Round Two Ends; Round Three, an Even Fiercer and More Spectacular Clash Among the Gods, Begins at Once! (Continued)

They had hidden behind the Dwarf Kings, turning the Golden Land into a money-making machine and amassing astonishing wealth.

Having taken control of the Golden Land, the goblins gradually developed even greater ambitions.

And now,

an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,

lay before them.

According to ancient records, the Golden Land was a sacred site of the extinct Golden Dwarves, an ancient race said to be as old as the ancient dragons.

They had also served the great primordial beings.

This sacred site, guarded for generations by the Golden Dwarves and taken over by the Dwarf Kings after their extinction, had ultimately been built to welcome the supreme holy relic forged by the ancient gods!

And now, the relic had appeared.

And the goblin was the only one who knew about it!!

Whenever he thought of that, the goblin couldn't help trembling with excitement.

Without a doubt, this gave the goblin a bold idea:

he wanted to keep New Single-Handed Sword 01 all to himself,

then open the Golden Land by himself!!

Just then, the office door opened, and several dwarf miners walked in.

"Boss, the Nether Realm corruption level inside the Golden Land has risen by another three points. We can't put this off any longer. This time, we have to shut down operations and make adjustments!"

"Rejected! Rejected!!"

Interrupted in the middle of his thoughts, the goblin launched into a furious tirade at his employees.

"It's only a few points of corruption! Hasn't the corruption level in this dump always been high? Can't you just get used to it?!

"What did you promise me at last month's rally? Selfish employees like you, with no team spirit at all, are nothing but parasites on the Golden Land. Just wait until you're fired!"

What a bunch of clueless idiots!!

What was wrong with a little Nether Realm corruption?

These employees would only grow a few extra arms and heads!!

But if they shut down operations, the goblins would lose piles and piles of real gold and silver!!

After driving the employees away,

the goblin continued thinking...

Then he suddenly remembered the mercenary he'd hired at great expense. "White Vulture, what do you think?"

White Vulture shrugged. "I'm a mercenary. I'm only responsible for doing the job and getting paid."

White Vulture had no desire to provoke the Hain Empire.

But for the sake of high-quality kindling... for the Sisterhood's future, and to give rise to even more outstanding successors, she had no choice but to reluctantly accept the job.

The goblin sighed.

"Actually, the path forward is quite clear. There are just too many uncertainties..."

To keep New Single-Handed Sword 01 for himself and open the Golden Land alone,

he only needed to do two things.

First, he had to keep New Single-Handed Sword 01 completely secret and make sure the Dwarf Kings didn't find out.

Second, he had to figure out how to get New Single-Handed Sword 01 from Hela of the Imperial Guards.

The goblin was at a complete loss when it came to Hela...

Obadiah, who possessed immortality, had been killed for no apparent reason, dragged away whole, turned into ribs, and used as feed?

No matter how he looked at it, that was outrageous.

Wouldn't Evil Dragon Olivia just sit by and let the Hain Empire slaughter her own kin?

What was the secret behind all this?

The goblin couldn't figure it out. He racked his brain, but still couldn't make sense of it.

But no matter what, there was one thing he could be certain of.

Hela couldn't use New Single-Handed Sword 01.

The Golden Land contained a great many ancient records, including quite a bit of information about that key to the Golden Land.

Legend had it that the sword had been forged by the infinitely ancient primordial gods.

Its purpose seemed to be to test a certain theory.

And the only ones who had ever wielded the sword were the ancient dragons and the primordial gods themselves.

Now that Obadiah had been turned into ribs, he obviously couldn't use New Single-Handed Sword 01.

And there were no ancient dragon lairs within the Hain Empire. Among the seven Imperial Guards, there was absolutely no way one of them could be a descendant of the primordial gods.

Clearly, then, the unusable New Single-Handed Sword 01, with no practical combat value, was nothing but a piece of junk to Hela!

If that was the case, things would be easy. The sword wasn't worth much to Hela, after all. The goblin just had to pay a little, and buying New Single-Handed Sword 01 from her shouldn't be difficult.

Even if Hela refused to sell, the goblin could offer some other terms she couldn't refuse.

As the president of the Golden Land Credit Company, whose business spanned the entire mortal world, the goblin was confident he could negotiate with the Imperial Guards.

However...

