Chapter 6: The Shadowspire Village - home to the friendly goblins

They strolled for about an hour, finally arriving close to the Goblin Village: Shadowspire. About a hundred more meters, and they would reach the village gate.

However, to welcome not only Lake but also Azeth, a few silhouettes suddenly emerged from the bushes nearby. Some even jumped down from the trees in front, and others emerged from the muddy swamp close by. All of them were different goblins—some dirtied with mud, others adorned with leaves and branches seemingly sticking out of their bodies.

In perfect sync, they exclaimed, "Welcome back, master!"

Lake just lifted his left hand in response, then tried to point at Azeth who had accompanied him all this time.

"He-"

"Wow! You've got a dragon baby, master! Are we having a yummy dinner tonight?" Zobo, a young goblin, blurted out, making others almost drool with him.

Lake was surprised by their sudden excitement and advance. Some even took a step or two forward. Hunger? Maybe not. It was just their instinct to enjoy delicious food. Who wouldn't want that when offered?

"Is that right, master?" a few other goblins stared at Azeth, their eyes wide open. Drool had turned into a waterfall, and their eyes seemed like they could pop out any moment.

Seeing this, Azeth took a step back, startled by their sudden outburst. He stared at Lake, confused and somewhat annoyed by such a response.

As their eyes met, Lake could somewhat read Azeth's thoughts with just the stare: Do something, will you?“Ahem, little ones, he is an esteemed guest. Mind your manners,” Lake coughed once or twice before saying this, asking the goblins to behave.

“Eh? So he is not dinner?” Zobo asked as he intently stared at Azeth. Azeth stared back, scanning Zobo’s features. When compared to all other goblins, Zobo stood out with a fat tummy. No wonder he was curious about the food and disappointed after hearing Lake’s words.

Moreover, Zobo had almost taken out something resembling a fork and knife, as if he wanted to butcher and cut Azeth open and eat right then and there! As both their gazes met, Zobo instantly slid his instruments under his tattered leafy garment that worked like pants and averted his gazes.

Azeth had nothing but one thing to say, “Crazy.”

“Demas, their duty for the day is over, right?” another figure clad in shadow almost instantly appeared in front of Lake hearing the question.

‘Huh?’

Even Azeth was surprised, failing to notice the goblin named Demas’ presence. It was as if he was an assassin or a ninja that had been close to them all the time. Demas wore leafy pants with intricate designs, not too impressive but acceptable. The thirteen red lines perhaps indicated something, but Azeth had no idea what they were.

His body was however muscular with some abs visible.

“Indeed, master. The young ones can leave for the day. We will take care of the security as usual,” Demas replied.

Azeth merely raised his gaze, feeling chills upon hearing what Demas said. He found not one or two, but at least fifty pairs of eyes in the dark, staring down at him and everyone from the branches and various other trees. Chills ran down his spine. All the goblins on the trees had miraculously appeared all of a sudden. They came so stealthily that not even a single leaf from a tree was dropped, nor was there any sound.

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‘These are goblins? Since when did they get so skilled?’ Azeth, being a Grand Mage, had never thought highly of any monsters, especially goblins. They were no more than ants to him. But he never thought they even had such skills to display within their ranks. What other secrets were they hiding? It would be fun to find out after all, the stronger they were, the better cards they would make for Azeth.

Lake, Azeth, and all the little goblins now accompanied each other straight towards the village. It was not visible earlier because of all the tall trees and the dense forest, but after having approached the village, Azeth now realized just how big it was. He looked from left to right, and even then, he couldn’t find the ending of the village’s wall. Though it was completely dark, he could still see thanks to his dragon eyes.

Walking a few more steps, Azeth thought that he would enter the village, but no. He ended up colliding with something invisible which almost caused him to fall backward. Lake gave a hand to his back and prevented him from falling.

“Haha, so even your dragon eyes could see the barrier, eh?” Lake asked, smiling as if he were happy.

Initially confused, Azeth now understood why Lake had stopped initially and asked Azeth to take a few steps ahead.

‘A barrier… and he wanted to test me? Nice, nice. Use me all you want right now.’ Azeth kept a calm exterior, but his blood was already boiling within.

After relishing the moment, Lake placed his palm on the barrier. Instantly, a door-shaped section of the barrier right in front of them disappeared, allowing Lake to walk inside. He gestured for Azeth to join him. Azeth entered without complaint, but as soon as he did, he was blown away!

The view in front of him was nothing less than wonderful. The goblin village, once dark and shady, now brimmed with lights. Various lanterns, crystals, and crystallites hung on the walls, illuminating the area.

"So, this barrier prevents anyone from noticing the place?" Azeth asked, intrigued and taken aback by the beauty.

The village expanded far and wide. Azeth did notice the only problem was the absence of actual fences or bordered walls, but the barrier somewhat did the job.

“Precisely, and that is why, despite being close to humans, we are still safe,” Lake boasted about the accomplishment.

Intrigued, Azeth kept staring at the place. His eyes were fixated on the wonders in front of him, especially the vibrant lighting. He never, even in his wildest dreams, expected the nocturnal goblins to adopt such a colorful environment.

“Hehe, do you like it?” Zobo asked, rubbing his tummy with a drop of drool still coming out of his mouth.

“Y-yeah,” Azeth replied, doing his best to keep a safe distance from Zobo. He knew that Zobo still considered him some sort of food. 'Heck, this guy might end up sleepwalking and eat me in the process… I need to be careful.'

“Haha, let’s enter, Lord. Everyone is eager to meet you,” Lake said, and Azeth, smiling, turned to the front. He walked at a slow pace due to his little limbs.

After about ten steps, he was suddenly given a jump scare!

“Welcome!” In a loud and synchronous voice, all the goblins in the entire village, especially the young ones, threw flowers at Azeth.

“Welcome Savior! Welcome!” The flowers fell on Azeth, and many goblins lined up to form a path. Azeth was supposed to walk on the pleasantly scented flowers and head towards the Central Plaza where all the distinguished goblins were present.

While Azeth contemplated, aware that his body was quite dirty and the rain had barely wiped it clean, he wanted to bathe as soon as possible. But seeing all the preparation and excitement, he followed what they wanted.

With long strides, Azeth walked down the path, and the cheers ultimately led him to the central plaza where a small stone slab had been prepared as a raised platform. Lake accompanied him shortly, and as Azeth stood straight, he could see a multitude of goblins in the front—children, elders, strong warriors, old goblins close to death, many female goblins, and even those who seemed like worker goblins covered in mud. Zobo and the other kids joined the crowd, and all of them cheered.

“Welcome savior! Welcome!”

Hearing all this, Azeth was rather confused. He didn’t let the cheers get to his head. He was burdened with a question: ‘Everyone seems happy here… From what should I save them? What doom?’ Azeth kept thinking about it, but it was futile. He could not think of any problem at the moment.

While he was lost in thought, Lake took the opportunity to address the issue.

“Today, among us, we have our savior mentioned by Elders in the oracle. He is our great savior!”

And with that, the welcome party continued longer. Azeth enjoyed the food they provided and the conversations they had. Of course, every time Zobo appeared close to him, he would drool again and again. He tried his best, but it was uncontrollable.

‘I need to be careful,’ Azeth thought every time he encountered Zobo.

Other than that, he was happy at the moment as they welcomed him so easily. However, amidst this happiness and celebration, there were a few spiteful figures emitting killing intent whom Azeth had noticed and even asked his system to mark them; but it was genuine after all, the main issue was about to be addressed soon enough.