Chapter 2-103: VOLUME 2: THE DISTANT PARADISE – CHAPTER 103: DEMIHUMAN VILLAGE
VOLUME 2: CHAPTER 103 – DEMIHUMAN VILLAGE
Status
Race Goblin
Level 37
Class King; Ruler
Possessed Skills Ruler of the Demon Children of Chaos; Defiant Soul; World Devouring Howl; Sword Mastery ; Dominator; King’s Soul; Ruler’s Wisdom III; Household of the Gods; One-Eyed Snake’s Evil Eye; The King's Dance at the Edge of Death; Magic Manipulation; Soul of the Berserk King; Third Impact (The Third Chant); Instinct; Blessing of the Underworld Goddess
Divine Protection Goddess of the Underworld (Altesia)
Attributes Darkness; Death
Subordinate Beasts High Kobold Hasu (Lv77); Gastra (Lv20); Cynthia (Lv20); Orc King (Bui) (Lv82)
Abnormal Status Blessing of the One-Eyed Snake; Protection of the Twin-Headed Snake
“I’ve brought news, Your Majesty . ”
To strengthen the horde I had the rare goblins hunt the surrounding area, while I had the noble goblins go to the west to look for a path .
Gi Ji Arsil came to report their findings .
“We found a demihuman village . It’s about a four-day’s distance to the west and another day’s distance to the south . I was warned not to get any closer when I approached, so I took the others and went back . ”
—Demihumans . After hearing about them from Shumea, I did expect there would be some villages to the west, but I didn’t think we’d actually stumble onto one . How fortunate .
“They warned you, did they? That’s not bad at all . ”
Since they didn’t attack immediately, they must be intelligible . It’s good to avoid needless fights . I hope they’re willing to hear us goblins out, but if not, I’ll just have to take the human, Shumea, or the elf, Selena, along .
“So, describe to me these demihumans . How did they look?”
“They had legs like a spider’s, but their upper body was like a human’s . There might be other types in the other villages . ”
Creatures not humans, but look like them . According to Shumea, some of these demihumans are friendly with humans, but there’s an even greater number of them living in the border afraid .
They were created by the god of wind and the god of earth, right?
I hear they used to live in the plains, but…
“Gi Ji, is that village situated in the plains?”
“No, it’s inside a forest . They built a nest of some sort . At first, I even thought it was a nest of annie spiders or giant spiders, but someone called out to us when we tried approaching . ”
“Hrm . ”
Well, it’s not like everything you hear is true .
I don’t know whether that’s always been their home, or they were driven away and forced to live there, but it is a fact that they are living in a forest now .
“Alright, good job . I’ll be paying that village a visit tomorrow . I’ll be relying on you to lead the way . ”
“As you command . ”
The next day, I took Gi Ji, Shumea, Selena, the shaman, Gi Za Zakuend, the wind mage, Gi Do, and the ferocious Gi Ba with his three-man cell group to the demihuman village .
I took only a few people with me to avoid alerting them . To ensure we had enough firepower, I made sure to bring the druid-class goblins .
According to Selena, the demihumans prefer to fight upfront rather than rely on magic . I’ve been talking with her to gather information ever since I got that report about the demihumans’ sighting .
It seems there is an old oath between the elves and the demihumans .
They would protect each other’s territories as long as they did not encroach on each other’s domains . The elves excelled in magic, while the demihumans used their strong bodies to hunt . I learned all sorts of things from Selena, from the way they marked their territories to the way they greeted each other .
Among the things I’ve learned was the favorite things of the demihumans . When I asked Selena about the spider-legged people, it turns out they were actually known as the Araneae . One of the araneaen tribes apparently liked fishes .
We were going to negotiate with them anyway, so I figured I might as well bring some gifts .
I checked with Kuzan whether it was possible to fish from the river flowing in the basement of the abyss, and apparently, it was indeed possible . It was just that the goblins preferred to eat meat, so no one ever really bothered .
When I got the fishes, I had to look for a way to carry them, as the distance to the village was quite far . They would spoil before we even got close . I figured I’d put them in some sort of container like a jar with water inside, but it turns out there’s actually no such container in the goblin villages .
With the container plan out, I thought I’d smoke them instead . But when I tried doing it myself, I failed .
“Now what?” I said to no one in particular when I noted Shumea passing from the corner of my eyes .
Wait, there is someone who can help!
“Shumea, can you spare a moment?”
“What is it, Boss?”
After explaining my situation, she agreed to help me smoke the fishes . It’s really inconvenient being a goblin . When the fishes were done, I placed them inside a box made out of bark .
They were poorly made, but it was better than nothing .
Along the way I conversed with Selena on matters regarding the demihumans . We moved a four-day’s distance west, and then another day’s distance south .
I had a normal goblin carry the box as we made way to the village .
“We’re near . ” Selena’s halved elven ears twitched .
“You can tell?” Shumea asked .
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Sharpening my ears, I looked around us .
Hopefully everything goes smoothly .
“There are a lot of masses with seemingly eight-legs moving near us . The village should be no more than an hour away . ”
Selena held her handmade bow . She looked so happy it seemed like she wanted to jump out in joy . She’s been showing a lot more emotions lately compared to when she first came to the fortress . I guess she’s finally gotten used to us .
A giant spider appeared along the way, but the goblins quickly took care of it .
“Ho…” Gi Za muttered before letting out a breath in admiration .
The scene before us was just that amazing . Densely packed trees were woven together with spider threads, creating a perfectly closed wall with no openings .
Without thinking it through, I tried touching the thread .
It was flexible, a little sticky, and thick enough that I couldn’t easily push through it with my finger . Judging from how much of it was used, it should be safe to assume that the demihumans are able to produce it .
The branches up above rustled, and I looked up . Up the defensive wall was a demihuman standing .