If the worst came to pass, and Hela Hain refused to hand over New Single-Handed Sword 01 under any circumstances, or if it fell into the hands of someone even more troublesome...

then the last resort would be to send in a demigod mercenary and take New Single-Handed Sword 01 by force.

Of course,

that was absolutely the worst possible option. Under no circumstances should the Golden Land provoke the Hain Empire.

After all, the Golden Land was a calamity written into the Order's oracle, and was already viewed with deep hostility.

The Hain Empire hadn't dealt with the Golden Land yet, perhaps simply because those few powerful Imperial Guards were too busy.

But thinking about it, since the Golden Land was doomed to be destroyed sooner or later, wouldn't it be a good idea to strike first, activate its treasure, and gain the power to stand against the Imperial Guards before they made a move?

There were just too many options...

The goblin let out a weary sigh.

"Miss White Vulture."

"What?"

"Seal off the Golden Land for now. Take control of the communication points. Show no mercy to anyone trying to leave. Kill them all, especially the dwarves."

"Understood."

White Vulture informed the Sisterhood's members and set them in motion.

Seal off the Golden Land and kill anyone who tried to leave.

It was a cruel course of action,

but absolutely necessary.

Only by sealing off the Golden Land, restricting the flow of information, and keeping the Dwarf Kings from hearing so much as a whisper could the goblins proceed with their next move.

Otherwise, if even one dwarf lord arrived with his army, the goblins' plans would be ruined completely.

Next...

they just had to figure out how to negotiate with Hela and get their hands on the holy relic.

But just then, the goblin received some astonishing news.

Another employee pushed open the door and came in.

It was a goblin, and he said in shock, "Boss, we have a customer!"

The goblin waved a hand. "Deal with it yourselves. I'm busy."

"But boss, this customer is someone important!"

The goblin asked dismissively, "Huh? How important?"

No matter how important they were, could they really matter more than opening the Golden Land's sacred treasure?!

The employee replied, "It's Rhine Hain, the Hain prince! He's brought an Imperial Guard with him!"

"What?!"

At the news, the goblin's heart stopped!

He asked, almost unable to breathe, "Which Imperial Guard?"

The employee gave an explosive answer: "Hela Hain!"

The goblin's eyes lit up at once!

He was so happy he nearly fainted.

...He hadn't misheard, had he? The Hain prince had come to the Golden Land with Hela of the Imperial Guards?!

The holy relic had come right to his doorstep? Could things get any better?!

"Get a welcoming ceremony ready for Prince Rhine at once! Hurry! Get moving!"

Then the goblin brought White Vulture along to greet Rhine Hain.

The goblin's voice trembled as he stammered out his instructions. "Miss White Vulture, we don't know why they've come yet. We'll have to adapt as we go."

White Vulture asked, "You seem a little nervous?"

"Nervous? Don't worry, I'm not nervous at all..."

The goblin grinned coldly. "I'm just so excited my brain's trembling! Have you noticed? My luck today is absolutely incredible!"

Based on the Golden Land's years of infiltration and investigation, Prince Rhine Hain of the Hain Empire was definitely not a capable man.

As an opponent at the negotiating table, he wouldn't be difficult to deal with.

And from another perspective, Rhine Hain was also an interesting fellow.

Though he was a useless playboy, one thing had to be admitted: he was the man with the noblest bloodline in the entire mortal world!

He was the Hain Empire's prince, and the elder brother of the demigod Italien!

His extraordinarily pure Crystal God bloodline was enough to make the Demon Sword Sisterhood covet him beyond reason, lose themselves in a frenzy, and brave any danger or sacrifice any price for him!

That meant

the goblin no longer needed to manufacture a situation involving a prince.

If things went south, the goblin only needed to use a little trickery and offer Rhine Hain to the Demon Sword Sisterhood as payment to secure their help, no matter the cost!

Perfect!!

The goblin's mind raced as he calculated every detail.

How to probe their intentions, how to lure them into a trap, how to force his opponent into making the wrong decision, how to cover his tracks and escape blame without a hitch...

A grand plan took shape in the goblin's mind.

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful...

The goblin grinned viciously. In just a few minutes, he'd already come up with three flawless plans!

Before he knew it,

the goblin had arrived in front of Rhine.

The goblin quickly sized Rhine up.

—Only the prince and Hela had come to visit the Golden Land.

—And I didn't receive any advance notice.

—Most likely, this isn't an official visit on behalf of the nation.

—In that case... I'll test this fellow with the second plan first.