The Lizardman Heroes

by Kugane Maruyama

  In his personal life, he also had marriage arrangements to make—with multiple women. Currently there were only three awakened demigods in the Slane Theocracy, so the higher-ups were euphemistically ordering him to leave behind lots of children.

  With all those things piled up, he had precious little free time. “Still, I hope they’ll let me relax for today.”

  Feeling liberated after the high priest meeting, the highest meeting in the Slane Theocracy, he rotated his shoulders—and a clicking noise caught his attention.

  He knew who was making the sound before he saw her. Even among Slane Theocracy citizens, only a few were allowed in here, and if he recalled who wasn’t in the meeting room, the answer was obvious.

  As he expected, there was a girl leaning against the wall. Strangely, her longish hair was a different color on each side. One side was a striking silver and the other was so black it seemed to suck everything in. Her eyes were also each different colors. Next to her, a war scythe that resembled a cross spear rested against the wall. She looked so young—probably still in her early teens—but her true age was quite different. She hadn’t changed at all since he’d assumed the first seat of the Black Scripture.

  His eyes moved to her ears, hidden by her hair—but then stopped. He knew she hated her ears.

  Her glossy lips curled up, like perhaps she had read his thoughts.

  She, born a mix of two bloods that was nearly impossible, was the strongest member of the Black Scripture, the additional seat, “No Death–No Life.” She served as the guardian of this sacred place where the armaments of the Five Pillar Gods were laid to rest.

  The soft noises came from a toy she was playing with, popularized by the Six Gods and called a rubik-q in the Slane Theocracy.

  Her voice reached him, mingled with the clicks. “It’s easy to get one side, but it’s hard to get two, you know?”

  It wasn’t very hard for him, but he hesitated to say so and just grinned at her in reply.

  It seemed like she didn’t really want a response anyhow, and she continued, not seeming to think anything of his silence, “What the heck happened here that the high priests would meet?”

  “I think you’ve already received the report…”

  “I haven’t read it,” she replied flatly. “Besides, it’s easier to hear the situation from someone who knows. Was Star Reader–Second Sight’s reading wrong? You sortied to dominate the Catastrophe Dragonlord, and then what?”

  Their eyes didn’t meet even once while they spoke. She was focused on her toy the whole time.

  “…We lost two men and had one critically injured in a fight with some unknown type of undead similar to a vampire. So we retreated.”

  “Who died?”

  He didn’t detect even a hint of emotion in her question despite the deaths in her squad. It was like she was hearing a story that had happened in a far-off place. But he didn’t think anything of it. It was an appropriate attitude for her to take.

  “Cedran, who was protecting Lady Kaire, and Beaumarchais, who tried to restrain the vampire when it had stopped moving.”

  “Giant Shield–Perfect Wall and Godly Realm–Iron Ties, huh? What with the shrine princess of Earth dying in some mysterious explosion and the Black Scripture losing two members…we’re having pretty bad luck. Who got injured?”

  “Lady Kaire. It seems like the effect of some curse; her wound wouldn’t heal with magic, so we retreated.”

  “So what happened to the vampire?”

  “It’s still there. If we tried to restrain or even approach it, it prepared to attack, so we figured leaving it there was the best option.”

  “So the problem’s not solved, then.”

  “…We decided during the meeting just now to hang back.”

  That was the conclusion they’d reached in that room. Rather than risk bigger losses by messing it up, they would leave it there until they had built up their strength for combat. There was probably no one in any other country who could beat that undead anyhow, and if there were, they would need to be cautious of such power and prepare their national defenses accordingly. They had decided to leave the bare minimum number of agents and withdraw the rest.

  And he agreed, at least in part.

  The only ones who could face that vampire head-on and win were probably demigods and dragonlords. So it was smarter to leave it there as an alarm and be on guard against whoever killed it.

  “Hmm. It can’t be a vampire…”

  He agreed. That was why he had called it some unknown type of undead.

  “It’s not a dragonlord? The Vampiric Dragonlord or the Elder Coffin Dragonlord?”

