Goblin Workshop In Me

131. The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Ally

The army stopped just a short distance away from the Gruggles, who raised their arms above their heads. It didn’t make sense no matter how long they stared at the Gruggles, but that meant they had no intention to fight. Ko Byeong-gap had to decide: should they charge like this and slaughter them or withdraw from the battle?

The latter judgment was more rational. It was suicidal to face that many Gruggles with only 7,000 troops. However, it was clear that turning around as if nothing had happened would make them feel uncomfortable.

“Crazy… what are they doing?”

Jeong Seon-kyung, standing at the forefront of the ranks, frowned. The Karma around her weapon radiated toward the Gruggles, and she wasn’t the only one. The others also seemed to be on the verge of unleashing a merciless attack at any moment.

“Stop! Stop! Don’t do anything!”

Ko Byeong-gap quickly calmed them down. Wouldn’t a single bullet shot unwittingly cause a war? One hasty action could cause unparalleled chaos.

“What are we going to do?”

Jeong Seon-kyung approached. Ko Byeong-gap slowly lowered his sword and answered:

“I don’t think they want war either.”

“It’s possible that they’re gathering energy to use a special move.”

If that were the case, they would all die. However, Ko Byeong-gap didn’t feel any threatening energy. His eyes turned to the Gruggles. There was one who stood out stark against the others, with two wings jutting out from their back and huge horns.

He also made an X but soon lowered his arms as he walked out in front of them and stopped about fifty meters away.

“How do you think we can talk to them?”

“Can they understand us?”

“That’s not the case usually. But it’s not a normal situation right now.”

“Byeong-gap, what if we tell them to sacrifice 5,000 of them?”

“Then, that’s a piece of cake.”

Ko Byeong-gap smacked his lips and looked back over his people. After that, he instructed them to wait for now. A few voiced their concerns, but he reassured them that it would be fine.

“I’m going.”

He stepped forward, and the closer he moved to the herd, the more his palms grew sweaty. Soon, he faced the Gruggle who took the lead. There was nothing on his face that could be called features, but one second later, his face trembled like clay dough to make eyes and a mouth. The sight of his face being torn to form holes was perfect for a horror movie.

“Hhh!”

A creepy sound erupted from his lips. Ko Byeong-gap felt the hair on his body stand up. The sound was familiar…

‘What is it? I think I heard it somewhere….’

“Nice to meet you, special human.”

Suddenly, it spoke. Ko Byeong-gap was truly astonished. As Jeong Seon-Kyung said earlier, it was because they had never thought talking to the Gruggles would work.

“Special human?”

“You.”

The Gruggle stretched out his finger and pointed at Ko Byeong-gap, who almost swung his sword by reflex.

“Why am I a special person?”

“Because you’re special. Haha!”

Ko Byeong-gap stopped to ponder. He shifted his gaze to look over the horizon. He didn’t like it getting darker, so he decided to rush the conversation.

“What do you want?”

“Madmut.”

“Madmut?”

“Madmut’s body. I want that.”

“…Why?”

“Because I couldn’t eat it! Kyahahaha!”

Ko Byeong-gap felt as if he was dealing with a child.

“You guys… what are you guys?”

“We’re nothing. Nothing. Right, we’re nothing. Are we the wind? Or are we a rock? Maybe we’re the flowing river or dust flying around.”

“What…?”

“Give me Madmut’s body!”

His face suddenly grew ten times, and his huge mouth opened. Ko Byeong-gap stepped back and pointed his sword at him.

“What if we can’t give it to you?”

“Uh, you can’t do that. You have to get it no matter what.”

Ko Byeong-gap suddenly realized one fact: the Gruggle in front of him wasn’t a Gruggle. He asked, squinting upward to the sky.

“Are you the Devil?”

“That’s what I was called before I was bound by time. But now, yes. To borrow the expression of your creatures, you can say that I’m a god! Isn’t it amazing? Haha!”

“God… that’s great. But if you’re great, why don’t you go and get Madmut’s body yourself?”

“Uh, no. No, no. I can’t do that with a body like this. That’s why I’m asking you, special human.”

The Gruggle moved his neck, which stretched like rubber, and stepped closer to Ko Byeong-gap. Its gaping mouth exuded a rotten stench. Ko Byeong-gap took two steps back, frowning.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Not just you, but that girl.”

The Gruggle looked over. Following his eyes, Seo Si-hee was stood there. What the two had in common was clear, they were connected to Ashvilam.

“But I’m more attracted to you because you’re like the man who shared wisdom with us before! Kyahaha!”

“Are you talking about Landriol?”

“That’s right. He was willing to kill Madmut! He’s in here!”

He pushed his face to Ko Byeong-gap’s chest, but he drew further back.

“I want you to stay away from me.”

“Why?”

“You smell bad.”

“Sad…”

He grew sullen.

“Anyway, get Madmut’s body. That way, we can be perfect.”

“What if I can’t?”

“You have to!”

