Because one goblin still looked deeply unsatisfied.

Narg had remained quiet for most of the tournament.

And that was because I rejected his private request to fight with Caius.

The reason for my rejection wasn’t because I doubted Narg’s strength. No. Far from it.

The problem was that Narg’s ability [Death Root] was too dangerous for something meant to be a friendly competition.

Anything it touched began corroding almost immediately, and the dark flame-like decay attached to the skill wasn’t something I wanted Caius’ people witnessing firsthand during what was supposed to be a friendly tournament.

Especially not their leader.

The ability didn’t just injure opponents physically. It permanently consumed portions of their stats as well, which made it far more terrifying than ordinary damage.

If Caius had ended up getting hit by that in front of everyone, things could have turned bitter very quickly.

Also, I’d already seen firsthand what it could evolve into, something dangerous enough to force a god-like being to descend personally. I had no intention of letting that happen again, especially now that I understood I was an anomaly meant to be erased.

Caius himself didn’t seem eager for that fight either, as the moment Narg had proposed the challenge, he’d looked fully prepared to reject it without hesitation.

Most likely, his innate skill was at play there. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

I found myself staring at Caius for a moment after that thought crossed my mind.

That innate skill of his really was absurdly attractive.

The ability to instinctively sense danger and unfavorable outcomes in battle was the kind of power that could completely change the flow of combat before it even started.

Useful.

Very useful.

Another fight eventually came to an end, and by then the sky above had already darkened completely.

Night had arrived without any of us really noticing.

And compared to the atmosphere from earlier, the difference now was almost hard to believe. The tension that had filled the area when Caius and his people first arrived was practically gone.

In its place was something far more lively.

The arena remained active with occasional matches continuing here and there, but now food was being brought out as well, causing the entire gathering to slowly shift into something closer to a celebration than a standoff.

Flogga had left earlier alongside her assistants to prepare food for the clan.

And now that the tournament had finally settled down, everyone was eating.

Groups of goblins sat together eating while arguing loudly over which fights had been the best so far.

Others continued laughing over Boro getting dragged to the ground earlier.

Even Caius’ followers, who had initially remained guarded and cautious, were beginning to settle in naturally among the others.

The atmosphere around the camp had become surprisingly lively as groups gathered around the fires with bowls of food in their hands, talking loudly while replaying parts of the fights they had just witnessed.

I sat beside Zarah while eating, quietly observing the interactions around us.

Caius’ goblins had loosened up considerably by now.

The caution and stiffness they carried earlier had mostly faded, replaced instead with the relaxed behavior of people beginning to feel like they weren’t surrounded by enemies anymore.

Kharos, Dribb, and Gobbo were all gathered together now, loudly comparing stories about past fights and hunts while occasionally arguing over whose exploits sounded more impressive.

Most of it was probably exaggerated.

Actually, knowing Dribb, definitely exaggerated.

Not too far from them, Doro had somehow ended up surrounded by Bundi and the others involved with construction work. Judging from the animated gestures and the occasional mention of walls and supports, they were most likely discussing how they planned to improve the territory’s defenses.

At some point, Bundi even insisted on taking Doro to see their lab, looking oddly excited about it.

Meanwhile, Gork was speaking with Drel nearby, the two seeming surprisingly comfortable with each other already despite having met only recently.

Veyra and Sheera had also settled in with Talia and Nira, chatting among themselves while occasionally laughing at something one of them said.

And then there was Flogga.

She had somehow cornered Caius completely.

At first, Caius had looked more than willing to answer her questions about his past, his time in this world, and how he eventually became chief of his former clan.

But Flogga kept going.

Every time he answered one question, three more followed immediately after.

By the time several minutes had passed, Caius’ expression had visibly begun changing from polite patience to quiet suffering.

And the worst part for him was that Flogga looked nowhere near finished.

At one point, Caius even attempted to escape.

He muttered something about needing to ease himself and had barely managed to stand before Flogga immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him back down beside her.

"No, no, no," she said firmly. "You haven’t answered half my questions yet."

The look on Caius’ face afterward nearly made me laugh.

For someone who had survived betrayal, war, exile, and domain battles, it was strangely amusing watching him lose against an overly curious old goblin woman.

And somehow, despite his obvious suffering, he still kept answering her questions out of sheer politeness.

My gaze eventually drifted elsewhere across the gathering.

Even Narg, despite always acting stoic and detached from everyone around him, had started speaking more tonight.

Though interestingly, not with Caius’ people.

He was talking with someone else entirely.

Zivra. The daughter of the former chief.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. But the longer I watched them, the stranger it started to feel.

The conversation didn’t look formal at all.

Narg did not look like he was giving instructions or discussing strategy.

He wasn’t wearing that usual serious expression he used whenever speaking about clan matters either.

The atmosphere between them felt...comfortable.

Natural. Maybe a little too natural.

Especially with the way they kept looking at each other during the conversation.

I slowly narrowed my eyes before glancing toward Zarah beside me.

"When did those two...