10,000x Reward Multiplier: Hell-level Kingdom Building-Chapter 22: [0] Breeze

Outside the cave

The crescent of the moon bathed the bushes near the goblin den, where the two sons of Harald the hunter could be seen lying unconscious on the ground.

Some small animals, suspecting they were dead, had already begun to gather around them, the likes of rodents and a few scavenger birds that circled cautiously nearby.

At that moment, the entire cave shook with a thundering growl, and it spread past the perimeter of the cave, reaching the two brothers and managing to wake them up from their unconsciousness.

Anton was the first to wake up from the sound. His vision was blurred, and his body was riddled with weakness that made him struggle just to lift his upper torso. His memories were also quite foggy.

As he managed to scan his surroundings, he recognised the cave nearby, and instantly his eyes shot open as the tiredness he was feeling at that moment vanished.

He recalled everything that had taken place, how an unrecognized black-clothed figure had attacked Jabba and how he had stepped in to assist. That was where his memories ended, so he concluded that he must have been knocked out by that guy.

Nonetheless, standing up, he was shocked to see that the cave entrance was open. As a result, they could clearly hear most of the sounds that had earlier been muffled by the rock boulder.

"What has happened to young chief? Is he still in there? Where is that stranger?" So many questions arose in his mind as he stared at the opened cave entrance, his expression tightening slightly.

He was indecisive right now, thus he went ahead to wake his older brother.

But just like him, he was sceptical about entering the cave, especially with all the chaotic noises they were hearing from within.

But they still pushed themselves forward. After all, their young chief was in there, and they could not afford to hesitate.

====

The cave was noisy with loud, pained cries from the hobgoblin who was being ignored by Floki and the black-attired figure.

Floki’s expression hung with confusion as he tried to find a response to the question he was asked.

Was he supposed to know this guy? He wondered. If so, why was there no single memory of him, not even a fragment of one?

He wondered what their relationship was. From their interaction so far, it was hard to tell if they were really close or the complete opposite, and that uncertainty left a faint unease in his chest.

He had even tried to think that he could be one of his villagers, but his appearance, clothes, and most of all, strength proved otherwise. If there was someone as strong as him in Ironside, they would have taken down Blackstone already.

Which left Floki to think that this guy was from another village entirely.

But only one village had come into contact with Ironside in the last three or so years, and that was Blackstone, and they were in no way close with one another.

"I can’t recall anything as such. I don’t even think we’ve ever met before," Floki confessed honestly.

The black-attired figure simply stared at Floki without speaking for a while, his gaze calm and unreadable.

Then all of a sudden, he magically equipped two small knives and tossed them towards the other goblin king in the room, which made Floki turn his head in its direction almost instantly.

The other goblin king had transformed into a hobgoblin and was currently planning on sneaking an attack on the two of them.

But now its intention had been cut short, as the two knives thrown at it neatly chopped its two hands away with precise accuracy.

The hobgoblin fell on the ground as well and began to scream, akin to its comrade, its cries echoing across the cave walls.

Floki removed his attention from it and tilted his gaze to the black-attired man, still curious for answers.

Now standing very close to him and managing to observe him without interruption, he could now see his appearance properly.

This guy was pretty young, at least in his late twenties.

He looked older from afar because of his malnourished physique, pale face, and the signature bored expression that reflected his personality.

"It is better for both of us that you can’t recall anything." The black-attired man finally let out a quiet sigh of relief and spoke, as though none of this had ever concerned him in the first place.

"My name is Breeze." He introduced himself in a neutral manner, with no handshake or anything of that sort.

Floki did not find the need to introduce himself because this guy seemed to know him already and was even aware that he was weak.

"Earlier you asked when am I going to be strong enough? What do you mean?" Floki asked, his brows slightly furrowed.

"That is for you to find out," Breeze responded with a look of boredom on his face.

He seemed that the little conversation they had just had was already getting less interesting for him.

"Then why are you helping me?" Floki asked again, unwilling to let it go.

"Because I have to. You can’t die. Not now," he said plainly.

His response left Floki with even more questions than earlier, deepening the confusion in his mind.

Nonetheless, before Floki could proceed with asking more questions, two familiar figures stepped into the hall. It was Jabba and Anton.

The two of them stood at the entrance, frozen, as they stared at Floki and Breeze.

Floki was about to wave at them when the two of them suddenly sprinted towards them with all their might.

"Young chief, get away from him!"

"You evil bastard, what are you doing here?"

"Get away from young chief!"

The two of them barked loudly.

Their voices were filled with so much animosity and caution that it was almost palpable.

They did not even mind the presence of the hobgoblin, as they found it far less scary than the person standing near their young chief.

’What the heck, they know him?’

Floki turned to Breeze, confusion deepening in his gaze.

Breeze flashed him a smile as he reached for his pocket and brought out a strange-looking can. Then he tossed the can to the ground with so much force that it exploded, releasing thick black smoke that obstructed everyone’s vision, including Floki, who was standing very close to him.

When the smoke finally dispersed, Breeze was nowhere to be found.

Floki stared at the position he had been standing on, then at Anton and Jabba, curiosity clear in his gaze as his thoughts churned.

’Just what the heck is happening?’

====

Update 2/4; next pair would be released in a few hours