I Became My Elf King Character In A Game-Like World
Chapter 120: Naga

Chapter 120: Naga

If the legends were true... then why were there so many Giant Golems, creatures usually associated with the Earth Mother Goddess, serving this Elf King?

And those huge, monstrous War Bears... they radiated an aura of sheer violence that made his fur stand on end and sent shivers of pure fear down his spine. This Elf King commanded forces far beyond anything the Fox tribe could imagine, let alone resist.

Renjiro broke the tense silence. "I heard," he said simply, "that you wished to do business with me?"

Hossini immediately backpedaled, shaking his head vigorously. "No, no, Your Majesty! This humble one would never dare presume to sit equally with the noble Elf King! I am merely here... here to offer a... a gift! A tribute to Your Majesty!" He fumbled slightly with the word ’gift’.

Renjiro’s tone remained cool, almost indifferent. "Fox people," he stated flatly, "are known for being cunning. Always looking for an advantage, a profit from every situation... even though sometimes, that cleverness leads them straight to their own destruction."

Hossini pressed his forehead almost to the ground.

"Your Majesty, Elf King," he pleaded, his voice earnest. "My tribe... we are willing to offer you fresh fruits and sweet honey, a value of three hundred thousand gold coins! All gathered from the deepest, most secret parts of our forest home! We only wish... we only wish to ask a small favor in return."

Renjiro replied instantly, without even a pause. "You may leave now."

Three hundred thousand gold coins worth of fruit and honey? Forget that. Even if Hossini had dropped three hundred thousand actual gold coins right there in front of him, Renjiro wouldn’t have blinked. That amount, which might seem huge to a small tribe, was pocket change to him now.

After all, he was basically a local tyrant raking in millions of gold coins every single day from his territory’s resources and operations. 300k was barely worth his time to think about.

Hossini was stunned. Utterly flabbergasted. He stared up, wide-eyed.

He couldn’t believe it. He had thought such a generous gift fruits and honey worth 300,000 gold! Enough to feed an elf settlement for a very long time! would surely interest the King. But the Elf King before him seemed completely unmoved, utterly indifferent.

Could it be...? Had the elves somehow changed their tastes? Did they no longer value such fine, natural goods?

Of course, he didn’t dare actually ask such a foolish question.

Gritting his teeth, feeling sweat bead on his furry brow, Hossini made a bolder offer. "Your Majesty, Elf King! Please! We... we are willing to offer fruits and honey worth five hundred thousand gold coins!"

Oh? Raising the price?

Now Renjiro felt a flicker of actual curiosity. Just what kind of favor was this old Foxman desperate enough to ask for that he’d offer half a million in goods?

"Tell me," Renjiro said, his tone softening just a fraction.

Hearing that tiny shift, that single word of permission, Hossini felt a surge of hope. He immediately scrambled to explain.

"It’s the Night Swamp, Your Majesty!" he said quickly, words tumbling out in his eagerness. "A dark storm, an unnatural event, swept through the Night Swamp recently! And somehow... somehow it opened a path, a connection, for the evil creatures living deep within the Naga clan!"

He leaned forward slightly, his voice filled with dread. "The evil Naga are on the move! They are coming to invade our tribal lands! But our Fox tribe... we are weak, Your Majesty. We cannot possibly resist the Naga’s attack on our own! Oh, merciful Elf King, I beg you! Please, lead your powerful elf army and save the humble Fox people!"

Renjiro’s eyes narrowed slightly. He felt a tiny muscle twitch near his eye.

"Did you just say... Naga?" he repeated slowly.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The Naga!" Hossini confirmed, practically spitting the name out. He clenched his paws tightly. "They are a truly wicked race! Vile creatures living in the darkest parts of the Night Swamp, shrouded in eternal gloom! They feed on the foul flesh found in the muck! Only... only the Undead could possibly be more vile than them!"

It was clear from his tone, his expression, just how much Hossini utterly despised and feared the Naga.

