A Grand Gift

" D o g e, come back. Since we can't stop the giant, then... I can only hand you over!" Dean said to Doge.

However, Doge did not move. He continued staring at the old shaman inside the giant's body, as if he had finally made up his mind.

"My master, please forgive my willfulness earlier. I understand now that my mentor won't give up so easily. In that case, I can only use force to free my teacher!" Transformed Doge bowed to Dean as he spoke.

Doge's words left everyone stunned for a moment. It turned out that the Lich wasn't helpless after all. Their earlier discussion had merely been an attempt to negotiate with the old shaman through gentler means, hoping that he would give up.

However, as if they harbored some deep-seated hatred, the old shaman had flatly refused. On top of that, Doge was no longer the same little Goblin he had once been, so there was no way the old shaman would heed his negotiations.

"Then... let's begin!" Dean said with a sigh of relief.

Doge nodded. Perhaps it was only after becoming a servant that he could finally make up his mind, like a servant who had received an order.

It isn't my own decision to stop my mentor. It's my master's command.

Doge raised the scepter and began quietly chanting a spell. In truth, Doge had already completely surpassed the old shaman. Whether in aptitude, magic power, wisdom, or any other aspect, he surpassed him perfectly.

The giant came to a stop and no longer attacked the surrounding adventurers. Even when adventurers attacked him, he completely ignored them. After all, only those few third-level adventurers could inflict effective damage on him, and to the giant, that effective damage amounted to nothing more than a few tiny scratches.

Doge's spell seemed to be taking effect. The old shaman quickly grew extremely calm. Even the distant Goblin troops, though they could not hear Doge's voice, gradually settled down as well. Their originally scarlet eyes slowly returned to their former yellowish-brown color.

War Frenzy had been dispelled!

Not only that, the Goblin Tribe began retreating. It seemed they had received an order from Doge, their trusted shaman. They abandoned their weapons and fled without looking back. Before long, they had all escaped into the Magic Beast Forest.

The adventurers, however, were left utterly bewildered. They had no idea what was happening. The Goblins had simply run away.

"Doge must be trying to preserve the Goblin Tribe!" Sanderson also realized that the Goblin Tribe was retreating.

"Once the giant loses the old shaman's control, these Goblins probably won't be able to withstand these high-level adventurers. When that happens, not a single Goblin will escape!" Dean also understood Doge's intentions.

However, neither of them objected. This was probably one of the few things Doge could do in his former identity as a Goblin Shaman.

"Doge knows that, after losing their shaman, the Goblin Tribe can't afford to lose these elites as well. Otherwise, the remaining tribe members won't survive the period of dwindling numbers. They'll eventually be wiped out by some powerful Magic Beast. At least this gives the Goblin Tribe a way out!" Sanderson said, then walked toward the tent. The battle with the Goblins was over.

Dean nodded in agreement. Although he had been reincarnated as a Lich, Doge still hadn't forgotten that he had once been a member of the Goblin Tribe.

Meanwhile, the giant's body began to dissipate. The body formed from soul power slowly broke apart. Some of it scattered into the sky, while the rest flowed into the Goblin Scepter.

The giant gazed at the Goblin Scepter with a look of relief. Most of the souls of the sacrificed Goblins had been gathered inside the scepter. Being spared from being taken away by the giant was perhaps the best possible fate for them.

For a soul to return to the Goblin Scepter was the supreme glory of the Goblin Tribe. Every Goblin hoped that, after death, its soul could enter the scepter and become part of the power passed down through every generation of shamans.

Caw-caw-caw!!!

At the very end, the old shaman's soul lingered before Doge. He said a few words to Doge, then entered the scepter as well.

Dean seemed to understand what the old shaman was saying.

"Perhaps I should have given you the scepter a little later. After my giant transformation ended, I could have had one of the elders in the tribe give it to you. Then you wouldn't have..." The old shaman stopped there. However, he then spoke of another matter. "The tribe weakened because of me. Now that we've lost our shaman as well, it's time to rest properly!"

Dean froze for a moment. It turned out that the old shaman believed Doge had met with misfortune because he had handed the scepter to Doge too soon. And because Doge had been killed, this battle had ended ahead of schedule.

On the other hand, perhaps it was because he felt indebted to the tribe. After sacrificing so many lives and so many resources, the result had been nothing at all. Perhaps the old shaman also knew that this attack on the human race had been an impossible mission from the beginning.

Just after the old shaman's soul entered the scepter, Dean noticed that the silver orb on it seemed to have grown much smoother and rounder. Perhaps because so many Goblin souls had entered it, the Goblin Scepter was becoming more and more perfect.

"Doge, go back and rest. I'll summon you again if I need you!" Dean said to the distracted Doge.

Doge seemed unwilling to speak either. He nodded at Dean and returned to the Undead Realm through the gray summoning array that appeared beneath his feet.

Of course, Dean had a reason for hurrying Doge back. He didn't want Doge's presence to cause any unnecessary trouble.

When the adventurers saw Doge collect the old shaman's soul, some of them had originally wanted to take precautions. For example, they wanted to ensure that the old shaman's soul could never escape again and completely seal the scepter away.

Even though they knew that, without the Goblin Tribe's support, the old shaman's soul was already so weak that it had no chance of making a comeback, some necessary measures still had to be taken.

However, Doge disappeared.

Dean also walked over to Sanderson, so the matter of Doge collecting the old shaman's soul was simply dropped.

A day later, every adventurer in Blue Town had gathered in the hall of the Adventurers' Guild.

Guildmaster Rukta stood right in the center with a beaming smile.

"Everyone, the Goblin Crisis has been resolved. From this day forward, the Goblin Uprising that occurred roughly once every ten years will come to an end as well!" Rukta happily announced the news.

"No way! Did the old Goblin Shaman not choose a successor?"

"Could it be that, because the old shaman had no successor, he decided to stake everything on one throw?"

"That doesn't make sense. The shaman couldn't possibly take such a huge risk for the sake of the tribe."

A wave of discussion rose among the adventurers. Aside from Dean's group of rookie adventurers, who hadn't even been adventurers for a year, practically everyone had been informed about the Goblin Uprising.

The disaster that struck Blue Town once every ten years had continued for who knew how many centuries. And now, it had ended forever?

"The new Goblin Shaman of the Goblin Tribe has already been dealt with and won't pose a threat to us. The Goblin Tribe is busy protecting itself. Without several decades, it probably won't be able to produce another shaman. Even if it does, that will be a matter for a century from now!" Rukta declared.

In an instant, the entire Guild erupted in excitement.

"Therefore, on behalf of the Adventurers' Guild, I want to give Kana's Squad a grand gift. It was precisely because of their heroic sacrifice and their deep foray into the tiger's den that the little shaman was dealt with." Guildmaster Rukta swept his gaze around. It seemed the adventurers already knew the news.

Kana and the other three smiled awkwardly. Heroic sacrifice? A deep foray into the tiger's den? No, no, no. They had simply pursued the enemy too far and had been forced to keep chasing, which had led to everything that followed. But how could they dare to "refute" Guildmaster Rukta's praise?