<Lizardmen Town, eastern part of the kingdom of Durcia>
Three lizardmen sat in a tavern, silent as they stared at the large jugs filled with ale they ordered. Like most of their species, those three are basically big lizards with human-like arms and legs.
"I'm really curious who did the human hunting." One of them, green-scaled, snorted. "We've lived quite comfortably here, even though trapped in this small town."
Another lizardman, brown-scaled, laughed. "I actually agree with those who do that. It's about time we get revenge because humans often kidnap our children for research subjects."
"But our position is becoming difficult." The green lizard shook their heads. "If humans get suspicious of us, they might reduce our supply of goods, and they can demand that our meat be sold to them cheaper."
"I hate that thought of yours." The brown lizard hit the table. "I'm sick of being bullied like this. Let them not send supplies to us. It's just liquor, drugs, and textiles. We don't need those things. And those butchers should have the courage to refuse if the humans forced them to sell at a low price. The quality of our meat is the best."
"It's not that easy." The green lizard took a sip of his ale. "It took a hard struggle until we finally changed our lives from hunters to breeders. We're not as pathetic as the elves over there. And now some people are destroying…."
"Guys." A black-scaled lizardman, who had been silent from the start, interrupted. He ate a jerky from the plate on the table, then continued. "Why are you thinking about such things? Let it be the affairs of the upper party. We can still work, eat, make love with our wife, and drink, right?"
The green lizard took another gulp of his ale. "I'm just worried that our lives will change. I already have children and a wife, you know?"
"Hey, do you guys think joining Vorn might be better?" The brown lizard looked at his jug sadly.
"Really?" The green lizard shook his head. "You talk about that when we…."
The sound of an explosion from a distance triggers the three of them to fall silent. Meanwhile, other diners started asking each other what had happened.
Those three lizardmen looked at each other, nodded, then immediately dashed out after leaving money on their table.
The maroon uniforms on their bodies demanded that they be alert in situations like this.
Even though those three would always be hated outside this city, they were still warriors under the kingdom of Durcia. This is their responsibility.
They ran down the street with rundown buildings on either side, gazing at the purple smoke in the distance.
Other explosions continued to appear from various directions.
"What's that!?" The brown lizard pointed at the figures flying in the sky.
"Succubi." The green lizard hissed while looking at those winged women.
This town didn't have a regiment of wyvern riders, so they wouldn't stand a chance.
The succubi dropped the spherical objects in their hands. As soon as those things landed on the ground or buildings, they would explode without fire and only scattering purple smoke.
"What should we do?" the black lizard asked, growling as the smoking bomb fell several yards in front of them. "We don't know what exactly they dropped."
"At least we have to meet the leader first." The green lizard motioned for his friends to turn at an intersection, avoiding the purple smoke that was starting to spread.
However, as soon as they turned to that corner, they found a thin layer of smoke continuing to spread.
The lizardmen within the smog were staggering, and some had even fainted.
"Shit!" The green lizard and company turned around, only to be struck by the smoke from another bomb.
"I feel dizzy." Instead of continuing to run, the brown lizard knelt down.
"Hey, don't stop!!!" The green lizard shouted.
And then, the black lizard collapsed.
And when he was about to approach his two colleagues, the green lizard felt that his legs were weak, his vision was starting to blur, and his head was dizzy.
No matter how hard he tried to stand up, the green lizard couldn't take it anymore. He also knelt down.
He couldn't smell anything from the smoke, even though he was a lizardman with a keen sense of smell. But the effect of the smoke is like a very potent drug.
Even so, the green lizard did not give up. He took out a knife from his belt and thrust that thing into his arm.
"Arrggghhh!!!" He shouted as his blood rushed out.
***
"I prefer if we fight as usual. No need to use troublesome methods like this." A minotaur on Ritor's side, has reddish fur, commented.
"This is an order from Lord Vorn." The general looked at the buildings in the distance. Some of the smoke had indeed been carried by the wind to him. However, he and the troops he brought wore cloth masks enchanted with magic. So, they will not be affected. "He must have his own reasons for doing this. Don't argue."
Ritor had learned a lot about his master's will.
The minotaur at Ritor's side scratched his hair. "Well, I just hope what you said is true. That many bombs will be unable to put the whole city to sleep. Hopefully, there really is some warrior who can still fight. The journey here is quite far. It's been too long since I got the real fight."
A succubus landed before Ritor, immediately giving a report. "We've dropped all the sleeping bombs, sir Ritor. As we already know, our bombs don't cover entire cities. So, we saw some lizardmen running or hiding."
"Great." The minotaur general wore a smile filled with anticipation. He turned to face his subordinates, who numbered in the thousands, and most of them were minotaurs. "Let's find tough opponents in this town!!! We will have fun!!! You already feel the desire to fight through your veins, right?"
They shouted while raising their hands. Then, Ritor led them to march toward that town.
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