Goblin Chieftain

Inside the Mind Flayer base, the Mind Flayer transformed from a Hobgoblin sat upright in a chair at the heart of the base.

The chair occupied nearly one-sixth of the room. Its nautilus-like material enclosed faintly writhing living tissue.

At that moment, the Mind Flayer had both hands plunged into the cavities on either side of the seat, its entire body radiating intense psionic fluctuations.

Suddenly, the Mind Flayer in the chair shuddered and slowly opened its eyes.

"That chieftain of the Rage Tribe doesn't seem very intelligent. His march is completely disorganized, as if he's never commanded an army before."

"More than forty years ago, the Rage Tribe wasn't like this."

"Could they have weakened again?"

Quickly recalling his memories from when he had been a Hobgoblin, the Mind Flayer pondered for a moment. His expression gradually grew ugly.

"After more than forty years, the average level of the Rage Tribe's people has risen to around level six, yet their chieftain has become like this. Was I actually driven into such a sorry flight by a mob of rabble like them?"

The tentacles on his face twisted and tangled together as the Mind Flayer abruptly rose from his seat.

His earlier defeat had already left him burning with rage.

Now that he knew the people who had nearly killed him were actually such a group, he felt that he had lost all face.

After pacing back and forth around the room for quite a while, the Mind Flayer finally sat back down. He reached his hand into the cavity beside him and issued orders to his Brain Eaters.

The view returned to the Rage Tribe.

Led by the Dire Goblin already under the Brain Eater's control, the Barbarian goblins of the Rage Tribe arrived near the pool they had visited earlier.

The Dire Goblin Barbarian lying beside the pool immediately drew everyone's attention. Believing that he had fallen victim to the Mind Flayer, they all looked around and became alert to anything unusual nearby.

The Hobgoblin serving as chieftain stepped forward and turned over the Dire Goblin's body to inspect his injuries.

Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared.

The Dire Goblin believed to be dead swung his battle axe at the goblin chieftain.

The Dire Goblin who had originally been leading the way coordinated with him, launching a sneak attack from behind.

At that moment, no one reacted in time—not even the goblin chieftain, who was the target of the assassination.

But as a level-eight Barbarian, the goblin chieftain's bestial instincts reacted a step before his consciousness did.

Accompanied by the sound of bones grinding as his muscles swelled, the goblin chieftain instantly entered Rage.

The Great Axe of Fury fell into his hand from behind him. He spun in a wide arc, and the axe tore through the air with a mournful howl.

"Clang!"

"Ding!"

The attacks from front and back were blocked simultaneously. Gripping the Great Axe of Fury tightly, the goblin chieftain brought it down in a leaping chop at the leading Dire Goblin.

In an instant, red and white matter splashed across the ground. The Brain Eater occupying the Dire Goblin's brain was cleaved in two as well.

The one on the ground still tried to get up, but the other Barbarian goblins, who had already recovered, hacked him into a mass of flesh.

"Stay alert! Our enemy can control our minds! Cut down every bit of vegetation you can see around us! I want to see where they can hide!"

Being simple-minded had its advantages sometimes.

After seeing the cross-section of the Dire Goblin he had split down the middle, the goblin chieftain immediately understood why they had launched a sneak attack.

After all, he had cut down plenty of goblins before, but he had never seen one with claws growing from its brain.

Combining this with the information previously reported by the men who had encountered the Mind Flayer's subordinates—information about Mind Flayers and Brain Eaters—it was easy for him to conclude that the two subordinates had attacked because of the enemy's influence.

As he assigned his men to clear the surrounding vegetation, the goblin chieftain leveled his axe and pointed at another Dire Goblin in the group.

"You! The one who was in the same group as them! Don't move!"

The Barbarian goblin who had been grouped with the two Dire Goblins was immediately surrounded by the other goblins nearby.

Seeing that he had been exposed as well, the goblin immediately tried to run toward the goblin chieftain.

But how could the surrounding goblins possibly let him succeed?

The moment he started moving, the goblins nearby pinned him down.

"Gloop~"

The sound of soft tissue churning in viscous fluid rang out, and the Dire Goblin's head suddenly swelled slightly.

The goblin chieftain's bestial instincts activated again. He hurried forward, grabbed the Dire Goblin's body, and hurled it toward the pool.

"Vrrrr—"

A silent yet violent psionic fluctuation burst from the Dire Goblin's brain. The goblins nearby were immediately blown back by the psychic force, their minds going blank.

At the same time, the Brain Eaters hiding nearby realized that they could no longer remain concealed. They leaped out one after another, attempting to seize the brains of the Barbarians who had been temporarily immobilized.

Yet they still underestimated the fighting power that a group of Barbarians could display when facing an enemy.

The instant they revealed themselves, countless throwing axes crisscrossed through the air.

The sound of blades sinking into flesh rose one after another, and Brain Eaters were cleaved open on the spot.

Several Brain Eaters also seized the opportunity to replace the brains of some Barbarians. They infiltrated the goblin ranks, plotting another attack.

Before long, the goblins affected by the psychic force awoke one after another.

The goblin chieftain knew that some of these people had had their brains taken over by Brain Eaters. He immediately ordered the goblins to bind their hands and feet and tie themselves together with a single rope as they advanced.

Once they had restrained their bodies according to the order, a goblin dressed in a bizarre, eccentric manner walked over.

"Him! Him! Him! And him!"

Each time he pointed at a goblin, the goblin chieftain's axe rose and fell, splitting that person's body open.

A brain with claws was exposed, revealing that every one of them was a goblin whose brain had been occupied by a Brain Eater.

Seeing that his subordinate had made no mistakes, the goblin chieftain smiled faintly.

"Hmph! I said long ago that every Barbarian path has its own special function. But the previous chieftain and his old man insisted on their own way, allowing only Barbarians of the Zealot path to hold power. Hmph! What fools. They deserved to die in a minor conflict."

Weighing the Great Axe of Fury in his hand, the goblin chieftain looked at the Barbarian goblin of the Wild Magic path beside him and nodded in satisfaction.

"At your service, Chieftain."

After using his magic detection trait to identify the hidden enemies, the goblin bowed and retreated, returning to the ranks.

"Two of you, come here! Burn their bodies on the spot! Everyone, make camp. We'll set out again after resting for two hours!"

Raising his axe high, the goblin chieftain issued one order after another.

His control over the group grew rapidly as they faced each successive problem.

His methods of deploying troops were also continually being honed throughout the process.

As the new chieftain who had risen to power through absolute strength after the former chieftain's accidental death, he still had much to learn.