Chapter 60: The Goblin Lord
Emily had entered this dungeon instance twice, and in one of those instances, the leader of her group used his ability to bombard the settlement from afar, giving her and the other hunters an easy clear.
At that time, she felt envious of the leader's skill and happy not to have to work hard to clear the dungeon.
But now, all of this had become a burden on her heart.
She could steel her heart against killing goblin armies, but to kill someone innocent...
They kept walking through the settlement.
Before, Emily had focused on the ogre's movement and the danger they were in; now, her attention started to shift to the conditions in which the goblins lived.
She then realized some of the goblins peeking out had sunken cheeks.
"How long have all of you been here?" she asked.
"If I use time from Lady Emily's world, then it has been around seven months now."
Hearing his sister talk with Petricia made Alex wonder about the reason for this.
Why had they stayed in the area for so long before allowing hunters to enter?
He had checked the report on this dungeon before; it had been cleared every chance it got.
'This means there are many areas prepared for hunters, and one is chosen randomly.
Or whoever put this goblin clan here did it on purpose, to push them to the edge before letting human hunters enter.'
This meant the current goblin clan had been weakened; Alex didn't know how many of them had died in all these months.
Walking through the rough patch of road, it didn't take long for them to reach the place where the High Goblin Lord lived.
To Alex's surprise, the place was empty; he didn't see any guards or ogres.
It was different from what Vesa had told him; a dozen ogres should have been standing guard here, with many goblin soldiers moving around the hallway.
"Why has the place become empty now?" Alex asked.
Petricia spoke with the ogre before conveying its reply to Alex, "King, they say it's the lord's order. He wants to show you that he wants to avoid any conflict and…"
Seeing Petricia hesitate, Alex then asked her, "And what?"
"The lord says he knows you are not really a god," Petricia stopped for a moment, then added, "Please don't be mad, King."
Alex chuckled. "Why should I be mad about that? I am no god, haha."
This made Petricia think Alex was just being modest, making her worship Alex even more.
In her mind, the only way to describe Alex's ability and presence was by being a god.
When she first woke up, she found herself in a new world, even though it was small; if not a god, who could create such a thing?
She could also feel her life was in Alex's hands, and he could kill her anytime.
After Petricia learned about the Awe System, the items she could purchase, and how there were a hundred small worlds like where she lived, her worship grew even more.
At this point, if things came to a head, Petricia would not hesitate to betray the High Goblin Lord, taking Alex's side, even without the threat of her life in Alex's hands.
Alex's lips twitched; seeing Petricia's expression, he decided to ignore it.
Having her worship him more was better for him; this would make it easier to raise her loyalty.
Hearing Alex and Petricia's interaction made Emily cringe. Since it was her own brother being called a god, she felt even more embarrassed.
She knew many of his embarrassing sides and how he often acted like a child. 'If he is a god, the world is really done for,' she thought.
In front of them now stood the High Goblin Lord. His eyes had dark patches around them, and his body was robust and taller than the average high goblin.
Petricia's height barely reached his shoulder.
The High Goblin Lord had blue skin with golden tattoos on his face and hands.
A sound then reverberated in Alex's mind, "Ukkaaa, ka umaaa kaaa kakaa."
He didn't understand what the voice meant, but he could pinpoint that it came from the High Goblin Lord.
Alex could feel the thread of mana coming from his direction.
Alex wanted to ask Petricia to translate, but a message from Vesa stopped him.
[King, do you want me to translate it for you?]
'You can do that? You should have told me before.'
Alex knitted his eyebrows together, feeling foolish for letting Petricia translate for him.
If Emily knew this, she would laugh her head off and say, 'Serves you right. How does it feel to be on the receiving end?'
But Emily didn't know this; in her and Petricia's eyes, it seemed like the High Goblin Lord was silently communicating with Alex, and he appeared displeased.
The High Goblin Lord also felt the same; he thought Alex still didn't trust him. He then sent another message that Alex ignored since he was still communicating with Vesa.
[As long as I have the knowledge, I can do it, King. I thought you knew it since it should be obvious.
Now I understand why your sister thinks your ability is bugged.]
Alex's lips twitched; he wanted to berate Vesa but knew it was his fault.
How could he miss it?
Vesa had already extracted all the information from Petricia. Since she could make the map, it was obvious Vesa had learned the goblin language too.
He just felt glad that his sister didn't know this; otherwise, she would tease him to no end.
'Translate it, Vesa. Just do it automatically from now on.'
[Alright, King.]
Vesa then told Alex what the High Goblin Lord had said.
The first sentence meant, "Hunter, we should talk alone."
Then, the next part was telling him that what they talked about was better not known by Greltha.
Greltha was Petricia's name as a high goblin before she came under Alex.
The High Goblin Lord then introduced himself; his name was Zarnak.
He could talk telepathically to Alex using a magic tool he had, but this tool had limited use now since he didn't have access to mana crystals after being exiled.