I led the now-captured Caius and his men back toward the clan.

None of them looked pleased about being treated this way. The irritation was obvious in their expressions, in the occasional tightening of their jaws or the subtle resistance in their movements whenever the chains shifted around them. But despite that, they seemed to understand why it was necessary, and more importantly, they understood that trying to resist right now wouldn't accomplish anything.

So they followed.

I walked ahead of them, my pace steady as we moved through the forest.

I wasn't worried about them attempting anything behind my back. [Divine Binding] wasn't the kind of restraint you could overpower through brute force alone. The chains didn't just restrict physical movement; they interfered with something deeper, locking down the target's access to their abilities entirely.

In a way, the effect reminded me of Caius' domain.

But there was a major difference between the two.

Caius' domain suppressed activation, making it nearly impossible to consciously trigger a skill from within its influence. [Divine Binding], on the other hand, didn't merely interfere with activation—it severed access altogether. Once bound, it felt as though the connection between the user and their abilities had been forcibly locked away.

A troublesome ability.

If I were ever caught in something like this myself, the chances of escaping would be low—but not impossible.

I was an SSS-ranked Chosen.

At a level like that, even a one percent opening could suddenly turn into a hundred if you found the right angle to exploit.

As we approached the clan, I could already see that everyone had prepared for battle.

Goblins lined the walls with weapons in hand, their postures tense and alert, while above them, ballistas had been positioned atop the towers, angled downward and ready to fire the moment things went wrong. Even the atmosphere felt different, heavier, charged with the expectation that a fight could break out at any second.

But there was no need for any of that now.

At first, the clan grew visibly cautious when they spotted the number of figures approaching from the forest. Several weapons rose immediately, and I could feel killing intent locking onto Caius and his group almost instinctively.

Then they noticed me walking ahead of them.

And after that, they noticed the chains.

The tension eased almost immediately.

Not completely, but enough that no one looked ready to loose a ballista bolt into the group anymore.

Narg, Zarah, and Gobbo quickly made their way toward me.

Their attention shifted between Caius and the others, carefully studying the restraints wrapped around them before settling back on me.

Narg narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What happened?"

"They surrendered," I replied casually.

"...They did?" Narg uttered, genuine shock slipping into his voice before his gaze turned back toward the prisoners.

Caius gave him a light smile.

Narg did not like that at all.

Gobbo, on the other hand, chuckled from beside me.

"As expected of Chief," he said with clear admiration in his voice. "Subduing his foes without even raising his hands."

Narg and Zarah kept their eyes fixed on Caius and his men, and the atmosphere between the two groups quickly became tense. No one spoke, but it still felt like some kind of silent confrontation was happening right in front of me, the kind where neither side intended to back down first.

Caius and his people remained calm despite the hostility directed at them, though Drel especially looked irritated by the way he was being stared at.

I stepped slightly away from the group and motioned for Narg to follow.

Once we were far enough that the others wouldn't overhear easily, I asked:

"Do we have a place to keep them?"

"Yes," Narg responded immediately. "We can keep them in the dungeon."

I raised a brow slightly.

Dungeon?

We had a dungeon?

Of course we had a dungeon. A clan this size having some kind of holding area shouldn't have surprised me. The only reason it did was because I barely spent enough time around the base to know half of what existed in it.

"Alright then," I said after a moment. "Take them there."

My gaze shifted briefly toward Caius and the others before returning to Narg.

"And bring Gobbo, Bundi, and Gork to my quarters. We'll be having a meeting concerning what to do with them."

"Alright, Chief."

Narg bowed slightly before turning toward the prisoners, and the expression on his face immediately darkened.

"Alright, you bastards, let's get moving."

Several of Caius' followers frowned at the tone, irritation flashing openly across their faces, but none of them resisted. Bound by the chains and fully aware of their current situation, they simply complied and began moving under Narg's direction.

I was about to turn away myself when I noticed Caius hadn't moved.

While the others followed after Narg, he remained standing where he was, his gaze slowly drifting across the clan.

There was something strange about his expression.

Awe.

Not toward the walls. Not toward the defenses. Toward my goblins.

His eyes lingered on Gobbo, then shifted toward Zarah, Dribb, and the others nearby, carefully observing the auras they naturally released without even realizing it. The longer he looked, the clearer it became that he wasn't simply impressed by their strength.

He was confirming something.

Then his gaze returned to me.

"I knew I didn't make a mistake in choosing you."

I let out a quiet sigh on hearing that.

He had practically confirmed it himself.

My goblins who weren't Chosen were giving off pressures and traces of aura that should've been impossible for ordinary goblins to possess, and for someone as observant as Caius, that alone was enough to confirm the suspicions he'd been building ever since earlier.

He now knew for certain that I could distribute abilities taken from other Chosen and pass them onto others.

A troublesome realization for someone like him to have.

Caius grinned faintly after noticing my reaction, clearly satisfied with himself for figuring it out.

But before he...