Chapter 17 – Give Them a Little Surprise
Today was a quiet day.
An old Violet Goblin, face withered, dressed in a robe and holding a wooden goblin staff with a large head and a small tail inlaid with tiny magic stones, sat deep inside a hidden goblin cave, dozing.
In front of the old goblin was a flat table. Upon it lay a small glowing stone that had been activated, its light illuminating the surroundings.
Beside the glowing stone was a stack of tree bark with strange symbols carved into it, and a small sharp carving knife.
Suddenly, a bubble of snot swelled beneath the old goblin's nose, jolting him awake. In his daze, he realized dawn had already come outside.
It was time to go back to sleep.
Though he had done nothing the previous night, he still felt he had worked hard for himself.
The Goblin Scholar thought so, then extinguished the glowstone, walked out of the room, and prepared to return to his nest for a sound sleep as a reward to himself.
Leaning on his staff, he stepped out and encountered several Violet Goblins no older than himself. They all bowed respectfully to him.
When there was no elder Violet Goblin, relying on seniority was truly enjoyable.
After all, the status of a Violet Goblin was not based on physical strength, but on magic and intellect.
"Achoo~~"
The old goblin sneezed, mucus spraying everywhere. He wiped the end of his nose, twisted it around, then smeared the snot on his hand onto the Violet Goblin beside him before hobbling on toward his chamber.
As for the reproduction that should have been carried out daily and nightly, the captured human females and even some Violet Goblin females were no longer capable of bearing children. Thus, birthing could only be left to the younger goblins.
It was worth mentioning that half of the goblins in this group were descendants of the Goblin Scholar himself.
Surely, being the boss here wasn't so extraordinary?
But unlike the dazed old Goblin Scholar, the other Violet Goblins were gloomy. They had been hiding in this cave for more than ten days, never once leaving.
More than ten days ago, an overlord suddenly appeared in the forest's depths, effortlessly breaking through the goblins' defensive lines and killing many of them.
The warriors they had painstakingly trained suffered heavy losses, and even some Violet Goblins perished in the attack.
Only in recent days had they finally been free of the fear of the Warcraft Overlord and dared to send goblins out for food.
Unlike humans, goblins could hide from adventurers' eyes, but beasts could easily sniff them out through the wind, then storm goblin dwellings, inflicting heavy losses.
The goblins of Qirwood Forest had indeed escaped extermination at human hands, but they still had to face the threats of the forest's rulers.
As dominant creatures, Overlords sometimes emerged merely to play, to train their offspring, or simply out of boredom, to regulate the populations of other races.
This situation was the worst of all: the Overlords' children began practicing, attacking the central-zone inhabitants.
Such things usually happened more than once. If a young Overlord grew up and remained, the surrounding territory would change, and the living space of races like goblins would be further squeezed.
The birth of Overlords' offspring also meant another danger: high-level adventurers targeting them.
In short, the goblins faced hard times.
But today, a different change arrived.
A strange goblin appeared in the goblin cave's hall.
In an instant, hundreds of green goblins and over a dozen white goblins rushed out, surrounding him, kneeling devoutly, joyfully chanting praises and blessings.
The Violet Goblins who had been worried realized something was amiss.
Thinking a natural enemy had entered the cave, they leapt out with tall wooden staffs, ready to fight to the death.
But the next moment, they too knelt with the green goblins, raising their arms high, saluting the goblin at the center.
The noisy clamor reached the ears of the old Goblin Scholar, rousing him in annoyance.
He rose angrily, seized his staff, and marched toward the hall with a furious face, intending to teach the strange young goblin a lesson.
Yet when he clearly saw that goblin's form—
In an instant, he dropped his staff, raised both arms high, and knelt as well.
"My lord, Your Majesty, you are the most handsome and powerful goblin I have ever seen."
"From now on, let our natural enemies feel this miracle!"
That day, the Goblin Cave of Qirwood Forest's central zone welcomed its new master.
After entering the cave, Altair immediately prepared delicious food for Lyra, the big eater.
The goblins' once-poor stores now seemed abundant, and these unfamiliar goblins made no complaints. Instead, they grew even more spirited, demanding harder work and more time in service to their new emperor.
…
That day, though Lyra awoke and found herself relocated, the food she received had not diminished—rather, it had become tastier. Her bed was also larger.
There were more goblins, yet none made trouble for her and Altair. Though still worried no one had come to rescue her, the pregnant Lyra felt slightly more at ease.
Lyra's current Hope Value: 21
Only 2 days remain until the day of birth.
…
Individual Name: Violet Goblin (non-descendant)
Age: 72 years
Attack: 2 (+6)
Vitality: 13 (+24)
Mana: 26 (+159)
Intelligence: 16 (+64)
Impact Resistance: 1 (+0)
Magic Resistance: 8 (+41)
Attribute: Fire
Occupation: Goblin Scholar (cannot be reassigned)
Genetic Talents: Intelligence, longevity, magic
Altair examined the information of this old Goblin Scholar and was astonished.
He faintly recalled the old Violet Goblin's earlier words—that this Goblin Scholar was his father, and the reason he had been sent to the outskirts was to prevent the goblins there from vanishing.
The attribute panel also felt strange—like a layer of bark that could peel away with a touch.
But that intelligence stat was more than 20 points higher than an ordinary human's.
Of course, high intelligence did not always equal wisdom; its use was what mattered.
This old Goblin Scholar could even speak human language.
"Have all goblins under the age of two without a profession line up in the lobby. I will give them a little surprise."