Chapter 87: March of the Tribe
Arthur woke before sunrise to find the camp already disappearing.
The Builders pulled apart the cabins. Watchtower beams came down and the cooking station folded into a form that could be held.
Arthur watched a complete cabin become a bundle of materials in less than four minutes. "You’re taking the whole camp with us?" he said.
One Builder looked up with the expression of someone who had just been asked something obvious. "Waste is bad," he said.
Arthur nodded slowly. "Builders are still my favorite," he said.
Mithra arrived beside him with two cups of something hot. "You’ve said that three times now," she said.
"I’m becoming more certain," Arthur said.
Sun, accepting his cup: "Give it another evolution."
By the time the last bundle was secured, Vedas had raised his spear and the tribe had begun forming around the order before anyone announced it. Hunters in the front, spread wide. Riders on both flanks, their Stone Bear companions moving with a settled patience.
Builders arranged around the supply bundles.
Children in the center.
Healers distributed throughout, not clustered but positioned to reach any point quickly. Guide Raku near Vedas. Arthur watched the formation take shape and said nothing for a moment.
"That’s a good tirbe," he finally said.
Mithra walked beside him as the march began. "He’s really changed," she said.
"He has," Arthur said.
The Thorn Wolves announced themselves through the undergrowth before the first hour of marching was finished, and the difference was immediate.
Vedas raised one hand, and the tribe stopped.
"Get ready."
Nobody moved before it was given.
The wolves charged, and Vedas said, "Archers," and the emerald bowstrings lit, and mana arrows rained into the treeline before the wolves had closed half the distance. Two arrows curved mid-flight, bending around tree trunks to strike wolves that had been using cover.
Arthur’s eyes widened. "They curved again," he said.
Athena was already writing. "The trajectory adjusted autonomously," she said, mostly to herself.
A wolf slipped through, and three Hunters were already there, intercept positions taken without being called for them. A second pack circled wide, and the Riders pressed the wolves together.
"Archers. Now."
Five emerald arrows crossed in the air. Instead of striking separately...
They curved.
Then all hit the Alpha simultaneously.
Arthur blinked. "That wasn’t planned," he said.
Raku smiled. "Actually it was," he said.
Vedas glanced back. "We practiced."
Arthur grinned. "So cool," he said.
Near the battle’s edge, a Hunter found himself flanked and called out. Raku tapped his staff. A sudden gust of wind sent leaves exploding upward around the Hunter, obscuring the wolves’ sightlines, and then three fireballs arrived from Raku’s direction, and the flanking wolves were no longer an issue.
Athena stopped writing.
"Fire," she said. "Wind. Guides actually use elemental magic?"
Raku smiled. "A little."
Arthur turned to look at him fully. "Can they learn more?"
"If they survive long enough," Raku said.
Arthur’s eyes shone. "Awesome," he said, and Athena started writing faster.
A deep howl suddenly echoed through the forest. The largest Thorn Wolf stepped forward. Its green eyes swept across the battlefield.
It barked once.
The remaining wolves instantly changed direction.
Instead of charging the Hunters... They split apart.
Three rushed toward the Builders.
Another pack sprinted toward the Goblin children.
Athena’s eyes widened. "It gave orders."
Sun immediately frowned. "So they have a commander, damn it."
Vedas didn’t hesitate. "Hunters! Protect the Builders! And Riders! Intercept them before they reach the children and elders! Archers! Lay it on them!"
The Goblins moved almost instantly.
The Riders turned their Stone Bears sideways, cutting off the wolves before they could reach the children. The Hunters stepped between the Builders and the charging beasts. Mana arrows rained down.
Within moments...
The formation stabilized once again.
Arthur’s eyes lit up. "They adjusted."
Mithra smiled. "And so did Vedas."
Arthur grinned. "That was awesome."
The battle continued to resolve itself without requiring Arthur to do much at all. A Rider took a shoulder hit, and the Healer was already there before anyone called — green mana spreading, pain disappearing, the Rider standing straight within twenty seconds.
"I’m good," the Rider said, with genuine surprise.
Arthur smiled. "That was fast," he said.
A Goblin child nearby whispered to the one beside them: "Our Healers are amazing." The Healer overheard and quietly smiled.
When it was over, Arthur walked to Vedas. "You barely gave any orders," he said.
"Because they already knew," Vedas said.
Arthur laughed. "That’s even cooler," he said.
Raku quietly watched Vedas speaking with the Hunters. A small smile appeared. "King Mu would have been proud."
