CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41

Vegeta released an intense bloodlust after making that statement.

This time it was worse. So much worse.

His shadows didn’t just darken—they seemed to come alive, writhing and twisting like serpents. The ground beneath Vegeta’s feet cracked, small fissures spreading outward. His eyes became completely black, no whites visible, just solid darkness that seemed to swallow light.

The pressure was crushing. Overwhelming. Aldric felt his knees trying to buckle, felt his body screaming at him to bow, to submit, to acknowledge the apex predator in front of him.

One of his guards did collapse, falling to his knees and gasping for air like a drowning man.

"Are you making a fool of me?" Vegeta’s voice had gone cold. Dead. The voice of someone who’d killed countless times and felt nothing doing it. "Is this some kind of joke? Because I’m not laughing anymore, Commander."

Aldric forced words through his constricted throat. "It’s not—not a joke—"

"Then explain," Vegeta interrupted, the bloodlust intensifying. Shadows began crawling up the city walls behind him, as if responding to his anger. The very air seemed to vibrate with dark energy. "Explain why you’re wasting the time of someone who could be hunting actual threats. Explain why I shouldn’t just kill you right now for the disrespect."

The shadows around Vegeta coalesced into vaguely humanoid shapes—silent, faceless figures made of pure darkness that seemed to watch with invisible eyes. They moved independently of their caster, circling the guards like sharks.

"Because these aren’t normal goblins!" Aldric managed to shout, his voice cracking.

The bloodlust paused. Didn’t disappear, but... hesitated.

The shadow figures froze mid-movement, waiting.

"Explain," Vegeta said simply, though his eyes remained pitch black.

Aldric took the opportunity, speaking quickly before the hero’s patience ran out. "Three weeks ago, my battalion raided a goblin nest in the southern forest. Standard extermination. We had them trapped, outnumbered, outclassed. It should have been a slaughter."

"But?" Vegeta’s eyes returned to normal—mostly normal, at least—and the oppressive aura lessened slightly. The shadow figures dissipated like smoke.

"But they had organization," Aldric continued. "Tactics. They set ambushes, coordinated retreats, used magic I’ve never seen goblins use before. They killed fifteen of my men—three of them mages—before escaping through a tunnel we couldn’t follow."

"So some goblins got lucky," Vegeta said dismissively, though his posture suggested he was listening more carefully now. "Still sounds like a job for regular soldiers, not a hero."

"One of them turned four regular goblins into Hobgoblins," Aldric said. "Right in front of my scouts. With some kind of strange magic. And according to our intelligence, he’s since allied with the Iron Fang orc tribe."

That got Vegeta’s attention. His dismissive expression faded, replaced by something resembling actual interest.

"Naming magic that triggers evolution?" Vegeta said slowly. "That’s... unusual. Evolution is supposed to require specific conditions. You can’t just force it with a spell."

"And yet he did," Aldric replied. "Multiple times. My scouts have confirmed at least nine Hobgoblin transformations, and the orc chieftain himself evolved into a High Orc."

Vegeta was quiet for a moment, his expression thoughtful. The shadows around him had settled, becoming merely shadows again rather than threatening presences. "What else?"

"He has earth manipulation abilities sophisticated enough to construct buildings. He’s building a settlement—not just a camp, but actual permanent structures. And..." Aldric hesitated. "I have a bad feeling about this one."

"A feeling?" Vegeta scoffed, though there was less mockery in his tone than before. "You’re asking me to hunt someone based on a feeling?"

"I’m a soldier," Aldric said firmly. "I’ve been fighting monsters and raiders for twenty years, defending Clover City and its territories. I’ve learned to trust my instincts, and my instincts are screaming that this goblin is different. Dangerous. Something that needs to be dealt with now before it becomes a real problem."

Vegeta studied him with those cold, dark eyes. The bloodlust had faded completely now, replaced by calculating intelligence.

"Different how?" Vegeta asked, leaning against the city wall with affected casualness. But Aldric noticed the hero’s shadow was moving independently, spreading across the ground, tasting the air like a living thing gathering information.

"He thinks," Aldric said simply. "Really thinks. He doesn’t just react like a monster—he plans. He builds alliances, uses strategy, adapts to situations. During the cave raid, he used tactics I’d expect from a trained military commander, not a goblin. He’s..." The commander struggled for the right words. "He’s acting like a person. Like someone with ambition beyond mere survival. Like he’s trying to build something permanent."

Vegeta’s shadow rippled with interest. "A smart goblin," he mused. "That’s rare. Almost unheard of, actually." His smirk returned. "Still just a goblin, though."

"Maybe," Aldric said. "But he’s a goblin who’s managed to do what no goblin has done before—create an alliance with orcs, artificially evolve his own kind, and survive a direct assault from a full human battalion. My gut tells me he’s something more."

"Interesting," Vegeta murmured. Then his smirk widened into something almost feral. "Alright. You’ve convinced me this might be slightly more entertaining than hunting regular goblins. But I want triple my usual fee for this job."

Aldric’s eye twitched. "Triple? For goblins?"

"For goblins with unique abilities who’ve managed to impress a paranoid military commander enough that he’s calling in a hero," Vegeta corrected. He pushed off from the wall, shadows swirling around his feet like eager pets. "Besides, I’m doing you a favor. If this goblin is as dangerous as you think, I’m saving your entire battalion from getting slaughtered. That’s worth triple, don’t you think?"

It was extortion. Blatant, shameless extortion.

But Aldric had no choice. If something did go wrong with that goblin settlement, if it grew into an actual threat, questions would be asked by the city council. And "I could have hired a hero to deal with it but refused because of the cost" wouldn’t be an acceptable answer to Clover City’s leadership.

"Fine," Aldric said through gritted teeth. "Triple fee. But I expect results."