Chapter 1888: Elder Pondwyn The Toad Clan Leader saw the corpses of the Necromancers and knew that Sir Astarot and the Dragons were not lying, human fugitives were indeed hiding in his territory. While looking around, the Toad Clan Leader saw Grey and its gaze trailed on his body for a little longer than normal, and there was even a sharp glint that flashed through its eyes. Luckily, Grey did not sense the Toad Clan Leader showing any intent to attack, which was a good sign for him. “How can this happen?” The Toad Clan Leader turned to the smaller Toad in its group. The smaller Toad looked at the scene in front of it for some time before saying, “This area is under Elder Pondwyn.” This was all the Toad Clan needed to hear. Top Toads each had a territory, and this area was Elder Pondwyn’s jurisdiction. As long as Elder Pondwyn wished to hide Necromancers from the Toad Clan Leader and the others, it would be difficult for anyone to find out. Hearing the name called by the smaller Toad among the Toads who came, Grey nodded his head. While questioning the Gnome, this was the name the Gnome mentioned. He knew the name belonged to one of the Toads, but he did not know if the Toad came with this entourage. Seeing the look of the Toad Clan Leader and the other Toads, he knew the culprit was not present. The Toad Clan Leader turned his attention to Sir Astarot and the other Magical Beasts’ Clan Leaders and said, “This is an internal matter and it will be handled by us.” Sir Astarot shook his head before explaining, “I understand, but you also have to understand that this is a matter involving everyone in the Inner Court. If the humans are to find out something like this happened and we did not handle it together, they might have reasons to doubt us.” The Toad Clan Leader grunted in displeasure, “Since when do we answer to the humans?” “We answer to no one.” Sir Astarot said calmly, adding after a few seconds, “However, this is a delicate matter involving the whole Inner Court, and even I am curious about this Elder Pondwyn you speak of.” The Toad Clan Leader glared at Sir Astarot and asked, “Is this what you all wish?” Its question was aimed at the other Clan Leaders present there. The Phoenix and Snake Clan Leaders exchanged glances before giving a nod. They, too, would like to see the Toad that was bold enough to betray the Inner Court. This was the reason they came in the first place. Anyone hiding the enemies is no different from an enemy, so they wanted to be sure the whole Toad Clan was not involved in this and it was just one Toad’s doing. The Toad Clan Leader snorted coldly, “If that’s the case, follow me.” After saying this, the Toad Clan Leader turned to the smaller Toad in their group and said, “Lead us to Pondwyn’s place. I would like to know the reason he agreed to work with the enemy.” The smaller Toad did not say a word, jumping into the air. The Toad Clan Leader and the other Toads present followed suit. Sir Astarot did not want to go with a crowd, so he told the Dragons that accompanied Grey to leave, while taking Grey with him. At first he did not want to take Grey with him, but when he noticed Grey planned to leave the Inner Court, he told him to follow them to this Elder Pondwyn’s place. On the way, Sir Astarot caught up with the Toad Clan Leader. He was the only one who came close to him during the journey. Grey was naturally with him. He asked about the specifics of this Elder Pondwyn, and to his surprise, Elder Pondwyn was only equivalent to a Ninth stage Sovereign and not even a Peak Sovereign much less a Half God Plane expert. “Why did you give him his own territory if he’s that weak?” Sir Astarot did not understand the Toad Clan Leader’s thinking process. He has been acquainted with the Toad Clan Leader for hundreds of years and knew that it was someone that only favored strength. From his understanding of the Toad Clan’s territory division, only Peak Sovereigns were assigned regions. They all answered to the Clan Leader and the Grand Elders. So hearing the Toad Clan Leader gave a Ninth stage Sovereign a region of his own, he could not help but wonder why he would do something like that. “Elder Pondwyn is quite special. He is from three generations before me, and for some reason, he has been stuck in the Ninth stage even before I was born. What he has managed to do well though is survive. Most of those in his generation, even the ones with strength higher than his own, are dead.” The Toad Clan Leader told Sir Astarot about the background of this Elder Pondwyn and why he could have a region of his own even with such weak strength. One has to know that most of the treasures acquired in one’s own designated territory are regarded as their own, no matter how precious. Unless it is an order from the Clan Leader and Grand Elders, they have every right to keep it and not hand it over to the leading Toad. Grey listened attentively to the workings of the Toad Clan. He did not know much about how the hierarchy was with Magical Beast Clans, all he knew was that strength reigned supreme. This was a good opportunity for him to improve his knowledge, and he did not miss it. Everything the Toad Clan Leader was saying about Elder Pondwyn proved that he was a respectable character. What he found amazing about Elder Pondwyn was his ability to survive. The Toad Clan Leader was well over a thousand years old, yet Elder Pondwyn was from three generations prior, this would mean that at the very least, Elder Pondwyn should be two thousand years old. This is taking into account that the Toad Clan Leader’s great grandfather, grandfather, and father all gave birth before they got to three hundred. When asking about the Toad Clan Leader some time ago, he found out that although it was not as difficult to give birth for the Toads as it was for the Dragons, it was also very hard for them to grow to the age of hundred. It was even harder for the top Toads with purer bloodline. Due to this, it was hard for the Toad Clan, especially the ruling bloodline, to produce a offspring that can grow to maturity. Take for instance, the current Toad Clan Leader did not have a single offspring above a hundred years of age. He was well over a thousand years old, yet he did not have a single offspring above a hundred years of age. The journey was fast, and by the time the Toad Clan Leader was done telling Sir Astarot about Elder Pondwyn, they had already gotten to their destination. Elder Pondwyn stayed a good distance away from the Toad Clan Central area. But his location was closer to the site of the battle. When they arrived there, they noticed a lot of activities. The activities alarmed them and the Toad Clan Leader rushed into Elder Pondwyn’s cave, only to find it empty. Hearing that Elder Pondwyn was not present, the Toad Clan Leader knew that he had most likely found out about the deaths of the Necromancers and had escaped. While they were discussing what to do, one of the Toad following the Toad Clan Leader called them over to see a shocking discovery. Beneath the cave of Elder Pondwyn was an underground stream that seemed to travel a long distance. When Grey went underground, seeing the stream, he could not help but find some similarities with the one he saw the Gnome in. This stream looked like it was created by the same thing that created that stream. Even the walls of the stream was the same pattern. The underground stream was not the thing that shocked them, however, it was the large corpse of a Toad that was currently laying on what looked to be an altar on the side of the water that drew everyone’s attention. This Toad was almost twice the size of the current Toad Clan Leader. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 “How can this be here?” The Toad Clan Leader asked in shock. Sir Astarot wanted to inquire what happened, but one of the Toads roared in anger. “How dare he defile the body of the Old Clan Leader?!” Grey continued staring at the corpse, finding it very strange. He walked closer to it while the others were still in shock, and his expression turned serious as soon as he walked close enough. “It has been transformed into one of their Puppets.” He muttered to himself, not concerned with the others present.