It was indeed an angry mob. More than thirty goblins, all brandishing crude spears, clubs, and other makeshift weapons.
Some even held burning torches as they swarmed toward my castle, shouting loudly and snarling with raw fury. Worse still, there were two particularly large goblins who were literally twice the height of the others. They carried massive stone hammers and looked far more muscular and terrifying than the rest, with white chalk painted across their faces in fierce, claw-like patterns.
(Are those evolved goblins that grow stronger as they level up? Or some special elite type?) I wondered.
Either way, the sight sent a brief chill through my stone foundations. It reminded me of old fantasy stories, making me feel like I was some kind of evil tyrant facing an angry mob of villagers. Except, well, I wasn't Dracula, and the mob was made of green goblins instead of pitchfork-wielding humans.
Of course, I couldn't understand what they were shouting, since I didn't speak Goblish.
But I could easily guess the meaning.
(Did they somehow find out that I killed their kin?)
(But how?)
Every time I killed a goblin, I made sure none escaped. And as they say, dead men tell no tales. Surely a dead goblin couldn't warn the others… right?
Unless—
The dead turned into ghosts and returned to their tribe to rat me out?
(Yeah, that was ridiculous. Probably not.)
Another possibility was that they had some kind of tracking ability.
(Now that I think about it, goblins do have unusually large noses. Can they be highly sensitive to smell, like dogs? Can they smell the blood of their own kind — the ones I had mercilessly killed and fed to raccoons?)
…That was a deeply disturbing thought.
Or maybe I had simply been careless, and some goblin had witnessed everything without me noticing through the trees.
Either way, it didn't matter right now.
The real question was — what the hell was I supposed to do in this situation?
Should I try to bribe all of them and hope for the best? Maybe they'd forgive me and accept my offer of citizenship?
Or should I keep my gate shut tight and do nothing, waiting for them to tire themselves out?
But before I could decide, the goblins attacked!
The two muscular goblins wielding the stone hammers charged forward first, letting out thunderous war cries that shook the clearing. The rest followed behind them in a chaotic wave, rushing straight at me with wild abandon.
I braced myself for impact.
As they closed in, the two giants raised their heavy hammers and slammed them against my iron gate with all their strength, trying to break through!
(Oh shit!)
I needed to come up with a defense plan, fast!
…
…
…
But then, moments later…
Bonk!
BONK!
BONK!
Erm…
Well, for some reason, it only tickled.
I knew those big goblins were trying their absolute best, but… it was futile. It felt like someone was repeatedly hitting your leg with a spoon. It was more annoying than painful.
Either way, the muscular goblins certainly looked terrifying, but that was only compared to the smaller ones, who were about the size of human children.
In truth, they just looked like some average dudes who had spent a little bit more time at the gym. Sure, their muscles were bulky, but they were still too weak. Their blows couldn't even damage my sturdy iron gate in the slightest.
With that realization, all of my worries vanished in an instant.
Looks like I was scared for nothing!
After all, my walls were thick and sturdy, and my gate was made of solid iron. It wasn't something that could be broken so easily by a bunch of angry goblins.
(But damn, those goblins are persistent!)
They kept attacking without pause.
BONK! BONK!
Clank! Clank!
Some of them even tried committing arson. They hurled burning torches over my walls, trying to set me ablaze.
But… well, I was an empty castle. It's not like I had anything flammable inside. At worst, they could burn a bit of grass in the courtyard.
Still, I didn't want to take any risks.
So before the torches could even touch the ground, I activated my inventory skill.
[Ding!]
[Obtained: 1 Torch]
[Obtained: 1 Torch]
[Obtained: 1 Torch]
[Obtained: 1 Torch]
[Obtained: 1 Torch]
[Obtained: 1 Torch]
…
Yoinked their shit!
And the stupid goblins kept throwing torches at me until they had none left!
In just a few minutes, they had handed me twenty torches! If I sold these, I'd get two easy points!
And when they saw that their torches had mysteriously disappeared into thin air, they got even angrier!
Meanwhile, I laughed inside my mind.
(Muahaha! Let me see what else you've got!)
Eventually, some of them decided to climb my walls. This time, though, unlike the last few attempts, they finally brought ladders! If they used them properly, they could climb me with ease.
I had to admit, these guys did know how to make basic tools!
After propping the ladders against my outer walls, several goblins climbed up. Soon, five of them made it into my front yard, including the two big, muscular ones.
Those guys began marching straight toward my main wooden door.
That door was made of thick wood, so obviously it wasn't nearly as sturdy as my iron gate. There was a real chance that if they smashed it repeatedly with their hammers, it would eventually break.
So I did what I had to do to stop them in their tracks.
BAM!
A huge chunk of stone dropped down from above and blocked their path!
The goblins shrieked and jumped back in panic.
Then I dropped another block of stone.
BOOM!
Just like that, I made myself perfectly clear.
Come any closer, and I'll crush you lot into mush with these stones!
"YARAAAA!"
As I did this, the goblins finally seemed to understand that invading me was a very bad idea. Fear spread rapidly through the group, and they began to retreat!
Everyone was in complete panic now.
They hurried back toward the ladders!
But then, another evil idea popped into my mind.
(Well… now that there's a free ladder inside my territory…)
(It's mine!)
[DING!]
[Obtained: 1 Ladder!]
"YAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!"
When they noticed the ladder had suddenly disappeared, the five trapped goblins screamed in pure terror and panic!
They ran around wildly, jumping desperately at the walls, trying to escape. But no matter how hard they tried, there was no way out now!
TRAPPED!
(Muahahaha!)
I laughed as they struggled. For some reason, it was incredibly amusing to watch!
I could have dropped stones and killed those goblins right then and there. But after thinking it over carefully, I realized I probably shouldn't.
Because the other goblins outside were watching everything. They were all terrified now. The goblins inside were screaming and begging for help.
Then, to my surprise, the goblins outside dropped to their knees and began groveling before me! They begged me to spare their friends!
If I killed them now, it might completely ruin how they saw me, and my long-term plan to turn a goblin into my citizen would go up in smoke.
So… in the end, I decided to open my gate and release them.
The goblins scrambled back to their friends, hugging each other in tears.
The leader even bowed deeply toward me, showing gratitude, and apology, for attacking me earlier. Even though I couldn't speak Goblish, that gesture was impossible to misunderstand.
I had shown them mercy.
I truly hoped this would lead to a better future.
That soon… I would finally gain goblin citizens.
But then…
I realized…
I fucked up.
As the group regrouped, the elder goblin placed a wooden stick in front of my gate. It was decorated with grim skulls and strange markings. After that, it turned back and shouted something to the others.
Then they all left.
At the time, I didn't understand what it meant.
But soon, I realized…
It was a warning sign.
It was saying:
"Fellow goblins, DO NOT ENTER THIS CASTLE!"
And just like that, I had lost my main source of point income!