Deadmeat Saga

Intermission – The goblin raised by wolves

A certain goblin named Crird was born to a small goblin tribe living in Elkington Forest.

He was an ordinary and unremarkable goblin child, weak among his peers and somewhat stupid. They also lacked a shaman and couldn't discern his talent. He only knew that the village wolves especially liked him.

He was not destined for greatness and was likely to die without having the chance to mate with the picky goblin females. In their society, the females picked on the strongest or ones with the most desirable qualities, making the majority of goblins destined for bachelorhood. It was why male goblins were crueler and desperate for females of other races, often raiding nearby settlements to capture the desirable females who had a high chance of birthing strong goblins!

That was until, one fateful day, his destiny changed. Humans attacked his tribe, killing everyone. Only he and a few children managed to escape.

As they fled, they encountered a pack of wolves. The other children pushed him down and used him as bait for the wolves while escaping. He felt indescribable fear and hate. Hate for the humans, hate for the goblins, and hate for his powerlessness. The only ones he didn't hate were the wolves since he understood they were merely part of the cycle of nature.

As he closed his eyes and prepared himself for death, hoping it would be painless- It never came. Instead, screams rang from the distance. His former comrades were the first to be eaten by the wolves. He somehow felt satisfied with the divine retribution.

Opening his eyes, he found that the pack leader, a Dire Wolf with budding antlers, was sniffing him and tilting its head. It had gentle eyes as if looking at its pup. That was when his fate changed. The wolf pack adopted him.

Days turned to weeks, weeks became months, and months became years.

He was one with the pack, and the pack was one with him.

With his guidance, the pack slowly expanded and grew, eating stronger prey while avoiding the pesky hunters, sometimes pillaging the meat they left behind. As he ate more and more high-end meat, he gradually evolved along with his strength.

From a Regular Goblin to a Goblin Warrior. From a Goblin Warrior to a Hobgoblin. From a Hobgoblin to a Goblin Commander. The wolf pack that raised him also strangely evolved along with him, becoming stronger and stronger.

When he became a Goblin Commander, his ambitions grew, but he learned from lessons past. He was traumatized by the humans, not daring to face them. So, he had a crazy plan. He decided to carve a territory in the Deep Forest, where terrifying monsters lay.

With his wolf pack, he managed to slay some of the mighty hegemons, claiming a territory. With the high-tier food, he continued evolving, becoming a mighty Goblin Lord, and the Alpha Pair who was with him the entire way became hegemons themselves, not inferior to any in the deep forest!

But it was still not enough. It was not enough to exact revenge against the powerful humans. More, he needed more!

"It is time to build a tribe." The new Goblin Lord decided.

And so he did. With overwhelming force, he annexed goblin tribes, bringing them to the deep forest. The once picky goblin females now all desired him, but he was disgusted with them. They were too low quality for someone as mighty as him!

Picking only female hobgoblins, he reluctantly mated with them, producing hobgoblins en-mass. But it was still not enough! Picking the most promising among them, he nurtured them with high-grade meat, turning them into Goblin Commanders, a total of two dozen!

Only then, now with two dozen Goblin Commanders, Hundreds of trained Hobgoblins, and a thousand disposable goblin cannon fodders, armed with magical wood and steel weapons and armor forged by hobgoblin smiths, along with his precious wolf pack numbering in the hundreds, was he sure he could crush the humans once and for all!

And now, the day of reckoning has come. It was time to act, to raise the butcher's knife, and claim his sweet, SWEET revenge.

.

.

.

Sitting on his stone throne, a giant, muscular, and surprisingly human-looking goblin with huge antlers, with two massive wolves sleeping at his sides listened to a report.

"My lord! As you ordered, the several slave warbands sent met the human hunters! We also allowed one of the human merchant guards to escape back to the human settlement, but it will likely die from our contaminated arrows." A Goblin Commander with a bone staff knelt and reported.

It was one of the Goblin Lord's sons, but there were no parental ties between the two. They were a boss and subordinate.

"Good. Let them fear! Let them despair! It will break their morale. My revenge will be much sweeter that way. Hmhmhm..." The Goblin Lord chuckled.

"Let the horde rest. We shall attack before daybreak when they least expect it." The Goblin Lord narrowed his snake-like yellow eyes, an evil smile on his lips while petting one of his wolves.