Becoming a Monster

Chapter 579: Chapter 578: Price of Cowardice

Noah was stumped by how quickly things transpired. For such an unruly, uncivilized bunch, weren’t they perhaps too quick to swear their allegiance?

Yet when he thought about it, even the chieftain back then had tried to serve him after realizing how weak it was compared to him.

Perhaps they were a species that instinctively desired someone stronger to rule over them before they could properly function.

Or perhaps he was giving them too much credit. They would probably swear allegiance to perhaps anything stronger than themselves just to live.

Whether or not they stayed faithful to that allegiance was another matter.

"That’s enough." Noah’s voice was low, but as he spoke, his aura swept past them all, causing the chants to stop instantly.

Some goblins found themselves frozen where they knelt.

Others instinctively lowered their heads even farther, afraid that even the slightest movement might be interpreted as defiance.

—

Noah wanted to hurry and get everything over with.

However, simply making the hobgoblin he had chosen the next chieftain wouldn’t accomplish anything.

Not with the tribe in its current state.

A title alone couldn’t change the way they thought.

If he wanted that hobgoblin to truly lead them after today, then the rest of the tribe first needed to understand why their current leader was about to lose everything.

Otherwise, nothing would change.

The goblins continued kneeling with their heads lowered, not daring to look toward the Oni again.

Then, a terrified cry suddenly sounded.

The cry belonged to their chieftain.

It was immediately followed by a series of strained gurgles that sounded as though something had wrapped itself tightly around its throat.

The sound grew more desperate with every passing second.

Confusion gradually overcame their fear. One after another, the goblins cautiously raised their heads.

The moment they looked forward, every pair of pupils violently contracted.

One of the Oni’s black tentacles had wrapped itself tightly around the chieftain’s neck, effortlessly suspending it above the ground while its legs kicked helplessly beneath it.

Its hands desperately held onto the tentacle firmly on its throat, yet no matter how hard it was to breathe, the chieftain didn’t dare to claw at it.

That single scene inspired more fear than everything else that had transpired throughout the night.

Fearing that the slimes would kill them was terrifying.

However, giving a glimpse of hope that they would be spared, and now watching the Oni casually hold their leader in the air without so much as changing its expression, terrified them even more.

It made them understand just how insignificant they truly were.

Several goblins instinctively shifted their feet. Their first thought was to flee, but it wouldn’t be together.

Each of them instinctively searched for a different direction to escape, hoping that if they scattered, perhaps one of them might somehow survive.

And more importantly, they hoped that they just wouldn’t be the ones that the Oni went after.

However, that thought had barely formed before Noah’s aura swept across the camp once more.

The overwhelming pressure crushed the very thought of running before any of them could act upon it.

"If any of you move..."

"...you die."

Noah’s voice remained as calm as ever. There wasn’t the slightest hint of anger behind those words.

He was simply informing them what would happen if they made the wrong decision.

Only after making sure every last goblin had abandoned the thought of fleeing did Noah return his attention toward the chieftain.

Looking at it now, it was difficult to tell which emotion was more prevalent.

It’s fear... or it’s shock.

"Tell me." He spoke directly to the chieftain.

"If I were to take the rest of your tribe in, in what way would that benefit me?"

"What could any of you possibly provide outside of worthless praise?"

Despite asking the question, Noah never loosened his grip. The chieftain continued choking beneath the tentacle, making it almost impossible to get a word out.

Tears welled in its eyes as it pleaded in gurgled breaths, physically begging to let it answer. To let it prove it still had value so the Oni wouldn’t kill it.

Yet no sound was able to escape.

That was exactly what Noah wanted. He wasn’t interested in hearing the chieftain’s answer; there was nothing the creature could say that could persuade him.

"And if I do take the rest of you in... how can I depend on something like you to watch over them?"

"How can I trust you to make sure they remain under control when you’re more incapable than the rest of them combined?"

The tentacle slowly tightened with each question.

The chieftain’s face gradually turned a deep shade of purple as every breath became more difficult than the last.

Only then did it completely abandon every remaining concern about disrespecting the Oni.

Both hands frantically clawed at the tentacle wrapped around its throat, desperately trying to loosen its grip before it suffocated.

Noah ignored its attempts as he continued as if nothing had happened.

"A leader who can’t lead is worthless to me."

"No..."

"A leader who is willing to watch those they’re supposed to lead, die, while they hide like a coward is even more worthless."

