Reincarnated As A Dragon With Cheats

Chapter 63: Unexpected Visitor

They walked back without saying much, but the silence was not the same as before.

It was heavier now, filled with things no one had put into words yet.

The goblins who had nearly been sacrificed still walked close together, their shoulders brushing as if they were afraid of being left behind again. No one laughed, no one complained, and even their usual restless movements had quieted.

The shaman walked a little behind Pebbles, but her attention was not on the path. Her mind kept circling back to everything that had just happened, slowly putting pieces together that she had not paid attention to before.

At first, it felt like coincidence.

Then it didn’t.

Pebbles had asked her questions earlier.

These questions came to picture only now and that she understood.

The questions were related to Frog-Men.

Her steps slowed slightly as she recalled it more clearly.

He had asked about their habitat, and she had told him how they relied on the river, how it shrinks when summer comes, how they bury themselves deep into the banks to survive until the rain returns. He had listened quietly, without interrupting.

Then he had asked something that had felt odd at the time.

"What do they like?"

She had still answered.

"They like worms," she had said.

"Not fishes?"

"No, only worms. Especially Earth Worms. After rain, when the soil loosens, they come out. They hunt those."

Now that memory felt different.

Then came another question.

"What do they admire?"

That one had confused her more, but she had still replied.

"Lizardmen."

She remembered saying it clearly. "They see them as something higher. They want to be like them someday."

"Kind of like role models?"

"Kind of like role models." She had affirmed woth a nod.

At that time, she had not understood why that mattered.

Now she did.

And then the last one.

"What do they hate?"

She had answered immediately.

"Wolves. They are their natural enemies."

Her fingers tightened slightly as she walked.

He had paused after that, just for a moment, and then asked one more thing.

"Wolves? And not snakes? Or serpents?"

She had blinked.

"There aren’t any nearby."

Now, as she walked behind him, everything connected.

She finally realized why Pebbles had asked about them. All the answers she had given made absolute sense!

Whatever Pebbles spoke, not of it was sudden and luck..

"...Master..." she muttered under her breath, but didn’t call out to him enough.

Ahead of her, Pebbles walked as if nothing had changed.

.

.

.

By the time they reached the village, the atmosphere had already shifted.

The goblins who had stayed behind were gathered in small groups, watching them return with uncertain expressions.

The goblins of the village had expected something else entirely.

They thought there would be a fight and everyone would be covered in blood... many would be injured...

But nothing!

Instead, they got this.

Azatoth stood near the center. He had just run out of the hut.

Little had he expected all of them to return so soon. It had barely been an hour...

The moment he saw Pebbles, he stepped forward. His eyes moved quickly over the group, checking for injuries, counting faces without realizing it.

Then he noticed what wasn’t there.

They carried no dead bodies.

He half guessed that Pebbles might have used his skill to store the bodies away, so he didn’t give it much thought.

But seeing as everyone was absolutely fine, he wondered if there was even a fight.

"What happened?" he asked.

No one answered immediately. The goblins who had gone along avoided his gaze, and even the ones who usually spoke first stayed quiet.

The shaman stepped forward slightly.

"We made a deal," she said.

Azatoth didn’t react at first.

"...What?"

His voice came out lower than expected.

"A peace treaty," she added.

That was enough.

For a few seconds, he stood still as if the words hadn’t reached him properly. Then his hand moved to the place where his arm was missing, gripping the empty space tightly as his breathing changed.

"No," he muttered.

His eyes shifted to Pebbles.

"No... what do you mean peace?"

There was some sort of emotion in his voice now, something that hadn’t been there before.

"What about finishing them?"

He paused as he looked at the few bodies of the Frog-Men that remained left and right from the previous fight.

They had yet to be moved.

"What about all of this?"

His grip tightened.

He had thought about killing all of them and taking revenge on his arm... but now? That seemed like a distant dream!

No one interrupted him. No one tried to calm him down.

He stepped forward, faster this time, until he stood right in front of Pebbles.

"Master..."

He gulped hard, simply because he thought of questioning Pebbles.

"Tell me this isn’t true."

Pebbles looked at him, calm as always.

"It’s true."

That was all he said.

Azatoth stood there, staring at him. For a moment, it looked like he might say something else, might argue or even shout.

Instead, his eyes turned wet.

He looked away immediately, wiping his face roughly as if he didn’t want anyone to see it.

"...I see."

His voice came out quiet, almost flat.

Without waiting for anything else, he turned and walked away.

As he moved, he nearly ran into someone.

It was Azeth, who stood not too far. He almost jumped into him.

Azeth had just arrived, probably drawn by the gathering, and he immediately noticed something was off.

"...What happened?" he asked.

Azatoth paused for a brief second, then let out a dry breath.

"Well..." he said, as his voice carried a faint bitter edge.

"Looks like you’re the strongest among us now."

