🤼‍♂️Chapter Five: The Deadly Battle in the Sea of Flowers (1)

"Lizardmen Desecrators!"

These malevolent creatures of unknown origin appeared in Time Town around twenty years ago. They worship foreign evil gods and are universally considered heretics in Time Town. Innately hostile towards other beings in the town, these Lizardmen seek to enslave every living creature within it.

In a place teeming with formidable beings, it is no easy feat to defeat other races head-on. The Lizardmen make up only 20% of the population of Time Town, but they are exceptionally cunning. Unlike the orcs who prefer open combat, the Lizardmen lurk in the shadows, silently observing their targets and seizing the moment to poison and eliminate their enemies.

They earned the moniker "Desecrators" because after assassinating their victims, they peel off their faces and wear them as masks. These Lizardmen possess a unique talent: they can perfectly mimic the voices and behaviors of their victims. Until the human skin mask they wear is damaged or decayed, it is nearly impossible for anyone to realize that a familiar face is actually a Lizardman in disguise.

Twenty years ago, the mayor of Time Town was a kind and amiable elder, trusted by all the townspeople. When disputes arose, people would turn to the mayor for arbitration, believing in his fairness and kindness.

But soon, dark clouds loomed over Time Town, heralding a great catastrophe. In the aftermath of this unspeakable calamity, the townspeople began to rebuild their shattered town. However, instead of the anticipated peace, more chaos and strange events ensued.

Children began to vanish every night without warning or clues, disappearing into thin air from their own homes. Families that lost children were on the brink of collapse, while those that hadn't were filled with dread.

Countless townsfolk turned to the mayor for help, hoping he would lead the mercenaries to find the missing children. Each time, the mayor confidently assured them that he would help the distressed families recover their lost children. Despite his reassuring words, the children continued to disappear, and the townspeople saw no concrete actions taken to find them.

Gradually, the residents of Time Town moved from hope to despair, and eventually, this collective disappointment turned into anger. Led by a priest from the Time Church, the townspeople stormed into the mayor's office, demanding an explanation.

The mayor, possibly terrified by the mob's anger, stood there lifelessly, repeating the same excuses like a puppet.

An enraged priest delivered a powerful left hook to the mayor's face, sending him flying. It was well known that boxing was a mandatory skill for every member of the Time Church, and those priests who couldn't box weren't qualified to preach independently.

To everyone's surprise, the elderly mayor wasn't killed by the forceful punch. Instead, he quickly got up from the ground with the agility of a young man in his twenties or thirties.

As the townspeople saw the mayor's face, they were all struck with horror. Half of his face had been torn off, revealing not blood and flesh, but green scales underneath!

Sensing the eyes of the crowd, the creature disguised as the mayor touched its face and realized its cover had been blown. The terrified creature hissed, possibly calling for help or sending a message to its kin.

The priest from the Time Church shouted "Demon!" and charged at the creature, followed by the enraged townspeople. Under a flurry of punches and kicks, the creature let out a ghastly wail. The hardy townsfolk, fueled by anger, quickly silenced the creature. The priest halted the furious mob from further desecrating the corpse, revealing a Lizardman Desecrator to the public for the first time.

This was the first encounter Time Town's residents had with these beings who wore human skins as disguises. The Time Church swiftly named these creatures "Lizardmen Desecrators" and declared them heretics. They also issued a permanent bounty on them.

From then on, although children occasionally still disappeared, they were usually found quickly.

While things seemed to improve, the trust among Time Town's residents was shattered. The high bounties and underlying fear led to pervasive suspicion and terror. Any change in someone's behavior would prompt their neighbors to suspect that they had been replaced by a Lizardman Desecrator. Terrified people were quick to violence. Violent incidents escalated, often culminating in stabbings under the guise of hunting Lizardmen Desecrators. Among these incidents, people discovered some were indeed replaced by Lizardmen Desecrators, but many more were innocent victims.

This was the most terrifying aspect of the Lizardmen Desecrators: whether discovered or not, they destroyed the peace of their surroundings.

After numerous tragic events, the Time Church finally forbade residents from privately hunting suspected Lizardmen Desecrators, mandating that suspects be handed over to the Inquisition for trial. The authority to arrest suspects was given to the Church's Knights, with the Mercenaries' Guild assisting only when requested.

For Lizardmen whose identities were exposed, however, there was no such restriction. Anyone could hunt these green-scaled creatures, and the Time Church's bounty remained in effect.

But the Lizardmen Desecrators were inherently sly and vindictive. Skilled in poisoning, they supplied the black market with deadly toxins, accumulating considerable wealth and connections. For many ordinary people, facing a Lizardman Desecrator meant certain death. Even those who successfully informed the Time Church often faced brutal retaliation from the Lizardmen. Consequently, ordinary residents became indifferent to who might be a disguised Lizardman, secretly praying that the Lizardmen would never reveal themselves and disturb the uneasy peace.

Today, finding so many Lizardmen Desecrators with damaged disguises in this sea of flowers deep in the desert, the cyborg sensed that something significant was about to unfold!