Malphegor
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MoP: Ch. 88
🕑 Added 2025-03-27 16:33:15 +0000 UTCAfter going online, he waited for quite a while. Only then did LootGoblin manage to gather all the elite goblins.
The only female elite goblin, Mizra, scoffed disdainfully.
"Even at a time like this, they still insist on finding sacrifices. When will they ever direct their energy toward something worthwhile?"
LootGoblin silently listened. He wasn't sure about much else, but he had finally witnessed just how "highly lustful" goblins, as described in the data, could be. However, this was a great opportunity to learn where the captives were being held.
After casually posing a question, Mizra's gaze toward him was filled with both contempt and disgust.
"Using the divine artifact on you would be blasphemy against the God of Fear!" Her roots as an ordinary goblin were apparent—whatever intelligence she'd gained had clearly been fed to her libido.
"Of course not." LootGoblin raised his right hand, making his voice sound righteously sincere.
"I deeply understand the nobility of high-ranking goblins. I only want to know the location of the sacrifices to ensure no other goblins behave inappropriately for their station."
His skills at flattering women were already honed to perfection. Before long, he'd managed to charm Mizra into fits of laughter and extracted the location of the captives.
Discreetly rubbing his ears, he nodded respectfully toward her.
"I'll make sure to visit frequently and spread the wisdom of high-ranking goblins to all our kin!" Inwardly, however, he was grumbling.
A goblin's laughter was truly deafening...
That laugh was so jarring that even after posting the goblin battle intel he'd gathered on the forum that evening, it still gave him chills just thinking about it.
---
The intel LootGoblin uploaded was highly significant. But the defensive strategy couldn't be used directly.
If they held a strategy meeting one day and the players could predict every move of the goblins the next, it'd blatantly reveal that there was a mole among them.
Furthermore, the players were still operating on the outskirts of the giant pit and couldn't access the inner circle, where LootGoblin had more knowledge.
At this point, the terrain map provided by Garbled became invaluable. Knowing which locations in the ruins the goblins frequented most allowed them to ambush them there.
The players' offensives suddenly became much more aggressive.
"It still feels like progress is a bit slow, though," complained one player perched in a tree, monitoring goblin movements with another.
Apple yawned.
"The goblins have wised up—they're pushing the weak, old, and injured out to live on the outskirts as living shields. Our costs have gone up, but the rewards are getting smaller. Are we going to fail the main quest?"
Thor pulled up the game interface. "It just says we should try to capture the area before the ritual. Failing that, we probably just won't get any NPC captives."
"That's still pretty bad," Apple said wistfully.
"Who'd have thought I'd one day worry about there being too few NPCs in a game?"
In this game, even NPCs could be quest rewards—could you believe that? With too few NPCs, every feature in the game would pile up on Viktor and Alyanne.
During peak player activity, even submitting a quest required waiting in line.
It was scary to think what Honeyvale Town would look like if the player base grew even larger.
The sound of chaotic footsteps came from nearby. The two players immediately fell silent.
Apple pressed himself against the tree trunk and leaned forward.
"Looks like goblins?"
A moment later, CowardlySurvivor dashed into view, running frantically. When he looked up and spotted them, his eyes lit up, and he raised both hands, calling for help.
"Hey! Help me! There are goblins chasing me!"
The two players relaxed, instinctively hiding themselves behind nearby branches.
"Ugh, another unlucky guy trying to get into the pit and getting caught by goblins," they whispered.
"The guides all say to drink the potion beforehand, but there's always someone who refuses because it's bitter."
"Now look—he's gotten himself surrounded."
The two players muttered quietly.
"Let's hope he manages to kill two goblins before dying; otherwise, he'll lose out on his respawn cooldown."
"But he's a fire mage, right?"
"Oh, never mind then—he should just find a good spot to bury himself."
"Hey!" CowardlySurvivor looked up, making a last-ditch effort. "We're teammates!"
"Don't worry, we'll loot your body after you die!" Apple shouted back loud enough for him to hear.
When a teammate died, you looted with tears in your eyes. Everyone understood this!
"Fucker!" With a train of green-skinned goblins on his tail, CowardlySurvivor howled as he sprinted past their tree.
When everything fell quiet again, Apple rested his chin in his hand and sighed.
