1.
The young goblins didn't know what 'rain' meant.
Those who did know what 'rain' was were already old. It was the grandmothers, mostly. Occasionally, these older goblins would sit around the bonfire and chatter.
-Rain is water that falls from the dark sky.
The old goblins used charcoal on their nails to draw.
●. It meant night. But it also meant darkness. It was the most familiar character for the goblins who had become slaves of the snail race and lived here in the great cavern.
-When it 'rains', the entire world is filled with water. You can get water anywhere without needing to go to the stream or well.
-All the dry land becomes wet in an instant. It becomes soft and muddy. When it 'rains', just walking on the ground causes a pleasant feeling to wrap around your toes.
The older ones talked while drawing '●~' on the ground.
Rain falling from the dark, night sky.
-Gork.
It was like a fairytale.
Water that poured from the sky, mud that covered the ground.
Water and mud were difficult to obtain in the great cavern. They were only allowed to collect water twice a day. The ground in the great cavern was made of sand and gravel, so no matter how much water they mixed, it could never become mud.
-Sometimes, water falls from the ceiling.
The old goblins whispered.
-That is rain.
-However, the water that drips isn't enough to fill the cavern, is it?
-That's because there is only a small hole in the ceiling of the cave. Ker. The outside world is different.
-Is there really a world outside?
-This is a cave. It's just a small cavern. When you leave this cave, you will see that the world outside is so vast and that there are many such caverns around.
-Kerr. That sounds like a lie.
For the young goblins, the great cavern was their world. The ceiling was high and the underground was deep. No matter how much they dug, it seemed endless. And yet the great cavern was small?
Naturally, they found this hard to believe.
-One day, the white lion will return. Gor.
-In the beginning, the world was covered in trees. We lived in the forest world. However, because of god's wrath, the forest world burned. The fire was never-ending. The fire grew for 10 days and burned for 100 days. And in that time, the white lion guided us to safety.
-The white lion will return and save us from this cavern.
-Kekerkker.
As time passed, the older goblins died.
Everyone who remembered 'Guru' slowly perished.
And now, even the oldest didn't know about 'rain'. Occasionally, there were goblins who managed to enjoy the feeling of mud, but that was a luxury that was given in exchange for risking their lives in the colosseum. It was never because of 'rain' that overturned the sky.
-Kerke.
Rain.
-Kerrk.
Mud.
As they looked at the two water jars floating in the stream, the goblins wished for rain.
As they applied sand mixed with water to their skin, they wished for mud.
Somewhere other than here.
A life other than this one.
-Guru.
Our homeland.
2.
Rimepolis.
Cries erupted all over the city where the snails had created their civilization.
[The Vampires have risen up against the Snails!]
[The Mermaids have risen up against the Snails!]
[The Sprites have risen up against the Snails!]
[The Elves have risen up against the Snails!]
[The Humans have risen up against the Snails!]
Individually, each cry was so weak that they couldn't overpower the horns blown by the snails. But it was only a matter of time. The five cries heralded five large fires that burned in five different parts of the city.
"Kiiuu."
The Black Dragon Master's divine beast, the black swan, spread its wings. I had no talent when it came to understanding the cries of birds, but I was somehow able to understand what she was saying.
'I'm here to help, Death King.'
I nodded.
'If the Black Dragon Master helps, then this fight will be much easier.'
I had worked with the Black Dragon Master several times before.
The Black Dragon Master herself might not remember, but I had grown accustomed to her fighting style after fighting together hundreds of times while subjugating the [Devil King of Fall Rain].
There was no hunter who could overcome the combination of us two.
"Grrrk!"
I growled at the hound and charged forward. Fwoosh! The surroundings were set ablaze as the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art unfolded. When the flames swept in from all directions, the hound used his sacred transformation technique to evade.
'Now!'
But the Heretic Questioner wasn't the only one capable of using space transfer.
Paht!
