Chapter Sixteen: Greetings, Goblin.

Xia Ya finished packing his belongings, leaving the wretch beside him utterly dumbfounded.

This fellow had slung all his “spoils of war” onto his back—a massive bundle tied so many times with rope that Xia Ya looked for all the world like a humanoid snail.

“Hey,” the wretch couldn’t help but remind him, “we’re going to look for treasure... mountains of gold and silver! Why are you still dragging along all this junk?”

Other things aside, even that split suit of armor was carefully packed away as if it were some precious prize.

“Mountains of gold and silver? We don’t have those yet. There’s a good chance we’ll come back empty-handed,” Xia Ya displayed the characteristic caution of a mountain dweller. “If we don’t find any treasure, at least I won’t return empty-handed with all this. And if we do find the treasure, I can just throw these away then.”

(This guy isn’t just a bumpkin; he’s a miser too.)

The wretch revised his opinion of Xia Ya yet again.

Still, there was something touching about it.

At the very least, the white rhinoceros hide armor stripped from that Masha character was handed over to the wretch to wear! Among all the spoils, this was the only piece of undamaged armor, and the bumpkin actually gave it to him!

(Maybe he’s not a complete bastard after all.)

Sadly, the slight trace of gratitude in the wretch’s heart was quickly dispelled.

“This armor is only on loan to you. Dragons are said to love shiny things. If we run into one, you in that silvery armor will be sure to catch its attention.”

...Fine! He’s definitely a bastard!

The wretch gnashed his teeth in frustration—gritting and grinding.

Xia Ya couldn’t have cared less what this fellow was feeling. He took out the map drawn by Bidaldo, studied it carefully for a moment, then let out a cold chuckle and tore the map to shreds.

“Hey! What are you doing?” the wretch stared in disbelief. “Why did you tear up the map...?”

“It’s a fake,” Xia Ya replied without hesitation, fixing the wretch with a deep look. “You didn’t really think it was genuine, did you?”

“But...”

“Hmph. The map points west!” Xia Ya spoke with confidence. “But I remember when I was hiding in the tree, that mage checked his compass, looked at the terrain, then told his companions to head northeast! At the time, I thought he was a fool who’d gotten his directions wrong. But now I see he was the only one with any brains among those four. He wasn’t mistaken—he deliberately sent his companions the wrong way. The direction he indicated, that’s where the dragon is!”

The wretch stared at Xia Ya in dumb amazement...

This bumpkin seemed rough, yet he’d remembered such details? What had seemed insignificant before now made perfect sense! Crude as he was, this fellow was no fool.

“So, you mean we should be heading northeast?”

Xia Ya thought for a moment, tightened his belt, and adjusted the fire pitchfork at his waist—carrying it just as the mercenaries of Wildfire Town wore their swords.

He winked at the wretch. “Northeast is right... but first, let me ask you something.”

“What?”

“Have you ever seen a goblin in your life?”

The wretch’s face turned pale at once. On the Wildfire Plains, goblins were even more feared than dwarves! Dwarves might have terrible tempers, but at least they didn’t eat people.

Goblins, on the other hand, were filthy, despicable, and numerous—worse than rats. More importantly, they not only ate human flesh, but were said to grind your bones into powder and render your fat into oil to store in clay jars for their winter provisions!

“No...” the wretch shook his head hastily.

“Then congratulations.” Xia Ya sighed. “If our luck is bad, you’ll soon meet these ‘lovely’ creatures.” He pointed eastward. “That direction leads straight to goblin territory.”

...

They traveled northeast, and Xia Ya did not mistreat the wretch—in fact, he was rather well looked after.

Because of his injured leg, Xia Ya didn’t make him walk. Instead, he hoisted the giant shield onto his shoulder and let the wretch ride atop it.

Not that the wretch felt particularly grateful—he knew full well that this bumpkin was treating him as carefully as a fisherman treats his bait. Besides, Xia Ya’s strength was terrifying, almost bestial. He looked merely robust, but who would have thought such power lay within him?

The wretch had watched Xia Ya uproot a tree with his bare hands—none of his previous, highly skilled guards could have managed that. And he had killed a fierce, bloodthirsty giant wolf with his bare hands. This was a warrior the likes of which he had never seen. If only Xia Ya weren’t so uncouth, and hadn’t dared to treat him this way—well, considering he’d saved his life, perhaps upon their return he’d have seen to it that Xia Ya got a good position.

But as things stood... hmph!

The wretch’s teeth itched with irritation.

When we get back, I’ll have him captured. If he’s so strong, I’ll put him to work turning the mill in the workshop! Hmph...

Xia Ya, of course, had no idea that the wretch riding on his shoulder already regarded him as little better than the family mule.

As they continued northeast, the further they went, the sparser the trees became. The lush forest gave way to patches of yellowed, sparse grass.

The ground underfoot grew harder, with more and more rough stones. Eventually, the trees all but vanished and the land leveled out, stretching into a barren plain as far as the eye could see.

The earth here was tinged with a faint red, with little soil and mostly coarse sand and stone. What little green remained came from the occasional wild plant bristling with thorns, stubbornly growing from cracks in the rocks and clustered bare on the surface.

“Go much further and even these thorns will disappear,” Xia Ya said quietly. “See the red earth?”

“Yes,” the wretch nodded.

“In fact, this is what people truly call the ‘Wildfire Plains.’” Xia Ya seemed to smile, but there was a strange emotion in his eyes, though the wretch, perched on his shoulder, could not see it.

“Why? Why is this the real Wildfire Plains? Does that mean the forest we came through doesn’t count?”

“It does—and it doesn’t,” Xia Ya replied somewhat ambiguously. “But the true Wildfire Plains are the stuff of legend. Long ago, so the story goes, a rebel army was besieged here by both the Byzantine and Odin imperial forces. Their leader was a formidable general. Seeing defeat was inevitable, he resorted to some mysterious means and set the entire region ablaze. For days, the flames consumed the land and all who dwelled here perished. Even the rocks and earth were scorched red—since then, this place has been known as the Wildfire Plains.”

The wretch paused, looking around for a long time before finally exhaling. “You’re right, the soil really is red. But... can earth be burned red?”

Xia Ya smiled oddly. “If you add blood to the mix, perhaps it can.”

“...” The wretch stuck out his tongue. “Blood... to dye such a vast plain red, how much blood would it take?”

After a moment, the wretch couldn’t help but ask, “Who told you this legend? I’ve never heard it before.”

Xia Ya was silent for a while, then replied in a nearly even tone, “My foster father. When I was a child and ill, he would sit by my bed and tell me all sorts of strange tales.”

Though Xia Ya’s tone was calm, the wretch’s keen ear caught an unusual note of emotion in his voice. Hesitating, she said nothing more, sensing somehow that further questions would be inappropriate.

Xia Ya pressed on in silence, carrying the wretch ahead.

By now, both of them were deep within the wilds, surrounded on all sides by expanses of red sand and stone. Even the air seemed to carry a scent of desolation and solitude.

Suddenly, the wretch shivered, raising a hand to point at a red rock in the distance. “Ah! Over there! Something moved—just darted behind it! It’s like someone’s spying on us!”

Xia Ya’s reaction was calm. “You’ve only just noticed? They’ve been watching us since we first set foot on this plain. Don’t make a fuss, just give them a wave, hmm? This is a moment to remember—you’re finally seeing a living, breathing goblin.”