"This... is a person?" Sophia and Dorothy both looked shocked.
They never imagined that the Ice Troll, so widely talked about by players, would turn out to be a human in disguise.
"You're not a player, are you?" George examined the man's rough face and asked in a low voice.
The man, struggling to suppress his fear, shook his head. "My name is Abu. I'm from the Aztect Tribe. We've lived here for generations."
"Generations?" Sophia and Dorothy exchanged skeptical glances.
The Battlefield of Gods and Demons ruins had never been touched by anyone, yet today, someone claimed that their people had been living here for generations.
George was also doubtful. He coldly asked, "It's extremely cold here. How have you managed to survive all this time?"
Abu immediately pulled back the left arm of his Ice Troll skin suit, revealing a demon tattoo on his arm.
"We worship the true god, and it protects us from hunger and cold," Abu said, his tone full of devotion.
"George, did you see that? It's a demon tattoo!" Dorothy leaned close to George and whispered.
George felt a bit of excitement. He hadn't expected any surprises in this place.
"Is the true god you mentioned real?" he asked immediately.
Abu thought for a moment and nodded. "The true god lives in a cave. Only the high priest can meet him."
He paused before adding, "The true god doesn't like people like you... players, disturbing him, so he has us dress up as snowmen to drive you away."
George sneered, thinking to himself that this so-called true god was probably just a paper tiger. After all, why would a god be afraid of weak players?
"Take me to your tribe!" George said succinctly, his tone unmistakable.
Abu, fearing for his life, could only nod repeatedly. He shakily got to his feet and led the way for George.
After about half an hour of walking, George and his group finally arrived at a somewhat primitive-looking village.
"George, should we use force to intimidate them?" Sophia whispered.
With the strength of the three of them, destroying this tribe would be a piece of cake.
"There's no need. I have another idea," George shook his head, already formulating a plan in his mind.
"Take me to your high priest!" George commanded Abu.
Abu nodded continuously, then led George and his companions to the largest tent in the village.
Inside the tent was an elderly man with white hair, sitting by the fire. He wore a set of animal hide clothing, looking rather shabby—nothing like a high priest at all.
"You're players, right?" The old man looked up at George and his companions and immediately identified them.
Then, he glanced at Abu, who hurriedly fled from the tent.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm George!" George looked directly at the high priest, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.
The priest chuckled lightly and said, "Just call me Priest."
George frowned slightly, then said bluntly, "Do you know that the true god you worship... is actually a demon?"
The priest, who had been rubbing his hands to keep warm, suddenly stopped. After a moment of silence, he replied, "I know."
This confession stunned George and his companions.
They had expected the priest to be angry, to deny it.
But they didn't expect him to admit it so easily.
"Since you know, why continue worshiping him? When he recovers, the first to die will be you!" Dorothy couldn't help but ask.
The priest shook his head, his voice tinged with sadness. "But if we don't worship him, he still has the power to kill us."
His words left George and the others silent.
What the priest said wasn't entirely wrong. With the current average strength of players, they simply couldn't defeat a demon.
Even if someone had that kind of power, they might not be willing to fight an ancient demon for the sake of a primitive tribe.
"What if I can help you kill the demon?" George asked.
At those words, the priest, who had remained calm up until now, suddenly scoffed. Then, he sighed. "He is the legendary Primordial Demon. You won't stand a chance against him."
"I'm only saying, what if. If I kill him, what will you give me in return?" George asked calmly, not the least bit angry.
The priest's expression finally changed. He cleared his throat and shakily pulled a seal from his robe.
"This is the totem of our tribe. If you can kill the demon, I will give you this seal. From now on, the Aztect Tribe will follow your orders unconditionally."
Though they were under the rule of the demon, the priest thought that being ruled by a player, rather than an immoral demon, would be better.
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear!" George thought to himself, delighted. What he needed was to control the Aztect Tribe.
Though the Battlefield of Gods and Demons ruins hadn't unlocked any dungeons yet, everyone knew that, in time, this place would rise.
When it did, countless treasures and Divine Artifacts would appear.
If George could subdue a tribe here in advance, it would give him a huge advantage.
When the Battlefield of Gods and Demons opened, while others were still slowly exploring, George would already be ahead of the game, thanks to the local people.
"Is this it? It's not enough." Though George was happy with the offer, he still wanted to push for more rewards.
"I have one more piece of equipment. After the task is completed, I can give it to you!" the priest said to George.
George didn't ask much about the equipment's quality.
He knew that the old priest wouldn't dare to deceive him.
Seeing that George nodded in agreement, the priest sighed in relief and slowly took out a map, pointing to the cave where the demon was hiding.
At the same time, a message appeared in George's view:
[Ding! Task received: Eliminate the Ancient Demon hiding in the cave. Reward: Loyalty of the Aztect Tribe, and a pair of Gilded Wings.]
"I don't know if you'll be satisfied with this equipment, but it's the best our tribe can offer," the priest said nervously, noticing George's unreadable expression.
But what the priest didn't know was that George was completely taken aback.
If you were to rank equipment of the same level, flying-type gear would definitely be at the top.
In fact, a flying item could easily be worth two pieces of the same level of other gear.
With a touch of excitement, George, accompanied by Dorothy and Sophia, set off for the cave following the map.
"I can't believe a small, primitive tribe has a flying item!" Sophia remarked, clearly impressed.
Part of it was because she was well-traveled and knew how rare flying gear was.
The other reason was that she genuinely felt happy for George.
After all, the stronger George became, the more it would help them.
George nodded. By now, he had calmed down from his initial excitement.
Instead, a sense of caution and suspicion had taken over.
Why would a priest from a primitive tribe possess such valuable flying gear?
And with a flying item, they could easily leave this barren land and go to Cologne Island or somewhere else.
These were all points of suspicion, and for a moment, George couldn't find a reasonable explanation.
After thinking for a moment, George whispered to Sophia and Dorothy, "You two stay outside. I'll go into the cave alone. If I don't come out after a while, return to the Dragon Bone ship and try to contact Louise!"
"Why? With the three of us working together, we'd have a better chance against the Ancient Demon!" Dorothy was the first to voice her doubts.
George simply waved his hand, his expression serious. "It's better to be cautious."
Though Sophia and Dorothy were still a bit confused, they ultimately listened to George's advice and chose to stay behind.
George, on the other hand, took the Deep Sea Shield and Dwarven King's Iron Hammer, heading into the demon's cave alone.
The moment he stepped into the cave, George immediately felt a chill in the air.
Contrary to what he had expected, there were no roars or growls from the demon.
Instead, only the sound of an old man's eerie laughter echoed throughout the cave.
"Who's there?" George furrowed his brow, already sensing something was wrong.
In the darkness, an old man's face slowly emerged.
It was the same priest from earlier!