Chapter 406: The Trial is Complete?
In the burrow, Bald Hide shivered from the cold. He reached out and pulled the dry grass in the burrow over himself, trying to get a little warmer.
After being dismissed by the High Priest, he had gone to find some food and returned to his burrow. The other goblins from his burrow had long ago become the enemy’s subordinates. Now, he was the only “Dongtou” left.
Fortunately, the High Priest had promised that once their numbers grew, he would assign the surplus goblins from other burrows to those with only a Dongtou. This gave Bald Hide something to look forward to, especially since the High Priest said he would be the first to receive them.
A cold wind blew into the burrow, and Bald Hide shivered. He was unaccustomed to the burrow being empty of other goblins; it was quiet and desolate. Before, when the goblins huddled together, they could at least share warmth. But now, he could only inch himself closer to the small fire, careful not to let the dry grass catch alight.
As he thought about the goblins from his burrow, he couldn’t help but recall that one goblin—the enemy leader, who had stood before him in strange clothes, his hands clasped behind his back.
He wasn’t tall, but the image of him sitting on a chair, accepting the fealty of the other goblins, was seared into Bald Hide’s mind, impossible to shake.
Bald Hide gritted his teeth. At the sight of such a scene, a thought couldn’t help but rise in his mind: ‘This is how a goblin ought to be.’
But he quickly shook his head. ‘After spring, the Feathered Serpent God will awaken. That will be the end for these goblins. I just need to keep proving myself until I can one day take the High Priest’s place. When that day comes, I’ll be the one sitting on a chair, looking down as the goblins of the Kingdom come forward one by one to pledge their fealty to me.’
But that was all still a long way off. For now, he had to go out and gather food himself tomorrow. As the only Dongtou in his burrow, he had to see to getting food personally. The thought of the other burrows in the Kingdom, still full of goblins, gave him a headache. It would be difficult to compete with the other burrows by himself. His only choice was to move as early as possible, entering the forest to find food before the other goblins had even stirred.
“When it comes to combat Ability, I’m no worse than the other goblins,” Bald Hide muttered. “I’m definitely stronger than the enemy’s leader. He’s so short.”
Thinking of Shire’s height, Bald Hide smiled confidently. “If I had a weapon, I wouldn’t even be afraid of those Centaurs.”
At this thought, he pulled the dry grass a little tighter around himself, preparing to fall asleep quickly so he’d be ready for action tomorrow.
But a clamor suddenly arose from outside the burrow. It sounded like something was crying out. Bald Hide scrambled to his feet. “What is that? Has a wild beast wandered into the Kingdom?”
Few wild beasts ever ventured into the Feathered Serpent Kingdom; they seemed to know this was the domain of goblins and generally stayed far away. But it did happen on occasion.
Bald Hide scrambled to his feet, preparing to leave the burrow and investigate. ‘If I discover something, or even catch some prey, it might be enough food for a long time. The High Priest might even assign me some goblins ahead of schedule.’
With that in mind, he shook out his hands, stomped his feet a few times, and picked up a thick wooden club from the ground, ready to venture out and see what was happening.
But after only a few steps, he froze. A dark figure was standing in his burrow—he didn’t know when it had arrived. By the light of the small fire, he squinted and made out the silhouette: it was a Centaur.
‘How can there be a Centaur in the Kingdom?’ Bald Hide immediately tightened his grip on the wooden club, staring fixedly at the intruder.
The Centaur, clad in a full suit of Armor, simply gripped its long blade and pointed it at Bald Hide. The firelight glinted coldly off the sharp edge.
“Wala wala,” a low cry came from outside the burrow. The voice sounded familiar, like the Dongtou from the neighboring burrow—that fellow was also on his own now. Bald Hide frowned and tested a step forward.
“AHHH—!” A piercing scream shot through the air, making him flinch. Then, everything outside went deathly silent again.
“Get back,” the Centaur said slowly, its long blade held level.
Bald Hide couldn’t understand the words. The intonation was similar to the strange language the High Priest sometimes used, but that didn’t prevent him from seeing the look of contempt on the Centaur’s face.
His gaze swept over the sharp edge of the long blade. Then, quick as a flash, he dropped his wooden club, turned, and scurried back into his pile of dry grass, even pulling some of it over himself with his hands, pretending as if nothing had happened at all.
…
With his hands clasped behind his back, Shire strolled leisurely along the “streets” of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom.
Calling them streets was generous; the term was only relative to the surrounding structures and burrows. It was impossible to tell if the crooked, winding paths had been trodden into existence by the goblins or if they were the original, primitive streets of the City of Ten Thousand Races. The dirt was bare of any plant life, and it wasn’t pockmarked with holes.
‘It’s a bit rough. I’ll need to have it filled and leveled later.’ Shire stepped over a protruding tree root, surveying the surrounding structures.
The occasional scream echoed from either side of the path. He knew it was the sound of goblins being killed, but it was a necessary step. Only by thoroughly intimidating them could he gain Control of the situation and ensure a stable transition.
To capture as many of these goblins as possible, he had deliberately chosen to make his move before dawn.
‘Based on its current state, restoring it to its former glory will be a massive undertaking.’ He scrutinized the crumbling walls and ruins, as well as the burrow entrances dug everywhere. ‘Everything will need to be properly planned later—the burrows and the houses alike.’