Entering the bar, the five walked in to hear laughter and music.

There seemed to be a pair of bards in the corner- a singer and a musician who played some sort of wooden pipe instrument, and the music appealed to the ears of Arlo as he shuffled inside.

The insectoid men of all different types sat around tables slamming down their drinks and laughing like there was no tomorrow. It was chaotic, but it was a friendly atmosphere which reminded Arlo of the taverns in his own home.

'I suppose they don't exactly have taverns like this in the Dictatorship. Perhaps I should suggest that some are built.', Arlo thought.

As they walked in and took some seats at another table, a number of men walked up to the group with cheerful smiles.

"Dern!! How's the life as a king? Haha!!"

"I'm no king. I'm just trying to do what I can to lead these people."

The man seemed to smack the shoulder of Dern with fondness.

"Ah enough of your humility already!! You've done so much for us. It's time we do something for you. Bartender! Drinks for all these men with the king!! On me!!"

"Coming right up!"

The drinks were brought out and slammed on the table and many men gathered around the five with glee.

"So? Who are these gentlemen with you, Dern? Friends of yours?", one man asked.

Arlo grinned and answered before Dern could even say anything.

"My name is Arlo. I am here to challenge your king to a duel over the rule of this city."

The men were taken aback for just a moment at Arlo's answer, but it was only a moment of surprise.

"Is that so!! Haha! Sounds interesting, doesn't it fellas!! I like you lizardman! You got real guts to challenge our leader like that. Fine then! If you can beat him, I'll serve you and crown you as the new king!!"

The man slapped the back of Dern.

"After all, if you managed to defeat our leader here, then that would really be something."

"Ah, don't misunderstand me. I am not taking over this village because I wish to rule it."

"Eh?"

The man was confused at this statement of Arlo.

"I am taking over this village so that my masters, the people I serve, may rule it."

"Oh.... is that so? Well, either way that's fine by me! But if you're doing this for your masters, does that mean that you're their warrior? Is it one of those nations where the rulers rule and the warriors fight? After all, I'm not a big fan of serving a weakling who likes to sit on a throne from far away."

The man sat down in a chair in between Arlo and Dern.

"I serve Dern because I respect him. He's strong, and he uses that strength for us. But if your leaders aren't strong, then I won't be able to respect them as leaders. After all, they went and sent someone else to take over this village in their place. Do they even care about you? Aren't they just using you, Arlo?"

A vein seemed to form on the head of both Arlo and Yirald, and Fergo and Relu tried to calm the two down.

"You are wrong. It is because they are so busy with a number of things that they have sent myself, one far weaker than them, to perform this menial task."

Most of the men were quieted at this response.

"Menial? Are you saying that taking over our city is a menial task?", Dern asked.

Arlo smiled at this.

"To my masters, a small village like this could be destroyed in the blink of an eye. Their strength is a strength that made my own strength before I met them look like an infant in the face of a warrior. Even now, after they have granted me a slight portion of their own power, they still hold a strength which is perhaps thousands or millions of times greater than my own. It is an unfathomable strength- one which could never be stopped even if one were to try."

"You talk tough, Arlo. I like that! Then, we'll see about it tomorrow, won't we? Right, Dern?"

Dern nodded with uncertainty.

"At any rate, let's drink!", he stated as he took a large gulp of his own glass.

Arlo smiled and chugged down his beer, and Fergo and Relu followed as the tension eased.

Yirald however remained still.

"Are you not going to drink, Yirald?", Relu asked. "This beer is of good quality. Of course it is nothing compared to the delicacies of the Dictatorship."

"I feel that at least one of us should remain sober. Don't mind me."

"Suit yourself then!", Relu shouted as he ordered another glass.

"Ah, there was something I wanted to ask about.", Arlo stated as he wiped his mouth and turned to Dern. "I haven't noticed any wasp or spider people in this city. Is there a particular reason for this?"

Dern looked at Arlo with a smile.

"Ah, yeah that's a story from quite a long time ago. Do you want to hear it? Why are you interested in the wasps and spiders anyways? Did you hear something about them?"

"I happen to know a few, and I was interested. That's all."

Dern's eyes went wide as Arlo stated this.

Many of the people around Arlo too seemed to look at him with surprise.

"Oi lizardman.... is that true?"

"You know people like that?"

Arlo looked around, baffled as to why these people seemed so interested.

"Well, yes. In our nation there are two spiders who happen to be the head slaves. Sir Coran and Lady Berith. Furthermore, as far as I know, Sir Coran has taken in the former leader of the wasps as his slave and wife, and they are happily living with their human children in a small town which we have taken over."

"Are you sure you should be saying all that, Arlo? Are you getting a bit tipsy?", Yirald asked with suspicion.

"Ah, I don't think it will be a problem for them to know this much. After all.... they will soon be members of the Dictatorship."

Yirald nodded and let out a sigh.

