"Come out, you backstabber! You traitor!" Bog yelled in front of the chief’s residence.
The group of four had already reached the goblin settlement, and the commotion had gathered enough eyes to fill a playground. Greg was just standing on the side because things were going the way he wanted, and he would wait for an opportunity to strike.
The old chief walked out, and behind him came the seven trusted people from his faction. He had eleven people to protect him before, but now three had died in the cave and one had pledged loyalty to Greg, standing behind him now with his head lowered.
The chief saw Bog alive and was more than surprised. Then his eyes fell on Greg's tall figure, and he knew the ploy had failed and things were turning toward the worst outcome.
So, before anyone could accuse him of anything, he asked in an angry tone, "What happened to my people?"
"They died." Greg replied casually.
"You must have killed them!" the old man accused. "I knew we should never have let an outsider walk inside our walls. Guards, apprehend him!"
"Now, now, no need to jump to conclusions," Greg said, smiling. He moved out of the way and showed the figure of the goblin standing behind him.
Yes, it was Chit, one of the four tasked to kill Greg.
"Why don't we hear what happened from your own man's mouth?" Greg said, holding the injured goblin's shoulder.
The chief looked around and finally saw that all the village was here and judging his every move. He couldn't just do whatever he wanted and get away with it, so he took a different approach.
"You must have tortured him to speak ill of me," the chief sighed. "Just look at the poor fellow. He is barely standing straight. We should get him bandaged up before we go through this attack against me."
"Oh, we will," Greg said, stopping Bog, who was about to pounce, and Eka, who looked just as angry.
Then he looked toward the villagers and spoke, "But why don't we first let the village know how the chief tried to kill me and his own two citizens because of some grudge he had against me?"
"What??" The villagers gasped and looked at the chief’s faction.
"What nonsense!" One of the goblins from the chief’s faction yelled. He had had enough. He lunged at Greg but was immediately pinned to the ground.
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"Hold him for me, Bog," Greg said, getting up, and the male goblin took his place.
"As I said before, let's hear from your men how you planned to kill me and two of your own people." Greg moved out of the way completely and gestured for Chit to take the stage and start singing.
And the injured goblin didn't disappoint him. He sang like a morning bird, telling everyone how the chief was getting insecure about Greg and how this new person was giving food for free.
He also told them about how they were tasked to accompany Greg, make friends with him, and kill him at a remote location. Then Chit talked about what happened in the cave and how Greg survived their attacks and dealt with them, but he never spoke about the torture.
Instead, he only said, "Greg found me injured and dying on the floor. Instead of killing the person who was tasked to eliminate him, he helped me. He allowed me to heal in the magical water, and the water is real. I have seen and experienced its healing properties myself."
Then Eka told her story of what had happened, and because she was unconscious half the way, she didn't have much to say. Lastly, Bog, with a hateful expression while still holding the chief's guard, explained everything at length.
By the time he was done, the public sentiment was more or less defined. They all looked at the horrified chief, who tried to defend himself by saying, "This is a ploy!" and "The new guy wants my land!" and "Who will protect you from other monsters if you do anything to me?"
"You protect them?" Greg laughed. He laughed like a madman until he grabbed everyone's attention.
"Tell me, if you protect them, how many of the villagers died in the last attack? Tell me why their houses were set on fire and their bodies were left to rot on the floor? Try telling me why your house is still standing and your bellies are full when your village starves and withers away!"
And that was it. After that, everything broke like a sudden dam. People's feelings got the better of them, and they didn't hear anything from anyone anymore.
They were up in arms with wooden sticks and stones and whatever they could find in the immediate area, and they attacked the leading faction. Soon, some of the goblins fainted because of the barrage of stones, and others just ran and locked themselves in the chief's residence.
The old man also managed to get inside and close the door on everyone else. But the structures were not that well-made, and everything, including the walls, started to collapse.
Bog was the first person to make his way inside. He and others quickly found the village elder abandoned by his remaining goons and hiding in one corner. The villagers then took their anger out on the old fool and stomped him under their feet.
Long after their anger had fully subsided and the situation finally calmed down, Greg took control of things. He declared himself to be their new leader and told everyone how goblins won't have to worry about food and water in his rule.
He promised them a great future ahead, and he ended with the lines, "There will be one day when goblins will be the peak of monsterkind. They will have power, wealth, and control over the lives of others. They will prosper and conquer this whole territory... this whole world for themselves and their families."
Sure, people were skeptical, and some didn't trust his words. Some were more concerned about their wellbeing than ruling over these unclaimed lands.
Still, Bog and Eka supported him, and the free food he distributed to gain popularity—and the strength he showed by bringing in new monster corpses over the last two days—gave them some hope. And hope is what this settlement needed after going through so much in so little time.