Vedas froze. "Really?"
Raku slowly nodded. "He protected everyone. He trusted his people. So do you." Vedas looked toward the tribe. A small smile slowly appeared. "..." "...Thank you."
Mithra, walking alongside: "You really enjoy good teamwork."
Arthur nodded. "I do," he said.
The march resumed, and the battle had damaged an ancient stone bridge across a narrow ravine. Arthur was assessing alternate routes when the Builders began working. The bridge was rebuilt in a couple of minutes.
Sun watched this in silence for several seconds. "I still want to hire them," he said.
The nearest Builder looked over. "Hire?"
Sun’s expression shifted toward the expression he used for negotiations. "We’ll discuss salary later," he said.
Arthur laughed. "He’s recruiting again," he said.
The notification arrived quietly while the bridge was being repaired.
[Level Up!]
[Goblin Commander]
[Level 17 → Level 18]
Arthur smiled. "Nice," he said.
Vedas looked at him. "You knew?"
Arthur coughed. "Lucky guess," he said.
Sun turned toward Arthur very slowly. "Sure," he said.
The flower plains arrived with no warning.
The forest thinned and then ended, and thousands of flowers stretched in every direction. And when the wind moved through them, the colors shifted in waves. From red to blue to gold to white, rolling across the field in overlapping sequences.
Several Goblin children immediately ran in and started chasing each other between the blooms.
Arthur watched the middle of the field and slowed.
"I don’t think they should run too deep," he said.
One child stopped and looked back. "Why, Prophet Arthur?"
Arthur pointed toward the center section of the field where the flowers were tallest. "If I was hiding somewhere out here," he said, "that’s probably where I’d wait."
Silence.
Several Goblins looked toward where Arthur had pointed. Hunters quietly gripped their weapons, and the children drifted back toward the adults.
Sun looked at Arthur. "You’re just guessing," he said.
"Yep," Arthur said.
Raku’s expression had gone slightly uneasy. "Let’s stay near the edge," he said.
Everyone agreed, and ten minutes later the group had crossed the field. The Thorn Vipers burst from exactly the spot Arthur had indicated, bursting upward through the flowers with the committed energy of an ambush that had been prepared carefully.
The ambush hit nothing.
Because nobody was there.
Silence.
Every Goblin in the march turned toward Arthur.
"The Prophet saw it again," someone whispered.
Another, slowly nodding: "I knew it."
Arthur scratched his cheek. "That was lucky," he said.
Mithra covered her mouth. "Your luck is terrifying," she said.
Sun sighed. "At this point I’m starting to lose the argument," he said.
Raku said nothing, but the expression on his face was the expression of someone quietly revising an estimate.
The crystal stream came two hours later, the water perfectly clear over a bed of pale stones, and the children splashed Kong before he had decided whether to be involved in the water crossing or not. Kong splashed back with both hands, and the general chaos that followed was the comfortable chaos of a group that had been marching for hours and found an acceptable reason to stop being dignified.
When it settled, Arthur crouched at the water’s edge and looked at the reflection.
"Something feels weird," he said.
Everyone froze.
Athena immediately looked around. "Weird how?" she said.
Arthur looked at the water. "If I wanted to ambush someone," he said, "I’d probably do it when everyone was bending down to drink."
Complete silence.
Even Vedas slowly stood up.
Hunters spread outward from the stream without being told. Archers drew. The Goblin children stepped behind the nearest adults.
Arthur blinked. "I was just saying," he said.
Five minutes later, Moss Crocodiles exploded from beneath the water’s surface.
One Goblin child stumbled backward.
A Moss Crocodile lunged.
Before anyone else reached them, Kong appeared.
He grabbed the child with one arm and lifted them onto his shoulder. Then punched the charging crocodile straight across the stream.
Water exploded everywhere.
The child blinked. "Thank you." Kong proudly beat his chest.
Several Goblin children stared. "Amazing."
Kong scratched his head. Then proudly beat his chest again.
The children immediately copied him.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Arthur burst into laughter. "You started something."
While this happened, the Archers fired before the other crocodiles could finish emerging.
The battle ended quickly.
Silence.
Every Goblin turned toward Arthur.
"Prophet Arthur protected us again," someone said.
Arthur waved both hands. "No, no. That was definitely luck."
Mithra smiled. "You keep saying that," she said.
Arthur nodded. "Because it keeps being true."
Sun pinched the bridge of his nose.
Athena turned to Arthur with the look she used for things she had been working through. "You realize your words are becoming too accurate," she said. "It’s as though you’re deliberately provoking disasters into existence."
