Mu Xuan faintly sensed that something was off here, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“What about you—do you know why this place still exists?”
Mu Xuan’s question stumped Buzhaji for a moment. Indeed, he had never considered it: with the royal family already Corrupted, why did this place remain perfectly intact?
“Honored Eminence of the Church of Light, we must apologize for not receiving you properly—our place is not suited for hosting guests, so let us speak plainly. I suppose you have come here for the Goddess’s people, haven’t you?”
While Mu Xuan and Buzhaji were conversing, a goblin stepped out from the crowd and addressed Mu Xuan.
His tone was respectful, and his attitude left nothing to criticize.
The Goddess’s people?
Heh…
Mu Xuan had to admit, this goblin’s words had “accurately” hit the mark regarding his purpose.
“This is the only surviving Goblin Elder.”
Buzhaji quickly introduced him to Mu Xuan.
Mu Xuan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the Goblin Elder before speaking, “So, Elder, what do you mean by that?”
“Honored Eminence, I’m afraid it’s not realistic for you to take them away. We can offer them a safe place here, with plenty of food and water. If you were to take them outside on a dangerous journey, I doubt they would be willing…”
Heh, so in other words, they just don’t want to hand them over.
And, honestly, perhaps those people really might not want to leave.
“Then, Elder, may I ask where your food and water come from?”
“Eminence, that’s a secret of the goblin race—I’m afraid I can’t answer.”
“What about that palace? Why let them sleep on the ground outside, and never think of letting them live inside?”
Upon hearing Mu Xuan’s question, the Goblin Elder fell silent for a moment. Soon, after glancing at Buzhaji, he sighed and said, “Eminence, to tell you the truth, the master of that palace has already become Corrupted. Anyone who enters will fall under Its curse.”
Mu Xuan said nothing, merely tapped his scepter.
“Tap—tap—tap—”
Seeing this, the Goblin Elder could only continue.
“We once had a total of thirteen thousand clansmen here. But after our King became Corrupted, that palace became a dead zone—anyone who entered would instantly turn to bone, and then those bones would crumble to dust. Our population plummeted in an instant, leaving only six hundred behind.”
“Then why not just build some new houses?”
There was plenty of space around here—no reason they couldn’t build more houses.
“Eminence, there’s something you may not know. There’s a rule here: building a house in this area is considered founding a new kingdom, an act of rebellion. Whenever there is a traitor, the King awakens… When that happens, a host of dangerous and paradoxical rules arise, and only when the King slumbers again do they vanish…”
The Goblin Elder sighed after explaining.
“But it’s still much safer here than outside—because of the King’s presence, the Corrupted dare not enter.”
This so-called Goblin King completely overturned Mu Xuan’s previous understanding.
If the King slumbers, the rules vanish; if the King awakens, they appear… This kind of rules-based anomaly was a first for Mu Xuan…
Did this mean that the Goblin King was itself a powerful Corrupted, and that only because it held the core of these rules did such a phenomenon exist?
Or perhaps…
Mu Xuan seemed to realize something and quickly shook his head. This was not the time to think about such things.
“Then, Elder, did your King become Corrupted during the Cataclysm, or only after some time had passed? If the King was Corrupted at the moment of the Cataclysm, how did you all learn what happened?”
Corruption—this term had been coined and spread by a certain Pope of the Church of Light. If the Goblin King really was Corrupted at the moment of the Cataclysm, then these goblins would never have had a chance to hear this word. This area was remote; even if news could travel here, it would be extremely difficult. The villagers here shouldn’t have had a chance to learn it either.
Could it be possible that they independently came up with the same term? Possible, but highly unlikely.
From what Mu Xuan knew, the Mage Association and the Airedoria Empire both had different names for the condition of humans turning Corrupted.
The Goblin Elder frowned, thought for a moment, then said, “I’m old, and can’t remember many things clearly. The King was Corrupted after the Cataclysm, I believe.”
“Then who told you about Corruption?” Mu Xuan pressed.
Was it someone from the old Church? Or…Hel…
Mu Xuan thought of this frightening possibility.
“Honored Eminence, it was someone who fled here and told us.”
“You never checked their identity?”
Mu Xuan frowned.
“They didn’t stay long. They just warned us about the dangers of this situation, and then left. So we never investigated who they were.” The Goblin Elder replied quickly.
Looking at the calm and composed Goblin Elder, Mu Xuan was silent for a moment and said no more.
“In that case, I won’t force them. I hope you will treat them kindly.”
Mu Xuan knew there was no point in continuing—so he simply ended the topic.
“Of course, honored Eminence. We will take good care of your people. But naturally, we can’t provide for them for free.”
“What do you require?”
“Nothing unacceptable. We only ask that they help with transporting things and digging out the underground palace.”
The Goblin Elder’s request was not unreasonable, and Mu Xuan had no reason to refuse. After considering for a while, he nodded.
“If you’d like to leave, this way please, Eminence.”
Seeing that Mu Xuan was about to leave, the Goblin Elder respectfully led him to the passageway entrance through which he had come.
Mu Xuan glanced one last time at the Goblin Elder, said nothing, and entered the passageway with Gryffind, Buzhaji, and Na’er.
“Eminence…” Buzhaji started to speak, but Mu Xuan quickly cut him off.
“Something is very wrong here. We can’t stay any longer.” Mu Xuan couldn’t describe the feeling.
After the Goblin Elder revealed that the King’s Corruption happened after the Cataclysm, Mu Xuan had felt an intangible sense of being watched.
It was full of malice, even far worse than when he faced the statue.
Buzhaji opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. Instead, he gave Na’er an apologetic look.
So it was her idea…
After Luer’s death, Na’er had become silent and withdrawn, speaking only to Buzhaji. No matter what anyone else did, they couldn’t get her to say a word.
Mu Xuan did feel a bit of sympathy for the girl’s circumstances, but there was nothing he could do.
As for Luer, his flame was already extinguished; even if Mu Xuan had poured all his faith power into it, he couldn’t have saved him—let alone since the power then had only been borrowed from the Goddess.
Still, even if there was something important here, Mu Xuan decided not to meddle.
His abilities at present were simply not enough.
The Goddess’s warning still echoed in his mind.
This place—until he was strong enough, he had better not approach it again.
With that in mind, Mu Xuan led Gryffind and the other two, following their previous path, and quickly returned to the surface.