Overlord (LN)

“I think so too. It’s worth listening to him,” the Head Hunter said in a casual tone. The last was the High Priestess, who simply shrugged and replied:

“Of course we should hear him out. Only an idiot would choose to ignore the advice of an experienced individual.”

The council of elders frowned under this barrage of mockery. Shasuryu nodded at the replies of the three leaders, and then raised his chin to indicate that Zaryusu should speak. While still seated, Zaryusu said:

“If I had to choose between fleeing or fighting, I would choose the latter.”

“Oh... and why is that?”

“Because it is the only real option we have.”

Normally speaking, he would have to explain his reasons for saying so if the chief asked for them, but Zaryusu did not elaborate. His attitude seemed to say, That’s all there is.

Shasuryu cupped his chin with his hand, and he looked like he was deep in thought.

...Don’t tell me you’ve realized it as well... Ani-ja.

As Zaryusu struggled to keep his thoughts from showing up on his face, the High Priestess spoke up, a discomfited expression on her face.

“...Still, can we win?”

“Of course!”

The Head Warrior shouted with an intensity that could evaporate the unease in the air, but the High Priestess merely narrowed her eyes.

“...No, I think given our present situation, our chances of victory are very low.”

Zaryusu answered on her behalf, denying the Head Warrior’s words.

“...And what do you mean by that?”

“Head Warrior, the enemy should be fully aware about us — about our fighting strength. Otherwise, they would not sneer so openly at us. That being the case, if we fight them with our current strength, we will not be able to win.”

Then what should we do? As that thought flickered through everyone’s minds, Zaryusu concealed his true intentions and seized the initiative:

“That means we’ll need to defy their expectations... does everyone still remember that war from the past?”

“Of course,” someone replied.

Nobody here was stupid enough to have forgotten the incident that had happened several years ago. Or rather, they would have remembered the fighting no matter how stupid they were.

Seven tribes had occupied this marsh in the past. They were the Green Claw, Small Fang, Razor Tail, Dragon Tusk, Yellow Speckle, Sharp Edge, and Red Eye tribes.

However, only five of those tribes remained now.

That was because there had been a war which had taken many lives and wiped out two tribes.

The cause of that war had been the inability to catch enough fish to feed their people. Eventually, the hunters were forced to leave their territory and fish outside it. Every tribe had done this.

Before long, the hunters from each tribe encountered each other at their fishing spots. Since this matter concerned the food supplies of their respective tribes, they could not back down.

Soon enough, arguments turned to violence, and that violence claimed lives.

After that, the warriors of each tribe began travelling with their hunters to back them up, and thus battles broke out over food.

The war dragged in five of the seven tribes, with the Green Claw, Little Fang, and Razor Tail tribes on one side against the Yellow Speckle and Sharp Edge tribes. It became a state of total war that did not just involve their warriors, but even the average male and female Lizardmen.

After repeated all-out battles, the alliance containing the Green Claw was victorious, while the other two tribes were so worn down they could not function as tribes any further and disbanded. However, the tribeless Lizardmen were absorbed by the Dragon Tusk, who had not taken part in the fighting.

The irony was that the lack of food which had led to the war was solved by the decrease in the Lizardman population in the marsh, because everyone who survived now had enough fish to live on.

“What does that war have to do with what’s happening now?”

“Think about what our enemy said. He mentioned that this village was ‘the second.’ That implies that they sent messengers to other villages, right?”

“Oh...”

Murmurs of understanding rose from the crowd as they realised what Zaryusu meant.

“In other words, you want to reform the alliance, then!”

“...No way.”

“He’s right. We should renew our alliance.”

“Like the war from the past...”

“Does that mean we could win?”