"Another player down. The main quest just got slower. If only a more powerful explosive could be invented... Hey, what's that down there?"
His voice held a note of surprise.
Thor followed his gaze and widened his eyes.
"Whoa, it looks like players!"
Below, several figures fully armed from head to toe were pushing a triangular wooden contraption, walking brazenly in their direction.
They looked like...
Apple and Thor exchanged glances.
Were they newbies, or old players up to something reckless? Sensing something was up, the two jumped down from the tree.
"Hey, hold up!" Apple blocked their path. "Didn't you read the quest description? You can't use large tools at this time."
Thor crossed his arms and nodded in agreement.
"If the goblins follow the tracks from this thing back to the teleportation array, Viktor will deduct our pay!"
They were doing this for the newcomers' sake. The goblins patrolling the illusion's perimeter would never let such a conspicuous tool through. It was more trouble than it was worth.
The shortest of the group, wearing what looked like a shell, lifted two layers to reveal part of her face.
"Don't worry, I've got it under control. I had them carry the catapult here by taking a detour."
"Huh? Lux?" Apple's serious expression vanished. He stared at her in amazement.
"Why aren't you staying in town as a caregiver? What are you doing dressed like that? And where'd you get that green armor?"
Though bulky, the armor was made of materials Apple recognized—rare plants and animals from outside the starter village.
This set must've cost a fortune!
"I already finished today's caregiver tasks," Lux replied, shifting her head uncomfortably as beads of sweat dripped from her hair and chin.
The shell armor's ventilation was terrible, and she was drenched within minutes.
"The magic potion really worked wonders. Not long ago, some of their wounds were so bad they couldn't even drink thicker potions. Now, except for the occasional low fever, their injuries are almost fully healed. I don't need to stick around all the time anymore."
As she spoke, a subtle smile tugged at her lips. Watching the severely injured NPCs recover so visibly under her care brought a strange sense of accomplishment and emotion.
She patted the tripod beside her, which reached her shoulder.
"This armor and the catapult were custom-made by ProGamer_Daddy."
In addition to meeting Viktor's daily gunpowder quotas and developing new weapons, ProGamer_Daddy also took private commissions. Though his prices were exorbitant, even simple modifications could cost several magic coins.
Thor looked at their gear in awe.
"Your pay-to-win skills are really getting refined."
Who'd have thought they'd been scrambling to share ten magicoins just a short while ago?
Apple glanced around cautiously.
"Forget about that for now. Aren't you worried about attracting goblins with something so conspicuous?"
Lux put her helmet back on.
"So I need to act quickly. I only hired people to lure the nearby goblins away for ten minutes." As she spoke, she signaled for the players behind her to move.
Thor's mouth dropped open. "No wonder it's so quiet around here. Did you also hire CowardlySurvivor?"
"No, that was just his bad luck. He wasn't part of my plan."
"Then it's fine."
The wheels rolled forward over the uneven, muddy ground. Since there were no goblins around for now, the two of them didn't need to stand guard.
Curious about Lux's tools and outfit, they simply followed along to join in on the fun.
Lux was generous. She handed the two temporary workers helping move the catapult four bottles of illusion-breaking potion and two sets of simplified green armor.
"These are failed experimental products from ProGamer_Daddy. Just make do with them."
Although they didn't know what these items were for, the armor looked sturdy enough to provide decent defense. Might as well use it if it's free.
Once they put it on, their bodies immediately felt much heavier. Apple downed a bottle of the illusion-breaking potion, grimacing at the bitterness.
"You spent a lot of magicoins on all this, huh?"
Lux rested her chin on her hand, thinking. "I lost track. Aside from players like you who stay on the frontlines all day and never check the forums, I've basically bought up all the magicoins from the others."
"Holy crap! A monopoly!" Thor turned his head in shock. "The devs didn't drag you into a dark room for this?"
Even if it was just in-game currency, it was still a problem if too many resources ended up in the hands of a single player. It could easily cause inflation and market manipulation. In the end, they might be forced to introduce a new currency unit.
"What dark room?" Apple remained unfazed.
"She spends as much as she buys. Just look at these potions—far exceeding the shop limit. Most of her magicoins go into the system store. The devs are probably thanking her for helping with currency recycling."
