Chapter 91: Spider
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: Spider
‘I’ll kill her.’
I will kill her, no matter what. I had no hope of survival, but I swore that if I somehow escaped this situation, I would kill this woman without fail. Honestly, these goblins were supposed to be disposable pawns; I wouldn't have given it a second thought if they died.
But my chest hurt. And it wasn't just because they had died for me. I'd felt a sense of unease every time I lost clan members in our many battles, but what just happened made it crystal clear.
I had started to think of them as family.
The moment I realized it, an immense thirst for revenge surged through me.
“So monsters have bonds, too...”
She tossed her sword into the air as she approached. I had a pretty good idea what she was talking about. She was clearly referring to something like affection. This woman was completely twisted.
“You fucking bitch... I will kill you. I swear it.”
“Oh? You can speak our language? Is that what this is about? No... something’s different...”
She spoke with an exaggerated look of surprise, but funnily enough, she didn't seem to actually care. The fact that I could speak was probably of no importance to her.
“I will kill you.”
“I hope you get the chance.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman suddenly thrust her sword into thin air. No, to be more precise, she wasn't thrusting—she was blocking an incoming attack.
“Uwoooooooh!”
A roar echoed at the same time.
“CRASH!”
Gark appeared in a flash.
“You foolish bastard...”
I couldn't help but scream. A moment later, Hark burst from the bushes, threw me onto his back, and started running.
“How dare you...”
They had come back for me.
A pointless death. They were going to die for nothing.
“Did my words mean nothing to you...?”
I muttered, my voice drained of strength. Hark immediately answered.
“I am not Hark! I am the new Hark!”
Hearing such an absurd declaration in this situation, I couldn't help but let out a laugh. Gark must have realized that a direct confrontation was a losing battle, because he vanished immediately after his first attack failed. My thoughts then turned to the other clan members...
“The others...”
“They are returning to the settlement. Only the new Hark and Gark came back. The Chieftain must not die yet.”
Mev must have led the others back to the settlement. It seemed Gark and Hark had turned back midway to rescue me.
“Uwoooooooooh!”
It wasn't a war cry, but a scream. I looked back from Hark's shoulders to see one of Gark's arms lying on the ground. Thankfully, he must have activated his unique ability even in that situation, as Gark himself was nowhere to be seen. But the woman, looking amused, picked up his severed arm from the ground and stared in our direction.
‘Damn it...’
These two were supposed to lead the clan in the future. I couldn't let them die here. I absolutely couldn't. The woman instantly dashed toward us, and seeing her, Hark threw me into the air. I felt someone catch me. It was Gark.
The 'new Hark' was just a diversion to buy time. Its head was sent flying before it could even resist. Though it dispersed like a clone, the damage must have reached the original.
“The Chieftain must not die! You have to lead the clan!”
They were saying the very words I wanted to say... We were running as fast as we could, but it would only be a matter of moments before she caught up. As expected, she was already closing in.
Just then.
“Kirik. Kirik.”
The sound of a goblin.
Not one of ours.
But it was a familiar voice. A voice I was relieved to hear.
“Tsk... you're in bad shape. Kirik.”
“Green Goblin...”
“It hasn't been three years yet, Blood Dagger... I lost contact with my goblins watching you, and after hearing nothing for days, I feared the worst. It seems I was right.”
It seemed he'd come all this way after losing contact with the goblins he'd sent to watch us. He must have been searching for us the entire time we were trapped in that cave. Even the woman who had been chasing us hesitated, slowing her advance at the Green Goblin's sudden appearance.
She might be insane, but she could still sense danger. The Green Goblin was an exceptional powerhouse in his own right. He was an opponent even she had to be wary of. Amusingly, I was still holding her sword. The Green Goblin tapped my limp foot before stepping in front of us.
“I didn't think it would come to this...”
Despite her hesitation, the Green Goblin charged forward with a sharp kirik. Seeing this, Gark began to run again.
Behind us, the sound of the Green Goblin's flashbang exploding and the unpleasant screech of scraping swords echoed continuously. I grit my teeth and forced myself to look away.
The Green Goblin wouldn't lose. I was in no state to judge, but they seemed evenly matched. Or perhaps the Green Goblin was slightly stronger. As I struggled to hold onto my fading consciousness, I found myself praying that the Green Goblin wouldn't kill her.
My vision slowly faded to black.
