Turning Back

The reason Arthur was shocked while looking at Kai was because Kai was already eating meat, sitting near the bonfire by the flowing water stream. Arthur's eyes caught sight of a severed animal head near Kai. The head resembled that of a wolf—the same wolf that Kai was eating.

Looking at the head, Arthur suddenly remembered seeing this wolf before. It had the same straight, spiky shell that resembled a rhino's. Arthur knew it was the same wolf he had seen before, back on the top ground.

"You already hunted?" Arthur asked, frustration evident on his face as he looked at Kai.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Kai replied without looking at Arthur, still chewing a piece of meat.

"I thought you sent me to hunt and were waiting for me so we could eat what I caught," Arthur responded furiously.

Kai scoffed. "Why are you so mad? I'm not an idiot who depends on you to hunt so I can eat. If you succeed, great. If not, I wouldn't starve waiting for you. Honestly, I even doubted whether you'd return at all. I did what I thought was best," Kai replied in a disrespectful tone.

Hearing Kai's words, Arthur felt humiliated. "An idiot who depends on me? Fine. Then I won't depend on you either," Arthur continued.

"I'm leaving," Arthur said, glaring at Kai.

"Leaving?" Kai reacted in shock. He still didn't look at Arthur, but after hearing those words, he finally turned to him.

"I'm not forcing you to stay with me. If you want to leave, then leave," Kai said.

Hearing Kai's reply, Arthur lowered his eyes. He still felt humiliated, as if Kai didn't need him at all. Without another word, Arthur started walking in the direction where the water stream was flowing, pulling the bat's body behind him. His eyes were lowered, and a sad expression clouded his face as he left Kai.

As Arthur disappeared from Kai's sight, Kata, a demon, appeared in front of Kai. Bowing his head, he said, "My lord, I recommend you stop that spider. You know he is a reincarnated being, and we still don't know how powerful he can become. We need as many strong allies as possible. Please think again."

"He's weak," Kai replied firmly. "Yes, there's a chance he might become strong in the future, but I can find others who can also grow stronger. And besides, I don't like him."

"And we still don't know why he talks to himself when no one is around," Kai added, pointing out that he had noticed Arthur speaking to someone unseen.

"Yes, I know," Kata nodded. "When you sent me to protect Arthur during his hunt, I saw him talking to someone again. I couldn't sense anyone else there, but it seemed like he was speaking to someone. Even so, I believe Arthur is trustworthy and that he will become powerful in the future. Please stop him," Kata urged Kai.

'I know, my lord. Even if you don't consider Arthur your friend, you actually care about him.' Kata thought, understanding Kai's nature.

Suddenly, both Kai and Kata widened their eyes in shock, sensing something.

Meanwhile, Arthur smirked as he walked, pulling the bat's body along while continuously releasing mana waves to check for any dangers around him.

"Heh... That idiot Kai thinks he's so powerful, huh?" Arthur muttered with a grin.

"I was just waiting for a good reason to leave him. Killing the Goblin King and his army? I'm not that desperate or foolish," he continued, looking up, thinking if there was any danger above like before.

"That one goblin he killed was already dangerous enough. And now he wants to fight the Goblin King and his army? That would be a suicide mission. But still... I don't know why I didn't say no when he first suggested it."

Arthur sighed. "When did I become so hungry for power?"

"Well, I'll become strong and evolve in my own way. That's how I've decided to live my life. I won't repeat the same mistakes again."

BOOM!

A sudden explosion echoed through the air.

"What...?" Arthur reacted in surprise, looking back in the direction he had come from.

The sound had come from where Kai was.

"Kai..." Arthur muttered, staring in that direction.

'He's strong, and Kata is with him too, so…' Arthur thought.

Thinking about Kai's strength, Arthur wasted no time. He released the web string attached to the bat's body and immediately started running back toward Kai.

At the same time, Kata stood in front of Kai, his eyes fixed on the goblin before them.

"He's strong, my lord," Kata said.

The goblin was taller than Kata. Compared to the goblin Kai had killed earlier on the top ground, this one was at least one and a half times the height of an average man. Its body was green and muscular, its rounded stomach filled with fat, and its hands were large enough to crush a human with a single grip.

The goblin was stuck against the wall, but near it stood four smaller goblins, raising their weapons toward Kata as if protecting the larger one. These four goblins were bigger than the one Kai had killed before. Each of these goblins was about the size of an eight-year-old child.

"Yes, he's strong..." Kai replied, wiping the blood from his mouth as he stood behind Kata.

"He's a Goblin General," Kai added.

Suddenly, the large goblin that had been stuck against the wall regained its balance and stood up. As it did, it reached behind its waist and pulled out a massive weapon—a double-headed axe, eight times larger than Kai or Arthur. The axe's blades were so sharp that they reflected everything in front of them.

"Prepare yourself, my lord," Kata said, raising his hand.

"Kai!"

Arthur yelled in shock, standing on the other side of the flowing water stream, looking at Kai.

Hearing Arthur's voice, Kai was surprised.

"I told you he would return," Kata said, hearing Arthur's voice but keeping his eyes on the Goblin General, ready for battle.