CHAPTER 213: CONSOLIDATION

They hesitated for a moment, exchanging one last uncertain glance before slowly reaching out. Their hands were tense and reluctant, but they accepted the gesture. I clasped each of theirs firmly, a faint smile tugging at my lips as I sealed the unspoken agreement between us.

Without another word, I activated [Leap]. The world around us blurred into streaks of distorted color, air compressing with a dull thump as the ground disappeared beneath our feet.

We landed in an instant. The forest clearing snapped back into focus, and the two goblins staggered slightly, disoriented by the sudden shift. They didn’t even realize what had happened until they looked up and saw the familiar faces of the goblins gathered around them.

I released my grip on their shoulders and turned toward Ariel—only to find her crouched, one paw firmly pinning a goblin’s head to the ground.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my tone sharp but controlled.

She didn’t even look up. "He went crazy and tried to run," she said casually, pressing her paw harder against his face until the dirt cracked beneath the pressure. The goblin beneath her thrashed weakly, muffled cries barely escaping as her claws grazed his skin.

"Let him go," I said, my tone calm but leaving no room for argument.

Ariel’s gaze stayed locked on me for a long second, her expression unreadable. Then she sighed, the kind of sigh that carried both irritation and resignation, before lifting her paw off the goblin’s head. The moment he was free, the terrified creature scrambled backward, dirt clinging to his face and arms as he rushed to rejoin the others without daring to look at her again.

"Eli..." Gork began, then quickly corrected himself. "Chief... what just happened?"

I turned toward him and pointed at the small cluster of goblins gathered near the trees. Most of them looked shaken—dirty, tired, their eyes flicking nervously between me and Ariel. "They’re the only ones left," I said, my voice steady. "The survivors. I want them added to the clan as well. If any of them refuse, you’ll help convince them."

Gork frowned slightly, hesitant. "Is that an order?" he asked, his voice cautious, testing where the line was.

I met his eyes, stepping closer until the weight of my presence pressed against him. "Do you want it to be?" I asked, my words quiet but edged with threat.

He swallowed hard and shook his head quickly. "No... I’ll do my best."

I gave him a short nod.

But I couldn’t help the sigh that followed, quiet and drawn out. Seriously, what was that? Did he really think I’d threaten to kill him every time I asked him to do something?

Then again, I couldn’t entirely blame him. After everything he’d seen today, the idea probably didn’t sound far-fetched. Still, there’d been something in his tone—a slight edge, almost sarcastic. Or maybe I was imagining it.

Another sigh escaped me. Having Chosen under my command was going to be far more complicated than I’d anticipated. They weren’t like ordinary goblins who followed power instinctively. These ones thought, questioned, analyzed—and that made them unpredictable.

Still, I’d manage. I had to.

To enter the King’s Game, I needed five Chosen and a hundred regular goblins. At the moment, I’d secured three: Gork, Nira, and Talia. That left two more to find—and a clan to build from the ground up.

I turned my gaze to the group of goblins huddled together near the edge of the clearing. Their expressions were wary, filled with uncertainty about what would happen next. Some avoided my eyes altogether; others watched me like prey trying to guess if the predator was full or still hungry.

Now, it’s time to start working on those numbers.

*

(3rd Person POV)

While Eli and Gork were speaking, Nira quietly moved toward the group of goblins gathered nearby.

"Nira... I’m so happy to see you," Talia said, rising to her feet with a relieved smile.

But the greeting went unanswered.

Nira walked past her without so much as a glance, her steps deliberate, her expression cold. To her, Talia was little more than an outsider—someone new, inexperienced, and painfully naive. The fact that Gork had been unusually kind to Talia only deepened the irritation that simmered beneath Nira’s calm exterior.

The one she truly cared about wasn’t Talia. It was Zivra—the youngest among them, the one Nira had always treated like a little sister.

She knelt before the trembling goblin, her expression softening as she gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

Zivra didn’t answer right away. Her small frame trembled as she nodded weakly, her gaze fixed on the ground. Her lips quivered, but no words came out. The truth was written all over her face—of course, she wasn’t alright.

Her world had been torn apart in a single day. Her clan was gone, her father—her chief—burned to ashes before her eyes. Everything she had known, everything that had given her a place in this world, had vanished.

"Is the chief... my father... really dead?" Zivra asked, her voice trembling as she forced the words out.

Nira hesitated for a moment before nodding. "He is."

Zivra’s eyes flicked toward Eli, who stood a short distance away, his presence impossible to ignore.

"He killed him?" she said quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Yes," Nira admitted.

Zivra’s expression twisted, bitterness cutting through the grief already etched on her face. "So what’s going to happen to us now?" she asked. "Are we going to be killed too?"

"I don’t think so," Talia replied gently, stepping forward, her tone steady but uncertain.

Before anyone could say another word, Eli began walking toward them.

His steps were slow, measured, each one landing with quiet weight against the forest floor.

The air grew heavy again, tension rippling through the survivors as his shadow fell over them.

Nira instinctively placed a hand on Zivra’s shoulder, a subtle gesture meant to shield her—or at least to show Eli that the girl mattered to her.

Eli came to a halt a few...