Chapter 568: The Guardian Of The First Floor Of Babylon
“That was wonderful. Bravo!” a voice filled with admiration was heard coming from the sky.
William raised his head and saw what seemed to be a green-skinned man with a black mane draped over his shoulder.
The strange man was over two meters tall and had above average looks. Even though this was the first time William was seeing him in this life, he was aware of the man’s identity.
The man’s name was Xod. He was the Guardian assigned to the First Floor of the Tower of Babylon.
“You passed this trial with flying colors, and may I say, that was the most amazing performance I have seen in my lifetime!” Xod declared. “However, you’re making a very big mistake here. The goblins on this floor all belong to me. You can’t take them without my permission.”
William smiled and nodded his head in understanding. “I see. I apologize for my rudeness, your Excellency.”
The information he received from the Merchant Guild informed him that Xod would often show himself during the trials, whenever he found something of interest.
William hoped that the Guardian wouldn’t show himself during his trial, so that he could smuggle the Goblin Army into his Thousand Beast Domain. Unfortunately, Xod appeared, so he wouldn’t be able to proceed with the plan he had in mind.
“But, after seeing that duel, I think the two of us can come to an agreement,” Xod stated as he looked at Jareth with great interest. He appraised the Goblin Paladin like a connoisseur who had an obsession when it came to a new breed of goblins.
Xod stared at Jareth for half a minute, before shifting his attention back to William.
“Your reward for clearing this trial is Four Thousand Tokens,” Xod said. “These tokens are used as currency inside the Tower of Babylon.
“You can use these tokens to buy exclusive items in the Babylon Shop, or just spend them however you wish as you climb the tower. Now, let’s return to the topic at hand. I see that you are interested in my goblins, right?”
“Yes, Your Excellency,” William replied.
“Well, at least you are honest. Now, how about we make a trade? I will give you my Goblin Army, as well as an additional Five Thousand Tokens for that Goblin wearing a knight’s armor.” Xod pointed at Jareth with a grin. “Not only that, I can use my authority as a Guardian, and allow you to jump straight to the 10th Floor of Babylon. So, are you up for a trade?”
Xod believed that the offer he gave William was something the boy couldn’t resist. Although he thought that it was overkill to pay that much for a single goblin, the Guardian of the First Floor wasn’t able to resist its exclusive Hobby.
And that Hobby was collecting rare breeds of Goblins.
Xod was a being that came from another world. Nor was he the only one; all the Guardians of the Tower were beings that were not native to the World of Hestia.
“Okay deal,” William replied with a smile. “Let’s trade.”
Xod arched his eyebrow as he stared at the red-headed teenager who was looking at him as if he had struck a great bargain.
“Jareth, sorry, but this is where we will part,” William said as he patted the Goblin Paladin’s arm. “Take care of yourself, okay?”
“I will,” Jareth flashed William a refreshing smile.
Xod watched this scene in confusion. He was expecting that William would reject his offer, or bargain with him to raise the stakes. However, not only did the Half-Elf do that, he even agreed to his proposal in a heartbeat.
As if afraid that the Guardian would go back on his word, William opened several portals in front of the Goblin Army. Xerxes, Sharx, and Rex, went to work and started herding the Goblins towards the portals that led to the Thousand Beast Domain.
Sharx stood on top of his mount, Sparky, and raised his chin in arrogance.
“Any goblin who wants to be as strong as I, enter the portal,” Sharx announced. “I will teach you how to ride a Doge!”
The Goblin Marauder then glanced at Xod and gave the Guardian a smile, before returning his attention to the goblin army.
All the Goblins looked at him in awe. In their eyes, they wanted to be just like Sharx and own a powerful mount like the one he was seated upon.
“Okay, everyone please line up,” Xerxes ordered. “Come inside the portals in an orderly manner. No pushing, okay?”
Xerxes also turned his head to look at Xod. It even bowed his head showing how happy it was.
The Hobgoblin Shamans’ on the other hand were looking at Xerxes in admiration. They could instinctively feel that the Hobgoblin Arcane Doctor was one of the branches of evolution that was available to them.
All the Goblins’ desires to become strong made them increase their pace to enter the portals.
William looked at this scene with satisfaction, while Xod blinked his eyes in confusion. The stares of the Half-Elf’s goblins made him feel uncomfortable. It was as if he had been given the short end of the stick in the deal he made with the red-headed teenager.
“W-Wait, I changed my mind,” Xod said as he placed his hand on William’s shoulder. “I no longer want your Goblin.”
“Um? Why?” William asked in confusion. “Didn’t we already make the deal? Are you going back on our deal?”
“Yes, we’ve already made a deal,” Xod answered. “But, I changed my mind. I think I am on the losing end of this transaction.”
William chuckled internally because the gamble he had taken had paid off. According to the information he got from the Merchant Guild, Xod had a mild case of Paranoia.
If things were going too smoothly for the Guardian, Xod would think that something was wrong, and would immediately think of a way to back out of the agreement he personally proposed.
Right now, Half of the Goblin Army had already passed through the portals, and it would take a few more minutes before all of them had been smuggled away.
