Chapter 27: The Green Goblin Clan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: The Green Goblin Clan
[Human assassins fight in the dark. But us Green Goblins… well… - Chieftain of the Green Goblin Clan.]
“Seems he was a close one… Kkirik… A brother? Kkirik.”
The one speaking to me was, of course, the Green Goblin. We were currently leaving the Land of Glory with a few members of the Green Goblin Clan. I hadn't said my farewells to the Great Tribe Leader, but seeing as the Green Goblin didn't seem to mind, I figured it wasn't a requirement.
“He was someone who came here with me.”
“Then he must have been special. Kkirik, kkirik. It was the same for me.”
I was moving slowly, mounted on the back of the Giant Wolf I had named ‘Ibar.’ At first, I thought it was right to walk alongside my other clan members and had intended to do so, but Mev approached me and insisted that I had to show the dignity of a chieftain, so I relented and climbed onto the beast’s back.
Riding him was easier than I expected. I had a feeling I’d make a fool of myself and fall off if he started running, but we were moving slowly, and more importantly, he was being considerate of me. Besides, his soft, fluffy fur felt incredibly pleasant. It was like sitting on a high-end sofa. I could vaguely understand why people on Earth were so crazy about expensive cars.
What was interesting was the chieftain of the Green Goblin Clan, who was moving alongside me with about ten of his tribesmen. It seemed he hadn't been chosen, either.
I could feel his gaze fixed on me, his eyes filled with envy as I rode on Ibar’s back.
“Want to ride on the back for a bit?”
“N-No. Kkirik. It’s fine. Kkirik…”
He definitely stuttered. It looked like his resolve was wavering. As if understanding my words, Ibar let out a “Grrrrr,” expressing his refusal. Seeing this, the Green Goblin’s face fell into a look of profound sorrow. I didn’t know why, but his nearby tribesmen wore the same mournful expressions. In the end, I had to lean down slightly and ask, “It’s okay, right?” before Ibar reluctantly lowered his body.
There was no way the Green Goblin would fail to understand the gesture to climb on. Finally, he muttered, “It’s… it’s fine. It’s… it’s really fine… Kkirik,” and slowly began to climb onto Ibar’s back.
I caught a glimpse of his face as he settled in; he looked absolutely ecstatic. Green Skins really are simple. Seeing this, the members of the Green Goblin Clan started shouting.
“Our chieftain was also chosen by a Giant Wolf!”
“Our chieftain is the first goblin to resolve the Green Goblin Clan’s great regret!”
“As expected, the chieftain is great!”
It seemed that none of the other goblins had ever ridden a wolf before. It made me wonder if, like the old man from the Dark Moon Clan, these Giant Wolves simply disliked goblins. In an instant, their faces were flushed with excitement. My own clan members were getting excited for a different reason.
“This is a scene of great harmony!”
“The Green Goblin Clan and the Blood Dagger Clan! A scene of great harmony!”
I wondered how they could possibly interpret the simple act of letting someone ride a wolf in such a way, but the situation was truly amusing. The Green Goblin, slightly carried away, stood up on the wolf’s back with both feet.
“I am the Green Goblin!”
Tsk.
Watching him, I began to seriously worry if I could entrust my future to such a creature. By then, we had left the Land of Glory, and the direction of our return path seemed a little different.
“This path seems different from the one we took to find the Land of Glory.”
“That land is a sacred ground that only Green Skins participating in the Warrior’s Exam may tread. Kkirik. Our clan, too, was led by a guide across that glorious path. That was eight years ago already.”
“I see…”
“The other way is much faster and easier. And you can occasionally run into humans. You won’t have to suppress your desire for battle like last time. Kkirik, kkirik.”
It seemed the monsters that had appeared whenever we slightly changed direction during the Warrior’s Exam had been guiding us onto the correct path. Just as the Green Goblin said, we found a much more convenient route than the one we had taken to find the Land of Glory.
It was a path surrounded by enormous trees. To be precise, it was too unkempt to be called a proper road, but the massive trees certainly blocked the hot desert sun, making travel much more comfortable.
This forest was likely the ‘road’ connecting the central region and the desert. Thanks to that, it seemed humans also used it frequently. A ‘disputed zone,’ so to speak. It was highly likely that this was a piece of land that neither Green Skins nor humans wanted to give up. It was the only convenient path to the rest of the continent, so it was no surprise they’d want to occupy it.
I had no talent for memorizing routes, so I glanced at Mev, who nodded as if she understood my intent. As an archer, she was memorizing the path.
“By the way, you said you wanted to learn something from our clan, didn’t you?”
“Everything. Especially how to use a dagger. Not just me, of course, but all of my clan members.”
