Chapter 353: Approach the City

Colossia City under the starry sky appeared to be calm, but the hearts of its denizens were beating fast, comparable to the drumbeats coming from the goblin army camped on the opposite side of the wall.

The goblins’ combined psychic power shot up to the sky, visible to the naked eye. The sound of their continuous stomping went along with the drumroll, heightening their morale and increasing their psychic power.

In emergency situations, each squad of the Shadow Army knew their responsibilities. They scattered to their stations in preparation for any orders from above. The only exception was the miscellaneous squad—also known as the 99th squad—that didn’t have any specific duties during a crisis. In fact, their main responsibility was to not bother other squads. They were only expected to help clean up after a battle.

Sila stood on the edge of the city wall. He observed the goblin army slowly marching on the horizon. With his qi-enhanced eyesight, he noticed that the army was unexpectedly well-organized. The goblins lined up, splitting into groups, with each one holding different types of weapons. There was even a group for carrying their battle standards and another group for beating their war drums. It wasn’t like Sila had never encountered a group of monsters before, but this marked the first time he ever saw such a disciplined monster army.

The truth was that goblins are sophisticated, cultural monsters—capable of communicating with humans, similar to elves. They had even established trade relationships with humans several years ago, so they were technically closer to humans than elves who liked to stay in their forest and rarely received human visitors.

Human-like monsters often have mediocre stats. They are considered mid-tier monsters. However, they have the ability to learn and are capable of implementing tactics instead of relying only on racial power.

Several squad leaders responsible for the assault were discussing their strategies on the edge of the city wall. Sila eavesdropped on their conversation and understood the difference between the Royal Armament Guild and the Shadow Army’s military systems. Back then when the Heavenly Dragon Guild invaded Grea City, Cross had the authority to command his members as if they were his own limbs. On the other hand, the Shadow Army was a gathering of mercenaries, so their discussions leaned toward splitting duties according to each squad’s specialty rather than issuing orders.

“My squad will handle this side. What do you think, Undine?” Wolfe, or rather Lone Wolf, pointed at a part of a city map.

“I don’t have any problem with that. However, we still don’t know how many monsters are out there. It’s too dangerous. If they have hidden reinforcements, we’ll be checkmated. I suggest we don’t pour everything we have into being offensive until we are quite sure that these are the only monsters we have to face. I believe it’s a lot safer for us to maintain our positions, fighting them in front of the city wall.”

“Why don’t we lure them inside and defeat them in the same manner we did against the Heavenly Dragon Guild?” Aqua proposed.

Undine was against the idea. “We mustn’t do that. Our previous raid was successful only because we caught the Heavenly Dragon Guild off guard. On the contrary, these goblins are small, agile, and aware of the city’s previous layout. We will have a better chance if we fight them in the open.”

“There should be a boss monster among them, right?”

Undine nodded. “Based on how organized they are, I’m sure there is.”

Aqua insisted, “If we break through their formation, get to their leader, and defeat it, mob monsters will naturally lose their morale to fight. I’m confident that my squad can get the job done.”

“That’s too risky. Haven’t you realized? The boss monster we’re talking about can control this many goblins without any errors. Its rank is surely not just Marquis. It already spells a lot of trouble if it’s Lord Rank. However, what if it’s Emperor Rank? Are you really confident that you can take on an Emperor Rank monster, surrounded by thousands of its minions?”

“My squad has only five members. Our mobility is top-notch. If each of us carries a Crystal of Connecting, we can always teleport back to the city if an emergency arises.”

“That sounds even more dangerous. Our opponents this time are psychic types. Moreover, I heard that goblin’s psychic ability leans toward item utilization. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have some kind of Psychic Backtrack or the evolved version of it.”

Psychic Backtrack is normally an inspection skill, used to uncover the origin or previous owners of the targeted item. However, when combined with other psychic abilities, it might be able to extract more information. Players were well aware that the ‘scope’ of psychic power wasn’t something they should underestimate, especially when the users in question are high-level psychic-type monsters. Through the use of the skill, maybe they could even follow the target’s teleportation and directly enter the city.

This kind of uncertainty is what makes players tend to avoid fighting psychic-type monsters of Marquis Rank or above, especially without studying their abilities beforehand.

Everyone was paying attention to their system window, looking for goblin-related information. Sila did the same, prompting him to understand the worried expressions shown on their faces.

