Chapter 9 "Goblin Battalion"

As the Goblins paid their respects to the slowly disappearing body of their Chieftain, Ioki sat from quite a distance from them.

He tends to his half-cut arm while opening the inventory and taking the potion out.

After the adrenaline worn off, the pain starts to settle in... The feeling of his bones broken, his chest pains as he breathes, his skin torn, and all of his muscle burns as he makes minor movements.

He poured some of the potion into his body while drinking the rest; he could feel his body rejuvenate as his arm slowly attached.

He watched as the Goblins cried, comforted each other, and banged their weapons while they crowded Ragthar's corpse.

As he faded to the winds, they bowed one last time. Ioki approached the crowd and bowed together with them, honoring the prominent figure.

After bowing, they went to the pillar of light from the stone altar. They prayed... Ragthar's name could be occasionally heard from their mouths as if they were asking for their former Chieftain to be delivered into Heaven.

A few Goblins stared at Ioki; they escorted him to the pillar of light and kept saying something in their language.

"You want me to touch this?" Ioki asked.

The Goblins nodded.

He touched the pillar of light; they shone before a wave of light finally sparked in the sky. The ground trembled again with the earthly energy, a wave of warmth surging through the bodies of individuals nearby.

The Goblin Battalion suddenly turned their attention to Ioki as they kneeled; they started chanting Ioki's name.

Following the chant, a howl could be heard from the wolf he just saved.

The one song meant for Ragthar is now sung for Ioki.

"You've earned the respect of Ragthar's tribe!" A blue window popped up.

"What?" Ioki stared at the bowing Goblins, "Because Ragthar has been defeated, then all of a sudden, you guys want to be under my command now?"

The Goblins raised their head as Ioki spoke, and they nodded.

"No, no, no, and no!" Ioki shake his head, "Just because I had defeated him, doesn't mean all of you are now under me. Go be free! What kind of life would that be if all of you just followed me around? Go!"

As he spoke, he approached the nearby Goblin and tried to bring them from kneeling. He then pushed them away, signing for them to go and live their life.

Some of the Goblins were confused and stared at each other; they were lost because their new Chieftain was refusing their service.

"Go! Before I will send all of you following your Chieftain!" Ioki shouted.

The Goblins finally stood up; they stared at Ioki again, "Ioki, arbum kit uri bira mig."

"Now, listen! I don't know what you guys are talking about, but please just go... I'm sorry, I have killed your Chieftain. He is someone I truly respect, but all of it happened in a fair duel," Ioki explained.

They simply stared at Ioki again...

While some of them still had their eyes and nose in a mess, they tried to get in line again while waiting for Ioki's command.

"Please..." Ioki begged, "Knowing all this would happen, I shouldn't have fought you. I can't even lead my own life; how can I possibly lead yours?"

Ioki then approached their ranks; he forcefully pushed them away as if trying to create chaos on their organized lines.

The Goblins simply made their way back and organized even more neatly.

"Hey, would you like to speak in their tongue?" A soft voice whispered to Ioki.

"Who's there!?" Ioki shouted.

He looked around, but he found no one in the vicinity. The Goblins simply stared at him as if nothing happened.

"Let's just say I'm someone who oversees the world; I am responsible for how the creatures convey their feelings." The voice replied.

"Are you a God then?" Ioki asked.

"Do you want to speak with them or not?" The voice sternly asked.

Without second thoughts, Ioki shouted, "Yes, please! I respect their Chieftain, I do ---"

Before finishing his sentence, the voice cut him off, "Say it to them yourself."

"You have been blessed by the God of Language, Hermes."

You've acquired minor blessings: Linguistics (Minor)."

Seeing the blue window popping out of nowhere and how the voice went silent right after that, Ioki was baffled and thought he was going insane.

"Hey, don't you think the new Chief seems kinda crazy?"

"Well, if you want to be someone who triumphs over the others, then you need to be that much!"