"Well, I suppose that's true."

"Hey, don't act like you've already beaten me. I fully intend to defeat you tomorrow.", Dern commented. "And if I do, then my city won't become a part of your Dictatorship."

Arlo merely laughed.

"I suppose that's right. After all, a fight is never decided from the start. I can't let myself think that I've already won."

However, the people around the group seemed to be stunned at Arlo's statement.

"A spider...."

"Enslaved and married a wasp!?!"

"And they had children!?!?!"

"IN THE HUMAN REALM!?!?!"

Arlo looked around to see the faces of complete bafflement of the people around him.

"Is there something strange I said? Well, I suppose that is pretty strange, but in our nation even the strangest thing has become a common occurrence. Something like that is actually one of the more normal things in our nation."

"Eh....."

"That's...."

The people looked around to one another, unsure what to even say.

"So? What was this story you said you were gonna tell?", Arlo asked. "I'd like to know."

"Ah... right. Well, I'll tell you.", a preying mantis said. "It's a small legend among the insectoids. You know of the demon who created humanoids all over the world before disappearing and leaving the humanoids to survive on their own, right?"

"I am aware of the story.", Arlo said.

"Well, shortly after he left the insectoid village, the legend says that the insectoids were all left together, however soon enough they split into groups. Predators and prey. The spiders formed one group and the wasps formed another, and these predators wanted to take over and eradicate the rest of the insectoids."

Taking a sip from his glass, the mantis continued.

"However, because both groups wanted to eradicate and consume the other insectoids, they came into conflict with one another. An all out war began, however fortunately their shift went from the weaker insectoids to one another, so the other insectoids were at least able to hold on and survive while the two groups were fighting one another."

"Hmm..."

Arlo placed his glass on the table and began to think.

"What happened next?"

"Well, as far as I know the wasps and spiders built up their strength and were fighting one another for a long time. Generations, even. That is, until a certain insectoid stag beetle rose up. He was more powerful than even the strongest among the spiders and the wasps, and he defeated their leaders at the time. He then banished the spiders and the wasps to the North, and they went their separate ways and quit fighting, since the very people they were fighting to take over had gained too much strength for them to be able to face on their own."

"Hmm.... so Sir Coran and Lady Berith's mother must be a descendant of these spiders.... and she created her own web after killing all her siblings..... and that was when our leaders found her and enslaved the two. And Alicia must have been the descendant of those wasps. She created her own nest, which Coran took over before he enslaved her."

Arlo chuckled.

"That's somewhat ironic, isn't it? It looks like the spiders ended up defeating the wasps in the end, but a strange twist occurred and they came to a peace treaty. Love is a strange force, isn't it? It can make enemies with a past of war with one another forget their own hatred and throw it aside."

Something then hit Arlo.

"Then, do you all consider yourselves to be warriors?"

He looked at the man who had claimed that he was only willing to serve someone strong- a stag beetle.

"The insectoids have always been weak. Even the adults are only 2nd tier on average. Once in a while a 4th tier genius approaches, but that usually is all that happens. The man who took on the leaders of the wasps and the spiders at the time was 5th tier from what the legends say. Even so, we serve our leader and have our pride as warriors. We wish to serve someone strong and follow behind them into battle."

Arlo nodded.

"I see. Interesting. Then, let me ask- what tier is your current king?"

Arlo looked to Dern, who seemed to smile.

"Arlo, you're a warrior, are you not? It would spoil the fight tomorrow if you knew how strong I was."

"I suppose that's right. I shouldn't have asked that. Well, then I will conceal my own tier as well. After all, we will see tomorrow who is stronger."

"Of course."

The two clinked their beers together and drank, and the night came to a close.

Yirald however, did not drink a sip on that night.

'I don't trust him. He's too nice. He's too good. He's too naive. He doesn't understand anything. My masters once told me that if something is too good to be true, then it is. Sure, he may care about his people, but he will never understand.....'

Yirald remembered back to when Dern had made the statement about never giving up on someone.

'He will never understand what it means to truly lose someone. Not until he loses someone himself, and is powerless to do anything about it.'

Yirald was not angry in the least about what his masters had done to Erasalis.

He simply could not forgive the ant in front of him who seemed to believe that if one tried and tried, that he could overcome all odds.

'Life isn't so easy. I'm sure you will see this soon enough.'

----

The moon rose into the sky, however in the underground tunnels of the massive anthill which made up the insectoid village, it could not be seen.

The people at the drunken stickbug continued to drink throughout the night, to the point where almost everyone in the bar had been wasted.

Arlo, Fergo, and Relu made sure to drink only in moderation, for they couldn't afford to jeopardize the mission, and they found out that Dern could actually hold his own drinks quite well.

Dern drank and drank yet didn't seem to show even the slightest sign of tipsiness.

"Whoa.... you can really hold your drinks, can't you?"