The Black Dragon Master immediately followed the Heretic Questioner to the place he had fled to. The Heretic Questioner, who had just escaped from my attack, wasn't paying attention to his back, and the Black Dragon Master wouldn't miss such an opening.
Crack!
The black swan's sharp claws scratched the golden hound's back.
"Kar-!"
The hound cried out as its blood was spilt. It twisted its head around and bit at the swan's wings. The black swan and the hound rolled around in the mud.
This time, I was the one who saw the opening.
'Shift the attack.'
I immediately charged forward and bit into the hound's back. My sharp fangs sank deeply into the golden hound's flesh. Blood flowed into my mouth, and at the same time, a loud scream erupted from the hound's mouth.
One-sided abuse.
The goblins cheered at the sight of the hound being hurt.
-Kekerkker!
-The white lion will defeat the golden hound!
-To Guru! Let's return to our homeland!
As the number of wounds on the hound increased, the goblins became more confident. On the other hand, the snails were shocked. They responded quickly to the massive rebellion, but they became confused when they saw their deity being injured.
[The Rimepolis mines have been liberated.]
The goblins gradually drove the snails back.
-Where are the reinforcements?! Rime!
-Th-, the slaves are causing commotions in other places too….
-The horns are rioting! Rime! Requesting immediate support!
-The fish are rioting at the port!
-Support is impossible. We need help here too!
-As for reinforcements from the other cities…
-How can we ask for reinforcements when the waterway is blocked?! Even those bat bastards have gone crazy!
The snails fought back desperately.
However, the slaves directly pushed the snails into a corner. The goblins on the ground, the mermaids in the water, the vampires in the air. And the sprites, elves and humans in the streets.
Flames erupted everywhere the snails used slaves.
[The Rimepolis red light district has been liberated.]
[The Rimepolis temple has been liberated.]
The tribes captured as slaves couldn't communicate with each other. Each of the six races spoke a different language. This was probably why the slaves had never united and instead continued to serve the snail race.
"Gork!"
"Kiuuu!"
However, it was the same way that the gods and their respective races couldn't communicate. In any case, revelation was many times more powerful than words. The divine beasts were the ones that guided each race. While the Black Dragon Master and I pushed the Heretic Questioner around, our other companions stirred up Rimepolis to their heart's content.
The snails had lost control of the city.
[The Rimepolis gate has been liberated.]
[The Rimepolis barracks has been liberated.]
The scales had been tipped.
The rebels, who had started at the mines, finally reached the port.
Mermaids swam in the river that connected the inside of the great cavern to the outside. Receiving an oracle from their god, they cut off the ropes that were wrapped around their necks and charged towards the ships.
-Y-, you! Low-class fish!
The snail overseers raised their tentacles high and struck them. Slap! The mermaids, who were struck, screamed and fell below the surface of the water. However, that didn't stop them. Dozens of mermaids grabbed the bottom of the ships and rocked them back and forth.
-Aaack!
The snails slipped off the decks of the ships and with a 'splash', and fell into the river. The mermaids then surrounded them.
-Get back! Get back! Evil fish! Aack!
The mermaids ate the snails one by one. It was like a herd of sharks hunting penguins. The snails swung their tentacles, but they were no match for the mermaids in the water. After a while, only empty shells remained floating on the surface of the river.
[The Rimepolis port has been liberated.]
Gurgle!
The large ships that sat at the port all sank to the bottom of the river. The salt cargo that they had, sank along with them. The rock salt that the goblins had worked all night to crush into small pieces melted without a trace after falling into the river.
The hound watched this scene with narrowed eyes.
"..."
Dozens of ships sank. A pink dolphin leaped into the air among the wreckage. It was the divine beast that had been possessed by the Crusader.
Whoosh!
The dolphin dived below the surface in a beautiful curve.
The mermaids cheered loudly and slapped their tails against the water.
[Rimepolis has been captured by the rebels.]
The hound opened its mouth.
"Karr."
Maybe the Heretic Questioner was laughing.
The city he had spent 200 years to create was collapsing.
