Chapter Twenty: The Ancient Empire

The Goblin Empire is a unique entity in this realm, its history stretching back over ten thousand years. According to the knowledge imparted by the God of Magma, the goblins acquired an extraordinarily powerful legacy from unknown origins. In just a few centuries, they transformed from a scattered tribal confederation into a formidable civilization.

Although individually weak, the goblins leveraged their advanced technology to craft peerless machines and weapons, even creating vast armies of steel golem soldiers. At its zenith, the Goblin Empire nearly ruled the entire realm, forcing all other races into submission.

This land was originally called Rosso, the capital of the Goblin Empire. Here stood the empire’s strongest fortress, the largest air force base, the grandest academy, and its most prestigious research institutes. Somewhere within this city, a secret weapon capable of challenging the gods themselves was hidden.

The empire’s rise stirred wariness among the gods, while the goblins themselves grew ambitious, dreaming of surpassing the divine. Eventually, conflict escalated beyond reconciliation, and war erupted.

It was a war that nearly destroyed the realm. Countless races—and even gods—vanished, and the Goblin Empire was uprooted entirely from existence. As the capital, Rosso endured the gods’ fiercest wrath.

Yet, having grown powerful enough to contend with the gods, the goblins had their own trump cards. Many imperial structures were buried deep underground, their fortifications so robust that even the gods’ forbidden spells could not obliterate them. Moreover, no matter how thoroughly the gods and other races attempted to exterminate goblins, they always managed to resurface in unexpected places.

To resolve these issues, one would have to annihilate the entire realm—a result the gods did not desire, given the tangled web of interests here.

Thus, the gods transformed the goblin capital into the harshest environment for survival, naming it the Forsaken Land. They released hordes of ferocious beasts and monsters into this region, severing any chance of goblin civilization’s revival. Finally, the remaining goblins were declared the lowest of creatures; their budding civilization was stamped out by various means, forever trapping them in ignorance.

The Forsaken Land may contain remnants of the goblin empire’s disruptive devices, severely limiting divine powers within its bounds. It has become the ideal refuge and prison for fallen gods who lost in the wars of the divine realm. Over countless years, innumerable gods have used this place to return to the divine realm.

“Truly, a love-hate entanglement spanning ten thousand years. Impossible to untangle,” Sun Licheng sighed after reading the empire’s history. Especially vivid in the God of Magma’s memories were the battles of the goblin empire’s land, sea, and air armies, which left Sun Licheng—himself from twenty-first-century Earth—wide-eyed in awe.

The empire’s weapons were naturally exceptional. Though not divine artifacts, their destructive power and durability far exceeded ordinary arms. The two curved blades wielded by the Medusa were likely standard issue for goblin steel golems.

Sun Licheng searched hopefully for such treasures but found only a broken half of a curved blade. Fortunately, the remaining piece was the lower half; the upper blade was nowhere to be found. This result made him reevaluate the fighting strength of that manticore.

Resigned, Sun Licheng took up the broken blade, thinking, “Lucky the goblins were short—this half-blade can still be used as a saber. If it were an ogre’s, it’d barely serve as a toothpick.”

Despite his complaints, he ultimately adopted the half-blade as his primary weapon. The goblin empire’s craftsmanship was indeed extraordinary; the unknown yellow metal was exceptionally sharp, and wielding it gave him impressive destructive power.

According to the God of Magma, the cave they inhabited was once part of the core fortress of the goblin empire, destroyed during the war. The fortress’s defenses were so formidable that divine powers were severely restricted within, and the gods could not penetrate many areas. Therefore, they sent beasts and monsters to patrol the cave, setting traps to capture animals and cast them inside, preventing goblins from escaping.

The account in the God of Magma’s knowledge was brief but, in reality, much more brutal.

The cave’s expanse exceeded Sun Licheng’s imagination, brimming with danger. Various monsters and giant beasts prowled, hunted, and fought within, turning the cavern into a slaughterhouse. In many places, Sun Licheng could sense terrifying presences from afar. He watched as wild animals wandered in and were torn apart, dampening his curiosity to explore further. He carefully memorized each perilous area, resolving to one day fully investigate the labyrinth.

