When the Goblin King returned to the Fortress of the Abyss, he pa.s.sed the residential area and moved toward the temple's domain, pa.s.sing through even the very gate which the twin headed snake once protected, carrying with him a torch.

The faint flame in the Goblin King's hands illuminated the naked path of rocks. Each time the Goblin King raised his torch, Verid in his right arm and the twin-headed snake on his left would throb. It was as if this place was trying to tell him not to bring fire here.

To that, the Goblin King could only wryly smile. “If you have a problem, then give me another solution.”

It was simply too difficult to proceed without seeing what's in front, the Goblin King reasoned as he brazenly continued into the darkness.

The tribal goblins and the goblin bigwigs were worried about the king going into the deeper parts of the Fortress of the Abyss, but the one to persuade them was surprisingly Kuzan. Although the newcomer, Pale, could persuade the demihumans, she could not do the same for the goblins. After all, Pale once belonged to the defeated faction.

Kuzan was someone who has received the blessing of the Underworld G.o.ddess, and she herself was a priestess of the twin-headed snake. It was that Kuzan who told the goblins that it was safe. She had earned much respect even within the tribes for being a priestess, and her healing abilities have earned her even more.

The goblins of the imperial guards, for example, have been saved by her countless times.

The king was great, but Kuzan was their life's benefactor. As such, when Pale advised the goblins worrying over the king, they could not just brush it off.

The Goblin King dressed as if he were about to go to war as he descended into the bas.e.m.e.nt. By his waist was Zweihander and on his shoulder was his spare sword, Flamberge. The Goblin King prioritized mobility and wore a set of leather armor with the Scarlet Speckled Big Bear's overcoat on top.

Who knew how many days has already pa.s.sed as the Goblin King walked through the darkness with only the bare minimum food he would need. Ever since he came into this world as a goblin, the fear of the darkness has long vanished from his heart. Perhaps that was the privilege of someone who was no longer human.

People feared the dark because they did not know if something could be lurking behind its veil. But as someone who lives in that side, this darkness now instead gently wrapped itself around him, giving him a sense of security.

“It's like being embraced by one's mother,” the Goblin King thought to himself as he wryly smiled.

It was like the joke of a child. Not something a king would think.

“Did my heart remain human?”

The Goblin King continued down the bas.e.m.e.nt, but the air remained tepid. Was that due to a special trait of being a goblin? Or was is it because there was some sort of special mechanism down in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Regardless, the Goblin King could barely notice the change in temperature.

Monster King.

It was because he wished to become that that he should lead the goblins and make the other races submit to him.

That woman…

“Res.h.i.+a.”

He would save Res.h.i.+a Fell Zeal, make the world his, and carve his name upon the annals of history. The fact that he had to antagonize the world to save her was no more than a convenient accident.

The deep black of the dark silenced even sound itself.

According to his senses, the Goblin King believed that he had already walked about half a day's distance. He has been chewing on his food supply while walking without rest the whole time, so his sense of time was hazy.

It was as if he was walking through a fog. The walls illuminated by the faint flame of his torch looked the same no matter how far he went.

But even then, the Goblin King walked onward.

He had to.

Ahead was the underworld. The Goblin King believed that and that belief in turn supported him.

One step. Another step. And another…

The Goblin King walked wholeheartedly like a traveller on a long journey.

“…Hmm?”

Then a faint light other than his torch came to view.

The Goblin King didn't think that he'd found the exit.

But as the light gradually grew stronger, the Goblin King put down his torch.

When the Goblin King pa.s.sed through the tunnel, what appeared before him left him in disbelief.

“This is…”

The faint light pouring from the Goblin King's head illuminated the area, revealing a vast room with a distance of about 60 meters to the ceiling and a depth of about 500 meters.

It was hard to see what lay deeper in for pillars stood in disorderly fas.h.i.+on blocking the rest from view.

The stone walls have been eroded terribly, but they were arranged in such a way that it was impossible for them to have been made by nature.

