Meet (5)

"But how? The stray can only take care of themselves; nevermind making the king stronger."

If one looked at the two types of goblins in the forest, the Clansman would be the generals while the Strayman would be the soldiers.

That was why the thought of Dawn getting stronger with them sounds ridiculous.

The strongest general in a country teaches the king the way of the sword, not some soldier who hasn't made a name for himself yet.

"That's why I'm asking you. For Dawn to be the king, he needs to meet the Five Great Clans. But for us to be able to go to the south, Dawn needs to get stronger, not just us goblins."

The Five Great Clans is necessary for Dawn to be able to wield authority. As he is right now, he is like a crown prince, waiting to be the king in name and reality.

However, the situation wasn't all so good. The Elder knew that when a goblin evolves twice, the goblin's power increases rapidly compared to their former rank.

The goblin would see impressive growth in raw power, speed, dexterity, and thinking ability, all in one outburst. If a goblin evolves thrice, that goblin is strong enough to take a part of the forest for itself.

And in the south, all sorts of high ranking goblin lives. If they just barged in there announcing Dawn as the king, without his charm and the power to bend any goblins to his will, they would undoubtedly be killed.

"I just realized this fact when we were hunting. If a hunt like that continues, Dawn would definitely fall behind, and in the end, be unable to go to the south."

The Elder continued his explanation, seeing the hesitation on Karkas' face. He couldn't blame Karkas. After all, the only goal and desire of the goblin race, as of this moment, is the king's safety.

Making the king fight is basically letting him go in an uncertain situation wherein death is prevalent. Of course, being overly concerned about such things only serves to shackle Dawn.

Karkas, during the hunt, thought that it was the best possible result with the king not participating, and now, he suddenly realized his mistake.

He coughed before asking the Elder.

"Are you saying that we should form a hunting team centered around the king?"

"That is one way but...from what I see, Dawn wouldn't allow that."

"That's..."

Karkas couldn't refute a word about that. The Dawn that he knew was one that prioritized the goblins.

The Blessings of the Battlefield affected by Dawn made the goblins grow; Karkas knew that Dawn was exploiting this fact.

He even went as far as not going with them to make sure that they wouldn't waste time minding him.

No one knew the reason why and they also didn't have to know why. After all, the goblins only believed in the king and took action for the king.

"I understand, Elder. But how will we do it?"

"It's simple, really. Thanks to Didi, we have a legitimate reason."

"By that, you mean...?"

Karkas didn't continue and just looked at the Elder.

When he saw the confident expression on the Elder's face, he became sure of it.

"The village, huh. Alright, since we're on it, I'll prepare for that too."

"I'm counting on you."

After saying those words, he walked off to their village.

When he reached Karkas, he stopped before putting his right hand on Karkas' shoulder.

He spoke with a firm tone as he put strength in his hand and gripped Karkas' shoulder.

"Karkas, we...can't lose the king here."

"Yes, Elder. I'll take this as a lesson."

Hearing that reply, he continued walking with a smile on his face.

After all, he noticed the blazing determination lit in the goblin's fiery black eyes.

****

Swoosh.

The sound of the air being cut resounded in the darkness.

A hand gripping the hilt of a sword suddenly appeared when the sword finished its swing.

The hand was green, and its fingers were longer than normal. With such dexterity, he continued swinging the sword, cutting the air in motion.

Swoosh. Woosh.

If one saw this sight, one would think that a veteran was practicing the sword. Of course, the one who was swinging the sword was the one who received it, Dal.

"Woah, Dal, how come you're so good with that?"

A cheerful voice struck Dal's ears. The one who spoke was Ika, who was with him when he received the sword.

Dal relaxed his body before turning to look at the goblin.

He spoke while feeling fuzzy in his head.

"I don't know. It's actually...a refreshing feeling overcomes me when I swing this thing around."

"Hmm, may I try it then?"

"Of course."

Dal walked up to Ika before handing the sword to her. His grip on the sword was perfect, and he tilted the blade down to make sure he wouldn't injure Ika.

"How do you do it?"

Taking over the hilt, Ika spoke while looking at the sword.

In just one glance, she could tell that it was a marvelous thing. A long thin blade that could cut anything was reflecting her image.

"It's the same when I'm walking."

"Walking?"

"Yeah. I walk because I walk. That kind of thing."

