Volume 2, Intermission: Gi Zu’s Duel Record II (1/2)
Name: Gi Zu Ruo
Race: Goblin
Level: 15
Class: Noble
Possessed Skills: Overpowering Howl; Throw Projectile; Spear Mastery B-; Instant Kill; Mad Shishi; Bite
Divine Protection: Mad God
Attributes: None
The noble goblin that had a large wound extending from its shoulder to its chest grabbed another normal goblin and threw him at Gi Zu.
Gi Zu dodged the goblin even as spears were thrust at him, then - just as the name Mad Shishi implied - he forced his way through.
When the noble class goblin saw that, he threw another normal goblin at Gi Zu.
“The same trick won’t work again!” Gi Zu changed grips on his spear to a backhand and threw it at the normal goblin.
The spear flew through the air and collided with the goblin, piercing through it, dead.
With his spear gone, Gi Zu’s innate brutality and battle instincts finally showed their true colors.
Onwards!
Rusted sword, clubs, sharpened wood for spears… All sorts of weapon slammed into Gi Zu, but he was unrelenting. He charged single-mindedly forward.
“GURUuuOOAAA!”
The fire raging within seemed to have possessed Gi Zu, as even his small wounds started gushing out blood.
Dyed in red, Gi Zu took the head of the normal goblin blocking his way and crushed it, then he broke the arm of a rare class goblin and kicked him away.
A spear came thrusting for him, but Gi Zu slipped through it and bit the neck of another rare class goblin.
“Hii—”
Without even the time to cry, the throat of the rare class goblin was torn apart. The gushing blood bathed Gi Zu’s whole body in another layer of red as he smiled fiercely, his sharp fangs showing.
“Who else shall I bore my fangs into!?” Gi Zu provokingly said as he took a step forward.
After Gi Zu tore apart the neck of a rare class goblin with his fangs, he took the dismembered head of the goblin and threw it toward the noble goblin, who watched the whole thing dazed.
The noble goblin tried to sweep away the head, but then Gi Zu suddenly bolted for him with terrifying speed.
“Wh—”
“GURUuOOAA!”
With his howl, Gi Zu slammed his fist into the noble goblin, launching the goblin that was even bigger than Gi Zu himself a good distance away.
Yet Gi Zu did not stop.
“Pick yourself up and stand!” Gi Zu demanded. “Or are you going to make me beat someone while he’s lying on the ground!?”
Gi Zu ran toward the noble goblin and used his whole body’s strength to slam his fist at the noble goblin as he tried to pick himself up.
Each time Gi Zu swung his fists, the face of the goblin changed and Gi Zu’s bones broke, but Gi Zu never stopped beating the noble class goblin.
“GAH, GUAH, HII!”
It was a violence so bloodcurdling the surrounding area even appeared to become hazy. Gi Zu used his overwhelming strength to beat the noble class goblin senseless.
Because of the divine protection of the Mad God, Gi Zu would lose himself and stop feeling pain whenever he was bathed in the blood of his brethren.
“S, ave- please,” the noble goblin tried to beg, but only an endless flurry of fists were there to answer him.
Gi Zu kept beating the noble class goblin until he lost consciousness. When he finally stopped, he looked around him. The goblins around no no longer had the will to fight.
The only thing that reflected on their eyes now was the embodiment of violence that was Gi Zu.
The sight of Gi Zu suppressing his enemy with nothing more than his bare fists was so violent that it struck fear in the hearts of these goblins.
“Let it be known, from now on, this village belongs to I, Gi Zu Ruo. If there is any of you in disagreement, step forward!”
Gi Zu waved his blood stained hands at the surrounding goblins, but only prostrated heads and shrinking figures responded to his call. No one wished to fight anymore.
◆◆◇
It was now the eighth day since Gi Zu had taken over the village of that noble goblin, and Gi Zu was not happy. Ever since that day, the noble class who was supposed to be Gi Zu’s equal was so scared of him that he would always cower whenever they met. Meanwhile, the normal goblins would immediately prostrate themselves the moment Gi Zu made so much as an eek.
Gi Zu sat on the ground with his hand on his head and quietly complained to himself.
“This isn’t what I wanted…” He said.
He shouldn’t have let go of the spear.
It was unthinkable for Gi Ga’s number one disciple to let go of the spear. Because of that he even ended up fighting like a beast, just like he used to. No, in fact, he fought even more savagely than in the past.
“I can’t become like Lord Gi Ga like this.”
The mad shishi, Gi Zu Ruo, wanted to become like Gi Ga Rax, a goblin who was feared and respected. The goblins might fear him now, but no one respected him.
In the end, Gi Zu couldn’t come up with an answer. He had to continue his mission like this.
“Then again, I am not Lord Gi Ga.”
It was impossible to become him from the start.
“Hey,” Gi Zu called out to the noble goblin.
“Ah, yes,” the noble goblin said with his head lowered.
First, Gi Zu would give the goblins a name. He couldn’t possibly call them with ‘hey’ forever, could he? If he did that he would be putting the great king’s teachings to waste.
“I’m thinking of giving you a name,” Gi Zu said.
