Chapter 85: The Ambitions of the Goblin Brain

Sun Licheng looked around in confusion, seeing no one, and asked, “Commander, where are you?”

A laugh echoed. “My child, I am right in front of you.”

“In front of me? But I can’t see you,” Sun Licheng said, even more puzzled. All he saw was a spinning sphere. “Are you inside this sphere?”

“You are clever, my child. Ten thousand years have passed, and except for those deities, no one could survive so long—I was no exception. However, thanks to the technological might of the Goblin Empire, I was able to preserve my brain. That is why we can meet today.”

With this answer, everything became clear to Sun Licheng. He peered into the sphere and, sure enough, a small brain floated at its very center, resembling nothing so much as a walnut kernel—a rather bizarre sight.

After a moment’s thought, Sun Licheng asked, “Commander, since you’re able to survive like this, why did you have the Dance of Death summon me? I would imagine that in this fortress, you’re not the only goblin to have survived in such a fashion, are you?”

“You guessed right. I am not alone here—there is an entire legion,” the commander confirmed.

“However, this method of survival has fatal flaws. So, we need a true goblin able to shoulder the great responsibility of reviving the empire. You, new goblin hero, are our best hope,” the commander continued.

Hearing this, Sun Licheng fell into thought. The scene before him was reminiscent of something from “Fallout”: a group of wealthy people, in order to survive nuclear destruction, had turned their brains into machines—only to become a horde of madmen.

Looking at the state of the commander and his kind, Sun Licheng suspected that so-called legion must now be all but powerless, perhaps even extinct. Otherwise, why would they have allowed their own capital to be ravaged by enemies for ten millennia?

“Commander, after all this time, am I the only suitable candidate you’ve found?” Sun Licheng pressed another question.

“You are the second hero to make it here,” came the unexpected reply.

It turned out that, in order to revive the empire, the Goblin Empire had, before its fall, collected a vast trove of biological samples from its citizens and scattered numerous mechanisms throughout the planes. These would periodically release the samples, allowing them to grow into goblins.

Through natural selection, true champions would arise from among them. The empire’s standard for such champions was to become a goblin hero, blessed by the Hero God.

Though the empire had waged a great war against the deities, that did not prevent them from receiving the basic blessings of nature. Heroic power was one such blessing, though the process to attain it was unimaginably harder for goblins than for other races.

Once a goblin possessed heroic power, he was deemed fit for command—capable of rallying others and restoring the empire’s former glory.

The deities, realizing the empire’s intentions, hunted down any goblin who appeared, but with little effect. They eventually changed tactics: robbing goblins of their culture and tainting their blood with that of lesser creatures, until the word “goblin” became synonymous with barbarism, backwardness, and inferiority.

Countless years had passed. Now, to find a goblin with imperial blood was nearly impossible—only in these forsaken, harsh lands could one hope to find such a being.

Three thousand years ago, a goblin hero finally emerged here. Commander Ritter, upon receiving the signal, was overjoyed and quickly sent his battle automatons to summon him.

After overcoming many obstacles, they reached the fortress, and the commander generously provided the hero with ample resources. Grateful, the goblin hero departed with his spoils, leaving the commander to wait in vain for centuries. Three thousand years passed without a word.

Commander Ritter concluded the hero must have died. It was only when Sun Licheng slew a goblin hero, thus triggering the empire’s ancient surveillance system, that today’s meeting came about.

“Did that goblin hero die?” Sun Licheng asked, puzzled.

Ritter pondered, uncertain, and asked Sun Licheng to describe the outside world.

Sun gave a brief account of the goblin airbase, the wolf-rabbits, the Moon Alliance, and the recent great battle. He gave special attention to the odd situation where goblins and goblins—essentially the same race—were locked in endless conflict.

“Sun Licheng, thank you for your honesty,” Ritter said. “I suspect that hero did not die, but betrayed the empire. The name ‘goblin’ was not invented out of thin air—it was our term for those who surrendered to the deities and betrayed the empire, a secret known only to us. If that group now calls themselves goblins, then it’s certain they are tied to that hero.”

Ritter spoke with a hard edge in his voice.

“So even in the Goblin Empire, things weren’t entirely united. Even here, there were traitors,” Sun Licheng reflected sadly on the presence of betrayers in the empire.

But Ritter was unwilling to dwell on betrayal. “Let’s not speak of the traitor. I hope you will shoulder the burden of restoring the empire. Rest assured, I will give you all the support you need.”

“What do I need to do? What support will the empire provide?” Sun Licheng asked.

“First, you must gather all the goblins across the planes, eliminate all traitors, and organize them. Next, you must educate them, establish a full manufacturing system and a powerful army. Then, you must sweep away all enemies, restoring goblins as masters of this plane. Finally, you must storm the divine realm, defeat those contemptible deities, and make the empire itself divine!”

As Ritter spoke, his emotions grew more intense. The electronic voice rose in pitch, eventually becoming almost shrill.

Sun Licheng broke into a cold sweat. “This guy is a total war maniac. He’s been on his knees for ten thousand years and still dreams of retaking the continent. Never mind unifying the plane or storming the divine realm—he hasn’t even unified this tunnel!”

Ritter soon began listing what resources he could provide. Sun Licheng thought, “Well, great, the resources are actually quite limited.” Apart from some battle automatons and samples for a monster army, most of what was offered was trivial. At least before their retreat, the bald guy gave him a general’s rank—this is just empty-handed wishful thinking!

However, Sun Licheng noticed something important: Ritter mentioned a special weapon. According to him, this was a superweapon developed by the empire’s scientists in the final days of the war, drawing on the power of the deities themselves—a weapon capable of killing gods!

“Damn! That’s incredible! If they’d equipped that at the time, maybe they really could have made their dream of revenge come true,” Sun Licheng thought, marveling to himself.