Chapter 128: Honesty and Self-Reflection

After walking out of the cave, Blaze let out a heavy sigh.

Although it was quite impolite to say, this old guy really couldn’t drop a single Gold Coin.

Without the cooperation of the elderly Lion, this huge Star Fragment would only be wasted, and he didn’t have the sick, twisted hobby of taking away the final resting place of an aging former king.

However, he couldn’t say there were absolutely no gains. At the very least, he learned that the Nemean Giant would definitely be defeated; it was just a matter of how the person involved chose to do it.

Since a lost battle would still eventually lead to a victorious future, he might as well boldly go all out. He would greedily push for victory to arrive even sooner, allowing the flower of triumph to bloom even more perfectly and beautifully.

His greatest harvest was undoubtedly the [Nemean Fruit].

These were the fruits borne from plants growing in the soil above the Lion’s remains. Because the elderly Lion’s soul constantly exuded a grand Qi there, these fruits grew exceptionally plump and rapidly—they could even be described as weeds.

Thanks to these fruits, the Goblin Tribe had an abundant food supply, which in turn kick-started the development of their civilization.

And these fruits, aside from being edible, could also destroy the Nemean Lion’s Fur Defense.

It certainly wouldn’t have any Effect on the Nemean Giant itself, but it would have an Effect against its Followers.

The elderly Lion said that the Nemean Giant would only appear when someone challenged its status.

Without using the Star Fragment that the elderly Lion was attached to, the only way to elevate himself to a level that the Nemean Giant would find unbearable was to obtain those small fragments from the Nemean Giant’s Followers.

"Hmm... I could have the Foreigners farm the small fragments for me, and in return, I’d give them discount vouchers for Enhancements... No, that won’t work. I already agreed with the [Fairy Kingdom] to exchange the fragments for Copper Coins... Forget it, I’ll just let them come and collect them directly from me every day," Blaze pondered.

Blaze tossed the [Nemean Fruit] in his hand. With this fruit, he could unlock the limiters on the Foreigners’ Swords and spears, granting them [Invincible Piercing] so they could fight with less restraint.

For this kind of special Effect item... he should make the Foreigners spend some money. After all, the Knight Order’s ledger had always been in the red. This could subsidize their funds a bit.

Blaze left the Goblin Tribe. Before departing, he promised the goblins that he would bring farmable animals next time, like cows and sheep.

This way, these goblins wouldn’t need to lay out wide-area traps to catch animals. Based on his understanding of the Foreigners, if they fell into such traps, they would absolutely burn with Anger and scour the area to find the culprit.

Moreover, the stronger the Foreigners, the more petty and calculating they would be over such matters.

For the sake of the Foreigners who wanted to become goblins, this Goblin Tribe had to be well protected...

"Why does that sound so weird?" Blaze smacked his lips. However, Foreigners had different aesthetics compared to normal people, so wanting to become a goblin wasn’t exactly strange.

Blaze returned to Balkan City. It was already night, yet the old fruit stand vendor was still sitting there.

The stall had already been packed up; he seemed to be purely sitting there waiting for him.

"I found it, but honestly, this fruit might be confiscated by the Royal Knight Order. You won’t be able to sell it." Blaze handed the fruit to the old vendor. "However, I can have the Royal Knight Order give you a cut based on the sales revenue. Of course, your debt will have to be deducted first."

Blaze thought this stingy old man would kick up a fuss, but surprisingly, the old man seemed completely unenthusiastic. He merely glanced at the fruit and lost interest.

"Is that so? Then the 120 Gold Coins will be enough."

The old man stood up sluggishly and slowly walked deeper into the street.

For some reason, his departing figure looked exceptionally lonely.

Blaze couldn’t help but shout in a joking tone, "What about your fourth daughter? Didn’t I already complete your commission?"

With his back to Blaze, the old man raised his right hand and waved.

"A perfectly straight road and 120 Gold Coins. As long as you know how to read a Map, even a fool would know where my fourth daughter is."

"What kind of answer is that?" Blaze shrugged.

As if perfectly timed, not long after the old fruit vendor disappeared, Chicken descended from the sky and landed on a nearby eaves. Since her body had grown, she could no longer perch on one of his shoulders.

If she insisted on staying on his shoulders, she’d have to place one foot on each side and sit on his head like she was incubating an egg.

"Yo, where did you take a detour to this time?" Blaze teased Chicken, while simultaneously thinking of the best way to tell her about the other Lion King.

Chicken remained silent for a long time, so long that Blaze had a premonition and also fell silent.

"I... told Herbie Hermes about the Nemean Giant and asked for her help."

Chicken lowered her head. She was self-aware that doing this was a betrayal to Blaze, so she was willing to accept Blaze’s Anger. But Blaze didn’t say a single word; the deathly silence was even more terrifying than the scolding she had imagined.

After waiting for a long time, Blaze’s response left Chicken stunned.

"I’m sorry you had to do that. It was something I should have done in the first place."

Chicken’s heart stung fiercely. It turned out that the young man’s self-blame was even more unbearable than his silence.

"I didn’t fully grasp the severity of this matter. I—"

She didn’t want to keep hearing the young man blame himself for her betrayal, so she chose to pounce forward, wrapping her wings around his body.

Blaze reached out and patted Chicken’s back, teasing, "It shouldn’t have taken you this long just to tell Herbie all that, right?"

"I also went with Herbie to check on the preparations. It’s going to be a massive project." Chicken closed her eyes, using her soul to feel the beating of Blaze’s passionate heart. "If you saw it, you would definitely... Ah!"

As if suddenly remembering something, Chicken let out a shriek and frantically flapped her wings, flying clumsily into mid-air.

"I forgot to deliver the letters!"

Blaze rolled his eyes and waved his hand.

"Go on, hurry up!"

"Right," Chicken paused in mid-air and said seriously once again. "I don’t want to suffer that kind of torment anymore, so I won’t ever betray you behind your back again."

Flapping her wings, Chicken blinked with an apologetic yet incredibly sly look.

"Next time, I’ll do it right to your face!"

"Hey!"

Blaze exasperatedly shook his fist at Chicken’s disappearing figure.

After Chicken faded from view, Blaze slowly lowered his fist. His self-blame wasn’t just to comfort Chicken; it was his true feelings.

He had underestimated the Nemean Giant and overestimated himself. A massive success had made his heart Proud.

Was his reluctance to seek out Herbie and Audrey truly entirely because he didn’t want to drag them down? He didn’t know. He only knew that Chicken was forced into her act of betrayal precisely because of the complacency and laid-back attitude hidden in his heart.

Chicken’s betrayal made him realize that thinking "bringing in the Knight Order and the Foreigners means I won’t be fighting alone" was incredibly naive.

Fortunately, everything that could be done had been done.

Next up was the grand preparation for war!