"There is no solution. I am sorry."
The Goblin doctor said. The doctor, who had been checking the Chieftain's pulse, lowered his head.
Even to my untrained eyes, the Chieftain looked beyond help.
His entire body's skin was charred black.
A fourth-degree burn, where all layers of the skin had been burned away.
With the Goblin's medical system, which didn't even scratch the surface of modern medicine,
it was a miracle that he was even breathing.
"How long can the Chieftain-nim live?"
A Goblin standing behind asked.
He was the first Goblin to enter when the Chieftain screamed.
He seemed to be the chief in charge of guarding the Chieftain.
"At most a month, or he could die tomorrow."
His life hung by a thread. If he was unlucky, he could die tomorrow.
If the Chieftain died, the responsibility would fall on him.
The Goblin's eyes darted around incessantly.
He was clearly racking his brain, trying to pass the buck to someone else.
"Then, what is the cause that made the Chieftain-nim like this?"
"He was exposed to intense heat. There were no apparent sources of fire in the Chieftain-nim's room, so I suspect magic."
"Ha, is that so? Then a Mage must be the culprit. Arrest all the Mages immediately!"
The head guard shouted.
The soldiers followed the order.
With the Chieftain's life hanging in the balance, he seemed to be the next most powerful figure.
'Magic Stone. I need to eat more Magic Stones.'
I followed behind the soldiers.
The Mage's mansion. There would be more Magic Stones there.
I stuck to the shield of the soldier walking at the very back.
I moved my body. I went to the side with the handle on the inside of the shield.
It was a place where I wouldn't feel any foreign sensation because it didn't directly touch the skin,
and I could hide from external gazes.
The soldiers left the castle.
Torches illuminated the dark streets.
I looked at the civilized city the Goblins had created.
Crude houses that were hard to call homes.
Most were made by adding straw or leather.
Some Goblins even lived by digging tunnels.
Occasionally, there were proper houses. But their number was very small.
Kieeeeek.
A scream came from inside a tunnel.
A blood-soaked Goblin jumped out of the tunnel.
The Goblin ran towards the soldiers as if asking for help.
But the soldiers pushed the Goblin away.
Another Goblin came out of the tunnel.
He was holding a knife stained with blood in his hand.
It seemed he was trying to cook and eat the Goblin.
The Goblin was dragged back in. A death cry was heard.
Even though they openly committed murder, the soldiers didn't care.
"Shouldn't we punish them?"
Well, one of them did care.
But it wasn't out of a desire to help after witnessing the murder,
but because of the Chieftain's decree.
"We are carrying out a more important mission than that. We don't have time to worry about trivial matters."
He answered decisively. There was not a shred of agitation among the soldiers.
'These bastards are monsters after all.'
I realized once again that Goblins were monsters.
Every member of the race was a sociopath and a psychopath.
The soldiers arrived at the mansion. It wasn't as big as the castle, but it was a decent house.
The guards who were protecting the mansion blocked them.
"What's going on at this late hour?"
"We've come to arrest the suspect in the Chieftain's murder!"
"The Chieftain's murderer? Has the Chieftain-nim died?"
The soldier pushed away the guard who was blocking him.
The guard was taken aback by the sudden situation.
A battle might start. I fell off the shield.
I hid in a dark corner where the light didn't reach.
"What is all this commotion at this late hour?"
The Mage came out of the mansion. His face clearly showed his bewilderment.
"We are arresting you as the Chieftain's murderer."
The soldiers surrounded him.
"The Chieftain's murderer? Me? You must be mistaken!"
The Mage protested, but it was no use.
The soldiers dragged him away.
"The Chieftain's murderer? The head of the household killed the Chieftain-nim?"
"Then what will happen to us?"
Chaos erupted in the mansion. The servants in the mansion were flustered.
I took advantage of the chaos. I went inside the mansion.
I entered the room that seemed to be the head of the household's room.
I found many Magic Stones placed on the table.
I swallowed as many Magic Stones as my body could accept.
Even if I swallowed a lot, the amount of magic power that increased was the same.
Since +10 was enough, I didn't get greedy.
'Where should I put these?'
I need to hide them in my own place and use them whenever I need them.
I fell into happy thoughts.
"Who is the Chieftain's murderer! Is it you?"
A shout shook my body.
"It's not me!"
"Nothing has been confirmed yet! Please refrain from acting rashly!"
I looked outside. A Goblin with a sword at his waist was causing a ruckus.
He was swinging his sword, trying to cut down a servant.
A guard stopped him. Other guards popped out from inside the mansion.
There were more than 10 of them.
"Ha! This is the end of you guys walking around with your heads held high! Prepare to die!"
He was intimidated by the number that was more than double his own. The Goblin made a threat that didn't sound like a threat.
