Chapter 15: The Altar of Heroes

Chapter 15: The Altar of Heroes

Leon gazed at the 'Sheep Knife' in his hand and discreetly took a deep breath.

The dagger's abilities truly lived up to its divine weapon status. Instantly transforming creatures below the True God level into sheep, and even catching an unprepared true god off-guard, was remarkable.

In the realm of the Holy Continent, the mightiest creatures at most reached the demigod level.

This meant that if a demigod powerhouse were to attack the elven territory now, he could utilize the artifact's power to render them sheep, effectively neutralizing the threat.

This illustrated just how fearsome this artifact was.

However, there was one snag: aside from its 'transform an enemy into a sheep' capability, the artifact was entirely unremarkable. Not only did it fail to enhance his strength, but it also lacked offensive power altogether.

As per the system, using this artifact to stab a goblin wouldn't even result in its death.

"The Finger of the Mourning God of Death lives up to its name!"

Leon stowed the magical 'Sheep Knife' in his spatial ring. This item was perfect for crowd control, obliterating bosses in an instant. Even if gods were to descend, he wouldn't tremble. [P.S - "yin people" in this context probably refers to players who prefer stealthy or sneaky approaches.]

"With this artifact, I'll feel more confident attacking the Goblin Kingdom!"

A sudden desire gripped Leon.

He pondered what the reaction of King Zaza and the goblin elders would be when he transformed them into sheep before everyone's eyes.

"By the way, what's the hero altar?"

The reward for completing novice task three was unlocking the hero altar.

"Does it summon elven heroes?"

[Once the host erects the hero altar, the elves under his command can enter for promotion to become elven heroes! Hero professions include nature guardians, moon god priests, demon hunters, empire watchers, and more. The Altar of Heroes opens on the night of the full moon. Each hero promotion requires a cost of 100,000 gold coins!]

"So expensive?"

[Elven heroes possess formidable abilities. For example, the nature guardian can summon century-old trees into treants. These treants boast eternal life and formidable attack power.]

"It seems worth the price!"

Leon was itching with anticipation.

Of course, the prerequisite for building the hero altar was completing newbie task three, which was to deliver a severe lesson to the goblin kingdom—essentially, to obliterate it.

In his eyes, the greedy and ungrateful goblins held no value worth conquering.

...

Time flew by rapidly,

Three days vanished in the blink of an eye.

During this brief period, Leon, at the helm of his mountain giants and elven army, relentlessly cleared goblin lairs and vanquished various malevolent races and monsters within the forest.

The elves' dominion was swiftly expanding.

Simultaneously, the size of Leon's army corps burgeoned considerably, now numbering nearly five thousand troops.

Among them were over 3,000 elf archers and more than 1,000 elf huntresses.

Each elf huntress possessed the [Sentinel] talent, enabling them to summon magical owls to inhabit trees and surveil their surroundings. Even creatures employing invisibility would find it arduous to evade the keen gaze of these magical sentinels.

The entire elven domain, encompassing the recently acquired territory, fell under the watchful eyes of these magical owls.

Hence, Leon harbored no anxiety about being caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of the goblin kingdom. On the contrary, he eagerly awaited if King Zaza would muster the courage to face him in battle. Regrettably, he had overestimated King Zaza's valor. For three consecutive days, there was no sign of the goblin army.

As the fourth day arrived,

The extended reaches of the Elf Territory finally met the borders of the Goblin Kingdom's sphere of influence.

A multitude of goblins stood before the blades of the Elf Legion.

Several clashes culminated in the defeat of the goblins. After losing numerous goblin warriors, the others no longer dared to confront the elven army head-on. They retreated into the subterranean realm they'd constructed, sealing even the entrance.

"Your Majesty Leon!"

Usmarie approached Leon's side and spoke with respect, "The nearby goblin dens have been eradicated by our forces. Now, only the concealed goblin kingdom remains underground. The timid goblins have sealed their kingdom's entrance. They're unwilling to wage war and are ready to defend it to the death!"

Escorted by the three elven army captains,

Leon and Agatha arrived at the entrance of the Goblin Kingdom.

They beheld an abundance of hefty boulders, effectively sealing off the kingdom's entrance. Nearby, a slew of forsaken goblin villages and tribal dwellings dotted the landscape. Within these structures lay remnants of daily life, suggesting the goblins had fled in haste.

Leon inquired, "Where are the other two entrances?"

Usmarie responded, "They're in a similar state, all sealed off by the goblins."

Leon smiled, "These foolish goblins think this will drive me away? On the contrary, it only ensures they'll be captured in one fell swoop! Have the mountain giants clear away these boulders and forge a passage!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Swiftly, all ten mountain giants assembled.

Endowed with immense strength, lifting these rocks proved effortless for them.

In under half an hour, the colossal boulders obstructing the entrance were cleared by the mountain giants, unveiling a dark passage leading to the heart of the goblin kingdom...

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