[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-goblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op":3,"chapter-goblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op-goblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op-chapter-256":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1335949,1780,"Chapter 256: Hierarchy","goblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op-chapter-256",256,"\u003Cp>I broke the silence first, tossing the question out casually even though I was already watching him from the corner of my eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You told the others to refer to you as ’General’?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Narg froze mid-step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stopped too and turned toward him, letting my expression sharpen just enough to make him sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who made you a general? Did I?\" I asked, putting just a hint of confrontation into my tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The effect was instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Narg began trembling under the weight of the question, and then—because he was Narg—he dropped straight to his knees like the ground had yanked him down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, you didn’t, Chief,\" he said quickly, voice tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So what was that about?\" I asked, keeping my eyes on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Narg swallowed, his jaw tightening as he forced himself to explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I just thought there needed to be a hierarchy,\" he said carefully. \"So the new goblins don’t get... disrespectful, thinking everyone stands on equal footing. You have to work hard to earn a position of respect. And I believe I—and those who started with you—deserve that respect.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So that’s why you had them call you General.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No... I didn’t,\" Narg said quickly, shaking his head. \"I never specifically told them to call me that. But sinceyoureferred to me as second to you, they assumed the title was fitting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said it honestly, no hesitation in his voice, then added with a small sigh:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dribb, however, didn’t like it. He said titles should be earned by a show of strength. He challenged me to a one-on-one, saying if he won, he should be the one called General.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait— that actually happened?\" I asked, genuinely surprised. \"You two fought?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" Narg said, straightening a little despite kneeling. \"Dribb lost. Then Gobbo challenged me. Then Thok. Then Zonk. Even Zarah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What? You fought with Zarah?\" I asked, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ye—\" Narg began, then immediately cut himself off, jaw snapping shut as if he realized exactly what he just admitted and who he admitted it to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought I wouldn’t like it—because of Zarah, because of what she meant to me, because he assumed mentioning he had traded blows with her might annoy me or bruise some ego.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was the opposite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything, I felt a sting of disappointment that I hadn’t been there to watch. Iwantedto see the siblings go at it, to watch Zarah and Narg clash, to see how far each of them had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad I had been busy sprinting away from undead goblins that wanted to rip my spine out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you won,\" I said, folding my arms. \"Against all of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" Narg replied. \"One on one. If I had taken them together, it might have been tough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tough... but I’d win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the part he swallowed before he said it out loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need to finish the sentence—I could see it in the faint smirk fighting its way onto his face, in the way his posture straightened just a little. The confidence was bubbling just beneath the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How cocky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small part of me wondered if I should challenge him to a duel just to humble him a bit, just to wipe that barely-contained arrogance off his face. But I dismissed the thought almost immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fight between us wouldn’t be a duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wouldn’t even be fair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it definitely wouldn’t be a lesson—just a beating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, I was impressed with him, though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d seen Dribb and Gobbo earlier at the gate, and they were walking around without a scratch, not even a bruise on their arms. Which meant one thing: Narg had gone easy on them. He hadn’t fought them seriously. He’d controlled himself, held back enough not to injure anyone, and still won every match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t ordinary strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when it came to Zarah?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was different. She wasn’t Dribb. She wasn’t Gobbo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was... well, Zarah. Fast, sharp, fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And stubborn in a way Narg would have to respect or get humbled by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I doubted he walked through that fight easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your fight with Zarah,\" I asked, watching him closely, \"how did it go?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Narg exhaled slowly, the memory flickering in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was definitely the hardest,\" he admitted, \"but I won in the end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes narrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s not injured, is she?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question came out calm, but there was an undertone there—a quiet warning wrapped in concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Narg swallowed hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, she didn’t suffer any real injury,\" he said quickly. \"But her pride might have. She hates losing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course she did. That much was obvious the first day I met her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And losing to herbrotherof all people?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah... that was going to sting twice as much. Maybe three times. Zarah didn’t seem like one to take defeat gracefully, especially not from someone she grew up with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a slow sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was definitely going to be sulking somewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, Narg,\" I said, straightening a little. \"You can go. Just don’t enforce any laws without my permission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Noted, Chief,\" he replied, bowing his head with the seriousness of someone receiving a decree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Also,\" I added, \"if you spot the female Chosen—Talia—have her come meet me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like with Bundi, I needed to see what she was capable of and assign her something useful. I couldn’t afford not to utilize the talent I had, not with so little time before the Games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, though, I had another priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I needed to see my beloved and settle whatever storm Narg’s victory had stirred in her... and maybe steal a bit of affection while I was at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Narg left, and I activated [Warp], focusing on the seal I had placed on Zarah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A blink later, I appeared in the middle of a pond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold water splashed up to my knees, and before I even processed the temperature, my eyes landed on the two naked goblins in front of me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zarah...And Talia, who was behind her, was gently washing Zarah’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talia spotted me first, and there was a single heartbeat of frozen, awkward silence where we just stared at each other, neither of us moving, before she yelled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah! Don’t...\u003C\u002Fp>",1042,"2026-06-05T20:04:08.078Z",1,"novelbin.me","9d7e647ac0a4d6e535e35fe842304ddb392d612b59ac429f06953a9c2714a61e","goblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op-chapter-257","goblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op-chapter-255",375,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgoblin-king-my-innate-skill-is-op-cover.jpg"]