As soon as the lord appeared, several green-skinned goblins struggled to carry a large, crudely hewn wooden chair over to the center of the clearing.

  THUD!

  After kicking a slow-moving green-skinned goblin flying, the Goblin Lord plopped down onto its exclusive seat.

  “Gah-oh!”

  The Goblin Lord barked an order, jabbing a finger at the food roasting over the bonfire.

  Several green-skinned goblins immediately hauled a huge slab of half-cooked roast meat before the Goblin Lord.

  “Gah——”

  The Goblin Lord licked its lips, drool splattering all over the green-skinned goblins holding the meat.

  Tossing its stone axe casually beside the chair, the Goblin Lord grabbed the roast meat with both hands. Without a care for the searing heat, it opened its maw wide and took a massive bite.

  CRUNCH!

  It crushed the meat and bones together, chewing loudly.

  CRUNCH! CRUNCH......

  In less than half a minute, the slab of roast meat—big enough to match three green-skinned goblins put together—was gone.

  Even as it gorged itself on the meat, two green-skinned goblins stood by, holding a basin-sized bowl filled with soup floating with chunks of meat and fruit.

  The moment it finished the roast meat, the Goblin Lord grabbed the soup bowl in one hand.

  “GLUG! GLUG! GLUG!”

  In just three gulps, the entire basin of soup was gone.

  “Gah——”

  Throwing the bowl aside, the Goblin Lord licked its lips contentedly and patted its bulging stomach. Then it let out a slow, deliberate bark at the horde of goblins gathered around.

  “Gah!”

  Finally given the green light, the goblins scrambled toward the food in a frenzy, their scuffles and squabbles breaking out instantly.

  Some goblins had their teeth knocked out in the chaos; others tripped and were trampled underfoot by their kin.

  Chaotic as the scene was, a strict pecking order prevailed.

  The Goblin Mages charged to the front of the pack, helping themselves to the choicest portions of food.

  The Hobgoblins followed close behind, hovering anxiously—eager to rush forward but too cowardly to do so, only able to drool as they sniffed the aroma of the food.

  Once the few Goblin Mages had eaten their fill and wandered off, the Hobgoblins swarmed the remaining food in a mad scramble.

  Only when the Hobgoblins finally dispersed did the largest group—the green-skinned goblins, who had been waiting anxiously for ages—get their turn to step forward.

  By then, only scraps and cold dregs were left. But that did nothing to dampen the green-skinned goblins’ frenzy. They fought tooth and nail over a single bone with a few shreds of meat left on it, brawling until their heads were bloodied.

  Instead of intervening, the higher-ranked goblins watched the spectacle with great amusement.

  None more so than the Goblin Lord, sitting on its throne. It chuckled gleefully from time to time, letting out loud “Gah-ha! Gah-ha!” laughs.

  “Gah-jee——!?!”

  Just then,

  a cry of agony rang out from among the Hobgoblins.

  The surrounding goblins jumped in alarm, turning to stare.

  The Hobgoblin that had screamed was writhing on the ground in agony, clutching its stomach and whimpering nonstop.

  Stolen story; please report.

  At the sound, the Goblin Lord—who had been thoroughly enjoying the show—scowled in displeasure.

  “Gah!”

  It roared at the writhing Hobgoblin, then turned back, ready to resume watching the green-skinned goblins’ brawl.

  “Gah-jee! Gah-jee......”

  But even after the Goblin Lord’s command, the Hobgoblin did not stop its whimpering. That instantly sent the Goblin Lord into a rage.

  “Gah-oh——!”

  It stood up abruptly, grabbed the axe beside its seat, and roared furiously in the Hobgoblin’s direction.

  Silence fell over the entire tribe in an instant.

  The green-skinned goblins, who had been fighting fiercely over the food, now cowered on the ground in terror, not daring to make a sound.

  THUD! THUD! THUD!

  The Goblin Lord stomped heavily toward the suffering Hobgoblin, its axe held at its side. Along the way, it kicked a Hobgoblin that had stood too close flying.

  The goblins that had been hovering around the injured Hobgoblin scattered instantly, fleeing the scene.

  The Goblin Lord stopped beside the Hobgoblin, who was still clutching its stomach on the ground. It stared down at the creature, a flicker of confusion crossing its face—but still let out a furious roar.

  “Gah-oh——!”

