Old Ni spat at the side. "Tribe Lord, I told you that he’s an ungrateful bastard, and you should’ve gotten rid of him earlier."
"I know that very well... but I thought that by showing him more kindness, he might change his mind and devote himself to the tribe honestly." Ash replied with a helpless sigh.
Kargan was actually the person whose loyalty points had decreased over time instead of increasing like the others.
Even after he helped him upgrade his ranks, his loyalty points had never increased even by a single point.
Kargan and some other people weren’t originally from the Ragh’Tal Tribe but from other tribes who had taken refuge with the Ragh’Tal for some reasons.
He had actually expected that if he left him alone, he might try to rebel or do something that would harm the tribe.
Hence, he had actually thought about getting rid of him at some point in the near future but definitely not in the first few days after he ruled the tribe since he still needed to use Kargan’s strength.
Even when handling matters related to him, he had always been extremely cautious, to the point that he always thought of the worst thing.
For example, when they were surrounded by five 4th Rank Beasts, he upgraded Harold first and only upgraded Kargan the moment he thought that it was plausible to kill these beasts.
Not only that, he put Kargan’s position at the innermost of the mountain so that in case he wanted to pull some tricks behind his back, it wouldn’t have been easy with his disadvantageous position plus strong opponents.
Plus, if the worst-case scenario, like another 4th Rank Beast or something, were to appear, Kargan would be the first to bear it, and he actually didn’t care even if something were to happen to him.
Just as he was lost in thoughts, Old Ni’s words pulled him back to reality. "They finally made a move, accelerating their speeds."
"Alright, it’s quite far enough, I guess." Ash chuckled and slowed down his pace.
Then he stopped and turned his body, giving an order as he glanced at Uncle Zan and Vakra with a smile. "You two will deal with the 4th Rank Monsters."
"Old Ni, please decrease the numbers quite a bit and leave some for me." Ash glanced at Old Ni before immediately opening the system interface and looking into the shop.
Without a second thought, he bought the cheapest blue card from the shop and used it.
[Ding! 100,000 System Points have been successfully deducted.]
Three blue cards with intricate patterns appeared in front of him, floating mystically. He chose the [weapons] option before choosing the sword section.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Gravehorn Longsword]
[Gravehorn Longsword]
–Material: Polished horn-bone of a 4th Rank Gravehorn Elk
–Grade: 4th Rank
–Durability: (100/100)
Afterward, Ash took out the sword from the inventory and held it in his hand.
The sword was a straight, imposing blade carved from a dense, ivory-white hornbone. Its surface was polished smooth yet threaded with faint, natural grain lines that hinted at immense toughness.
Darkened veins ran along the length of the blade, while the crossguard curved slightly forward, shaped from layered bone plates fused seamlessly together. The hilt was wrapped in cured beast hide for grip, and the pommel ended in a spear-like spike.
He tossed the sword at Uncle Zan casually. "Use this sword instead of that crap."
Without waiting for the response, Ash immediately bought two of the cheapest green cards and used them.
[Ding! 20,000 System Points have been successfully deducted.]
This time, he chose the daggers and gauntlets option, as he intended to use the daggers for himself and gave the gauntlets to Vakra.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Stonebite Dagger]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Cragfist Gauntlets]
Without waiting for long, he took the gauntlets and threw them at Vakra without batting an eye. "Use this for the time being."
Subsequently, he took out Stonebite Daggers and held them in his hands.
The dagger was thick and heavy for its size, forged from compact bone reinforced with mineral deposits. Its blunt spine contrasted sharply with a cruelly honed edge, giving it the look of a tool meant to punch through hide and muscle alike.
’Not bad.’ He nodded his head in satisfaction.
"Thank you!" Uncle Ni and Vakra expressed his gratitude and bowed slightly.
"You don’t need to thank me for something like this, we’re a family anyway." Ash waved his hand casually, then looked at Old Ni. "I’ll give you something better later."
Old Ni only shook his head helplessly in response before looking ahead of him. "Let’s finish this as quickly as possible!"
The moment Old Ni finished speaking, Vakra and Uncle Zan moved first.
Their figures burst forward like released arrows, instantly separating from Old Ni and Ash as they intercepted the two strongest presences on the battlefield.
The two 4th Rank Lizardmen stepped out fully from the formation.
They were tall, around two and a half meters in height with lean, muscular bodies wrapped in thick, dark-green scales that reflected faintly under the bright light. Long powerful tails were dragging slightly against the ground.
Their bodies were narrow but powerful, each movement revealing tightly packed muscle built for explosive strength rather than bulk.
Their heads resembled massive predatory lizards—elongated snouts filled with jagged teeth, slit pupils glowing with cold intelligence. Bone ridges ran along their skulls, and faint tribal markings were carved into their scales.
Both wielded swords as one held a long, curved bone blade reinforced with metal veins, the edge stained old blood. The other wielded a broader, straight sword, its surface etched with runes and layered with hardened scale plating.
"Hissss—!"
The two 4th Rank Lizardmen exploded forward.
Vakra met the first head-on, his Cragfist Gauntlets humming as he clenched his fists, veins bulging along his arms as he surged ahead.
The Lizardman swung first, its curved blade slashing down in a brutal diagonal arc, but Vakra twisted his body and slammed his fist upward.