“This is no good,” William said as he shook his head. “We already made a deal. Wouldn’t your reputation take a hit if you were to renege our deal?”
Xod frowned. Although he was akin to a Demigod inside the Tower, there were certain rules that bound him in place that prevented him from directly harming the challengers on the floor he managed.
Also, William had passed his trial, and received the Tower’s approval. It would reflect badly on Xod’s record if he were to casually break an agreement that he himself proposed.
‘It’s fine. They are just ordinary goblins,’ Xod tried to convince himself internally. ‘A million Goblins in exchange for a Goblin Paladin is worth it.’
William smirked and turned around to look at the new additions to his army. He muttered something in a barely audible voice that made Xod’s expression become grim.
“A million goblins for a Goblin Paladin, what a steal! I have over ten thousand Goblin Paladins, so losing one isn’t a big deal. Fortunately, he only asked for one. What a sweet bargain!”
Xod was capable of knowing everything that happened inside his domain. Because of this, even the faintest whispers could easily reach his ears. Right now, his full attention was on William. It would be impossible for him to miss the teenager’s casual mumbling.
‘No good! I got scammed!’ Xod almost lost his composure. If this news was to reach the other Guardians of the Tower, he would be so embarrassed to show himself in their Gathering Hall.
He couldn’t allow that to happen!
“Boy, we need to talk,” Xod said in a voice that wouldn’t accept no for an answer.
William glanced at the Guardian. “Yes?”
“Like I said earlier, this transaction is unfair,” Xod smiled. “Because of this, we will change the contents of our agreement. I will sell you the million strong goblin army for two thousand Tokens.”
William rubbed his chin with a frown. “I will only agree if you sell them to me for five hundred Tokens. Any higher than that and the deal is off.”
“Okay deal! Mind you, if you go back on your word, I will kick you out of the tower and ban your entry.”
“… Fine. I agree to this condition.”
William lowered his head and sighed. He then reluctantly fished out five Golden Tokens from his storage ring and gave it to Xod with an aggrieved expression. This brought down William’s Token Count to 3,500 Tokens.
(A/N: Each Golden Token is worth a hundred tokens.)
“8500 Tokens, I could have bought a lot of items in the tower for that.” William sighed for the second time.
Seeing William’s dejected face, Xod felt better and nodded his head in satisfaction.
“I like working with smart people,” Xod said as he patted William’s shoulder. “There are times when people need to take a step back, to ensure that the bridges will not be burned down. You did the right thing in agreeing to my request. Also, don’t mention what happened here to the other Guardians, okay?”
William sighed for the third time before nodding his head. He was like a gambler that had lost his life savings in a bet, which made Xod feel that he got the upper hand in the deal.
After all the Goblins, including Jareth, Xerxes, Sharx, and Rex, had safely returned to the Thousand Beast Domain, William closed the portal and held Chiffon’s hand.
“Your Excellency, please, send us to the next floor,” William said in a dejected tone.
Xod nodded his head and clapped his hand. Soon William and Chiffon disappeared from the trial room and turned into beams of light headed towards the Second Floor of the Tower.
—–
After arriving at the Second Floor of the Tower, the first thing that William did was to go back to the Thousand Beast Domain with Chiffon, to increase the number of floors in the Goblin Crypt.
Right now, The Goblin Crypt had Sixty Five Floors and was undergoing a massive renovation, in order to accommodate the new goblins that had joined his ranks.
Due to the war, William’s army had swelled to nearly a million. They were mostly composed of Goblins, the Beasts in the Thousand Beast Domain, the Revenants from the Minotaur Race, under Erchitu’s command, and Revenant Centaurs, under Bastian.
With the addition of the goblins from the tower, William’s forces were now nearly two million.
Earlier, he had talked to Jareth, Xerxes, Sharx, and Rex, to act as if they were very happy with the deal he made with Xod. He was hoping that the Guardian would feel something was off and trigger his paranoia.
William wasn’t worried even if Xod decided to not cancel the agreement. He had already made a backup plan, which would forcefully summon Jareth back to his side after leaving the Tower. This would not leave any kind of Trace, and the Guardian couldn’t accuse William of anything.
How could he possibly allow his prized Goblin Paladin to be taken away from him? William had no intention of doing so. William could only have one Goblin Paladin at a time, and he had spent Ten Million Dungeon Points to get him.
When William mumbled that he had over ten thousand Goblin Paladins, his intention was to lower Jareth’s value in Xod’s eyes. Collectors only appreciate something if they are rare.
If they were all over the place like cabbages, he would feel that the deal was not worth it.
William used the Guardian’s paranoia and collector’s mindset to lay a trap for him. Fortunately, it worked and the Half-Elf didn’t have to resort to his Plan B.
The Half-Elf spent half a day inside the Thousand Beast Domain to fix everything. While he was busy with his remodeling, Xerxes, Sharx, Rex, and the Goblin Warmonger took the Goblins to the Atlantis Dungeon and helped them familiarize themselves with the place.
William hoped that after a few months, the new Goblins would all evolve to stronger forms, which would immediately increase the strength of the forces under his command.