"Of course. I couldn't lead this village if I couldn't at least do that much!"

It was then that the three heard something smash to the ground.

A mug had fallen and broken onto the floor, spilling beer all over.

"What was that!?!"

"I said that your wife is ugly!! There's no way a pretty one would ever go with you!! Hahaha!!!"

"Why you.... your wife is uglier than mine!!!"

"Hah!?! What are you talking about!!?? My wife is a beauty!!"

"As if!! My wife would beat her in a vote 100 times over!!!"

"No way!!!"

"You wanna go!?!?"

"Alright!!!"

Arlo turned back to see a humanoid grasshopper and a humanoid flea raising their fists and preparing to brawl.

"I ain't gonna hold back!!"

"Me neither!!"

The grasshopper slugged the flea in the jaw, sending the smaller insectoid flying.

"Hahahah!!!! That's what you get for talking trash!!!!"

However the flea soon rebounded, flying at the grasshopper and hitting him with an airborne kick.

"Oof!!!"

"Did you think you could beat me just cause yer bigger!?"

The two both got up and began walking towards each other, however in an instant Dern seemed to disappear from his own seat and was standing between the two, holding out his arms.

"I think that's enough. You two are both drunk, and you don't know what you're saying. I think you two need to calm down a bit."

"EH!?! Dern, he insulted my wife!!!"

"And he insulted mine!!! I can't let him go with just a few scratches!!!"

It wasn't as if Arlo couldn't follow his movements, but just watching the speed with which the ant moved he was surprised.

With lightning speed he appeared behind each of the two, chopping the back of their necks and sending them unconscious before catching both of the bodies in his hands.

He layed the two men down in their seats and left them snoring.

"I really can't stand seeing people fight like that, especially when they're drunk. They don't actually mean anything they say, so it's horrible to see people get into fights like that."

Arlo looked at Dern with a new light.

"You...."

He smiled.

"You're pretty damn strong, aren't you?"

His own warrior instincts were flaring.

Shivers went down his skin, which was covered in goosebumps.

He was excited.

Adrenaline flowed through his veins as he grinned.

"This is going to be an interesting fight tomorrow.", he said.

The ant looked at Arlo with a similar smile.

"I hope it will be. After all, I've never faced an opponent who has given me a challenge yet."

----

The night ended without further incident.

Arlo and the birdmen were guided to an inn where they stayed the night, and Dern explained the location of the arena, which they would be meeting to fight.

Arlo made a quick report to his own masters, however they seemed preoccupied with a number of other things.

'So her eminence is dealing with the ratmen right now, and the humans are in the snakemen village... they're all working so hard for the sake of the Dictatorship and it's expansion. I can't lose out in effort. I will win this fight and their excellencies will take this village for themselves without issue.'

As Arlo lay in a bed with his buff arms behind his head, he looked over to the birdmen around him.

"You're still awake too, Yirald?"

"Just thinking on some things."

"We have a big day tomorrow. Get some rest."

"I should be telling you that, Arlo. You're the one doing the fighting."

"Yeah."

"These people.... they're not bad people. But there is something off about them.", Yirald said. "They're too nice. I can't bring myself to trust them."

Arlo sat up with a light chuckle.

"I suppose their excellencies have really effected all of us. Dern is a good leader. I respect him as a warrior. But it is also my duty to remove him from his position as a leader. I will do so by beating him in fair battle."

"Do you think he will be able to come to terms with their excellencies?"

Arlo shriveled away at this question of Yirald.

"He will have to if he wishes to keep his own life. He is honorable. If I met him beforehand, then I would have been in awe of his strength and surprised at the care he had towards his people. But perhaps he is too honorable."

"Well, if their excellencies accept him into our fold then I will consider him a brother just as I do for you, Arlo. Their orders are absolute. The very words which come from their mouths are truth itself."

Arlo nodded.

"Indeed."

The two went to sleep that night, with their minds on the next day, filled with anxiousness as to how things would play out.

But they knew one thing more than anything else.

The people here would be saved if they came under the rule of their excellencies.

If they rejected their rule, then they would be slaughtered mercilessly.

Arlo and Yirald did not want this.

They enjoyed the short time they spent with these people.

And so, they held onto hope that things would work out as planned.

'Should I hope? For these people, who I didn't even know before today? Is that perhaps too optimistic? Perhaps that ant is effecting me. He is too optimistic. Haha.... I do wonder though.... just how will their excellencies deal with him if he does come underneath them?'

Yirald remembered back to the terror he felt when he was told to slaughter his own two friends.

He recalled the fear he held towards those demons, and the hatred in his heart that he momentarily held.

He looked to his two friends, who were sleeping, alive, right by his side.

'Their excellencies will not allow him to go free without a scare. They will change him, just as they changed us. But they will do what is best for all those underneath them. That much I know. Regardless of what they decide, I am their slave. I will follow their orders to my own death.'