Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

With mixed feelings, Ron continued to read.

”Long before the Hailan Empire laid its hands on this place, a race in the Delusional Land had established its civilization for the Nth time. The lifespan of this race was similar to that of humans, so even in the short span of just over a hundred years, its government saw many changes in leadership.”

”During the reign of its last empress, all sorts of strange things began to happen in their territory.”

”As a civilization whose primary industries were mining and metallurgy, they had developed numerous mines in the Delusional Land. But starting one year, poisonous gases began to appear in the mines. More and more miners contracted a strange, plague-like illness, which then spread rapidly throughout the kingdom.”

”For the sake of her people, the empress exhausted every possible means, even venturing deep into the mines herself to find a solution. And she did.”

”When she returned, she initiated a bloody, iron-fisted suppression across the kingdom, rounding up all the infected to be killed, burned, and buried. The plague was quickly contained, but the survivors were left terrified and deeply unsettled.”

”They believed the empress had gone mad. They united all the powerful Casters and Priests within the kingdom, killed the empress, and sealed her away to prevent her resurrection. After the twin catastrophes of plague and coup, the race’s brief grand revival hastily ended in failure. The survivors scattered, dispersing across the world where they remain to this day.”

Ron: ”...”

’Setting aside her methods, from a purely preventative standpoint, the empress hadn’t done anything wrong. But regardless of her methods or goal, what did this have to do with the darkness underground?’

’Underground, mines, a plague? Is that all there is to this so-called ”terror”? If it’s just that, then this is right up my alley!’

’And here I was, thinking it was something more!’

However, the scale the golden dragon had left to convey the message was clearly an inanimate object. Thus, at the end of this story, the golden dragon used a very solemn tone to warn Ron not to repeat the mistakes of this race and the Hailan Empire. The poisonous fog underground would not only cause plagues, but also drastic changes in people’s temperament, even leading to their corruption, which in turn could cause a civilization’s collapse.

And at that point, the force hidden in the darkness would feed on this, growing even stronger.

At the very end of the message, the golden dragon also provided the location of an ancient mining site. He said the poisonous fog and plague there had long since dissipated, and if Ron didn’t believe him, he could go see the ruins and investigate for himself.

”’Don’t repeat the same mistakes...’ Ron lay on his bed, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the cover of the *Weaving Introduction*. He was pondering the meaning of the golden dragon’s words.”

’That race’s plague was caused by mining. Was it the same for the Hailan Empire’s Green Swamp Town? We didn’t see any trace of a mine there. In fact, Aiksuuri dug all the way down to an underground river without any issues.’

’The Elves’ final summary also connected it to the level of a civilization’s development—does the level of development depend on how deep one digs? If a person knew nothing and just blindly dug downward, all the way to the deepest point, would they meet with disaster, or would they be let off the hook?’

Ron believed this was likely just the result of the golden dragon’s one-sided observations. To truly understand the causes and effects of the entire situation, and the causal link between their actions and the outcomes, he would need far more data and reference points.

Lost in thought, Ron drifted into a light sleep, not waking until it was time for dinner.

When he arrived at the main hall of the trading post, almost everyone else was already waiting for him.

Present were the members of Ron’s own squad and the newly rescued slaves, as well as Buni, Lavinia, Andre, and Klade. Nearly all the key people in charge had gathered.

”The village isn’t being haunted anymore, is it?” Ron asked, looking toward Andre.

”That’s right! Thank you so much!” Andre stood up and bowed to Ron. ”We can finally live in peace now!”

”That’s good,” Ron nodded, his gaze moving to the others. ”I’ve called you all here today mainly to discuss expanding our exploration teams.”

”Aren’t my Goblin Hunters enough?” Klade asked.

”To be honest, no,” Ron nodded. ”While the Hunters are stealthy and highly mobile, their operational range is ultimately limited. They also lack the ability to handle a variety of situations, which means many locations can’t be fully explored. This is reflected on the most recent maps we’ve drawn.”

”Let me be clear, don’t drag me into this,” Lavinia said, hopping off her chair. ”I’m not participating in anything like that. It’s too dangerous.”

”You have your own duties. I wasn’t planning on troubling you,” Ron said with a smile. ”But the detachments I’m planning to form will indeed need people with knowledge of alchemy, herbalism, and Magic.”

”We can,” a few of the freed slaves immediately said, raising their hands. ”We’ve received relevant training and should be able to handle that responsibility.”

”I want to join, too,” Klade said grimly. ”The territory has mostly stabilized, and I can’t just sit around here and in my stronghold all the time.”

”And me!” Andre stood up. ”It is my honor to serve you and lighten your burden, my lord!”

”Not you, Andre,” Ron gestured for him to sit down. ”You don’t have enough experience. I can’t let a young man with no real-world experience venture into dangerous territory. That would be murder!”

”But...” Andre protested, dissatisfied. ”Are you so experienced, my lord? You allow yourself to go exploring, don’t you?”

Ron didn’t look anywhere near thirty. In fact, to the people of this world, he looked to be in his early twenties at most.

Ron was tempted to say, ’If I want to get myself killed, that’s my business,’ but Andre’s next sentence cut him off.

”My lord, there has to be a first time for everything. You say I lack real-world experience, but if I never get any, when will I ever gain it?”

Ron tried to refuse again, but the persistent Andre eventually won him over. Ron had no choice but to agree to let him join the detachment, on the condition that Klade and the others would be sure to look after the young man.

”I can join as well,” Silvia said. ”I’m a Caster.”

”Not you. This is just me being selfish,” Ron said, flatly rejecting Silvia’s offer to volunteer. ”You’re better off staying with my squad.”

”Look, I’m just a half-baked Mage right now. If I’m going to solve the problems in this land, I need to truly get my foot in the door with my training. And for that, I need your help. I can’t do it on my own.”