Goblin-related information, found in the public forum or even Blue Pigeon Guild’s exclusive network, was surprisingly lacking. They knew that goblins were psychic-type, yet the monsters had never shown their abilities against players. They also knew that goblins were capable of weapon creations, though their craftsmanship skills were extremely poor. The quality of the weapons they created couldn’t hope to compare to the armor made by the dwarf race or the accessories crafted by the merpeople race.

Based on the experiences of players who used to grind their levels through hunting goblins around the Sky-Breaking Canyon’s foothills, they noted that goblins’ psychic ability was plain and ordinary. In fact, it was as if they only possessed the Basic Psychic skill. This information was supposed to ease the minds of people of the Shadow Army, but it did the opposite.

The reason was simple. The psychic power emitting from the goblins camp was all but ordinary. This meant the information in their hands was unreliable.

Sila swept his eyes down the wall of text, and noticed the phrase ‘Written from a week of experience in the Sky-Breaking Canyon, by the Bluebird of Happiness’. Immediately after, he closed the window and looked for other information from a different author.

As long as Bluebird was the source of the intel, it was almost guaranteed that the news was completely false, mistaken in some vital way, or lacking a key piece of information. It was nigh-impossible to get the accurate valuable intel. Direct experience had taught Sila this many times.

“Colossia City isn’t suitable for defense though. The city walls aren’t even that high. The monsters can jump past it. Being offensive is better.” Another young woman, clad in a magician’s robe, expressed her opinion. Sila had never seen her before. She had ocean-blue hair that fell below her waist. Her stance and manner of speaking implied that she was a confident person.

“It’s exactly like Risa said,” added the 9th squad leader, or rather Saharat, Risa’s biological big brother. “Colossia City is essentially a city for passing through. Its defenses are poor. We’ll have better odds if we strike them first.”

It was the first time Sila got to encounter Risa. The glowing mana around her was pale in comparison to her beauty and grace. As expected from a woman who many referred to as “Lady Risa”. The brightness from her magic power subtly yet constantly vibrated the space around her, prompting Sila to squint his eyes.

‘Ah! I see. Her magic power is of an illusory nature. I have the skill to see through illusions, so I’m seeing this. The scene makes me a bit dizzy though.’

“What are you so afraid of, Undine? We must take some risks. You must enter the tiger’s den to catch its cubs.”

Undine pointed at the surging wall of psychic power. “Breaking through that? It’s beyond ‘some risks’.”

Undine naturally wasn’t a scaredy-cat, but he disliked high-risk factors. He only accepted jobs which he believed had a high chance of success. Accomplishing a job successfully was the pride of a mercenary. Evaluating whether their team was up to the task was a necessary skill for the leader.

“How about we attempt to negotiate with them?” Sila landed on the edge of the wall, joining the meeting.

“Oh, it’s Mister Bandit Gang Leader,” Undine greeted coldly, “Only mercenaries have the right to speak here.”

“I’m also a squad leader.” Sila pointed at the badge on his chest.

“Being a squad leader doesn’t make you a mercenary. Your methods are despicable and you’re a man without honor.”

“I was too fixated on the tournament. It’s my fault. I’m sorry about how I acted previously. However, solving the current crisis comes first. I suggest we negotiate with them. At the very least, we should know why they chose this time to raid us.”

Everyone was quite surprised to see the formerly arrogant Thief Monarch admitting his wrongdoings and sincerely apologizing without making excuses. Still, negotiating with monsters was another story.

“Even if we overlook your past actions, your suggestion is still impossible.”

“Why?”

Undine waved his hand over the goblins in the distance. “Why do you even have to ask? Monsters are the players’ natural enemies. These despicable goblins used to harm players in the past, and it took a lot of effort to drive them away. This time is the same. They must be taking advantage of the situation, where our hold over the city is still unstable after recently acquiring it, to raid us.”

“The Shadow Army also raided the Heavenly Dragon Guild. I don’t think we’re that different from them.”

“We are. They exploited players while we grant people freedom. We’re just and righteous.”

Sila approached Undine. He said slowly and loudly, “As far as I know, there has never been any evidence pointing that goblins had harmed players in the past when they lived in the city. To be fair, even the Heavenly Dragon Guild gave more freedom than us when they conquered the city. At least they allowed guildless players to enter and exit.”

“Are you saying we’re in the wrong?”

Sila shook his head. “What I’m saying is that we all have our own reasons. We shouldn’t resort to using violence if we have yet to know the opposing side’s reasons for their actions.”

