VOLUME 2: CHAPTER 151 – RITE OF PASSAGE (1/2)
Status
Race Goblin
Level 72
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 (The goddess)
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
We left the Gaidga village and saw the cardinal Nemush until the border of the Forest of Darkness.
I left the monsters we encountered along the way to Gi Gu Verbena and his southern goblins, while Fei and I were completely focused on gathering as much information as we could.
Cardinal Nemush was headed to a city state of the northern part of the free cities known as Banen Kingdom. Apparently, they pick their king by election.
Being also the headquarters of the Kushain faith, it seemed to be a country deeply devoted to religion.
Apparently, the influence of the church there was so great that Nemush went as far as to say that without the adherents there would be no people.
“Don’t you have a king?” I asked.
Nemush laughed with a sneer as he said the king wasn’t a problem.
“The king himself is a follower of the Kushain faith. Moreover, not even the king himself can meet the patriarch just because he wishes to!” Nemush said.
I don’t know if he’s being talkative because he looks down on me for being a monster or simply because that’s how he is. Of course, there’s still a possibility that he’s lying, but I don’t think anyone is capable of coming up with such a complicated lie.
It’s a pity the evil eye of the one-eyed snake can’t discern truth from lie.
Because of that I have no choice but to rely on my own skills. It’s inconvenient, but when I think about how relying on a skill won’t get me that far anyway, I feel better.
I still haven’t found a path to victory. For now, there’s no choice but to fumble my way through.
We spent about 10 days all-in-all gathering information from Nemush, and then we finally arrived at the southern end of the forest.
There, a rocky desert of a wasteland where the air shimmered in heat and the hot sand scorched greeted us.
It was faint, but I could see the city-state from the distance.
“This is as far as we go,” I said.
We haven’t even fully understood the forest yet. Going out into the desert now was far too early. First, we must strengthen our stronghold.
“Before you go, take these with you. It’s a farewell gift. Let it pay your travel expenses and serve as a tribute to that god you speak of.”
I spoke as haughtily as I could to further cement my image as a foolish monster king to Nemush.
“So the teachings of Kushain can reach even monsters… Are you writing this down?” Nemush said to the other believers with him.
They must have been recording something, as the believers quickly wrote down something with a feather pen.
“I will gift you another treasure when you come to the forest again. I wish to pay respects to that god of yours,” I said insincerely. I could barely keep myself from grinning.
If this man could gain power and wreak havoc in the south, the power of the humans will dwindle.
“I don’t think a monster could ever understand the teachings of Kushain, but at the very least, I’ll pray for you to have a peaceful death,” Nemush said.
“Farewell,” I said.
A peaceful death, huh. I couldn’t help but sneer at the thought as I turned heel.
Who wants a peaceful death?
What I want is to suffer and suffer more, a thorny road covered in blood.
I chose to walk such a path. Damn a peaceful death.
On the other side of all the pain and suffering, beyond the endless wars… What awaits me is probably…
◆◆◇
We took the same amount of time to return to the Fortress of the Abyss. When we got back, Kuzan’s representative, Yellow, was waiting for us. I’d sent Kuzan to the elven school, so Yellow had to take over the search of the Fortress of the Abyss.
The old goblin and Yellow seemed to be working together, as they welcomed us together upon our return.
“My king, word has come from the elf, Lord Felbi,” the old goblin said.
The old goblin was in charge of the young and female goblins, and was unusually wise for a goblin.
It seems Felbi, Pale, Selena, and Shumea have all successfully infiltrated the western region. They’ve become adventurers to earn a living and are currently on their way to visit various places.
The west was under the rule of the soldier, Gowen Ranid. That should be the same man who swore a treaty with me.
It’s doubtful that he’s willing to keep that treaty, however, as he has been gathering and training a significant number of soldiers. In fact, he’s apparently even willing to name an unknown adventurer an officer depending on his abilities. He’s really thought things through.
It seems I’m not the only one who’s been strengthening his forces and looking to expand territory.
“Forget the treaty. Is he planning on attacking?” I asked.