The Demihuman Alliance had come to bow their heads and pledge allegiance.
When Naraku heard the news, a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, as though he had expected something like this all along.
[It seems there are some clever individuals among the Demihumans after all. But if even the Demihumans have been reduced to this state, then why haven't the humans...]
Naraku pondered silently.
As long as a common enemy or shared interest was significant enough, even formerly hostile factions could set aside their differences and cooperate.
The White Dragon Lord's Winter Domain covered an enormous area, extending ten kilometers in every direction.
Such a conspicuous phenomenon was almost impossible to overlook.
Naraku knew perfectly well that the cave where they had taken shelter was bound to attract the attention of anyone observant enough.
Especially once people discovered that no matter what they tried, they could not leave the borders of the Roble Holy Kingdom.
So there was nothing particularly surprising about this Demihuman Alliance eventually coming to them.
Given the dire situation, perhaps this place had already become the only remaining sanctuary in the entire Roble Holy Kingdom.
But that was precisely what puzzled Naraku.
Why were there only Demihumans?
Or rather, where had all the humans gone?
Could they still be fighting the Chaos Beasts?
The soldiers of the Roble Holy Kingdom were reasonably capable, but they could hardly compare with those of the Sorcerer Kingdom or the Theocracy.
Unlike Demihumans, humans possessed no inherent advantage from Racial Levels.
Even with high-quality equipment, they could only handle enemies around level sixteen or seventeen.
Yet even the Demihumans had now brought their families here seeking refuge, while there had still been no word whatsoever from the Roble Holy Kingdom.
Something was clearly wrong.
Even if it had been a completely one-sided massacre, the Roble Holy Kingdom had a population of more than a million. Wiping them all out should have taken at least half a month, if not longer.
And during that time, some fortunate survivors should surely have found their way here.
The situation was strange.
Better take some precautions, just in case.
With that thought, Naraku stepped out of the cave under the White Dragon Lord's protection while quietly placing a safeguard on himself without anyone noticing.
About ten kilometers from the cave, Naraku looked ahead and immediately spotted Pavel, Neia, and the others.
At that moment, they were locked in a tense standoff with the large Demihuman Alliance.
A closer look revealed that Pavel's side did not actually have many people. At a rough estimate, there were only a few hundred.
Back in the Roble Holy Kingdom, roughly a thousand people had followed the path cleared by the White Dragon Lord and escaped together.
That group of refugees had been a complete mixture of people and races, including merchants, Demihumans, Magical Beasts, and all sorts of others.
But only the few hundred standing here possessed any real combat strength, and that number included some Zern and Caben.
Even so, despite their small numbers, the presence radiating from those few hundred alone was enough to keep the Demihuman Alliance firmly in check.
And when the White Dragon Lord and Naraku arrived, that pressure reached its peak.
"Young man, how are you planning to handle this?"
"I just exchanged some information with these Demihumans. They originally planned to flee to the Great Forest of Evasha, but things didn't go their way and their escape failed. With nowhere else to turn, they came here. They say they're willing to pay any price as long as their race is given sanctuary."
Bow in hand, Pavel backed over to Naraku's side and quickly explained the entire situation.
Perhaps it was simply his personality. Even though he already knew that Naraku's status was anything but ordinary, Pavel's attitude toward him had hardly changed. He behaved just as he always had.
Ever since escaping here, the man had remained constantly on guard, devoting himself entirely to protecting his wife and daughter.
To Pavel, the two of them were unquestionably everything that gave his life meaning.
Not even the survival of the entire Roble Holy Kingdom could compare.
"What do you think we should do?"
Naraku did not immediately give an answer. Instead, he posed the question to Pavel.
"My view is simple. We should accept them."
"Deep down, I can't say I have much affection for these Demihumans."
"But judging from our current situation, having more people around will undoubtedly make us safer."
"If some unexpected crisis really does occur, these Demihumans could at least buy us some valuable time to respond."
Pavel paused briefly before continuing.
"And even if no crisis comes, this is still a good opportunity, kid. I don't know what your true status is, but it's definitely not low."
"If you can use this chance to bring these Demihumans under your command, then once you return to the Sorcerer Kingdom, it'll undoubtedly count as a major achievement!"
After weighing the advantages and disadvantages, Pavel saw nothing wrong with his suggestion.
Of course, he was not confident enough to guarantee that it was the right choice. He was only offering his opinion. The final decision still belonged to Naraku.
"Hmm. You've thought it through quite carefully."
Naraku nodded. Most of Pavel's reasoning matched his own considerations.
The value of the Demihumans was obvious.
Whether they were used to deal with the current complicated and troublesome situation or to further the True Form's grand plan of harvesting the Power of Faith, they would undoubtedly be a powerful asset.
With that in mind, Naraku turned toward the White Dragon Lord beside him and gave a slight nod.
The White Dragon Lord immediately understood.
He had also heard Pavel's reasoning and found no real problem with it, so he acted with a thought.
The Winter Domain, filled with raging, howling winds, suddenly split apart as though cleaved in two by an enormous, razor-sharp axe, opening a wide and level path that people could easily walk through.
But at that very instant, something completely unexpected happened.
While the White Dragon Lord's attention was occupied with controlling his domain, no one noticed a dark purple fissure silently appearing behind Naraku.
A hand reached out from within the fissure without making a sound, its presence almost impossible to detect.
Then, in an instant, a crisp "crack" rang out.
The horrifying sound of snapping bone echoed through the surroundings.
Everything happened so quickly that it was over in the blink of an eye.
By the time everyone around him finally reacted, they could only stare in horror as Naraku's head separated from his body and fell straight down through the air like a kite with its string cut.
At the same time, his headless body went limp and slowly dropped as well, before crashing heavily onto the ground.