*
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the familiar interior of my tent. I looked down to see my entire body wrapped in bandages. I hadn't realized it at the time, but my injuries must have been severe. The moment I tried to move, excruciating pain shot through my entire body.
As soon as I was conscious, the memories I wanted to forget came flooding back. The goblin assassins who died to save me. The one who drew pictures, who had asked me to tell the others he was sorry for being a dishonorable Green Skin.
“Fuck...”
A curse escaped my lips before I could stop it.
Just then, as if they had heard me, voices came from outside the tent.
“Are you awake?”
“Chieftain.”
It was Ragia and Hakajin. Curious about how much time had passed and what had happened in the meantime, I called out to them.
“Come in.”
They entered at once. Ragia and Hakajin seemed to be studying my expression cautiously as they stepped inside. Hakajin, the clan's only shaman, rushed to my side and began pouring healing magic into me, but I barely felt any improvement. That was how deep my wounds were. Ragia watched me, her face etched with worry. Unlike when I'd first met her after leaving the cave, her eyes were now red and swollen, a clear sign of how much she'd been crying. Seeing me awake, her expression flooded with relief.
“How long was I out?”
“You've been unconscious for about three days. We only just arrived at Black Spear's settlement a day ago.”
My first question was about Gark and Hark. Gark had lost an arm, and Hark had taken the shock of his clone being decapitated. I figured Gark's condition must be critical, especially since he'd kept running while carrying me.
“Gark and Hark are...”
“They are still unconscious. We've finished their initial treatment, but...”
The way he trailed off told me their lives were in danger. It was hardly surprising. All I could do now was pray they would live. I turned to Hakajin and Ragia.
“Tell me everything that happened after you headed back to the settlement.”
At my command, Hakajin glanced around nervously, so Ragia spoke up in his place.
“I will report, Chieftain. After receiving your command, we immediately headed for the settlement. The plant-woman and the human struggled, but the unit under Gark's command quickly secured them, and we continued on our way.”
“When you still hadn't appeared, the sub-leader announced she was going back to find you. Upon hearing that, Gark and Hark set out to find you.”
“You didn't stop them...”
“No. We did not.”
Now I understood why Mev wasn't here. Disobeying the Chieftain's command is a grave offense in the clan. Mev, along with Gark and Hark, had directly defied my order.
“The three goblins who died... No, before that. Where is the Green Goblin?”
“The Green Goblin arrived about half a day after you were brought back. He reported that the human he fought managed to escape. Afterwards, he called his own assassins to help recover the bodies of the fallen goblins.”
The faces of those foolish goblins flashed through my mind again. I couldn't stop seeing them.
“Tell me their names.”
Hakajin and Ragia looked startled by my question. To a Green Skin, a name is incredibly important. Just as it is an honor to state one's name before the Great Tribe Leader, the same holds true within the smaller society of a clan.
“The goblin who was skilled with his hands was named Najin. The other two assassins were Kurajin and Gaoun.”
I hadn't even known their names until now. A bitter feeling began to churn in my gut.
I replayed the events in my mind. If I had understood the situation better, we never would have been trapped in that cave, and they never would have died. Ultimately, if I had been stronger, I could have dealt with it.
‘I'm still too weak. The clan and I... we're still not strong enough.’
As I was lost in thought, I noticed Ragia watching me. She looked like she had something to say. Hakajin, too. I had a feeling I knew what it was about.
They were clearly wondering how I would deal with those who had disobeyed my orders. I'd been thinking about it myself. They had saved my life, that much was true. But disobeying a command was a serious problem. This was the first time something like this had happened. If I didn't set a clear precedent now, the clan would lose its way in the future. That was what had happened to Ragia's old clan, and Hakajin was smart enough to be worried about it.
If a chieftain loses his authority, his clan collapses. It's that simple.
“Where are they?”
“We decided Gark and Hark's treatment was the priority, so they are resting and stabilizing. The sub-leader is confined to her tent, awaiting your judgment.”
“I want to be alone for a moment.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“We are glad you are safe.”
At my request to be left alone, Ragia and Hakajin bowed and left the tent. I sank back into my thoughts. Honestly, everything had happened so fast it was overwhelming. The first thing that came to mind were the ones who had thrown their lives away for me. I began to repeat their names.
‘Najin, Kurajin, Gaoun.’
Then, there was the matter of the clan members who had disobeyed my command. My mind made up, I finally rose to my feet and told the goblin guard outside to gather the clan. It was time to bring this expedition to a close.