Lord of the Foresaken

The world had labeled goblins as weak. Reed was rewriting that truth in blood.

He stood at the edge of the forest, watching the next village in his path. Smoke curled from chimneys, lazy farmhands wandered the fields, and a few poorly armed guards patrolled the dirt roads.

They had no idea death was coming.

Behind Reed, his army crouched in the underbrush. Evolved goblins with sharpened claws. Berserkers twitching with bloodlust. Even the weakest goblins had a new hunger in their eyes.

They had tasted war. They wanted more.

Shia knelt beside him. "Same strategy, my lord?"

Reed smirked. "No."

Delman's village had been a test. A slaughter to make his army grow. This was different.

This time, he wanted terror.

Nightfall – The Raid Begins

The attack came without warning.

One moment, the village was quiet. The next, goblins poured from the darkness, shrieking like demons.

• Farmhouses burned.

• Guards were torn apart before they could even raise their swords.

• Women and children were dragged from their homes, screaming.

It wasn't a battle.

It was an execution.

Reed walked through the chaos, unbothered. He wasn't a mindless killer. There was a method to this madness.

He grabbed a dying guard by the throat, lifting him as the man choked on blood. "Where is your lord?"

The man gasped. "H-he's not… here…"

Reed's eyes narrowed. "Where?"

The guard coughed. "T-the city… w-we pay taxes to Lord Ervan…"

Reed crushed his throat.

Lord Ervan.

A real noble. A true enemy.

Good.

He looked around. His goblins had already secured the village. The remaining survivors were rounded up, forced to kneel in the dirt.

Shia approached. "What do you want to do with them?"

Reed's eyes gleamed in the firelight.

He turned to the shaking prisoners.

"Run."

The villagers blinked.

Reed smirked. "Tell Lord Ervan what happened here. Tell him the Goblin Lord is coming."

For a moment, no one moved.

Then, as realization hit, they fled into the night.

Reed watched them go. His goblins hissed in disappointment.

Shia tilted her head. "Mercy, my lord?"

Reed chuckled. "No. A declaration of war."