Goldien did not expect such a skill from the demon. He was caught off guard. However, he had been on many battlefields for a long time. With his experience, he managed to think of a countermeasure for the attack.

Goldien raised and put his arms up. His arms were glowing in bright gold. He could not avoid the blade, so blocking it was the best he could do to minimize the damage.

Swoosh!

However, Goldien's countermeasure was just not enough to block Zaneos' blade. The blade cut through the wrists. Goldien's eyes widened in shock, terror, and fear. All of it mixed into a complex emotion Goldien never felt before. He looked at his own hands fell off as blood spurted out.

"Goldien!" The Obsidian Gator, The Venomous Gator, and The Earthern Gator came over. "What-" The Obsidian Gator stopped his words midway when he looked at the missing arm. Goldien was just as strong as them. How could he be defeated so easily? It was not even a minute since Goldien charged at the demon.

"Fall Back! Leave the demon to us!" The Obsidian Gator and The Earthern Gator took the frontline while the Venomous Gator stayed next to Goldien. The three observed the demon. They were not clear about what happened.

Plop!

Goldien fell on his butts and muttered dreadfully. "Run! Leave me alone! You can't win against that demon!" The Golden Gator thought about that attack. He tried to think of a countermeasure. No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not think of any countermeasure. 'Unless…'

Goldien turned his head, he looked toward his Brother, Goldier. His brother had something that could counter the demon, Anti-Mana Domain. If the demon could not use his mana, then he would not be able to execute the same skill. They had a chance against the demon if his brother joined, but…

Goldien saw his brother turned away from him and the other elders. His brother chose to surrender instead of fighting to the death. He was furious. Anger took over him, but that was just for a moment as his sight fell on the Gator Tribe's people.

Despite his fury, he managed to calm his anger and thought of the reason why his brother decided to not fight. He looked up at the sky. From thousands of Fiery Rooks, only one who was still alive and fighting the dragon-like creature. The Myth Rank Fiery Rook.

He then looked toward the demon, who was at the same level as the Myth Rank. Then his eyes fell on the undead and the seven trolls. It did not stop there, knights were stationed around the pit. The trap they set up for the enemy now became their burial instead.

His brother did this for the tribesmen. Goldien was aware of the situation they were in after a quick scan. So what if they could kill the demon? The others would kill them even if they managed to kill the demon.

The Golden Gator was aware it would take a lot of them to take that one demon, but the demon was not alone. They might win the battle against the demon if Goldier joined the battle, but they could not win the war. His brother was prioritizing the tribesmen. 'That's the reason we choose you to lead us.'

Zaneos looked at his sword. He was also surprised that his technique could grow to this extent. The demon was not expecting to be this powerful. 'I don't think the Gator Tribe can help me go all out.' He thought to himself after the first attack.

"Let's end this quick and return to Master." He muttered in a low voice and raised his head. The three gators were ready to fight him this time. Zaneos pushed the sword's handle with his thumb.

Fwoosh!

His figure drifted forward so fast. The three Gators could not see it. They saw the demon again when he stopped between them. Zaneos was now standing between the three gators. The three Ancient Rank Gators were about to launch their attack until the surrounding space distorted.

Countless blades came out from the distorted place and attacked the three gators. The attack was from all directions, and the three gators could not escape from the distorted space. It was too late for them to escape.

The only thing they could do was to minimize the damage on them. However, all of that was futile as the blades cut through the gator's hard shell. In the blink of an eye, the three gators with bodies full of cuts fell. The blood oozed from the cut as they were breathing weakly.

Goldien was numb from the shock. He showed no expression when his comrade fell. But one thing he realized, he was dumb to think they had a chance against the demon. From the start, they had no chance to win the fight. The Golde Gator looked toward the demon and muttered. "How can you be this strong? This unfair…"

"You are right. This world is unfair. You can only seek your share of fairness by yourself, but not by relying on the world. The world has never been fair." Zaneos snapped his finger and the space around Goldien's neck distorted. The next second, the head fell from the neck. However, Goldien's body was sitting still with no head.

