Schemes

This was the largest goblin tribe in the area.

“More refugees?!”

“Those monsters are insane! They've already fought their way near here!”

Chief Karon watched another group of goblins flood into the tribe, his face instantly darkening.

Expanding their power was certainly a good thing, but there was a limit to everything.

If they took in refugees without any limit, they would deplete all their resources sooner or later.

“Those monsters aren't just attacking us—it's as if they want to slaughter every living thing and eat everything they see!”

But the goblin warrior who had escorted these refugees in had a face full of despair.

For during his scouting mission, he had seen with his own eyes the ant colony that had finally fought its way to this vicinity.

Even though he had only encountered a few of their scouts and engaged in a brief skirmish, he had already personally experienced the horror from the rumors.

“There's no end to those monsters! They just keep charging, wave after wave! They don't even care about their own lives just to slaughter—they're a bunch of apocalyptic monsters! Even if only a head is left, it will twist around and try to bite you!”

The goblin warrior trembled all over, the terror in his voice practically overflowing.

Karon harshly rebuked the warrior, forcing himself to appear calm as he spoke.

“Hey, stop your shouting, you fool! At the end of the day, aren't they just beasts that can be stabbed to death with blades or burned to death with fire?”

In truth, as more and more refugees flooded into Karon's tribe, all kinds of rumors had already spread like wildfire.

The shaman of the tribe spoke up cautiously, “Chief, as far as I know, Glen's tribe was completely wiped out precisely because they rashly went to war with those monsters. More than just one or two people were lucky enough to escape. I'm afraid this is no lie.”

Karon frowned, his tone filled with disbelief. “You mean to say they made up for such a massive loss in just a few days? Is that even possible?”

But the shaman did not stop there, continuing, “Not only that, but small individuals that have never appeared before have also emerged. Those tiny things are even more numerous and agile. They move in swarms and attack anything they can.”

“Nothing but bad news!”

Hearing that the enemy had grown stronger and more diverse, Karon's face completely darkened.

Just a short while ago, everyone was still saying they couldn't cross the river and that the opposite bank was safe. Yet now, even the opposite bank had been plundered by them.

Before, they said their numbers had sharply declined, but now, their numbers had actually multiplied instead.

“Just what on earth are those monsters...”

Karon had never seen those ants with his own eyes, which only made him worry all the more.

Even if they turned this entire region upside down, this was ultimately just a borderland. The faction of those monsters couldn't possibly be that vast.

Yet the more his reason told him so, the more frantically the unease in his heart grew.

Those survivors who had personally encountered the ant colony spread their terrifying experiences everywhere. The fact that this was happening right near the land where he had established his roots made it impossible for him to let it go.

“I'm already stretched thin just trying to expand my influence and compete with other guys. I don't have the time to worry about some inexplicable monsters,” Karon said through gritted teeth.

He had always been incredibly proud of his identity. He was a goblin chosen by the great Venerable Night Moon.

The great Venerable Night Moon had bestowed knowledge and power upon Karon and other talented goblins, instructing them to expand their influence.

And Karon had strived with all his might to reach where he was today, all to receive even more blessings.

Karon growled, “The beastkin tribes of the northwest plains are growing stronger and stronger, and the humans to the southeast are becoming increasingly difficult to deal with now!”

“B-but those monsters won't just attack us, will they?” the shaman chimed in timidly.

“Is now the time to say such things?!” Karon ground his teeth and slammed his fist hard against the railing.

Expanding one's influence was never an easy task.

Thanks to the exclusive power bestowed upon them by Venerable Night Moon, they were able to continuously break through the limits of an individual goblin and steadily grow.

Yet even with this power, the surrounding competitors were still countless, and the available resources remained extremely scarce.

The pressure borne by the chiefs of each tribe was mounting day by day.

It was precisely because of this that Karon could somewhat understand why the other chief, Glen—who had actively provoked the monsters, only to suffer a crushing defeat and the total annihilation of his tribe—had made that choice.

“Chief... we must take this seriously. The scouts of those monsters are getting closer and closer to this place. If they discover the location of our tribe and launch a full-scale invasion, we'll be...”

The shaman's voice grew fainter, yet he still laid the worst-case scenario out on the table.

“Such a thing must absolutely not happen.”

Karon spoke through gritted teeth, word by word, before reaching out to spread a map before him.

This map was plundered by these goblins from a nearby human village. They had added details to it based on their own understanding, since their own mapmaking skills were far too poor.

“Those monsters are moving natural disasters. I'm not like that fool Glen—if we can avoid them, we naturally must.”

Karon stared at the map, a cold sneer suddenly curling his lips as he ordered, “Select our fastest warriors to form a bait squad. Once they spot the enemy's scouts, have them deliberately draw their attention and lure them away while maintaining a safe distance.”

“L-lure them away... Chief, where are we luring them to?” the shaman asked, completely bewildered.

“Didn't a bunch of fools dare to reject our alliance proposal?” Karon grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp, pearly white teeth, and tapped his finger heavily on a certain spot on the map.

The location marked on the map was a human city.

He didn't know the specific defensive layout. He only knew that the human leader ruling that place was just like him—a fellow who had grown his power by plundering other human villages.

“I remember what that leader said back then. He claimed he was a future lord of the land and had no reason to associate with a goblin, was it?”

Karon had never forgotten this humiliation and resentment.

He knew very well that with his current strength, it was impossible to seek revenge face-to-face against that guy, who was much stronger than him. But revenge didn't necessarily require getting his own hands dirty, did it?

He had heard that those monsters didn't care about race or faction.

As long as something appeared before them, they would launch an indiscriminate attack and ruthlessly slaughter everything.

This terror would be a devastating catastrophe if it fell on his own head, but if it fell on his enemy's head, it would be a massive blessing.

Since they could fight fire with fire, there was no reason not to try.

“Chief, what if those monsters wipe out the humans and use the opportunity to grow even stronger, only to turn around and attack us next?”

However, Karon couldn't give any answer to the shaman's final question.

Although Karon felt in his heart that such a thing shouldn't happen, if it really came to that point, there was no point in thinking about it now anyway.