  The edges of her lips turned up farther into the clear shape of a smile—if an expression that brutal could be a smile, that is.

  “…Both of them are already dead, you know,” he said, sensing a chill in the air.

  She replied immediately. “They’re both undead. We don’t know that they’re really gone.” She raised her head for the first time and met his gaze squarely. The light in her different-colored eyes was curiosity, joy, and the urge to do battle. “Between me and the vampire, who do you think is stronger?”

  He had anticipated this question, so he gave the response he’d prepared in advance. “You.”

  “Oh…” She seemed to lose interest and went back to her toy.

  He gave a sigh of relief in his head.

  “That’s too bad. I thought I could learn what it’s like to lose…”

  Listening to her mutter, he wondered who would really be stronger if they clashed. He’d been hit by both of them, and from his experience, he would guess the vampire would be declared the winner. But actually, the vampire could never win against No Death–No Life.

  The reason was their gear. The vampire didn’t seem to be equipped with anything. That was the weakness of powerful monsters—they had so much confidence in their abilities that they didn’t think to equip powerful gear.

  In comparison, No Death–No Life’s equipment was made up of pieces left by the Six Gods. That was why he could declare her stronger. But if that advantage disappeared…? That could never happen. He rejected the idea as soon as it occurred. It would be impossible to find gear equal to hers—the gods’.

  So if it were possible? That could be the day the Slane Theocracy’s strongest, the additional seat, lost. It would be the day they faced the despair of the protector of humanity’s defeat.

  Wait, why am I assuming she would have to fight alone? I may not be as strong as her, but I’m an awakened demigod, and I have some items we could use. If we took advantage of all that, surely we’d be able to take out one undead, even if it was immensely powerful. There can’t be a bunch of them if they’re that strong. Lost in thought, he heard a giggle. He twisted his face into a quizzical frown and eyed its source.

  “Here’s a different topic: When are you gonna get married?”

  It was an unresolved topic from the meeting. When would he find a suitable woman—to put it nicely, a fiancée; to put it less nicely, a tool for reproducing?

  “There isn’t anybody.”

  “Well, you’re still young, so I guess it can’t be helped.”

  While conducting Black Scripture business, members wore magic masks to give them fake faces. In the Slane Theocracy, adulthood was prescribed in law by the gods as age twenty, but when he took off his mask, he was far younger than that.

  “If you get married, she’ll end up on the dark side of the theocracy, too…but you don’t have to worry about it. She’ll still get to raise your kids.”

  “I know that. There are already some people doing it in the scriptures.”

  “I see. Oh, but you should make sure to tell her you’ll be marrying another woman besides just her. Polygamy isn’t a problem legally, but some people hate it even though they’ve been taught that.”

  Polygamy was allowed in the Slane Theocracy if one had permission from the state. It was a vestige of the past historical custom born
from a need to maintain pure bloodlines of the few powerful citizens available. Still, the majority of marriages were monogamous, and only a handful of polygamous cases were approved per year. And even when it was approved, the limit was two wives.

  “Thanks for the kind advice. And what about you? You’re not getting married?”

  She did look young, but he was asking because he knew she was really older.

  “Hmm. If there was a guy who could defeat me, I’d marry him no matter how ugly he was, no matter how twisted a personality he had…even if he wasn’t human. I mean, imagine—a guy who could defeat me! I wonder how strong our kid would be…” With a hand on her lower abdomen, she replied with her first ear-to-ear grin of the day, and he was sure she had no intention to marry.

  But what if someone who could defeat that vampire appeared?

  A slight uneasiness flickered across his mind.

  Chapter 3 | The Army of Death

  1

  “Oh, hey. We can see it now!” Seated behind the other two on Rororo, Zenbel grinned at the scene ahead.

  A few hundred yards in front of them, the first village that had been targeted—home of the Razor Tail tribe—was coming into view. It was about the same size as the Green Claw village, but it looked bigger—probably because lizardmen from other tribes were gathering there. Since they were in the middle of preparing for the war, anyone working was moving in a hurry.

