Chapter 762: The Price of Salvation (Patreon)

Luke raced through the forest. Angie stayed behind at the first village to tend to the wounded and prevent another attack. Charlie was still at the castle, protecting the Core and the humans. Luke traveled alone, accompanied only by the spectral beast carrying Pip and Boggy.

“I don’t need to follow the routes you used before,” Luke said. “Just point me in the right direction.”

Boggy was guiding the group toward the nearest village when the trees began to shake. A black mass approached at high speed. Pip jerked upright on the spectral beast.

“That’s the spider,” he said. “The one from the forest.”

“Chief!” Norn shouted.

Both goblins jumped, even though Luke had warned them she was coming.

“Where were you, Norn? The goblin village was attacked.”

“Norn sensed powerful beasts in the forest and went to deal with them. A whole pack.”

“I heard about the wolves. What happened?”

“They fled. Tried to draw Norn away while the orcs attacked.” The spider shifted her legs irritably. “But Norn did not fall for the trap. Came to find Chief. The wolves left the territory.”

Smoke rose above the trees ahead. By the time they reached the next village, the orcs had already taken control.

“I need to find Nim,” Pip said.

“No. You’re going to sit there and stay quiet,” Luke replied.

“L-listen to the demon lord, Pip,” Boggy urged.

Illyra sat on Luke’s shoulder.

"Please, Botanist. I know they rejected you, but they’re still my children. Help them."

Luke started toward the village. He activated the [Cloak of the Arcane Witch], and horns appeared on his head. With a single burst of movement, he crossed the village and drove his fist into the orc standing at its center. The impact hurled it across the clearing, dead before it hit the ground. The remaining orcs spun toward him.

“Who is that?!”

“Fire!”

Bone-tipped arrows flew at Luke. A mana shield rose before him and blocked every projectile. Luke didn’t need the protection. The shield was for the goblins behind him.

“My turn.”

Black knives began floating around him. With a flick of his hand, Luke launched the first one. The weapon tore through an orc with enough force to drop it instantly. The others followed, slicing through the air as the invaders fell one after another. When only one remained, the orc charged with a hammer.

Luke did not move. The hammer struck him, but its head snapped free from the handle and flew away, shattered by the impact. The orc froze, staring at the piece of wood still clutched in its hands.

Then it looked at Luke.

“Done?”

Luke seized it by the throat and lifted it off the ground. The orc thrashed and struggled to break free, but Luke gripped its head with his other hand. Luke twisted once. The orc went limp. He released the body and turned toward an elderly goblin standing among the survivors.

“You’re the leader, aren’t you? Merrik?”

“Y-yes.”

Illyra had already confirmed his identity.

“Come with me. You’ll join Boggy and Pip and guide me to the next village.”

Merrik looked at the dead orcs, then at the surviving villagers.

“I understand.”

One village had submitted. Three remained.

***

The next group lasted even less time. By the time Boggy and the other chiefs caught up, the orcs were dead, and two goblin prisoners were staring at Luke in terror.

“P-please, spare my son at least,” the older goblin begged.

“He’s on our side, Gim,” Boggy said.

Merrik was there as well, riding on Norn’s back.

Luke approached. “I’ll be brief. Where are the other orcs?”

“They invaded my village. They should still be there.” Gim ran a hand over his wounds. “They were taking us somewhere.”

“I can help your village. In exchange, you and your goblins will serve me.”

“What?”

“You know who I am. You also know the offer I made a few weeks ago.” Luke pointed toward the forest. “Now you get to choose your village’s future. Would you rather they die free at the hands of the orcs or live in my service?”

Gim looked between Luke and the other chiefs.

“Those two already made their choice,” Luke added.

Gim remained silent for several seconds. Then he prostrated himself before Luke.

“Please save my village. I’ll serve you.”

“I already saved it.” Luke turned away. “I just wanted to make our agreement official.”

That made two.

When they reached the final village, Luke immediately saw that it was the strongest of the five. It had watchtowers, noise traps, and a heavily reinforced wooden wall. Its population also seemed larger. The orcs had broken through several sections of the defenses and brought down one of the towers, but most of the village remained intact. It was the most distant goblin village.

They built a solid place.

Luke emerged from the forest and approached the wall.

“Hello.”

The orcs occupying the defenses turned toward him. At the center of the village, an orc wearing mismatched armor and stolen gear started toward him.

“What is this? A foolish human?” The orc grinned. “You’re brave to come here. Or just very stupid.”

“You’re invading my territory. I’m the king of these lands.”

“King?” The orc laughed. “I wipe my ass with human kings.”

“Same.”

The orc’s grin vanished for a moment.

“Have you come to challenge me, human king?”

“Me? No.” Luke made a casual gesture. “I’ll let my soldier do it.”

“Soldier? Where is he?” the orc roared.

“Above you.”

When the invaders looked up, Norn leaped from the top of a tree. The spider crashed into the village and attacked. Several orcs backed away in terror. One tried to strike her with an axe, but one of her legs pierced through him and flung him aside. Norn charged the others, shattered their formation, and cut off their escape. Within minutes, none of the orcs were left standing.

Nearby, Norn pinned one final orc beneath one of her legs.

Luke approached the creature. “Leave this one alive.”

