Game’s Dogma - Chapter 369: Zealler
The cave’s depths were the forbidden grounds of the beastmen. Unlike the god race, the demon race was merely a collective term that referred to the various demonic creatures that formed the race. Among them, the beastmen were one of the founding tribes and were currently of high standing.
Beastmen were innately lecherous and had the fastest reproduction speed among all demonic races. As such, they made up most of the demon race’s footmen. However, they weren’t the smartest creatures either, so they had been in a lowly position throughout most of the demon race’s history.
That was until the two brothers took over. Hiller, just like his predecessors, led his brethren to greatness in battle as the tribemaster. His younger brother, Heller, was equally strong. However, none in the world knew the royal beastmen family had not only two but rather three siblings.
The youngest brother was Zealler; names that ended in “ller” indicated their royal status. Unlike other beastmen royals, Zealler was slim and lacked the symbolic gigantic and sturdy body. He was a mutant, one that had advanced intellect.
Zealler’s tactical mind filled in the last piece of the puzzle. In recent years, the beastmen tribe was developing rapidly and slowly gaining power. However, Hiller and Heller died just when things got on track.
Their deaths stunned the entire demon race. Many swore to avenge the two brothers, yet they went silent once they knew who the killer was. The royal family of the demon race, younger brother of the current king, Phantasma Violet—who would dare avenge their deaths for mere justice when the royal family was involved?
Just like human society, the demon race was a brutal place where the strong preyed on the weak. Even worse, law and order were practically non-existent. The king of the demon race was the strongest existence among them all. Whoever dared to bring up logic and justice as arguments before Daemon Violet would undoubtedly get smashed to death in one punch.
After Hiller and Heller’s deaths, Zealler was the only candidate in line to become the tribemaster. The three brothers had a mental connection between them; while they couldn’t communicate directly through it, Zealler could visualise fragmented visuals of their deaths.
Once Zealler took over, he stabilised the tribe and acted as if everything was normal. However, only he knew this was merely a facade, one meant for the Violet family.
The beastmen tribe had been rising in power too quickly, incurring dissatisfaction from the royal family. Daemon Violet would only have used mind games to incite other tribes to suppress them. After all, the beastmen had fought well and made notable achievements throughout the years.
Unfortunately for them, Phantasma Violet took charge this time. He was an illogical person, a living time bomb. No one knew when he would explode. Since he had the guts to challenge the Dominator, slaying two mere beastmen royals was nothing noteworthy for him.
Zealler pacified all the forces among the beastmen and gathered them under his wing. He feared that Violent Phantasma might knock on his door once more if he didn’t. Despite that, he didn’t feel safe, so he hid in the cave.
This forbidden ground allowed only beastmen through and denied entry to other tribes according to historical records. He only felt at ease when inside the cave. His life was precious; if he died, no one would avenge his two fallen brothers. Upon reaching that thought, a dark green glow radiated from his eyes.
Buzz. A wave of energy brought Zealler back to reality. He wasn’t entirely free in the cave as his duty was to control the dungeon. He focused his eyes and saw through everything—it was a gift from the Dominator, Clairvoyance, though it was only usable within the dungeon.
Hmm? Zealler stiffened as he glared at the figure in the centre.
This person… I’ve seen him many times in the fragments they sent me before they died.
Zealler could only piece things together from the fragmented memories his brothers had sent him. Although the man’s outfit was different, he wouldn’t mistake the fiery red mask. This human appeared the most apart from Phantasma Violet.
Zealler’s gaze was full of hatred. At that moment, a voice rang out behind him. “You better don’t do this.”
“Hmph! That is none of your business!” Zealler howled.
While Zealler wasn’t particularly sturdy or tall among beastmen, he was still over two metres tall, a giant compared to humans. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed, and behind him was a prison. It was so dark that its interior wasn’t visible, but the voice originated from within.
“You are playing with fire. You’re not Phantasma Violet. He has the ability to probe the Dominator, you don’t,” said the voice in a merciful tone.
“Why are you pretending to be merciful now? You people of the god race are all hypocrites!” Zealler mocked him. “Don’t tell me you know nothing about the plan back then!”
The voice stayed silent for a while before replying, “Those are rumours and do not reflect reality. I only trust what I see and what I hear, and I can tell you hate Phantasma Violet. Now, you risk drawing attention from the Dominator for a single human. You may never get the chance for revenge once that happens.”
Zealler’s dark green eyes turned feral as he coldly refuted, “Phantasma Violet is not someone I can take one, nor is he the only one who killed my brothers. This man here played a part too. I’ll kill him as an appetiser!”
“An eye for an eye, when will it end?”
“Shut up, hypocrite,” said Zealler as he stood up.
Drako Yau and his squad walked along the cave tunnel. Eerily enough, they encountered not a single monster on the way.
They didn’t take long to reach the creepy cave’s end and arrived at a spacious area over 1,000 metres wide and a hundred metres tall. A huge silhouette stood there, seemingly awaiting their presence.
Zealler was the ID above its head.
Zealler? Drako Yau looked at the beastmen with a suspicious gaze. If his guess was right, the four great dungeons, including the hidden dungeon, were all part of the main story quest. The four dungeons’ bosses were the respective leaders of the demonic tribes. For example, Chau Yu had to fight the dark elven tribemaster in the Dark Elven Village dungeon.
Right now, the final boss wasn’t the “beastmen tribemaster” he was expecting. The beastman before them had a name.