The Lizardman Clan had never been core members of Cassiopeia's Thorn Legion, and lately, they had been increasingly marginalized.
Due to some previous incidents involving Otto, Cassiopeia's prejudice against Saru deepened, making life harder for the Lizardman Clan.
Recently, Cassiopeia had been at a disadvantage in the battle against the Red Dragon. Saru's original idea was to simply look for an opportunity to defect to the Red Dragon's side. But now, he saw a new option.
A young dragon with considerable strength and ambition didn't really matter.
What was important was that, compared to Cassiopeia and the Red Dragon, Otto seemed to have fewer followers and was easier to get along with.
Which was more important, leisurely honey wine or thirst-quenching water?
Most people understood this simple truth, but how many would really put it into action?
In fact, Saru was gambling, and he was gambling the future of the entire Lizardman Clan.
Based on Otto's size, it would take at least several decades for him to grow up.
Lizardmen were not a long-lived race, so maybe by the time Otto grew up, Saru would be long gone.
But this decision was not made for himself. He hoped that the Lizardman Clan could seize the opportunity to soar, rather than forever be stuck in a situation with only a few hundred members and constantly worrying about having enough food.
Otto didn't know Saru's thoughts but knew that compared to Cassiopeia, he was far behind in both strength and influence.
Under such circumstances, choosing to follow him undoubtedly entailed great risks.
When he had just decided to recruit followers and prepared to make a big breakthrough, he encountered a voluntary follower.
Who would have thought that although the old Lizardman Saru was not good-looking, he became more and more pleasing to the eye.
Despite his excitement, Otto feigned composure. After settling his emotions a bit, he said, "It's best not to let Cassiopeia find out."
Otto's voice was deep and steady, mysteriously making Saru feel somewhat unfathomable.
Even though Otto didn't explicitly agree, he had obviously accepted the Lizardman Clan's allegiance, which finally put Saru's mind at ease.
After the Lizardman squad finished cleaning up the battlefield, they returned to the Giant Bear Cave in high spirits.
Sofia had been waiting at the entrance for a long time. Since she wasn't included in this action, the little girl was still fuming with her hands on her hips and a pouting face.
However, a child's attention is often drawn to other interesting things, and she quickly focused on the two large figures following Otto.
And the two Ogres noticed Sofia as well. To them, half-elves were the most delicious snacks.
Now their slow brains had a simple idea, which was to catch this little thing and treat themselves to her.
Otto hadn't expected such a situation. However, before he could take action, Sofia had already dealt with it herself.
"Grease Skill!"
Sofia's casting speed was even faster than her teacher Saru's. The two clumsy Ogres hadn't walked a few steps before they fell to the ground.
Although the Grease Skill was a low-level spell, it was very effective against clumsy creatures like Ogres.
Due to their fall and the tearing of their wounds, coupled with the memory of their near-death experience, the spineless Ogres immediately screamed in pain.
But Sofia would not let them off easily. She enthusiastically attacked them with Fireball Wind Blades and the like. Of course, she had controlled her strength, so there was no risk to their lives.But it really hurts!
Seeing that Sofia was not in danger, Otto simply didn't care anymore. He let the two ogres become her playthings or punching bags, so the little girl wouldn't pout all day.
There were still many things to deal with in the Lizardman clan, so Sharulu said goodbye to Otto and left.
For dinner, Otto took some ogre meat from the lizardmen's spoils of war, but he still could not gain any abilities from them.
It was becoming more difficult for Otto to acquire new abilities through consumption because he had already consumed many species.
Many species have overlapping abilities, which means to gain new abilities, Otto must consume more powerful creatures.
The taste of ogre meat was not very good, and Otto was also somewhat disgusted by eating creatures with a certain level of intelligence. So the remaining ogre meat was given to the lizardmen.
He spat out a small flame, starting a fire at the entrance of the cave. Some lizardmen helped him butcher a wild boar and skillfully roasted it with tree trunks. That was his real dinner for today.
Still without salt and spices, Otto began to miss civilized society.
Before eating, he looked at Sofia a little bored. The girl had successfully tamed the two ogres.
Poor ogres finally understood that this little half-elf was not a delicious snack, but a genuine demon.
Under Sofia's command, they cleaned and arranged the Giant Bear Cave. She had always wanted to decorate the cave properly since it was currently her home.
Ogres were quite clumsy and often struggled to meet Sofia's requirements. Hence, they were always punished with a fireball.
As a rather large creature, Otto could enter the cave, but the entrance was somewhat cramped for him.
Therefore, the first thing Sofia had the two ogres do was to widen the entrance with their rudimentary tools.
It was a considerable project. Sofia stood on the side like a ruthless supervisor, directing the ogres.
Otto found this scene amusing, but at the same time, he was deeply touched, knowing the reason Sofia did this.
With the hard work of the two ogres, the entrance became wider and wider, and rubble scattered everywhere.
Otto was hungry, but the roast wasn't ready yet. Looking at the scattered rocks, he suddenly had a bold idea.
Would his consumption ability work on non-living things, like these rocks?
He had never tried before. Previously, his thoughts were limited to common sense; unless there was no other option, few people would willingly eat dirt...
Though unsure if it'd work, Otto's terrifying digestion ability allowed him to change his diet and become a dirt-eating, rock-chewing dragon.
Just do it! With a shocked look on Sofia's face, Otto grabbed a handful of rubble the ogres had taken down, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it in just a couple of bites.
His teeth were strong enough to make the rocks taste like peanuts.
Soon, Otto got the answer he wanted.
"Successfully consumed ordinary rocks, gained Rock Coating abilities..."
The text that surfaced on the Light Ball proved that his speculation was correct. Although it was subtle, Otto noticed a faint gray film appearing over his silver scales.
Though it wasn't very strong, it was better than nothing. Moreover, this experience made it clear to Otto that his consumption ability was not limited to living creatures.