Island God: Going From Level 1 To World Ruler-Chapter 97: Oga Caverns (Episode 3)

Within the Oga Caverns, Gool and Yemo faced the king of the town.

He sat far on the opposite side of the two goblins, atop a throne within a stand room within the bleachers.

Female goblins waved large palm fronds across his face, easing him with cool winds.

He was a fat goblin. His belly extended in his seated position like that of a jellybean.

His face was round, his body stubby and no taller than Gool’s.

"Continue! Who’s next!?" His voice rang loud. He wore a crown made of sticks, but a pink gem of great vibrance rested at its center.

"King Juuo! It is I, Gool the traveler!" Gool announced himself loudly, capturing the fat goblin’s attention.

His eyebrows raised, his eyes then narrowed to face the goblin before him.

"Hmm?" The goblin king exclaimed, "What am I seeing... it actually is you, Gool!" He began to chuckle. "Have you come to entertain me this time? Or did you come back to Oga due to its recent success? Yes, that must be it! After all, all goblins are greedy for my accomplishments! Hahaha!" He roared with laughter.

’Hmm... last time we met, he didn’t pay much mind to me.’ Gool thought, ’But he knows I am of higher status than most other goblins for my age and experience alone, despite what older goblins might have to say. Someone as power hungry as him can’t help but respect that status, at least a little bit.’ He was gauging the king’s mind as he talked.

Yemo couldn’t help but despise the goblin seated far from him.

’What a waste of breath. He sits there on his fat ass while benefitting from the rule of lord Midas, claiming it to be his own hard work.’ He thought to himself with disdain. He wouldn’t wait to overthrow the goblin.

He faced Gool, who was standing a few feet in front of him, ’What will you say? His remarks and attitude are all wrong.’ He questioned in his mind.

Gool sighed.

"Hahaha!" He burst out into a sudden laugh.

Yemo’s eyes flickered open with slight surprise. He wasn’t expecting such a reaction.

"That is amazing to hear, my lord! I always love hearing the great luck of my motherland!" Gool replied, his tone matching the king’s.

"Luck, huh? I don’t know so much about that, but sure... anyways, have you come here to entertain me or not? I don’t partake in other types of social activities, so don’t bother trying to talk about serious topics." Juuo said, as though unbothered.

Gool inwardly furrowed his brows with confusion, but maintained the same demeanor on the outside.

"Seriously?" He simply said, his smile still large, "What kind of king doesn’t listen to the well-wishes and ideas of his people? I think some serious conversations here are quite beneficial!" His tone was still polite.

Juuo did not reciprocate the same energy, however. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"What do you know about politics!?" He suddenly retorted, standing. "I realized many months ago that to rule, a king must only use his own brain. Listening to common folk is foolish! At first, I doubted my own mindset. But the more I thought about it, it made sense. After all, I am the royal, not them. Listening to those below me would only soil my own brain. After I listened to none but myself, the city has thrived! Food is no longer scarce. Orcs are not patrolling the lands, and mosquitoes are much less violent in keeping their territory safe."

Gool nervously chuckled, "I-I see..." He said.

"So... what has brought you here?" Juuo asked, his demeanor toward Gool now colder.

At that moment, Gool realized some bad news.

’I... can’t win him over.’ He said inwardly, ’It is impossible.’ He was completely defeated in this task. After all, it seemed the king was completely convinced of his own way.

By a series of fortunate events caused by Midas’s actions on the island, Juuo’s actions had been verified in his mind.

’However, that is not the only option.’ Gool thought, hope still lingering within him. His eyes wandered over to a large gong resting atop the king’s stand.

It was made of brass and steel and was round in shape. It was as large as an elephant in size, and the strings attached to it were strung up all the way to the ceiling of the cavern.

’The communal gong.’ Gool thought. It was a mix between a drum and a bell. A single tap, and the entire cavern of Oga would hear the noise.

The King’s would only use it during important missions, such as times of war and immense danger, or famines, and so on.

It was a way for the king to gather his folk in order to spread his word and knowledge.

’If I can’t change the mind of the one controlling the power, I will have to control the power itself.’ Gool thought, ’The power of any governing body lies within the people it governs. Thankfully for me, having such a crude king as my opponent is a good thing. It will make recruiting Oga Town goblins much easier. But still... proposing surrender to a species is no small task.’

"Well..." Gool said, turning, "One moment, while I discuss with my partner."

Juuo clicked his teeth, sitting back down with a bored look on his face.

"Yemo, you have the projectile weapon I asked you to bring, right?" Gool asked.

"Huh?" Yemo looked surprised to hear this question, "Yes... I brought the slingbow. An invention that allows a mere slingshot to shoot a pebble with the force of a crossbow. But I thought we would only use it if the time came for it. That it was for special occasions only." He said, confused.

"This is one of those times. It seems we can’t convince the king after all." Gool replied, grabbing the slingbow from Yemo.

Yemo looked like he heard some very concerning news. "W-we can’t!?" He said in shock.

"All hope isn’t lost. There is another way. We just need to convince the people to join our side." Gool smirked. But he wasn’t as confident as he let on.

He turned before Yemo could reply, loading a small pebble on the weapon that resembled a small crossbow.

He aimed it right at the gong with one eye closed before letting it rip.

Juuo’s eyebrows furrowed with confusion as he saw a small pebble being hurled through the air and flying over his stand.

It made contact, sending a massive echo of noise throughout the entire cavern. The low and vibrating noise bounced off the walls and shot into every crevice.

At once, all beings within the Oga caverns were alerted to the communal gong going off.