  The Hobgoblin trembled, stretching out a trembling finger to point at the cauldron not far away, then at its own stomach.

  “Gah-jee! Gah-jee......”

  It tried desperately to explain itself.

  But the Goblin Lord only grew more confused—and its confusion quickly turned to greater anger.

  “Gah-oh——!”

  To the Goblin Lord, things it couldn’t understand weren’t worth thinking about at all.

  BAM!

  It kicked the stomach-clutching Hobgoblin flying, then turned and barked at a group of nearby Hobgoblins.

  “Gah——!”

  The Hobgoblins scrambled over at once, lifted the unconscious Hobgoblin off the ground, and dragged it to one of the huts to lock it up.

  Watching the Hobgoblin being hauled away, the Goblin Lord’s anger subsided slightly—but it had lost all interest in the spectacle.

  It turned and trundled toward its own hut.

  Out of the corner of its eye, it spotted the green-skinned goblins still lingering around the cauldron. It let out another furious roar.

  “Gah——!”

  The green-skinned goblins shrank back, their eyes lingering on the remaining food with reluctance.

  “Gah——!!!”

  But at the Goblin Lord’s even louder roar, the green-skinned goblins scattered in terror, fleeing the clearing as fast as their legs could carry them.

  As they ran, many of the green-skinned goblins glared hatefully at the hut where the Hobgoblin was imprisoned. At least half of them hadn’t gotten a single bite to eat.

  In their minds, this was all that Hobgoblin’s fault. Normally, they would have gone hungry anyway—but if it hadn’t chosen this moment to get a stomachache, they wouldn’t have ended up with nothing at all.

  Once the goblins had all dispersed,

  a soft sigh echoed from a tree outside the tribe.

  “Looks like plans never survive contact with reality......”

  Hulim Heyerar had originally planned to use a poison that would either kill or knock the goblins unconscious outright. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find any such herbs in the vicinity.

  Luckily, she had managed to locate a type of herb that caused severe stomach cramps when ingested—an herb that was just as effective on goblins as it was on most other creatures.

  To mask the herb’s pungent smell, Hulim Heyerar had ground it together with several other types of herbs.

  She had mixed the crushed herbs into a juice, then smothered it onto the goblins’ stored food supplies.

  When she’d seen the goblins gathering to eat together—especially when they’d boiled the food into soup—she’d silently rejoiced. This particular stomachache-inducing herb worked even better when mixed with water, and heating it had made its scent even more undetectable.

  But she hadn’t anticipated that some goblins would sneak extra portions, causing the toxin to take effect on them earlier than the others. Fortunately, the Goblin Lord’s limited intelligence had prevented it from realizing that the tribe had been poisoned. Unfortunately, thanks to that one Hobgoblin’s mishap, at least half of the green-skinned goblins hadn’t eaten any of the tainted food at all.

  This had made the situation somewhat precarious.

  With all the higher-ranked goblins poisoned, how much use would these lowly green-skinned goblins be......

  She had no choice but to take things one step at a time.

  ......

  Mealtime for the goblin tribe was determined by whenever their lord decided to wake up. So it was still broad daylight. And even though the green-skinned goblins hadn’t gotten any food, their work was far from over.

  Sure enough, at the roar of several Hobgoblins, a group of listless green-skinned goblins dragged their feet, clutching crude wooden clubs as they prepared to head out to hunt.

  “Gah-jee——! Gah——jee?!”

  One of the Hobgoblins was in the middle of yelling at the green-skinned goblins when its face suddenly twisted in pain. It clutched its stomach and collapsed to the ground.

  “Gah-jee?! Gah-jee?!”

  The Hobgoblin writhed on the ground in agony, clutching its stomach tightly.

  The other goblins stared at the scene in confusion, unsure of what was happening. A few of them thought the sight looked familiar—but before they could speak up to warn the others,

  “Gah-jee?!”

  Another Hobgoblin doubled over, clutching its stomach and collapsing.

  Then a third. Then a fourth......

  In the span of mere seconds, dozens of goblins across the entire tribe were writhing on the ground, howling in agony.

  “Gah-oh——!!!?!”

  The Goblin Lord, who had been about to take a nap, was enraged by the commotion outside. It kicked its hut door open and charged out, brandishing its stone axe.

  Then it froze, staring in dumbfounded shock at the sight of goblins collapsing all over the ground.

  “Gah-oh?”