"I agree! You've seen how our former Chieftain always went crazy when fighting against other tribes, right?"

Voices could be heard from the Battalion.

"I---Is that... You guys speaking?" Ioki stared at the Goblins.

The Goblin's jaw went wide as they stared Ioki back.

"OUR CHIEFTAIN HAS BEEN BLESSED! THE GODDESS TERRA HAVE HEARD OUR PRAYER!" A Goblin shouted.

All of a sudden, the Goblin Battalion shouted in unison.

"Wait!" Ioki shouted.

As they heard Ioki's shout, they went silent again.

"Just now I heard a voice in my head, all of a sudden I could understand your talks... Haah..." Ioki put his palm on his temple.

"Chief! Give us your command!" Another Goblin shouted from the back.

"No! I want you guys to listen, okay?" He talked while making his way to the front of the Battalion.

"This is my first and last command! Hear this properly, okay? I want you guys to return or go somewhere else; don't follow me! I can't even think properly about what to do for tomorrow. Suddenly, I need to think of 20 other individuals?" He stared at them.

While listening to this, the Goblin's expression could be seen slowly changing.

"So... What are you trying to say, Chief?" A Goblin asked.

"Be free! Fight other tribes by yourself! Make yourself stronger! Just because you've been following Ragthar for so long doesn't mean any of you are not as strong as him. Each of you needs to be as strong as Ragthar!" Ioki shouted.

"But... Chief..."

"How..."

"W---we..."

Ioki paced forward and backward while looking at the Goblins as if they were having an existential crisis.

"That is for you to figure out!" Ioki shouted once again.

The Goblin's expression slowly turned to despair...

After losing their leader, the Goblins were lost... Now imagine someone they expect to be the one to do the thinking for them, simply telling them to go figure it out by themselves.

Their hearts were broken...

Seeing the Goblin slowly panicking, Ioki started to pity them.

His expression slowly changes into worry because he knows they've survived all this long thanks to Ragthar's presence.

"Worry not! Before I send you off, we will talk about how all of you shall train and grow so you will continue journeying by yourselves," Ioki tried to calm them.

The panicked Goblins slowly calmed down after hearing Ioki speak.

"All of you are strong and smart! You know how to cooperate well with your comrades; that is already a quality you won't find just anywhere else!" Ioki explained.

"Now le---" As he tried to finish his sentence, all of a sudden, he lost his balance.

Ioki dropped to the ground with a loud thud. He tried to stand up, but his body felt heavy, and his vision was blurry.

As he tried to open his mouth, he could only make an incoherent sound...

"Warning! Your stamina has been depleted; find a place to rest or go to a nearby inn." A blue window popped up.

"My head feels heavy... ****** 100% sensitivity..." Ioki murmured.

As he fell to the ground, he could feel something wet and warm keep playing around his face.

Occasionally, he could listen to a whimper and bark; it was the wolf he had saved before.

It tried to wake Ioki, but he couldn't move his body.

Suddenly, the voices of Goblins could be heard.

"Hey, you grab his arm."

"Someone hold his neck!"

"Let's bring him to that tree."

"Try to put him against that tree!"

"Don't shake his body around you, moron!"

Ioki could feel their small hands were carrying his body.

After listening to their banter for a while, he smiled.

"Ragthar, you truly have great people following you." Ioki thought.

He slowly loses consciousness as the voice slowly fades; he can feel himself floating in the dark space of nothingness...

While the Goblins tried to make their new Chieftain comfortable, some tried to create a bonfire.

The wolf approached the unconscious Ioki; it slept beside him as it curled it's body and made itself comfortable.

The Goblins finally sat down and rested while watching their surroundings; some brought back critters of the forest as their hunt. They cooked it at the bonfire.

The warmth of the bonfire slowly envelopes the whole Battalion as they share their food and drinks.

If one were to see what's happening right now, they would forget that these mobs are creatures meant to be fought.

Yet, Ioki is peacefully resting alongside a wolf and his new comrades...