I needed to use as many weapons as possible, so I decided to learn the dagger first. There was no particular reason, other than the fact that we were heading west and I had heard tales of the Green Goblins’ skill with daggers even back when I was human.
For instance, unskilled thieves or assassins were often the butt of jokes like:
‘Tsk. If only you could use a dagger half as well as a Green Goblin.’ That alone was a testament to how proficient they were.
At my words, the Green Goblin tilted his head as if pretending to think for a moment, then grinned and continued.
“You are a peculiar Green Skin. Blood Dagger, the warrior who lost his honor. Other folks just assume there’s nothing to learn from us. I think this is the first time anyone has directly asked for my teachings. Kkirik.”
“You have raised your banner and defended your honor in the bodies of goblins, without evolving. You are more than worthy of applause.”
“Kkirik! Kkirik! Those are pleasant words. Normally, when our Green Goblin Clan receives a request from our brothers, we take shiny things as payment.”
So it wasn’t free. After I’d even let him ride my wolf, his attitude felt a little cheap. I’d heard rumors back in the city that Green Goblins went crazy for anything that glittered. It was even recommended that adventurers avoid carrying shiny objects when leaving the city. I thought it was just a joke, but now I saw they were truly greedy creatures.
“I have nothing on me right now, but you will receive what you desire, Green Goblin.”
“Kkirik! Kkirik! Excellent! Excellent! Kkirik!”
He’d ridden the wolf. He’d been promised shiny things. The endlessly pleased goblin began to laugh with his characteristic sound, and the other goblins behind him began to laugh as well.
Shiny gold coins and jewels. They were valuable when I was human, but from a monster’s perspective, they were utterly useless. I didn’t know why he was so obsessed with such things, but sharing the spoils from a hunt would be no trouble at all.
We had been walking like that for a long time when the Green Goblin slowly began to dismount the wolf. I looked at him with a questioning expression, and he opened his mouth with a mischievous look on his face.
“The time to satisfy Blood Dagger’s curiosity has come sooner than expected. Kkirik, kkirik.”
The other Green Goblins around him also began to look around, their faces slightly joyful.
“Humans. It’s humans.”
“Humans are up ahead. We’ll see them if we walk just a little further.”
I hadn’t noticed. Naturally, my tribesmen also had dumbfounded expressions.
“Blood Dagger, I’m not disrespecting your valor, but we’ll take this fight. There’s something I want to show you. Kkirik, kkirik.”
I answered with a nod. I had expected any humans operating in a blatant disputed zone like this forest to be strong, but I never imagined we would fail to notice them so completely. In fact, I welcomed this. If we had charged in first, probably half of my men would have died.
More than that, the Green Goblin Clan, who had sensed them, began to look even more impressive.
In truth, among the Green Skins, any chieftain who had remained on the continent for a long time—excluding the newcomers—could be considered one of the continent’s strongest warriors. Based on my personal judgment and the rumors I’d heard, if I were to assume the Sword Saint ten years from now was S-RANK, then the Queen of the North, who was considered her equal, would also be S-RANK. The numerous Green Skin chieftains would likely fall between S-RANK and A-RANK. Of course, someone truly outside the norm like the Great Tribe Leader Agar would be SS-RANK.
Considering I was E-RANK in my human life, that was a height I could barely approach. The Green Goblin in front of me, despite his playful and greedy demeanor, was surely one of those top-tier powerhouses. I gestured briefly to the members of the Blood Dagger Clan.
They must have heard the Green Goblin’s voice. I was signaling them not to interfere in this battle. They all nodded in understanding, though it was clear they wanted to fight.
This was the first time I would witness a battle of a being beyond the standard, other than the Sword Saint. And even with her, I had only seen unofficial matches like martial arts tournaments, never a real, life-or-death clash.
“Let’s go, my green brothers.”
The Green Goblin Clan began to move at high speed. Of course, as if being considerate of us, they kept glancing back as they ran. If it had been just the Green Goblins, the humans probably wouldn't have noticed us. But with the Blood Dagger Clan and me running along, practically advertising our charge, I figured they would spot us soon enough.
As expected, I heard human voices.
“Monsters! Prepare for battle!”
“Lucky us. They’re goblins. Let’s just deal with them casually…”
Fucking idiots.
It was true that the goblins in the south were weaker than those in the west. Even so, being that careless was just absurd bravado. Either their skills were subpar, or this was the reaction of people who were truly confident.
As expected, there was at least one sensible person among them. The voice of a man with a dignified tone rang out.
“Don’t let your guard down. Prepare for battle.”
