VOLUME 2: CHAPTER 139 – BANQUET I
Status
Race Goblin
Level 71
Class King; Ruler
Possessed Skills Ruler of the Demon Children of Chaos; Defiant Soul; World Devouring Howl; Sword Mastery A-; Dominator; King’s Soul; Ruler’s Wisdom III; Household of the Gods; One-Eyed Snake’s Evil Eye; The King's Dance at the Edge of Death; Magic Manipulation; Soul of the Berserk King; Third Impact (The Third Chant); Warrior's Instinct; Blessing of the Underworld Goddess; Guided One
Divine Protection Goddess of the Underworld (Altesia)
Attributes Darkness; Death
Subordinate Beasts High Kobold Hasu (Lv77); Gastra (Lv20); Cynthia (Lv1); Orc King (Bui) (Lv82)
Abnormal Status Blessing of the One-Eyed Snake; Protection of the Twin-Headed Snake
Symphoria handed over Selena and the male man, who – if i recall correctly – was named Felbi. He glared at me with marked hostility, while Pale Symphoria had her eyes shut tight.
The people participating in this meeting were the elven chiefs, me, Gi Za Zakuend, and Nikea.
“It seems you failed to meet my demand,” I said.
“W-What are you saying!? We’ve given you the tactitian and the commander!” Fenit said with great fear.
I looked at him sharply. “I believe I asked that they be handed without injury.”
“But they resisted! There was nothing we could do!” The slender man called Nash Jirad argued.
“I don’t think you people understand your position,” Gi Za said, causing the enemy chiefs to look alternatingly between me and Shure. “Know that you stand here today because of our generosity. I hope you do not you misunderstood yourselves as being our equal.”
Nash Jirad ground his teeth so hard it could be heard clearly. That seemed to please Gi Za, as he spoke no more.
“You have hit Selena, and it seems there is something wrong with the tactitian’s eyes,” I said.
“Her eyes won’t open anymore. We all agreed to crush her eyes before exiling her. It was a decision made by the Sage’s Council. Your demands came too late,” the small-statured elf, Silver, said.
Rage took me, and before I knew it, I had him by the neck. “Lowlives! How low are you willing to go? And to your benefactors no less!”
As I glared at the elven chiefs, I reached out for the great sword on my back.
When the elven chiefs saw that, they all screamed.
“King of goblins, your anger is well placed, but it is not your place to punish these people.” But then Shure’s calm voice suddenly resounded.
“These people—” I tried to argue.
“You are the benefactor of the elves and the king of the goblins, but you are not the king of the elves. Please do not forget that,” Shure said with a gaze full of conviction, persuading me to put Silver back down on the ground.
“These people will be punished by the law, yes?” I said.
“Of course,” Shure wilfully nodded.
At that, I withdrew.
Since the day we met, he made it clear that the elves had no need for a king… Even though there was none more fitting to ascend the throne aside from he himself.
As long as he believes that, the elves will never accept me lording over them.
“Thank you, Shure! As expected of the hero—” Fenit immediately tried to butter up to Shure after he stopped me, but Shure would have none of it.
“Silence!” He commanded with a sharp gaze and a loud voice all too rare for the usually composed Shure. “Truth be told, I would want nothing more than to cut you people into a million pieces this very instant! How long do you intend to throw mud on our face!? To think you have the gall to call yourselves chiefs!?”
The anger Shure had been fostering blew up, causing the elven chiefs to wince.
“Nash Jirad, Priena Sinfall, Silver Sheng, and Fenit Symphoria. I hereby strip you of your rights and responsibility as chiefs,” Shure said.
“O-On what grounds!?” The chiefs asked.
“You don’t understand? It must be because you pushed your responsibilites to Pale and made her take the blame. Because of that she ended up working harder than anyone else and fought fiercer than anyone else, but really, that was supposed to be your responsibility,” Shure said, then he finished things off with one last proclamation. “Filthy heathens of the elven race, you should quietly wait in jail for your judgment.”
Shure quietly watched as Fei and the Forni soldiers arrested the chiefs.
“Now, what to do with you?” I said, turning to Felbi, Selena, and Pale.
“Pah! Goblin scum acting all arrogant!” Felbi spat.
I wryly smiled and spat back, “beaten mutts truly do bark loud.”
“What did you call me!?’
“You lost in battle, was betrayed by your allies… And now your lives are in my hands. If this isn’t defeat, what is?”
Felbi’s face flushed, and I curtly said, “I will give you a chance.”
“What chance?” Felbi asked.
“A chance to kill me, but if you lose, the man known as Felbi shall die.”
“You’re challenging me to a duel?”
“Yes. It was from battle that we were born, hence, it is only fitting that one finds life through it.”
