"This isn't the Big Sis I know!"
The members of the Dragon Slayer Guild looked at each other, their faces full of shock.
At this moment, Lin Tian had already arrived. He didn't pay attention to Joan of Arc and instead rushed straight to the center of the crowd.
Gobu Kuang was lying on the ground, all his limbs broken, covered in blood, and unconscious.
Not far away, Katheryn and Ifreya, who had received the news, had also arrived.
Lin Tian instructed, "Quick, heal him completely."
Osius quickly spoke up, "Wait, this brother is as stubborn as a mule. Don't heal him. We've already used up all our super recovery potions on him. Every time we heal him, he just charges back into the fight."
Even the One-Eyed Owl could recover consciousness and escape, yet Gobu Kuang recklessly pushed himself to the brink.
This behavior baffled and troubled everyone.
If the One-Eyed Owl was truly insane, it was because she had something crucial to protect. But Gobu Kuang? He simply obeyed Lin Tian.
"It's fine. I'm here now. Go ahead and heal him."
Lin Tian's expression was extremely grim, his face darkening to the point where it seemed like it could drip water.
A palpable killing intent spread around him like a nightmare, enveloping the entire block!
Among the crowd, Ruen's heart trembled. "This feeling, I remember it! Lin Tian is going to get serious! That Joan of Arc is dead for sure!"
He vividly recalled when they were fleeing with the residents, and Lin Tian reacted this way upon learning that the Dragon Slayer Guild had been annihilated.
As a result, Lin Tian had wiped out the entire War Empire!
Before long, under the healing powers of Katheryn and Ifreya, Gobu Kuang's limbs were completely restored. The two used a combined magic spell, capable of world-class feats like regenerating shattered bones.
"Boss? There's… there's a strong person who broke into our city. She's really powerful. You might not be her match. You should escape while I hold her off!"
Gobu Kuang, still groggy, suddenly became alert and tried to get up to continue fighting.
But Lin Tian held him down. "Forget it. I'll handle that person."
Hearing his command, Gobu Kuang finally stayed put, retreating to the back with Gobu Tian and the others.
"You really shouldn't go so crazy next time. The Boss will worry," Gobu Shan consoled him.
Then, Lin Tian took a few steps forward, looking coldly at Joan of Arc, and said, "Long time no see, Your Majesty Joan."
"Don't call me Your Majesty! And what's with this stance, Goblin King? Are you planning to kill me?" Joan of Arc responded coldly.
The two glared at each other like mortal enemies, filled with intense hatred.
Lin Tian questioned, "What are you doing here? Is a king like you really so shameless as to come here looking for trouble?"
Joan of Arc quickly interrupted, "I told you before, I'm keeping an eye on you! This time, I'm just here to see if there's any injustice, any abuse, or any oppression in this country. Isn't it open for anyone to come, just as you declared?"
"Your subordinate was about to kill someone just for stealing a single coin. I couldn't stand it, so I stepped in. Is there a problem with that?"
As she spoke, her face showed a sense of righteousness, even pride.
Lin Tian's eyes were already filled with murderous intent, but he knew he couldn't kill her now. If they fought, even if he won, it would come at a great cost.
The city would likely be reduced to ruins.
The impact would be massive, and no other monsters or demi-humans would dare to come here again.
He said, "A problem? Here, my rules are the rules! This isn't your country, is it? Are you overstepping your bounds? Or are you really not afraid of death…"
Hearing this, the One-Eyed Owl spoke heavily, "She might really not be afraid of death."
Osius also chimed in, "You don't know, do you? Even demigods can use a certain level of Divine Domain. In their domain, they're almost invincible! Immortal! The only ones who might be able to deal with them are the Trojan Heroes…"
Lin Tian's eyes slightly changed.
Divine Domain? Almost invincible?!
No wonder she dared to be so arrogant, strutting into his territory like this.
"Whether I fear death or not is none of your concern. Didn't you claim to be a kind, good goblin? I'm just here to catch you breaking your own rules! If I find injustice, I'm justified in stepping in, right?" Joan of Arc argued back.
Her expression turned cold as she continued, "And I've found an extremely serious problem here! You impose a 90% grain tax on humans? You're practically treating them like slaves! And you're forcing them to produce goblins for you?! These two reasons alone are enough for me to kill you a thousand times over!!! Enough to declare war on your Goblin Empire!!"
The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive, suffocating everyone present.
Yet Lin Tian remained defiant, sneering, "Hmph, Your Majesty, if you're so sure, why not come with me to the countryside and see for yourself? If it's as you say, I'll hand you my head on a silver platter, but what if it's not?"
Right now, it seemed he couldn't make a move against Joan of Arc.
But once he figured out how to kill a demigod, he would make sure she understood the meaning of a fate worse than death.
And it wouldn't be just physical torment!
To make the so-called justice she clung to, the things she protected, and the beliefs in her heart more contemptible than mud, more filthy than excrement.
Upon hearing this, Joan of Arc was filled with disdain. "This was something your own people admitted. Could it be false? If it isn't true, I'll leave immediately and won't step foot here again without cause. How about that?"
"You make it sound easy. But how do you plan to account for the injuries you inflicted on my subordinate? The greatest saintess wouldn't try to weasel out of this, would she?" Lin Tian narrowed his eyes, staring at her intently as he spoke.
Joan of Arc was slightly taken aback, then solemnly said, "I'll break my own limbs as compensation. Will that suffice? But remember, you said it yourself: if I find any oppression or enslavement, I'll chop off your head immediately!"
