Chapter 152 : Maregof

Maregof

At the same time, more than a dozen kilometers away from Serea and her companions, a group of burly ogres had surrounded a half-werewolf girl—Auna.

"Mmm lulu!"

Becca stood protectively at Auna's side, growling a dangerous warning. But standing before them were eight ogres, each averaging three meters in height with powerful builds. They completely ignored Becca's threat.

"Damn it, this is too troublesome."

Auna watched the encroaching ogres warily. She knew that she was in a perilous situation—the individual strength of these ogres was overwhelming. With Becca injured, it would be difficult for the two of them to escape their hunters.

"Garut is hungry, garut wants to eat!"

The leading ogre swung a club, clearly intending to treat Auna and Becca as food. But just as he said this, a shrill voice interrupted.

"You fool, I already told you, bring them back to me, you're not allowed to eat them!"

A short, gray-skinned goblin suddenly jumped out and threw a stone at the giant ogre called 'Garut.' The stone merely made Garut scratch his head.

"But Garut is hungry."

The massive ogre looked back at the 'Shortie' goblin, and the other ogres chimed in as well.

"I'm hungry too."

"I want to eat."

The ogres stopped and started sulking, which made the 'Shortie' stomp his feet furiously.

"You idiots, didn't I just feed you some human adventurers?"

"Huh? We already ate."

Garut scratched his head, and the other ogres replied as well.

"We already ate, not hungry anymore."

"That's right, you already ate, and you should thank me for providing your food! Now, immediately, go capture them for me and don't eat them, do you understand?"

"Garut understands, garut will catch them!"

"We will catch them too!"

Fooled by the Shortie goblin, the ogres sprang into action once more.

A single level 28 gold elite giant ogre led seven bronze elite ogres whose average level was around 18. Against such enemies, auna—a level 23 epic—had little chance, especially with Becca injured...

"You can't escape now, just surrender obediently!"

The Shortie goblin yelled. Facing this, auna realized she couldn't fight head-on—her only option was to stall for time.

"Wait a moment. Even if you're going to capture me, shouldn't you at least give me a reason?"

At Auna's question, the Shortie goblin only smirked.

"Hehehe, you dared to trespass upon Lord 'Shortie's' domain and even stole the tasty prey that should have been mine. Isn't that reason enough?"

"But didn't you already get your prey back?"

"That doesn't matter—you infringed on Lord 'Shortie's' dignity, and you need to pay for that!"

Hearing this, auna furrowed her brow. Is a fight inevitable...

But suddenly, the Shortie goblin's tone shifted.

"However, Lord 'Shortie' is merciful. If you obey obediently, I'll let go of your crime of trespassing."

"Oh? So I really am the target. I was curious, after all, since we split up, yet so many came after me alone."

"It seems you are a clever woman. Lord Shortie appreciates that."

"Then tell me your true purpose."

Auna kept him talking as long as she could—the camp wasn't far. If her companions weren't tied up, her father would soon catch up.

The Shortie goblin didn't notice Auna's ploy and continued explaining with pride.

"You are both clever and beautiful. The mighty goblin lord 'Maregof' will admire you greatly. I will present you to Lord Maregof. You should feel honored."

"Maregof? It seems that after we left, the situation in the nearby jungle has changed a lot."

Auna muttered to herself. Before they migrated, the Bloodfang Tribe had always been active here, and she'd never heard of any goblin lord named 'Maregof.'

"If you want to offer me to this 'Maregof,' at least let me know who he is."

Auna continued to stall. The Shortie goblin looked at her, utterly astonished.

"You don't even know the great chief of the 'Silver Ear' Tribe, the King of Goblins—Maregof!"

"We're a werewolf tribe that just migrated here. We aren't familiar with this area yet, or we wouldn't have trespassed on your territory."

"A newly arrived foreign tribe? Then you just need to understand that Lord 'Maregof' is the greatest merchant in this great forest—he's even the master of the jungle! If you want to live here, you must obey Maregof's rule."

The goblin put special emphasis on the name 'Maregof'; clearly, it filled their kind with pride.

"So, why do you want to offer me to him?"

"Because you are smart and beautiful. Maregof likes intelligent and beautiful females. Now, the great Lord Maregof, the new master of the jungle, is choosing the most beautiful woman in the jungle to be his wife. You're honored to be a contender."

"Is that so? But I don't think I'll win the title of 'most beautiful woman in the jungle'—because I know another woman, one who even surpasses elves in wisdom and beauty. Lord 'Maregof' would surely be interested."

At this, the Shortie goblin's eyes lit up.

"Oh? You've piqued my interest! Tell me where she is—I'll bring her to offer to Lord Maregof."

Seeing that her bait had worked, auna smiled meaningfully.

As expected, goblin intellect was at two extremes—some could be as clever as 'Maregof', but the fools... were truly hopeless.

"She's in our tribe, but I can't say exactly where. If you let me go, I can introduce her to you."

"Hmm..."

The Shortie goblin thought for a moment before declaring,

"Don't even think about fooling Lord Shortie! You just want to escape."

"I swear on my tribe's honor, everything I said is true. But all I can do is pass on your message. How she 'responds' is up to her, not me."

"Hmm..."

The Shortie goblin pondered, then seemed to come up with a solution.

"No, I have to capture you first, then you can have that woman come looking for me. Lord Shortie doesn't have time to waste!"

"Alright, let's do that. I'll go with you. Let my partner 'Becca' return; she'll bring my friend here."

"Fine, but you best not try anything funny—otherwise, you'll be dead."

The Shortie goblin boasted arrogantly. As for whether this would have serious consequences...

He didn't care. Under the leadership of the great Lord 'Maregof,' no one dared harm him or his tribe. No one!

Even those self-righteous human adventurers had only served as food for his ogres, so a mere werewolf tribe was nothing to him.

(To be continued...)