Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Bioram, City of the Lizardmen
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Race rank 9, the Lizardman city of Bioram.
It was located in a region near the swamp lands.
A place where damp winds blew year-round, carrying the unique rotten stench of the swamps.
To the Lizardmen, this was their home and their life.
Into the Lizardman city of Bioram came an outsider.
"Gaul, what's that? You planning to raise some goblins or something?"
"Ah, haha, w-well, y-yeah, something like that!"
In response to his acquaintance Lizardman's question, the Red Lizardman Gaul forced a hearty laugh.
His stiff smile looked awkward even at a glance.
The acquaintance Lizardman showed a moment of doubt about it.
"Something up? Why the long face?"
"Nah, nothing's wrong, so don't worry about it."
Gaul urgently asked him not to pay it any mind.
Though puzzled by the odd reaction, his acquaintance just nodded.
It was strange, but not quite strange enough to pry further.
He couldn't even imagine that the reason Gaul was acting so weird was the goblin walking ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Havel pressed forward through Bioram with short strides.
Bioram was a more developed city than he'd expected.
From tools to draw water to a bustling market.
It had pretty much everything needed for a city's functions.
'A world of difference from the pathetic villages goblins scrape together.'
No wonder goblins languished at the bottom of the race rankings.
That only deepened Havel's worry.
'To clear this floor, raising our rank seems like the way to go.'
But could he really raise the goblin race's rank?
Havel wondered if it might be better to head outside and come back in.
No matter how he looked at it, flipping the goblin rank seemed impossible.
'The question is whether I can just leave at will or not.'
Havel glanced up at the sky for a moment.
The higher he climbed the hierarchy, the more the Tower changed.
Before, he could definitely exit freely.
But this time, he had a vague feeling.
This floor wouldn't let him leave easily until it was cleared.
'If I set my mind to it, I could always force my way out.'
But that would collapse the floor, not exit it properly.
'In other words, the Tower designs clears assuming you won't be let out.'
Havel clicked his tongue.
'Those three might clear the mid-levels of the 8th hierarchy without me.'
A complete individual battle.
This floor might be designed that way.
'So the race getting set on entry is due to difficulty scaling?'
The Tower always adjusted its setup to match the climber's level.
Unlike others, Havel possessed overwhelming strength.
Naturally, the Tower would ramp up the difficulty accordingly.
And that might be how the elevated challenge manifested here.
'It's blatantly screwing me over.'
He even thought those three might clear it first.
Raising the goblin rank was bound to take a seriously long time.
"Gaul."
"Y-yes."
Gaul answered Havel's call in a low voice, inaudible to others.
If word got out that he was taking orders from a goblin, he'd be shamed as a disgrace to Lizardmen and chased out.
Regardless, Havel pointed to the largest mansion in Bioram.
It was crudely built of wood and stone, hardly deserving the name mansion.
But it was by far the biggest structure around.
"Who's living there?"
"Uh? Oh, w-well, that's where our Red Lizardman tribe chief, Gaiola, resides."
A flicker of unease crossed Gaul's face.
He had no idea what this goblin was thinking.
And soon, he realized his unease was far from unfounded.
"Let's go."
"Pardon?!"
Gaul cried out in shock.
Instantly, eyes turned his way, and he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Havel strode onward again.
Straight toward the tribe chief's house, just as he'd said.
Gaul followed close behind with a horrified look.
"H-Havel, sir, please don't do this. I'll die!"
He desperately tried to dissuade Havel, his face twisted in agony.
But despite his earnest pleas, Havel showed no sign of stopping.
"Whether you block me and die, or the chief kills you for it—what's the difference?"
He said it so bluntly that Gaul's red face drained to pale white.
Thus, Havel arrived at the tribe chief's mansion with the ashen-faced Gaul in tow.
And sure enough, guards stood there.
They eyed the goblin who appeared abruptly at the main gate with suspicion.
A goblin brazenly showing up in a Lizardman village.
It was only natural.
Soon, Gaul caught up and screamed at the guards.
"S-sorry to bother you during duty! Our goblin is causing trouble..."
"Guards."
Havel cut Gaul off and addressed the guards directly.
Just as they reacted to the goblin speaking the common tongue...
"I'd like to meet this Gaiola and have a chat."
"Huh?"
The two were stunned speechless by the even more absurd remark.
A goblin daring to request an audience with the chief.
They wondered if their ears were playing tricks.
But Havel stared at them with an unchanging expression.
The guards' faces slowly darkened.
"H-heh, ahhh."
Sensing trouble, Gaul backed away.
At this rate, he'd get dragged in and lose his head too.
"How dare a filthy goblin utter Lord Gaiola's name so casually!"
