Chapter 948: Negotiation 101

(MC POV)

Ok, I'm not sure how this went from talking about negotiating with the goblin to a full blown war...

Actually, let me just ask them.

"Ahem... Why are you guys suddenly preparing for war?"

All of them turned to look at me as though they didn't understand what I just said.

Shiori was the one who answered my question though with an obvious hint of confusion, "Did Divine One not say that the goblin took something from you?"

I nodded, "Yes? What does that have to do with anything?"

"For there to be someone audacious enough to willingly steal something from Divine One... It's natural that we should be delivering divine punishment on them, right?"

I shook my head, "No, that is... Err... I guess it's not really considered stealing because it's not like I told people not to take it... It's more like he found something I lost and he doesn't know it belongs to me. And because it gives the one who takes it quite a power up, I wouldn't blame him for taking it either."

Stephanie gasped, "So that moron only became so strong because of this Divine object he stole?"

Err... Divine object? Whatever. I suppose you can call it that from their perspective so I simply nodded my head.

Jack made a sound that might have been a snort, "To take something belonging to Divine One is already a sin worthy of death. To think he would use it against Divine One as well... Obliterating him is already considered a mercy."

Right... I almost forgot they do place me relatively high on their pedestal...

Normally I would be all for them going to exterminate those monsters since they were still a threat to everyone else, but a quick check with omniscience showed that the war would result in an entire swath of land being rendered inhabitable for a very long time.

No need to resort to using the nuclear option because of a single goblin.

I cleared my throat, "Anyway... I'll just have a quick chat with him, no need to do anything drastic yet. Even if it comes down to it, I'll deal with it, ok?"

Since I don't know how receptive he was to the idea of returning the Origin fragment to me, I should still prepare for a fight.

Incidentally, these people could also be seen as Origin Wielders since they have some control over the Origin fragment they have absorbed.

Unfortunately, they are the kind of Wielders that everyone else in the know despised since they did not gain their powers through the gods. Thus, they are mostly stigmatised as thieves and given the name of Origin Usurpers by the other Wielders.

Truly ironic, given the current circumstances.

If Lilith knew about this, she would have already gone there and popped the goblin's head off personally without hesitation. But well... I'd like to see if he's willing to give it up willingly first before I start decapitating people.

Call me a hypocrite but after seeing the monsters in the Sanctuary, I'm a little bit more hesitant in killing monsters willy nilly now. I will also emphasise on the words 'a little bit'.

Ok, that's not the full truth. I'm also really curious on what an Origin Usurper is like. I mean he literally has a piece of me inside him, does that change anything in him? What does it feel like? Could I tell if he has it just by looking at him? So many questions that I and things I want to test by meeting him first.

So I did my best to convince the others to just let me handle it.

With their worries about my safety assuaged, I was led to the place where the meeting will take place with the goblin Origin Usurper.

It turns out they had decided to hold the meeting on an open plain on the other side of the Death Mountains, closer to the goblin's turf as a gesture of trust but also where ambushes would be hard to pull off.

Both sides were allowed to bring two companions as guards, so naturally I brought Akari and Shiori with Xun Guan posing as my clothes. No need for people to know about Xun Guan.

On the other hand, the goblin came alone, either because he was absolutely confident of himself or because of his arrogance.

Judging by the way he was swaggering towards us, I'm guessing the latter is more likely.

He stopped a short distance away from me, inspecting me up and down as I stood in place, waiting to see what he would do.

The first thing I noticed was a slight blue glow around him, which I suppose is because of the Origin fragment inside him.

He pointed his finger at me, causing Akari and Shiori to instantly raise their hackles as they prepared to attack him, barely stopping in time when I held up my hand.

Unperturbed by the display, the goblin continued, "You. Weakling. Leader of weakling monsters?"

I blinked a few times at him, "Umm... Yes?"

He sniffed at me, "But you no monster? You smelly human. You lie. Lying human want die?"

I couldn't help but smirk at his question, "I am technically not human either. It's also true that I am their... Hmm... Actually, I'm not really officially their leader, more like their patron I guess?"

"Me knew it! Smelly human liar! You come laugh at King Gob!!"

"Do we really need to talk to this guy?" Akari groaned, pawing the ground in front of her impatiently. "He's already so annoying... Can I eat him? Oww!"

Shiori smacked her sister on the head, "Quiet. You're being rude in front of Divine One."

That got the goblin's attention as he shifted his finger to Akari, "You! Who you?! Me not see you before!"

"Because you're not important enough to see me, duh. Can I eat him now, Master?"

I sighed, "Please don't, you'll upset your stomach."

The goblin looked like he was trying to understand if I had been insulting him or not.

Before he could come to a conclusion, I got his attention again by bringing the conversation back on the reason of why we're here in the first place.

"Ahem, king Gob yes? I'm here as the patron of the monsters you have met before to open negotiations between our two groups. Are you alright with this?"

He shifted his full attention back to me, taking a few more moments to consider his next actions before finally letting out a growl.

"What you want?"

Oh? I was honestly not expecting him to listen at all and get right ahead to attacking me, guess I'll just play the part then.

I cleared my throat, "What do you know about the power you have obtained? Do you know how you got this strong?"

In an instant, the demeanour of the goblin changed instantly and he had his arms up threateningly, "You! Smelly human! King Gob knew it! Smelly human want King Gob's power! You not take! This power King Gob's!"

Without waiting for our response, a blue glow enveloped his body and I could sense the power of Origin seeping out from him.

Curiosity got the better of me as I watched him use his Origin fragment to bend reality around himself.

His aura intensified and a wave of power crashed into us, sending even Shiori and Akari stumbling back a few steps though it didn't affect me in the slightest.

He definitely feels much stronger now, even though his physical appearance underwent absolutely no visible change aside from the glow.

He lifted his arms into the air arrogantly, "Grawwrrr!! King Gob crush smelly human!! Make little foxes my toys! Eat them!!"

Ok, that's where I draw the line.

I went ahead and gave him one big slap across the face, instantly dissipating the power he had accumulated and causing the goblin to look to the side dumbly.

He was about to turn back and roar at me but his voice turned into a painful squeak when my foot shot forward to punt him in between the legs, hearing a very loud and especially satisfying 'crack'.

Yeah, no one threatens my mofu mofu and gets away with it!