The news spread like wildfire.
While Chen Yu leisurely enjoyed sand sculptures in the desert after self-destructing the Heavenly Command Tiger Talisman, the entire cavern was already in turmoil.
"Master, the Tiger Talisman has appeared!"
"King, the Heavenly Command Tiger Talisman has appeared, and it is currently within the territory of the Batu Federation."
"The holder has shown themselves."
Whether it was the various nations within the Beastman Empire or the neighboring human kingdoms, news of the Heavenly Command Tiger Talisman's appearance was spreading with lightning speed.
The leaders of countless factions began dispatching troops and generals, determined to obtain the Tiger Talisman.
At this moment, above the void of the Yellow Sands region.
A flying carpet, seemingly the size of a castle, floated in the void. The upper part of the carpet was reinforced with a semi-transparent energy barrier, deflecting the blowing sand and wind.
"When we reach River Town, I ask that you all be more restrained when dealing with the equipment merchants."
"No matter what,"
"The identity of the equipment merchants is very special in the cavern. If our Batu Federation wants to take over the Tatu Kingdom with minimal casualties, we need the support of the superior equipment provided by the equipment merchants."
"If possible, I would appreciate it if you could all follow my lead then."
The man with horns on his head smiled kindly. Humans and beastmen stood on the flying carpet. Hearing the man's words, a human male with a claw scar on his chest stepped forward.
"The Federation naturally follows the Chief's lead."
"Hmph, the Grand General is truly of one mind with the Chief," a snake-tailed, alluring woman slowly slithered out. "In this Federation, all federal states have always been autonomous. I've never heard of anyone taking the lead. Now you suddenly ask us to bow down and pledge allegiance to the Chief. The Grand General may not care, but for us lords of the federal states, it might not be so easy to accept, right?"
"Sister Snake speaks the truth,"
Saying this, a strong man with a human body and a lion's head on the carpet also stepped out.
"Don't we all know the high status of equipment merchants in the cavern? We know how to treat them when we meet them. But to ask us to inexplicably bow down, the reason seems a bit too far-fetched."
Several other federal lords nodded slightly.
The Batu Free Federation was formed by countless factions. After its establishment as a kingdom, all federal states remained autonomous. They cooperated for survival, but in truth, none of them truly submitted to the others.
Suddenly being asked to bow to the Chief, they were clearly unwilling to accept it.
"Everyone, I'm not asking you to truly submit to me. If you maintain this attitude when we meet the equipment merchants later, it might make the equipment merchants doubt our internal situation," the Chief whispered with a smile. "A kingdom that cannot make a decisive decision, can the other party truly rest assured that our kingdom will not split in the future?"
"Ridiculous!"
At this moment, the strong man with a human body and a lion's head let out another cold snort.
"Equipment merchants are driven by profit. As long as we offer them a satisfactory price, they won't care about our internal affairs. What does it have to do with them? Besides, we are all gathered here to purchase equipment for our respective factions. What brotherhood are we talking about?"
"Brother Lion speaks the truth," the alluring snake woman hissed, sticking out her tongue and smiling.
"Everyone, aren't you hurting my feelings by speaking like this?"
The human male who had agreed with the Chief from the beginning spoke with a light smile, and several federal lords looked at him.
"Grand General, your willingness does not represent ours. We all know you are an outsider. For you to become a leader in our Federation, the Chief went through a lot of effort to arrange it. We understand your gratitude. The issue is, the Chief does not owe us that much. The establishment of our Federation is for coexistence."
"I understand what you all say, but since we have become a nation, we should act like one."
"Hmph..."
The lion-man snorted coldly, clenching his fists.
"Chen, stop acting high and mighty with me. I call you Grand General out of respect. If I didn't respect you, who do you think you are? If it weren't for the Chief's sake, do you think you'd be on this carpet? Go do what you're supposed to and stop causing trouble."
The human male with scars on his chest narrowed his eyes, his hand unconsciously reaching for the hilt of his sword.
Suddenly--
A pair of slender hands grabbed his wrist.
The human male glanced sideways and saw the beautiful woman beside him shaking her head at him. The Chief, with horns on his head, also signaled him with his eyes not to do that.
"Hmph."
The Lion-man leader, noticing this, snorted coldly. He had been watching the human male's movements. If he had dared to draw his sword, he would have been ready to fight.
A heavy atmosphere filled the flying carpet until it landed in River Town.
All the federal lords huddled together and entered the city.
"Chief, you truly have a good temper," the rabbit-eared girl with cute rabbit ears on her head whispered. "It was your kindness that allowed the Lion-man and the Snake woman to enter our Federation. Otherwise, they would have been targets for us to clear out. After entering the Federation, they have been secretly in frequent contact and have also won over several other federal lords. In other kingdoms, they would have been purged long ago. Only you..."
"The establishment of our Federation was not easy,"
The Chief sighed and whispered. "The demon race has always been coveting us. To establish a foothold in this chaotic land, we must band together for warmth. I know their intentions, but if we were to move against them, our alliance might crumble. Then the demon race would take advantage of the chaos, and neighboring countries would also attack us. We would truly fail in our endeavors!"
The human male with scars on his chest snorted coldly.
"Where I come from, there's a saying: kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. These lords are so brazen because you are too lenient with them. If you killed a few, you'd see who would dare disrespect you."
"Old Chen, why are you so aggressive?" the beautiful woman frowned.
"It's all because you spoil them!" the human male shouted angrily. "If you hadn't stopped me just now, I would have cut off that lion-man's head with one sword. He's just at the Colorful Realm, I don't know what he's so proud of. And that snake woman, she annoys me just looking at her."
"Take it slow,"
The Chief sighed with a sense of loss.
"When we conquer the Tatu Kingdom and gain land that can protect ourselves, if they are still so presumptuous, we will consider how to deal with them then. No matter what they say, when we meet later..."
"We will follow the Chief's lead."
Several federal lords cupped their hands slightly, and the Chief, the bull-man, smiled broadly.
"Thank you all."
"Chief!!!" Just as the Chief was about to thank the federal lords, a figure ran over from a distance. Seeing the federal lords around, he made no attempt to conceal himself. "The Heavenly Command Tiger Talisman has appeared!"