Chapter 370: Green Flames and Fel Energy
The sky-high green flames had caught the attention of the goblins out hunting.
This scene was playing out across various goblin settlements.
Looking into the distant forest, one could see multiple goblin settlements ablaze.
These burning settlements glowed like green-lit beacons in the dark night.
"Damn those ratmen, launching sneak attacks—so despicable!"
A goblin climbed a large tree in panic.
Seeing the burning settlements, it screeched angrily.
"Let's head to the boss of bosses!"
The goblin tribes were divided into three categories:
1. The Throne Tribe – the capital of goblin territory.
2. Boss Tribes – settlements led by the offspring of the Goblin King's bloodline.
3. Junior Boss Tribes – settlements led by the offspring of the Boss Tribe leaders.
Each region had a Boss Tribe at its center, surrounded by smaller Junior Boss Tribes.
The Junior Boss Tribes acted as fortresses protecting the Boss Tribe.
In terms of size and strength, the Boss Tribes far surpassed the Junior Boss Tribes.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest at a Boss Tribe...
"How dare those mangy rats!"
In the grand hall of the Boss Tribe's wooden fortress, Gobu Tiger roared furiously.
Standing nearly five meters tall, Gobu Tiger rose angrily, grabbed its massive spiked club, and strode outside.
But as it reached the door, it stopped.
Its expression shifted several times before it turned and walked back into the hall.
"Summon the ravens. I need to send word to the Great King."
The ravens were pets raised by ogres.
Fast and intelligent, they were capable of mimicking various sounds.
Since the Great King's return, the ravens had been tasked with transmitting messages between tribes.
"Light the signal fire! Blow the war horn!"
The goblins in the hall scrambled to carry out the orders.
The Next Afternoon – Throne Tribe
At the port, Li Meng was still inscribing runes for the magical cannon barrels on the floating ships.
"Great King, Great King, it's terrible news!"
While Li Meng was busy on the deck, a black raven flew in from across the Goblin River.
The raven landed on the ship's railing, squawking loudly.
Li Meng set down his tools and turned toward the raven.
Ravens were essentially larger crows, their glossy black feathers glinting in the light. Each was about half a meter tall.
Initially, Li Meng hadn't paid much attention to the ravens.
One day, however, he overheard a raven mimicking Benben's voice.
Intrigued, Li Meng had Xiao Bai enhance the intelligence of the raven queen.
Xiao Bai achieved this by temporarily inhabiting the queen raven's body and genetically upgrading its offspring.
In just two months, the ravens had completely replaced signal fires for message delivery.
Their speed was remarkable—they could cross the entire Goblin Forest in half a day, a distance of over 2,000 kilometers.
"What's the matter?"
Li Meng asked the raven.
"The goblin settlements in the western forest have been attacked by ratmen. Many, many settlements have already been destroyed."
Li Meng had divided the Goblin Forest into four regions: west, east, south, and north.
The western forest bordered the Misty Mountains.
"This happened last night. The ratmen stopped their offensive at dawn."
Due to their long existence underground, ratmen were nocturnal creatures. Daylight hindered their vision.
"Great King, it's terrible news!"
Another raven flew in, landing next to the first.
"Great King, the ratmen are invading the western forest on a massive scale!"
"Bad news! Bad news!"
Ravens continued to arrive one after another, landing on the railing and filling the deck with their chatter.
"Enough! Quiet!"
Li Meng's stern command silenced the ravens.
"You all come from the western forest, right? You're here to deliver warnings?"
The ravens nodded in unison.
"I understand. Go back and tell the leaders that reinforcements are on the way. For now, they must hold the line and wait for aid."
"Great King, I'm hungry. I can't fly anymore."
"Me too! I'm starving!"
"Hungry! Hungry!"
The ravens erupted into chatter again.
"Fine. Head to the nesting houses and have a big feast. Eat your fill before heading back."
"Yay! Feast time! Feast time!"
The ravens flapped their wings and took off, flying toward the Throne Tribe.
"Don't overeat and end up unable to fly!"
Li Meng called after them.
"We won't! We're smart!"
"Yeah, we're super smart!"
Watching the ravens disappear into the sky, Li Meng's expression turned contemplative.
The situation he least wanted to face had arrived.
The ratmen had launched a massive invasion just as his war with humanity loomed near.
"This is why predicting the future is such a trap," Li Meng muttered with a sigh, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.
The future he had anticipated didn't include such an event.
The truth was, predicting the future was inherently flawed.
Even if the future could be predicted, the act of predicting it altered the timeline, making the predicted future uncertain.
Shaking his head, Li Meng resumed his work.
For now, he planned to observe the western forest's battle.
The goblins were a race where every individual could fight. There were no weak or elderly.
The western forest housed over 100,000 goblins.
Dispatching a single fleet could likely halt the ratmen's advance.
Li Meng also wanted to see if his offspring were as intelligent as he hoped.
Even if the situation spiraled out of control and the goblins in the western forest were completely wiped out, he could always step in later.
"Xiao Bai, do you know what kind of magic produces green flames?"
Li Meng still had lingering concerns about the floating ships destroyed by the ratmen.
Floating ships were strategic platforms: armed with magical cannons for offense and flame barriers for defense.
Even a Grand Mage would struggle to destroy a ship without exhausting themselves.
Yet the ratmen had destroyed the floating ships with ease.
According to Water Slime, the floating ships were destroyed by a green flame magic.
[It's likely the mutated power of a deity, such as the ratmen's Great Horned Rat.]
[Deities are no different from elemental spirits. They're simply elemental spirits with self-awareness. The Great Horned Rat is a deity possessing mutated flame powers.]
"Mutated flames, huh? Let's call it Fel Energy from now on."
The green magic flames reminded Li Meng of a certain evil power from a game.