“Are you saying you have always talked things through with your opponents before the fight?”

This question was what Sila had been constantly asking himself. The reply he gave to Undine was the answer he always told himself.

“No, I’m not,” Sila admitted. “However, it won’t hurt to try seeing whether the opposing side is willing to converse. If worst comes to worst, the battle still happens. On the other hand, if both sides can come to an agreement, we can avoid casualties.”

Lone Wolf interrupted, “It’s an interesting idea. Still, conversing with monsters is a difficult feat to accomplish unless you’re a member of their race. Even human-like monsters rarely interact with people. As far as I know, there are only two players capable of pulling off such a feat. Sadly, one of them has died. We won’t see him again until he revives after the war event concludes. As for the other, she disappeared a long time ago.”

“I take it that you’re referring to Sila, the Monster Emperor, and Francine, the Monster Queen and former vice-leader of the Royal Armament Guild, right?” asked Risa. She had never met these two players but had heard their names.

“Do you have a plan?” Saharat interrupted, returning attention to Sila.

“Not exactly, but it won’t hurt to try. High-level monsters are often intellectual. If we show our sincerity, maybe we can converse with them.”

“Ultimately, you don’t have anything to back up your plan,” Undine scoffed.

“If you don’t want to take too much risk, I volunteer to be the representative for negotiating with them. I actually have a quest involving the goblin race.”

Sila actually didn’t have a quest like that. All he had was a clue linking the goblin race to the Dichotomous Crucifix Sword, which he planned to further investigate by personally asking the Goblin King. He only claimed he had a quest so that the Shadow Army would be more inclined to allow his suggestion. By having a related quest, the system would subtly assist the quest holder. For example, when having the quest to deliver items to a monster, the monster in question would act friendlier toward the quest holder, opening up a chance to communicate or receive more quests.

Quests are personal info, so no one asked to hear about its contents. Since the Thief Monarch was quite confident, they had no reason to stop the man from going on a suicide mission.

Undine pondered for a moment before replying, “In that case, we will stall until midnight, putting up a line of defense around the city wall. During that time, Mister 99th Squad Leader will try to negotiate with them. Still, our side may change our stance at any moment. We will handle the situation as we see fit.”

“Are you planning to go alone?” asked Lone Wolf.

“The fewer the people, the greater the mobility. Also, bringing a lot of people will alert them, making them think we’re assaulting them.”

Sila then left the meeting and returned to his squad’s headquarters. As soon as he entered the building, his members rushed to question him.

“How about it, Leader? Did we get any jobs?” asked Alpha.

“We get the same jobs as usual: cleaning up the city after the war. Additionally, I was assigned the task of determining whether negotiation with goblins is a viable option.”

“Negotiating with monsters? How? They’re enemies.”

“They’re our enemies today, but tomorrow they might be friends. It won’t hurt to try.”

“But... we—I mean us, not you—can’t stand a chance against goblins, Leader. I mean, we can fight a few, but not an army of them.” Isaac groaned.

Sila thought the same. It was counterproductive to bring more people. Amidst the accumulation of killing intent and powerful psychic oppression, he couldn’t afford to spare his time to look after others. He preferred having a reliable person, who could survive on their own, as his teammate.

“The army won’t call our squad to duty during this time. You all can go to the Skills Training Ground and train there. That place should be safe. Except for Midnight though. I want your help.”

“...” Midnight kept his silence for a couple of seconds before turning to the others and saying, “...See you later. I will follow you after I finish the business with Leader.”

Sila led Midnight away from the rest. The latter obediently followed Sila while starting a conversation by sending a sound transmission to him.

“What do you want from me, Sila?”

“You really recognized me, Zero,” Sila also replied with sound transmission. From an outsider’s perspective, they would only see the two of them walking alongside without exchanging any words.

Sila revealed his objective, “I need your help. Given our speed, we can reach the boss monster and return within an hour. While people are still thinking we’re preparing for the negotiation, the negotiation would have already finished.”

“You alone are enough to pull that off.” Zero was well aware of Sila’s strength. “I don’t want to show up in public anymore.”

“I want this to end quickly. The only person I can rely on is you. Moreover, I want to ask you some questions. What is Montra’s plan? Why did you cooperate with him?”

Like goblins, Montra must have his own reasons. Sila wanted to try understanding his worst enemy from an unrelated person’s point of view.