10,000x Reward Multiplier: Hell-level Kingdom Building-Chapter 18: [0] The Invader

Both of them fully understood that with their current strength, it was highly impossible for the huge boulder blocking the entrance to be destroyed, but sheer frustration pushed them to continue banging on it, hoping desperately for a miracle.

The two, who could be considered the manliest men in Ironside village and even the neighbouring villages, had screamed so much that their voices had lost their strength, now sounding like the strained cries of helpless weaklings.

Nonetheless, as the two were still banging, their ears picked up on footsteps approaching their position from behind, forcing them to halt all activity and quickly attempt to scan for the invader.

The ’invader’ did not seem to mind them noticing him at all, as he continued strolling towards them with a slouched posture, his steps unhurried, as though whatever urgency filled the air had absolutely nothing to do with him.

With the moonlight’s faint illumination, they could clearly see the boredom resting on his face.

Aside from his strange posture and expression, this invader looked very lean and malnourished... in simple terms, he looked easy to beat.

"Who are you!"

Jabba barked at the stranger, who continued strolling towards them as though they were completely nonexistent.

"I am talking to you!" Jabba barked again, his voice cracking in the middle of the sentence.

The stranger slowly shifted his posture slightly and gazed into the eyes of Jabba with no emotion at all.

"So noisy.." he uttered in a voice that perfectly matched his appearance, lazy and bored.

Jabba and Anton exchanged looks of confusion before turning back to face him again.

At that very moment, Anton recalled a particular piece of advice his father, Harald the hunter, had given him a few weeks before his death — he had warned him that in the forest and at night, even humans could not be trusted.

The man standing in front of them looked far too unusual to be a normal human.

He was probably a monster.

He reached that conclusion and immediately became cautious, moving closer to Jabba, who was already confronting him head-on.

The ’invader’ scanned their faces briefly and then heaved a bored sigh.

’Why do these two resemble that noisemaker from this morning?’ he inquired inwardly, purposely not voicing it out, as he was far too uninterested at the moment to engage in any form of conversation.

Based on their resemblance, it was quite evident they were brothers. Maybe they were even the famous hunter brothers he had heard about. But in the end, who really cared?

’Damn that snake, I would have had an excuse to disobey if it hadn’t woken me up,’ he thought with slight irritation.

Unbeknownst to the thoughts running through his mind, Jabba and Anton grew even more worked up, and they finally came to the firm conclusion that he was a monster, a shape-shifting one currently taking the form of a human being to fool them before eventually devouring them.

Jabba chose to attack ’it’ and willingly put his life on the line to save his youngest and only brother.

"I will not let you harm any—"

But before he could even complete his statement, his eyes darkened, and he collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious.

"Wh..."

Anton immediately entered strike mode, but that mode was just as quickly switched to sleep mode.

The invader had moved so fast that neither of them had managed to notice his movement at all.

"Such a pain."

Now standing directly in front of the entrance, completely unbothered by the two fallen brothers, it was finally time for him to complete the mission he had been given.

====

Floki had grown extremely exhausted from the frantic battles with the goblin champions.

The tattered robe he was wearing had been further ruined with fresh tears and stains.

His condition was not any better either.

His loud and uneven breathing could be clearly heard amidst the various activities going on within the hall.

The cries of the women had grown louder due to the worsening situation.

Earlier, they had not cried out loudly, believing that the ’white-haired ragged hero’ would rescue them, but now, seeing how he was being chased like a roach by their tormentors, they realised that nothing good was actually going to happen.

The goblins, on the other hand, became even more elated as they watched his slow downfall.

Goblins were unlike the usual monsters that would simply slaughter and devour their opponents at any given opportunity. No, they preferred to torture them, to watch them struggle hopelessly and helplessly before finally killing them. Especially higher goblins like the goblin champions and the two obese, perverted goblin kings who still had not made a single move.

They did not kill him immediately simply for that exact purpose.

Understanding their simple yet brutal psychology, Floki forced himself forward despite the overwhelming tiredness weighing him down.

CLANG!

He swung the greatsword at the incoming battle axe strike, resulting in a loud metallic sound that echoed across the hall.

Before he could even recover from the waves of pain coursing through his body, a goblin champion wielding a long chain whipped him harshly across the back, sending him crashing to the ground face-first, resulting in multiple fresh scratches and wounds.

This time around, Floki could not endure the pain.

He could not even fight it with willpower. He had long exhausted every ounce of strength he possessed.

He simply lay there, accepting all the jeering from the monsters and listening to the loud cries of the women he had once planned to save.

’Is this how I die?’

The thought sounded ridiculous to him. He would have definitely mocked a novel if the protagonist made such a statement.

But here he was, actually thinking about it.

And if he truly thought about it, those protagonists had it much better — they experienced useful plot twists, were saved by plot armor, and even got to complete a few meaningful goals.

Yet he had not even managed to properly understand his own goals, talk less of completing them.

’In my last life, I was a failure masquerading under the disguise of a stoic student, and in this life, I am such a failure that I can’t even survive a whole day.’

His thoughts ran loud, and the background noises grew louder.

And then, all of a sudden, the noise ceased, confusing Floki for a few seconds. He even panicked, thinking he was already dead.

"Goblins... What a pain."

He heard an unfamiliar voice, coming from right near him, which was completely impossible.

Or... could goblins speak human language?

Definitely not.

And judging from the words of the speaker, he was targeting the goblins.