Chapter 414: Chapter 330: New Discovery

Over a thousand more goblins lined up and performed the ankle-touching ceremony before Shire, and they did it under the leadership of the High Priest.

The difference was, this time the newly joined goblins apparently had no idea they were supposed to perform the ankle-touching ceremony. They just stood blankly in the center of the square, waiting for the High Priest to make the first move.

As the High Priest prepared to bow from the waist, saluting like a human with a hand over his chest, Red Eyes charged over and kicked him. "You! Insolent!"

Red Eyes moved so fast Shire didn’t have time to react. By the time he did, the High Priest was already sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.

After reprimanding Red Eyes, Shire had his men help the High Priest to his feet. It was only after they spoke that Shire understood: the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom had no such custom as the ankle-touching ceremony.

"So it’s some kind of surrender ritual that arose spontaneously in the forest?" Shire couldn’t help but chuckle. ’Those goblins, driven out of the Kingdom, had fought and assimilated one another in the forest, gradually forming a set of strange customs unique to their own kind.’

The High Priest, however, was quick to accept this "custom." He was the first to step forward, kneel, and perform the ankle-touch. Shire initially moved to stop him, recalling how during their first meeting, the elderly goblin had tried to kowtow like a human.

But the High Priest waved him off, insisting on completing the ankle-touch. Perhaps it was because of the men standing behind Shire. They were glaring at the High Priest, their faces menacing. These were goblins who had begun following their leader only after performing the ankle-touching ceremony themselves; if another goblin were to forgo it, it could very well cause a schism within the group.

Afterward, the surrendering goblins lined up one after another to perform the ceremony. Shire stood in place, accepting the ritual with a calm expression. In the morning sunlight, with his hands clasped behind him, he did his best to stand tall and straight. He felt quite good about this ceremony of submission. ’Even though they aren’t shouting "Handsome Guy is our leader," at least they aren’t shouting "Green Egg is our leader" either,’ Shire thought. ’That’s major progress.’

When all the goblins had completed the ankle-touching, the High Priest, leaning on his Bone Staff, came to stand by Shire’s side. "Chief, now that the Feathered Serpent God has fled, this Kingdom has become your domain entirely."

"It’s a little premature to call it a Kingdom," Shire said, shaking his head gently. "Fewer than 5,000 goblins in total... That’s far too few to establish a nation."

"A force of this size is hardly small for the forest, I think," the High Priest pressed.

"No. Compared to human kingdoms, this population is only equivalent to a large town." Shire waved his hand dismissively and looked out at the goblins standing before him. "If we want to build a nation for goblins, we must continue to expand our group and increase our numbers."

"Then, what are you proposing?"

"We can call ourselves a tribe." Shire proposed the idea after a moment’s thought. ’My current followers can’t simply be called a "group" anymore. After all, they’re a combination of several different Races. Calling them just the "goblin Race" feels inappropriate. "Forest Tribe," however, could work, since we all live in the Nightmare Forest.’

"A tribe?" The High Priest repeated the word several times. "Like humans. I know that some humans in remote regions also call themselves tribes."

"Yes, that’s exactly right," Shire said. ’It’s like the Islanders who live in the Saruo Islands; they generally identify themselves by their tribal affiliation.’

"In that case, you are the chief of our tribe." The High Priest placed a hand on his chest again and bowed his head respectfully.

His words were overheard by the surrounding goblins. Red Eyes, standing off to the side, suddenly raised his Longsword and let out a few loud, guttural roars.

Then, right before Shire’s wide eyes, ignoring his chief’s frantic waves and rapidly paling face, Red Eyes bellowed the phrase:

"Green Egg is our leader!"

As Red Eyes yelled, the surrounding goblins began to roar in agreement.

Then, more and more goblins joined the chant. Even the High Priest, who had been smiling serenely just moments before, chimed in with a couple of shouts.

"Green Egg is our leader!"

"Green Egg is our leader!"

"Green Egg is our leader!"

"Yes, yes, that’s right." Shire sighed, a bitter smile on his face. ’So I couldn’t escape it after all.’

......

"Mr. Elton, I’m so sorry. This is all we could find." Shire had his men lay out numerous old bone fragments on the ground. Before him, the Skeleton Warrior, Elton, was now nothing more than a torso and head.

"Only three of us left?" Leaning against a broken wall, Elton’s eyes, which glinted with green Ghost Fire, swept across the area. Only two battered skeletons responded. The other dozen or so Skeleton Warriors had been reduced to piles of crushed bone.

Mr. Elton had said before that as long as a Skeleton Warrior’s frame didn’t suffer catastrophic, crushing damage, they could still "piece" themselves back together. Unfortunately, Shire and the skeletons of the Seventh Field Army had underestimated the Feathered Serpent Evil God’s Ability. Its lightning had blasted the skeletons of many warriors to smithereens, so much so that their souls had already returned to the Nether Sea.

"Can they still be..." Shire hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

’He wanted to ask if the Skeleton Warriors could be "revived," but the question felt too blunt. After all, they were already dead. The proper destination for a departed soul was the Nether Sea, not becoming an animated skeleton. But saying that would be incredibly disrespectful—these broken bones had once been Mr. Elton’s comrades-in-arms.’

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