"No activities yet from the other side," I informed Irene who was sitting beside me, while I used my psychic abilities to probe on the goblin forces.
We sat by a small hill adjacent to the river and a small clearing a short distance away from the elf settlement. Irene led her elves well, and I saw a talent for leadership in her, but she wouldn't be able to save her kin from the current predicament with just her current abilities.
"The goblins had retreated a few miles from the village, but they were regrouping fast. Within the Hiram Continent, the Goblins were considered a barbaric race, but the level of sophistication they showed suggested otherwise… They are a 'Kingdom', and while others might show disbelief, it was proven more than enough from what I saw that they had a working government at the very minimum." I added.
Irene grimaced at my words, seemingly in disbelief at what I said. "I am not a worldly person. The only place I had known was the forest and the village. But that didn't mean I am wholly ignorant about the world… Never had the goblins expressed this level of sophistry, and if you are right, this problem could even attract the attention of the Kingdoms."
The Hiram Continent was mostly composed of Kingdoms from various scattered races, mainly the 'humans' being the most numerous.
But the elves hated humans.
I could not imagine Irene even suggesting to ask for help or refugee from the human race.
"If it is as dire as you suggest, then I reckon asking for help from the Kingdoms would be a smart choice," I intoned, but then quickly added. "The humans are not the only Kingdoms out there… The elves might not have a 'Kingdom' it could rely on, but surely the other races could pitch in."
I knew already the answer, but I had to list the options to Irene. The last thing I would want was for her to see me as 'controlling' when I was doing my best to not appear as such. I wanted to control the elves, without them knowing I was controlling them.
"That would be too difficult… These green cretins had already surrounded the whole forest…" She gritted her teeth. "The goblins' strongest ability is to multiply, and the fact that they could force other mammal species to conceive children meant that every breathing mammalian creature in the forest was either killed by them or was subjugated. I fear the problem of 'starvation' remained. We no longer have anything to hunt… The counter-raid you proposed worked in our favor, but it had hurt our forces just as much as it allowed us to have a breathing space."
Hmmm…
If it was just me, I could penetrate the perimeter and go to another kingdom to ask for help, but that would leave the elves vulnerable. I could leave my Patchwork Monster, the Red Scales but the Goblins had Gifted of their own I wouldn't know their exact levels of power.
Still, I'd prefer that another Kingdom never be involved in this war… I wanted their souls, the goblins' souls for myself. To be honest, a goblin soul was less enticing than a human or elf soul… I wouldn't know the reason as to why but most of the goblins' numbers possessed impaired souls.
Despite that, I'd still want the goblins' souls… There were a lot of them after all…
"So how is Teresa and Wynn doing?" asked Irene.
Irene asked me how the walls were doing, and I recalled the breach by hobgoblins just the day before.
However, I had taken action by imparting a new Memory Packet about engineering to a pair of elves: Teresa who had powers over Terrakinesis, and Wynn with Chlorokinesis. On top of their recently awakened gifts, they now possessed basic engineering knowledge that could aid them in building structurally sound walls. Using my psychic abilities, I checked on their progress and saw that they were making great strides. The walls were being reinforced efficiently, and it seemed like they would hold against any further attacks.
The walls of the elf settlement were a marvel of ingenuity and resourcefulness, reflecting the natural affinity of the elves with their forest surroundings. Constructed primarily from sturdy timber sourced from the surrounding trees (that I personally chopped and forced on the earth with telekinesis) —the walls stood tall and imposing, blending seamlessly with the dense foliage that enveloped them.
Teresa and Wynn, with their newfound engineering knowledge, had begun reinforcing the walls with layers of earth and stone, adding an extra layer of protection against potential breaches. Vines and creepers were carefully woven into the structure, not only for additional stability but also to provide camouflage, further obscuring the settlement from prying eyes.
At strategic intervals along the walls, watchtowers jutted out, offering vantage points for sentries to keep a vigilant watch over the surrounding terrain. Each tower was equipped with a rudimentary system of alarms, allowing for swift communication in the event of an attack.
As they continued to toil away, fortifying their defenses against the encroaching threat of the goblin forces, the walls stood as a symbol of hope and defiance in the heart of the forest.
I turned to Irene, conveying the positive news. "The walls are being reinforced quite effectively. Teresa and Wynn have taken on the task with great determination and skill. It seems we're shoring up our defenses quite well."
Irene nodded with a glimmer of relief crossing her features. "That's good to hear. It's crucial that we fortify our defenses more and more, especially considering the increasing threat from the goblin forces."
I agreed with her assessment. "Indeed."
There was a short silence, and then, Irene descended from the hill parkouring from one branch to another. I followed her with telekinesis-imbued agility.
"Would you agree with me of the assessment that the goblins are an invasive species that needed to be extinguished once and for all?" I asked, wishing for her opinion.
"I… I don't know. The barbaric races are aplenty on the continent… and even at some point, the elves in general had been considered barbaric. If you are asking me that goblins should be exterminated from the surface of Hiram, then I fully second the idea… not that I have the ability to push them to extinction." she gave her piece about the goblins, though not substantially helpful, it gave me another perspective.
Objectively, I saw the goblins as a very problematic species— they were a race heavily tilted to the male population, and the problems wouldn't even come close to what was problematic about a socio-cultural patriarchal society.
The problem was more 'primal' and something hit closer to home.
There was a reason why plenty of supervillains from where I came from, were marginally killed rather than put in prison— it was because of their criminal inclinations, something so embedded in their superpowers that they had to be put down.
Sometimes, it was an evil superpower that would make people into villains— I was no different.
If you had so much power as I did, it would be difficult not to be tempted to use them for yourself rather than others.
I roughly recalled a super with the power to hypnotize people by making love with them in the bed, it was among the most depraved powers I had seen, even the strongest wills were put down by the rather Casanova villain at that time.
The goblins were similar in the sense that their criminal inclinations were embedded into their DNA. For the goblins: they had to conquer another species in order to reproduce, and it was sick, sitting at the peak of perversion in my opinion… I've seen through Vajen Omon's memories the perverseness the goblins were capable of.
In fact, I'd seen from my telepathic perspective the cruelty of goblins… When a goblin had captured the elves that joined Irene in the counter-raid, they'd only suffer a fate much worse in death. That was why I included a kill switch to the Memory Packets I imparted to the elves prior to the operation.
We arrived by the walls, where Mayne spotted us from the watchtower. Her figure stood out against the backdrop of the forest, and she waved enthusiastically as she shouted to announce our return. With a swift motion, a partition of the walls rose up, granting us access to the settlement. Irene and I made our way through the opening, stepping into the heart of the elf encampment.
Mayne descended from the watchtower, her expression was a mix of relief and curiosity. "Welcome back," she greeted us, and her voice was tinged with urgency. "Did you find any sign of the goblins' movements?"
Everyone was on a high alert, seemingly stuck in the tip of their toes.
Irene exchanged a glance with me before responding, her tone measured. "The goblins seem to be regrouping, but they haven't made any further advances yet. We've bought some time, but we need to remain vigilant."
Mayne nodded, his brow furrowing in concern. "Understood. We'll continue fortifying the defenses. Teresa and Wynn have been making remarkable progress with the reinforcements. And a few kids should suffice for the watchtowers to ease up a few of our fighters and have the rest they deserve."