Like a limestone cavern, many giant pillars could be seen erected from the ground toward the ceiling. On each and every one could be seen the image of something that could not be likened to man. Each and every one of those figures held up a battered s.h.i.+eld and a sharpened sword.

“This is just like…”

The giants, the Goblin King muttered as he thought back to the myths that Res.h.i.+a once spoke of.

Tl Note:

Happy New Year!

This is the first release for this year and the week for GK. The site had some problems early this week, but everything seems to be working now, though I've removed the chat for the time being.

Anyway, holidays are over, so we'll continue with our normal schedule starting today. Jiggly's resolution will be to post more! Ha ha. Hopefully it holds. And hopefully I can get rid of that overflowing queue by the end of this month. I plan to. Fingers crossed.

“The old G.o.ds thanked the new G.o.ds and returned to their respective realms as they chose to stop fighting and live quietly.”

The same was true for the lives they gave birth to.

The elves chose the mysterious water and forest.

The demihumans that lived in the plains chose the gra.s.sy meadows and the deep forest.

The dragons chose the tall mountain ranges.

The giants chose to live underground.

“You're telling me these are giants?”

The giants born from the G.o.ds of starfaring vanished from the surface and chose to live underground. They're probably a different race from the mindless giant (Gigantopitecus) that Gi Zu once met.

A closer look at the images of the giants showed 4 eyes that dazzled like gems lined up on what seemed to be its head. It wasn't possible to pluck them out and take a closer look but they were probably actual gems, in fact. They looked somewhat similar to humans, but there were those among them with 3 or 4 arms. And there were even those with scales growing all over their body. They were probably about 3 times bigger than the ogres too. They were truly giants.

As the Goblin King admired the spectacles, he walked between the right stone columns. The Goblin King did not know who it was that made this giant construct, but regardless, the Goblin king believed that that person deserved respect. The giant images, or rather statues, were so exquisitely made that they actually seemed alive. Not once had the Goblin King seen such lifelike structures of giants until now.

When the Goblin King pa.s.sed the right columns, light reflected before the king. When he turned his sight, he noticed that it was the brilliance from the gem eyes of the giant statue.

The Goblin King stopped and looked up at the giant. What caught his interest was the strange glimmer in those red jewels. The direction of the light should have been fixed, but for some reason, it seemed to be reflecting straight for the king's line of sight.

“…What's going on?”

It was as if the gems were specifically trying to illuminate the king himself.

As the Goblin King muttered out his question, he reached for zweihander.

“…Who are you?”

A voice that seemed to reverberate from the very depths of the earth reached the king's ears. The statue of the giant before him shook a little, then creaking sounds resounded from the right pillars.

“Small one, who is neither man nor beast…

The jewels sparkled several times. They seemed to be some sort of sign or perhaps the giant was simply looking at him, but either way, it couldn't have simply been the Goblin King's imagination.

“You shan't go further.”

The Goblin King couldn't hide his shock when the statue first spoke, but now, he was starting to regain calm. But when he thought about how all the statues here could possibly be giants, he couldn't help but s.h.i.+ver as he wondered how many giants could be hiding here in this section.

The Goblin King looked up at the talking giant.

“I… Have business up ahead!” The Goblin King boldly declared as he puffed out his chest.

“Past here… Lies the underworld… Dark and vast… The world of the dead… That is not a place… you should tread.”

“That world's master is calling me.”

“The master of the underworld… Master… Ohh, hateful G.o.ddess of the underworld, Atesia. n.o.ble Altesia. Pitiful G.o.ddess of vengeance, Altesia!”

The giant spoke in a way that seemed to be both crying and reciting.

“Only the dead… May go to their world…”

The giant moved a little from the stone pillar and his head turned to the Goblin King.

“If that… which is not dead… were to go there… then he too shall become… dead.”

“Unfortunately, I have something that needs doing even if means gambling with death.”

The number of lives that the Goblin King carried on his two shoulders could no longer be counted. Perhaps it was even they, who valued their lives, who led him.

As the Goblin King boldly announced that, he went deeper in. The giant looked at the small back moving away and stirred a little.

