Goblin Kingdom (Part 1)

Goblin Kingdom - Volume 2: Chapter 104: Man-Eating Tiger I

StatusRaceGoblinLevel37ClassKing; RulerPossessed SkillsRuler of the Demon Children of Chaos; Defiant Soul; World Devouring Howl; Sword Mastery A-; Dominator; King's Soul; Ruler's Wisdom III; Household of the Gods; One-Eyed Snake's Evil Eye; The King's Dance at the Edge of Death; Magic Manipulation; Soul of the Berserk King; Third Impact (The Third Chant); Instinct; Blessing of the Underworld GoddessDivine ProtectionGoddess of the Underworld (Altesia)AttributesDarkness; DeathSubordinate BeastsHigh Kobold Hasu (Lv77); Gastra (Lv20); Cynthia (Lv20); Orc King (Bui) (Lv82)Abnormal StatusBlessing of the One-Eyed Snake; Protection of the Twin-Headed Snake

"You want me to defeat the Man-Eating TigerOlspiegel?"

Nikea nodded. Her eyes weren't lying. They were calm and unwavering.

Looks like she's serious.

"It's not literally a tiger. The term 'Man-Eating Tiger' is a sort of inside term among us."

Why did they have to go out of their way to call it that? I recall Selena mentioning that the demihumans had a habit of likening fallen demihumans to animals. If so, then this man-eating tiger must be 'fallen' in some way. Meaning, it must be a living organism of some sort.

"Very well," I said.

Gi Za spoke to me in hushed voices from behind. "Are you sure it's wise to accept so quickly?"

"It's fine," I said back, "we have to show our strength anyway."

An unexpected but fortunate turn of events. Honestly, I was uneasy trading only the fishes from the basement. With this we'll be able to show our might while at the same time trading our services.

"Thank you very much," Nikea said with strained breath, then she looked at me with a challenging gaze. "The term 'Man-Eating Tiger' is an alias of sort. Its true name is Gurfia."

When Nikea uttered that name her two escorts gulped.

Looks like this piece of info will prove quite valuable.

"He was a young but powerful member of the Man-Horse TribeCentaur. Unfortunately, just some time ago, a massacre had caused him to lose his sanity."

"Why is an araneae such as yourself so privy to the matters of the centaur?"

Nikea gulped. For a moment she glanced at Selena.

"...Despite all of us being descendants of the crystal we do not interact with each other. That... changed recently."

Oh? The demihumans are trying to work together? What valuable information, and how fortunate too. If I was any slower, they might have succeeded and created their own country.

I think I know why she glanced at Selena. I smiled as I thought of the reason. She probably can't lie in front of her. It seems bringing Selena was a good idea after all.

"As a test to see if we could truly work together, Gurfia went with the other young ones to live in a single village, but..." Nikea said.

"The village was destroyed," I concluded for her.

Nikea nodded. She seems to be telling the truth. When you put her story and Shumea's together, it seems likely that it was that rapier-user who did it. Shumea's former master who used Selena's power to move about in the forest. I won't thank him, but it seems his actions have had unexpected consequences.

"Gurfia managed to hold on to his life, but he ate the flesh of another descendant of the crystal."

When Nikea said that Selena screamed and Shumea held her.

"In exchange for gaining power, he lost his reason. To this day he lurks the forest, unable to forget the taste of his fellow demihuman's blood."

Nikea was biting her lips by the time she finished speaking.