, spoke:

"Kill!"

"Kill them all, and they're ours!"

Dozens of Dark Tide Water Lizard charged in en masse.

They filed in, stormed into the gopher's burrow, and hunted down any living creature they could see.

The gopher, a Devil Beast, is primarily characterized by its agile movements and supple fur, while attacking enemies with its exceptionally sharp claws and teeth. Only upon reaching the third or Fourth Stage and beyond will it begin to gain the ability to manipulate earth and rocks.

In the current gopher population, this is an ability possessed only by a select few.

In contrast, the Dark Tide Water Lizard, after a year of arduous survival, now consists of the elite of the elite.

This group suddenly launched an attack on the gophers.

This resulted in an almost one-sided battle.

Wherever the Dark Tide Water Lizard went, all the ground squirrels were Slaughter.

Young and smaller gophers are swallowed whole, while larger ones are swarmed and torn to pieces.

Several more minutes passed.

The mole guards, who were originally on guard above, also noticed the anomaly in the underground nest.

Realizing the danger, they all retreated underground.

However, after a few minutes of slaughter, the Dark Tide Water Lizard had almost taken over the advantageous terrain in the nest, and these groundhog guards who were protecting their home had become the ones who needed to conquer the nest.

The mole voles, ambushed, suffered heavy losses.

With its advantage in the battle constantly expanding, a Dark Tide Water Lizard noticed a problem.

Gophers do indeed send guards to protect the area above their nests.

However, there should also be ground squirrels responsible for safety underground in the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest.

But now that they've launched their attack, most of these ground squirrel guards are gathered above the nest, as if guarding against something.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

Is there something on the ground?

A Dark Tide Water Lizard seemed uneasy.

Although the Three Pillars Lake area is occupied by underground races, the most valuable part is still the Three Pillars Lake on the surface.

In case something goes wrong there...

Their plan to quickly produce a new leader is going to cause trouble!

Instead, they cannot quickly obtain the protection of a powerful figure.

Even if they manage to take over the gophers' territory, their future will not be bright.

The ideal situation.

Just like that year, they hid and tried to escape in the underground of the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest.

"No!"

"The danger must be eliminated!"

The Dark Tide Water Lizard sensed the problem.

It immediately roared a few times and summoned several of its own kind who were quite capable in combat.

They then fought their way through the area where the battle was taking place, climbing down from a damp mound to the ground.

"Hiss?"

The Dark Tide Water Lizard could not comprehend the scene before it.

Because there are no other Devil Beast here vying for territory.

Instead, a male and a female human figure were watching them with some inexplicable confusion.