Arthur blinked. "That’s a bit harsh," he said.
Mithra nodded. "But accurate."
"It is," Athena agreed.
Sun looked at both of them and then at Arthur. "For once," he said, "I completely agree with both of them."
"...He really can see the future." A child whispered nearby.
Raku walked slowly beside Arthur. "Perhaps," he said quietly, "the King’s blessing is stronger than I thought."
One Goblin Hunter quietly whispered, "Maybe Prophet Arthur doesn’t predict danger."
Another slowly nodded. "Maybe danger hears Prophet Arthur."
"Don’t be silly, he does predict it... It’s because he purposely draws them to us!"
Silence.
"W-Why would he–"
"To train us! I learned that the Chief went through hell to become so strong. All of it was planned by the Prophet! This is the same for us!"
"Ohhh!"
Another Goblin gasped. "The Prophet is training us before we even know we’re training.
"...That’s incredible."
Arthur blinked. "Well... That isn’t really true."
"You wanted him to fight a dragon."
"And?"
"The fact you are questioning what’s wrong with that scares me," Sun said with a sigh.
The living trees arrived toward the afternoon, ancient trunks moving so slightly that the movement was almost imperceptible. Arthur stopped and stared.
"Did that tree just walk?" he said.
"Very slowly," Raku said.
Arthur waited. The tree moved approximately two inches over the next thirty seconds.
"Worth it," Arthur said.
The afternoon passed in the comfortable rhythm of a march that had found its pace, and Arthur noticed somewhere in the middle of it that everyone was smiling. The Hunters talked while they walked. The Builders discussed the properties of the Realm’s stone against construction techniques. The Healer was checking feet again. The Archers walked with the particular pride of people carrying something that had been earned. Children ran ahead and were called back and ran ahead again.
Mithra came alongside him. "They’re smiling more," she said.
"They are," Arthur said. He watched Vedas walking at the front, the tribe moving around his lead. "He’s doing a good job."
"He’s their Chief," Mithra said. She looked at Arthur. "But you’re the miracle that allowed all of this."
Arthur looked at her. "Me?"
"You helped them evolve," she said. "You gave them hope. You believed they could become something greater before they did."
Arthur was quiet for a while, watching the Goblins around them — the Builders, the Healers, the Riders, the children running ahead, Vedas at the front.
"I just wanted to see them evolve," he said.
Mithra laughed softly. "I know," she said. "And because of that, they get to smile like this."
Arthur looked at the children.
"Then I’m glad," he said.
The valley they found at evening was beautiful in the specific way of places that had not been disturbed for a long time and showed it.
The Builders began setting up before anyone asked. Hunters assigned themselves to perimeter coverage.
The Healer organized the evening health check.
The Guide coordinated supplies.
Sun looked around at all of it happening without a single direction being given. "This is ridiculously efficient," he said.
Arthur smiled. "Practice," he said.
At the bonfire, the children gathered around Vedas. Not Arthur. Vedas. They asked questions with the specific boldness of children who had decided someone was safe to ask things. One of them leaned forward.
"Chief," the child said. "What was your first battle like?"
Vedas smiled. "Messy," he said.
Arthur laughed. "That’s true," he said.
Everyone laughed with him.
A smaller child approached Arthur a while later and held out a flower. One of the colored ones from the plains, slightly wilted from being carried all afternoon.
"Prophet Arthur," the child said.
Arthur smiled at them. "Yeah?"
The child held the flower out. "Thank you," they said.
Arthur paused. "For what?"
The child looked around the camp. "For helping everyone smile again," the child said.
Arthur accepted the flower. "You’re welcome," he said.
Mithra watched from across the fire and smiled.
Arthur carefully tucked the flower into his bag. Right beside the small wooden carving from the Mu Tribe.
"Those are two lovely treasures you have," Mithra said softly.
He paused and then smiled. "Yeah, I have been collecting more than expected."
Mithra glanced at the bag. "They’re priceless to you, aren’t they?"
"Yeah."
The roar arrived without warning.
It came from the east, from the direction they were marching toward, and it was not the roar of anything Bronze. The ground trembled with the sound of it and birds exploded from the canopy in every direction.
Arthur slowly stood.
"That’s big," he said.
Raku’s expression changed. "Two Silver-Ranked Beasts," he said.
Far away, beyond the trees, two enormous silhouettes collided, and the entire forest shook with the impact.
Everyone stared.
The distant roar echoed once more, even louder.
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