A few minutes after the roar resounded through the Gogi Lord's territory, Michael found himself standing on a wide branch of a large tree.
He was close to the center of the Gogi territory and could not wait to enact his plan.
The densely grown bushes and trees made it a little bit more difficult to observe every single detail, but that was not necessary in the first place. Following the actions of the shuttle-sized Lizard mother was already more than enough.
After completing all preparations for the attack on the Gogi Lord's territory, Michael sneaked out of his territory. The sun was not yet up at that time but using the Gloa Crystals it was possible to illuminate his surrounding area. He had made use of the same darkness to enter the lizard cave when the mother was asleep and had stolen her eggs.
After his thievery succeeded, Michael rushed to the Gogi Lord's territory where he killed the Gogis to drop the Lizard mother's eggs on their dead bodies.
The last two eggs were thrown in the direction of the territory center, where they burst open.
It had been less than half an hour since dawn, but the Lizard mother was already wide awake and overflowing with anger. She found the first few eggs on the dead Gogi bodies, before her eyes fell on the crumbled and broken shells of two of her eggs that were lying on the ground, burst open, exposing the premature embryo.
The next thing she saw was more Gogis, but living ones this time. Wrath and grief consumed her as a ball of acidic liquid was released through her mouth. It hit one of the Gogis, who began to scream in unbearable pain as his body began to corrode.
Merely a few seconds later, the Gogi was dead.
The corroded Gogi's comrades were shocked by the unexpected attack, but they began to move, nonetheless. One of them grasped the corroded body and rushed back to the territory while the other Gogis threw themselves at the Lizard mother.
Needless to say, the Gogis died.
It required only a single slash to cut through the Gogis' weapons and body, or a tail's swipe to smash the Gogis against the nearest tree, breaking most bones in their upper body.
'They weren't even able to reach her claws,' Michael mumbled to himself in slight surprise. He had expected the Lizard to be powerful and prove to be a great aid in his battle against the Gogi Lord, but she was a one-man army.
Maybe it was not even necessary for him to act.
It would be great if he could avoid facing danger head-on, but Michael was almost certain that it wouldn't be this easy. And as if on cue, an earth-shattering honk reverberated through the rainforest.
Following the honk, countless Gogis emerged from within their huts with a spear quiver slung around their back and a wooden mace in their hands.
Michael's attention was turned to their weapons at first. However, he grew more interested in something else by the second.
"How many are they?!?" He blurted out subconsciously.
Even if Michael wanted to count the Gogis, he wouldn't be able to. They looked mostly the same and moved around chaotically.
'Close to 200 Tier-1 Gogis with high physical strength and enough spears to turn the Lizard mother into a porcupine if they can penetrate her scales…' Michael concluded in awe and shock.
He was glad that he had lured the acid-spitting Lizard to the Gogi Lord's territory to cause destruction. She was either a Lowest Tier-2 Monster or a Peak Tier-1 Monster on the verge of breaking through. One way or another, the Lizard had a great natural defense with her metal-like scales and multiple means of attack.
If the Gogis wouldn't aim their attacks on her joints and unprotected areas such as her eyes, they would have a tough time using their maces to break the Lizard's scales. However, that was exactly what Michael expected them to do.
He expected them to throw a few spears before they would realize that their attacks were useless – and that was exactly what happened.
Close to 200 spears soared through the air near-simultaneously, but only a fifth hit their target. None out of 40 spears injured the Lizard upon impacting. The Lizard had closed her eyes and mouth when a few spears came dangerously close to those areas, only to be repelled upon hitting the lizard's eyelids.
After two more sets of spear throws that did nothing to harm the Lizard, the Gogis changed their tactic. They used the environment to their advantage and surrounded the Lizard while holding their maces tightly. Afterward, the Gogis charged at their enemy as if they were the suicide squad.
'I know that they're more muscle than brain, but shouldn't they wait before their Lord arrives?' Michael thought at this moment.
He was fairly sure that the Gogi Lord was stronger than the Starless, and 1-Star Gogis that were charging at the Lizard. The Gogi Lord could bind Artifacts to his War Rune, boosting his strength drastically, and he was in possession of a Soultrait, no matter how bad it was. Furthermore, as Lord of 200 Tier-1 Gogis, his War Rune should be at the 1st Tier with a decently high degree of refinement.
'Just what are they doing? The Gogi Lord wouldn't sacrifice his subjects to tire out the Lizard…or would he?'
Michael was really confused by the Gogi Lord's actions. He watched the Lizard spray a huge load of acid at the Gogis charging at her from the front.
The Lizard was hellbent on killing all who had taken the lives of her unborn offspring and continued her attack by smashing her tail into the closest Gogi. The Gogi was flung back and crashed into the comrades standing behind him. Afterward, the Lizard charged forward as well. She headed straight at the Gogis whom she had sprayed with her acid and ran over them brutally.
The Lizard clawed at some of them, tearing through their chests and abdomen before she escaped the encirclement easily.
Several Gogis sustained lethal injuries while a handful died. Meanwhile, the Lizard was unscathed.
It didn't take an expert to tell that the Lizard didn't feel like she was in danger either. She was attacking aggressively and faced the Gogis calmly without a single thought of escape flashing through her mind.
Michael felt weird while watching the ongoing battle.
The Lizard released more of her acid before she charged at the Gogis, who were already in unbearable pain after the acid hit them. The Gogis had broken two of her eggs, so they had to pay the price for their actions. That was what the Lizard mother thought as her claws viciously tore through her opponents' chests and abdomens.
The Lizard killed mercilessly, consumed by wrath and grief.
Meanwhile, Michael started to feel odd.
'I didn't expect the Lizard mother to be that sensitive. Is she that intelligent, and emotionally aware?' He wondered, unsure if the Lizard's behavior was related to her being that powerful, or if it was related to the type of monster she was.
Monsters of a higher Tier were said to be more intelligent, however, Michael had never seen that firsthand. But now that he watched the Lizard's behavior and fighting style, he felt like the door to a new world was opened to him.
'I should never take the monsters of the Origin Expanse lightly…'
Suddenly, something smashed loudly against one of the larger rainforest trees. The sound pulled Michael out of his thoughts, and his head flicked over to the origin of the noise.
A bulky, four-meter-tall Gogi appeared in his sight.
The Gogi Lord had arrived at last!