"Hmph, let's go then!"
Lin Tian began leading the way out of the city, heading toward the rural area where the humans lived.
Due to the abundance of monsters here, the original inhabitants of the Goblin Empire had moved to the countryside and established their own towns.
However, not a single person had thought to resist.
In fact, to this day, the humans continued producing goblins for Lin Tian.
As they walked, Joan of Arc showed no sign of fear despite the many monsters and powerful enemies they encountered along the way.
She was calm and confident.
In contrast, everyone else, except for Lin Tian and the One-Eyed Owl, was cautious and tense.
Before long, they arrived at a village.
Outside the village, the wheat fields were lush and green, growing extremely well.
"Hey? It's His Majesty, the Goblin King! Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"It really is His Majesty!"
"Great Goblin King, it's been a while!"
As soon as the villagers saw Lin Tian, they all came out of their homes to greet him.
Upon hearing the news, even the village chief arrived immediately.
Such a scene made Joan of Arc scoff with disdain. "I think they're only showing such flattery because they're terrified of you. It wouldn't surprise me if you were a tyrant!"
"Not at all! We respect His Majesty the Goblin King from the bottom of our hearts!" the village chief immediately retorted.
Hearing this, Joan of Arc felt conflicted. "Words mean nothing. Can you show me the grain reserves in each household?"
"No problem. We really have more food than we can eat! I just sold several hundred pounds recently!"
Led by the village chief, the storage was opened, revealing piles of sweet potatoes and sacks of wheat and corn—at least a thousand pounds!
Joan of Arc had never seen a farmer's household with so much grain before. "You haven't handed over your taxes yet, have you? After giving up 90%, is there still enough to eat?"
"We've already paid it, and of course, there's enough to eat." The village chief looked at her strangely as he spoke.
In this world, ordinary people became much stronger than Earthlings as their levels increased.
So farming and harvesting were much easier and faster. One person could cultivate several acres of land.
Harvesting over ten thousand pounds of grain wasn't a problem, and they were more than happy about it.
For a moment, Joan of Arc felt like she was dreaming. "How is this possible? How can your household have over ten thousand pounds of grain? Hmph, the village chief must be corrupt! Let's check the common farmers!"
She turned and headed toward other houses, not forgetting to say, "Corruption and embezzlement are also problems of the Goblin Empire! And you still dare to call yourself a good goblin?"
When she arrived at other farmers' houses, Joan of Arc was stunned. Two thousand pounds of surplus grain!
It was unbelievable!
In her empire, a household with two to three hundred pounds of grain was considered wealthy!
This was the first time she had seen such abundance!
And in a village no less!
"Uh, my family is large, so we farm more land. Your Majesty, the Goblin King, we've got meat stewing in the pot. Are you hungry?"
A pregnant woman came out of the farmhouse and spoke.
Upon hearing this, Joan of Arc quickly rushed to the kitchen, where she saw the smoke-cured meat hanging everywhere and half a pig's leg in the pot.
She was momentarily at a loss.
"Are you sure you're just a farmer? How can you have so much meat in your house?" Joan of Arc couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling with excitement.
The pregnant woman was taken aback. "Huh? Is it a lot? There are still a dozen pigs in the pen."
Hearing this, Joan of Arc felt like she was dreaming!
In her world, a rural family could at most harvest three hundred pounds of grain in a year, and most couldn't even afford to raise pigs.
At best, they might have two small lambs. That would already be quite something.
A dozen pigs! Two thousand pounds of grain!
This was wealth beyond imagination! And in the countryside, no less!
"Well, Your Majesty Joan of Arc, do you have any more questions? If not, it's time to break your own limbs!" Lin Tian said.
At this point, Joan of Arc realized something was off. "Why does your belly have the aura of a monster? Are you being forced to produce goblins?"
The pregnant woman blinked. "Are you from around here? I'm earning money by producing goblins for His Majesty. Are you crazy?"
Many women had already given birth to ten goblins.
But Lin Tian had issued a new policy: for each goblin a woman produced and raised, she would receive a gold coin in compensation.
Now, there was no need for coercion; there was a steady stream of soldiers.
It was even more convenient than forcing them to produce, eliminating the need to help with childbirth and to raise the young goblins.
It was a win-win situation for both sides.
Because it only took a month to produce and raise a goblin, and crucially, each birth could yield several at once.
"This is fake, it has to be fake! Let's go to other villages!"
Joan of Arc, her face full of disbelief, hurriedly left the area.
However, after questioning one village after another, the situation in each household was nearly the same.
Their lives were exceptionally comfortable, and she even saw scenes of women playing with a group of young goblins!
Some people were even raising goblins as if they were their own children!
It wasn't until she finally saw the human town.
"This is madness! Have all these people lost their minds? They're actually willingly producing goblins! And how can your empire have such a massive grain yield, and so many livestock—this, this is impossible!" Joan of Arc exclaimed, filled with disbelief.
This Goblin Empire was nothing like an empire ruled by monsters.
It was clearly a paradise! An Eden!
The humans here lived better than in any other empire!
Hearing this, Lin Tian pressed her aggressively, "Hmph, now you have nothing more to say, so it's time to break your own limbs, isn't it?"
He was eager to see what Joan of Arc, who always carried herself with such righteous, fearless heroism, would do next.
Would she try to weasel out of it, or would she follow through?