Human King

Before Dawn could finish off Womo, the goblin that came with him, Didi, struggled with the two goblins: Wos and Yamu.

Wos and Yamu were both goblins that were blessed. Even if Didi was particularly talented in battle, not even he could fight against them for a long time.

"This is the first time we met."

Didi spoke after their initial clashing. The two, however, didn't answer him as they immediately ran up to him.

Yamu on the right side was about to swing his sword down, and Wos on the left side was targeting Didi's legs.

It was truly an impeccable combination.

"Tsk."

However, it seems Didi still has some space as he just lightly clicked his tongue while he avoided both of their attacks.

Woosh.

The blade almost grazed him, and Didi dodged by arching his back while proceeding to kick Wos' arms that were about to grab his legs.

Crack.

The sound of bones breaking could be heard just from the impact. It was Didi who was injured. Blood flowed from Didi's wounds on his legs.

However, despite that injury of his, he didn't even falter or stagger.

Seeing that, Wos and Yamu both had the same thoughts.

Strong!

It was not Didi's strength that made them think that he was strong. It was his willpower to stand even after receiving such an injury.

"Still, I wanted to fight that bastard, Mos. How come you're here?"

Didi spoke after lightly kicking the ground with his injured leg. His eyes stared at Wos for an answer.

"Chief's orders. How about you, don't you need some helping hands?"

"No need. The village's in a terrible situation, and even the king has gone to fight; how dare I ask for help?"

Didi laughed and then looked straight at the duo with focused eyes.

"Let's start round two, then!"

Didi kicked off the ground, leaving some sort of tracks in his path. Wos and Yamu also went in, hoping to finish this quickly.

And while running, Wos shouted something, his right hand in front.

"Aura!"

And then, surprisingly, Didi, who didn't even falter from a grave wound on his legs, suddenly collapsed to the ground as if his strength has run out.

"What happened? Is he faking it?"

Wos, who used his Aura, was perplexed by this. His Aura wasn't strong enough to overwhelm a blessed goblin.

He wasn't even up to par with his father as he needed to shout every time he uses his Aura.

"Be careful."

Yamu warned him, and then, as he too was about to use his Aura, something mystical happened.

Whooong.

A light was shining from a particular spot on Didi's right arm. To be precise, it was on his right palm.

Seeing that, Wos shouted with his eyes widened to the brim. He quivered slightly as he stepped backward.

"That's!"

****

Dawn shook off the blood staining his right hand and then turned around to see the battlefield's situation.

However, the moment he did, he became even more confused than when he was fighting Womo.

"What the..."

He looked left and right and scanned every nook and corner, but the situation was the same no matter where he laid his eyes on.

Enemies or allies were standing doing nothing, even though the enemy just had their own chief killed.

In fact, the enemy goblins didn't even take a look at Womo's corpse. It was as if they didn't care about him.

All of them were facing a certain direction, and this situation piqued Dawn's interest.

Dawn walked off with light steps and quickly arrived at his destination. He was taller than any other goblins present here, so he could see what the goblins were looking at even though he was outside of the circle.

And when he saw it, his eyes narrowed. He clenched his fists at the sudden surge of emotions that rose within him.

---Why?

Even though days have passed ever since he felt this way, Dawn certainly didn't forget it.

But what was unfamiliar was that it was too familiar. He never felt such compatibility before. It was as if he was meeting someone that came from him.

"Didi...?"

And what was even weirder was that this feeling was coming from a goblin that he sees every single day, Didi.

If it were something else that made him feel this way, like the piece of an abstract that he found somewhere before or a member of the Five Great Clans, then Dawn could probably accept it as being the 'usual.'

However, as the one making him feel this way was Didi, Dawn couldn't help but doubt himself.

He was starting to doubt himself if he really has any sense of self...

"King."

At that moment, Karkas approached him and bowed. He didn't look any different from before, so it was easy to identify him.

"What's with this situation?"

"It's the imperial decree. No, to be precise, it is the cave of Regalia."

"Cave of Regalia? Now that you mention it, I seem to have heard of it before."

"Yes. Well, it is not the place to talk about such matters. Let us wrap this up first."

'Oh? This guy...' Dawn thought as he turned his eyes to look at Karkas. He was impressed at the assistance Karkas gave him before, and now Dawn could see why Karkas could do that.

---He changed in such a short amount of time.

Dawn knows that Karkas is indecisive if it comes to his authority. Karkas would never dare to take charge when Dawn is there.

And Dawn wanted Karkas to grow in a way that he could handle most of the things and make decisions of his own.

And now, Karkas was doing all that and even surpassed Dawn's expectations of him.

"Explain it to me in simple terms so I can understand the gist of it."

"Yes, king. The cave of Regalia gave Didi some power, and thus, the goblins present cannot disobey Didi's presence right now. However, just like with the Blessings of the Battlefield, he is in the process of receiving it."

Dawn was about to nod his head when suddenly a question struck him like a lightning bolt.

"Then how are you fine?"

"Because the king is who I serve. Not just me, our goblins are just celebrating that Didi will get something that will make him strong."

"King, huh?"

Dawn murmured those two words, making Karkas turn his head to ask.

"Pardon?"

Dawn raised his hand to imply it was nothing. He didn't want Karkas to hear or notice what he was feeling right now. After all, it was Karkas who said that he bows to no one.

"Subdue the enemy goblins that are unable to move."

Karkas shook his head and spoke.

"There's no need, king. The surviving enemy goblins will follow us, whether they like it or not."

Dawn was about to ask, 'What does that mean?' but refrained when he remembered what the Cave of Regalia was about.

"Good. Call the Elder, Hig, and that goblin who knows the Four Big Villages to the forest. I will go first."

Dawn didn't wait to hear Karkas' reply as he immediately turned around to leave.

Walking off with his two feet, Dawn had a smile on his face as he remembered how he used Aura.

****

On the same day, at the same time when Dawn went to the forest, there was a figure watching from the shadows.

That figure watched everything from start to finish, and blue fires were burning on its empty eye sockets and were transmitting everything that happened to someone else.

As that someone watched Dawn leave, a bony hand stroked its non-existent beard.

Clack. Clack.

The body of the being that was watching was composed of bones that made noises every time it moved.

It didn't have flesh, heart, brain, anything that would be seen on a living creature. It was the mysterious monster, skeleton.

However, this skeleton wasn't just your ordinary monster. It was the highest-level skeleton existing in the forest.

That skeleton was located far away from where Dawn was currently in. And as the skeleton finished stroking its jaw, its monstrous voice came out of its mouth.

"He also has some traces..."

The skeleton turned off the visuals that it was receiving from its subordinate and turned around to look at an imposing village with walls and guards.

Its guards were members of the Five Great Clans, and the village was so big that it could be called a town.

Even without buildings or such, the cleared area was so wide that Dawn's current village could fit in numerous times.

Whooo.

As the wind blew near the skeleton, its cape fluttered in the air. The blue fires that were swirling in its eye sockets were burning fiercer than ever as the skeleton remembered the fight between the two village chiefs.

"Was I wrong to come here so early...?"

The skeleton's skull looked down at its bony hands and muttered weakly; its voice was full of sadness and longing.

"Oh, my God..."