sovbooks Chapter 68 is not a Heroic Spirit
Chapter 68 is not a Heroic Spirit
Chapter 68 is not a Heroic Spirit
The first batch of participants totaled 200 people, with the majority being under 20 years old.
This part mainly consists of individuals discovered, rescued, and isolated for centralized care in recent years.
Of course, there are also some extraordinary people with complex backgrounds.
This also shows that several years before the debate on the living erosion was put into open discussion, the chief elder had already been planning for change.
Even if the debate surrounding the Living Eclipse ultimately ends with more opposition than support, the chiefs will secretly arrange a place for these Living Eclipses.
It is highly likely that they will take advantage of their possession of fragments of gods and demons and their greater affinity for the black mist to cooperate with Erlu in carrying out special missions.
The appearance of Nan'an actually made it easier for them to bring up the "pilot program".
For this, he was granted rather broad, and somewhat astonishing, privileges.
Given the unique nature and potential danger of the Eclipses, Southampton is authorized to bypass Solitz’s existing legal procedures and directly try and execute Eclipses within its jurisdiction when necessary.
The power of life and death, pardon and punishment, was highly concentrated in his own hands.
The Senate made no pre-set rules or regulations for the gathering point; Nan'an was left to figure them out and establish them on its own.
They would only send one experienced clerk to be responsible for objectively recording daily affairs and data, and were strictly prohibited from interfering with Nan'an's decision-making and management.
Nan'an was allowed to build its own management structure and personnel system for the gathering point.
Suiyue counted the promises made by the chief elders on her fingers, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Isn't this the great lord's privilege that the nuns talked about in the Gray Star era?"
With the arrival of the Black Mist Calendar, the old ruling system collapsed. Although Solize and Onze had emperors, there were others who truly held the reins.
In present-day Nora, there are only consuls appointed by the Senate; there are no lords with such great autonomy.
Ivira covered her mouth and chuckled, "Senior Nan'an is from the Gray Star Era, so it's quite normal for him to have permission characteristic of the Gray Star Era."
Nan'an was already starting to get a headache: "You didn't mention the most important thing—money—this part, is it going to start from scratch?"
"We will prepare food for you throughout the autumn."
My premonition was confirmed.
It is now late summer.
This means they only have a one-quarter buffer period for storing grain.
Before winter arrives, they not only need to establish basic gathering points that can withstand the severe cold, but also have to find or produce enough food reserves to survive the long winter.
The Senate's objective was clear: the initial pilot program of 200 people had to be conducted under conditions of resource allocation anxiety.
There are plenty of potatoes, cornbread, and bread, but we don't feed them to non-human beings.
To become a normal Nora, one must create value.
Ivila reassured her, "There's no need to feel too much pressure. Considering the initial management challenges, we will provide you with a guard. You can continue using them, or you can replace them as you gradually adapt."
"Oh?" Nan'an asked curiously, "Can I choose for myself?"
"Regarding this, someone has already volunteered for their tribe." Ivila pursed her lips. "Senior, what are your impressions of the goblins?"
Nan'an was speechless for a moment.
It's easy to guess that the Goblin Chief was listening in through the communication array.
Is Ivira cunning or naive? How can an adventurer like him answer this question?
You can't exactly say that the Gray Star era cut a lot of money to fund the Red Rat Adventurers' drinking, can you?
However, compared to dealing with cultists and wanted criminals, Nan'an's killing of goblins was purely out of survival pressure, without any deep-seated hatred or disgust.
It's like driving a heavy truck over a speed bump; you just run over it, it's an easy thing to do.
Most of the time, it's not that the adventurers want to kill them, but the goblins just keep jumping out to attack.
Throughout his adventurer career, Nan'an's impression of the goblin race was completely different from the strange and fantastical literary works he had read in his previous life.
For example, it keeps making this one lay eggs, or that mysterious little green dwarf.
Nora's goblins are more like a group of guys who think life is too short and like to court death.
With an overall lifespan of less than 40 years, they are like ants and mayflies in the eyes of dragons, sea monsters, and elves, and short-lived ghosts in the eyes of humans and demi-humans.
With weak racial competitiveness, the goblin race, unlike the humans, did not produce exceptionally talented heroes who explored secrets beyond the ranks and led the Nora humans to become increasingly powerful in the late Gray Star era, where magic was becoming increasingly advanced.