In any other circumstance, Azeth would have smiled or laughed about it. He would have even boasted about this to everyone!

Yet now, when Azatoth said this, Azeth couldn’t help but frown.

"What are you talking about?"

Azatoth gave a short and hollow chuckle.

"Master doesn’t need me anymore."

He didn’t wait for a response. He walked past him and kept going, his pace steady but his shoulders heavier than before despite a lot arm.

Azeth stood there for a moment, watching him leave, then turned his head toward Pebbles, who had already sat down on a stone platform as if none of this had anything to do with him.

He wanted to know what had happened and wanted to ask Pebbles directly.

But he didn’t walk forward.

Azeth made a decision.

And the decision was running behind Azatoth!

The rest of the village gathered slowly, and this time the news spread properly.

Everyone came to know that a treaty was made with the Frog-Men and the War-Frog tribe.

They also came to know about the contents of the treaty.

The reactions were mixed, but most of them leaned toward confusion rather than resistance. No one fully understood it yet, but no one openly challenged it either.

Pebbles remained seated for a while, letting the noise settle on its own.

And as everyone moved away, leaving him, the Shaman and the green lizard alone, was when he finally spoke.

"We need to gather everyone."

The shaman looked at him, "Eik?"

"All the goblin villages," he added.

She nodded, though her expression remained thoughtful.

"All the goblins villages... hmm..."

"It will take time," she said. "They’re spread out, and some are closer to River Vlad."

"That’s fine," Pebbles replied. "We bring them together."

She understood what he meant yet didn’t understand why he wanted to do.

However, unifying them was something that even she wanted!

"One place?" she asked.

He nodded.

"We will create a single place. Just one settlement where all the goblin villages can live together."

She hesitated slightly.

"But master... that is easier said than done. We would require a lot more space...," she said.

"Hm." Pebbles nodded as he thought about it.

"We would need stronger houses. Enough food for everyone. It won’t be easy, master..."

"I know," Pebbles said.

His eyes moved across the huts around them.

"These won’t last."

The structures were weak, barely holding together as they were.

The shaman followed his gaze and then spoke after a moment.

"...We could hire dwarves."

Pebbles looked at her almost instantly.

"Dwarves?"

There were a few sparkles sitting in his eyes. It was the first time, at least in this life, that he’d heard such a word.

She nodded.

"Erm, dwarves are..."

The shaman thought that Pebbles didn’t have an idea about dwarves and thus she explained.

"They’re shorter than goblins, but stronger. Well... muscular to be precise. They live for ores and metal. Their main work is forging weapons, but they build too, and they do it well."

There was a hint of respect in her tone.

"If we can get them to work for us, we can build something proper."

Pebbles thought about it for a moment.

’Dwarves... I’d like to see a dwarf...’, there was a smirk beneath the mask.

"How do we get them?"

"Ores," she replied immediately. "Good ones. If we have good ores to offer, then I’m sure they will agree."

"Ores you say..." Pebbles pondered where he could get those now.

"Now where do we find good ores to lure these Dwarves?"

She glanced toward the distance.

"Master, among the few villages under me, there are a few Natives."

"Natives?"

Ding!

[Natives are-]

Pebbles skipped the system’s answer and heard only from the Shaman.

"Yes, these Natives are like primitive goblins. They are usually stronger than normal goblins and these Natives live in huge caves."

Her voice lowered slightly.

"I’m pretty sure, we can find some ores in those caves."

Pebbles nodded once.

"Alright then, we will go there."

The shaman gave a small nod in return. She was ready to showcase all the villages and was about to tell about the path via which they’ll go when all of a sudden...

A sound cut through the air.

"Awoooooo..."

It was a low and clear howl.

It alerted everyone almost instantly.

The next moment, something rushed into the village.

Pebbles could hear few goblins shout, "Attack!!!"

"Wolf!!!"

Indeed, it was a wolf that stumbled and jumped right over the fences.

Pebbles raised his gaze and already found the wolf.

It was walking towards him, slowly and steadily...

Its black fur stood out, but what Pebbles observed more clearly were the scratches and wounds, some of which were deep enough that dried blood had clung to its fur.

Pebbles stood up from the stone platform and looked at it.

The wolf took a few more steps, unsteady, barely holding itself up.

Then it collapsed.

Right in front of Pebbles, only after confirming that it was Pebbles with a sniff.

Just yesterday or the day before Pebbles was sure that Azeth had made it clear that if any wolf came near the village, he would kill it without a second thought.

And he had made it clear to Eren, who was the leader of packs...

He had informed about it to Pebbles... but now...

The wolf lay there, breathing unevenly, its body trembling from exhaustion and pain.

The only thing it could say was...

"...Help."

"..."

"...Please."

Pebbles did not respond immediately.

He simply looked at it and continued to do so even when he heard Azeth say, "That’s... Erst!?"