A Plant’s Life - Chapter 26 Rise of the goblin king

Inside a small dark cave, only a pair of cold shiny eyes were visible, their depth and cruelty would frighten the bravest of warriors. These pair seemed to be looking into the horizon, towards a small village of green humanoid monsters, calamity was about to strike their direction!

A small army of angry green monsters was heading down towards a village. From time to time, loud curses and shouts, asking for blood could be heard.

“For victory”

“Kill them all”

“I want meat!”

At the front of this undisciplined army was a grey humanoid monster, much taller than the surrounding goblins. He was carrying to spears made out of the bone on his back, walking determined, ready for the upcoming battle. The marching continued, the group of savages smelled of death and gave news of incoming disasters. Once they reached another community of goblins, the swarm broke into smaller groups and entered through many entrances. A warning at the beginning of any battle was the sign of chivalry and honor, yet these savage monsters did not care for the ethics of war. Without any alarm, the leading hobgoblin shouted: “Charge! Kill them all” and all the goblins rallied, running barbarically towards enemies.

The spirit of the attackers was boosted, they felt as if they could take on the entire world. Killing any who dared to stand in their way, showing their might to all. This had been the effect of John’s skill, yet he was still surprised at the mass effect of such simple ability. The villagers were surprised and terrified to their core, as goblins were inherently cowards, they started to run away. Before they could run far, a horrifying scene was portrayed to them, the attackers had surrounded the village, coming in from all the entrances. However, they were not killing others, just pushing them towards the center of the village. This behavior was truly surprising, why were they being pushed rather than struck down? But in the heat of war and under imminent threat of death, asking questions would be wrong, so without argument, they obeyed.

Once the community saw a strong hobgoblin as the leader of attackers, they were stupefied. Someone had broken through the shackles, transcending to a superior specimen. This had been their ultimate goal; they would do anything for such a chance. They thought by following the chosen one, they would also be blessed, so they all kneeled. The clerics, chief and higher echelon of this village were fastest to do so! They understood, strength ruled above all, and if there was a remote chance of attaining more, they would take it. None of them had a sliver of confidence in attaining it from any other source, feeling lost, they had given up, but now there was hope. The savior of their race had arrived, he would unite all villages to take over this dungeon, ruling above all. After doing so, they would be graced by their ancestors and achieve a breakthrough.

The ruling class knew best, they understood the hierarchy better, yet the others could see pure strength and whispers could be heard.

“He must be the savior”

“He is the legendary grand chief”

“Our king has arrived”

“We pledge our lives, o wise king”

Under the hopeful gaze of a broken and poor village, stood a tall figure, radiating glory and confidence. The time had arrived, it was the age of goblins, they would rally behind the chosen one.

In order to get a good standing, the chief stood up to welcome this esteemed guest, saying: “O, great chosen one, we are your humble servants, we shall fight…..UGHA”

Before he could finish the speech, a white spear penetrated deep into his heart, terrifying all who were present. Before any reaction could be seen from the crowd, the hobgoblin commanded: “Kill everyone, leave none alive”

Their world view shattered; they could not understand the reason behind this brutality. Their chief was struck down for no reason, dying with a shocked face. Was this not their chance at dominance, was he not the chosen one, why was this happening to them?

No answer would be given to these concerns as the attackers were more than happy to oblige their lord’s commands. From their point of view, they were the confidants, they were superior, and they would not let others take this privilege. What would be the point of growing together? Doing so would put them at the bottom of the hierarchy with others, they would be selfish and hold the secret for dear life. When someone is weak, they don’t understand the secrecy of the strong, thinking soaring would be possible. However, why would the strong share their resources with more parties? Once the door on personal cultivation had been closed, then they would focus on building an army and train others to do their bidding. There was no free lunch in the world, the price had to be paid in full.

Even though the parties involved had contradicting feelings, John did not care about them in the slightest. He simply needed all the death to be within his area of influence, so life steal would work. He would walk in the midst of chaos and occasionally strike a goblin down. However, he would not discriminate, as some who died by his hands belonged to his faction. Yet, no one noticed this strange behavior, and if they did, they would take this to the grave, on many occasions acting blind would save one’s life.

By the time the massacre was concluded, John had enough energy for his needs. Thus, after dispersing remainders of goblins, he silently left, hiding in a dark corner. Putting some traps would help against intruders, yet he activated his field instead. With his control, taking the life of a few unwanted guests would not provide any issue.

After an uneventful upgrade session, John scanned his body for any anomalies and his new stats.

[Name: Kala

Race: Hobgoblin

Class: Archer

Level: 4

HP (Health Point): 90/90 (CON*8+10)

MP (Mana Point): 42/42 (INT*12+6)

SP (Stamina Point): 106.5/106.5(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 8

Dexterity – 13

Constitution – 10

Intelligence – 3

Wisdom –4

Charisma – 5

Luck – 4

Skills: Lead (Basic): higher chance of success in rallying troops (Changed, under improvement, not stable yet)

Good shot (Basic): higher chance of success in shooting a target

Condition: Healthy, stable

Mana imprint: 29% connection to the soul

XP (Experience Point): 0/185]

To compare for any difference in stats he commanded: “System, bring my status window up”

The picture of his stats was projected in the mind of the goblin

[Name: Kala the Bloodthirsty

Race: Hobgoblin

Class: Archer

Level: 4

HP (Health Point): 90/90 (CON*8+10)

MP (Mana Point): 42/42 (INT*12+6)

SP (Stamina Point): 106.5/106.5(CON*10+DEX/2)

Attributes:

Strength – 8

Dexterity – 13

Constitution – 10

Intelligence – 3

Wisdom –4

Charisma – 5

Luck – 4

Skills: Lead (Basic): higher chance of success in rallying, the best effect on teams of 10

Good shot (Basic): higher chance of success in shooting a target, first two shots have a higher rate

Intimidation (Basic): charm+1 when in war, passive ability

Condition: Healthy, stable

XP (Experience Point): 0/185]

John analyzed: “So interesting, I have received a nickname, which has led to a passive ability. I could not find it myself, as it was not located within the body, rather it should be inside mana imprint! Since they believe I deserve this title, it is recorded in their symbols, which has a connection to my mark. This link documents the relationship between all monsters, as expected of the dungeon core, nothing is left out. This is a very good opportunity to find the channel between the symbols, checking their vulnerability. There is also more detail for skills, the descriptions are more detailed. This could be due to an increased level, stronger race or higher imprint’s connection to the soul. My previous hypothesis points towards the last possibility; greater connection leads to more trust. Since raising monsters is difficult, once they are bonded, the system provides more information to the subject. Now would be the time for action, killing two birds with one stone!”