"Miss Elze looks so serious! Didn’t notice anything wrong?!"
On a certain mountain top in the southeast of the Aoja Kingdom, the Minotaur Chief Tory was discussing matters with the elders of the Minotaur Tribe.
Tory was the strongest Minotaur among the entire Minotaur Race, nearly five meters tall, his rugged body covered in battle scars, each a badge of honor from the fights.
His sharp horns were full of power, seemingly capable of smashing through anything that blocked his path.
Every breath from his thick nostrils seemed like a foul-smelling breeze.
At this moment, Tory was listening to the Minotaur Tribe elder, who stood over three meters tall, speaking beside him.
"Lord Tory, Bichu’er is still overly suspicious, constantly guarding against our Minotaur Tribe, unwilling to assign important positions to people of our race."
Tory remained silent.
"Didn’t Bichu’er suggest back then that we should send female Minotaurs from our tribe to various villages to try and seduce the new Demon King?"
The elder’s face was solemn, his mouth open wide.
"This is clearly an attempt to disperse the power of our tribe, Chief Tory! Among the four tribes currently loyal to Bichu’er, our Minotaur Tribe is the strongest."
Tory gazed thoughtfully ahead, the sunlight stretching his broad silhouette behind him, his face showing the regret of a loyal warrior not being employed for what he was worth.
"I know. Back in the day, we betrayed Luwaka to ally with Bichu’er. Bichu’er promised that the Minotaur Tribe would establish a kingdom."
"Yet after siding with Bichu’er, he never mentioned this again. He has never truly trusted our Minotaur Clan, alas."
The Minotaur elder sighed as well.
"The world’s impression of our Minotaur Race is deeply ingrained. Outsiders view us as greedy, inclined to steal others’ cherished things, a race that easily betrays."
"Indeed. Stereotypes have harmed the Minotaurs. We Minotaurs have always been a devoted race."
Tory’s large nostrils expelled an indignant snort. As the Minotaur Chief, he carried the most genuine Minotaur bloodline.
"What should we do then, Chief Tory?"
The Minotaur elder looked at Tory.
Tory’s eyes, large as bull’s eyes, stared straight at the Minotaur Tribe ahead, where his people resided.
"Why don’t we just leave Bichu’er then?"
"Since Bichu’er has never been willing to trust us, this situation benefits neither side. If he continues to not improve our treatment, we will rally the other races and then defect to the Human Race."
The Minotaur elder stomped his hoof in agreement.
"Chief, this plan is wonderful. But if the Human Race does not accept us, after all, we are demons and have made many grudges with humans during our adventures."
Tory fell into thought.
"Then we’ll just leave the Human Race too. We’ll kidnap their married women and then seek refuge with the Dragon Race."
"If we turn to the Dragon Race, the Dragon Race may not even acknowledge us."
Tory fell into contemplation.
"Then we’ll just betray the Dragon Race too, stealing their treasures, and then..."
As the two Minotaurs were intensely discussing, a Minotaur scout breathlessly ran over.
"Chief! Elder! There’s bad news, the eastern sub-tribe has been attacked! It’s that Pink Minotaur and Giant Slime we mentioned last time!"