“A name? Is that edible?” The goblin asked, puzzled.
Gi Zu shook his head and reprimanded him. “To receive a name is to receive honor from the king.”
“Honor, you say,” the goblin said.
The goblin still didn’t understand, so Gi Zu had no choice but to patiently explain.
“The king bestows a name upon us, and with it we receive things different from goblins without.”
Gi Zu was not good at explaining. But that was a given, after all, he had always been the type to prefer action over words.
“In other words, by receiving a name, one receives honor, which allows one to eat more?” The goblin asked.
“Yes,” Gi Zu nodded.
Gi Zu felt like something was off, but he wasn’t wrong.
The noble goblin called out to his subordinates. “Hey, you bastards. Go thank pops! He’s going to give us names! Receive it with gratitude!”
These goblins referred to Gi Zu as ‘Pops’. Well, whatever, he thought. As long as they didn’t call him king, anything was fine. He didn’t really get it, though. After all, he wasn’t exactly their parent, now was he?
It was probably their custom. Either way, Gi Zu didn’t bother asking.
“I shall give you a part of the name that the king has given me. You shall be Zu Vet.””
“Hehe!” Zu Vet deeply bowed with satisfaction.
Gi Zu named the two remaining rare goblins as well. There used to be four, but Gi Zu killed two, so there were only two left.
“You shall be Zu Bi. You shall be Zu Bo,” Gi Zu said.
The two rare class goblins danced to show their happiness.
“Uncle, I’m Zu Bi!”
“Uncle, I’m Zu Bo!”
Gi Zu watched the goblins dance with satisfaction, then he spoke to Zu Vet about his plans to conquer his next village.
“Vet, have you been gathering food?” Gi Zu asked.
“Yes, the three-man cell you taught us really helped. We should be able to gather the food soon…” Zu Vet said.
“I am not great, the king is,” Gi Zu corrected.
“I see. The king is great,” Zu Vet said.
Zu Vet didn’t seem serious when he said that, but Gi Zu didn’t blame him. After all, they had never met the king. It was only natural that they couldn’t understand his greatness.
When Gi Zu came here, the most surprising thing he noted was the fact that the goblins were raising Noro Bison, a kind of livestock with long fur covering its whole body and two horns protruding from its head toward the sky.
“Those guys were caught by the guy who made the village. They’re really convenient, so we figured we’d put them to use. Besides, they can be eaten too if the need shows itself,” Zu Vet said.
It seems it was the same goblin that left that scar on Vet.
“It’s a pity that a warrior’s life was lost,” Gi Zu said.
He was probably a skilled beast tamer, Gi Zu thought. He might have been able to get along with Lord Gi Gi.
“Really?” Zu Vet asked.
Gi Zu nodded, then he asked Zu Vet to have the nearby goblin villages scouted. Goblins sent out would sometimes not come back, but when he asked Zu Vet about it, he just said that it was normal.
“There are mindless giants (Gigantopitecus) and ogres nearby, and giant hammer cows (enboro) in the fields, so…” Zu Vet explained.
But Gi Zu had never heard those names before. “What are those?”
“Oh, right, you came from the north. The gigantopitecus is a monster twice my size. There’s no fighting it, only running,” Zu Vet said.
Zu Vet was already twice Gi Zu’s size, though he was still a little smaller than the king, he was undoubtedly big; if the gigantopitecus were twice his size, it would be a monster comparable to an ogre.
“As for ogre…” Zu Vet was about to say.
“That one I know. Our king hunted them,” Gi Zu said.
“Ho? Well, that’s something,” Zu Vet said.
Zu Vet couldn’t imagine a goblin ever hunting an ogre, but he didn’t dare doubt Gi Zu’s words. It wasn’t right to doubt someone he looked up to like a father.
“Indeed,” Gi Zu said. “What about that enboro?”
“The enboro live in the plains with axe-like horns… They’re fast and they’ll come chasing as soon as they spot us.”
“Hmm…”
Gi Zu folded his arms and considered which prey would please the king the most.
“Do you know where the gigantopitecus and the ogres live?” Gi Zu asked.
“…No, but they usually prowl the forest, so…” Zu Vet answered despite feeling something was off.
“Then I’ll challenge the enboro,” Gi Zu said.
“Pops! I won’t say anything bad, but it’s really dangerous!” Zu Vet pleaded.
“Nope! I’m doing it! How could I ever face the king if I left a strong prey alone!” Gi Zu proudly said.
Zu Vet could only watch, dumbfounded, as Gi Zu left.
“Is pops insane!?” Zu Vet asked.
But he couldn’t leave him alone as his follower, even if he has been abandoned by his real parents.
“Hey, you bastards!”
Resolving himself, Vet stood up and called to the goblins of the village.
“Pops is hunting the enboro! We’re going after him!”
The goblins cried as soon as the word ‘enboro’ got out, but he slapped them and forced them up, then he took the goblins and chased after Gi Zu.
In one of the plains that dotted the forest, where the winds blew against the tall grasses that reached up one’s knees and the forest could no longer be seen…
“Pops, won’t you reconsider it?” Zu Vet asked.