  “I can’t get enough of this atmosphere!” Zenbel inhaled sharply through his nose and sniffed the air. The smell got his blood pumping and invited even more excitement.

  Meanwhile, Crusch, who had probably never smelled anything like it before, had a different impression from the males. “Isn’t it dangerous to ride in on Rororo like this?” Currently in plant monster garb, she was anxious about the tension that she could sense from so far away. She was afraid that if they approached on the hydra, the agitated lizardmen might charge at them.

  They might know Zaryusu’s face, but not Crusch’s or Zenbel’s, and besides, just because some of the Razor Tail tribe members knew him didn’t mean they all did.

  “No, it’s the opposite. We’re safe precisely because we’re on Rororo.”

  Crusch looked puzzled—well, he couldn’t see her face, but she certainly seemed puzzled—so he gave a simple explanation.

  “My brother should be here already, and if he is, he definitely told them we were coming on Rororo. They probably already told him they saw us. All we have to do is take our time approaching.”

  In fact, as Rororo continued across the marsh, a single black lizardman appeared. Zaryusu waved at the familiar figure.

  “That’s my brother.”

  “Oh?”

  “Hmm!”

  They reacted in unison—Crusch with pure curiosity, Zenbel like a beast who had discovered another powerful animal.

  As Rororo advanced, the distance between the two brothers shrank. Eventually they grew close enough that they could make out each other’s faces. It had been only three days since they’d seen each other, but when they had parted ways, both had braced for the possibility that they would never meet again. Needless to say, it was an emotional reunion.

  “Hey, you made it, little brother!”

  “Yes, and I bring good news, brother!”

  Shasuryu looked at the two behind his brother. Zaryusu felt Crusch’s arms around him stiffen a bit.

  Rororo stopped right in front of Shasuryu, recognizing him, and stretched out his four heads for some affection.

  “Sorry, but I didn’t bring any food!” Hearing that, Rororo sulkily pulled his heads away. Of course, the hydra couldn’t understand the lizardman language. He must have worked it out through what could be called family understanding. Or maybe he just didn’t smell any food.

  “Okay, let’s get down,” Zaryusu said over his shoulder to the other two before hopping nimbly off. Then he reached out and took Crusch’s hand.

  Shasuryu’s eyes paused on her as she got down, and he frowned suspiciously. “What’s that plant monster?”

  Crusch slumped a bit at receiving the same reaction once again, but she didn’t bother objecting. Her current apathy was probably thanks to Zenbel. But even she wasn’t ready for the bomb Zaryusu dropped.

  “She’s the female I’m in love with.”

  “Ahh!” Shasuryu emitted a sigh of wonderment and turned his shameless gaze on Crusch, who was petrified and still holding Zaryusu’s hand. “Mph…well, there’s only one thing I want to ask. Is she pretty under there?”

  “Yeah, I’m thinking of marr— Ngh!” A sudden pain in his hand made Zaryusu shut his mouth. Crusch had dug her claws into it—hard.

  Shasuryu observed the pair with a dazed expression. “I see…so you like the pretty ones. What was all that about, ‘Oh, I can’t get married’? Trying to act so cool. You just didn’t have the right person! …Anyhow, I’m chief of the Green Claw tribe, Shasuryu Shasha. I’m grateful to you for becoming our ally.”

  His tone brooked no disagreement because of the nature of their coming together, but Crusch and Zenbel had no need to be shaken by him now.

  “Likewise. I’m acting chief of the Red Eye tribe, Crusch Lulu.”

  Everyone thought Zenbel would reply after Crusch, but contrary to their expectations, his greeting didn’t come. He showed no restraint as he blatantly appraised Shasuryu.

  Perhaps satisfied, he nodded and spoke with a feral expression. “Hmm, so you’re the one, huh? The warrior who can fight with the powers of a priest? I’ve heard the rumors!”

  “I’m surprised they’ve spread as far as Dragon Tusk,” Shasuryu replied. They were like two wild animals acknowledging each other’s presence.

