The organization [Corpus of the Abyss] is somewhat special.
Although established four hundred years ago, it is little known. The Undead race possesses long, almost eternal lifespans and lacks the three primary desires of the living.
This leads to all members of this organization being extremely low-key.
So low-key that there isn't even a single rumor about them.
They didn't even invite the three legendary "Kings of the Undead" mentioned occasionally in the legends of Human Kingdoms: the Dragon Lich, the Titan Lich, and the Shadow King Terror.
This was precisely to avoid attracting attention!
It's clear that contacting [Corpus of the Abyss] is difficult; one can only passively wait for its members to appear.
"Perhaps the "news of the Leader's death" is a good thing..."
This thought flashed through Minori's mind. He had now returned to the Lava Zone, and the plan to recruit Brian was very successful.
Given his talent and innate abilities, it was worth bringing him under his command. The only worry was whether this incident would affect Brian's disposition.
"The Leader's desire to contact [Corpus of the Abyss] was misguided from the start." Minori thought about the Leader's actions and shook his head.
[Corpus of the Abyss] definitely doesn't want to attract attention, whether it was Zurrernorn's actions 20 years ago that shook the Kingdoms, or the current large commotion created in the Hills.
Such high-profile actions were destined for failure!
Therefore, Minori felt that the spread of the "Leader's death" news might not be a bad thing.
The authenticity of the Leader's identity was actually not important!
"To make this group from [Corpus of the Abyss] take the bait, 'knowledge' is the only lure."
Minori walked on the scorching ground, thinking as he moved towards the direction of the lava sea.
The Undead lost the desires of the living, but this indirectly made their thirst for knowledge stronger, especially regarding "magical knowledge".
The power to create the two legendary Undead, Death Knight and Soul Eater, which the Leader possessed, also spread with the end of the Hills incident.
The people from [Corpus of the Abyss] would surely be interested.
"A True Dragon King, I wonder which one it is."
Minori had arrived at the edge of the lava sea cliff. Looking at the flowing hot lava below, a hint of depth appeared in his eyes.
The most important reason he wanted to contact [Corpus of the Abyss] was the True Dragon King who had already taken control of the organization.
Such an important clue.
Minori wasn't planning to let it go. Only by obtaining more detailed information could he understand this unknown True Dragon King better, and thus avoid or utilize its strength.
With a "plop"!
Minori's figure leaped down from the towering cliff.
Whoosh!
The surface of the semi-liquid, reddish-orange flowing lava indented into a pit, from which a large amount of fire erupted.
Minori was not affected by the high temperature or flames at all, and he plunged into the depths of the lava sea, disappearing from view.
Return to Oasis
-- Despair Valley.
The Oasis where the Human tribe was located.
The dry, muggy climate of the environment did not affect the Human figures farming near the Oasis water source.
Seeds were very precious.
In this desolate valley, every single seed represented survival and hope.
Yaraal filled two wooden buckets from the Oasis spring, carrying one bucket in each hand, and walked carefully towards the newly cultivated field.
At each spot where a seed was planted, she scooped water twice with both hands to water it, never wasting a single drop.
She stayed busy until noon.
Only then did Yaraal straighten her back, stretch out her wheat-colored arms, and wipe the sweat from her cheek where silver hair clung.
Seeing the watered field, Yaraal smiled happily.
By autumn, they would surely harvest a lot of grain. Although they weren't short of food now.
The Gray Dwarves were annihilated, and much of their grain and food had been transported to their Oasis, but who would complain about having too much stored food?
After a simple lunch.
Yaraal, as usual, put her armor back on and patrolled the area around the Oasis with her spear. This was a very demanding task.
The tribe's population was small, and it was also the busy farming season, so the main patrolling work was done by her alone.
Yaraal didn't feel it was hard; rather, it was one of the few things she looked forward to during the day.
Half a year had passed.
'Maybe Hero will return any time now,' Yaraal always believed this inwardly, yet she also worried a little.
Would Hero encounter danger? She heard Grandpa say that areas outside the Oasis were filled with all sorts of unknown dangers.
Along the way.
