Chereads / Apocalypse respawn / Chapter 21 - Search

Chapter 21 - Search

Rargne slipped his token into his pocket, in his pouch, in a secret inner pocket. Then he asked, "Where to now?"

The goblin pointed to a location and, with a hand on his wound - which was less severe than it appeared, the armor having done part of its job (the goblin had confessed to having tampered with his to obtain greater resistance) - began to walk.

The following days were a sequence of hide-and-seek throughout the city. The goblin provided information when asked, about the nature of the areas, and anything he knew. This gave them an insight into what they could expect.

In essence, they were in deep trouble. Their world was much larger than theirs, allowing so many troops to land in so many areas. There seemed to be more combatants than locals, and on top of that, their families and all the producers of their kingdoms significantly increased in number.

"How can there be so many without running out of food?" Sengrar asked, suspiciously.

"We produce a lot, the Paladins allow us to enrich the land," replied the goblin.

It was one of the main weapons of the God-King's vicar to obtain very important funds.

"And how do they do that?"

"It's a kind of internal sky magic they take to fertilize the plants," the goblin replied.

Half the time was spent searching the surroundings and magical areas, the other half searching for weapons and ammunition throughout the city.

They didn't care about the plants. They had priority over the locals. A bad plant could condemn all the lands that would one day accumulate on the king's lands. The vicar would punish them severely.

The goblin pointed to an ordinary house which Sengrar broke into before entering.

"Oh, wow," said the goblin.

Sengrar struck a pose, flexing his muscles. "See that?"

Rargnes entered and stopped just after.

Behind him, Sengrar, who found himself blocked, asked, "What's wrong?"

"There's a hole, a staircase there."

"They had that?"

"There are certain areas that are modified by the system," the goblin indicated.

"And what does it do?"

"These are areas to increase your strength against trials, which are only accessible to members of the invaded planet."

"So you can't enter?"

"I wouldn't get anything out of it."

Rargnes gestured for the goblin to go first. He advanced, followed by the other two. The staircase was in black marble, illuminated only by blue torches. They walked, again and again, Rargnes' legs weighing heavy.

"Will we be there soon?!" Sengrar asked.

"Patience," the breathless goblin said.

Rargnes noticed this fatigue and carried him on his shoulder, like a child. The goblin's body was warm, almost hot. Yet, he hadn't noticed any sweat. Humans sweated, which allowed them to be much more enduring, but goblins didn't? Even though they didn't have thick fur?

"Uh, and..." He glanced over and saw that the goblin was almost asleep, or in a trance-like state. He didn't disturb him and felt guilty.

After a long journey, they rested against the cold wall of the underground, between the steps, the goblin asleep. They spoke in low voices.

"What do we do?" Rargnes asked.

"Do you want to continue?"

"I don't think he's lying to us, he won't kill himself with us."

"Maybe, but he could be mistaken. If his king or whatever ensures that no news leaks out, he has certainly given false information... we risk suffocating or having a collapse," said Sengrar.

"Would the system have built all this to trap us?" Rargnes said, incredulously, then he realized that given the effort put into the zones, into the union of worlds, and the time travel the system organized, this was probable.

"No, no, there must be something."

He refused to have come all this way for nothing.

After a few hours, at a time when they were losing confidence and only continuing by the words of the goblin, they saw a yellow glow.

"A light! Finally! I couldn't take it anymore!" said Sengarr. "Tell me it's the end!"

Rargnes smiled.

They entered the room, barely a few goblins in length, which was empty, except for a stone statue, embedded right in the middle of the front wall.