Chapter 63: The Tribe
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: The Tribe
“Incredible…” Black Spear muttered, looking at the captured humans.
It was, of course, a plan destined for success. At the news of a newly discovered dungeon, scholars and mages rushed in to satisfy their thirst for knowledge, while others came dreaming of a big score, of growing stronger, or of finding rare items. Humans began to flock to Legius one after another.
The small city of Legius not only regained its former glory but became so saturated with people that it was practically bursting at the seams. In other words, we had fattened the calf perfectly. All of this happened exactly eighteen days after Baek Ahyeon had submitted her report to the guild.
Racking my memory, it seemed like an even larger crowd had gathered than when the original party had returned alive in my past life. The ‘Sky Dragon’ Guild, which managed the small city of Legius, must have done a proper job of promoting it. There was a world of difference between a single clan writing up a dungeon-clearing log for publicity and a guild intervening to spread the news far and wide.
Thanks to this, Black Spear was staring at me with eyes full of wonder. He looked as if he were seeing a sage. I met his foolish expression and spoke again.
“Didn't I tell you this would happen?”
“You did. You certainly did. But I can hardly believe it even seeing it with my own eyes. You are truly a wise Green Skin, Blood Dagger, warrior who has lost his honor.”
Funnily enough, Black Spear was completely taken with me. If I had been stronger than him, or if he hadn't been leading his own clan, he looked as if he would have wanted to join the Blood Dagger Clan.
Finally, after ten days of sizing me up, he cautiously approached me.
“Would this humble troll be permitted to offer himself as a brother to the Blood Dagger Clan, O warrior who has lost his honor, Blood Dagger?”
To be honest, I had a feeling he would bring this up from the moment we left the dungeon. The way he looked at me was just like the expression Goff had when we parted ways.
Green Skins are naturally close-knit, but the bond between brother clans is even deeper. Just as Goff and I had decided to act together in three years, he too wanted to join forces with us.
“Of course, not right this instant. But when you have truly become independent and planted your own banner, I too would like to stand with you.”
It was a gracious offer, one I could only nod to.
“For you to make me such an offer… I am not worthy… Krrreuk.”
As I paused, he looked at me, sweating with anxiety. I looked back at Black Spear and spoke again to make my intentions perfectly clear.
“I gratefully accept your offer, my brother. For Strength, Wisdom, and Honor.”
“Thank you, my brother. For Strength, Wisdom, and Honor.”
A look of joy spread across his face. It seemed he believed that with me, he could raise his tribe to be safer and stronger. But it was, of course, the Blood Dagger Clan that stood to gain more from joining hands with him. I was ecstatic to have gained such a powerful ally for when we became independent.
In truth, I hadn't been idle while the small city of Legius was growing. I had started learning spear-throwing techniques from Black Spear. Of course, with his long arms and a build that seemed specialized for throwing spears, I couldn't possibly keep up with him, but thanks to the Ancient Orc's proficiency adjustment, I was getting the hang of it.
It was a different sensation from throwing daggers. I was beginning to understand what he meant by the “satisfying feel of it.” And it wasn't just me; the other members of the Blood Dagger Clan had also been training hard. It was a difficult combat style for them to use, but there was no harm in learning, so I remembered ordering everyone to learn spear-throwing from the Black Spear Clan.
Thanks to that, our clan's combat power, which had already risen slightly, was climbing even higher.
We weren't the only ones who had changed. Hilariously, another one of our members had awakened a unique ability. Following me and the firstborn was not Mev, nor Jung Hayeon, but the secondborn, who had been living peacefully in the Green Goblin Clan's village.
The boy who was supposed to be with the Green Goblins had suddenly shown up here. I was concerned that he might have disobeyed my orders to seek me out, but from what he said, that wasn't the case at all.
I slowly began to recall our recent conversation.
‘Woooooah! For Blood Dagger!’
The secondborn had run toward me with joy upon seeing me. I remember the look on his face as he slowly bowed his head, like a thief caught in the act, when he saw my displeased expression.
‘Where are the clan members you left in the Green Goblin village, Hark?’
Following my words, the sight of the firstborn scolding his younger brother was even more of a spectacle.
‘Hark has disobeyed Blood Dagger's command! Hark must be punished! Forbid Hark from hunting as punishment! I, Gark, will fill Hark's empty spot! Chieftain!’
As if seizing the opportunity, the firstborn's vigor in tearing down Hark was enough to pierce the heavens. It wasn't just him; the Goblin Three Sisters were also throwing stones at their brother.
‘We don't need a filthy clan member who disobeys Blood Dagger's command. Kkik!’
‘I'm disowning Hark! Disowning him! Kkik Kkik!’
‘I can't believe we came from the same womb! Kkik! Ugly Hark should get on his knees and beg right now!’
Under the fierce assault from his sisters, Hark naturally resisted, taking the stones with his whole body. Finally, Hark had spoken to me, almost pleadingly.
