Tribal Clash

The next day, Younai returned to where the four men were staying. It seemed the tribal chief had made his arrangements.

"Gentlemen, I have good news for you. Since you four joined our Deen Tribe from a Material Plane, the chief has assigned you to refine the leaves of the jade trees and extract a liquid containing life energy from them. That liquid can be used to make a potion that sells for a good price. It's also one of our Deen Tribe's main sources of income. Under normal circumstances, you can earn several hundred Inkstones a year," Younai explained.

"You were only assigned this easy job because you have clean backgrounds. Most of the fellows from the Infernal Realm who join us get sent to dig in the Blazing Sun iron mine. Refining leaves is much easier than mining." After saying this, Younai looked at Rog and Dimont.

"But for you two, Rog and Dimont, there's actually another choice," Younai said with a smile. "You can join the tribal guards. The minimum requirement is to be a Midgod, and this is a great opportunity. You should know that the tribal guards earn far more than people who refine jade tree leaves."

"As long as you're willing to join the tribal guards, you'll receive a reward of 100,000 Inkstones. And every ten thousand years, the chief will grant you a fortune of around ten million Inkstones. Just think, with that much money, you could easily buy a High Godhead. Once you become a Highgod, even if you got there by refining a Godspark, your status in the Infernal Realm will be completely different."

Refine a Godspark? Rog didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He and Dimont had long been aware of the drawbacks of refining a Godspark, and neither had ever considered taking that path.

After all, once they refined a Godspark, their strength would never improve again.

Still, they knew Younai meant well. Rog replied, "Mr. Younai, Dimont and I are willing to join."

The tribal guards were only Midgods anyway. With Rog and Dimont's strength, there was no real danger in joining their ranks, and they could even get a reward of 100,000 Inkstones for free. As for staying in the tribe for ten thousand years? Forget it. The next time he went into the city with the tribe, Rog planned not to return.

If Midgods weren't so lacking in deterrent power when traveling through the Infernal Realm, and if he'd had a Metallic Lifeform, he would have gone to a city in the Infernal Realm on his own long ago.

"Good, you two come with me. The chief places great importance on gods like you who come from Material Planes. Besides the reward of 100,000 Inkstones, you'll each receive a Midgod Artifact as well. That's a benefit no one else gets." Younai winked and raised his eyebrows, in a very cheerful mood.

"The chief really is a wise man, then." Having received a Midgod Artifact for free, Rog wasn't stingy with his praise for the chief.

Watching the three men leave, Domir and his brother could only wait to join the group that refined those jade tree leaves. Still, they had just heard that if they hadn't come from a Material Plane, they probably would have ended up as miners.

Everything was relative. Compared to mining, refining leaves wasn't so bad.

Following Younai, they met the chief of the Deen Tribe. Under the chief's "kind encouragement," Rog chose a suit of divine artifact armor of good quality, which was just as well since he didn't have a Defensive Divine Artifact yet. As for Dimont, though he didn't have much need for divine artifacts, he chose a pair of divine gauntlets.

"Fusing the Profound Mysteries of the Laws really isn't easy. Even after coming to the Infernal Realm, where the laws are much clearer, my fusion speed hasn't increased by much." By Rog's estimate, fusing the three profound mysteries in pairs might take only a century or two, but the final step of fusing them all together might take even longer.

Rog could only shake his head. "There's no hurry. My life in the Deen Tribe is fairly peaceful, so I'll just keep working on the fusion slowly for now."

One day, a fluctuation of the Natural Laws suddenly appeared next door to Rog.

"It's him.

"Rog remembered that this was Domir's younger brother, who didn't like to talk much. He had broken through to become a Midgod after only a few months in the Infernal Realm. The lad's talent was fairly good. After breaking through to become a Midgod, Gray immediately signed up for the guards as well. He received a reward of 100,000 Inkstones and obtained a divine spear that suited him.

Through his older brother Domir's continual inquiries, he had already learned what a "Fiend" was in the Infernal Realm. He had decided then and there to become a Fiend! But signing up for the Fiend assessment required a fee of a full 10,000 Inkstones! If he hadn't managed to join the guards, there was no telling how long it would have taken him to save up the fee by refining leaves.