Zaneos walked passing through the dead body and faced the Grand Chief of the Gator Tribe. The three Gators would die on their own shortly after, so he did not bother to finish them off. His black eyes gazed at the last leader of the Gator Tribe. "What's your decision? It's not too late to accept my offer."

Goldien, without hesitation, kneeling down, and the other Gators followed their Grand Chief in motion. They had witnessed the fight between the four Elders against the demon. It was not even a fight in their eyes. They were smart enough to surrender immediately instead of voicing out their grievance for killing the four Elders.

"We-" Goldien was about to make a vow, but Zaneos stopped them. "You don't vow to me, but My Lord. Save that vow for later. For now, I want you to make a loyalty vow to The Empire of Tang. I want a representative from each tribe as well, The Golden Gator Tribe, The Obsidian Gator Tribe, The Silver Gator Tribe, The Venomous Gator Tribe, and The Eathern Gator Tribe."

After saying that, he turned around and signaled for Ashley to come over with Selena. The two girls came over with Aki and Lauri heeled them. Ashley was still shocked by the show before her, but she maintained her dignified image in front of her man's subordinates. She could not show it outside.

"This is Lady Ashley and Lady Selena. They are the representatives of the Empire while Lord Tang is not around. Their orders are the same as Lord's order, understand?" Zanoes introduced the ladies to the Gator Tribe.

"Yes, Sir!" Goldien replied immediately, which was followed by the other Gators.

"Good. Can you start the ritual, Lady Selena?" Zaneos respectfully requested Selena to start the ritual to make the sacred vow.

"But it will not work if he is not here. I need both sides to be here to proceed with the sacred ritual." Selena shook her head. She could not start the ritual if Tang Shaoyang was not here.

"I see…" Zaneos nodded his head and rubbed his chin. It did not take long before he found the alternative. "Then they can make a vow to Lady Ashley instead. Since Lady Ashley will lead the operation to attack the Beast Coven, after all. We can't wait for Lord Tang Shaoyang to come over."

"Let's do that instead." Selena agreed with that. Ashley was part of the Empire, and she might a General of the Empire in the future. So it did not matter The Gator Tribe vow to. Ashley was about to refuse that, but Selena dragged her toward the Gator Tribe.

Goldien and the other Gators did not have a choice but to follow the arrangement. The way the demon treated these two weak women, the two women must closely relate to the Lord Tang Shaoyang.

After that, Selena started the ritual. It did not drain Selena since it was a vow between seven individuals. In less than three minutes, the ritual was over. The Gator Tribe now became part of the Empire, and the force had gotten stronger with an additional tribe joined them.

"Then my duty is over. I will head back to Lord Tang Shaoyang's side." Zaneos bowed his head toward Lady Ashley. Bronson also bowed his head, though he said nothing. The undead was not good with his words.

"Where's Aerelion? We need to join Lord Tang's side." Zaneos looked around and found the Infernal Wyvern. The wyvern was gathering the corpses of the Fiery Rook it had killed. 

"Wait, Sir! Are you leaving us?" Goldien was surprised that the three strong individuals would leave them. He had scanned over the force. He realized that none of them were as strong as these three.

"Mnnn. The plan was to defeat the Gator Tribe and rejoin Lord Tang's side. We have to fight the Dark Tribe and the Guardian Beasts." Zaneos told their plan since the Gator Tribe had become part of the force.

"But what about us? What about the Fiery Rook Tribe? I don't think they will take this silently, and I don't think we can face them as well." Goldien told Zaneos about the Gator Tribe's alliance with the Fiery Rook Tribe. Now they had become part of the empire. In other words, they betrayed the Fiery Rook Tribe. They would not be happy with this and would retaliate with a stronger force. They needed Zaneos and the dragon-like creature with them.