Chapter 25: Power (3)

The goblins that were fighting each other stopped when they saw what happened.

Raen's death was too fast for anyone to take in but the definite factor that made them stop fighting was the mark that appeared in the king's body during the battle.

As if they were drawn to him, the goblins, enemies and ally, started to gather around the king.

The goblins all looked at one spot. They looked at the stomach of the king that is decorated by a black sun.

The black sun had eight limbs-like protruding from it as the center, as if they were ready to crawl in the king's body to form the tattoos once more.

The goblins who were knowledgeable about the history of goblins such as the Elder who had the knowledge passed down to him from generations to generations and Karkas who was once a chieftain confirmed it with their eyes.

What's more is that they heard it from Raen himself, the identity of the tattoos that formed during the battle, who was a member of the five great clans.

Silence was prevalent and the eyes of fanatical believers were apparent in the goblins. As if they gained the ability to speak words, the goblins of normal suddenly spoke at the same time.

"The King's symbol!"

They called the black sun as the king's symbol. They looked at it with extreme zealously. If one wanted to simplify it, it is as if they are the commoners in the audience of a king.

The Elder who knew what to do stepped up and spoke to Karkas.

"I will host the ceremony."

As the Elder was literally the eldest goblin alive in the vicinity, Karkas didn't object to it. He knew what the words meant.

He nodded his head and asked.

"What should we do? Should we wake him or wait?"

As the king was in a deep sleep right now, they didn't know what to do. If they disturbed his much needed rest, something might happen to him. Furthermore, if it was to recover from the battle they can't just blatantly wake him up.

"We will- hm?!"

All of a sudden, the body of the king started to glow and it began changing shape. In other words, the body is being blessed by the battlefield.

The Elder continued his words after managing to calm himself.

"We will wait for the king to wake up."

As if he was satisfied with that answer, Karkas stepped back towards Didi who were keeping watch of the surroundings. Even if they were safe now doesn't mean they will be safe later.

He called out to Didi.

"It's best if we keep watch from the king's side. He needs us now more than any time."

Didi just nodded his head and they both walked towards the king.

Meanwhile… The king was in the state of sleeping but he had his consciousness. He was aware of what was happening however it wasn't reality. It was a dream.

He was dreaming once more but he couldn't discern what kind of content it has. It was all too foggy for him.

He could 'see' but it was blurry. It was different from the dreams that he had before with the red goblins.

---What is happening…?

He could only question it. He couldn't wake up or interact with his dreams.

Soon after, the dreams were changing forms. If he had to describe it, the one from before was white and the now was black.

"?!"

The king became flustered after the change. His instincts as a goblin kicked in and he could tell that something in that darkness was looking at him.

The king couldn't move at the moment as he was, technically, in a dream.

After some time, the feeling of being watched vanished and he became relaxed. Soon, he lost his consciousness within his body as he woke up.

He opened his eyes and what he saw was Didi making strange movements and Karkas with an expression that he couldn't read.

The king raised his body and looked at the both of them. After he raised his head, sunlight hits his eyes.

---I'm outside?

The king was sleeping outside…no; to be precise he was sleeping where he collapsed after the fight with Raen while being surrounded by goblins. Didi, Karkas, Hig, Ika, all of them was a member of his village.

He noticed the Elder walking towards him and he asked a question.

"What happened?

The Elder didn't answer his question. Instead he motioned for the king to look behind his back. He turned around and what he saw was the surviving enemy goblins were kneeling in front of him.

He wasn't surprised. He somewhat expected it that they will bow before him if Raen died. The only thing different from his expectations was that…the gesture that the goblins are using. They held eyes that had admiration for the king. They moved not due to fear but due to something else.

The king could read that as if it were the back of his palm. He didn't understand how he understood.

Soon, the Elder motioned for the other goblins to kneel before the king.

After they finished kneeling, the goblins, all at once, kowtow to the king with their foreheads being pressed by the pebbles on the ground. One could imagine how it must hurt.

The Elder, the representative of the goblins for this event, spoke.

"King."

"King!"

The surrounding goblins followed the Elder's words. It was a strange sight for the king as he knew that not all goblins could talk yet here they are speaking at the same time with perfect coordination.

"We shall offer our loyalty."

"We shall offer our loyalty!"

"To the king."

"To the king!"

"For the king."

"For the king!"

"We shall entrust our lives with the king."

"We shall entrust our lives with the king!"

"With the king."

"With the king!"

"We shall attain glory."

"We shall attain glory!"

The surroundings shook because of the loud voices of the goblins. Even if they only number a hundred or so, if all of them speak at the same time it will be as if they are in a war, raising their morale.

The king who was suddenly thrown in this ceremony was surprised but he knew what to do. Something was telling him that only he can respond. Something was urging him to respond to the allegiance of the goblins.

To the loyalty of the goblins, he stood and spoke with a powerful voice.

"I am the king!"

"I shall receive your loyalty and promise you prosperity!"

"Follow me, goblins!"

The goblins looked up and let out a scream of joy at the crowning of the king. It was so loud that it could be compared to war drums ringing out in a battlefield.

The king looked at them with sense of achievement. Yes, only the sense of achievement was swirling within him. He wasn't excessively happy at the fact that they were recognizing him, both in name and reality, as the king of goblins. He thought to himself.

---I can't feel satisfied about it…

That was his true thoughts. The other instinct that was soothed until now was telling him that this is only a natural occurrence and it isn't enough. His pride wasn't on the level of the king. It was on a much grander scale. As always, there was an itch that he couldn't scratch.

As if it were waiting for the king to finish his thoughts, the voice with a monotone spoke to him. It was the blessings of the battlefield.

[You have gained the title 'The fake king of the goblins']

[You have not met the required assessment to be bestowed the title of Datu]

The king immediately called for the blessings of the battlefield.

[Race: Goblin]

[Rank: Low Viscount]

[Position: Great Chieftain]

[Titles: The fake king of the goblins]

[Divine Protection: None]

[Latest Achievement: Killing a black goblin and led the stray goblins]

[Blessings received: Low Viscount]

The king read his title of the fake king of the goblins again and again. His pride was hurt at being called a fake. That was something that he wouldn't let pass off so easily. He was on the verge of exploding but…

"King, what should we do now?"

Whether knowing the king's problem or not, the Elder called out to him.

The king who was told that he was a fake forcefully calmed himself. He didn't want to ruin the goblin's mood, especially when it was about him being the 'king'.

In the past, he only helped the other goblins out of his own benefits. He helped them to become stronger to be able to fight against Raen and every action he took was for the goal of killing Raen. Now, he was starting to be considerate to the goblins who were joyfully singing praises for him.

Deciding to investigate his title later on, he responded.

"Since our numbers have increased, we wouldn't be able to stay back in the village. We will go to the territory of Raen and make that our home."

At those words, a goblin that was once an enemy to the king stepped up and spoke.

"In that case, I ask for permission to lead the journey."

The king looked at the goblin's direction and he smirked.

"It's you. You survived?"

"By your grace, I survived."

The goblin that the king was talking to was the goblin that tried to recruit him to serve Raen. It was the Goblin High.

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes. All goblins that are in the position of chieftain have a name coming from their predecessor. It's just…"

The goblin stopped talking then bowed his head.

"I would like to receive a name from the king himself."

"The only way to gain a name is to become distinguished on the battlefield."

"I shall devote myself to it."

With that, the group that the king led started their journey to the east where Raen's camp was.

While they were walking, a goblin was having a delicate problem. That goblin was Karkas.

He thought,

'I should've asked for the king to name me!'

It looks like he wanted the king to name him too.