One day, the four men were cultivating intently in this quiet place. Neither the guards nor the leaf refiners needed to work together for long periods, so they all stayed here when they had nothing else to do.

The laws were far clearer in the Infernal Realm than in a Material Plane. Apart from Domir, whose talent was ordinary, the other three were all in a period of rapid progress in their insights and had yet to encounter any major bottlenecks.

Time passed silently.

One day, a piercing cry suddenly rang out across the entire tribe. "Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

What Domir had always feared had happened!

Staying in a tribe wasn't absolutely safe either. Some enemies still dared to attack a tribe outright, such as large bandit groups or other nearby tribes!

After all, wars and annexations between tribes were extremely common in the Infernal Realm.

They hurriedly flew out and saw more than a thousand Midgods hovering over the distant mountains.

On their side, the silver-robed warriors of the Deen Tribe's guard swiftly assembled as well, and the two sides faced off.

"Wilson!"

A voice like thunder rang out as a silver-robed man slowly flew over from the castle deep within the Deen Tribe. His expression cold, he looked at the Highgod leading the thousand-plus Midgods-the enemy's leader, his old rival Wilson, who was also a veteran Highgod.

Deen then flew high into the air and said angrily, "Kasaer, you and I have known each other for years. Why have you betrayed me and actually brought Wilson here to attack my Deen Tribe?"

Kasaer sneered. "Deen, you're right. You and I do have some history, but tribes annexing one another is the most common thing in the Infernal Realm. Besides, Lord Wilson is stronger than you. If you know what's good for you, order these Midgods not to resist and let the two tribes merge. Lord Wilson can even let you be the vice chief."

As it turned out, the Highgod named Kasaer had originally belonged to the Deen Tribe. Now, for some unknown reason, he had betrayed Deen and joined another tribe.

Another Highgod flew out of the Deen Tribe's battle formation. He glared angrily at the two men and said, "Wilson, Kasaer, don't get too arrogant. I know how strong you two are. Do you really think you can annex our Deen Tribe?"

Both sides now had two Highgods leading them, and it was still unclear who would win!

"Whether we can win or not, we'll find out after we fight," Kasaer said with a calm smile, abruptly drawing a long saber.

"Hmph." Wilson also gave an indifferent order. "Attack!"

"Go!" Deen gave his order as well.

At once, a thousand guard warriors raised their weapons together and slashed fiercely ahead!

Waves of divine power in every color stretched across the sky. These were all attacks from Midgods! With over a thousand Midgod attacks combined, even a Highgod wouldn't dare take them head-on.

The great battle erupted!

"Let's go!" a veteran Midgod who was acquainted with Rog and the other two sent to them. "The chief is watching. If we don't do our best and he wins, how could he possibly spare those who disobeyed orders? And if he loses, it'll be even worse! These invaders might kill us all!"

Now the drawback of joining the guards had become apparent. In a situation like this, the guards had to stand at the very front, facing the first threat to their lives.

"What a nuisance. It was almost time to go into the city to buy supplies," Rog said, frowning. He took out his saber and charged forward with Dimont.

But instead of fighting the enemy Midgod warriors, he charged straight toward the battlefield of the four Highgods at the very top!

"Rog, what are you two doing?" Even Gray, who had always been bold, was startled.

"A mere Midgod dares join our fight? Die!" The speaker was the traitor Kasaer, whose weapon was a pitch-black heavy sword.

He swung his sword down, its blade radiating a powerful black light and fluctuations of the Laws of Destruction.

"Die," Rog said coldly.

Rog slashed straight through the air, dazzling lightning flashing from his saber. Before Kasaer could react, the lightning had already struck his head.

"Bang!" The people below saw only a flash of lightning suddenly appear in the sky, and then

a strange muffled sound rang out, and Kasaer's head instantly burst apart. A black Godspark flew out. Rog calmly collected the Godspark, divine artifact, and interspatial ring Kasaer had dropped upon his death, as though he had merely done something insignificant.