Unlike dominant species such as dragons and sirens, they are not born to sit in the top tier of the game, watching other races climb the ladder.
The most powerful individual in the history of the goblin race was only at the eighth rank, and there has never been a legend who touched the threshold of the ninth rank.
The elves despised their coarse appearance and unclean lifestyle.
When the dragons raised their heads, their gaze could not linger on the caves or huts where they lived.
Humans generally believe that they are simple-minded, impulsive, and synonymous with stupidity.
Even some of the troll branch, which are believed to have evolved from goblins under the influence of high-intensity magical tides, often show subtle disdain for their past selves.
In the eyes of almost all mainstream races, goblins are obstacles that need to be cleared when expanding territory, and monster threats that need to be dealt with regularly.
It is the filler and nutrients at the very bottom of the food chain in this magical world.
They were born one generation after another, and died one generation after another.
But they are capable of having children.
It looks like a cockroach.
Periodic population explosions make adult goblins extremely aggressive, or perhaps—a spirit of challenge?
It's hard for a normal person to imagine that a level 3 goblin would want to challenge Aslipan.
Good heavens, its two heads are probably not even as big as Aslipan's claws.
After quickly going through almost all the fragments of memories of dealing with goblins during the Gray Star era, Nan An nodded hesitantly under the silent gaze of Ivila and the other end of the communication array.
"My impression of him was actually alright." He carefully chose his words, then added something that surprised everyone present: "I actually had a goblin friend."
"Oh?"
A surprised voice came from the communication array.
Chief Goblin Tata asked, "Would you mind if I knew how our predecessor became friends with it?"
"They're killing cultists too, and they're kicking cultists' heads around like balls with me."
Upon hearing about this unconventional form of making friends, the chief, who only knew of the chaos caused by cults from classical texts, fell silent.
This goblin friend from Southampton is completing his trial.
It wanted to prove something to its people.
Living a life of debauchery and pointlessly challenging the strong, the fleeting "heroic" status gained is not commensurate with the reputation earned through consistently upholding justice.
No one will remember a foolish, reckless guy who suddenly uttered wild words and was then beaten to a pulp.
Only foolish goblins would stand together, shouting, "Dare to challenge, that's success! We won!"
That's utterly foolish; he wouldn't stoop to it.
Before his death in Nan'an, he had already gained some fame and was appreciated and entertained by the sea monsters.
"Do you know—Lagrag?"
This time it was Nan'an's turn to be surprised: "Is he that famous?"
Ivira covered her mouth, her emerald eyes filled with astonishment: "He was the most famous goblin of the Gray Star era, the Sword Saint Ragrag, a 7th-tier magic warrior, who died peacefully at the age of 42."
"His most celebrated feat was challenging the dragon Lord Dunakaron alone shortly before his death."
Although the outcome was never in doubt, he seized the moment when Lord Dunakaron was chanting a ninth-tier spell, and with extraordinary swordsmanship, he shattered the incantation's prelude with a single strike, even slicing off Lord Dunakaron's dragon scales.
"To this day, the goblin tribes of the Lagrag lineage still venerate Lagrag's sword and the dragon scales given to them by Dunakalon."
"Of course, he also challenged the Siren Queen—but the Siren was just too shameless."
Word magic, the siren's most powerful talent.
Lagrag's sword strike speed cannot surpass instantaneous spellcasting.
Nan'an's mouth was slightly open.
No, buddy, you weren't like this back then!
You really are that awkward guy who used to squat by the campfire with me, eating hard bread with cold water, exchanging tips on how to finish off cultists more effectively?
Was it that young goblin who, when they were temporarily teamed up, was still a bit clumsy in combat, lacked dexterity in his knife-wielding wrists, and always had a slight, almost imperceptible lag when switching between forehand and backhand attacks?
When disposing of corpses, beheadings were often clumsy, with the blade frequently veering off course and damaging the integrity of the spoils.
He wouldn't even finish the job, often forgetting to stab the heart first and then the throat to ensure complete suffocation.
Nan'an saved him at least twice in this matter.
In fact, the reason why Lagrag was treated with such care was because he was one of the few guys who could understand the significance of saving money in Southampton.
He is also saving money.
