Chapter 136: The New Chieftain

Raising his right arm, he pointed at the gemstone tip of the gnarled magic wand towards the tattooed creature. 

"This?" Aiden asked using the Common tongue with a questioning gaze. 

Seeing as how the Sacred Relic is raised and pointed towards him, the creature jumped to a fighting stance and raised both of his arms. His fists flailing in the air in front of him, he shouted a singular word that Aiden couldn't understand. In the next moment, the wild boar tattoo and its surroundings lit up, giving off a dark red hue.

The muscles in his arms visibly contorted, his veins bulged out, working overtime to pump the excess amount of blood. The joints in his fingers cracked as he prepared for the upcoming battle.

Donning a stern expression on his face, he slowly uttered the question.

"You… Want… fight? You… Come… to Kill?!"

Aiden jumped backward seeing how the events suddenly took a turn for the worst. He raised both of his hands in front of him and waved it while also shaking his head in denial. 

"No, no, no! I came only to meet you." He responded. Although he wasn't afraid to fight them, the purpose of him coming here was to gain information about their plans and their reason for coming to this place so close to a human settlement. Fighting and killing his way out would probably solve his current predicament but wouldn't shed light on the underlying issue. 

He might be young, but this sort of basic reasoning didn't require years of experience. With his increased attributes, his mental capacity also grew, and with the added bits and pieces from the memories he gained, he could deduct that there's a bigger threat, an underlying issue with the appearance of these frail creatures.

Seeing his reactions and hearing his response, the creature lowered his fists, and the glowing of his boar tattoo faded as well. He relaxed his tensed muscles and sat down on the makeshift throne. He once again looked at the newcomer from top to bottom. With a casual, nonchalant expression on his face, he spoke with his broken common dialect.

"Who are you? You speak our language?"

Taking a quick glance at the timer, he sighed in relief, as he only needed a couple more seconds before he would gain the necessary skill to understand and respond in their local tongue. 

Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Aiden lowered his hands, guiding his right hand behind his body. Once the wand was hidden, he placed it back in his inventory. As his right hand became visible again, the weapon was nowhere to be found.

Seeing how their Sacred Relic vanished without a trace, caused the tattooed goblin to raise his eyebrows in confusion. However, before he could ask a question, the newcomer finally started speaking and in their own goblin at that!

"Greetings, new chieftain of the tribe." As soon as he received the notification in the system that the [Language: Goblin] has been created and granted for him, Aiden immediately began his speech, beginning with an easy, formal greeting. 

Taking a moment so that the chieftain can regain his composure, he continued.

"I only came here with the intent to inform you that your tribe's previous leader has fallen. His weapon, this 'Sacred Relic' you called earlier, is now in our possession and for the time being, we will hold onto it. Hope you don't mind."

Listening to his words, the chieftain's face turned ugly with anger. Hitting the armrest with his right fist, he jumped up, as he shouted his angered response.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO IT! THAT IS OURS! GIVE IT BACK NOW!"

Giving a wry smile to his angry exclamation Aiden replied in a calm tone.

"No, that item was never yours, to begin with. Not to mention you, who just took power because your predecessor gave you an opening, even your previous leader didn't dare to claim ownership of that item. You should know who I represent, and why I even bothered to come here in the first place. So…" 

Tapping into his [Draconic Heritage], Aiden's eyes suddenly lit up. He released his aura in the room but made sure it didn't leak outside the premises. Focusing his intent on the tattooed leader, he continued with a much deeper, commanding tone.

"...SIT BACK DOWN!"

As the full weight of his aura descended on the standing chieftain, his knees buckled, and he fell back down to his chair. The anger vanished from his face, only to be replaced by a mixture of confusion and fright as he continued to look at this monster in front of him. He no longer thought that he could be an equal to him, even if he would forcefully open and activate all four of his tattoos. 

No, this aura alone was enough to buckle his knees, he couldn't even withstand the pressure of his gaze, let alone his full might! Taking a few moments to calm himself, he took a loud gulp, and with a much calmer tone and with much more respect, he continued.

"So, what can I help this lord with? You may already know, but the previous leader didn't tell us all of the details of the plans. We only know that we had to come here and set up our home at this location. Besides that, we were only told to hunt and gather on the premises and kill all trespassers, there can be no witnesses."

Seeing as to how the chieftain's attitude changed, Aiden pulled his aura back. The golden light in his eyes faded and his voice returned to 'normal'. Giving a courteous smile, he spoke in a calm tone.

"I see… Then, how many of you are in this village currently, how many can fight, and are there any others coming in the near future? I need specifics, to report back."

"Uhm…" The chieftain nervously scratched his head as he listened to the bombardment of questions. "I…" 

He didn't know how to continue. He just took up this spot, he had no idea about such details and didn't even care for it. Why would he? He could give a rough estimation, but he wasn't sure if this lord would accept something like that.

"What?! You don't even know?" Aiden asked with the same calm tone and a simple smile. 

However, at this point, the leader could feel some underlying, hidden threat behind his calm attitude. Certain, that he wasn't just imagining it, he gulped loudly again, and stutteringly began to answer.

"I… I don't know the exact details, sir. I... I just took up the position. I can only g-give a rough estimate."

"Then just give me these rough estimates. It's still better than nothing." Aiden responded with a defeated expression.

"Y-Yes, Sir! So, uhm, we have around three thousand villagers currently, with roughly two thousand of them in a battle-ready state. If the situation requires it, we could pull in the hunters gaining another five hundred. The remaining five hundred are the elderly and the young ones." The chieftain responded with a respectful attitude, a complete opposite of his haughtiness just moments ago.

"Okay, what about the rest? Are there any other coming? Is this your full tribe?"

Shaking his head, the chieftain replied immediately.

"N-no, Sir! Sorry, I mean y-yes, we do have another group that should arrive early next week. I am terribly sorry, but I don't know the details about them... The previous leader knew it."

Aiden's eyes immediately flared up hearing this response. His voice turned deeper, and he unfolded his aura once again, concentrating his intent on the sitting chieftain. 

"DO NOT LIE TO ME, YOU RAT!" 

The 'proud' and haughty leader squealed under Aiden's pressure. Lowering his head, he hurriedly continued.

"I-I am sorry, Lord! I made a mistake! I wasn't paying attention when we got the information, so I don't know the details! I can only say that I think it should be around the same size as our current population!"

"YOU THINK?! WHY ARE YOU SITTING ON THAT CHAIR THEN? WHAT PURPOSE DO YOU SERVE?!"

His thundering, booming voice resounded throughout the entire village. Fragments of his voice also reached Lily's perked ears, who giggled at hearing this.

She patted Sam and Biggy's heads as she cheerfully exclaimed.

"Ehehe, brother is angry! We should be ready, I'm guessing the fun is starting soon!"

Meanwhile, the residents of the village trembled as the thundering shout swept through them. Even the strongest shivered in fright, that strange, lush-haired goblin did have some incredible powers.

The only two that stood proudly were the two youngsters that Aiden accidentally selected as his entourage. They already expected that their new 'master' was an incredible person, and now they were sure of it. They proudly smiled while guarding the entrance. 

Back in the hut, the pale-faced chieftain was already prostrating on the ground, desperately trying to beg for forgiveness from this lord. The immense weight of his piercing gaze was enough to send shivers down his spine and be frightened to death. Even with his mixed blood, he was still, in the core, a goblin, a frightful creature.

"I'm sorry Lord, I know I made a mistake, this goblin is stupid! Please, calm down!"