There were figures greeting her everywhere, and Yaraal responded to each one.
"Sister Yaraal." A timid voice came from not far away.
Yaraal stopped and looked at a boy running over from nearby. His face was dusty, and his clothes were somewhat ragged.
No one in their tribe was skilled at making clothes, and they also lacked the necessary materials. Additionally, the valley's climate was always hot, so most people didn't wear much.
The boy's clothes, with noticeably large cuffs and hem, yet fitting him well, clearly came from the Gray Dwarves. Perhaps they were taken from a corpse.
A very common situation.
"Little Nick, what's wrong?" Yaraal seemed very familiar with the boy, bending down and saying with a smile.
"This is for you."
Little Nick opened his hands and took out a fist-sized fruit.
Yaraal rubbed Little Nick's head and took the fruit: "Then I won't be polite. I still have to patrol."
"Sister Yaraal, when will Hero return?" Little Nick asked with hope in his voice.
The smile on Yaraal face dimmed slightly, then vanished in an instant: "Sister doesn't know either, but he will definitely come back."
"Why do you keep asking about this lately? Help your aunt cultivate the field more and don't think too much."
Yaraal extended a finger, lightly tapped Little Nick's forehead, smiled brightly with her wheat-colored cheek, waved, and walked towards the outside of the Oasis.
Watching Yaraal's figure gradually leave.
The timid expression on Little Nick's face disappeared. His face revealed coldness and disgust, and a hint of gold appeared in the outer ring of his Black pupils.
"I hate waiting the most!"
"I--hate you the most!"
A thick malicious whisper, almost imperceptible, sounded:
"There shouldn't be other Humans in this place!"
"Oh, Supreme and Exalted King... Is this punishment for me disobeying orders... No, no..."
Little Nick's face twisted slightly into a grimace, but instantly returned to normal, making it seem as though everything just now was an illusion.
He had been waiting here for half a year, and the other party still hadn't appeared. It didn't matter, he had plenty of time!
Approaching dusk.
Yaraal had also finished patrolling the area around the Oasis. As she was about to return, she noticed a Black figure appearing in the desert, walking towards her with the setting sun behind him.
A sudden situation!
Caused Yaraal to raise her spear and become alert.
"Yaraal , long time no see."
Yaraal was startled at first, then her grip on the spear loosened, and her face filled with surprise and excitement: "Hero!"
Crackling~
The flames of the burning wood campfire leaped in the night. The Humans of the Oasis tribe danced joyfully around the fire.
Looking at the piles of food in front of him.
Minori sighed helplessly and spoke to Yaraal, who was kneeling beside him: "This food is enough, no need to add more."
"Okay."
Yaraal's cheeks were slightly flushed by the campfire light, and she nodded with a cheerful smile.
"Yaraal, go get a cup of boiled and warmed water." Chief Yarman saw his daughter's appearance, coughed lightly, and said with a weathered voice.
Yaraal smile paused, and she left Minori's side somewhat reluctantly.
"Yaraal is much more cheerful than before."
Minori turned to Chief Yarman and said.
"That's all thanks to Hero."
Chief Yarman bowed, his tone respectful with a hint of emotion: "That child used to carry a lot of burdens on her shoulders, and everyone put too much pressure on her."
"If it weren't for Hero's rescue, annihilating the Gray Dwarves, we would likely have disappeared from this valley."
Chief Yarman expressed his solemn gratitude again: "Our Oasis tribe has nothing to repay you."
Everyone in the tribe was saved by the young man before them. He was also Human like them, although his origin was mysterious.
But for their Oasis tribe, it wasn't a problem at all. If Hero hadn't shown any interest.
Chief Yarman had even planned to give up his position as chief.
"How is the Oasis where the Gray Dwarves were now?" Minori became a bit serious and asked.
"According to Hero's plan, after we withdrew from the Gray Dwarves' Oasis, we gave this Oasis to the Half-Orcs."
"But they didn't show any interest. Currently, this Oasis remains in a desolate state." Chief Yarman immediately replied solemnly, his eyes showing confusion and bewilderment.
That was a complete Oasis!
