The Elder, who was running as if a fire was lit beneath his feet, suddenly came to an abrupt stop, causing him to skid for a while.
He ran back towards where the trio was...
On the other hand, a deep silence was prevalent where the trio was. Hig, barely able to squeeze out some words, spoke to the two.
"That's my first time seeing the Elder like that..."
The two could only nod their heads. The three of them were villagers under the Elder back then. They were the ones trained personally by Dawn when they were starting out.
Of course, they knew the temperament of the Elder. Kind, helpful, and soft...Those things were deeply etched on their consciousness.
But he became a completely different goblin just from seeing the shiny object? That was unpreceded. He was a cool goblin that didn't panic from anything and always stood like a pillar.
That was more so for the goblins who were with him from back then.
"Whew. Anyway, we should go back."
At that moment, a voice reverberated from behind them. It was a voice chilly as a ghost, but it was much definitely softer than before.
"You three, come with me."
"Keuk!"
Ika couldn't hold it in and gasped for breath when she heard the Elder's voice. When she turned around, the Elder was nowhere to be found.
The three of them looked at each other and nodded their heads as they tread on the path back home.
****
Dawn was standing on the branch of a tree while squinting his eyes, looking to a place far away from him.
His form that was tempered by the Blessings of the Battlefield is indeed a blessing. The goblin's trademark eyes that have night vision could now see clearer, and he could even see from quite a distance, almost a mile away.
He could see something; however, he didn't know what it was. His instincts as a goblin were making a fuss right now, and Dawn knew better than anyone to trust that instinct.
The form of something white was reflected in his blackish eyes. And as he tried to get a closer look, someone called him from below. It was Karkas who suddenly had an urgent expression on his face.
Seeing that, Dawn immediately went down, and when he got there, he could see the Elder as well as Hig, Dal, and Ika.
Naturally, he also saw the shiny object, but that doesn't matter. To him, it was more important knowing what made the patient Karkas make an urgent face.
"What is it, Karkas?"
"Dawn, it's a trace of a human."
The one who replied was the Elder while gesturing for Dal to quickly let the king have a look. Looking at the Elder with questioning eyes, Dawn asked.
"What is that?"
"It's a sword, a tool used by humans."
Dawn suddenly felt as if something hit the back of his head. His eyes widened to the brim, and a deep frown was etched on his face.
The Elder, who saw this, didn't continue and decided to wait. Although he thought that Dawn was thinking about the human, he was wrong.
---Sword...
He was thinking about the sword, not the shiny long object but the word itself. Somehow, the word 'sword' made him feel good. No, it made him happy.
He couldn't get his head on why, though. It was as if he was meeting a member of the Five Great Clans; he was feeling a familiarity with the word sword.
Then he whipped his head to look at the sword, and suddenly, a thought occurred to him. No, it was more like a gut feeling told him something. And that was...
"Dal, you can use that sword."
"Yes, King...?"
Dawn's words caused Dal to be taken aback. He only said yes out of reflex, but he ended up tilting his head in the end.
Even the goblins near him were wondering why the king suddenly gave him the sword. Of course, no one dared to question the words of the King.
When Dawn reassured him with an 'It's yours now.' could Dal feel something rising within him. It was excitement, curiosity...and happiness.
He looked at the blade that continued to shine the surroundings with sparkling eyes, and his lips arched up to form a wide grin.
'It's mine...'
He didn't get why he was truly looking forward to fighting with this; hell, he didn't even understand why he knew that it was used for fighting.
---Hmm, a Brute doesn't suit him now...
Watching over the grinning Dal was Dawn, who suddenly felt that the word 'Brute' doesn't fit in with Dal. No, he thought that there was something else.
When he felt like this before, it was a distant thing that he couldn't even grasp, but now...it felt as if he knew why he was feeling like this.
---It's those dreams, isn't it?
Even though he wasn't sure about it, he knew that it was somehow connected with it.
And without him noticing it, a smile naturally crept up to his face. A smile so soft that it made the goblins around him feel better despite the situation turning grim.
'T-the King is smiling...'
Karkas' reaction was just about the same as everyone. He was bewildered at the sudden appearance of a rare smile.
Of course, even though he knew that Dawn had fun fighting and such, he never saw Dawn smiling like this before.
If there was a different reaction, it would be the Elder. The goblin who has exuded out an aura so intense that it made the three goblins, Hig, Dal, and Ika wet themselves, was looking at Dawn with a smile of his own.
'As I thought, Dawn is the king...'
Of course, he too had his doubts about the title of 'Fake king of the goblins,' and even though Dawn was proven by Raen that the mark he has was the symbol of the king, the Elder didn't know for sure that Dawn was the promised king.
But now, after seeing something, the Elder was sure of it. No, he was already more or less convinced, but this made him reassured that he was right.
"Dawn, what do we do?" Asked the Elder with a composed tone.
He didn't forget why he rushed here with the three chicks in tow.
The Elder's voice snapped Dawn back to reality as he looked at him. Dawn immediately answered after hearing the question.
"Isn't it fine?"
"Yes, that-, Eh?"
The Elder thought Dawn would ask something, so he instinctively nodded his head, but he couldn't help but get flustered when he thought about Dawn's answer.
"W-what do you mean? It's fine? I thought you wanted to mop the humans first?"
"We could do that even if we are hunting right now. It doesn't matter, does it? Actually, they left some traces for us, so we just have to adequately prepare for them."
"But...hmm, you're right."
The Elder, without giving much of a fight, was convinced with Dawn's reasoning. In fact, even if some humans show up while they are out here, hunting, it doesn't matter.
The humans will get swept and hindered by the monsters too, and it will take a much longer time for them to make their appearance. Thinking that it's still safe, the Elder could only nod.
'I was too rash...'
He remembered how he acted when he first saw the sword. Taking a sidelong glance at the trio, he thought that he'll give them some meat after the next meal.
****
A being who naturally was gifted with the right to lead was born in the forest. It didn't take him long to gather underlings. As time passed, he gathered quite a force.
He also possessed intelligence and knew how to survive, but he knew that there was a power that could pulverize him instantly.
After all, that power was a power that made him, molded him, and gave birth to him. He could instinctively feel that he was connected to it, and naturally, he felt grateful to it.
Not only did it give birth to him, but it also gave him the ability to think. After seeing the countless mindless monsters roaming about, he knew how important the ability to think was.
And since it gave him a power that created his subordinates, he could only feel goodwill for it. That was why he thought that the power connected to him was a 'God,' so he always made offerings to it.
Even though he knew that it wasn't near him, he knew that it was his duty.
And also because he felt that the connection was growing weaker by the day.
And now, a miraculous thing happened for that being. The connection that was growing faint suddenly became strong as if a rope was tied on him.
For the first time in his life, he felt happy. The connection that he felt was the only thing he glorified, and even though he was a leader himself, he didn't dare be put in the same category as that power.
That was why he made a decision.
A decision to meet the power that made him without knowing a single thing about it...