Chapter 42: The Offer

"Hmph...It seems you’ve come to realize the reason why I am here. I have to get rid of the clan for breaking their vows. You understand, don’t you?"

"No, I don’t understand. We did not break any vows."

Thors wasn’t listening. He wasn’t here to listen.

He reached behind his back and pulled out his weapon, revealing an axe nearly as tall as his entire body. Intricate markings had been engraved along the blade, and as he tightened his grip around the handle, I could feel a faint pressure coming from the weapon.

"Come at me with all you’ve got, goblin. Do not hold back, so you don’t die too quickly."

He began walking toward me, his heavy steps pressing into the ground with enough force to make his armor shift and clink with every movement.

I slowly retreated.

There was no way I could take him head-on.

Whatever strength he possessed was clearly on another level, and even standing several steps away from him, I could already feel the threat coming from that massive axe.

"Come on, runt. I’m not going to bite ya. I promise."

He swung his blade.

The axe cut through the air with frightening force, and the pressure alone sent a chill down my spine.

Yeah, fighting this dwarf was not a good idea.

I hit a wall, and with nowhere left to retreat, I found myself trapped between the wooden structure behind the dwarf and him steadily closing the distance.

My breathing grew heavier as I tried to think of a way out.

What do I do?

[Rage] was the only option that came to mind.

But the rage meter was only at 60%.

I needed it to reach 100% before I could activate it, and judging by the way things were going, I wasn’t sure I’d have enough time.

I tightened my grip on my axe, refusing to let fear control me.

I wasn’t going to die without doing anything.

Before I could make a move, however, an arrow suddenly came from the side and struck Thors.

He reacted immediately, twisting his body and deflecting the arrow with the shaft of his axe before it could find its mark.

I turned toward the source and saw what was left of the clan’s combatants.

They were battered and injured, their bodies covered in cuts and bruises, with several of them barely able to remain standing. Yet despite everything they had been through, the fight hadn’t left their eyes.

Talia, Gunther, and Bruz were among those I recognized, all three looking battered from the fight, but they were still standing with the rest of the surviving combatants.

Talia stepped forward, keeping her bow raised as she faced the humans.

"Humans, what provoked this attack? I demand an explanation."

Thors sighed, turning his attention away from me and toward her.

"What other reason could there be besides the fact that you broke ancient vows?"

"A dwarf."

"A dwarf," the goblins murmured, their mood turning apprehensive.

Talia looked a bit shaken as well, but she seemed more confused by the dwarf’s statement, her expression tightening as she tried to make sense of what he was talking about.

"What vows did we break? We never harm any humans."

"Thors, why are we still conversing with these monsters?" Luther interrupted, his hand resting on the hilt of his longsword. "Let’s just eliminate them like we’ve been ordered to already."

Thors didn’t even look at him when he spoke:

"Don’t ruin this for me, Luther. Stay quiet and wait."

The warrior frowned. He clearly did not appreciate the disrespect.

"You killed humans and ate their brains, did you not?" Thor responded to Talia. "Don’t start acting oblivious now."

"Eat brains?" Talia’s gaze briefly landed on me, but she quickly looked away.

The rest of the goblins weren’t nearly as subtle.

Their expressions shifted, and a few of them avoided Thors’s gaze entirely, making it obvious that they knew exactly what he was talking about.

Seeing the guilt in their reactions, Thors smiled.

"You’re not denying it. It seems I was right."

"No, you’re not. It wasn’t one of us who did that. It was the outsider!" Gunther yelled, pointing directly at me.

As expected, he didn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus.

"If we hand over the outsider, would you spare us?"

Thors glanced briefly at me before turning his attention back to Gunther.

"No."

That answer seemed to catch Gunther completely off guard.

"Why? Why do the rest of us have to suffer the consequences of one goblin’s actions?"

"Why?" Thors repeated, almost laughing at the question.

He tilted his head slightly as he looked over the gathered goblins, his grin never fading.

"Is his skin green, or is it not green? Is he a goblin, or is he not a goblin?"

"It doesn’t matter to me. You’re all getting punished."

The logic was twisted, but Thors clearly didn’t care about that. To him, being a goblin was enough to make them guilty by association.

Gunther gritted his teeth, and he glared at me, the resentment in his eyes making it obvious who he blamed for their situation.

The rest of them were looking at me the same way, their expressions filled with varying degrees of anger and frustration.

I could only sigh.

How was I supposed to explain that this dwarf was a madman and that he would have attacked the clan regardless of what I had done?

"That reason simplifies the severity of what you’re doing, dwarf," Talia said, her voice firm despite the injuries she had suffered.

"I refuse to accept that excuse."

"Is that so?" Thors grinned, his eyes narrowing with amusement. "Do something about it, then. I’ll give you the chance."

Talia gritted her teeth.

Thors smiled:

"Since I’m such a nice dwarf, I’ll make you an offer."

He rested the axe against his shoulder, his grin widening as he looked over the battered goblins.

"If you can take me down, I’ll spare the lives of every single goblin here and the clan."

"Thors!" Luther yelled. "All this is unnecessary!"

"Shut it!"

"Why are we playing silly games with..."

Before he could finish speaking, Thors’s blade stopped an inch from his neck.

The movement was so fast that I barely saw the axe leave his shoulder, yet Thors had somehow stopped the blade with enough precision to keep it from actually touching Luther’s throat.

"I told you I’d be taking free rein if I came with you, didn’t I?"

Luther couldn’t respond.

He could only stare at the blade hovering in front of his neck, his breath coming out shaky as he carefully avoided making any sudden movements.

"So stay back and let me have my fun. I will not warn you next time."

Luther nodded, and Thors withdrew his weapon before turning back toward Talia.

"Tempting offer, isn’t it? How about it, then?"

Tempting? Yes.

You only had to win one fight, and the clan and everyone else would be safe.

But no sane goblin should take it. It was a death warrant disguised as a bargain.

I stared at Talia.

Tell me you won’t take that offer.

Her expression told me otherwise.

She was going to accept it.

I sighed. Since the goblins believed the humans were here because of me, I might as well take responsibility.

I was about to interrupt before Talia could say anything, but a deep, guttural voice suddenly rang out from ahead.

"I’ll take you up on that offer."

I turned and saw Orgrun approaching.