If it weren't for the scarcity of their Human members, with only a few thousand people unable to occupy two Oases, if someone gave them an Oasis for free, he would definitely accept it.
Minori was calm and not surprised by this answer.
After arriving at Despair Valley, Minori had already used Teleport magic to visit the Gray Dwarves' Oasis first and checked the situation there.
The previous question was actually partly a test.
After all, half a year had passed, and the situation on the Human side was unknown. A simple test could determine whether he should trust the Oasis tribe next.
"It is indeed strange."
Minori frowned slightly.
An entire Oasis was empty, and the Half-Orcs showed no interest at all. This was a desolate desert area lacking water sources.
"Have you gathered any other information from the Half-Orcs?" Minori asked again.
Chief Yarman dared not conceal anything and said: "We used the weapons, food, and some other resources obtained from the Gray Dwarves to trade with the Half-Orcs."
"The process was very smooth, but we didn't learn much about the outside world or the Orc Kingdom. That group of Half-Orcs also seemed to know little."
Chief Yarman explained in detail, afraid that Minori would be dissatisfied with the result and suspect that he hadn't done his best.
Strange!
Minori was pensive. He always felt there was something strange, but for a moment, he couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"If the chief doesn't mind, could you elaborate on the situation over the past half year?" Minori said to Chief Yarman.
"No problem, Hero."
Chief Yarman began to introduce the events of the past half year, little by little, especially regarding the transactions with the Half-Orcs and other matters.
The people who were celebrating and dancing.
Noticing Minori and the chief discussing matters, stopped their dancing and revelry, and voluntarily lowered their voices, afraid of disturbing the two of them.
Yaraal soon brought the warm water and sat quietly to the side, refilling water for Minori and Chief Yarman from time to time.
The night quickly passed in conversation.
A hint of dawn appeared in the east.
The campfire flames had also died down, emitting blue smoke.
Minori snapped out of his thoughts and only then noticed the exhausted Chief Yarman, whose eyelids were constantly fluttering, struggling to stay awake.
And on the ground not far away, the people of the Oasis lay sprawled out, sleeping soundly. Clearly, this group had stayed up with him all night.
"Yaraal, tell everyone to go back and rest first."
Minori spoke softly to Yaraal beside him, a faint glint flashing in his eyes.
He realized where the problem was!
The Half-Orcs actually traded very smoothly with the Humans. One should know that in the eyes of these Demi-humans, Humans were an inferior race.
Even if it was because of the destruction of the Gray Dwarves, the Half-Orcs couldn't possibly show such a friendly attitude.
Furthermore!
Minori also discovered an overlooked issue: why did the Gray Dwarves only attack the Humans now!
The reason the Gray Dwarves attacked the Humans was due to a lack of water sources and a surge in their population, causing that Oasis to no longer be able to support the entire Gray Dwarves tribe.
The problem lies here--
Why did the Gray Dwarves only launch an attack when the Oasis could no longer support the entire tribe's population, instead of annihilating the Humans earlier?
Given the Gray Dwarves' capabilities, they could have done it earlier.
"It's a bit like they were forced to exterminate the Humans out of necessity." Minori murmured to himself, his gaze gradually becoming solemn.
"Hero."
A timid voice sounded.
Minori snapped out of his thoughts and looked at a boy of eleven or twelve years old opposite him, who was walking over cautiously.
"You are?"
Minori tried his best to show a gentle smile on his face and spoke softly.
"His name is Little Nick." Yaraal helped Chief Yarman up at this moment and was the first to speak with a smile.
"Oh, Little Nick, is something wrong?"
"Um... did Hero come here alone?"
"Yes, just me." Minori smiled.
Little Nick lowered his head slightly and mumbled: "So there's only one person."
In an instant.
Little Nick appeared before Minori in the blink of an eye, as if Teleporting.
Minori's gaze changed instantly.
"Qi Blast Fist"!
A small fist swung out, instantly shattering the air in front of it. A visible spreading impact hit Minori's front.
Boom!
A roar like muffled thunder exploded out of nowhere.
Minori's figure turned into a black stream of light, smashing through large trees on the Oasis and crashing into the distant desert.