Gregor, Scrab, Chiton, Krik—these were the guards Lokiviria had left for Rowena and her son. All of them were at the peak of Hero level.
Rowena could command them, and they possessed sufficient capability to assist mother and child.
"As you command, Madam!"
Late at night, Rowena and her son traveled under the cover of darkness, continuing their flight north.
South, Stoneheart City.
On the third floor of the Mysterious Tavern, Delilah stared blankly at the intelligence report in her hand.
Rose Manor, a royal estate located in the southern part of the Human Kingdom, was one of the kingdom's top ten manors.
Its mistress was Princess Ava of the Human Kingdom.
One day prior, Princess Ava had given birth to a son at Rose Manor, and that infant bore some resemblance to a giant tribe cub.
Calculating the dates, Princess Ava must have conceived while in Stoneheart City.
"This... this... she's too lucky!"
Initially, Delilah couldn't believe the intelligence she was seeing.
However, slowly, Delilah's disbelief transformed into sour envy and jealousy.
She thought of the twin royalty of her Succubus race, who had exhausted countless methods, mobilized vast manpower, and attempted innumerable secret techniques just to successfully conceive Orion's offspring.
Unexpectedly, that human woman, treated almost like a plaything, had conceived just like that?
Delilah felt struck, deeply struck.
Princess Ava's conception was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving Delilah unable to reconcile it for a long time.
"Were my sister and I not trying hard enough?"
"Do we need more positions and variations next time we make love?"
"Why did it happen like this?"
"..."
Just as Delilah was lost in thought, an even more troublesome idea surfaced in her mind.
According to the current date, the child Princess Ava gave birth to would count as Orion's firstborn son.
This was a problem Delilah suddenly realized, and it made her scalp tingle.
In the future, a power struggle between the firstborn and secondborn sons, a bloody storm, seemed to be brewing.
At this thought, Delilah's breathing even quickened.
"No... wait, there's still a chance. That child, he was born in the Human Kingdom."
"Whereas Lilith's child will be born in the Stoneheart Horde. He is the legitimate one."
"We hold the advantage from the start!"
"Lilith's child involves not just the Succubus tribe, but also the Giant tribe. Even the entire Stoneheart Horde stands behind him."
"As for the human princess's child, he definitely won't receive the Horde's support."
A series of thoughts flashed through Delilah's mind. She had to think this way because these matters would soon become reality.
"What should I do?"
"Should I inform Lilith of this news?"
Delilah hesitated. Lilith's due date was still some time away; she worried that if the news got out, Lilith might let her thoughts run wild.
And then there was Orion; he had personally provided the intelligence about Rose Manor.
At this moment, Delilah truly wanted to suppress this news, not even telling Orion.
However, reason told Delilah she couldn't do that.
"Has Orion already received word beforehand?"
"..."
Lizardfolk territory. While Delilah was in turmoil, Orion and Theodore were dividing the spoils of war.
From the lizardfolk territory, they had harvested a great many crystal cores, minerals, and magical plants.
Orion wasn't reserved; he took the larger share of all spoils.
Regarding the division of spoils, Prince Theodore raised no objections.
It seemed that after Orion displayed his Legendary level peak strength, Prince Theodore had lost all resistance to any of Orion's ideas.
Orion eyed Prince Theodore with some suspicion. The man wasn't in a good state; he seemed preoccupied.
"Your Highness, do you feel the division of spoils is unfair?"
Prince Theodore shook his head, denying Orion's suggestion.
"Giant King Orion, you were the one who exerted strength to kill the enemies this time. Whatever you want is not excessive."
"Being able to reclaim the lizardfolk territory is the greatest gain for us."
This was the truth. With the lizardfolk territory returning to the Human Kingdom, a large number of nobles would receive fiefdoms as a result, and Prince Theodore's prestige would rise significantly again.
This way, when the old king abdicated, more nobles would support Prince Theodore's ascension to the throne.
Furthermore, this new territory would also bring countless riches and benefits to Prince Theodore.
"Hahaha... the Insectoid territory is too big! We ogres can't swallow it all."
"Friend, I've decided. The territory bordering yours, I will cede a portion."
In this war, Aldous had vented his anger and reclaimed his former territory.
Furthermore, Lokiviria's entire territory would now belong to the Ogre race.
It was a vast territory, difficult for the Ogre race to manage completely.
Thus, Aldous had an idea: cede the portion connecting to the Stoneheart Horde to Orion.
This way, the Ogre Tribe provided benefits to the Stoneheart Horde, and the friendship between the two races would deepen further.
Besides, it was Aldous who had requested Orion's intervention this time.
Setting aside friendship, Orion's action deserved reciprocation.
This was Aldous's thinking, and also his wisdom.
Aldous understood clearly that friendship and alliances were, to a large extent, intertwined with interests.
Moreover, doing so had an even greater advantage: the territories of the Stoneheart Horde and the Ogre Tribe would have a larger shared border.
If the Ogre Tribe were invaded, the Stoneheart Horde would also be affected.
At that point, invaders would face the combined forces of the Ogres and the Stoneheart Horde.
And this was Aldous's clever calculation!
"Aldous, we are friends. You don't need to do this!"
Orion spoke up. He understood Aldous's meaning and greatly appreciated his gesture and wisdom.
Because doing so would make the alliance between the Ogre race and the Stoneheart Horde even more solid.
"It must be done! In this joint operation of three races, only the Stoneheart Horde didn't gain territory. That's not fair."
Aldous was very insistent. After pondering for a moment, Orion nodded in agreement.
Subsequently, Prince Theodore spoke up.
"The portion of territory Lord Bluehide has lost [by ceding it], I am willing to compensate with the northern part of the lizardfolk territory."
"This way, the territories of our three races can be considered tightly linked together."
"Allies should look out for each other, shouldn't they?"