Raglag's life goal is to one day own a weapon made from a dragon scale.
He had heard that dragon scales had been sold in the capital of Zanti, so he cherished and saved every bit of his hunting spoils.
Nan'an couldn't bear to tell him that no one would trade dragon scales for gold coins; they were treasures that could only be obtained through barter.
Unexpectedly, Ragnarok finally got what he had been longing for, even though it was at the very end of his life. But—he must have been very satisfied, right?
He lived his life according to his convictions, and even today, he still inspires awe and wonder in later generations.
Tata spoke with obvious pride—even though the goblin race has not produced such a splendid figure since then.
"Since you have some connection with the goblin race, I think the initial guard configuration can be finalized," Ivila asked. "Tata, how many people are you willing to send?"
"That's not important. I wonder if His Excellency Nan'an has time to speak with us? We still have many questions to ask about Lagrag."
Nan'an was immediately in a dilemma.
He knew, of course, that Tata simply wanted to find out about Lagrag's life before he became famous.
Ultimately, Lagrag came into the Nora's view after being entertained by the sirens and gradually gaining fame.
Before that, what exactly did he, still weak, go through to gradually transform into the renowned Goblin Sword Saint of Nora? Not to mention today's historians, scholars in the late Gray Star era were equally curious.
Can----
Raglag's combat intelligence is quite low.
At least when teaming up with the Red Rat Adventurers, he was a complete novice.
Although everyone admired his "self-testing," cared for him, and gave him pointers, his inability to learn, as if the progress bar was locked, often reminded Nan An of his own struggles with physics during his student days.
The other chiefs had already figured out the reason for Nan'an's hesitation, and they all coughed to stop the excited Tata from pressing for more information.
That's enough. If you say something that adds a bit of humor to the legendary swordsman after hundreds of years, the image that the goblin race has worked so hard to build will be ruined!
"Let's talk about the number of people first," everyone quickly interrupted.
"If you need to manage 200 people, then let's start with 2000 tribesmen?"
Nan'an was dumbfounded.
What does that mean?
Even if you were to build a prison on-site, you wouldn't need that many guards.
As expected of goblins, they don't need people, so their manpower is naturally given away for free.
He couldn't help but rub his temples and suggested, "Your Excellency Tata, why don't we send 100 men first?"
Tata immediately questioned, "So few? Those are living erosions. Although some people may not possess strong divine or demonic power, they still pose a threat."
"Most people who are willing to be managed by the Senate and come to the gathering point will cherish the opportunity, and the manpower provided will be sufficient to maintain daily order," Nan'an said. "What we need are 'living eclipses' who are willing to be human. If they resist or run away, then let them be; I will handle it personally."
After a moment's hesitation, Tata agreed, but made a slight modification: "I agree with your point, but it must be 200 people; I think that number is safer."
The inherent danger of erosion has never changed.
The leaders themselves were unsure whether this step they were taking was the right one, but it was imperative.
Nan'an reasonably suspects that they must have seen information that outsiders could not know, which is why they have become much more radical in dealing with the issue of erosion, unlike their conservative approach of the past hundred years.
The trial ended, and both sides were very satisfied with the result. Ivila personally escorted Nan'an out of the underground facility and back to the Twin Crowns.
Long after he left, the whispers among the chiefs within the communication array gradually subsided.
Suddenly, someone spoke up: "Lord Dunakalon, what do you think?"
After another long silence, a powerful voice filled the secret chamber where the communication array was located.
"I have no objection."
"You made the assessment of Nan'an—I originally thought you would want to have some conversation with him, so why are you silent today?"
"It's not time yet," Dunakaron replied slowly. "At least for now, I can be certain that his identity is completely consistent with my deduction, and there's no need to worry—he is indeed a reliable person—but—"
After a moment's hesitation, Dunacaron's voice suddenly went dead, and there was no reply. This left all the chiefs looking at each other, wondering what his intention was.
The dragon Dunakaron, slumbering in the land where gods and demons are contained, completely integrated with the mountain, sensed the direction in which Nan'an had disappeared, its mind replaying the results of its magical perception extension, and murmured to itself.
"On you, there are only traces of summoning rituals flowing through you—you don't seem like a Heroic Spirit."
"Very well—let's observe for now."
"Lagrag, who is that again?"