Chapter 595 The Inexplicably Efficient Governor's Mansion

"Screech!!!"

The sound was familiar, even pleasant.

Filled with agony, the shrill wails of a cute little animal echoed through the dark, filthy cave.

It seemed to be a small Goblin colony that had only recently formed; the adult individuals added up to a mere five.

According to the normal developmental patterns of Goblins in this world, this small colony should have still been exploring its surroundings. They would survive on wild fruit and jungle carrion, only occasionally managing to hunt sick or injured small-to-medium beasts if they got lucky, or perhaps ordinary humans wandering into the forest alone.

Much like a bizarre parasite or a pathogen infecting the Aifala Continent, a Goblin colony's beginning was difficult and slow. But as long as they survived that arduous nascent stage, withstanding environmental pressures to raise their adult population into the double digits, their struggle for survival would plummet. They would become a nightmare for common beasts and villagers alike.

In truth, this particular Goblin tribe had decent luck.

That was because their birthplace was an island that had just endured a devastating battle, leaving its defensive forces virtually nonexistent.

The civilians had been slaughtered almost to the last person, yet a massive amount of housing and tools built by intelligent beings remained.

Furthermore, the core area of the island's forest was well-protected thanks to the Water-Iron Wood. Natural resources were abundant, and dangerous monsters were virtually nonexistent.

As long as they waited for the Adventurers stranded on the island to leave, Stodd Island would become the perfect breeding ground for this Goblin tribe.

Before the next Adventurer Squad arrived, their population might have even grown into the triple digits.

Unfortunately, all these beautiful fantasies of a bright future came to a definitive end when an unlucky Goblin out gathering wild fruit was discovered by a certain friendly, black-haired Adventurer undergoing his daily training.

Stumbling upon this unexpected surprise, the Adventurer displayed considerable patience and meticulousness when faced with a long-absent plaything to vent his urges.

Like some sort of utterly heinous criminal, he quietly tailed the green-skin—who was gathering insects and fruit in a crude bamboo basket—following closely until the creature unknowingly led him all the way back to its lair.

As for everything that happened next—

There was no need for further elaboration.

Severed limbs and mangled flesh littered the ground. Foul-smelling blood seeped into the soil, turning it into a pale red, muddy slurry.

The green-skinned Goblins were gone.

In their place stood a young Adventurer who hadn't even unsheathed his primary blade because there were simply too few Goblins. He had merely tried to drag out the beautiful moment as long as possible, and his face was left with a look of unsatisfied longing.

Using the Goblin's agonizing shrieks as pleasant white noise, Xia Nan stared at the scrawny Goblin ahead of him. The creature was lifted off its feet and pinned tightly against the stone wall, seemingly bound by some invisible force. A thoughtful expression flashed across Xia Nan's face.

There were no physical bindings on the Goblin's body, yet it looked as though invisible hands were pulling it from all directions.

While hovering in the air and pinned to the rock, its limbs were spread-eagled, as if something were yanking on its wrists and ankles.

"Crack."

The crisp sound of fracturing bone suddenly rang out through the air.

The agonizing wails already echoing through the cave grew a few pitches sharper. Distinct signs of tearing appeared in the flesh around the Goblin's elbows and knees.

Its eyes rolled back, and its neck was stretched taut. Every single blood vessel bulged beneath its thin, fragile skin.

Finally, accompanied by five near-simultaneous snaps of tearing flesh—

The Goblin's wails, having already reached their absolute peak, abruptly ceased.

"Plop, plop—"

Completely falling apart like a broken toy, its limbs, head, and torso turned into pieces of flesh and blood, dropping to the ground under the pull of gravity.

Xia Nan casually crushed the Goblin head that rolled to his feet.

He carefully analyzed the sensation of manipulating gravity just now, summarizing the experience in his mind.

The quality grade of [Gravity Control] was nearly the highest among combat techniques. Even a single level increase from Level 1 to Level 2 brought about changes that could only be described as qualitative.

Limited by his own knowledge, Xia Nan wasn't sure if there was a specific term to describe this metric of gravitational output. However, he could clearly feel that the range, power, and precision of his [Gravity Control] had all vastly improved.

Of course, there was a corresponding trade-off. If he wanted to perform operations that were finer or more forceful than before, the mental energy required was significantly higher.

