Chapter 235 - 208: Interesting Ink
If he hadn’t witnessed the Prince’s earlier performance, Shire might have actually believed the Naga before him was a ruler deeply concerned for his people.
"You said they’re marching south?" He stared at the Naga across from him and asked.
"Yes," Pazani nodded. "At first, I came ashore from the Darren River to get a closer look at those goblins. In the past, we’ve only ever captured them in battle, but you know..."
He pursed his lips, and the four long barbels around his mouth twitched with the movement. "Our two Races can’t communicate, and besides, the goblins would die not long after capture."
"So while you were observing them, you discovered the movements of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom’s goblins?" Shire sat up straighter. Upon hearing about the Goblin Kingdom’s actions, he immediately began to consider the potential impact on his own tribe.
"That’s right. I saw a portion of the goblins split off and head south." He raised his webbed hand and flexed his fingers a few times. "I couldn’t get an exact count, but there were quite a few. At first, I thought they were just splitting off to form a new settlement. That’s common in large tribes. Once the surrounding resources can’t support them, the tribe is bound to splinter."
"But I soon realized something was wrong," Pazani said grimly. "I carefully observed their movements and what they were carrying. In the end, I concluded they were marching south."
Shire frowned and then asked, "Truly marching?"
"I’m certain," Pazani nodded quickly. "We of the Naga Race have been wandering around for thousands of years. I can tell the difference between a military march and a tribal migration."
"Marching..." Shire narrowed his eyes. In his previous memories as the heir to Torch City, he had specifically studied the races living in the sea, the Naga Race among them. He knew this Race frequently migrated; records of them often appeared along the continent’s coastlines. They were even called "Sea Nomads," meaning they were like land nomads, "following the water and grass."
He had also heard why these Naga migrated so often—it was mainly due to attacks from some Advanced Mages. He’d heard they possessed certain medicines with Magic Ability, which were coveted by those human Mages.
"If they’re marching south, then my territory could be affected as well." Shire placed a hand on the table, his fingers tapping out a steady rhythm. "I think Cyan Hide mentioned before that the goblins of the Feathered Serpent Kingdom don’t willingly leave their living area unless they lose a lottery and are driven out."
’But it looks like things have changed now.’ He mulled over the problem, and his thoughts immediately jumped to the whisper from the forest—"They have seen you."
"So that’s how it is," Shire tapped the table lightly. ’It’s not just the Demon Lord Lust who’s seen me. The Feathered Serpent Evil God to the north has probably noticed me too.’
He glanced at the ceiling in the corner. Giant Demon Caocao should be on the surface right now, helping the tribe with their work, and the [Blessing of the Evil God] Ability was still on the Giant Demon. ’When I was toying with this Ability before, I wondered if it would attract an Evil God’s attention. It seems this Feathered Serpent is quite good at lying low.’
"But you don’t need to worry too much," Pazani said, seeing the goblin opposite him contemplating the news he’d just brought. Based on his posture, it seemed he was still undecided. "Their marching speed is very slow. They have to find food every day. A few times, they almost discovered me. After that, I returned to the Darren River and just followed the riverbank to find the Mother Tree."
"And based on my estimations, they shouldn’t be able to reach here anytime soon."
"Thank you for the information, Prince." Shire said calmly. He also knew their march wouldn’t be fast. According to Cyan Hide, those goblins were still in the early stages of a slave-owning society, and some of their habits were even quite primitive. This would significantly slow their advance.
"I don’t know what methods you have to resist those goblins. After all, their strange leather clothes are very tough, they can swim, and they have those Petrifying Lizards. It all seems very difficult to deal with." Pazani sighed. His people had firsthand experience with the goblins from the Feathered Serpent Kingdom. He then added, "However, since the will of nature guided me here, I assume you must have some way of handling it."
Shire thought for a moment, mentally calculating his current strength. To be honest, he wasn’t very confident. After all, not even the Great Goblin Evil Throat Army dared to provoke the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, and Evil Throat was the sort of ruthless leader who would force-feed his subordinates Anger Potion.
"I don’t have any concrete ideas at the moment, but if they do invade, we will fight back." Although Shire had his own thoughts, he kept his expression restrained.
"That’s great." Pazani pumped his fist. He gleefully took out the animal hide, and then his smiling "fish face" froze.
"What’s wrong?" Shire watched him, thinking with some amusement, ’I never thought a fish face could be so expressive. It’s quite vivid.’
"It changed again." Pazani’s face fell instantly.
"What changed?"
"My trial objective," Pazani showed the animal hide to the goblin opposite him. "At the very beginning, my coming-of-age trial was just to find the Mother Tree. After that, the words kept changing. Now, the text on it has changed again to ’Defeat the invading enemy alongside the Goblin Leader’."
Shire raised an eyebrow and leaned in to look closely at the hide. A sentence was written on it in the Common Speech—exactly what Pazani had just said.
"You’re saying the words change by themselves?" he asked with great interest.
"Yes. Once you accept the trial, this Shui Yumo automatically provides the next objective," Pazani said, biting his lip.
"Shui Yumo?" Shire was very curious about the name. "It sounds like some kind of Magic Item."
"It is. It’s unique to our Naga Race. The elders create it to guide young Naga in completing their trials."
"If the objective isn’t a trial, but something else, would this Shui Yumo still work?" Shire asked, leaning forward slightly.
"I don’t know. But it only gives an objective. You can choose whether or not to do it, but sometimes the objectives involve huge risks." Pazani took back the animal hide, folded it a few times in frustration, and forcefully stuffed it back into his pocket.
"Now that is interesting," Shire said, stroking his chin. ’If I were to use it to write a new trial, for example...’
’How to surpass the Four Gods?’