Chapter 390 - 318: New Ability

Chapter 390: Chapter 318: New Ability

"Green Egg is the leader."

"Green Egg is the leader."

Shire sat dejectedly on a high-backed chair, silently accepting the goblins’ ankle-touching ritual.

A good number of surrendered goblins had already touched his ankle. After doing so, they immediately stood up and ran quickly behind Shire, where Bai Mao had set up a large cauldron. The thick "Forest Soup" was bubbling inside. One sip, and the spicy flavor would instantly warm the body. Three sips would make a person break out in a light sweat, even in the cold winter wind.

Shire glanced back at Bai Mao, who was standing by the cauldron. Seeing the other looking at him with deep affection, he immediately turned his head back.

One of the surrendering goblins shouted, "Green Egg is the leader!" then tremblingly reached out to touch Shire’s ankle before taking off toward the cauldron. Shire watched the goblin out of the corner of his eye. ’These guys don’t seem to be paying their respects and swearing allegiance to me,’ he thought. ’It’s more like they’re paying respects and swearing allegiance to that cauldron of "Forest Soup."’ He considered that, if he had the chance in the future, he could imitate some of the countries from his past life. If someone wanted to join his clan, they would have to swear an oath with their hand on a rice bowl.

He hadn’t planned on setting up the cauldron at first, but there were simply too many captured goblins this time. Even if he had Cyan Hide guide them again, it would be impossible to get these half-doubting creatures to complete the ankle-touching ritual quickly. And so, after glancing at the crowd of goblins shivering in the cold, Shire had no choice but to have Bai Mao cook up some Forest Soup.

Of course, at first, he had tried to correct them: "It’s Handsome Guy! Handsome Guy is the leader!" But after the fiftieth time or so, he grew numb to it. ’Forget it. Call me whatever you want.’

Shire’s spirit gradually deflated amidst the cries of "Green Egg, Green Egg." His once upright posture had become slumped and listless. But the ceremony couldn’t be skipped, so he could only continue to sit on his high-backed chair, enduring what he considered to be a form of "excruciating" torture.

’Perhaps this is an ordeal others can only dream of,’ Shire thought with a bitter smile, waving away a goblin that had just paid its respects. The goblin scrambled to its feet and ran toward the back without a second glance. The line in front of Shire had devolved into pushing and shouting over queue positions. Fortunately, Red Eyes was patrolling back and forth with his Longsword. His blood-soaked appearance was a powerful deterrent for these goblins.

Ignoring the goblins before him, Shire let his consciousness sink, arriving before that towering Black Obelisk.

At this moment, his panel had already changed.

[Tombstone Artifacts: Shire Merlot]

[Race: Goblin (Human)]

[Danger Level: 0.8, A capable piece of trash]

[Subordinates: 1680/2008]

[Personality: ???]

[Personal Ability: Group Dumbing Curse (Daily Uses Remaining: 5/5), Group Language Curse (Daily Uses Remaining: 5/5)]

[Own State: Advanced Transformation Curse (Negative), Heart of the Brave (Positive), Mother Tree’s Blessing (Positive), Blessing of the God of Earth and Life (Positive), Blessing of the God of War and Glory (Positive), Newborn Ant Queen (Positive, growing), Demon Lord’s Contract of Lust (Negative, ten years)]

[Title: Leader of the Forest South Group]

"2000 people," Shire tilted his head, looking at the stone monument before him. A strange letter was flashing with white light, indicating it had been activated. "Finally, a new ability. It’s just that this ability is a bit..."

[Ability Overdraft: Once every calendar month, you can receive a surge of energy from the Creator. This ability will double your strength, agility, and magic. The effect lasts for one hour.]

Shire had seen this ability before when he lit up the War God’s Blessing. But for him, doubling his abilities didn’t amount to much. His current Danger Level was only 0.8; doubled, it would just be 1.6. Wielding two Short Swords, he would only be slightly stronger than a normal human.

Besides, even if he overdrafted his magic, he couldn’t cast more curses. After all, those two types of Curse Magic were "nicked" from the Demon Lord Lust. If Lust ever wanted to take them back, there wasn’t much Shire could do about it.

That’s why he hadn’t been very enthusiastic about activating this strange letter at first. ’Perhaps this ability is meant for Mages or Berserkers. I just don’t know why I became a "Tombstone Artifacts" user. For now, it just seems better than nothing.’

Shire watched as the number of subordinates on his panel continued to climb. He estimated that the Feathered Serpent Kingdom had dispatched about 2,000 goblins. After accounting for those who had died for various reasons, his clan should be able to break the 3,000-member mark.

On the stone monument, the next strange letter had already appeared. Shire noticed that the activation condition for this letter was to have more than 5,000 subordinates.

"5,000 people?" Shire mused, rubbing his chin. "If I swallow the entire Feathered Serpent Kingdom, that might be enough."

’It’s just that defeating the Feathered Serpent God will still be a bit difficult. Should I keep accumulating power first, and then... Holy crap.’ He clicked on the grayed-out strange letter and glanced at its contents. An instant smile spread across his face.

[Your Private Magic Book: You will obtain a Magic Book. All the magic you learn, as well as the abilities you bestow upon your subordinates through the Scythe of Life, will be transcribed into it. As long as a magic is transcribed in the book, you will not lose it, even if someone else tries to take that magic from you. Note: The use of magic must still adhere to your Personal Ability.]

"My Private Magic Book?" Shire raised an eyebrow. ’This ability is actually pretty great. I can finally use magic too! Like Nine-finger’s Fire Pig Technique, or Lame Leg’s Enhanced Secret Servant... I wonder if I can use them. And according to the description, the two Curse Techniques that Lust gave me will probably be transcribed directly into my Private Magic Book. That way, even if Lust wants to sever his connection with me one day, I’ll still be able to cast those curses.’