"Karrk, kar."
The hound took a step back. Every time he took a step, sticky blood flowed out. Its beautiful golden fur had been torn apart by the lion's fangs and the black swan's claws.
The same was true for the snails.
-Rime…
-Rime…
Terrified, the snails hid behind the hound. The snails' shells had been cracked by the goblins' hammers. There were also snails whose antennae or tentacles had been cut off.
The snails from all over the city were driven to stand around the hound.
-Kgr.
Naturally, the tribes that drove the snails over also gathered.
The blood-stained sprites roared fiercely.
-Kill those bastards!
-Make them repay for what they did to us!
The sprites had a single horn in the middle of their forehead. These horns, which should have grown long and proud like unicorns', were broken in half.
This was proof of their enslavement.
As if they were branding them, the snails broke the horns of their sprite slaves. Along with the horns, they also broke their slaves' pride. This was the price. In the place of the broken pride grew poisonous resentment.
-Dog-like scum…
The situation wasn't any different for the other races.
-They laughed as they fed us dirt.
-Throw them in a hole and pour salt over them!
The humans growled.
-Catch one of their young and put it in a well, then treat it like a 'fishbowl'.
-Let's throw those bastards in the colosseum and make them fight each other!
The mermaids cried out from the water. Their curses seemed to flutter on the water's dark surface.
-They pulled on our ears because they were long.
-Cut off their antennae and feed it to them.
Said the elves.
-Blood...
-...
The vampires hung from the nearby buildings as they quietly looked at the snails. The vampires weren't very vocal. However, they brought the corpses of beasts that they had brought from somewhere else and dropped them at their feet. They were the dogs that the snails regarded as sacred.
Each of the six races spoke a different language, so they could not share each other's anger. However, there were a few common words in the snail race's language that they all learned. The slaves were forced to learn their masters' language.
-Kill them.
Someone whispered in the snail language.
-Kill them.
That one phrase was something every race knew. It was something that the snails always said to other races. The words that came from the sprites gradually became a universal cry that filled the entire cave.
-Kill them!
The snails were terrified.
Finally, for the first time since becoming slaves, the six tribes shared the same feeling. The name of that feeling was rage.
Everyone was covered in blood.
And they wanted even more blood.
"..."
I looked around at the snails that had been gathered together.
'It would be easy to order them to slaughter them all.'
It would also be easy to prevent them from doing so.
Now, I was like a god to the goblins. And a god's commands were absolute. The goblins would obey regardless of whether I told them to slaughter or to forgive.
'However, that's not an order I'll give.'
I turned around.
'You all can choose.'
And I slowly walked towards the exit of the great cavern.
-Ker?
-Kekerkker…?
Behind me, I heard the goblins' confused exclamations.
But I didn't stop walking. I was walking slow enough that they could follow me, but fast enough that I would disappear if they hesitated too long. The sprites, who were blocking my path, stumbled to move out of my way.
-...
-...
I could feel the goblins' silence. The goblins looked at each other like believers who had received an esoteric oracle. As I grew further and further from them, someone finally stepped forward.
-Gork.
Their footsteps were headed towards me, not towards the port where the snails were gathered.
The dozens of goblins who had received my oracle message were the first to follow me.
They were followed by the young goblins. The young goblins decided to follow the god they had met for the first time instead of getting revenge on their oppressors.
-Kerr...
-Kekerkker.
After the children followed, so did their mothers.
And when the mothers began moving, the other goblins joined one after the other.
The sounds of stone hammers falling echoed across the city. Following the lion the goblins worshipped as their god, they threw the evidence of their anger to the ground.
'Right.'
In the dark underground city.
Thousands began to follow behind me.
'Follow me, children. Follow me.'
Like that, we walked towards the only entrance to the underground city.
No one blocked our way forward.
The moment I stepped through the bright entrance, the voice of the Tower sounded in my head.
[The Goblin Race has begun their escape from Rimepolis.]
Now then, let's go home.