Chương 103: The Only Honest Race

The group continued toward Nevorak, stopping only at night to let the horses rest. During the journey, they made a brief stop in a village, where they bought heavy hooded cloaks to protect themselves from the increasingly bitter cold. Besides their heavy black cloaks, Felicity and Xia had also bought thick white stockings to wear with their sandals. Despite the steadily dropping temperatures, neither of them seemed willing to give up their way of dressing.

For the journey, Leah had lent her horse to Ethan and Agnes, while she rode behind Felicity. Her arms were wrapped around Felicity's waist. Felicity turned around, visibly annoyed.

"We're moving at a walking pace. Care to explain why you're hugging me?"

"Oh…sorry. Force of habit". Leah immediately withdrew her hands.

"And if we do have to ride faster, hold on to my hips at most. Don't hug me". Leah sighed.

"You're always so cold toward me…" Suddenly, a blast of icy wind swept over them.

"Put your hood up", Ethan said to Agnes.

"Want another punch?" she shot back with a smile.

"I'm saying it for your own good. If you don't want to listen to me, go ahead and catch a cold". Then he smiled.

"Besides, your punches don't even hurt".

"You're only saying that because I can't punch you in the stomach from here". This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. With that, she pulled up her hood. That night, they made camp and lit a fire. Seated around the flames, they began telling one another about their lives, how they had met and what had brought them there.

"I was standing before a crowd", Leah began.

"I had been put on trial for treason. I really had cheated on my husband, but he was a terrible man. He beat me every single day. I was about to be stoned when Felicity rode in on horseback and killed him with a single blow. That's how we met". Ethan looked at Felicity in surprise.

"I never pictured you as a hero".

"I'm not", she replied.

"I simply hated that kingdom's laws. If a man cheated, there was no punishment. If a woman did, she was stoned or burned at the stake. Either punish them both or spare them both".

"But thanks to that, you gained a friend. Maybe the first one you've ever had", Leah added with a smile.

"And who said we're friends?"

"Me?" Leah replied. Another icy gust swept through the campsite. Agnes pulled her cloak tighter around herself.

"Why does it get colder every night?"

"Because we're getting closer to the coldest regions", Ethan explained.

"From here on, the climate will only get harsher. Before long, we'll reach lands completely covered in snow".

"You've been here before?" Felicity asked.

"Yes, I was…" He stopped. For a brief moment, his thoughts returned to the elves. To Renlin.

"Yes. I know these lands". Felicity noticed the hesitation, but chose not to ask any questions. Far away from there, Xarath lay stretched out on a rocky mountain. There, the climate was the exact opposite. The air was stifling. He absentmindedly twirled a small stone between his fingers, tossing it into the air and catching it again. Behind him, the goblins had grown in number. What had once been only a few dozen had become nearly a thousand. Xarath closed his hand around the stone and crushed it into dust.

Then he turned toward them.

"In these lands, every race in the world has settled…except one. Do you know which one?" The goblins looked at one another in silence.

"You". He took a few steps forward.

"You were rejected, driven away, because you're considered monsters. Inferior beings. But I see things differently". He looked at them one by one.

"You are not cruel. You are not inferior. You are consistent. Consistent with the image the world has forced upon you. Why should anyone be surprised when you commit the worst atrocities, when you've been told since birth that you were born for exactly that?" He let the silence give weight to his words.

"In fact, I'll tell you something more. You are the only race that isn't hypocritical. You don't rewrite your history, proclaim yourselves heroes or pretend to seek peace while chasing power. You don't hide behind values that have no value. You do what you were meant to do: annihilate. And that is why I will help you remain true to yourselves". The goblins knelt as one.

"Thank you, my lord!" they shouted. Xarath smiled faintly.