Chapter 2031 - 546: Birds of a Feather (Part 2)

"Boss! Something terrible has happened!"

The scout slid on his knees and crawled on the ground of the corpse hill and bone sea, shouting sharply.

"Our altar in the south of Burial Peak was attacked by human invaders! We let one of them escape!"

"What?!"

Merk, who was feasting, was shocked and suddenly sat upright on the stone chair.

As he moved, the layers of fat on him trembled violently, causing the stone chair beneath him to emit creaking sounds as if it couldn't bear the weight.

"Who dares to attack my territory so boldly! Assemble the brothers from Burial Peak for a full assault, I want them to pay for this!"

Watching the rippling wave of greasy fat, the surrounding little rats swallowed harder, their tiny eyes gleaming with a desecrating green light.

The scout kept his head down, nervously continuing his report.

"The attackers came from the direction of Spinor Earl's Domain..."

The rolling wave of fat suddenly calmed down, and Merk sank back into the stone chair, which once again emitted creaky sounds under the strain.

"Spinor Earl's Domain..."

Scratching his greasy chin, Merk's eyeballs moved in their sockets, hesitantly pondering.

Human invaders... They're not easy to deal with.

Unlike Twilight Province, last time he divided the brothers of the Rot Clan into smaller groups to infiltrate human territory and joined Selas's forces.

But directly clashing with human rulers...

He needed to consider this carefully.

Especially since behind Spinor Earl's Domain is the Campbell family, he hasn't read much human history, but he surely knows about his neighbors.

As the rat swarm sank into chaos due to their leader's surprise, a cold and calm voice suddenly emerged from the shadows on the side of the hall, instantly overpowering the commotion.

"There's no need for that. I've already solved that problem for you."

The quivering fat on Merk instantly stopped, then he quickly turned his head towards the direction of the voice.

A middle-aged human, draped in a deep gray mage robe, slowly emerged from the darkness.

The man had perfectly groomed gray hair parted in the middle and wore gold-rimmed glasses, appearing like a scholar engrossed in study, completely out of place in this filthy ratman nest.

Edgar Kaufmann.

That's his name, and his title is Professor.

This mage from the far-off Northern Academic Federation is Merk's honored guest and the nightmare of these little rats.

With his appearance, the ratmen, initially scattering in panic, shrieked in terror upon seeing their nemesis, frantically retreating to sides, making way for a wide path in the crowded hall.

They would never forget the scene half a month ago.

At that time, a powerful Ratman Baron from the clan was executed simply for greedily stealing a piece of this human mage's magic stone.

Professor Edgar didn't even lift a finger; he merely glanced at the unfortunate one, and the baron who once tyrannized the clan screamed in agony as his bones and flesh seemed crushed by an invisible hand, eventually turning into a pile of soul-less ash.

Though Ratman Barons are as numerous as cattle and often claim a mountain or a few tunnels, relative to the vast, lowly ratman population, they are considered significant "figures."

If even a Baron can be killed like an ant, then there's no need to mention these ordinary ratmen.

Seeing Edgar emerge from the shadows, Merk's terrified rat face immediately plastered with a flattering smile, his pea-sized eyes sparkling with appeasement.

"Oh! Honorable Professor Kaufmann! So you've already taken action? I feel embarrassed that you solved another big trouble for us... Haha, I mean, great job!"

Edgar glanced coldly at the fat Mouse King without responding to its compliments. He adjusted his glasses and said expressionlessly.

"Two Gold Level skeletons, two Silver Level lizardmen, this time you've attracted quite troublesome enemies... I don't understand, Merk, why did you target the Campbell people's railroad? I remember warning you, if you lack materials, the Ryan Kingdom has plenty."

Upon hearing this question, the smile on Merk's face collapsed.

He angrily ground his two yellow tusks, his hefty rear shifting on the throne, eventually helplessly opening his chubby paws.

"I know, Professor, I didn't want to offend those folks from the south either, but... our old friends from Ryan asked me to move, so I had to move, there's no choice."

Edgar slightly furrowed his brows.

"Ryan?"

"Yes." Merk nodded with his rat head, grumbling indistinctly, "I'm not stupid, I wouldn't provoke the Campbell people for nothing."

Strictly speaking, the Rot Clan doesn't dare provoke the Campbell people or any internally stable human kingdoms.

After all, if they clash with a Baron, they'll provoke an Earl, and from the Earl, they'll provoke a Duke... Winning is nothing, but truly winning means the Imperial warships will be stationed in nearby ports.

Then, the dwarves in the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range will change their equipment, humans will remember their alliance with the Dwarf Kingdom, and soon the Rot Clan will face great disaster, ultimately fragmenting into a dozen or so clans.