Recently, due to the main storyline, the difficulty of acquiring game items and magicoins had decreased significantly. Potato prices had just gone up by one coin yesterday. Now the market was finally balancing out.
Thor frowned.
"But there must be players hoarding large amounts of magicoins, right? Won't they just become the new monopolists?"
"The only ones hoarding magicoins was the Lucky Stars Team, and I bought out all of theirs," Lux said.
Her exchange rate for magicoins to real money was 1:56.
Higher than what other players offered, so the Lucky Stars Team had no reason to turn it down.
"You even bought from ProGamer_Daddy?" Thor pressed.
"He sold the most."
"Damn, isn't he some rich kid? Why's he making money off this too?" Thor covered his face in regret, then suddenly looked at her with eager eyes.
"Hey, are you still buying magicoins?"
"…"
Lux's face was full of speechlessness. Who was the one just now so outraged over currency devaluation?
"No," she said coldly.
"Ah—why? Why do good things never come my way…" As Thor's wails filled the background, Apple curiously examined the catapult.
At the top of the 45-degree slanted wooden arm, a nearly one-meter-large green "balloon" was tied. As the cart bumped along, the balloon's surface shifted, revealing something inside.
"So, you still haven't said what you guys are doing. What's this green balloon? Are you planning to launch it into the goblin nest?"
Saying this, he moved closer, preparing to take a better look at the balloon overhead.
"Watch out!"
The player pushing the cart behind him reacted instantly, shoving him back.
Their tone was tense.
"Don't get too close, dude! If it weren't for Viktor's binding magic holding it together, this thing would've exploded already. Stay back!"
"??" Apple's confusion deepened.
Was it really that sensitive? His curiosity about what was inside grew even stronger.
"You even roped in Viktor?"
"MemeKnight was the one who found the potato. Viktor gave him two chances to lend a hand, and I bought them off him. As for what's inside…"
They stopped at the edge of a massive crater and looked ahead.
With the illusions and trees gone, the entire goblin ruins were now visible from above—like a city long forgotten by time.
Lux clasped her hands behind her back, eyes burning with an inexplicable determination.
"You'll find out soon enough!"
From the way she spoke, Apple got the distinct feeling that something dangerous was about to happen.
"Can't you just tell me in advance?"
The player who had stopped him earlier grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Forget it. The goblins below have spotted us and are on their way. Let's get this done and get out of here."
Even Thor was dragged a dozen meters away.
The six of them crouched behind the same patch of grass, watching as Lux finished adjusting the catapult. She then tossed a tiny coconut melon bomb down below before sprinting back towards them.
Thor peeked through the leaves, staring unblinkingly.
"What the hell is inside? You all look like someone's about to die."
The player sighed. "Of course, it's—"
"It's the corpse of a giant goblin!" Lux, who had already made it back, answered before he could.
And with that, the delayed catapult fired at full force, pulling back to its limit before snapping forward. The green balloon at the top was flung high into the air.
Mid-flight, it burst open.
Inside was an enormous, bloated goblin corpse, along with some unknown brown liquid.
"Holy—!" Thor slapped a hand over his mouth, nearly gagging in disgust. His eyes widened in shock. "So all that effort was for this nasty thing???"
She had spent five figures in cash just to gross out the in-game monsters?!
Was this how rich people play games?!
Lux shook her head solemnly.
"This isn't just any goblin corpse. I spent days carefully processing this body."
She emphasized every word.
The amount of brainpower she had used to perfect this plan wasn't much less than the money she had spent. Watching the battle reports on the forums every day, she had realized something crucial: their main storyline progress was too slow!
Fifty players trying to conquer a goblin nest with nearly a thousand enemies in just half a month… Even with their revival cheat, the difficulty was still extreme.
Sure, their current progress looked promising, but experienced gamers knew that in large-scale missions, the small mobs were just cannon fodder.
The real challenge came later.
Wasting too much time clearing out 80% of the small enemies was already a bad sign. Who knew if this main quest would turn out like one of those "discount slashing" schemes—where progress became exponentially harder the further you went?
So, Lux decided to stop playing by the rules. She was going to wipe out the goblins as fast as possible. For that, she had come up with an absolutely brilliant plan…