Norn shifted her weight without arguing. Luke looked down at the prisoner.

“Good. I have questions.”

***

A day had passed since the attack on the goblin villages. Luke and Angie were hidden high in a tree, watching a massive orc encampment on the plains.

“The humans are establishing a defensive line on the other side, near the road,” Angie said.

“The orc I told Norn to leave alive gave us valuable information. I doubt the humans learned as much.”

The group that invaded the goblin villages did not serve the Orc Lord.

“That camp is commanded by an orc general,” Luke continued. “We still need to find out which faction he belongs to.”

Angie had interrogated the prisoner in Norn’s cave. Thanks to him, they had learned that two orc factions existed on the continent: the followers of the Orc Lord and the servants of the Orc King.

“The wolves belong to the Orc Lord’s group,” Angie said. “But they aren’t here. They didn’t gather at this camp.”

“These orcs probably have other camps scattered across the region. The wolves are fast. They can move between them.”

The alliance between the wolves and orcs mattered. Even so, the beasts did not seem to belong to the same faction that had attacked the villages.

“The group that invaded Otto’s village served the Orc Lord,” Angie added. “Now it makes sense that they didn’t send more squads after we killed them. They might think the other faction intercepted the group.”

“An interesting theory.”

Below them, hundreds of orcs moved between rows of tents. Two factions. At least two armies. And neither one knew who had taken control of the forest between them.

“Are we going to attack this place?” Angie asked. “You’ve allowed them to remain here for several days, my lord.”

Luke could infiltrate the camp and kill the general.

But the time had not come.

In the distance, another column of smoke rose near the road.

Angie followed his gaze.

“More people will die.”

“Yes.”

“And we’re still waiting?”

“We are.” Luke continued watching the camp. “They’re drawing unwanted attention to the region, but the worse the situation gets, the better it is for us.”

More citizens meant more territory, more labor, and, if his theory was right, something else.

“Either way, one thing is clear. We’re looking at an orc invasion, and there’s more than one army involved.”

When night fell, Angie returned to the castle.

Luke traveled alone to Pip and Boggy’s village. Every goblin in the forest had gathered there on his orders, afraid of another attack.

“The k-king has returned,” one of the goblin sentries announced.

Luke emerged from the forest with his horns active. He let everyone see them before making them disappear. He walked among the villagers. The goblins still watched him with fear, but the hostility had vanished from their eyes.

Luke entered the tent where the leaders were waiting.

“Good. You’re all here.”

“Y-you have my gratitude, Demon King.” Chief Fenn bowed his head. “You saved my people and kept my daughter from dying. I owe you a great debt.”

“You do. And don’t worry, you’ll pay it.”

Luke studied the four assembled chiefs.

“Boggy, Gim, Merrik, and Fenn. You’ll all have plenty of work to do for me.”

The fifth chief and every goblin from his village had disappeared. Their settlement lay outside the Core’s territory and had probably been the first village attacked.

“Mog never returned, demon lord,” Boggy said. “I believe he reached the last village, found the orcs, and accidentally revealed the path to ours.”

“My spider is searching the territory and the surrounding forest for them right now.” Luke crossed his arms. “The orcs entered my lands. Now they have me to deal with.”

The chiefs remained silent.

“But we’ll handle one thing at a time. Gather everyone. I have an announcement to make.”

“Y-yes, Demon King,” Boggy replied. “What is it?”

“First, we’re done with this Demon King nonsense.”

The chiefs exchanged uncertain looks.

“From now on, you’ll call me Lord Moon. Your villages are now part of my territory, and your people will live under my protection.”

Merrik was the first to lower his head.

“Lord Moon.”

The others followed more slowly.

Luke continued.

“You’ll provide workers, scouts, builders, and anything else I require. In return, my soldiers will protect you from the spiders, the orcs, and anything else that enters my lands.”

Fenn glanced at the other chiefs. “And our villages?”

“You’re leaving them.”

Fenn’s eyes widened.

“Right now, Lord Moon?”

“Yes. Now.”

“But... what about the wounded?”

“That’s the price you’ll have to pay. Carry them.”

No one argued. Families gathered what little they could salvage, tools, blankets, baskets of food, and anything else that had survived the attacks. The wounded were placed on makeshift stretchers. The old and the young were helped along by their families.

Luke left the village with more than two hundred goblins behind him and led them toward the castle. Many of them looked back as they walked. Luke did not. When they arrived, the humans from Otto’s former village panicked at the sight of the crowd emerging from the forest. A human child began to cry. Across from her, a young goblin buried his face against his mother’s side. One of the humans reached for a weapon.

Luke looked at him. The man’s hand immediately fell away.

“They’re with me,” Luke announced. “They’re good at building and fortifying. They’ll be useful to us.”

Despite outnumbering the humans, the goblins seemed even more afraid of them than the humans were of the goblins.

“L-Lord Moon...” Cicília was the first to approach.

“I need you to help them set up their tents.”

Luke left Angie to organize the new arrivals and entered the castle. Behind him, humans and goblins eyed each other across the clearing. Somewhere beyond the Core’s reach, an entire goblin village was still missing.

Luke stopped before the Kingdom Core.

“Now you’ll have almost three hundred citizens.” A faint smile touched his lips. “Let’s see what happens when you level up.”

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