Ika tilted her head. Even though she is an evolved goblin, there's no way she could understand a vague explanation like that.

Seeing the puzzled face of his comrade, Dal backed off a few steps before speaking.

"Well, just try it. You saw how I did it, right?"

Ika nodded her head before copying Dal's movements that she saw before.

She gripped the hilt with her right hand, and she put the sword in front of her.

She raised the sword and brought it down. The force, the sword, and the air...was and sounded nothing impressive.

"..."

"..."

She raised it once more, intending to bring it down stronger and faster than before. And when she did it, it was still the same.

Flustered, she hurriedly asked Dal.

"W-why? Why is that 'swosh swosh' not coming out?"

Whenever Dal brought the sword down, the sound of the air being cut always resounded out, the force was great, and Ika couldn't see anything while Dal was in motion.

However, when she did it, not only did the sound not ring out, she could also clearly see the sword while she was swinging it. No impact, no strength...it was completely different to when Dal was doing it.

Of course, Ika isn't the only one to be shocked about this. Dal, too didn't know what was happening.

For him, swinging the sword was the same as breathing. That was why he couldn't understand why Ika couldn't do it.

"Hey, Dal! Are you sure I'm doing it correctly?"

Only when Ika asked again did Dal broke out of his stupefied state.

Instead of saying anything, he ran up to Ika and took the sword from her. The motion of taking the sword was flawless, from Ika's perspective.

And with the same movement, Dal brought the sword down in a flash.

Swoosh.

The sound of air being cut was there, as expected, but due to Ika being close, she could feel the air pressure from the sword.

The wind's breeze was stronger, and though she didn't get an injury, she felt a stinging pain just from the wind's graze.

Dal spoke after completing the strike.

"Huh? It's the same...that's weird."

In truth, Dal thought the sword was broken. After all, if Dal could breathe and Ika couldn't, Dal would think something was wrong with her nose. In this case, it was the sword.

"What's weird? I did it the same way you did it. But, that sound didn't come out! Maybe, it's a summoning tool, and it chose you as its master?"

Indeed, in Ika's eyes, the sword brought forth a wind strong enough to make her feel a little bit of pain. It wouldn't be weird for her to call it a summoning tool.

"No, it's not a summoning tool but a tool used for battles. A tool that helps to kill an enemy."

"Really? It doesn't seem that way to me..."

"What do you think will happen if this sword connects with you after I swing it?"

Dal once more brought the sword down with frightening speed, making Ika feel the same stinging graze.

"I'll get hit and hurt?"

"Right. But, in what way will you get hurt?"

"Uhh...in a way that hurts?"

"Haaa."

Dal sighed in a fit of frustration. He couldn't understand why Ika couldn't understand. After all, no one would bother explaining how one breathes.

"You'll get cut. Remember how this sword once wounded Hig? That's how you'll get hurt. Although it may seem shallow from the surface if I put in more strength..."

Dal, with no practice target, stabbed his blade on the ground. As the blade was sharp enough, it pierced through, albeit it was only an inch.

After confirming that the ground parted, he pulled the sword out and gestured for Ika to see.

He bent his knee, and using his forefinger, he pointed towards the ground where the sword stabbed through.

"You see this? This is what happens when you get hit by this sword. It's the same thing that happened with Hig."

"Yes, and?"

"Imagine this whole sword stabbing through your body. Do you think you could survive that? This sword could even cut, severing your arms and head."

Ika stole a glance towards the sword, looking to measure its size. Its size was wide enough to match her arm, and it was long enough to reach her waist from the ground.

Imagining it cutting or stabbing through her body, Ika couldn't hide her shock. Her widened eyes only expressed this more thoroughly.

"R-really? That sword could do something like that?"

"Yeah. That's why it's a tool that helps to kill an enemy."

Ika gulped down her saliva, thinking that she may one day face an enemy holding a sword.

Whether knowing Ika's problem or not, Dal continued with a grin on his face.

"That's also the reason why I can't help but be proud of this. The king granted me the ownership of this sword, making me able to use it during battles."

"..."

"To slay the king's enemy with this...how grand of sight will it be when it comes true!"

Dal laughed out loud, resounding throughout the dark forest. It seems he couldn't wait for it to happen.

Meanwhile...

"Elder!"

Ika was currently escaping, making her way towards the Elder. Hoping that the old goblin will have something to combat the sword, she ran as if her life depended on it.