CHAPTER 32: A GREEDY KING
TL Note:
The freebie extra queues. Either this SAT SUN or MON.Goblin Name Cheat Sheet:
The [Goblin] is to make it easier to CTRL+F.
[Goblin] Gi Ga
The goblin in that estranged group that was with the protagonist when he defeated an orc. He is currently a noble class, the highest amongst the protagonist’s subordinates. He prefers to use the spear.
[Goblin] Gi Gu
The former leader of the village. He was pressured by the protagonist in his goblin noble form, and was added to his subordinates. He uses the long sword, and is relatively smart for a goblin rare.
[Goblin] Gi Gi
Known as a beast warrior, a goblin with the ability to tame beasts.
He evolved while hunting spear deer with the protagonist.
He prefers to use the axe. His goblin class is rare.
[Goblin] Gi Go
A goblin with many wounds on his body. The food of his horde was stolen by the gray wolves, so he made a decision to follow the protagonist. He is the most experienced amongst the goblin rares. His weapon is a curved katana.
[Goblin] Gi Za
The druid goblin rare that recently joined them.
Chapter 32: A Greedy King
[Race] Goblin
[Level] 60
[Class] Duke; Horde Chief
[Possessed Skills] <<Horde Commander>> <<Insurgent Will>> <<Overpowering Howl>> <<Swordsmanship B->> <<Insatiable Desire>> <<King’s Soul>> <<Ruler’s Wisdom I>> <<Eyes of the Blue Snake>> <<Dance at Death’s Border>> <<Red Snake’s Eye>> <<Magic Manipulation>> <<Soul of a Crazed Warrior>> <<Third Impact (The Third Chant)>>
[Divine Protection] Goddess of the Underworld (Altesia)
[Attributes] Darkness; Death
[Subordinate Beasts] High Kobold (Lv1) Gray Wolf (Lv1) x2
[Abnormal Status] <<Charm of the Saint>>
I rested at the village after dealing with the surveillance issue of the east.
And now, I’m watching the different factions fight desperately with Lili.
“Whose faction is fighting today?” I asked.
“Ours, my chief,” answered Gi Go as he bowed.
I don’t know if it’s because of all his scars, but Gi Go always reminds me of the ancient warriors.
“Have you found a way to defeat the humans yet?”
“…Not yet,” he replied.
“Gi Go, I have a plan I’d like you to teach to the three goblins’ that are coming out today.”
My face twisted into a grin in my mischievousness as I uttered that sentence. To anyone else, my face must’ve looked vicious.
“Lili, are you ready?”
“Yes, there’re no problems.”
Lili stood there as always, swinging her wooden sword, and cutting the air.
“Then, let’s begin.”
And so, the battle between Lili and the three goblins began.
◇◇◆
Lili approached the three goblins slowly, but the three goblins approached her as a group.
The basics of the three-man cell hasn’t changed.
One goblin will block, another will break the foe’s stance, and another will kill the prey.
Only this time, the three goblins grouped up, and they blocked Lili’s attack.
Lili wasn’t called an adventurer just for show though, and she threw a flurry of attacks, leaving no gap for the goblins to take advantage of. Any attempt to move away would quickly be met with a flash of her sword, forcing the goblins to be restrained in one place.
But those light and flexible attacks were by no means capable of killing in one swing, so the goblins gradually grasped the movement of the swings until finally, they caught it!
“Got it!” I remarked.
Lili swinging her sword to her heart’s content was the very thing that gave the goblins the keys to victory.
Reflexively, I yelled, “Go!” But to my surprise, a goblin was blown away instead. And the other two goblins scattered to opposite directions.
“Tch!”
A goblin went down on all fours, and tried to take Lili from below. The sword was originally a weapon meant to grasp victory while standing. It doesn’t have much techniques for fighting opponents grazing by the ground. All the more so with a surprise attack like this one. Having been perfectly executed, Lili shouldn’t be able to counterattack.
Lili struck with her sword, and it hit against the ground.
At the same time, the goblins from her left and right went for her legs.
“Something like this! –––– Tch!?”
Lili tried to jump back, but the goblin that was on all fours got to her legs first.
“Wh–!?”
Before Lili knew it, a goblin was by her legs, keeping her legs from moving with a wooden sword. The match was over.
“That’s enough.”
“I… Can still fight!” fiercely argued Lili.
Hmm…
“Then how about another round?” I suggested.
“Of course!” she promptly replied.
“Then in that case, next one up is…”
“My faction.”
