Chapter 156: The Lizard Queen
【Aiyo, my host. You sure are fast!】
System 12345 was heartened to see how quickly Shu Yichao had entered Zhujubo. This meant that its guidance was effective.
【I bet you are a somewhat famous adventurer by now.】
He has conquered quite a few capture targets by now. No matter how he hides it, others will still notice their chummy ties.
【However, you should lie low in this city. Don’t cause any commotion. Don’t let anyone notice you. Sneak into the group of slaves that is going to be offered as the Lizard Queen’s tribute.】
System 12345 shared his plan.
【The Lizard Queen is able to tame powerful sand monitors into obedient pets. She has transfused sand monitor blood into herself, which made her overconfident in her pets and overlook developing her fighting capabilities.】
【What we’re going to do is to secretly tame all her pets. When the time comes, we’ll rise up and subdue her. When it’s all done, you’ll be able to do whatever you want to the lofty Lizard Queen… Ehehehe!】
The Lizard Queen has always trusted her loyal and powerful pets, thinking that she could always rely on them in times of danger.
In the end, the Lizard Queen could only cry tears of indignation as she was conquered in front of her pets…
The Lizard Queen who has tamed so many beasts would have never thought that a day would come when it was tamed like a wild beast too.
【Tsk tsk! Thinking about it makes my heart race. Ehehe, time to post the mission!】
To spare itself from the hassle of typing out everything, System 12345 designated the mission to be traveling to where the Lizard Queen was, and the reward was a beast-taming harness.
…
The frigid gale of the night desert was like invisible knives that stung the faces of travelers, as if immersing one’s face in a tub of iced water in the middle of winter.
The desert was a hostile environment; it was scorching hot in the day, only to turn unbearably cold at night.
The envoy kneeled on the floor, allowing the coldness to permeate his bones.
Not far away from him were hissing sand monitors. Their foul-smelling saliva dribbled on the ground, leaving wet marks on the dry sand. From time to time, they would spit out a couple of goat bones from their mouth filled with sharp teeth.
Before him was a beautiful woman adorned with precious jewels, leaning against an exceptionally huge sand monitor. She was accompanied by a servant and maid dressed in thin veil.
The Lizard Queen had a seductive figure, but the envoy kept his head lowered and his eyes on the ground, fearing that a misstep would turn him into lizard fodder.
“That’s how it is,” the trembling envoy said.
To be honest, he was impressed with himself for daring to plant ideas in the Lizard Queen. Amidst his polite and humble words, he had surreptitiously painted a picture for her.
He claimed that the enemies invading Zhujubo were weak but many. Their city lord was so flustered to see so many enemies that he anxiously sent out envoys to request reinforcement, and he was willing to accept any terms as long as the other party could save his life.
His description of the enemy happened to be what the Lizard Queen was adept at dealing with.
Her sand monitors were not only strong but boasted immense stamina as well, and they were highly adept at desert warfare too. As long as the enemies weren’t too strong, she could easily stomp them down.
The envoy was confident that his proposition would move the Lizard Queen.
The Lizard Queen casually looked at her slender fingers with her dark yellow eyes before gently scratching them against the sand monitor’s scale, producing a scritching sound.
“Oh?” The Lizard Queen chuckled softly. “What a rare sight. That cowardly scrooge finally knows fear? He would have long been overrun by angry slaves if not for me! Yet, he shows no gratitude. The tribute I receive has been getting worse with each year. It’s only now when he’s in danger that he finally starts to regret.
“Hmm, why don’t you tell me whether he’s deserving of my generosity?”
Cold sweat rained from the kneeling envoy.
Unbearable silence followed. Only the hissing of the sand monitors could be occasionally heard.
After a long wait, the Lizard Queen finally replied, “I can help him, but… I expect three times the tribute in the future!”
The envoy heaved a long sigh of relief. “Lizard Queen, we are grateful for your generosity.”
“Hmph!” The Lizard Queen harrumphed. “You may return now. My babies and I need to rest.”
“Ah?” The envoy raised his head and looked at the Lizard Queen in confusion.
“I’m saying that I’ll set off in a few days’ time,” the Lizard Queen replied with a mesmerizing smile. “What’s wrong? Is Zhujubo in such a precarious position that it can’t even survive a few more days?”
I can’t send reinforcements that quickly. That scrooge might renege on his promise if he doesn’t suffer a little.
“Or do you wish to stay behind to accompany me and my babies?”
“No need, no need!”
The envoy anxiously got to his feet and fled. How could he dare linger when he knew what kind of people mages were?
It was not unheard of for a mage’s disciple to disappear, only for a certain part of their body to reappear a few days later as an artifact… As an outsider, he wouldn’t dare dwell at a mage’s base for too long.
I’m too young to die!
So, the envoy fled in a fluster to the Lizard Queen’s coy laughter and under her maid’s and servant’s watch.
“Hmph!”
The Lizard Queen leaned back against her sand monitor’s body and stroked its head, lulling the latter into closing its eyes.
“All right, my baby. It’s about time to rest…”
All of a sudden, the ground suddenly shook.
A huge cloud of dust was thumped into the air before slowly drifting down. The sensitive sand monitors quickly stood up and warily watch the distance.
“Hmph! What an annoyance.” The Lizard Queen raised her head in irritation. “Looks like we have some discourteous guests. We should teach them a lesson on manners.”
“Sssss!” the sand monitors hissed in agreement.
Under the Lizard Queen’s orders, the sand monitors charged into the night like a pack of ravenous wolves.