Living as a Demon Lord in the Dungeon

The battlefield became a one-sided massacre.

The weakened lizardmen perished one after another under the relentless pursuit of the minotaurs.

Meanwhile, Sean sat on a large rock, carefully examining the two treasures he had just acquired.

First is the war banner staff of the lizardman high shaman. Although the staff is made of wood, it has a jade-like texture due to being constantly irrigated with blood.

The battle flag was made of leather from an unknown animal and also bore the marks of being soaked in various kinds of blood over the years.

Sean wasn't surprised; most orc tribes like the lizardmen practiced ancestor worship through totem blood sacrifice.

They would follow a certain ritual, splashing the blood of their prey onto symbolic objects and worshipping it devoutly.

Over time, these symbols will acquire certain magical abilities.

Although this behavior may seem barbaric and backward, it is violent and direct, and its effects are even better than ordinary magic.

Moreover, these totem symbols nurtured by primal instincts are absolutely rare and precious materials for magical weapon crafting!

This is, after all, a world of swords and magic. Although the techniques can be practiced, the raw materials needed for refining weapons and alchemy are nowhere to be found. We can only explore and find the best substitutes little by little.

Sean carefully put it away and then picked up the strange green skull.

This thing felt cool to the touch, and it was the skull of some unknown creature. It was shrouded in dense necromantic energy, and its surface was engraved with countless magical runes.

Sean was quite certain that this thing belonged to some necromancer. As for why it ended up in the hands of this lizardman shaman, that remained a mystery.

"Sir, all the lizardmen have been wiped out; not a single one escaped! But..."

Carlos knelt on one knee, head bowed and fists clenched. Minos knelt behind him, his face filled with grief and indignation.

Sean frowned. "Didn't you find the children?"

Carlos did not answer, but nodded tremblingly.

"In the end... we were still too late..."

Sean was also very heavy-hearted; the child was the future of the tribe.

Although the minotaur warriors suffered virtually no casualties in this attack on the lizardmen, the entire tribe suffered heavy losses.

Just as he was about to speak to comfort the two men, two ratman guards ran out of a nearby mine.

As they ran, they shouted, "Lord City Lord! Captain! There's a secret room in this mine! Those minotaurs seem to be inside!"

"What?"

Sean immediately jumped off the boulder and, with the two minotaur leaders, hurried toward the mine.

It turned out that when the battle began, the five rat-man guards realized that they couldn't help at all and would only cause trouble, so they quietly hid outside the battle.

When they saw the lizardman chieftain and the high priest rushing out of the mine, they felt that there might be something fishy going on, so they sneaked in.

Unexpectedly, by sheer chance, they discovered the enemy's hidden cave chamber.

However, the entrance to the secret room was blocked by a huge stone, which the five of them couldn't open with their strength, so they ran out to call for help.

But for the two minotaur brothers, the boulder was no problem at all.

Minos simply exerted a little force and tossed the three-meter-tall boulder aside, revealing a huge entrance.

"It really is here!"

The creatures of the underground, living in constant darkness, have long since evolved powerful night vision. Even though the mine's chambers were extremely dim, the two minotaur leaders spotted their clan's children at a glance.

"Ah! Great Chief! Lord of the City! Waaaaah..."

"The Great Chief and the others really came to rescue us! I knew it!"

"Great, are we dreaming?"

The minotaurs came running over, crying and surrounding Sean and his two companions. Carlos quickly counted them; thankfully, everyone was there.

Sean breathed a sigh of relief and gave the rat-man guards beside him a thumbs up: "You did a great job! You deserve a big reward this time!"

"I'll reward you handsomely when we get back!"

The ratmen danced with joy, and the Carlos brothers led the children out of the mine. The minotaurs outside, seeing the children safe and sound, erupted in cheers.

While he was there, Sean took a good look at the dark room.

"Sir, here are torches!"

Sean took the torch from the ratman guard and gave him an approving look.

When the firelight shone through, Sean realized that this was not a dark room at all, but a huge warehouse!

This place should be a huge, abandoned mine that has been completely mined out, and then these lizardmen have reused it to store supplies.

Iron ore was piled up like a small mountain, weapons and armor were neatly stacked against the wall, and there were several large piles of dried meat and food.

Sean couldn't suppress the smile on his face as he looked at the warehouse full of supplies.

Haha, I'm rich!

Those lizardmen bandits have actually amassed so much supplies. These days, robbery is still the fastest way to make money!

No wonder people often say, "A horse won't get fat without night grass, and a person won't get rich without unexpected wealth!"

But now, it's all benefiting me!

The rats standing nearby were so astonished they couldn't close their mouths.

"Goodness gracious, so much food, and weapons and armor... how many people could this feed!"

"Great! With the supplies here, paying the blood tax will be a piece of cake!"

"Are you crazy? Our dungeon has gained over a hundred people, which means the Demon King's blood tax is going to increase dramatically!"

One of the rat-man guards looked at the supplies in the warehouse with a pained expression: "If you calculate it, more than half of these will have to be handed over."

Another ratman guard couldn't help but sigh, "If only we didn't have to pay the blood tax, all these things would belong to our dungeon."

"Shut up! Are you crazy? Don't you want to live? If you dare not pay, you'll know why it's called a blood tax!"

As the saying goes, what is said without intention may be taken to heart by the listener.

When he had nothing at all, Sean was thinking about how to gather enough food and supplies to pay the blood tax.

Now that he had the goods, he felt uneasy about handing them over to the Demon King's tax collection team.

It's such a waste to give away perfectly good supplies to others like this!

Wouldn't it be better to offer it as a sacrifice to the evil god in exchange for innate demonic energy to cultivate?

Sean narrowed his eyes. He knew that the Demon King's tax collection team was not to be trifled with. Whether to pay the blood tax or not was a matter that needed to be carefully considered.

Just as he was secretly making plans, the voice of the ratman guards sounded behind him again.

"Sir, there seems to be another secret room over there!"

"besides?"

Sean immediately became excited: "Are these lizardmen really that rich?"

"Come on! Take me to see it quickly! The rest of you, search the area thoroughly and see if there are any other hidden rooms!"

"Yes, sir!"

Several ratmen scattered, while the remaining ratman led Sean to the entrance of another dark room.

Looking at the same three-meter-high boulder, the ratman guard asked, "Sir, should I go and fetch Captain Minos?"

"No need, it's just a small pebble."

With one hand holding a torch and the other pressed against the boulder, Sean unleashed a torrent of demonic energy, circulating the "Bull Demon Mighty Fist," and effortlessly lifted the boulder and tossed it aside.

The rat-man guards shouted excitedly, "The city lord is mighty! The city lord is domineering! City, city, city lord! There seems to be someone inside!"

Sean shone the torch inside, and there were two incredibly beautiful young girls.

Pale purple skin, long silver-white hair, and those signature pointed ears.

"Hiss! A dark elf?"