🤼Chapter Five: The Deadly Battle in the Sea of Flowers (2)

The leader of the lizardmen desecrators wore the silver-armored priest's robes of the Church of Time, making it clear that his previous disguise was that of a mid-level priest in the Church. The human-skin mask on the lizardman's face was well-preserved, showing no significant damage. Judging by this mask, he should have been an unremarkable mid-level priest.

The cyborg searched his memory, trying to recall if he had ever seen this face before. However, there were at least a hundred mid-level priests in the Church of Time, and most of them had no daily interactions with the Rose Knights. Coupled with such a nondescript face, this was indeed an excellent choice for the lizardman's disguise.

Many people think that spies are all handsome men and beautiful women, but in fact, for espionage work that requires blending into the enemy, the more ordinary the appearance, the better. The lizardmen desecrators initially disguised themselves as various important figures, only to find that although these figures had greater power, they were also under more scrutiny. Often, after spending a long time replacing a prominent figure with a lizardman doppelgänger, they would be exposed within a week. After many failures, these cunning lizardmen desecrators adjusted their tactics, opting to disguise themselves as inconspicuous ordinary people. These ordinary people often worked in special departments or were servants or neighbors of important figures. This way, the doppelgängers were not only less likely to be discovered but could also carry out their spy tasks more covertly.

The lizardman priest led his squad deep into the sea of flowers before stopping. They were close to where Gulaba was hiding, and the cyborg couldn't help but worry for the bold sword saint. However, Gulaba's stealth skills were truly formidable. Even though the cyborg knew he was hidden nearby, he couldn't detect his presence.

Apparently, this squad of lizardmen desecrators also failed to notice the powerful sword saint hidden nearby. The lizardman priest turned and hissed softly to his companions, and the lizardmen dispersed, leaving only one lizardman wearing a modified exoskeleton from the Laba Laboratory standing in place.

This lizardman, disguised as a cyborg from the Laba Laboratory, clearly had not maintained his human-skin mask well. Although he wore a mechanical mask, the edges revealed rotting skin and dark green scales beneath.

The lizardman priest hissed in disgust at the cyborg. The cyborg doppelgänger seemed to fear their leader greatly, quickly bowing humbly. He then picked a few torch lilies nearby, carefully tearing off the petals and mixing them with another liquid in a portable juicer.

The petals of the torch lilies were rich with thick, fragrant juice. Combined with the lizardmen's unique formula, they could create an excellent adhesive. The cyborg doppelgänger carefully applied the adhesive to the peeling skin on his face, meticulously repairing the damaged areas of his human-skin mask. Soon, the once ragged face looked much more intact, and with the mechanical mask covering it, the flaws were hardly noticeable.

The lizardman priest inspected the cyborg doppelgänger's human-skin mask closely. Satisfied that there were no obvious flaws, he nodded in approval. He gestured to the cyborg doppelgänger and asked in the lizardmen's unique language, "Do you understand your mission?"

"Perfectly, sir," the cyborg doppelgänger replied promptly.

"Tonight is the night the torch lilies bloom. The cyborgs from the Laba Laboratory won't miss this large patch of mature torch lilies. They will definitely come to harvest them in the middle of the night when the flowers are in full bloom. At that time..." The lizardman priest's eyes gleamed coldly.

"I understand. I will blend in at the best possible moment," the cyborg doppelgänger said.

"You better be smart. Although those cyborgs all look the same, they are actually more cautious than others. Your predecessor was exposed because he failed to update their daily changing passcode in time. You know what happened to him, right?" The lizardman priest glanced sideways at the cyborg doppelgänger.

"Of course. That unlucky guy was turned into a specimen by the Laba Laboratory and is still lying in Eagle's Gorge." Though the cyborg doppelgänger's expression was hidden, the fear in his electronic voice was evident.

"Good, it's good to be afraid. It will make you more careful," the lizardman priest sneered. "But that unlucky guy didn't entirely fail his mission. Even as a specimen, he managed to pass on the information. No matter how advanced those cyborgs' technology is, they can't guess that we hide information in pheromones. They can only smell the stench of the corpse, without knowing the myriad differences in those scents."

"Naturally. Even beastmen and vampires can't distinguish the 30% of pheromones in the scent. Only we, the great lizardmen, have such a powerful talent!" the cyborg doppelgänger agreed.

The lizardman priest sneered and grabbed his subordinate by the throat. "So understand this: even if you are turned into a specimen, don't forget to pass on the information through your corpse. I don't care if you die; if you can't complete the mission, you won't return to the divine kingdom even in death!"

"I swear to complete the mission..." The cyborg doppelgänger, though choked, continued without a hitch in his electronic voice.

The lizardman priest released his grip, satisfied, and wiped his hand on his subordinate's clothes. "According to previous information, Laba Laboratory's chief scientist, Laba, hasn't shown up publicly for over three months. This is suspicious."

"Could it be that Laba is working on some strange new weapon again?"

"That's possible. If it weren't for the Laba Laboratory discovering our weakness to cold and collaborating with the Church of Time to create a large number of ice-enchanted weapons, we wouldn't have been defeated so quickly. So if he indeed has actions against us, even at the risk of exposure, you must stop him!" The lizardman priest, recalling the past, couldn't help but sigh, his hatred for Laba surfacing.

"Rest assured, sir! I am prepared to return to the divine kingdom. Our voodoo shaman has developed a virus specifically targeting cyborgs. If I get the chance, I'll directly take out Laba and avenge our people!"

At this point, the two exchanged determined glances and declared:

"Return to the divine kingdom!"

"Return to the divine kingdom!"