After conducting a water burial for Medusa, Sun Licheng spent considerable time surviving there, cautiously avoiding wild beasts. His leather pouch, once used to carry crystals, was now filled with all sorts of gems. He also found suitable bones for weapons—bone knives, bone spears, and teeth—and even gathered tendons and pelts from several large creatures.

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Time lost its meaning in the cave. As Sun Licheng carefully explored, he suddenly noticed a shaft of light streaming through the upper right side of the stone wall ahead. His spirit soared, and he hurried to investigate. Standing beneath the light, he felt a faint, cold breeze wafting in through the crack.

If wind could blow through, the stone wall must be thin. Sun Licheng began searching for something to stand on. There were few rocks, so he dragged over several animal carcasses as makeshift steps. At last, he touched the sunlit opening.

Squinting, he peered outside through the crevice and glimpsed a sliver of sky. He took out his bone knife and began excavating along the crack. With his newfound strength and a bone knife made from unknown, beastly bones—harder than metal—he quickly chipped away at the wall.

The rock was about two meters thick. After ten minutes, the tip of the knife suddenly punched through, and the wall collapsed outward. The roar of rushing water echoed from outside.

Sun Licheng pushed the rocks out and poked his head through.

He found himself at the side and rear of a waterfall; icy water thundered down from a height of over ten meters, crashing loudly before plunging underground.

“This waterfall is likely a source for the underground river,” Sun Licheng mused.

Returning to the surface, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place. Having spent so long in the pit, he had lost all sense of time and distance, unsure how far he was from his old camp. Still, he was unconcerned; as long as he found the great river, he could return.

Was this the beginning of his quest for the dragon pearl?

“In a world this dangerous, even just venturing out requires caution against being devoured by monsters. I’d better get back to work,” Sun Licheng thought, shaking his head. Having lost the poisonous protection of his body, he could only continue farming.

Perhaps the God of Magma had boosted his luck a little, for the exit he discovered was in a superb location.

He emerged in a small valley, cradled between two steep, low hills, lush with trees and rich in water and grass. After a thorough search, Sun Licheng found no ferocious beasts in the valley. The exit lay where the hills converged, making it defensible and difficult to assault. A stone wall at the mouth would allow one person to hold off thousands.

Besides abundant foliage, the waterfall provided ample water. As a modern man, Sun Licheng had long lamented his inability to use machinery. There was no electricity, no steam engines, not even the goblin machines from the God of Magma’s memories. But with plentiful water power, he was confident he could make simple machines to boost productivity and hasten his journey to summon the dragon.

Even more delightful was the discovery of a large cave near the waterfall. From outside, it looked like a bear’s den. When Sun Licheng found it, he was startled, hiding and observing for a long time. Only after seeing no beasts emerge did he cautiously enter.

The cave was over twenty, nearly thirty square meters. It had once sheltered wild animals, but now, aside from a carpet of bones, was empty.

Facing the waterfall, the cave was ideally situated: sheltered from the strongest northwest winds and elevated enough to survey the entire valley.

Sun Licheng decided to settle here for the time being.

He swept inside and out with a broom made of branches, leveling the floor with stones and earth. Then he began felling trees in the valley.

The broken blade he found was astoundingly sharp—a single stroke cleaved deep notches in the trunks. The only drawback was that a saber was not ideal for chopping wood. In appreciation, Sun Licheng named it the Golden-Back Mountain Cleaver, or simply the Mountain Cleaver—a rather crude name.

With the Mountain Cleaver, he erected a fence around the cave, sharpening the stakes to point skyward, lending an air of intimidation.

At the cave entrance he built a sturdy gate, thick enough to fend off most beasts.

To maximize space, Sun Licheng partitioned the cave with a row of wooden fencing—inside was the bedroom, outside the dining area and storage.

Among his new weapons, besides the Mountain Cleaver, was a bone dagger. He named it Jade Shard.

Though made of bone, Jade Shard was incredibly sharp, slicing wood with no resistance. Thanks to it, Sun Licheng crafted a large bed using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery. Of course, “traditional” meant whatever he could cobble together; the workmanship was crude but solid.

Having tidied up his cave, Sun Licheng also made a few simple pottery vessels. This time, the pottery was a great success, for he now possessed the power of flame.