Overall, the level increase of [Gravity Control] had massively raised the upper limit of the combat prowess Xia Nan could exert with this combat technique.

On the other hand, due to the colorless and formless nature of [Gravity Control], it could also play a huge role in his daily life, provided he managed his mental energy consumption.

His gaze swept over the Goblin corpses in the cave.

A look of pity crossed Xia Nan's unsatisfied face.

There were only five Goblins in total—too few, and their bodies were far too frail.

He had only barely managed to test out his newly upgraded Level 2 [Gravity Control]. He couldn't even attempt to practice [Layered Waves] or [Hunting Arc].

Given the Green-Skinned Goblins' puny frames, a casual poke from his finger would leave a bloody hole in them. [Layered Waves] couldn't be stacked at all. As for the combination of combat techniques required for [Hunting Arc], he hadn't even reached the final stage of using [Spinning Slash] before the astral winds whipped up by [Fang Hunt] shredded the cave's Goblins into minced meat.

'I'll just have to wait until I return to Barracuda Bay to find suitable training targets,' Xia Nan thought to himself.

His eyes swept over the Goblin corpses before him. Suddenly, as if remembering something, a strange look entered his eyes.

Stodd Island was a proper island entirely surrounded by the ocean, and lately, it had been besieged by fishmen. No one could enter or leave.

Yet this Goblin colony had clearly just been born, with a total of only five adult individuals.

'Do they really grow out of the ground?'

He hadn't seen the corpses of any other intelligent beings in the cave, making him secretly wonder.

He subconsciously recalled the secrets the Barbarian, Forgan, had once told him regarding the primary god of the Goblin race. Combining that with his current discovery, he couldn't help but make the connection.

However, he didn't delve too deeply into it. No matter how bizarre this race's method of birth had become after the great upheaval, it wasn't an issue he could currently afford to get involved in, let alone resolve.

In comparison, figuring out how to leave this island was far more practical.

Three days had passed since Xia Nan awoke from his coma.

Thanks to his own physical constitution and the daily healing spells from the [Tears of Spring Breath], he had long since recovered from his previous critical injuries.

Although he wasn't completely healed, his combat prowess had roughly returned to seventy or eighty percent, and his daily movements were unaffected.

As for the other Adventurers on the island who had suffered severe injuries in the battle, they were seasoned veterans who carried healing items on them.

As long as they hadn't died on the spot, even the critically wounded managed to cling to life. Right now, they were resting in Stodd Island's town, gathered together in their respective Adventurer Squads.

Thanks to their brief experience fighting side-by-side and the short duration of their stranding, the town's daily supplies remained relatively plentiful. As a result, no major conflicts had broken out between the Adventurers over the past few days, and they coexisted fairly harmoniously.

It was only because the Sahuagin in the surrounding waters made leaving the island difficult that the atmosphere had gradually soured.

Xia Nan, however, wasn't too worried about it.

In his view, Stodd Island was one of the key waypoints along the Southern Archipelagos routes, frequently visited by merchant ships and travelers.

Now that so many days had passed since the fishmen blockaded the island, there had to be more than one foreign vessel stalled in the outer waters.

It was impossible for the news to remain suppressed.

He reckoned the authorities already knew about the situation on the island, and reinforcements might very well be on the way.

Their group simply needed to wait patiently.

Even if they truly couldn't wait, in a few more days, once he fully recovered his combat strength, he wouldn't necessarily be trapped on the island. He could easily go into the water and scout out the situation.

The unexpected discovery of the Goblin Lair had provided a long-overdue release for the stress in his heart.

Xia Nan stepped out of the Goblin Cave with a light tread. He oriented himself in the woods and was just about to leave.

Suddenly, a familiar call echoed from the forest.

"Xia Nan! Xia Nan!"

Accompanied by a violent rustling of bushes, the short Halfling, Alton, squeezed through with eager excitement. Spotting Xia Nan at the cave entrance, a bright smile bloomed on his face.

Standing on his tiptoes, he waved from afar and called out, "Hurry, hurry! A ship has arrived at the docks!"

By the time Xia Nan followed the little guy back to the port, the docks were already filled with the clamor of Adventurers—some excited, others furious.