The words crushed the chieftain more than the pressure tightening around its neck.

Until now, it hadn’t understood why the Oni had singled it out.

Now it finally did.

The Oni had never intended to keep it alive.

From the very beginning, he had already decided that someone else would become the tribe’s next leader.

The realization caused every remaining trace of hope inside the chieftain to collapse.

It... Was going to die.

Its death would become an example for the next leader who took its place.

And with that, the rest of the tribe would probably survive.

It should’ve been relieved. It should’ve been grateful that the Oni had chosen to spare the rest of the tribe.

Yet no matter how desperately it tried to convince itself otherwise. It couldn’t accept that outcome.

It didn’t want to die. It was their fault for staying!

If it truly had to choose between its own life and the rest of the tribe. It would rather live while every other goblin here perished.

Just as the chieftain was about to draw its last breath, gravity suddenly slammed it into the ground.

It instinctively tried to suck in air.

The moment it did, a violent fit of coughing overtook it.

Every breath burned as though its throat had been torn apart. It clawed desperately at its neck while greedily forcing down one painful breath after another, uncaring that each one hurt almost as much as the last.

Noah only spared it a glance before he looked over to Ailetta. She understood that this was her cue.

The other goblins couldn’t decide where to look.

Their chieftain continued coughing violently on the ground, yet the Oni’s gaze had already shifted elsewhere.

Unsure of what was about to happen, they followed his line of sight.

It was then that they saw the mysterious slime hobgoblin finally move.

It quietly placed itself before Ailetta, before a polished core slowly emerged from the center of its chest.

The moment the core revealed itself, nearly every goblin’s eyes instinctively snapped toward it.

It wasn’t a conscious decision. Monsters desired evolution more than almost anything else.

And a core created from the combined strength of an entire tribe naturally drew those instincts toward itself.

Greed quietly surfaced within countless pairs of eyes.

Yet none of them dared move.

They could only watch as the hobgoblin carefully offered the core to the Oni.

It was only after the exchange had finished that their attention shifted again.

The slime creature standing beside Ailetta gradually dissolved back into her body. All of the goblins who were consumed by the eye monsters were eventually absorbed by her.

Only then did many of the surviving goblins suddenly remember what that creature truly was.

If that creature was controlling the eye monster, then was it the Oni? Was the chieftain confused about who massacred them all that day?

The only one who could answer that was unable to clarify.

With the core in hand, Noah studied it for a moment before bringing it to his chest.

The next scene became something none of the surviving goblins would ever forget.

A translucent goblin spirit was slowly pulled free from within the core.

In that single moment, the answer to their earlier doubts became painfully clear.

When the goblins were unsure what was going to happen next. The Oni turned to look behind him. And that’s when the hobgoblin hiding behind him all this time showed itself.

"When all of you ran to save yourselves, this goblin alone tried to save those who are supposed to be the future of your tribe."

"In fact, it was the only one who tried to save anyone."

"You all disgust me... if it wasn’t because of this goblins’ actions, there would be nothing left stopping me from killing you all."

The surviving goblins instinctively looked toward the lone hobgoblin standing behind the Oni.

Confusion gradually spread throughout the tribe.

None of them understood why that particular goblin had caught the Oni’s attention.

It hadn’t been the strongest, nor did it even try to save their warriors.

Instead, it had thrown itself in front of the children.

Back then, none of them understood why it did something so foolish. Even now, they still didn’t.

The young could always be born again.

As long as enough adults survived to hunt, fight, and reproduce, the tribe itself would continue.

That was simply how goblins always survived.

If anything, sacrificing the stronger goblins for children was the foolish decision.

So why would the Oni care about a goblin that chose children over the rest of its own tribe?

Yet none of them could deny what stood before their eyes.

If that hobgoblin hadn’t acted the way it did. The Oni would’ve never spared it.

And if the Oni hadn’t spared it, there would’ve been no reason for the Oni to spare any of them afterward.

Whether they understood its actions or not no longer mattered. It was because of that lone goblin that they were still alive.

The goblins slowly looked back toward the hobgoblin once more. The unease they once felt toward it gradually began to disappear.

They no longer saw the hobgoblin as a traitor. Whether they understood its actions or not, it had become the savior of their tribe.

Meanwhile, the hobgoblin in question was shaken from shock. Its gaze was filled with confusion towards the Oni.

It didn’t remember asking for any of this.