The Dilapidated Village

Hearing old village chief Rigurd's words, all the Goblins fell into despair.

Meanwhile, Rimuru was still asking for praise.

"Mo Li, Mo Li, look! Didn't I do a good job?"

Like a child showing off an accomplishment to an adult, Rimuru sought praise from Mo Li.

"Good, good. Rimuru is the best."

Seeing Rimuru's proud expression, Mo Li held her in his arms and praised her.

"All right, let's go take a look."

Mo Li said to Rimuru.

"Okay."

Then, Mo Li and Rimuru stepped out of the bushes and headed toward the Goblins.

The despairing Goblins did not notice Rimuru and Mo Li's arrival until the two drew close.

At that moment, Rimuru was still giving off the aura of a monster above B-rank.

All the Goblins fell to their knees at the sight of Rimuru.

The leading Goblin kowtowed in Rimuru's direction.

"Unknown powerful one, please spare us."

Seeing their leader act this way, the other Goblins hurriedly threw down their rusty iron swords and kowtowed as well.

"Unknown powerful one, please spare us."

Seeing this scene, Rimuru was stunned. At a loss for what to do, she turned to Mo Li for help.

Mo Li found Rimuru's flustered appearance rather amusing.

"You should rein in your aura. Otherwise, they won't get up."

Mo Li reminded Rimuru.

Only then did Rimuru realize that he still had Mimicry activated. No wonder they knew I was strong. Rimuru hurriedly deactivated Mimicry. Yet even after he withdrew his aura, the Goblins still did not dare rise. With no other choice, Rimuru blinked his large eyes at Mo Li and said,

"Mo Li, help me."

Helpless, Mo Li could only walk over to the Goblins.

"All right, get up! My friend means you no harm, and neither of us will kill you. So don't worry."

"Thank you, my lords."

The leading Goblin slowly stood up, and only then did the Goblins behind him dare to rise.

"Don't worry. There's no need to be afraid. We will not harm you. As fellow monsters, there is no reason for us to kill one another. Otherwise, we would not have saved you from those humans."

Mo Li spoke gently to the weak Goblins.

"Yes, yes, we mean no harm. Don't be afraid."

Hearing Mo Li's words, Rimuru hurriedly echoed him.

When they heard that Mo Li and Rimuru had saved them, they hurriedly knelt again and said,

"Thank you for saving our lives, my lords. We will do everything in our power to repay you."

Seeing them kneel again, Mo Li was speechless. Couldn't they just stand and talk properly? Why did they have to kneel at every turn?

"All right, let's put the matter of saving your lives aside for now. I have a few questions."

Mo Li said to them.

"My lord, please ask. We will answer everything we know."

The leading Goblin hurriedly spoke.

"Why are you here?"

Mo Li voiced his question.

"Because our village was attacked a few days ago, we came here to find a safer place to build homes and relocate. But we encountered human adventurers hunting monsters along the way, which is why we ended up like this."

The old Goblin explained to Mo Li.

Listening to the old Goblin, Mo Li fell into thought. The attack must have been by those Direwolves. There had been a slight deviation from the original story; there was no Goblin migration in the original. It could be said that the plot had changed again.

"How about this? You don't need to relocate. We'll resolve the crisis in your village. In exchange, help us find some food and let the two of us rest in your village. How does that sound?"

Mo Li made the proposal to the old Goblin.

Hearing Mo Li's words, the old Goblin's eyes lit up as he said excitedly,

"It would be our honor."

Along the way, Mo Li asked the old Goblin about several other matters and obtained plenty of useful information.

"First, the Goblins' crisis really was caused by the Direwolves that Rimuru would take under his command early on.

Second, there was the matter of the Storm Dragon. Because Storm Dragon Veldora had disappeared, the Jura Great Forest had begun to descend into chaos. Conflicts between countless monsters had erupted, and human adventurers had begun appearing with great frequency.

Hearing this news, Mo Li finally let out a long breath. It seemed the plot had not changed too much. To be honest, knowing the plot was one of Mo Li's innate advantages. He did not want to lose that ability so early, at least not until he had gained the power to protect himself in this world. If the plot became chaotic, it would bring Mo Li no small amount of trouble.

It seemed Veldora's disappearance had still had quite an impact. Not only were the monsters beginning to stir, but the humans were growing restless as well. It was no wonder. The Jura Great Forest with the Storm Dragon and the Jura Great Forest without the Storm Dragon were two entirely different concepts. Because of the Storm Dragon's presence, the Jura Great Forest had remained relatively peaceful for at least three hundred years. The moment the Storm Dragon disappeared, every kind of monster emerged—the Orc Lord, the Great Storm Ogre, Demon Lord Clayman, and all the rest.

Before long, under the Goblins' guidance, Rimuru and Mo Li arrived at their village.

Looking at the few tiny, dilapidated wooden huts before him, Mo Li seriously suspected that a single gust of wind could blow them over.

The old Goblin then led the two of them to a relatively decent wooden hut.

Looking at the tiny shack, it was not only small but extremely rundown. The wooden boards were full of dents and holes, with countless gaps between them. Even the roof let in the wind.

"Can people really live here?"

Rimuru asked skeptically.

"All right, stop complaining. It's already good enough that we have somewhere to stay. You're being far too picky."

Mo Li said to Rimuru.

To be honest, Mo Li had known from the original story that the houses would be shabby. Although he had been prepared, he had not expected them to be this bad. Still, since they were already here, he would just have to make do.

After all, the original story had mentioned that Goblins did not know how to build houses. Even their techniques had been brought back by Rimuru from the Dwarf Kingdom. Speaking of the Dwarf Kingdom, Mo Li remembered that its King was Rimuru's senior disciple. Moreover, this Dwarf King was quite powerful, seemingly possessing strength on par with an S-rank Demon Lord. In the original story, not only had he taught Rimuru many techniques, but he had also sent quite a few talented people to Rimuru. Those four master builders and technicians in particular had helped Rimuru tremendously in the early construction of the Demon Country Federation. Later, this Dwarf King had represented the Dwarf Kingdom in establishing friendly diplomatic relations with the Demon Country Federation. He was truly a good person.