The one who stepped up was Gi Gu, a goblin who was born in this village.
“Alright, bring the goblins over then. I’ll tell them the plan.”
I gathered the goblins who were to fight Lili, and quietly, I whispered to them the strategy.
When I finished discussing, the goblins went to face Lili.
“I won’t lose again,” declared Lili.
Lili grit her teeth, and she swung her sword.
“Begin.”
At my signal, Lili plunged forward toward the goblins. But the goblins all went down on fours, and went for Lili’s legs.
“No matter how many times you do that!”
Lili jumped back and fixed her stance. But the goblins continued to crawl.
“Tch!”
The three continued to attack from below, leaving Lili unable to do anything but defend. Her legs were also injured from before. Were she to move her body forcefully, her injuries would only get worse.
Taxed with the burden of having to fight as she endured the pain on her legs, her fatigue piled on top of one another several times faster than normal.
The attacks grew fiercer, and when her body finally reached its limits, her sword was knocked away.
Heaving, and with her sword gone… the match was over.
“That’s enough.”
“Tch…”
I shook Lili’s shoulders, then I left her in Reshia’s care. Afterwards, I called Gi Gu and Gi Go.
“Why do you think they won against Lili?”
The two goblins remained silent, so I answered the question.
“The reason is simple. It’s because there was a clear plan to follow on how to engage the enemy.”
“Clear?”
“Plan?”
Is it too hard?
“In other words, I told them where to attack.”
“I see,” nodded the two as they answered at the same time.
“Moreover, I also told them the opponent’s weakness.”
Pressure the opponent’s weakness, and with the weak point identified, the three goblins will be able to attack in coordination.
And naturally… victory will come.
In other words, it essentially comes down to:
Make the most out of the three goblins’ number advantage. And attack the opponent’s weakness.
“From here on out, I’ll be expecting you and the others to put this into practice.”
We can’t win with power alone against the orcs. That’s why… I have to train their ability to see through their enemies’ weaknesses.
With enough experience, even without the skill <<Blue Eye’s Snake>>, they should be able to do it.
“Understood.”
“As you will.”
I nodded back to the two goblins, and then I went to check Lili’s condition who has already been brought back to the jail.
◆◇◇
“How are your wounds?” I asked as I entered the jail.
“…It’s fine. There’re no problems,” replied Lili.
It must be because of Reshia’s healing that she’s already able to stand.
“We’ll end here today. Are you still planning to continue tomorrow?”
“O-Of course!”
As Lili stared daggers at me, the corners of my mouth twisted.
“Since you’re that lively, I guess you’ll be fine.”
“Obviously. I’m not going to let those goblins get ahead of me anymore than this!”
“I’ll be looking forward to it then.”
I left the jail with a mischievous smile plastered on my face.
◇◆◆
Hmm… I think I really need to do the hunts with Gi Za’s faction as the center. The fact that they were the first to overcome Lili is really something. So I’ll form the groups like this: one druid at the center and two melee goblins.
Right, I’ll have them hunt with this formation.
But just in case, I’ll have to make sure to order Gi Za not to kill the two goblins that will be in front.
“I don’t really mind,” he said.
But then right after, Gi Za gave a rather delicate response toward my orders.
“Why do you want to keep those goblins alive so much?” he asked.
Why?
“Let me ask you in return, Gi Za. How much of this world do you think we can conquer?”
“Another abrupt question.”
That wry smile, and that shrugging shoulder of his really stinks of human.
“You know… I plan to conquer everything of this world.”
Emotion like fire welled up from within the deepest pits of my body as I uttered those words.
“…Everything, huh?”
“That’s right. This Forest of Darkness. The land that the humans dwell on. Or the mountains that the dragons rule over. Or even the labyrinths that are under the giants’ dominion. Everything.”
Gi Za, speechless. I faced toward him, and I declared,
“Which is exactly why I can’t have these goblins dying here. If they are to welcome me as king, and if I am to be the king you wished for, then I must guide them. The place where they shall die, the place where they shall fight, I will dictate.”
And that place is not here.
“For them to lose their lives in something as meaningless as these hunts… I absolutely forbid it.”
“…ku ku ku.”
Gi Za held his tummy as if it were the strangest thing he’s heard. Then stopping himself, he looked at me seriously, and said.
“I’m looking forward to it, my king. You’ve made me want to follow you.”
In response to his resolve, I puffed out my chest.
“Of course, look forward to it.”
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The [Skill] <<Adherent of the King>> will be added to Gi Za.
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