The lower part of his body was a spider’s, but the upper part was a human’s . Muscles covered his whole body, and a spear was on his left hand . He looked at us menacingly .
“Goblins, what business do you have here?” The man’s voice seemed muffled . Was that because of fear? Or was it because of anger?
“It’s the man from before,” Gi Ji said, “our king wishes to speak with you!”
I stepped forward .
“We are the denizens of the east . We came here to negotiate with you, the Araneae of the Household of Crystals . We brought some gift too . I’d like for you to receive it . ”
I took the box from the normal goblin and threw it up the wall of threads .
The box landed right by the demihuman’s feet . He looked at it, then he checked the contents .
“The reason you goblins know our favorite food is because of that elf?” The demihuman looked at Selena with a sharp gaze, but there was no intent to kill .
But that pressure was enough to make Selena hide behind Shumea .
Shumea wryly smiled . “It’s true Selena is the one who told them about the fish, but the one who thought of preparing it in the first place is that boss over there . ”
“Don’t open your mouth lightly, filthy human!!” the demihuman was filled with wrath when he spoke to Shumea .
“Gee, sorry…” Shumea shrugged her shoulders as she lightly scratched her head .
“What is your response?” I asked the demihuman .
My raised voice seemed to have somewhat pressured the demihuman, as he quivered a bit . “Wait for a while!” He said as he took the box and left .
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“What do you think?” I asked Selena, but she didn’t have a clear answer to give .
After waiting for a while, three demihumans appeared above the white wall . They walked vertically down the wall to us .
“In honor of the old oath, greetings, elf . ” A woman stepped out from the three araneae demihumans . She glanced at me for a moment, before turning to Selena .
I’m sure she means no ill will . The old oath was just so important that as demihumans they had to greet the elf first despite knowing I was the one with the most authority in our group .
I wonder just how much hold that oath has on them .
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance . I am a daughter of the sylph, a descendant of the forests and the winds . ”
“The pleasure is mine . I am a daughter of the araneae, a descendant of the crystal . ”
After she finished exchanging greetings with selena, she turned to me and bowed her head .
“I am the Black Darkness of the Demonic Children,” I introduced myself .
“It is an honor to meet you . I am a daughter of the araneae . ”
It appears it is customary for the demihumans to first see who it is they are dealing with . There was some shred of intimacy in the way she spoke to Selena just now, but when she spoke to me, her manner of speaking was quite stiff . Nerves? Or is there something more to it?
“I am here as a representative of my village, my name is Nikea . ”
“I am the king of the demonic children of chaosgoblins who live in the east . ”
The two male araneae behind her must’ve been her guards . Their whole body was covered in muscles . The sharp gaze they looked at me with spoke of their ferocity .
“To what does our Fizona owe the honor of this visit?”
“I wish to trade . ”
The demihumans are just as I expected them to be with strong and sturdy bodies . I would really like to add them to my army, but it seems the demihumans and the elves are a proud bunch .
Their kind are ill-suited for subservience . It’s because of that that they couldn’t create a vast country and instead ended up in this tiny village . I doubt they would so easily prostrate themselves before me .
So first I’ll have to find out their situation . Neither Shumea nor Selena was privy to their true state of affairs, so I’ll have to go about this the long way .
“A trade? If so then we will only trade goods for goods . ”
I feel like her eyes sparkled just now .
That probably means she thinks we can give her what she wants .
“We wish to trade our fish for your threads . ”
We don’t have any currency right now, so the word ‘trade’ is probably beyond the goblins’ comprehension . To the goblins, it is enough to simply take from others what you lack . But a policy like that can’t last forever .
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If you attack someone and steal what is theirs to fill what you are lacking . When the time comes that you need more of it, from where will you take it? The people you stole from before have long died . The dead cannot produce anything . To be honest, even I’m not confident that the goblins would indeed be capable of producing something themselves .
The goblins are skilled hunters . They can even use traps now . In fact, the higher goblins have even started to use traps other than the pitfall I taught them . But the issue on food isn’t something that can be solved forever with just hunting . Right now it’s still manageable, but with the goblin’s explosive reproduction rate, the forest will eventually be hunted bare .
That’s why I don’t want to take advantage of the goblin’s love for meat . As much as possible their hunts should be kept to a minimum, taking only what is needed . That’s why I don’t want to trade anything else from our hunts beyond the meat . Other things like the skin of the beasts shouldn’t be traded . Doing so would only make things worse . But at the same time, choosing not to trade such things limits my options .
Should I trade our services? That’s not a bad idea, but the demihuman’s strength is still currently a mystery . I could just fight them anyway or I could sell the service of our military… But a decision now is too hasty . I need more information .
In the worst case, I’ll just have to trade those fishes .
“…We are currently not lacking in fish,” Nikea said .
“Oh?”
Is she bluffing or telling the truth? To be honest I’m not used to negotiating, so I can’t tell .
But—
“Then what is it that you’re interested in? We are trading because we wish to form a good relationship with the araneae,” I bluntly said that it was not wealth that we were after . I said it with a little bit of pressure though . They shouldn’t forget that the goblins could become trouble for them in the near future .
I’m sure she got the message .
If this negotiation fails, then so be it . We’ll just have to get their cooperation by force .
We both have something on the line in this trade . On my end, I have the goblin’s power and their future, on her end, she has her village .
It would be problematic if they forgot which side was stronger .
Our negations continued for some time even as I started to grow impatient .
“There’s a favor I would like to ask . Would you hear me out?” She said .
“It’s a request, so naturally I would have to hear you out first,” I said rudely as if to remind her of the difference in strength between our races . Nikea frowned for a moment before speaking her request .
She was poker-faced again as she spoke, but when I heard her reuqest, I was shocked .
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