More than half a tribe's wealth was concentrated in its chief's hands.
Besides, Black Bat's corpse was extremely valuable for research, so giving away some of the loot from the others meant little to Roger.
"Well..." Hagson studied Roger for a moment, confirming that he genuinely meant it. "Then thank you for your generosity, Brother Roger."
So many god-level experts had fallen. Their Godheads, the divine artifacts they had nurtured, and the Black Bat Tribe's specialty products were all valuable assets.
Although those Godheads and divine artifacts were of little use to Hagson himself, they could be traded with other tribes or used to cultivate loyal subordinates who refined Godheads.
Once the preliminary distribution was settled, Hagson immediately led his subordinates in clearing the battlefield.
The Black Bat Tribe's attack had come very suddenly.
The Fire Rhino Tribe had suffered heavy casualties at the outset. Three Lowgods on patrol had died, followed by another five in the melee.
Thus, the Fire Rhino Tribe urgently needed to replenish its ranks of Lowgods.
Even those who attained that rank by refining Godheads could be quite useful.
After all, appearances alone could not reveal whether someone had refined a Godhead.
"Roger, what's the name of that move where you shot gray spears from your eyes? It looked so cool."
Allen finally had a chance to sidle over and ask.
"Haha, it's called the Soul Annihilation Blade. What do you think? Pretty awesome name, right?"
As Hagson and the others carefully cleared the battlefield, Roger chatted with Allen.
"Soul Annihilation Blade?" Allen murmured. "A great name. One strike, and the enemy's soul is annihilated. That's my brother for you-not only are you powerful, but you come up with such great names, too."
"..."
Soon enough.
The battlefield was cleared.
After some discussion, Roger received an additional Midgod Artifact Armor, a Midgod Artifact Battle Blade, five Lowgod Godheads, and five sets of Lowgod Artifacts.
Beverly and Croya each received three Lowgod Godheads and three sets of Lowgod Artifacts.
Hagson received one Middlegod Godhead, eight Lowgod Godheads, and eight sets of Lowgod Artifacts.
Everyone was fairly satisfied with this distribution.
Hagson in particular had obtained a Middlegod Godhead. He could choose a loyal subordinate to refine it, making the Fire Rhino Tribe considerably stronger than before.
Added to that were the formidable Roger and the Middlegod Godhead Black Bat had left behind upon his death.
The Black Bat Tribe was now indisputably the foremost tribe within several million li!
"Brother Roger, stay home with the others for now. Beverly, Croya, and I will go take over the Black Bat Tribe's territory."
Hagson spoke.
"No problem." Roger had no desire to run around, so this suited him perfectly.
After receiving his approval, Hagson took a few more Lowgods and immediately hurried toward the Black Bat Tribe's territory with Beverly and Croya.
Without anyone quite realizing it.
Roger had become the pillar everyone present relied upon.
Even Hagson had to seek Roger's approval before doing anything.
Despite Hagson being the Fire Rhino Tribe's nominal chief.
That was simply how things worked in the Netherworld.
The strong reigned supreme!
Back in the courtyard where he lived.
Roger took Black Bat's enormous corpse out of his Interspatial Ring.
"You used to be so arrogant. Now you're just a dead dog I can kick around however I please."
Allen stepped forward and kicked it hard several times.
When it came down to it, Black Bat bore the greatest responsibility for the deaths of his and Roger's parents.
Now that their greatest enemy was dead, Allen suddenly felt empty inside.
"By the way, Roger, what are you going to do with Black Bat's Godhead?" Allen asked after venting his anger.
"His Godhead has the darkness attribute, and once someone refines a Godhead, it's almost impossible for them to grow stronger. I'll either trade it for resources later or reward some loyal subordinate with it."
Roger spoke casually.
A Middlegod Godhead might be precious to others, but to Roger, it was nothing special.
In terms of actual value.
A single Soul Gold Bead could be traded for at least several dozen Godheads.
"That works." Allen had only been asking casually anyway. "Get some rest, Roger. I'll head out and help deal with the aftermath."
After Allen left.
The courtyard fell quiet.
Roger crouched down and began examining Black Bat's corpse carefully, extending his soul power into it.
After a long while.
Roger withdrew his soul power. "Black Bat's body structure is quite unusual, and it's fairly durable, too. It's roughly on par with a Lowgod Artifact."
"But the soul ocean inside his head was breached, so there's not much left worth studying."
Roger was very interested in the "black light" Black Bat had suddenly released.
Unfortunately.
His Soul Annihilation Blade had shattered Black Bat's entire soul ocean, leaving nothing there to study.
After turning Black Bat's corpse over and examining it thoroughly, Roger could only set it aside for now.
"Let's see if there's anything good in his Interspatial Ring."
He dripped blood onto Black Bat's Interspatial Ring to claim ownership.
The blood sank into it without a hitch.
In an instant.
Everything inside the ring was laid bare to Roger's awareness.
"One Middlegod Godhead, one Midgod Artifact Armor, some black crystals of unknown use, and a few Lowgod Godheads and Lowgod Artifacts."
"Tsk, tsk. Black Bat was a lot poorer than I expected."
Roger was rather speechless.
He had thought Black Bat's Interspatial Ring might hold some unexpected treasures.
But this was it...
Still, when he considered that Black Bat was only a Midgod, and that his territory, though much larger than the Fire Rhino Tribe's, produced few resources, it made sense.
He claimed ownership of the Midgod Artifact Armor Black Bat had used with a drop of blood.
Roger seemed somewhat dispirited.
"Looks like talented Sanctuary experts are still the most valuable assets at this stage."
Roger put Black Bat's corpse back into his Interspatial Ring, planning to study it again later.
Black Bat had been a Special Life, after all. Perhaps Roger could discover something once he grew stronger.
One day later.
Hagson and the others returned.
Joy shone on every face.
Clearly, taking over the Black Bat Tribe's territory had gone smoothly.
The Sanctuary experts there and the few remaining Lowgods had all expressed their willingness to join the Fire Rhino Tribe.
Even Beverly and Croya, having witnessed Roger's strength, had offered to bring their respective tribes over and join immediately.
After obtaining Roger's approval, Hagson had welcomed both tribes.
The Fire Rhino Tribe's Council Hall.
All the experts at Lowgod rank and above were gathered there.
"The takeover went smoothly. With Brother Beverly and the others joining us as well, our Fire Rhino Tribe's territory has expanded enormously."
His face flushed with excitement, Hagson spoke of the hardships of the war, paid tribute to the fallen, and welcomed the new members.
It was clear that Hagson was a capable speaker, and his words rang with sincerity.
But just as everyone thought Hagson was about to finish his speech, he abruptly changed tack:
"However, this battle made me keenly aware of my own lack of strength. Therefore, I propose that Lord Roger become our new chief!"
"What does everyone think?"
At some point, Hagson had quietly changed the way he addressed Roger, and everyone else took it as only natural.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Hagson, Beverly, Croya, and a whole crowd of others turned their gazes toward Roger in unison.
"We all agree that Lord Roger should become chief!"
Beverly and the others spoke together.
"Huh?"
Roger froze. "What's going on? Are they trying to thrust me onto the throne?"
Before you continue