One guard swung his spear to punish him.
Havel swatted away the incoming spear with an annoyed flick of his hand.
Clang! Clatter!
The spear ricocheted off his hand.
The force was so strong the guard nearly lost his grip.
As the guard stared in dumbfounded shock at the unexpected sight...
The other lunged with his spear too.
This time, it was a lethal thrust laced with malice and killing intent.
But the result was the same.
Clang! Clatter!
The spear flew from its owner's hand and rolled across the ground again.
The two guards sensed an unnatural aura from Havel.
They'd dismissed him as a mere goblin.
But now, a dangerous foe stood before them, tense and alert.
An intruder trying to breach their tribe chief's home, no less.
To fulfill their duty, the guards bared their claws.
They charged at Havel to kill him on the spot.
"Man, does this world not understand the concept of talking?"
Havel made an irritated face at the onrushing guards.
Then he raised both hands and leaped.
Even though the guards moved first.
Havel reached them faster.
Soon, his hands touched the guards' heads.
Bam!
The guards' heads slammed into the ground.
"Gahk!"
"Urk!"
They swallowed screams from the massive impact to their skulls.
In their dazed minds, they spotted Gaul.
A Lizardman who'd brought a goblin assassin.
"W-we'll remember you..."
"I-I had nothing to do with it!"
Gaul protested his innocence, but it was too late.
Both guards had foamed at the mouth and passed out.
As Gaul sank into despair, on the verge of tears...
Havel had already opened the door to Gaiola's mansion.
"Havel, sir!"
Gaul belatedly chased after him, shouting.
"Please, just stop!"
"I'm here to talk, I told you. Geez."
Havel shot an exasperated look at the nagging Gaul, then halted abruptly.
His eyes met those of warriors training inside the mansion.
Gaiola's residence also served as a training ground for warriors.
Those who'd locked eyes with him glanced behind at the two.
Knocked-out guards.
A goblin and a Lizardman who'd barged through the door.
Intruders.
The moment that registered...
Shing!
The warriors drew their weapons in unison.
As Gaiola's face paled...
Havel rolled his shoulders.
"Talking sure is a hassle around here."
Was this the sorrow of the powerless?
With that thought, he raised his fists toward the charging warriors.
"Fists for conversation aren't so bad either."
This day marked the birth of a new goblin legend. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A bright afternoon.
Gaiola, the Red Lizardman tribe chief, was enjoying a leisurely meal.
Today's dish was kingworm, caught only in the swamp lands.
A premium delicacy, and his favorite food.
Thud! Boom!
That was when it happened.
A sudden commotion from outside made him pause mid-motion with his utensils.
Warrior training was scheduled for this afternoon, sure.
But this level of racket was unusual.
"Youngsters these days... so full of energy, I swear."
Were they getting too carried away, ramping up the intensity?
Tsking his tongue, he sliced a piece of kingworm, popped it in his mouth, and stood.
With one warrior recently seriously injured in training, he needed to check.
"We need to become more refined if we're to climb the race ranks."
At this rate, Lizardmen would never escape 9th place, no matter how they struggled.
The Lizardmen needed more advanced civilization, to shed their savage image.
'That's for us Red Lizardmen to lead.'
Maybe ditch the outdated term "warriors" soon.
Tsking again, he stepped out draped in his alligator leather cloak.
Right in front of his path...
A goblin came trudging along.
Did the warrior training require a goblin this time?
As Gaiola puzzled over it, the goblin looked his way.
And opened its mouth.
"Hey, you there. Know where I can find this Gaiola guy?"
Gaiola blinked at the goblin's question.
He doubted his ears, wondering what he'd just heard.
A race rank 12 goblin, barely able to speak the common tongue, boldly calling his name.
Could such a thing happen in reality?
Then he noticed how eerily quiet it had become outside.
The warriors who'd been training so fiercely he'd come to reprimand them.
Why the sudden silence?
The mystery didn't last.
"...Your doing?"
Gaiola was sharp even among Red Lizardmen.
He sensed an ominous aura from the goblin.
The goblin slowly drummed its arms at his question.
Then flashed a chilling grin.
"Yeah, you're Gaiola."
He was a goblin with keen instincts too.
Facing that sinister smile, Gaiola felt a bad premonition.
Kill the goblin now.
That thought reached him, and he unleashed his claws—
Only to realize the goblin was already beneath him.
"Wha—?!"
"Seems you folks prefer fist-talk."
Gaiola swung his claws in panic.
But Havel's fist had already smashed into his jaw.
"So let's chat."
Gaiola collapsed, consciousness fading.
"Th-this... is talking...?"
He wondered what kind of "talk" this was.