“Hateful Altesia… We lay in slumber now… But one day… We shall enter… the underworld…”

The giant spoke no more and silence returned to the pillars.

As the Goblin King pa.s.sed the giants and walked further in, the tunnel in which darkness ruled returned.

The darkness within it was even greater than before.

When the Goblin King pa.s.sed it, the gigantic remnants of rotten armor appeared before the Goblin King. It was as if a great war had occurred here and scattered them. On the other hand, the armor seemed to be the right size for the giants. A giant sword whose blade was chipped. A bent unusable s.h.i.+eld made out of unknown material. A spear with a chipped spearhead.

When the Goblin King pa.s.sed all those, he knew he was close.

Before the king was a giant door he could only look up at. A gate might be better suited to describe it than a door. It extended so high up abve that when he looked up only darkness could be seen. It was so majestic that he wouldn't doubt it if he were told this was the gate to the underworld.

But as grand as the gate was, what really a.s.sured the king that he was close was none other than the giant snake coiled around the gate. It was small compared to the gate, but it was still a giant snake. Scales could be seen standing up along its back like a c.o.c.ks...o...b..and there even seemed to be a mane. ON its dark brown speckles and blackish brown vertical stripes were countless scars.

“State your business.”

When the giant snake opened its eyes, the words it uttered weighed heavily upon the Goblin King's shoulders. It was as if the very words themselves had a force of gravity to them.

“I have business with the underworld's master!” The Goblin King boldly declared.

The giant snake narrowed its eyes. “You don't strike me as a dog sent by the giants, but…”

As the giant snake raised up its head, pressure from the wind rose up a little.

“…Verid and Bedydia… You're here too?”

The giant snake smiled as it opened its mouth. Fangs that could crush boulders could be seen closely packed inside its mouth.

“Is it… time?”

The giant snake wasn't talking to the Goblin King but to Verid, who was inside him.

“No, Perseval. We are only here at the master's behest. We are here to have this one receive his blessing.”

The earth devouring snake, Perseval, looked suspiciously at the Goblin King, and the Goblin King in turn looked suspiciously at his right arm, where Verid was, but without any response, he could only look back up at the giant snake.

The giant snake stared at the Goblin King for a while, then he smiled. That expression stank very much like human.

“…Very well. As one one whom Verid has entered and Bedydia has entrusted his will, I shan't object to it, you who leads the yet small chaos.”

The earth devouring snake peeked at the king from in front. Its eyes' hue was a deep blue that looked like a jewel. It was like the color of the deep see.

“Doth thou seekest power? Though death be thine toll?”

The snake spoke like a priest would on one's wedding day, but the Goblin King nodded nevertheless.

“…I do.”

Perhaps this was what Altesia had intended, the Goblin King thought as he accepted the power that could lead him to death.

“Then taketh mine power and fulfill our desire.”

“What is it that you desire?”

“To let Hekaterina's (G.o.ddess of Glory and Victory) song resound throughout the land!”

“So be it! I promise you that with these two hands of mine I will bring a victory so grand even G.o.ds would turn!”

Pleased, the earth devouring snake laughed and bellowed out a great howl That shook the whole underground world. In the next moment, the earth devouring snak bit its own flesh and sprinkled its own blood upon the Goblin King.

Smoke sizzled out of the Goblin King as he looked around him.

“Feel free to take the giants' treasure there for yourself.”

There were several sparkling treasures around the place where the giant snake had coiled itself, but there were far too many things that the Goblin King could not carry with him.

Out of that pile, the Goblin King pulled out one weapon.

“The Guardian Sword of the Giants, t.i.tan Dagger, huh? A fitting weapon for you weaklings.”

“I will keep my promise. You just wait here.”

“Well said. Now then, it's a bit too early for you to be coming here. Go! Go forth and run! Run and return to the surface from whence you came!”

The Goblin King walked back the way he came and went back up to the surface.

“I hope you become a crack upon the world.”

After the Goblin King left , the armored giant that exited the pillar appeared before the earth devouring snake.