He roared, his voice echoing across the fields. The soldiers straightened up, their weapons held at the ready. Ko Byeong-gap didn’t want a battle to break out, so he signaled that he was okay. His eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“Hey, you fucking bastard. Do you think Madmut is just eating soup on the side of the street? If I asked you to save me, would you save me?”

“You can’t do it?”

“Why don’t you do it yourself? It was your kind that drove Madmut out of heaven, right?”

‘Maybe this is an opportunity.’

What the Devil wanted was Madmut’s head. If he did this well, they could deal with things without lifting a finger. Moreover, their opponent was the Devil, who had already defeated Madmut once.

However, the Gruggle in front of him shook his head.

“We can’t do it.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“We can’t get out of this place. All we can do around here is move.”

He turned to glance at the crowd behind him.

“You can’t leave this realm?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because we are dying. We are imperfect now. So I need Madmut’s body. I need an immortal body!”

“You said you were a god earlier, but this time, are you pretending to be weak?”

“Hmmm…”

Ko Byeong-gap sheathed his sword. He then crossed his arms and added:

“Since you can’t move on your own, you need an errand man to bring Madmut’s body for you. That’s me.”

“That’s right! Haha! You’re special, so you can make our wishes come true!”

“My purpose is to kill Madmut too.”

“Hahaha! Good! I like it!”

“But I can’t do that now.”

“What?!”

The Gruggle shouted.

“Madmut is strong. As of now, I can’t compete.”

Ko Byeong-gap swallowed his fear. He pretended to be calm, but cold sweat ran down his back. After all, this was a gamble. They needed Ko Byeong-gap and expected that he would bring Madmut to them. However, if he was judged as not meeting their expectations, it was unsure how their attitudes would change.

“But if you guys help me, I can catch and give Madmut to you.”

“I’ll help you! I’m here to help you!”

“How can you help?”

“This! It’s a gift. Kyahaha!”

He pointed to the Gruggles stretching out behind him.

‘Certainly, these things….’

There were two things he needed now: force and absolute power. To counter the Six-rays Bridge and the monsters acting as their hands and feet, a corresponding force was needed. Also, to defeat Go Geon-ryong, he needed a force that exceeded his.

“Are you going to give me those Gruggles?”

“I can give you more. We’re collecting all our forms scattered throughout the continent. Kyahahaha!”

“By the way, how do I control them?”

Ko Byeong-gap asked the question without much thought. Rather, the head Gruggle looked perplexed.

“Uh… you can’t?”

“Of course I can’t. How can I handle all those things?”

“…”

The Gruggle sighed.

“Wait a minute.”

He then suddenly disappeared. Ko Byeong-gap felt that way because the Gruggles’ features were crushed and faded away. Approximately two or three minutes passed. When the eyes and mouth appeared again on the Gruggle’s face, Ko Byeong-gap sensed that he had returned.

“If I give you the power to handle them, I can get Madmut’s body, right?”

“It would be worth trying.”

“Then I’ll give you a piece of us. It means one of us would become one with you! So, you must bring the body of Madmut!”

“Huh! If it’s not me, there’s no one else who could do this favor, right?”

“Don’t try to test us! You have to catch Madmut.”

“I promise to do my best.”

‘I have to do that to live anyway.’

The Gruggle in front of him began to clump together and soon became a sphere the size of a fist. Ko Byeong-gap sensed that his conversation partner would soon disappear.

“Lastly, I’ll ask you one thing. Are you the ones who revived me when I died a few months ago?”

“That’s right. You’re special, so you can’t die at will. Kyahahaha!”

“…Thank you for saving me.”

The orb approached Ko Byeong-gap, which was then absorbed into his body.

‘Power…’

Ko Byeong-gap felt a formidable power filling his body. It was a different kind from Karma or aura. He watched dark smoke rising from his fingertips.

‘This is…’

‘It’s the power of the Devil.’

Landriol resurfaced from within. Ko Byeong-gap waited silently for his next words.

‘Indeed, this force has been around for a long time.’

‘Hey, Landriol. What can I do with this power?’

‘You can do what only God can do. You can do strange things that go against the laws of the world. It’s a different form from magic.’

‘So, can I make something like the Ancient Shop?’

‘The Ancient Shop is a masterpiece of my life. It’s not something you can imitate with your frugal imagination.’

Landriol continued.

‘Do not abuse that power. It is finite and cannot be charged. Wait for when you need it.’

‘I’ll do that… are you going to sleep again?’

‘Yes. I am tired.’

Landriol disappeared. Ko Byeong-gap looked at the group of Gruggles spanning the field ahead of him. He could tell now with a glance: there were 154,762 Gruggles there, and 20 times as many were flocking from all over to Valtadren.

He stood in a daze before whispering to the Gruggles.

“Gather together.”

The 150,000 Gruggles gathered at his word. The people were startled when the Gruggles, standing still like rocks, suddenly moved. Ko Byeong-gap raised his hand to announce that there was no problem.

Ko Byeong-gap created a huge door leading to Earth and delivered his next orders to them without delay.

“Eat everyone except for the Goblins and the humans who are not a part of Illumination.”