Goblin King: My Innate Skill Is OP Chapter 355: Challenge

And a few with sothing close to awe.

Honestly, none of that was surprising.

Even stripped of his forr authority, Caius still carried himself like soone powerful. The way he stood, the calmness in his expression, the complete absence of nervousness under everyone’s attention—it naturally drew respect whether people wanted to admit it or not.

"He possesses a power that’s only a step below mine," I continued.

"Not anymore, I don’t," Caius muttered calmly from beside .

But I ignored him.

"Which ans he knows things capable of making this clan stronger," I continued, "and increasing our chances of surviving the King’s Gas, which is our most important objective right now."

That statent noticeably shifted the atmosphere again.

The excitent from earlier settled slightly, replaced by a heavier seriousness as the reality of the King’s Gas resurfaced in everyone’s minds.

And after hearing that, many of them began looking at Caius differently.

The distrust was still there, but now it was mixed with a clear sense of respect for what he had accomplished and the strength he possessed.

Caius himself, however, seed completely unaffected by the attention.

Unlike the others, he didn’t look uncomfortable standing beneath everyone’s gaze at all.

Honestly, it was probably sothing he had long gotten used to as a forr chief.

"Now..." I began, bringing the discussion toward its conclusion. "These goblins are not guests. They are not allies either. From this day onward, they are mbers of the Erald Midget Clan operating under my authority."

The gathered goblins listened quietly.

"If they betray us, they die," I continued evenly. "And if anyone attacks them without reason, I’ll consider that an attack against my authority as chief."

A few expressions stiffened at that.

So of Caius’ followers also reacted slightly upon hearing it stated that bluntly, though none of them voiced any complaints. After the oaths they had just sworn, they already understood their lives were now tied directly to this clan whether they liked it or not.

Good.

I wanted the ssage understood clearly before unnecessary problems started later.

"So unless one of them gives you a reason," I finished, "learn to work together. Understood?"

"YES, CHIEF!"

The response echoed throughout the settlent almost imdiately.

I gave a small nod.

"Good," I muttered before turning toward Narg and the others. "Narg, Granny Flogga, Zarah, Gobbo, Bundi, and Gork—you’ll be joining for a eting at the round table."

Then I turned toward the newcors.

"Caius, Sheera, Verya, Kharos, Drel, and Doro. You all co as well."

They nodded in understanding.

"The rest of you should try mingling with the others for now," I said to the remaining goblins from Caius’ group. "Dribb and Zonk will show you around the settlent."

Dribb looked like he had mixed feelings about being assigned that responsibility, though he didn’t complain openly. Putting Dribb in charge of guiding forr enemies around the settlent sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. But at the sa ti, I trusted him enough to know he wouldn’t cross a line that I had drawn clearly.

"Yes, chief," the remaining goblins responded.

The word chief sounded noticeably awkward coming from so of them, as though they still weren’t fully used to acknowledging soone else in that position yet.

And that was expected.

They had followed Caius for who knew how long. Suddenly shifting that loyalty and openly calling another goblin chief wasn’t sothing they were going to adjust to imdiately.

But they would get used to it eventually.

Or they’d be forced to.

I turned and began walking away, intending to head toward the round table eting area with the others following behind .

But before we could properly leave, a loud voice suddenly rang out from behind us, stopping the entire group in place.

"Wait!"

I stopped and turned around to see Dribb was walking forward with his axe resting over his shoulder, his expression serious in a way that instantly made realize this wasn’t going to be sothing minor.

Gobbo, standing nearby, was already shaking his head repeatedly as though trying to stop him before he said anything stupid.

Unfortunately, Dribb ignored him completely, and lowered himself onto one knee respectfully before .

"Chief," he began, his tone firm, "if you permit it... I’d like to challenge one of these unruly goblins to a fight."

The reaction from both sides was imdiate.

Several gasps sounded throughout the gathered crowd while others outright scoffed in disbelief.

So couldn’t believe Dribb had the courage to ask sothing like that directly in front of Caius and the others.

Others looked excited instead.

"This is not the ti for your silly gas, Dribb," Narg said with a deep frown. "There are more urgent matters we should be focusing on."

"This isn’t a ga," Dribb replied imdiately, his tone serious and unwavering. "If they’re truly going to stand beside us in battle later, then I want to see their strength with my own eyes."

Judging from the look in his eyes, I could tell he ant every word.

Gobbo let out a tired sigh and stepped forward, clearly intending to drag Dribb away before the situation escalated further.

"Stop this nonsense and go already, Dribb."

But before he could reach him, I raised a hand.

"No. Leave him," I said, a grin slowly spreading across my face. "Let’s hear him out."

Dribb imdiately straightened slightly after hearing that, while Gobbo let out another exhausted sigh like he had already given up trying to stop what was about to happen.

"Chief, lets not entertain this" Narg whispered but I didn’t listen.

The tension between both groups was still lingering beneath the surface no matter how calm things looked right now. Everyone was restraining themselves because I ordered it, but restraint wasn’t the sa thing as acceptance.

Caius’ group needed to properly establish themselves within the clan sooner rather than later, and this, if handled correctly, this could actually help with that.

"So..." I said, looking toward Dribb with an interested grin spreading across my face. "Which one of them do you want to fight?"

The mont I asked that question, the...