Chapter 377: Titan Rat
"Boss, that flaming giant suddenly charged in last night. Before we could react, it self-destructed. Nearly a thousand goblin boar riders died in the explosion, and another thousand were severely injured. It'll take months for them to recover."
Goblins had strong regenerative abilities.
As long as they weren't killed instantly and had enough food, they could heal.
Gobu Tiger rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on.
The Fire Rat Giant posed too great a threat to the settlement.
The next time the Ratmen army attacked, they would undoubtedly be even more aggressive.
And they might not be facing just one Fire Rat Giant next time.
Gobu Tiger waved a hand dismissively.
"Go! Make sure the wounded eat extra every day!"
Goblin boar riders were valuable assets.
Each forest boar had to be raised and trained one-on-one from a young age to develop synergy with its rider.
Moreover, the forest boars used by the goblin boar riders were all male.
They required extra care and time to tame their wild nature.
"Understood, Boss!"
Gobu Pig stood up and left.
Watching his retreating figure, Gobu Tiger fell into deep thought.
He wondered how Gobu Bear and Gobu Leopard were faring.
This Ratmen invasion had been massive.
All three major goblin settlements had been attacked almost simultaneously.
This suggested the Ratmen's attack was planned in advance.
By striking all three major goblin settlements at once, they prevented reinforcements from arriving in time.
It also meant the Ratmen had ample military strength.
Gobu Tiger recalled last night's battle.
The Ratmen forces attacking the settlement must have numbered no less than fifty thousand.
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Mist Mountains.
The Great Rift, Black Fortress.
Afternoon, inside the Black Fortress council hall.
"Why is this battle at a standstill? Why have we suffered setbacks?"
"It's not a defeat, just an attack that encountered resistance."
"Resistance? Is this something we should have expected?"
"Our clan armies have overrun numerous small goblin settlements, yet we can't breach the large ones."
"Those goblins possess powerful crossbows. My warriors suffered heavy losses."
"And the armor worn by the goblin kings is resistant to divine fire—it must be made of mithril."
At these words, the gathered clan leaders inhaled sharply.
"Mithril armor? Is that even possible?"
"If they're forging mithril armor, does that mean the goblins have discovered a mithril mine?"
"A mithril mine in the Goblin Forest?"
"Maybe they looted it from humans."
"But their elite goblins wear uniform armor. It looks custom-made."
"How could mere goblins possess such craftsmanship?"
"Did you all forget about that floating ship in the Mist Mountains not long ago?"
"Are you saying the goblins built that ship?"
"The Bat Riders saw goblins on board. Whether or not they built it, the ship belonged to goblins. That much is certain."
"Indeed, I sent my warriors to search the crash site afterward. Among the wreckage, they found goblin corpses and chunks of indestructible metal. Those metal pieces contained large amounts of mithril and seem to be from the ship's mysterious weapons."
"Clan Leader Okarso, you found something valuable and didn't share? Give me one of those metal chunks—I want my Ratmen craftsmen to study it."
"It's useless. My clan's craftsmen have already examined them. The weapons were engraved with intricate runes deep within the metal. No matter how we tested it, we couldn't figure out how it worked."
"Just because your craftsmen failed doesn't mean mine will."
"Then go find more yourself. That crash site likely still has many pieces of wreckage. I only retrieved two."
Okarso's words made the other clan leaders' eyes flicker with interest.
They were all thinking the same thing.
"Back to the main issue. Those three major goblin settlements appear to be the core of the western Goblin Forest."
"That's right. If we destroy them, our army can advance further east!"
"Should we concentrate our forces to take down one major goblin settlement first?"
"No, we shouldn't cluster our troops together. We risk being wiped out by high-tier war magic."
"Do goblins even have mages?"
"The goblins we've encountered in the forest can't be treated as ordinary goblins."
"What we lack are siege weapons strong enough to breach the goblin strongholds."
"We need stronger Fire God Avatars!"
"Rat Giants can only channel limited divine power. We need an even greater vessel."
"Besides Rat Giants, what other vessels could be stronger?"
"No, there is one more. A much stronger vessel!"
The previously silent Skaven suddenly spoke up.
His words immediately drew the attention of all the clan leaders.
They turned to look at him.
Meeting their gazes, Skaven let out a sinister chuckle.
"Have you all forgotten the legend of the Titan Rat 'Lucaen'?"
Titan Rat 'Lucaen'?
The name caused the clan leaders' faces to change.
Many of them looked uneasy.
"Clan Leader Skaven, Lucaen is only a myth. Finding it in a short time would be nearly impossible."
Skaven grinned wickedly.
His eerie laughter echoed through the council hall.
"The Mirror Lord knows where 'Lucaen' is."
At these words, the clan leaders exchanged glances.
"Where is it?" Okarso asked.
"In the Abyss."
The Abyss?
Hearing this, the clan leaders frowned.
The Abyss lay beneath the Void Sea.
It was a vast, isolated underground realm.
Though not far from the Southern Continent, a round trip would take at least half a year.
And even if they found the Titan Rat, bringing it back would be a monumental challenge.
The Titan Rat was so massive that an adult specimen stood twenty meters tall at the shoulder.
When standing upright, it neared one hundred meters.
Transporting such a behemoth to the surface wouldn't be easy.
"Even if we bring the Titan Rat to the surface, how do we control it?"
"You all know the Titan Rat is the natural enemy of the Ratmen. To it, we are just food."
Okarso's words plunged the hall into silence.
Yes, the Titan Rat was the Ratmen's predator.
Both were created by the Great Horned Rat, but the Titan Rat was deemed an abomination.
Long ago, the Ratmen had exterminated the false god known as the Titan Rat.
Most had assumed they were extinct.
But now, it turned out there was still one hidden deep in the Abyss.