Chapter 14: Battle (3)

With the darkness spreading its wings, the sky cannot be seen. Even stars have not come out in this night. A night where nothing can be seen however the men gathered in the bush can see clearly as if the darkness was its natural habitat. Of course, they were Didi and his brothers. They were here after getting ordered by their king and now they are hunting.

The would-be victim of this group is a single orc that was wandering long ago in their area. Orcs are generally stronger than goblins but they are stupid. Most of all, the companions of Didi are his brothers who have received the direct teachings from the king. They can't possibly lose!

And so, an orc appeared. It had the hideous face of a pig and its belly fat was something what you would expect from an orc. It didn't carry anything around so it was probably proud of his strength.

The five goblins quickly got to work. No words were spoken between them. They all know what to do in this situation. The first one to run was the Goblin Middle rank. His job was to get the orc's attention.

Swish!

The orc was perplexed at the sudden entrance of a potential foe and so it was late to react. The goblin threw a punch at the orc's belly. It looked like it hurt but the orc clearly was not phased in the slightest. In fact, his face was plastered with a grin ear to ear.

The goblin however was calm. He even provoked the orc by showing his fangs. The orc wanted to punch that smug face of his opponent but three goblins suddenly appeared behind him!

Shuuu!

The three goblins appeared so quickly that the orc couldn't react again. He was being tackled by the three goblins. One was grabbing his huge belly and the other two was working to make him lose his balance.

Boom!

It didn't take long for it to fall on the ground and with that, Didi appeared from the shadows. He ran to the orc to kill it faster while his brothers were holding the orc down.

This is the way of the weak! The way of the goblins!

****

"King, I have finally managed to better myself!"

Surprised, astonished or amazed, whatever it is. I was shaken at the event of Didi returning with the head of an orc as a High Goblin. I did expect that he would increase his rank but if my guess is correct, high is the term for highest type of that rank. In other words, the next time he will be blessed by the battlefield, he will be a Baron. I haven't confirmed various ranks but I can only conjure that it is so. There is no way that I would have jump from a rank 1 goblin to a rank 3, is there?

I'm not scared of being overtaken by him. A king is only a king if he can rule not through might but by loyalty. That is what you call a monarch! In fact, my expectations in Didi just went up.

Anyways, I'm not the only one surprised. The Elder, of course, was surprised too. 5 goblins increased their ranks just in three days. Of course, it was hard but they were under my supervision when the other four increased their ranks. Didi improved by being supported by others but that were also a speed unimaginable for the tribe.

---As I thought, they can improve themselves. I wonder why they haven't done so until now.

I was surprised that most goblins in the village can talk. I was under the impression that not all can do so. After all, I couldn't form words even if I could think of them when I was a normal Goblin. Being able to talk means only one thing. It means being able to think. A race like ours have infinite potential, if they could just train themselves we would have ruled the forest. Yet in this village, they had not evolved let alone increased their rank. They have intelligence but why?

---They told me that no one can influence the blessings of the battlefield but... I can't believe that if they can improve this much under my guidance.

"Good work. Since all five of you have increased your rank, it is now time to start our work for this Raen."

The five and the Elder are gathered in my room. Since they have increased their fighting capability, we would be able to at least pose a threat to a village with a chief as strong as me, if not stronger.

"Ohh! What shall we do, king!"

The Elder spoke up. From the look of his eyes, he probably wants to see his sworn enemy to be killed. The Elder was here when the previous chief battled him so it is reasonable for him to hate Raen.

"First of all, we will make sure that you know how to hunt."

The six all tilted their head at my question. I spoke to not cause any misunderstanding.

"From the looks of it, you have the knowledge but you don't know how to use it. If you can't use it, it's meaningless. As such, I will first teach you how to fight."

"King, haven't we been taught how to fight when you taught us?"

One of the five spoke up and asked.

"No. When you were training under me, your safety was guaranteed. That is not what you call a fight. For now, gather food and wait outside."

"Yes, king!"

The five of them then left. The Elder too was preparing to leave but I stopped him.

"Wait. I have something to ask you, Elder."

The Elder then fixed his posture and asked.

"Yes, what is it?"

"You said that the blessings of the battlefield cannot be influence by anyone yet all five of them increased their rank. Why is that?"

The Elder paused for a moment then answered my question.

"Yes, as far as my knowledge go, no one can influence the blessings of the battlefield. That is why you are unusual. Many chieftains, king, and leader have thought to raise their men to be strong by raising their rank but... none of them have managed to do so. It is not a bad thing however if you can influence the blessings of the battlefield and be the cause of why we can improve ourselves faster. The men will be able to be stronger and because of that, we can have a secured life here."

"Hmm, you have a point. Is there someone who knows more about this?"

"Someone... hmmm"

---Maybe I'm asking too much for the Elder. I guess I'll give up her-

"Ah! Yes, there is someone who knows more about the blessings of the battlefield!"

Hearing that kind of answer, I spoke excitedly.

"Who is it? Is it someone from the village?"

The elder shook his head and continued to speak.

"No, it is the five great clans!"

---Five great clans?

The moment I heard that name, my chest felt like it was being gripped. What is this feeling? I am feeling… a sense of longing?

"King?"

I was snapped back to the reality by the voice of the Elder. This is no time for me to be in a daze, I told myself.

"Ah yes, continue."

"Goblins are categorized in three in the forest, king. The first is Clansman, they are the strongest and the colored goblins. The next is us who live in groups or rather outside of the clans, we are called Strayman. The third kind is those who are outside the forest, they are called Labas. Only when the king is born will us all three be in the same group."

---I see, so that's what. Hmm? Wait.

"King? What do you mean by that?"

The Elder, even with his hard to discern facial features can be clearly seen at this moment that he was making a happy expression, continued.

"It is the king blessed by the blessings of the battlefield. Only the Clansmen know about him. So I can't answer all of your questions..."

---This is complicated.

I don't have to say this but I would rather be killed than to serve. As always, there is an itch that I can't scratch. After hearing all what I wanted to hear, I sent the Elder to be on his way.

Looking in the distant future, I murmured to myself.

"Five great clans... I need to meet them."