The Goblin shouted loudly and left the mansion.
It was a laughable situation, but the atmosphere was gloomy.
I came out of the head of the household's room.
'Should I cause even more chaos?'
I followed behind the Goblin with the sword. The Goblin was heading towards a remote alley.
"Hahaha, I can kill all those bastards this time."
The Goblin burst into laughter when there was no one around to hear him.
As I saw at the meeting, the conflict between the two factions seemed very serious.
I drew up my magic power.
A huge fireball was created.
It was the fireball that killed the Chieftain in one shot.
"Huh?"
The swordsman Goblin belatedly realized something was wrong.
But it was too late. Before he could even dodge, the fireball engulfed the Goblin.
Kwang.
A loud noise rang out. Flames soared.
Unlike the Chieftain, he was a martial artist. To make sure, I threw another fireball.
Kwang.
He would definitely be dead at this point.
I quickly left the scene before the Goblins came.
* * * * *
"Karkhan-nim! The Chieftain-nim has been murdered!"
"What?"
Karkhan, who was lying in bed, got up.
"What was the reason for his death?"
"Ah, that's, he hasn't died yet, but he's about to die!"
His subordinate, who had only trained, couldn't speak properly because his brain was full of muscles.
"Is that so? Then that's a relief."
But that was the same for Karkhan.
Unless it was an instant death, he could be revived at any time.
For Karkhan, who had repeatedly been on the verge of death and survived, the crisis of death was an adversity he could overcome.
"That's not it. He's really on the verge of death."
The subordinate corrected himself. He spoke in succession, as if he couldn't explain it properly with just one sentence.
"Oh no, Chieftain-nim!"
Karkhan understood now. He quickly put on his clothes and ran to the castle.
He had a strong competitive spirit and was aware that he was stupid.
Even he knew that if the Chieftain disappeared, something big would happen.
There were some different views. But the Chieftain was coordinating the conflicts so that the society wouldn't collapse.
"You pathetic bastard! You can't even do your job of protecting him properly!"
Karkhan grabbed the head guard by the collar when he saw the Chieftain's condition.
He growled as if he would devour him right away.
"There was nothing I could do. The Mage bastards set up magic without me knowing!"
The head guard protested. Magic. A power that was only allowed to a very few. To the uninitiated, magic seemed like a panacea that could do anything.
"I've locked up the Mages in the underground prison. Go and confront them!"
"Good. I'll interrogate them once."
Karkhan headed to the underground prison.
The Mage was pitifully locked in prison.
Unlike his pitiful appearance, his condition was fine.
His family was a prestigious one.
They didn't do things like torture.
"Have you come? You may not believe it, but it wasn't magic that I used."
The Mage said calmly.
"Are you telling me to believe that? Is there another Mage in this city besides you? Could it be that the barrier blocking the entrance has disappeared?"
There were very few Mages in the city.
And all the few Mages were under the Mage's influence.
"I have no reason to kill the Chieftain-nim, do I?"
"There may be a reason we don't know. Or there may be no reason at all. Killing someone doesn't necessarily require a reason, does it?"
"I was at home when the Chieftain-nim was ambushed."
"You have that mysterious stone, don't you? You must have done something with it."
"I've never even been in the Chieftain-nim's room."
"There's also the method of bribing a servant. You could have installed the stone in the Chieftain-nim's room!"
"Magic cannot be used that way."
The conversation reached an equilibrium. The situation that occurred at the meeting was reproduced again.
"Anyway, all the Mages in the city are under your influence. So this incident is your fault! Do you think a new Mage would have popped out from outside when the strange barrier hasn't disappeared? Not at all. According to the city's laws, you will have to take responsibility."
Karkhan shouted. The Mage closed his mouth.
Circumstantially, his words were correct. He was wronged, but the responsibility was on him.
Everyone who could use magic was under his influence.
He had some responsibility for the Chieftain's death.
"...I understand. I will definitely catch the assassin and bring him to you."
He yielded. He had no choice in order to minimize the damage.
Karkhan didn't pressure him further when he yielded first.
'Still, I can lift the ban.'
What's important now is not who the assassin who killed the Chieftain is.
It was to quickly resolve the chaos.
If the chaos continued, the system that was barely holding on could collapse.
Frame a suitable Mage and conclude the case.
Elect the next leader and resolve the chaos.
That was the picture he wanted.
"Karkhan-nim, Karkhe-nim has passed away. The method is the same as the method used to assassinate the Chieftain-nim."
"He attacked the Mages, saying he would take blood revenge."
"The Mages used magic. Our side has suffered great damage!"
Karkhan's face hardened at the news his subordinate brought.
The picture was broken.
The chaos was not resolved. Greater chaos arose.