Chương 96: Chapter 95 The Greenskin Alliance

T-One considered Karath's sudden proposal. His deliberation did not last long. Living in Root would ensure the safety of the precious clan he led. It offered more than safety. Water and food were plentiful here, and most importantly, the young orcs could run around and play without fear. If young goblins could live like those children, laughing with friends instead of spending every day fleeing for survival, T-One would gladly sell his soul for such a future.

"My clan and I will fight with our livesh to protect thish place!" T-One declared his resolve. Then, as though losing confidence immediately afterward, he added in a quieter voice.

"B-but we are weak compared with orcsh. Can we really be useful?"

"Krahahaha! There is no need to worry about that. Simply remember the promise you just made and be prepared to risk your life protecting this place. Karath will handle everything else." Karath grinned at the anxious hobgoblin. He had already considered how to put them to work. More precisely, how they could contribute to the village. Heh heh. He agreed without even asking what work he would be doing. Since T-One had not asked about his responsibilities, Karath could assign him as much work as necessary.

This was why employment contracts were important. Not that this world possessed such things.

"You all heard him. From this moment onward, Karath intends to accept T-One and the goblins into the Five-Tribe Alliance!"

"Krahahaha! If it is the Grand Chief's command, there must be a reason!"

"Parker was moved by Brother T-One's declaration! It appears he misunderstood goblins all this time. Parker apologises, Brother T-One!" Kaden and Parker responded the moment Karath finished speaking. The other advisers also raised no objections. Perhaps T-One's desperate speech had moved them, or perhaps they simply trusted Karath's command as Grand Chief.

"Grand Chief, Krog has something to say." Just when it appeared the matter would pass without difficulty, Krog unexpectedly spoke.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes. Every goblin appears to belong to a clan of their own. If that is the case, the name Five-Tribe Alliance no longer seems appropriate." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Ah..." So the problem was the name. Karath fell silent and began thinking. A name. The same problem had appeared when he named Root. Karath was terrible at naming things. Perhaps it was a chronic illness among programmers. There was an old joke that naming variables, functions, and classes was the most difficult part of programming. An alliance of goblins and orcs. Then an idea came to him.

"The Greenskin Alliance! From this moment onward, we shall call ourselves the Greenskin Alliance!" Both orcs and goblins possessed green skin, making the name straightforward. Once iron became available, Karath planned to continue absorbing additional tribes. He believed Greenskin Alliance would remain suitable even as the organisation expanded.

"Krahahaha! It is an excellent name, Grand Chief!"

"Indeed! It perfectly represents both our orc and goblin brothers!" The advisers laughed heartily, sounding genuinely satisfied. They were orcs, so they probably were not flattering him. Even so, receiving praise for a name he had personally invented left Karath strangely uncomfortable.

"Welcome to the Greenskin Alliance, Brother T-One!"

"G-glad to be here!" Kaden and Parker, the most impatient of them all, immediately approached T-One and welcomed him using the alliance's new name.

"Ahem. T-One."

"Yes, Grand Chief!" Karath cleared his throat and called to him.

"A moment ago, Karath promised that every goblin would be allowed to live with a true name. Do you remember?"

"Y-yesh!" T-One nodded urgently. How could he possibly forget?

"To honour that promise, Karath wishes to grant you a name as its first symbol. What do you think?" T-One stared at him with an overwhelmed expression. He had never imagined Karath would go that far. He would also never realise that Karath was simply bothered by the name T-One and had invented a suitable justification.

"Since every member of your clan uses T as the first part of their name, it must represent the clan itself. From now onward, T shall become your family name. As for your personal name..." Karath refused to continue using careless names such as One, Two, and Three. He considered what kind of meaningful name might suit the hobgoblin.

"Your name shall be Berners." He borrowed it from the famous computer scientist who created the World Wide Web.

"Thanksh, Grand Chief! From now onward, I will use the name Berners T!"

"Krahahaha! Good!"

"Grand Chief! Then what about the namesh of my clan?" Karath froze. He had not thought that far ahead. Was he now expected to perform the hardest task in the world, naming things, at least twenty more times? His head began aching from the thought alone. Fortunately, he quickly discovered a solution.

"You will personally consider and grant names to the members of your clan. Because those names will come from your own thoughts, you must understand their weight and accept responsibility for them." Berners' eyes widened. Karath merely needed to pass difficult work to someone else.

"I will never forget the Grand Chief'sh grace!" Unaware of Karath's true intentions, Berners began shedding tears of gratitude. After Karath granted Berners his name, the returning warriors and the rest of Root gathered for a grand evening feast. Karath announced that the goblins would join them and that their people would henceforth be known as the Greenskin Alliance.

"Krahahaha! Excellent, Grand Chief!"

"To the Greenskin Alliance!" The tribespeople placed absolute trust in Karath. Not a single orc objected to accepting the goblins. The feast continued with grilled fish taken from the freezer and roasted monster meat. Late that evening, Berners lay inside the earthen house the orcs had provided and stared blankly at the ceiling. He could sleep without fearing a monster attack. It was the first time since his birth that Berners had experienced such a thing. Ironically, that very safety prevented him from sleeping.

He carefully rose, making sure not to disturb his sleeping clan, and stepped outside. Silence had settled over Root, but the mighty wall surrounding the village gave the night an unfamiliar warmth. Brothers, thish place ish far better than I imagined. As Berners looked around the peaceful village, he contacted the other hobgoblins through his horn. Hmph. Do you truly intend to live with orcsh? You would follow the one who spoke to you so rudely? I think T-One made the right decision.

Remember the village he showed us. Different responses entered the network. My name ish no longer T-One. It ish Berners. And none of ush will use numbersh as namesh anymore. Berners answered calmly but with firm conviction. He will protect ush. No, I will stand beside him so that together we can protect our clan. He fell into thought after sending those words. You will personally grant them names. Berners needed to fulfil the first command his Grand Chief had given him.

He would find magnificent names that his precious clan could carry for the rest of their lives.