Time slipped away bit by bit.

  It was unclear how long it took for the room to finally quiet down.

  On the bed, Vanessa y zily in Amon's arms.

  Li Mely ed his arm around Vanessa's waist.

  The two quietly savored each other's warmth.

  "Vanessa, do you know about the Ratmen tribe?"

  Vanessa snuggled into Li Meng's embrace, finding a fortable position.

  "Yes, they're a subterranean barbarian tribe that loves to dig tunnels. It's said that the Ratmen's underground caves spread across the ti, even reag beh the sea."

  Li Meng had thought the disappearance of the Ratmen was reted to the Dark Elves.

  Now it seemed he was overthinking it.

  If the Dark Elves were closely ected with the Ratmen tribe, Vanessa wouldn't expimen to him like this.

  From Vanessa's words, it was clear she didn't know much about the Ratmeher.

  "What kind of tribe are they?"

  What kind of tribe?

  Vanessa pondered for a moment.

  After a while, her voice broke the silence of the room.

  "They're probably the most voracious of the barbarian tribes. When they're hungry, they ihe surface with the io attack other races, dev everything edible in their path."

  Devour everything edible?

  A hint of doubt fshed in Li Meng's eyes, and he fell into ption.

  What he saw of the Ratmen tribe in the Goblin Forest was not like this.

  "Vanessa, do the Ratmen have any habits of animal husbandry? Like eliminating powerful magical beasts in the forest, leaving only noory magical beasts and animals, selectively hunting some magical beasts and animals to maintain species numbers."

  "Not really. The Ratmen don't do such things. When they ihe surfa a rge scale and 't find enough food, they even gnaw pnts down to nothing."

  Hearing Vanessa's expnation, Li Meng realized something.

  The as of the Ratmen in the Goblin Forest were astonishingly simir to his own.

  The only difference was that he never sidered purposefully hunting powerful magical beasts.

  "Amon, why did you suddenly ask about the Ratmen tribe?"

  Li Meng grinned and shook his head lightly.

  "Nothing, just a bit curious about this tribe."

  Time tio pass, and the night deepened.

  As the full moon hung high in the sky, the throribe gradually quieted down.

  That night, nothing more was said.

  The m, the throribe was bustling with noise.

  The Goblin ander led his followers out of the throribe from various gates.

  The marg ns formed long lines.

  The Goblins walked while pying and joking.

  Only when the leader's scolding voice rang out did they follow the ranks obediently.

  ------

  To the west of the Goblin Forest lies a range of mountains.

  These mountains are called the Misty Mountains.

  To any raear the Misty Mountains, they are aremely mysterious presence.

  Those who actally enter often mysteriously disappear.

  Those who go searg for them also vanish without a trace.

  Over time, the Misty Mountains became a feared nd of death.

  Deep within the Misty Mountains is a pce shrouded in mist.

  Within the mist lies a massive valley.

  In the valley is a huge crevice.

  Within the crevice stands a gigantic bck castle.

  From time to time, a green glow emanates from the castle.

  "Magic mirror, magic mirror..."

  A low voice suddenly echoed from the upper levels of the castle.

  It sounded like an intation, "gurgle gurgle."

  At this moment, in a room on the upper level of the castle, a hunched figure stood before a massive bck mirror.

  The bck mirror seemed to possess a kind of magic.

  It was impossible to look away.

  "Stop calling me, 't you stop b me every day?"

  A rough voice suddenly came from the bck mirror.

  "You filthy, stinking, mangy rats, go jump to yod, isn't it supposed to be very effective?"

  "Hurry up and ask, and don't bother me for a year after this, or I'll curse you mangy rats."

  "If you must bother me, at least triple the payment."

  The Ratman in front of the magic mirror was already aced to its crude words.

  He bowed and saluted the magic mirror.

  "And I don't want yod's dimensional crystals anymore, I'm sick of them!"

  The Ratman grinned, pulling out a crystal emitting a blue glow from his pocket.

  "A Water Elemental King Crystal? Well, at least you mangy rats have some sce!"

  The Ratman carefully tossed the blue crystal toward the bck mirror.

  As the blue crystal touched the mirror's surface, ripples suddenly spread across it.

  The Water Elemental King Crystal was absorbed into the mirror.

  "Great Mirrod, you tell me who the enemy was that caused the Ratmen tribe's eastern campaign to fail?"

  "Tsk tsk, Skaven, why are you so foolish today? That question ointless. But, seeing as yht a Water Elemental King Crystal, I'll be merciful and tell you more. I don't know what's in the Goblin Forest, nor whether the Ratmen tribe's eastern campaign will succeed, because there's a power equal to mine in the Goblin Forest. Our powers interfere with each other, entangling our fates, so I 't prediything with signifit cause and effect with it."

  "Alright, you leave now. I'm tired ao sleep for a few years. You better keep quiet for a while. The future of the human world on the southern ti is already a mess. I don't know which power has such strong influence, affeg such a wide rask tsk, Skaven, if your target is humans, you might take advantage of the chaos, but I 't guarantee a good oute for you. Good luck, I'm out!"

  Before long, the eerie aura from the bck mirror disappeared.

  Standing before the bck mirror, Skaven's expression was uain.

  He had thought the humans on the southern ti were easy to deal with.

  He had thought he could easily take over the Goblin Forest as a logistical base for the future rge-scale invasion of the southern ti by the Ratmen tribe.

  He hadn't expected a power equal to a god to appear in the Goblin Forest.

  "Could it be the demon tribe?"

  The southern wastends had been occupied by the demon tribe ten years ago.

  Retly, there seemed to be signs of activity in the Goblin Forest.

  "Heh heh, let's just wait and see!"

  The room echoed with the Ratmen tribe's sinister ughter.

  ------

  Goblin Forest.

  Throribe, Throne Pace.

  Time passed quickly, and it had been two months sihe demon tribe i.

  Sihe Goblins gathered at the throribe dispersed, the tribe quickly resumed its rapid development.

  The Goblins in the south were rapidly expanding their territory.

  New sub-tribes were springing up everywhere.

  More tribes were o absorb the rapidly growing popution.

  xx34810