Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

"You're the halfling!" Ron couldn't help but retort, "I admit I'm not tall, but I'm not that short either!"

"Have you ever seen a halfling this tall?!"

Ron's height was the same as that of most adult human males, but the problem was that the person opposite him was two and a half meters tall! In his opinion, how many people were not short?

"Sorry," the giant was surprisingly easy to talk to. He shrunk his body again, keeping it about half a head taller than Ron. "There are no subjects of mine here, so I may not be very accurate in this regard."

"Your people?" Ron's expression eased a little and he looked at the other party curiously. His appearance was indeed somewhat similar to the remains of the giant outside. As for the dissimilar parts, Ron could definitely attribute it to the problem of proportion.

"You should have seen me, my real body," the giant nodded, "and my people. They were in the hibernation capsule, and ended their lives sadly."

"And I am their king, the leader of the delusional planters. I am more powerful than them, and I still fought against the invaders in desperate situations! But the terror far exceeded my strength, and I died in front of my dead people."

"And you, a traveler from the distant future, have either intentionally or unintentionally come into contact with the remnants of my consciousness that are preserved in all the fungi around me. I guess you have been exploring our graves for a long time. Can you please tell me how much time has passed? Are there still one or two survivors of my people who have continued the flame of civilization?"

The gray-green giant introduced himself without waiting for Ron to ask. It sounded like he was indeed the giant outside. Not only did he have a strong body, he also had a tenacious spirit. Ron suspected that they were just like the mushroom people and spore people, and they were all inextricably linked to fungi, so that those close relatives who did not yet have intelligence could preserve their thoughts and even souls - if they had any.

"It's a pity, but we can't be sure of the exact time," Ron shook his head. "But based on the existing clues, we should have crossed nearly ten centuries, because before that, someone else also came to your 'Fortress of Renaissance'."

"Ah, you know about the Fortress of Renaissance!" The gray-green giant showed a happy look, "This is our proudest achievement! At that time, we thought it could resist any invading enemy! Of course, it turns out that we were wrong."

"Is it still there? Still standing in the depths of the forest? Fighting against those despicable Fusarium and the spore-men and spiny beasts they gave birth to? Or has it decayed completely, and you can no longer see a trace of its former glory?"

"I think it's somewhere in between," Ron said after considering his words. "The glory of the fortress is still there, but it cannot be admired by ordinary people. It sank into the ground for some reason, and we had to find the entrance in a cave."

"Oh..." The giant opened his mouth, and his wooden but vivid face made a lost expression, "That's a pity."

"Speaking of this, can I ask you a question about you and your people?" Ron felt that he should take the initiative. "First of all, what did you call you just now?"

If Ron didn't have auditory hallucinations, he should have heard the word "delusion" just now.

"Delusion Plant Man," the gray-green giant repeated, "I am our king. You can call me the Giant King, or you can call me Nuhawa. This is my name."

"I am our first king, but I'm afraid I'll also be the last." Ron wasn't sure if the other party was smiling bitterly.

"Why are you called that?"

"This is the name our god gave us," the giant's face was full of longing when he said this. "Our god, Skadrianm El Eruen, the God of the Curtain, created us - intelligent creatures that have spread out in this land of delusion. We were born from the bodies of the ancient Titans, inheriting their legacy and carrying it forward."

"..." After listening to the other party's explanation, Ron felt even more confused. "Wait, wait, what did you just say? God, God of the Curtain?"

"Skedriam el Arun," Nuhava repeated the god's name without changing his expression.

"Skad——" Ron gave up repeating, "Okay, can you tell me what your god does?"

"He is the God of Creation!" Nuhava immediately gave Ron a big bomb, "He created the whole world on a curtain! You, me, and even those hateful red molds! This place is the experimental field for His creation of all things. He wrapped this place in another layer of curtain to prevent His bold attempts from endangering the outside world or being discovered by those mortals and disrupting His plans."

"It sounds like this god is a cloth seller. Why is he hanging curtains here and there..." Ron muttered softly. Nuhava glared at him and continued.

"The red mold is His failed creation. Those spore people and thorn beasts are uncontrollable products. His first children, the ancient Titans, were killed by them. That's why we were born, with the delusion of planting people. The only purpose of God creating us is to wipe out those red molds and their derivatives. We are doing our duty, but..."

The Giant King paused and said, "We have betrayed the trust of the gods... Are those red molds still wreaking havoc outside?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Ron spread his hands, "If it weren't for clearing them out, we wouldn't be here."

"We also saw that monster, the thorn beast that fought you to death. I'm a little curious, how did it invade your fortress? We didn't see any signs of damage along the way."

"They didn't rush in through the main gate. They used a more covert method," Nuhawa said seriously. "This may be a very long story. I will try to tell you briefly."

"Generally speaking, we had achieved brilliant results in the fight against the Fusarium and its minions, but even I don't know what went wrong. The situation suddenly took a turn for the worse. The climate changed drastically, a large area fell, and those spore savages and thorn beasts were rampant. We had to avoid their attack and retreat to the Fortress of Renaissance."

"This is the final barrier we built. The metal is mixed with substances that are harmful to the Fusarium, so they can't get close. We will hibernate inside. When the Fusarium outside can no longer reproduce, we will take back everything that belongs to the gods."

"But..." The Giant King's face was gloomy, "There is a traitor among us." (End of this chapter)