Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”Infighting, right?” Ron nodded. That sort of thing wasn’t uncommon; it was the same in any world. ”Are there people trying to rope in guys like Ming Datiss to gain power?”

”Exactly. The city-state he nominally serves is one of those deluded upstarts,” Quest’s voice held a hint of anger. ”But believe me, people like that are nothing more than cannon fodder.”

”The former Alliance has fractured. The dissenters are the public opposition, at least for now. But as for who among the neutral parties and even the opposition are secretly plotting, I have no way of knowing. And as for who Ming Datiss’s true master is, I’m completely in the dark.”

”And that is the very secret I went undercover to find.”

”But without enough external pressure forcing him to desperately seek allies, giving him no time to investigate his inner circle, the risk of my being exposed would be immense. That’s why I’m betting on you.”

”Does that make you feel any better?”

”Knowing something is better than knowing nothing,” Ron said, crossing his legs. ”But honestly, you’ve dragged me into a huge mess. I couldn’t do this for any amount of money—look at me, I can only manage to copy two pages from a Spellbook. I just don’t have the power for this, you know?”

”Aren’t those imperial relics the best reward you could ask for?”

”What?”

”These Magic Items,” Quest said, pointing to the stone slab on the table. ”I have no interest in them. I’m pursuing a much grander ideal. And of all the people investigating this matter, I’m the only one who knows for a fact that these items exist and are... already in your possession.”

”So, as long as I keep my mouth shut, you’ll be the new owner of these ’imperial relics,’ won’t you? Of course, how many you actually manage to secure is your problem.”

”This is a Legendary Mage’s Spellbook, you know?” Ron held up the *Weaving Introduction* and waved it in Quest’s face. ”You’re really not tempted in the slightest?”

”So what’s your grand plan, then? Don’t tell me it’s world domination.”

Quest’s apparent lack of desire was making Ron uneasy. If Quest had asked for a share of the treasures, Ron would have actually felt more at ease.

’Someone who turns down small rewards must have a much grander scheme in mind!’

”It’s not that grand, you can rest assured,” Quest said with a wave of his hand. ”It’s just as I said when we first properly met. I want to find a place for my people to call home. Secondly, I want to see an evil power like the Hailan Empire destroyed so completely that there’s no possibility of Resurrection.”

”At its core, you could even call it an ideal.”

Ron looked at him. He was no expert in psychology, so he couldn’t tell if Quest’s words truly matched his thoughts. Still, since he’d said as much...

”In that case, I’ll be straight with you too. I’m not that interested in your ideals, but first off, I’m definitely going to kill that bastard Ming Datiss. And next time, I’ll make damn sure he doesn’t come back to cause trouble for me again.”

”Second, I’m a bit of a collector. I want the complete set of these relics.”

”Third, I don’t know what else is waiting for us here in the Delusional Land, but once my companions and I establish a foothold, I won’t tolerate anyone messing with me.”

”Then we will have a solid alliance,” Quest said, extending his hand. ”Based on my current intelligence, there are... certain things within the Delusional Land. The Hailan Empire has always coveted this place, so you’re bound to have conflicts with them.”

”I just hope they send someone else next time.” Ron shook the Tiffling’s hand. It was rough and uneven, unpleasantly coarse against his own.

”My message has been delivered. If he makes any moves, I’ll come back and give you a heads-up,” Quest said, releasing Ron’s hand and turning to leave. ”Be extremely careful. The Hailan Empire isn’t the only threat in the Delusional Land.”

Ron had already seen that for himself. If Ming Datiss hadn’t taken care of that enormous Mire Throat Monster, Ron and his group would have been in for a serious fight.

After seeing Quest off, Ron simply flopped onto the table to get some sleep. But it was fitful, and just two or three hours later, Aive came in and hurriedly shook him awake.

”What’s wrong? Did Ming Datiss bring his men to attack?”

Ron was still groggy. Seeing the look on Aive’s face, he asked urgently.

”Are you talking in your sleep?” Aive raised an eyebrow. ”Ming Datiss is dead and gone!”

”It’s not the Elves this time. It’s those Mad Frogmen. They’re back!”

”Mad Frogmen?” Now Ron was even more confused. ”Isn’t their territory a long way from here?”

”Their territory is, but they’ve set up their hunting grounds over here!” Aive sighed. ”Not only have they siphoned off some of our game, they’ve even added our villagers and the goblins to their menu.”

”Remember that Lizardman territory? Klade turned it into a Goblin Nest. But I guess that pack of Mad Frogmen discovered that the swamp continuously ’spawns’ goblins, so they just started camping out there, waiting for an easy meal.”

”They no longer have a steward who understands the Common Language, so Klade’s tried to negotiate with them several times to no avail. He’s preparing to fight them and is asking if we’ll help.”

”What’s your take on it?” Ron asked, standing up and putting his Spellbook away.

”I don’t have a strong opinion. A life is a life, even a Mad Frogman’s, but we have to prioritize the villagers’ safety. At the very least, we need to shut down their hunting ground here and drive them back across the river.”

”And the goblins’ safety.”

”And the gob— alright, fine. They have been a big help,” Aive sighed, forced to concede the point.

”Then let’s move out. Where is everyone? Get them up. It’s time to get to work.”

As the leaders, Ron and the others took part in daily activities but had no fixed duties. When a situation like this arose, however, it was their turn to step up.

The Goblin Nest wasn’t far from the trading post. You could say the Mad Frogmen were setting up shop right on their doorstep. If Ron’s group didn’t act now, the next battle would be to defend their own base—and the Mad Frogmen were absolutely the type to force that fight.

The closer they got to the Goblin Nest, the thicker the stench of blood became. According to Aive, Klade had ordered the goblins here to stay put, but apparently, some curious fools had still poked their heads out and become prey for the Mad Frogmen.

”Halt!” Delaford, who was in the lead, suddenly raised a hand. He dropped to the muddy ground, carefully inspecting the surrounding area.

”There’s a trap!”