Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 203 Chariot in front of the trading post

"To my dear lord: I never thought that you could escape from the hands of the Death Knight and come back alive, but the omen in the crucible made me extremely worried that this would become a reality, so I decided to go to my mother's old house to hide you for a while."

"Don't look for me. There are a lot of traps there. If you fall into them, it won't be worth it, right?"

"This bastard actually threatened us!" Sera was furious after hearing Ron read Polly's message. "Ron, we must kill her! We can't tolerate such a thing in our territory!"

"All hags are like this. They have no fear of gods and demons, let alone mortal lords," Masarino said slowly, "But I suggest that you should not act rashly. Her warning may not be groundless."

"We don't have time to play hide-and-seek with her right now," Ron agreed with Marsalino. "We don't know where her 'new home' is. Instead of wandering around in the swamp like a headless fly, we might as well go back first."

"Driverdo, remember to tell your compatriots to send some people to keep an eye on this place. If she dares to come back--"

"Okay!" The goblin hunter licked his lips. "We are the best at this kind of thing. Just wait for good news!"

If the witch turned around and left after leading the way, Ron would not say anything, let alone want to trouble her. But ending the deal is one thing, and running away is another. The witch's power cannot be ignored, and whether she is taken into account or not will have a great impact on the battle.

After finding no luck, Ron and his companions had to return to their territory. During the time they were away, the trading post and the surrounding villages had undergone significant changes.

"It seems that you have a spellcaster who is familiar with architecture here," Masalino said as he looked out from the carriages he had found in the newly built village. "This is a good thing. If the work were completely handed over to ordinary people, the progress of the project would be delayed a lot."

"Annie is in charge of this. She's a warlock," Ron answered casually. "It seems like Seymour and his team have gathered a lot of people. If I remember correctly, it wasn't this lively before we came out."

"From the looks of their attire, they all came from the south. There are villagers, and it seems there are also some citizens and craftsmen," Constance said. "Well, I remember your policy is to separate goblins from other races as much as possible, right? But the villages along the way seem to have become mixed."

"Is the reproductive capacity of goblins so amazing?"

"No matter how many there are, they still need time to grow!" Driver, who was also a monk of the same age, was puzzled. "Even if we grow from the soil like plants, we still have to have a period of maturity, right? How can we be everywhere so quickly!"

"And didn't you see? They almost all have their own equipment! Our dwarven blacksmith can't forge such things!"

Driver pointed to the entrance of the village they had just passed. Two adult goblins were wearing shoulder guards forged from crude copper, carrying bows cut from branches and quivers sewn from animal skins. It was undoubtedly impossible for Rurik to make such crude handicrafts.

"By the way, do you recognize them?" Ivy asked the goblin, "Except for you, I can't tell the difference between your races."

"I can't tell them apart either," Driver said carelessly, ignoring the shocked looks of Ron and the others. "There are so many goblins, and you can't be sure they'll die the first time you meet them. Apart from the few I have to flatter and bully every day, who cares about the others is none of my business."

"But speaking of it, I have never seen them dressed like this. It seems that Boss Kalade doesn't have anyone like them under his command... probably."

This question was soon answered. Because when Ron and his team arrived at the trading post, a huge, extremely rough and barbaric chariot was parked at the gate of the trading post. The bloody chariot was wrapped in several layers of animal skins, and more than a dozen sharpened wooden stakes and curved spears were jagged around the body of the car, with dangerous edges flashing at the tips. In the car, Ron and his team saw a space that could accommodate about 60 to 70 people. One of the tiger-skin seats was quite conspicuous, but there were also the most stringent protection measures around it.

This chariot was obviously intended for large-scale battles, not adventures. And among the people Ron knew, there was only one person who could possibly tinker with such a thing.

A certain earth elf, now I'm afraid we can really call him a warlord.

"Stop!"

Just as Ron was curiously knocking on the strange chariot with his knuckles and preparing to climb up to take a look, a powerful roar startled him. Two huge and hairy humanoid creatures turned out from the blind spot behind the car and stopped Ron with double-edged axes in their hands.

"Bear goblin?" Sera frowned. "Where are you from? Get out of the way. Do you know who you are blocking?"

"I don't know, but he's not the boss here," a bugbear said in a muffled voice, "Get out of here, stay away from Lord Karad's chariot! Otherwise, I'll arrest you all as attackers!"

"Who gave you this authority?" Ron frowned. "Is Karad back? Let him come out. I need to talk to him about this matter. His chariot cannot be parked here. It blocks the road."

Another bugbear raised his battle axe in a threatening manner: "That's right! There is a problem in the trading post now, and the lord is acting as the temporary caretaker to solve the problem!"

"If you want to rest in the village, stay away! Back off, back off!"

"Pero, what's going on?! Why is there such a mess at the door?!"

The bugbear's voice was so heavy and loud that it was impossible for the people inside not to hear it. While Ron was still trying to convince them, a hoarse bass voice rang out from the trading post.

"Sir!" The two bear goblins turned around quickly, and Ron finally saw who had come out.

With his reddish-brown complexion, dark red hair, yellow eyes, and blue nose, he looked a little short in front of the two big and strong bugbears, but everyone could see their fear and admiration for him, as if they would prostrate themselves in the dust and kiss his feet at his command.

"Just bigger goblins," Driver muttered dismissively. "What if we were bigger and stronger? Look at them."

"What's going on? Someone insists on staying overnight at the trading post again?" This hobgoblin warlord is completely different from the past, both in appearance and temperament. His every move reveals the wildness and arrogance unique to goblins.

"Are you blind or what? Can't you see the notice posted over there? There are suspicious people waiting to be examined at the trading post. Merchants traveling here should stay in the village over there! A few steps will tire you to death... Hey, Ron, you're back!"

(End of this chapter)