Chapter 188: First Time Wearing Armor
She had been here before but had never entered the tribe.
Upon entering the tribe, Margarita discovered that the interior was far more magnificent than it appeared from the outside.
Was this really a goblin tribe?
Everything in front of her was so unexpected that Margarita could hardly associate it with goblins.
"Clack, clack!"
At that moment, the eastern gate slowly opened.
A large goblin walked out from the gate.
It yelled incomprehensibly toward the centaur outside the gate.
Though Margarita couldn't understand, she could guess what the large goblin was saying.
She stepped forward, her hooves clopping as she entered through the gate.
Throne Palace, Throne Hall.
"You're here!"
In the throne hall, Li Meng was seated on a wide throne.
The sound of hooves outside the door caught Li Meng's attention.
Soon, a tall figure appeared at the doorway.
In Li Meng's eyes, a centaur slowly walked in.
Compared to the large goblin beside her, she was indeed much bigger.
Was this the Goblin King?
Looking at the small goblin on the throne, Margarita frowned slightly.
Judging by its size, it was just a goblin warrior.
After entering the tribe, she had seen goblin champions.
How could such a small goblin warrior ascend to be the Goblin King?
Despite her doubts, Margarita maintained her decorum.
She bent down and placed her hand on her chest in salute to the goblin on the throne.
"Honorable Goblin King, I am a messenger from the Demon Clan. Demon General Douglas invites you to the demon camp to discuss an alliance and plot major plans together!"
Li Meng, seated on the throne, looked Margarita up and down.
If one ignored her horse-like lower body, she was indeed beautiful.
At least, she matched his aesthetic preferences.
Li Meng grinned and stood up.
"Alright, let's go!"
Hearing this, Margarita froze in surprise.
The goblin was just going to follow her like that?
Shouldn't he at least gather an army to head to the Southern Wasteland?
Having an army and not having one were completely different concepts.
An army not only intimidated allies, preventing them from underestimating him, but also provided effective protection.
Though goblin armies were weak, very weak, having one was better than none.
Goblins were far too feeble as creatures.
Without an army, they wouldn't earn the respect of the Demon Clan.
Moreover, just as the Demon General had said, the goblin before her indeed had the ability to communicate with other races telepathically.
Even though she didn't understand the goblin language, she could converse with him without any barriers.
"Uh... alright, are we leaving now?"
Li Meng grinned and walked past Margarita.
"We're leaving now, but I need to stop by somewhere first!"
Margarita turned and followed the small goblin.
Within the forest in the inner area of the Throne Tribe, the two walked side by side.
"If you're allied with the Demon Clan, you should lead an army to the Southern Wasteland for the meeting!"
"Why?"
Li Meng turned his head to look at the tall and slender centaur beside him.
Faced with the goblin's gaze, Margarita was speechless.
Goblins were truly foolish; they couldn't even grasp such a simple concept.
"The Demon Clan respects the strong. Without great strength, you need an army to make up for it!"
Hearing this, Li Meng appeared to understand.
"Oh, I see. Then I won't bring an army. I'm just a goblin; even if I brought a large goblin force to fill the scene, they wouldn't respect me. Why bother doing something so redundant?"
Margarita was left speechless by his words.
It was true.
No matter what goblins did, the Demon Clan wouldn't regard them highly.
Goblins' current plight was probably no different from that of the centaur race.
For the rest of the journey, Margarita remained silent.
The two walked unhurriedly out of the tribe's northern gate.
Half an hour later, outside the Iron Cavern.
"Wait here. I'll be right back!"
Leaving behind these words, Li Meng entered the Iron Cavern without looking back.
Basking in the sunlight, Margarita curiously watched the Iron Cavern.
She could hear clanging sounds from inside the cavern.
But what were those sounds? For a moment, she couldn't figure it out.
"King, King, what brings you here?"
Inside the Iron Cavern, Gobuge trotted up eagerly to greet the king.
Li Meng strode deeper into the cavern.
"Prepare the armor!"
Hearing this, Gobuge's eyes lit up.
With the king's arrival, the Iron Cavern burst into activity.
By the underground riverbank deep within the cavern, Benben and a group of ogres were busy working.
The ogres were fitting inner armor onto their leader.
The inner armor wasn't a single piece but composed of dozens of parts.
Li Meng stood by the riverbank with his arms outstretched.
His towering five-meter frame resembled a majestic mountain of flesh.
Many goblins climbed onto Li Meng, hammering and stitching the inner armor in place.
Piece by piece, the inner armor gradually covered Li Meng's massive body.
Finally, his entire body, except for his face, was encased in the inner armor.
It took over half an hour to finish putting on the inner armor.
Next came the heavy outer armor.
First, the thick chest and back plates.
Then, the hip and leg armor.
Lastly, the arm guards and auxiliary joints for the limbs.
Numerous goblins hammered at the armor on their king.
It took an hour and a half to fully don the armor.
Holding a massive barrel-shaped helmet in his hands, Li Meng grinned.
Being cautious wasn't a bad thing.
With this thought, Li Meng placed the massive helmet on his head.
Once the helmet was on, Li Meng's appearance completely transformed.
He became an ironclad figure like Benben, but his armor was more exquisite, offering superior protection.
The joint structures were also more intricate.
Compared to the armor on the ogres, his was significantly heavier.
Li Meng moved his limbs and spun around.
"Not bad, very good!"
Li Meng was very satisfied with the armor.
His range of motion wasn't hindered.
Though the inner and outer armor together weighed nearly fifteen tons, Li Meng felt no discomfort.
The armor fit his body well, moving seamlessly with his motions.
"Boss, here's your iron club!"
Benben struggled to carry a massive iron club forward.
The iron club was about six meters long, with a diameter of fifteen centimeters.
It was entirely iron-gray, wrapped in a layer of high-carbon steel.
Li Meng took the iron club from Benben.
"Benben, Wangwang, watch closely. The boss is leaving now!"
With that, Li Meng shouldered the iron club and walked out.
The iron club was heavy, even heavier than his inner and outer armor combined.
Altogether, his gear weighed around forty to fifty tons.
Moments later, outside the Iron Cavern.
"Ogre… Ogre?"
Seeing a massive ironclad figure emerge from the cavern, Margarita was startled.
She retreated repeatedly, her face filled with fear.
Judging by its size, it was easy to mistake it for a cavern ogre with a massive frame.
"Let's go, time to set off!"
The familiar voice startled Margarita.
Though the voice was louder, it was still the same voice.
"You… you're the Goblin… King?"
Could he truly be the Goblin King?
Perhaps only the legendary Goblin King could possess such an enormous frame.
"I was small before; now I'm big!"
Margarita took a deep breath.
She bowed, saluting the massive Goblin King with her hand over her chest.
The two, one big and one small, walked deeper into the forest.
In the dim forest, they walked side by side.
Looking at the giant Goblin King beside her, Margarita felt a tinge of fear in her eyes.
From the goblin, she could sense a suffocating aura of oppression.
It was then Margarita realized the rumors were true.