As I passed an orichalcum long sword to Felbi, I took out my great sword.
“You’re going to regret this!” Felbi said as he swung hissword.
“That’s my line!” I said as I met his blade.
Seven days later, after losing seven times to me, Felbi finally admitted his defeat, and the warrior known as Felbi died, leaving behind a man by the name of Felbi who was my subordinate.
◇◆◇
Meanwhile, while the Goblin King was busy with his duel, Shure met Nash in his office. Nash was cuffed and wore an expressionless face.
“What’s the point of calling me out to a place like this? Does the chairman of the Sage’s Council have some sort of business with little old me?” Nash Jirad asked sarcastically.
Shure’s expression didn’t change as he threw a document on the desk. “What were you doing in Jirad’s hidden forests?”
Nash Jirad’s sarcasm vanished at that question, and he went completely quiet.
“…”
“It’s fine even if you don’t say anything. I’ll guess,” Shure said. “You tried to cultivate the land; tried to imitate the humans. And you even made slaves of the demihumans.”
“!?”
Nash Jirad’s twisted expression confirmed everything for Shure.
“Why would someone so proud such as yourself try to imitate the humans?” Shure asked. “I suppose there’s no need to ask.”
“Yes, it is as you’ve thuoght. We imitated them to prepare for the coming war with the humans,” Nash Jirad said, finally breaking the silence with a laugh. “If a war were to breakout between the elves and the humans, the forests would surely be razed to the ground. In that case, the elves were bound to starve. To avoid that, I started looking for an alternative way to procure food.”
“Why would you enslave our neighbors despite knowing of the human threat?” Shure asked.
Nash responded with scorn. “Because the people wouldn’t listen. It doesn’t matter how much insight a person has, the people would never accept anything that might disadvantage them… even if one tried to explain the threat that looms. To the people, the forest is everything. It is their only livelihood, so I had no choice but to turn to the demihumans.”
“Just in case, you don’t have any intentions of working alongside me as a manager of those farms, do you?” Shure asked.
“Of course not. That is an endeavor we undertook to protect our pride. We have no reason to work with a traitor the likes of you,” Nash Jirad replied.
“I see… You may go.”
As Nash Jirad left through the door, Shure sighed deeply to himself.
“A pity… That insight.”
Left alone, those farms were bound to rot. He needed to discuss with the Goblin King what to do with them.
◆◆◇
After Felbi joined our ranks, we held a large banquet just as Shure suggested.
There wasn’t much for the goblins to do in the land of the elves, but there was a lot to study, so Gi Za Zakuend decided to stay here and further his research on ether for the time being.
I would like to go back as soon as possible though.
We have already completed our goals here in the west. We have successfuly gained favor with the elves and the demihumans and have even promoted many of our ranks. The anti-human coalition is starting to take shape, but the biggest prize in this trip is actually the acquisition of the world map. Shure had entrusted it to me.
Although the map was drawn with the elven forest at the center, it extends all the way to the continent and the seas. To the north were the mountains and to the south were the deserts. There was much left of this world to see, and that made my heart beat in anticiptation.
I also want to return to the east as soon as possible to check up on Gi Ga Rax and the Fortress of the Abyss. The orcs and the kobolds are acting as a stopgap between the fortress and the humans, but that isn’t absolute.
Not to mention, I recklessly requested reinforcements. I can’t help but worry that we’ve been spread too thin.
The banquet being held was grand indeed, but it was by no means luxurious. There was plenty of meat to suit the goblins’ taste and the elve’s special wine was free to drink.
I walked over to the man who recently joined our ranks and poured ourselves a drink.
“I didn’t think the Goblin King would partake in such activites,” Felbi said with surprise as he watched me pour him a drink.
“I might be a goblin, but I do believe there to be much to learn from the elves. Cartography, literature, arithmetic… There is much to learn, and for the sake of defeating the humans, I believe we should strive to learn them. To that end, I intend to keep myself in your good graces.”
Felbi whistled and called out to the now blind Pale. “It’s pretty strange, don’t you think? We’re actually being treated better now than when we were with the chiefs.”
Pale made a troubled laughter. “It is indeed strange… Just a few days ago we were still killing each other.”
Her eyes no longer functioning, Pale could only rely on her ear to find her way, but she still splendidly found where I was and turn to me.
Selena noticed us staring at each other and couldn’t help but worry as she alternatingly looked between me and her.
“We’ll be allies from now on. I still don’t understand you very well, but I hope we can get along. Though I have heard a little about you from Selena,” I said.
Pale vaguely smiled as she put down her cup and stood up.
“I’d like to feel the winds for a bit,” she said.
I watched her back leave as she walked away.
—232 days until the battle with the humans.
◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇
Rashka’s level has risen.
67 => 76