(MC POV)
I looked up at the monsters gathered in front of me.
“Err… This group is meant to be a simple escort for me, right?”
“That is correct, Divine One.”
“Only for escort, right?”
“Yes, Divine One.”
“So tell me why is it that each and every one of them are beings capable of destroying entire cities by themselves here?” I asked, gesturing towards the group wildly.
Seriously, Shiori and Akari were already technically enough as bodyguards. I thought they wanted to bolster the roster by adding in a few more orcs or maybe a few skeletons. What I didn’t expect was for all the leading monsters of the Sanctuary to be present here along with their own cadre.
Stephanie was there with her own small army of undead, Benjamin brought along a handful of his tentacle buddies too, Theodore was leading his orc party and even Thomas brought along another Behemoth with him.
Then there was Melody in her Leviathan form and even the hydra sisters came along with a smug look on their faces for some reason.
At least the kobolds and Jack were left behind to guard the Sanctuary so they weren’t here, otherwise I’d think this group wouldn’t look like an escort but more of a raiding party.
Scratch that, there’s beings here that can flatten cities by themselves already so I guess it wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyway.
Man… Is it too late to say no to them?
“Shiori is right, Divine One, those monsters will only respect a display of power,” Benjamin chuckled before gesturing to the goblin that was standing off to the side and looking quite pathetic. “So unless Divine One wishes to execute that goblin in front of them, this would be the best way.”
I sighed, “I’m not worried about that. I’m more concerned about the fact that this is going a little overboard, don’t you think?”
“Don’t worry Divine One, we will make sure no harm befalls you under our watch,” Thomas assured me helpfully.
Dude, I really doubt there’s anyone in this World that can harm me in the first place. The literal being that can End the entire universe is standing right behind me, you know? I highly doubt anything can get past her to get to me fast enough.
‘Ara, ara? You’re making me blush, Master~’
Right… You do remember you actually got drunk that day, didn’t you?
‘Ufufufu~ Did Master enjoy it? I was sure that Master would enjoy such a sight.’
No way, you aren’t telling me all of that was just an act?
‘Ufufufu~’
Yeah, definitely not an act, I’m not buying it.
In response, Iris merely smiled at me and said nothing more.
I turned my attention back to the gathered monsters, “Well whatever, you’re all here already anyways so we might as well just get on with it. Ahem, Gob, will you lead the way please?”
The goblin jumped a little at his name being called but quickly recovered, “Yes! Yes! Gob guide! Gob guide! Follow Gob!”
The disdain my group of monsters felt for him was palpable, but at least they didn’t say anything more.
Our group followed him towards one of the hills near the edge of the Death Mountains. From what the goblin told us, they had taken over one of the goblin’s underground dwellings and fortified it as their base.
Standing guard at the entrance were several goblins and a single orc. One might think that the physically superior orcs would be in command of the group but seeing how a goblin was riding on the shoulders of an orc like he was some glorified mount, the power dynamics of the group was quite clear.
My guess would be the fact that since the strongest being was a goblin, it also elevated the other goblins’ status above the other monsters.
And judging by how that goblin was currently thrashing the head of the orc he was riding on for not standing straight enough, I can see they have not taken their new position gracefully. The other goblins were also enjoying the spectacle rather than actually keeping watch.
“Useless! You are great Gobbo’s horsey! Stand straighter!!”
“B… Boss Gobbo… Vi… Visitors…” The orc cried out, trying his best to remain dignified despite being smacked on the head repeatedly.
That got the attention of the other goblins as they turned to look in our direction. It goes to show how much they weren’t paying attention to even miss our group moving towards them when we weren’t even trying to hide ourselves.
At first, all of them showed terrified expressions, since even Stephanie’s skeletons could have wiped the floor with them easily. But they noticed who was leading the group and their confidence returned.
“King Gob!”
“King Gob return!”
“Hail King Gob!”
All of the goblins began shouting out greetings, not even giving us a second glance.
The one riding on the orc’s shoulder slapped his mount on the cheek, prompting the orc to take a few steps forward before stopping in front of our goblin guide. A kick in his ribs then prompted him to sink down to his knees so that the goblin riding him could get off.
“King Gob, return! These weaklings, new recruits, yes?”
The responses he got from his words were varied to say the least.
I was amused, the monsters behind me were outright murderous and Gob himself was utterly terrified.
The only reason this new goblin still lived was because I had raised my hand to stop the monsters behind me from tearing him apart.
Unfortunately, he just had to dig a deeper grave by mistaking my action as a greeting.
“What’s this? Human? King Gob bring food! Today we feast! Eat human!”
“Master, can I eat him, please? Pretty please?” Akari asked, nudging my side with a snout.
“No, he’ll hurt your stomach.”
“But he won’t… Please?”
“Don’t eat such unhealthy things ok? Eat this instead.”
“Oh! Master’s cookies! Nom!”
I grinned as Akari munched on the cookie I gave her before turning back to the goblins. Gob was now whispering frantically to the other goblins who looked like they were turning greener and greener by the second.
Gob noticed me and quickly turned back around with a smile on his face, “Gob… Gob lead yes? Follow Gob! These Gob’s underlings, they call big meeting!”
At his words, the other goblins quickly scurried off, leaving a very confused orc still kneeling on the ground.
Theodore stepped forward and growled at him, “Geddup. Ya’re an orc. Have more pride dan dis!”
The orc looked confused, shifting his gaze between Gob and Theodore before landing on me.
His eyes widened comically, “You… You’re Masta’ Lin?”
I was a little surprised, “You know of me?”
“‘da wun ‘oo flattened a part uv ‘da deth mountains, kreated a city sized meteor an’ basically ‘da only be’n ‘n dis kontinent ‘dat everyone kan agree not ta fuck wit’? Yes, aye do know uv ya.”
Ok, how does he know and who the hell told them?!
I turned to Benjamin who just shrugged at me, “It’s true and it helps us to filter out the smarter ones.”
Should have known they were spreading those kinds of rumours…
Whatever. From this orc’s demeanour I can already guess that some monsters are here against their will, so let’s just have a nice talk and then we can all go home.
And look, this orc is already about to piss himself, I should have known that letting all of them follow me would be a bad idea…