‘No. There's no way I would disobey Blood Dagger. This… this is a new Hark. A new Hark!’
His legendary line, “a new Hark,” made me wonder if he had gone mad from not seeing me for so long. But as I calmly listened to his story, the situation became clear.
Unable to disobey my command, he had dreamt every night of hunting happily with me and his brother, Gark. He said he saw scenes of them hunting humans and sharing brotherly affection every day. He wanted to come, but his sense of responsibility, his inability to defy Blood Dagger's mission, kept him from leaving his post.
The moment the thoughts of wanting to be with Blood Dagger and being unable to defy Blood Dagger's command continuously clashed and exploded in his mind, he had awakened his unique ability.
[Mirror Image]
Hilariously, that was the name of his ability. Just like the firstborn, he too was a genius. I couldn't help but think, ‘What a pair of monsters.’ I had never heard of or seen such an ability. I had thought the firstborn's ability was already outside the norm, but his brother's was also beyond imagination. Simply put, it was a miniature version of a shadow clone technique. Anyone who crossed swords with Hark would have to experience a two-on-one fight.
Of course, it wasn't without its drawbacks. The duration was long enough for him to travel all the way here, but compared to the main body, the “new Hark's” attack power was pathetic. Another weakness was that if the new Hark took a hit, the main body would also take damage. Considering the clone's weak attack power, this was a massive disadvantage.
However, it was clear that as he grew, this ability would reveal its true worth. If this ability developed to its peak and the new Hark grew as strong as the main body, their enemies would be utterly bewildered. In any case, since there was no longer a need for him to act covertly, I summoned him here, and that was how the entire Blood Dagger Clan came to be gathered in one place.
I also knew from the Ring of Covenant that Baek Ahyeon was growing while enjoying her secret life, and seeing members like Hark becoming noticeably stronger, I could say the situation was looking good.
If our clan had a problem, it was…
‘The number of clan members.’
When we passed the Warrior's Exam, we had about 65 members. After many battles, only about 45 remained. Considering the number of battles we'd fought, losing only 20 was a feat, but as a percentage of the entire clan, it was a huge problem.
I must have been spacing out for a while, because I saw Black Spear looking at me and speaking.
“What are you thinking about, Blood Dagger?”
I decided to ask him something I had been curious about. His tribe was quite large. I had heard that almost all of his members had dropped out of the Warrior's Exam, so I was curious about the secret to building such a fine tribe so quickly.
“Black Spear. How were you able to increase the number of your tribe members so much?”
At my words, he stared at me with wide eyes. The look of reverence he usually had for me was gone, replaced by an amused expression.
“Through mating, of course, Blood Dagger.”
Only then did I understand why he was looking at me that way. Of course, there was no other way. Mating was the obvious answer.
“Most of the Green Skins in our tribe are my children.”
I knew that Green Skin reproduction was different from that of humans, but I had never imagined he could build such a stable tribe in just three years. I couldn't help but feel regretful that the Blood Dagger Clan hadn't been able to grow in the same way. But as I mulled it over, the answer seemed to come to me quickly. Before I could even finish my thought, Black Spear continued.
“Come to think of it, your clan is short on female Green Skins.”
“Th-that's right.”
“Hmm…”
The perfect answer. I hadn't paid any attention to the gender ratio, but we had an absurdly high number of male goblins. The only females that came to mind were Mev and the Goblin Three Sisters. As their evolutionary paths began to diverge in their quest to become the chieftain's wife, the male Green Skins in the tribe had started avoiding them.
It was less of an issue for the Goblin Three Sisters, who at least still had green skin, but Mev had become a complete outcast. I had thought Green Skin views on sex were relatively liberal, but apparently not. It seemed that as the females in the tribe began to push away the males for the sake of their own grand ambitions, a major constraint had been placed on the tribe's growth.
Of course, one could argue we had been too busy with battles to notice, but this imbalance was definitely dangerous. Individual growth was important, but so was the growth of the tribe. I was caught in a major dilemma.
The solution was actually simple. If I became a breeding king, the problem would be solved quite easily. But even though I was a Green Skin, I couldn't completely shed my human way of thinking, and I didn't want to increase my number of children in that manner.
“Hnngh…”
It was a problem worth agonizing over. I slowly began to rack my brain. If we couldn't supply from within, we would have to supply from without. Most Green Skins lived in clans, but from my past memories, I knew there were definitely goblins who maintained villages without a clan. There were even some goblins who wandered without a village at all.
Thinking of them sparked my curiosity, so I looked at Black Spear and spoke again.
“Black Spear, what kind of Green Skins are those without a clan banner?”
Black Spear seemed to ponder the question for a moment, but then, as if deciding it wasn't a big deal, he slowly began to speak.
“You mean the Green Skins that don't form packs.”
“Yes.”
After a short wait, an unexpected answer came from his mouth.
“Not all of them, but most of them are Green Skins who fled from the Warrior's Exam.”