"So I heard you're the Chief's child. Or should I say… Spawn. How do Goblins refer to their progeniture anyway?"
The Hobgoblin didn't leave time for Amon to answer. He didn't mind one bit.
"What happened to your mother anyways? You talked about newborns, Chief. Are they all born from the same woman? Or did you force your seed into multiple ones? Whichever it is, where are they now?"
"Why should we keep them around after they've served their purpose?" The Goblin Chief asked, slightly confused by the Hobgoblin's questions.
"Are you saying that they were disposed of?"
"They had one use, and they served that use. They didn't survive... The aftermath. It is unfortunate. Most females cannot be used repeatedly."
"Thank god for that, ey?" The Hobgoblin chuckled as he turned towards the other Hobgoblins. "Otherwise, they would be as numerous as the ants below!"
While the two conversed, Amon's eyes subtly studied the Hobgoblins.
They were much taller than Goblins, standing at about 170 centimeters tall. Goblins, on the other hand, measured a little over a meter tall.
'It is pitiful. No taller than children.' Amon sighed internally. 'Well, I guess it is impressive… The size of my... Anyways.'
The Hobgoblin laughed out loud, knocking his fist repeatedly against the tree trunk used as a table.
"Don't tell me that you and your guys got so horned up from seeing them give birth that you-"
A powerful knock on the table interrupted his words.
"Oh, come on." The Hobgoblin chuckled as he turned towards the other side of the table. "Don't get mad, Syl. I'm just trying to learn about a different culture here."
The female Hobgoblin already had her back turned to them.
"I'm going to check on Rais." She uttered while grabbing a handful of berries.
"Oh, right." The Hobgoblin frowned. "It's not like him to miss an opportunity to make fun of Goblins, especially not to their faces. Isn't that right, pipsqueak?"
Despite the Hobgoblin obviously talking to him, Amon remained silent.
"If you don't want your head crushed, you'll answer when talked to."
'I'm definitely dealing with this guy first.' Amon sighed internally. "I wouldn't know, I guess." He answered.
"Is that all this little guy does? Guess this, guess that?"
The Hobgoblin moved so as to face Amon.
"You don't mind some friendly banter between distant cousins, do you?" He whispered after getting his face inches away from Amon's.
"I don't." Amon answered as he turned away. "I do mind Hobgoblin breath though." Amon waved a hand in front of his nose. "Please stay on that side of the table."
While everyone around the table froze in disbelief, Amon cursed internally.
The one to break the silence was,
"Hahahaha! Hobgoblin breath!" Syl, the female Hobgoblin, laughed out loud. "That's funny." She chuckled as she threw a berry into the air and caught it with her lips. "Funny Goblin." She muttered as she walked away.
It didn't take long for the other Hobgoblins to break into laughter as well.
"You're lucky you're in good company." The Hobgoblin muttered.
***
"Still nothing?" Syl asked.
"No." Rais frowned as he stared at the dark forest in the distance.
He whistled again.
"Maybe it got lost." Syl shrugged. "Or maybe it took the opportunity to fuck off and live in the wilderness. Wild beasts do enjoy freedom."
Rais didn't find her words the least bit funny or amusing.
"They're trained from birth and have no idea what freedom is. If he doesn't come back, that means he's dead."
Syl stared for a moment, nodding repeatedly with her lips pressed together.
"Oh, well…" She shrugged. "Guess you'll have to walk your way back to camp."
***
The Hobgoblins and Goblins feasted.
Though most of the food was devoured by the Goblin Chief, the Hobgoblins, and Amon.
[You have developed "Slight Poison Resistance[F Rank]"!]
'Nice.'
By this time, it was common knowledge that the taking of the female would only happen after the Hobgoblins leave.
Amon understood that the Hobgoblins hadn't been given what they wanted just yet.
'They kept the conversation about meaningless things. I guess they only talk about the serious stuff with the Chief.'
Currently, the Goblins were holed up in their huts.
The newborn and useless Goblins went into the cave that Amon had been pulled out of hours prior.
'This isn't too bad.' Amon thought to himself.
Because of his achievements, Amon had gained a rather high standing in the tribe.
The second best hut was his. The second largest.
'Talk about social ascent, huh?'
Unfortunately, Amon was about to be kicked out.
Indeed, the Hobgoblins were spending the night, and they preferred to take the nicer huts.
"Get out of here, pig."
Amon frowned as he turned towards the hut's entry.
"No need to be rude." He muttered with a cold gaze.
The female Hobgoblin walked closer and into the hut.
The difference in height was intimidating, but Amon didn't look away. She was standing inches away, staring down at him.
The difficulty encountered wasn't so much due to the intimidation part or the need to look away. Instead, it was the urge to ever so slightly lower his gaze to stare at the imposing chest that was already occupying a large portion of his field of vision.
Amon felt his heart start to beat faster.
The female Hobgoblin was scary, beautiful, and incredibly hot. This made the fact that the Goblins only reacted to the fox girl seem very strange, something that Amon did his best to focus on. Focusing on that question made ignoring those breasts a bit easier.
"You have a problem?" Syl asked menacingly.
She was looming over him, which caused her large breasts to take up more and more of his field of vision.
He wanted to gulp, but did his best not to.
"You're crowding me." He said coldly.
Syl cracked her neck without breaking eye contact.
"So we do have a problem, huh?"