  “I’m the chief of Dragon Tusk until your little brother says he’s ready to step in. Zenbel Gugu.”

  “So good of you to come. I welcome you as a worthy chief for a tribe that prizes strength above all.”

  “Speaking of which, you wanna have a quick fight? Don’t you think it’ll be easier to talk if we know who’s strongest?”

  “…I’m not opposed to it…”

  Zaryusu wasn’t about to stop him. He figured it would be useful to know in various situations going forward.

  Before they could begin, however, Shasuryu held up a hand to curb Zenbel’s urge to fight. “…But it’s kind of a bad time.”

  “Aww, c’moooon!”

  Shasuryu grinned at Zenbel’s discontent. “The ones who are out on patrol will be back pretty soon. Then we should know some details about the enemy. You can wait until after that, right?”

  One hut had been designated as the meeting room for the chiefs. Inside gathered the leaders of each tribe, plus Zaryusu, for a total of six.

  Zaryusu was well known among the other tribes as the male who killed the chief of the Sharp Edge tribe, previous owner of Frost Pain, as well as the hero who convinced them to form the alliance. None of the chiefs had any objection to having him in the meeting.

  The hut wasn’t very big, but the six of them managed to sit in a circle. When Crusch had first shown her white skin, three of the chiefs were unable to hide their surprise, but now they were composure incarnate.

  After formalities, the first one to speak was the Small Fang chief. He had a small body for a lizardman, but his limbs were strong and smooth like steel. Apparently he’d been a hunter, and he probably had the best projectile weapon skills of any lizardman on the lake. In fact, he had ended his fight to become chief by lobbing a single rock.

  “There were a little under five thousand enemies.” He had mobilized all the hunting parties to search for the enemy army.

  That was considerably larger than all the lizardman forces combined, but it wasn’t outside the realm of their expectations. There were even some sighs of relief that their adversaries were so few.

  “…And their leader?”

  “We couldn’t quite figure it out. There was a monster like a big red lump of meat, but as you might expect, it was hard to get clos
e enough to see much.”

  “What’s their order of battle like?”

  “It’s an undead mob, skeletons and zombies.”

  “Were they using lizardman corpses?”

  “No. I don’t know much about land creatures, so I can’t say for sure, but…I think they might be human bodies. They didn’t have any tails,” explained the Small Fang chief.

  Hearing that, Zaryusu was certain they were the plains-dwelling human race.

  “We can’t make the first move and attack them?”

  “It’d be tough. They’re located in a corner of the forest that they’ve cleared to create an open area. I wonder how long that took. I’m also curious where all the lumber went, since we didn’t see it anywhere. Ah, sorry! Guess I’m off topic. Anyhow, they’re in the woods. We may have been able to get in there, but I imagine it’d be difficult with the warriors along.”

  “So what about a hunter-only assault?”

  “There’s no way, Crusch. How do you expect us to take out five thousand undead with twenty-five hunters? They’d catch us and crush us, and it’d be over,” replied the Small Fang chief.

  “Hmm… Then how about mobilizing the priests?” Some nodded at Shasuryu’s suggestion, and their eyes gathered on Crusch—but Zaryusu replied promptly.

  “Let’s skip this plan.”

  “Huh? Why?!”

  “They’ve been keeping their promise so far, but I’m not sure they’ll continue to once we go on the offensive.”

  “You may be right. At the very least, we should wait until everyone is here to attack.”

  “So are we looking at a siege, then?”

  “Hard to defend.” The broken speech came from one of the lizardmen— the Razor Tail chief. He was clad head to toe in white armor with a dull luster.

  The armor was enchanted—if only ever so slightly—and one of the lizardmen’s Four Great Treasures, White Dragon Bone. It was carved from the bones of frost dragons, creatures with a natural ability to chill things and rumored to inhabit the Azerlisia Mountains. That being said, something carved out of plain bones, even the bones of an immensely powerful dragon, wouldn’t be imbued with magic, but at some point, this armor had become magical.