“Reconsider what? I’m challenging that thing, you just stay put and watch,” Gi Zu said stubbornly, causing Zu Vet to almost faint.
“So, which one is the enboro?” Gi Zu asked.
“That one… That big one,” Zu Vet said, pointing to a conspicuously big cow over 3 meters tall.
“That one, huh,” Gi Zu fiercely smiled in a way that revealed his fangs.
When Zu Vet and the others saw that, they couldn’t help but twitch.
“You guys wait here. If I die, send a messenger to the north,” Gi Zu said.
“Pops!” Zu Vet cried.
“Tell the king that his warrior, Gi Zu Ruo, has died,” Gi Zu said, then he took his spear and ran toward the enboro.
Gi Zu had run with all his might and thrust his spear, but the most he could do was wound the legs of the enboro. The enboro had managed to dodge in time.
“BAGOooOOA!” The enboro was filled with rage when it realized that its legs were wounded and it seized Gi Zu.
The pressure emanating from the enboro was nothing to scoff at, especially up close. Strong horns like hammers, a thick neck that supported them, and four sculpted limbs.
A smile appeared on Gi Zu’s lips as he challenged this worthy adversary.
“GURUoOOOAAO!” Gi Zu bellowed out a howl that wouldn’t lose to the enboro, then dodging the enboro’s charge by a hair’s breadth, he struck his spear toward its legs. Unfortunately, even with the Mad Shishi bolstering his strength, it was no trifle task to hurt an enboro.
Gi Zu could only slowly whittle away at the strength of the enboro, so he needed to ensure that he kept his distance from the beast. Unfortunately, being a close-combat specialist, that meant that he could not fight with his best techniques, and the most he could do was to keep the enboro’s hammer-like horns at bay. But even then, he could only keep half of its attacks away, the rest still managed to make their way towards him. One slip up and Gi Zu could find himself in the grave.
2 hours passed as Gi Zu and the enboro danced on the edge of life and death, yet somehow someway, Gi Zu managed to successfully defeat the enboro.
When the enboro fell to the ground, an earth shaking sound erupted, and Zu Vet and the rest of the goblins looked on dumbfounded, silence filling the area for a good second or two before cheers took its place.
Zu Vet and the rest of the goblins kept an eye out while Gi Zu finished off the immobile enboro.
After finishing off his prey, Gi Zu lost the last of his strength, and so, Zu Vet and the rest of the goblins had to drag him along with the enboro back to the village.
◆◆◇
On the way back, Zu Vet never stopped praising Gi Zu.
“I always knew you could do it, Pops! Don’t let others tell you otherwise!” Zu Vet said.
This was how Zu Vet showed his happiness, it was his defining trait.
Zu Vet lent his shoulder to Gi Zu to help him walk.
The rare class goblins, Zu Bi and Zu Bo, were also happy
After all, they were able to subjugate an opponent they believed they could not win against.
But their happiness didn’t last, for not long after, the earth shook as a giant figure appeared before them.
With a height equaling that of the trees and a giant axe-like weapon and shield in its hands, that was none other than the gigantopitecus.
“…Gigantopitecus…” Zu Vet muttered in a daze, as Gi Zu looked up at that giant figure.
Eyes hidden by its long fur, a bare mouth in contrast, from which large fangs could be seen.
That giant looked down on the goblins. When it saw the dead enboro, its lips curved into a smile.
It was as if it didn’t even see the goblins as it took the corpse of the enboro.
The village goblins tried to pull back the enboro, but the gigantopitecus easily took it with one hand.
The resulting waves from its display of strength, knocked down some of the goblins, causing them to run away screaming.
“…Gu, that’s pop’s prey!” Zu Vet cried as he tried to chase after the gigantopitecus.
But Gi Zu stopped him.
“It’s fine,” Gi Zu said. “Prioritize the escape of the goblins.”
“Pops!” Zu Vet cried, gritting his fist in frustration.
But he followed Gi Zu’s orders and told the normal goblins to back off.
At that, they moved away from the enboro and gathered under Zu Bi and Zu Bo.
The goblins could only helplessly watch as the gigantopitecus left with the enboro’s corpse. They were so frustrated at their helplessness that none of them spoke for a long time.
“Pops… I’m sorry. If only I was stronger…” Zu Vet said.
Gi Zu shook his head despite his fading consciousness. “It’s good… that the others are safe… If they were to die in a place like this… I wouldn’t… have a face… to show… the… king…”
Zu Vet couldn’t lift up his head. Gi Zu actually cared more for the goblins than for his hunt. That kindness touched him, and for the first time, Zu Vet found his behavior in the past to be shameful.
“Pops, you just watch… We’ll show you.”
From this day forward, Gi Zu’s goblins would unify and grow into a powerful force.
These goblins would never forget the figure of the gigantopitecus nonchalantly taking their pop’s prey. One day, they would surely get their revenge.
170 days until the war with the humans.
◇◆◆◇◇◆◆◇
Gi Zu Ruo’s level has risen.
15 to 68
Bloodbath learned.
Bloodbath —When bathed in the blood of a brethren, damage received is lessened, but the influence of the mad god will grow stronger.
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