As Moku chanted the ancient ritual language call, a sudden glow returned to the eyes of the captives, especially the orcs. However, the light faded as soon as they turned towards the source of the sound.
Moku didn't need to explain the reason behind his action, as he knew that if he were in their shoes and saw another orc raising his voice, he would also feel desperate. Hence, Moku released Pandava's influence from his body and transformed back into an asura.
His transformation immediately drew the attention of the captives. They stared wide-eyed at the young orc who had been acting so arrogantly, now becoming a creature standing over two meters tall. The creature's skin turned a dark shade of green, and its body was leaner than that of an orc, yet its muscles appeared incredibly dense and harder than iron.
Amid the darkness of the prison, the creature's red eyes gleamed, complementing its handsome face. It looked more like a green-skinned night elf than a monster.
The monsters were taken aback.
Those who were closest to Moku instinctively dragged their bodies backward. Some goblins trembled in fear, and a few even fainted. They all assumed that the figure before them was a powerful mana species.
"I am a monster," Moku said succinctly, dispelling all their suspicions.
No mana species would ever humbly refer to themselves as a monster.
"I was once just an orc. But now I... we are a different kind of living creature."
Just as Moku uttered those words, he released Pandava's influence from all the monsters behind him. Suddenly, all the orcs reverted to asuras, and the goblins transformed back into hobgoblins.
Moku put his arm around Nedira's waist, standing beside him, and kissed her forehead. He then looked at all the female goblins in the prison.
"This is my wife, Nedira."
All eyes were fixated on the hobgoblin figure clinging tightly to Moku. They couldn't help but be captivated by her enchanting form. Her body was proportionate and attractive, filling in all the right places and tapering in alluring ways. Her bright green skin exuded a charm that evoked envy from the surrounding goblins.
Her long black hair flowed gracefully down to her hips, tied in a seductive ponytail. Two small horns protruding from her head only added to the allure of her beautiful face. Her eyes sparkled with a rosy-yellow hue, igniting admiration in the hearts of every monster that gazed upon her.
(POV: Nedira)
"These are my two generals, Goku and Boku," Moku introduced the two asuras standing on his right side.
The first figure had a towering body, resembling an orc in general, but much taller, reaching an estimated height of 2.8 meters. His arms were massive and powerful, as if capable of bending steel with just his pinkie.
His eyes were red and narrow, with a masculine face defined by strong jawlines. Two small tusks protruded from his lower mouth, contrasting with his small and pointed nose. Undoubtedly, this figure embodied the perfect handsome bodybuilder.
He was Goku.
The second figure appeared leaner than Goku, but there was no denying that his arms could bend even steel beams. His red eyes reflected an intriguing intelligence as if peering into the depths of the souls of all the monsters.
His long black hair cascaded down his back, like black waves crashing on his shoulders. His chest was broad and prominent, exuding an air of pride and irresistible confidence.
He was Boku.
"And behind me are my troops," Moku said, spreading his arms wide.
All the captives stared at the group of people behind Moku. They noticed the familiar faces and the aura of power not much different from the four individuals standing in front. It was then that they realized that these monsters in front of them were different from them.
This brought a deep sense of strangeness, confusing their minds that had been filled with torture after torture. With trembling lips, one of the largest orcs among them asked, "Who are you?"
Moku smiled, "Didn't I tell you already? Me and everyone before you are monsters."
"That can't be," he shook his head.
"Has your sense of smell failed you? Can't you differentiate between monster species and non-monsters?" Boku retorted.
The captives were stunned. They did detect the scent of monsters from the group before them. However, that was precisely what made it so implausible. Because... at this moment... they felt that the group before them was stronger than the demons who had tortured them all this time.
How could there be monsters stronger than demons?
As if reading the captives' minds, Nedira answered, "It is possible! Our God has shown the way to my husband, and he conveyed it to us. Now we have a chance to fight mana species on equal footing, as proven in the previous battles. My husband succeeded in killing a Level 5 Constellation Mage!"
The sound of deep breaths echoed loudly, filling the entire prison chamber. The captives gaped, their mouths agape as if blaming their own ears for hearing something so astonishing. They still wanted to disbelieve Nedira and Moku's words, but the evidence before their eyes filled them with doubt.
"Wait... Is your name really Nedira, the People's Queen?" asked a female goblin.
Nedira nodded, "Yes. My name is Nedira," she replied confidently.
"If th-th-that's the case, then have the other goblins also become like you?" she continued, stuttering.
Before Nedira could answer, another female hobgoblin interjected, "That's right! Currently, the number of hobgoblins in Wilwatikta Kingdom has reached thousands, and almost a third of the goblin population has become hobgoblins," she said.
"A Kingdom? Do monster species have their own kingdoms?" asked an incredulous old goblin, his eyes wide.
"That's correct. We already have our own kingdom called Wilwatikta Kingdom. Currently, our territory covers almost half of the Bog forest, but most of it is underground. This is not because we are afraid of mana species, but rather we are biding our strength to deliver a crushing blow and seize control of the entire Bog forest at once!" answered a young asura with fervor.
Then, one of the orcs pointed at Moku with a trembling hand, "So, does that mean you are a Ku?"
Moku nodded and said, "That's right. I am a Ku, and I challenge your Ku to a fight to compete for the right to lead all of you!"
But upon hearing his challenge, all the monsters hung their heads despondently. It was as if they were reliving some dreadful experience, and tears started to trickle down the faces of a few female monsters.
The largest orc, whom Moku initially assumed was the leader of the captives, spoke with a voice choked with emotion, "We no longer have a Ku. It's been almost three years since we last performed the Palaka."
"No Palaka? How is it possible that the orcs aren't conducting the Palaka?" asked Boku, furrowing his brow.
He recalled the times when they were still young and on the run. Back then, they were only six orcs, yet they still performed the Palaka, and Goku emerged as the winner. Palaka was a sacred ritual of great importance to monster species, especially for orcs.
They all understood that only the strongest had the right to lead. Without Palaka, every decision-making process would lead to divisions, as no monster wanted to lower their pride before others.
However, leadership selection through displays of strength was popular only among orcs and goblins. The alraune species had a different form of Palaka, where the leader was chosen based on the alraune's beauty, surpassing the others. As for the sylph race, the leader was chosen based on the sylph with the strongest queen gene.
"We can't perform Palaka because of a prophecy uttered by the orc shaman before his death," said the orc.
"Orc shaman?" Moku became intrigued. He had heard stories about orc shamans from Boku, and he was genuinely curious about these entities. So far, he had encountered two shamans – the first being Hoddurt, and the next one being Ez.
Both of them didn't exhibit the same signs or abilities as the shamans in the legends. So, sometimes Moku suspected that these stories about the shamans were merely fabricated. Nevertheless, he still hoped to meet a genuine shaman as depicted in the legends.
"Where is he now? Is he deceased? Does he have any successor?" asked Moku.
The orc shook his head, "He was killed during the demon's attack on our tribe. He had no successor either."
"That's unfortunate..." said Moku with disappointment, "So, what did he prophesy? Why did his prophecy lead you to stop performing Palaka?"
The orc then stood up and walked toward Moku. He stopped right in front of him and looked up to meet Moku's taller gaze.
"He said that if the monsters in the Demon Continent could be patient and refrain from performing Palaka, then the Messiah would come to save them. This Messiah would lead them to dominate the world, becoming the strongest and feared by all creatures. When someone asked who this Messiah was, the shaman paused before answering:
"He is the harbinger of the apocalypse, the boundary of life's time, the end of civilization, and the beginning of judgment day. He will pierce through the horizon and bring war to all the stars! He is Gog and Magog."
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