Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

In the end, apart from Honid, the other Lizard Men had no choice but to nod their heads and agree to Fang Zheng’s demands. Of course, the main reason for this was that the appearance of the Swarm was too intimidating; it goes to show that sometimes looking terrifying can indeed save you trouble. At least Fang Zheng didn’t have to waste his words communicating with these Lizard Men anymore...

”Follow them, hide yourselves, find the Land of Origin and then contact me.”

Fang Zheng pulled together a small squad comprised of cockroaches, Jumping Bugs, Aliens, and Hydralisks, and then cut the spiritual connection after issuing orders to the lead Hydralisk. Originally, he had wanted to accompany them to see the situation for himself, but that Lizard Man named Honid was incredibly annoying. He seemed to really treat his own Swarm as some kind of ”Royal Family’s Guardians,” babbling on incessantly and talking rubbish to Fang Zheng the whole way. Fang Zheng had never thought he’d encounter such a brain-dead idiot with delusions of grandeur in the Main World. To avoid getting wrapped up in his nonsense, Fang Zheng simply cut off the communication... Anyway, as long as he wasn’t there, the Swarm couldn’t understand a word the other party was saying, so it was as if that idiot became just a source of noise pollution.

And now, Fang Zheng understood why that fool had been thrown out by his own tribe... No one wants someone who constantly spouts nonsense and deludes themselves into thinking it’s real on their turf. If Fang Zheng had someone under his command who fantasized about being a descendant of some lost kingdom’s Royal Clan and believed they were destined to return to glory one day, Fang Zheng would have kicked that person out without hesitation as well.

If it were just simple adolescent fantasies, it might have been considered cute if it were a female, or even amusing if it were a male. But the problem was that the Lizard Man was dead serious; he truly believed he was a descendant of a kingdom and was even willing to risk his and his comrades’ lives to prove it... That made Fang Zheng feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Of course, these were conclusions drawn from a human perspective. Perhaps the Lizard Men’s values were different from humans’, but no matter what... let’s just see how it goes first.

Meanwhile, those Lizard Men had already started on their way back home. However, their demeanor was not as composed as before...

”Do you say... we really have to bring those terrifying creatures back to the Land of Origin?”

As one of the Lizard Men spoke, he looked back warily, but there was nothing behind them. The fearsome Creatures that had been following them had disappeared without a trace.

”Even if we don’t want to, what choice do we have?”

Another Lizard Man had come to a realization by this time.

”Either we die in the mouths of those Creatures or we go back to the Land of Origin. Do you think we have a third option?”

”But those Creatures are very powerful... I’m worried they’ll harm the Horde...”

The third Lizard Man was clearly more concerned about his own Horde. Although they had been cast out by their tribe as expendable, it didn’t mean everyone was as resentful towards their own Horde as Honid. Even though these sudden-appearing Creatures had eradicated those dreadful Chaos Monsters and even dispersed the perpetual fog that shrouded the land, well...

After all, the appearance of the Zerg... you know.

”No matter what, this is all Honid’s responsibility.”

Muttering to themselves, the Lizard Men unanimously looked towards Honid, who was walking at the front. Evidently, this Lizard Man hadn’t noticed his comrades’ dissatisfaction with him—as Fang Zheng had thought, if Honid’s delusions had only made him go mad by himself that would have been one thing, but in that situation, his arrogant actions alone could have been enough for all of them to die at the hands of those Creatures had the latter not been too lazy to deal with them.

Even though they eventually left unharmed, it was clear that these Lizard Men wouldn’t be grateful to Honid.

Not to mention, this guy still actually believed that it was because of him that the others were able to escape danger...

The Fragment Tribe was located deep underground, with passages leading in all directions, and along the way, one could not see any fire or markers. However, these Lizard Men seemed to have the ability to see in the dark and were very familiar with these pathways. They wound their way down through the tunnels in a specific order towards the depths of the earth, their movement silent on the hard ground. Aside from a pair of eyes emitting a faint glow in the dark, nearly no creature could detect their presence—this was also why the Lizard Men had managed to survive in the dangerous underground until now, as well as why they were reluctant to go up to the surface.