A pale-blue, three-masted galleon, far more massive than any other vessel at the docks, sat quietly at the harbor. A flag bearing a silver barracuda emblem fluttered from the top of its mast.

Rows of strictly disciplined soldiers in standard armor, weapons in hand, could faintly be seen on the deck.

As his gaze swept over the flag, Xia Nan instantly understood.

A silver barracuda—

'So the Governor's Mansion really did come?'

At the same time, he found it strange.

Based on his impression of the Barracuda Bay Governor's Mansion, their efficiency shouldn't have been this high.

Unless it was an incredibly important special occasion, the process of the higher-ups discovering a situation, summoning relevant personnel for research and reporting, confirming the details, issuing orders, and finally having the lower ranks execute them...

Even at their fastest, it would take at least four or five days just to run through the bureaucracy.

Not to mention the multi-day journey from the Barracuda Bay Governor's Mansion to Stodd Island.

Xia Nan had even prepared himself mentally to be stuck on the island for a month or so.

Yet he never expected—

Staring at the massive wooden ship from the Governor's Mansion before him, he breathed a sigh of relief, though he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious of the Governor's Mansion's bizarrely high efficiency.

Not far below the ship, on a wooden platform built from Water-Iron Wood, several leading figures who had survived the battle—including Lorraine, captain of the Blade of Vengeance—were gathered in a circle with their crew members.

Surrounded by the Adventurers was a blond man who looked to be three or four years older than Xia Nan, though still quite young.

"Everyone!" Resting a finely crafted leather boot on a wooden post, the man with neatly slicked-back light blond hair raised his voice slightly. "I have already clearly explained the Governor's Mansion's handling plan for this incident."

"If there are any further questions, you may speak them directly here. I, Orisi, will answer them to the best of my ability."

"Cut the crap!" The moment he finished speaking, a human Warrior from a severely depleted Adventurer Squad pushed his way out of the crowd. He stood bare-chested, his upper body covered in scars, with a gleaming one-handed axe hanging from his waist.

"What the hell is this recovery regulation of yours supposed to mean?"

"I've been stuck on this island for days and nearly lost my life to those fishmen! I finally managed to scavenge some loot to sell for coin, so why the fuck should I hand it over to the Governor's Mansion?!"

He had clearly pointed out the crux of the conflict.

Before the human Warrior could even finish speaking, a chorus of agreement erupted from the crowd.

On one side was a large mob of fierce Adventurers gripping sharp weapons, still reeking of killing intent from a battle that had only recently ended.

On the other side was a young man in his early twenties, possessing the slender build of a noble.

Being surrounded by such a group of Adventurers brought an immense amount of pressure.

One could see that the two Governor's Mansion guards standing behind him had already rested their hands on the hilts of their weapons.

Unexpectedly, however, the young man named Orisi appeared exceptionally composed. The polite smile on his face didn't even shift in the slightest.

He simply waited in silence until the uproar in the crowd quieted down a bit before explaining in a steady tone, "I will now provide a complete explanation regarding the loot recovery regulations for this incident. If there are any questions afterward, we can take them one by one. I won't avoid them."

With that, the blond man pulled a piece of parchment from his coat, stamped at the bottom with the official seal of the Governor's Mansion. Unfurling it before him, he read, "First, the scope of items targeted for recovery under this regulation covers Sahuagin corpses and their leftover belongings. Your personal equipment and currency are not subject to recovery."

"Second, the recovery prices will follow Barracuda Bay's standard market quotes. Given everyone's familiarity with these rates, I clearly don't need to waste my breath on the specific amounts. It will be crystal clear whether the Governor's Mansion is taking a cut."

"If you find that the recovery price for any item does not match the market rate, point it out, and we will compensate you double."

The Barracuda Bay Governor's Mansion's demand was very simple: to recover all fishman-related loot obtained by the Adventurers on Stodd Island.

Considering the market fluctuations caused by a massive influx of fishman loot, along with Barracuda Bay's prices already being higher than other settlements in the Southern Archipelagos, the rates they offered were actually quite generous.

But—

"So what if the prices are fair?" Amidst the whispers, another sharp voice rang out from the crowd.

"I risked my life to earn this loot, so why the hell must I sell it to you?"

"Can't I just take it home and put it on display?"