“Did you awake from your slumber because you sensed I was hurt? What a troublesome curse.”

“We… will be the sword… of vengeance… that shall avenge our ancestors!”

In the world beneath the ground, after the Goblin King left, a battle that would be spoken of in myths was unfolding.

◆◇◆

Status

Race Goblin

Level 1

Cla.s.s Imperial; Great Emperor

Possessed Skills Supreme Ruler of the Demon Children of Chaos; Defiant Soul; World Devouring Howl; Sword Mastery ; Road of the High King; King's Soul; Ruler's Wisdom III; Servant of the G.o.ds (previously translated as Household of the G.o.ds); The High King's Oath; Flowing Magic Control; One-Eyed Snake's Evil Eye; Raging Conqueror's Soul (previously translated as something else – I believe – but the entry is missing); The King's Dance at the Edge of Death; Third Impact (The Third Chant); Warrior's Instinct; Guided One; The King who Calls Forth Chaos; Favor of the Sealed War G.o.d (Previously used the world blessing too – but it seems there's actually a distinction between the various blessing-related terms); Sacred Favor of the Underworld G.o.ddess

Attributes Darkness; Death

Divine Protection The Underworld G.o.ddess (Altesia)

Subordinate Beasts Rook Kobold (Hasu Lv56); Gray Wolf (Gastra Lv20); Gray Wolf (Cynthia Lv42); Orc King (Bui Lv96)

Abnormal Status One-Eyed Snake's Blessing; Twin-Headed Snake's Protection; Earth-Devouring Snake's Blessing

Skill: Supreme Ruler of the Demon Children of Chaos (Previously Ruler of the Demon Children of Chaos)

—Charm towards tribal goblins (HIGH) (No changes from previous level.)

—The abilities of goblins under your rule are increased. (HIGH) (Previously just MEDIUM)

—The effect of the charm on a subordinate will wear off upon their death unless the goblin is an adherent. (No changes)

Skill: Road of the Supreme King (Previously Dominator)

—Increases the maximum population that can be ruled (EXTREMELY HIGH). (Previously just HIGH)

—Charm toward species other than goblins (MEDIUM). (Previously just LOW)

—Directives to those directly under you are absolute. (No changes)

Skill: The High King's Oath (Probably an evolved version of the King's Dance at the Edge of Death, which previously just dealt x2 damage of one's incurred damage toward an enemy.)

—Can use the ether of the underworld in exchange for ensured damage to oneself.

—Strength, Agility, Ether Capacity, and Physical Defense are greatly increased (EXTREMELY HIGH) but healing skills will no longer be able to heal oneself.

Skill: Sacred Favor of the underworld G.o.ddess) (Previously just blessing of the underworld G.o.ddess)

—Charm toward those who have received her divine protection (HIGH). (Previously MEDIUM)

—Hate from those with the light attribute (MEDIUM). (Previously LOW)

—Charm toward those with the darkness attribute (MEDIUM). (Previously Low)

Abnormal Status: Earth-Devouring Snake's Blessing

—All other blessings are strengthened.

Abnormal Status: Blessing of the one-eyed snake

—Stamina regeneration (HIGH). (Previously MEDIUM)

—Ether is easier to control. (No change)

Abnormal Status: Protection of the Twin-Headed Snake

—Stamina regeneration while fighting in the Fortress of the Abyss (EXTREMELY HIGH). (Previously just HIGH).

—Stamina regeneration while fighting in the Forest of Darkness (HIGH). (Previously MEDIUM according to the author, but V2 Skill Summary says LOW. Was there another level up somewhere?)

—The growth rate of the goblins under your leaders.h.i.+p is increased (MEDIUM). (Previously just LOW)

Skill: Favor of the Sealed War G.o.d (Same name as before)

—Defense, physical strength, and ether will all be raised when leading an army (HIGH). (Previously had no rating.)

—One's instinct is now more accurate when looking around the battlefield. (No changes)

Item: t.i.tan Dagger

—A dagger used by a giant in ancient times as a defensive weapon. To other races, it looks like a great sword.