But underground resources were scarce.

This was also why these Lizard Men were willing to risk leaving the underground to search the surface. The underground was too dangerous for them—those areas with abundant resources were guarded by powerful underground Creatures, and the Lizard Men at the level of a primitive society couldn’t confront those Creatures. Therefore, they had to muster their courage and seek out resources from the surface to sustain their lives.

As they turned another corner, a hint of light finally appeared before them.

A massive stone emitting a cold light lay diagonally on a platform not far away, illuminating the great door in front of them—the door itself was made of iron and even seemed a bit rusty. The adjacent walls were even more decrepit, just stone piled up to make a barrier, and whether it could withstand enemies was doubtful.

Honid, full of vigor, swaggered up to the iron gate and began pounding on it with his hand.

”Open up, we’re back!!”

”Honid?”

Upon hearing Honid’s shout, another Lizard Man peeked out from a gap in the wall.

”How did you guys get back so soon? What did you bring back? Did you bring nothing at all? That won’t do, you know the Horde’s rules—if you haven’t brought back anything useful for the Horde, then you’re no longer considered members of the Horde!”

”.........”

Hearing the response from the sentry, several Lizard Men fell into silence. This was the tradition of the Fragment Tribe, as well as their rule. Underground resources were limited; unless one could prove their sufficient ”usefulness” to the Horde, they would be thrown out to become Collectors, until they could bring back something to prove their worth.

However, Honid seemed to not care about the sentry’s mockery. He stood proudly at the entrance, then raised his hands.

”Indeed, I haven’t brought back any resources, but I’ve brought back information that is more important than resources! The curse that enshrouded the surface has dissipated! And those terrible Demon Creatures have been destroyed along with it! What’s more, we’ve encountered a group of Aliens who are willing to submit to me and fight for me!”

”Submit to you?”

Hearing Honid’s response, the sentry on the walls snorted with laughter.

”You’re still lost in your wild fantasies. Well, even if they are willing to submit to you, where are these Aliens you speak of?”

Unfazed by the sentry’s mockery, Honid was well aware of the terrifying creatures’ ability to lurk underground. In his mind, these creatures must also be hiding close by, beneath the ground, observing his every move to confirm that he was truly the master they were to serve... And so, without any hesitation, Honid threw up his hands and shouted loudly.

”Come forth, my servants! Reveal yourselves to this world once more!!”

”.........”

There was no response.

It was utterly quiet around him, as if there was nothing nearby at all.

”Pfft.”

The sentry snorted with laughter, then retracted his head and started stuffing stones back into the gap.

”Get lost! The Horde has no use for useless people like you! Go away! Don’t come back unless you’ve completed your mission!!”

”......”

As for the other Lizard Men, they seemed to have anticipated this scene and only Honid stood there stunned. He couldn’t understand where things had gone wrong. Hadn’t he earned their approval? That couldn’t be; he had clearly passed those trials. Why? Why had it come to this?

For a few minutes, Honid stood dumbfounded at the doorway, then he suddenly took off towards another direction.

”Wait, where are you going?”

”I’m going to a place. I must have overlooked something; I know I have something very important to do!”

After saying this, Honid walked into the nearby tunnel without looking back, while the other Lizard Men watched his departing figure, hesitating.

”What do we do now?”

”The Elders won’t let us in. The Horde’s rules have never changed...”

”That... I have an idea,” said one of the Lizard Men suddenly raising a hand.

”Since the Horde won’t allow us to return, why don’t we live on the surface? We might ask those Aliens to let us live on their territory, or we could simply leave for another place... Now that the curse is lifted and those terrible Demon Creatures are gone, can’t we find a better place?”

”This... that makes sense...”

On hearing this, the other Lizard Men lit up with a realization. Indeed, they couldn’t return to the Horde, but that didn’t mean they had no other options! They could move to the surface or even to other regions. If they could survive, perhaps the surface would offer better conditions than the underground!

But the problem was...

”What about Honid? What will he do?”

”...Let him be. I’ve had enough of his madness.”