He seemed to be the leader, because as soon as he spoke, the party’s atmosphere changed. The sounds of casting could be heard from all over. They were responding with magic first. The warriors, too, readjusted their shields, preparing to meet the goblins.
Just as I was wondering how the small-bodied goblins could possibly break through those shields and win, the chieftain suddenly took out gold coins from a pouch he was carrying and started throwing them.
“Kkirik! Kkirik! Shiny, shiny, shiny!”
I was wondering what kind of nonsense he was up to when I looked ahead and saw the elite goblins of the Green Goblin Clan suddenly accelerate. I realized they hadn't been running slowly to wait for us. It was all a clumsy act to make the enemy let their guard down. The expressions on the humans’ faces were hardening as the goblins’ speed changed. Of course their expressions would change. The speed of the goblins closing in on them was truly fast.
And then…
Just as a spell was about to erupt from a human mage’s mouth, a brilliant flash of light burst from the coins the chieftain had thrown.
Fuck…
There was no sound of an explosion. Just…
Piiiiiiiiiiii—
A sound rang continuously in my ears, and my vision was completely blocked. It was only natural that I squeezed my eyes shut against the painfully bright light.
A flashbang.
I immediately thought it must be a Unique Ability. A Unique Ability to turn shiny things into flashbangs. It was completely different from a cheap Unique Ability like HP Increase. Only then did I realize why the Green Goblin Clan, in their mere goblin bodies, were a nightmare to human adventurers. I also understood why I had never seen the chieftain of the Green Goblin Clan in the western city of Aia.
They fought in the light. This group, composed almost entirely of assassins, fought within the flashbangs set off by their chieftain, ‘Green Goblin.’
Before the ringing in my ears even stopped, the screams of humans continuously stabbed at my eardrums.
“Aaaaargh!!”
“Aaaack!”
“Wh-Where! Help me!!!”
“Priest!!”
By the time my vision slowly recovered and I opened my eyes, the battle was already over.
Fuck… you fucking bastards…
It was only natural that a curse escaped my lips, directed at whoever summoned us to this ridiculously unfair place. They were strong. The chieftain hadn't even moved after that first flashbang. The Green Goblins, already uninterested in the finished battle, were busy rummaging through the humans’ belongings.
“Chief! Found it! Gold coins!”
“Shiny, shiny, shiny!”
It wasn’t just me. Every member of the Blood Dagger Clan was staring at them with a dumbfounded expression at this absurd scene. In the midst of it all, the chieftain Green Goblin looked at me and bared his teeth. The gold coins were still dancing on his palm.
“What do you think, Blood Dagger? Is your curiosity satisfied? Kkirik… kkirik…”
“Somewhat…”
This was a Named Monster.
Honestly, I was speechless for a moment. It wasn't an exaggeration; I was truly bewildered. My pride was even a little hurt that I hadn't even been able to watch them fight. I hadn't even seen properly how they died.
“Blood Dagger, you’ve heard it too, right? The voice of the God of the Battlefield.”
“I have.”
“It seems the God of the Battlefield calls these special powers [Unique Abilities]. Kkirik, kkirik!”
Of course, I knew. I had awakened one myself, after all. Even if it was a ridiculously useless ability.
“I see… I think I remember seeing that in the place called the Item Shop.”
“Then this will be quick. Blood Dagger, I awakened this ability exactly three years after coming here. You will do the same. For the next three years you are with me, you will focus on awakening your own Unique Ability. Kkirik, kkirik! It doesn’t matter what kind of ability it is.”
“I look forward to it…”
Of course, a Unique Ability was important, but that wasn’t all. I realized something from watching the Green Goblin Clan just now. In that battle, they looked like a perfect ‘clan.’ My own development was important, yes. But the direction in which our clan would grow was also crucial.
A clan like Silver Fang, with their overall high mobility, would be highly specialized in guerrilla warfare. The Minotaur Chieftain Clan of the Plains would push forward with brute strength, while the Ogres of the Jungle would awaken their wild nature to slaughter their enemies.
Come to think of it, Goff’s clan was the same. Most of their warriors had large builds. They enjoyed fighting on the front lines. Even the Dark Moon Clan, with its unusually high number of shamans, had its own specialty. My clan also had a higher ratio of assassins compared to others, so it wasn’t completely without its own color, but it was still lacking.
I have a lot of homework.
It was the literal meaning. I really had a lot of homework. In the end, I didn’t say much for the entire journey into the west, and the Green Goblin chieftain looked at me as if he understood. I had no way of knowing how long he had lived here, but it was a process of growth he must have gone through as well. By the time we arrived at the Green Goblin Clan’s village, I found myself thinking that I had made the right choice in picking his clan.
Two or three years. I would use any means necessary to become stronger with all my might.