Perhaps, in his mind, there really wasn’t much difference between the evil, serpentine Naga and the horrors of the actual Undead legions. Both represented destruction and darkness.

Renjiro turned his head slightly, looking towards Elaria who stood nearby, listening quietly. "Elaria," he asked thoughtfully, "if I remember the old texts correctly... aren’t the Naga supposed to be some kind of offshoot? A branch of our own elf lineage from long, long ago?"

The look of pure disgust and hatred on Hossini’s face suddenly froze. It morphed into one of utter shock and confusion.

Naga... are ELVES?!

How could that possibly be?!

Elves were beautiful, kind spirits of nature who lived in harmony with the forest! Just look at the environment here in the King’s court everything was clean, beautiful, ordered.

Nature spirits clearly cared deeply about beauty and grace. How could those disgusting, evil, swamp-dwelling Naga possibly be related to them? It made no sense at all!

"Those Naga..." Elaria murmured, a troubled look clouding her usually bright features. Her voice held a note of disgust. "It’s not just how wrong they look... almost like a mockery of Elven features, twisted into something... unsettling. And those venomous snake tails! Living down there in that foul, stinking Night Swamp, surrounded by the shambling undead and piles of rotting flesh... How could beings like that ever have been Elves? It just doesn’t feel right."

Elaria nodded slowly, her expression a complicated storm of regret for lost kin, pity for their current state, and a definite spark of hatred for what they had become.

Renjiro’s gaze shifted down to Hosini. The old fox-man was still kneeling on the packed earth of the courtyard, looking tired and desperate. An old acquaintance, indeed.

He asked, his voice smooth and cool, carrying easily in the quiet air, "I find myself wondering, Hosini. Why didn’t your Fox Tribe turn to the Orc Royalty for help? Aren’t they supposed to be the big power in these lands?"

Hosini swallowed hard, looking up with pleading eyes. "Your Majesty, the great Elf King, the Orc capital... it’s simply too far away. By the time word reached them and they decided to act, it would be too late for us. We did approach the Werewolf clan closer by, but... their demands were outrageous, they are known throughout the region for their greed." He lowered his gaze, his voice dropping.

"That’s why I had to make the hard climb up this mountain. I remembered... there used to be a Kobold clan living here. A small one, but... I even had some friendship with their old elder..."

A flicker of old sadness crossed Hosini’s worn face before he forced it down. He had come hoping for that old connection.

How could he possibly have guessed that the Kobolds were completely gone, wiped out by the very Elf King standing before him now? This King, who had somehow used world-altering nature magic to turn a once-bare, rocky peak into this thriving, dense forest.

But the past didn’t matter now.

The Kobolds were gone. His last hope rested on appealing to Renjiro, the Elf King.

Renjiro didn’t waste time with pleasantries. He stated, cutting straight to the point, "I want every single gold coin your tribe has saved."

Hosini physically jerked as if struck by lightning. His eyes flew wide with shock and disbelief. Then he cried out, his voice cracking, "That... that’s impossible! It’s everything we have! Our entire treasury!"

Renjiro’s expression didn’t change. His gaze remained perfectly level, almost chillingly calm.

"Then I will remain here on my mountain. And I will eventually hear the news, I suppose, that your tribe has been wiped out by these... so-called evil Naga."

The blood drained from Hosini’s face, leaving it a sickly, pale white. He visibly trembled, caught between giving up everything his people owned and facing certain destruction.

You could almost see the desperate battle waging behind his eyes. After a long, agonizing silence that stretched out uncomfortably, he finally managed to choke out, his voice raspy, "Your Majesty... the Elf King... please, if I have your permission... I wish to return. To speak with my people. To discuss this... this heavy price."

Renjiro gave a single, curt nod.

Relief washed over Hosini’s features, though the deep fear still lingered in his eyes. The old fox scrambled awkwardly to his feet, quickly pulling the silent, wide-eyed fox girl Milya up with him. They practically fled the courtyard, their footsteps hurried and uneven on the path leading down the mountain.

Once their figures disappeared from view, Elaria turned to Renjiro. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then finally spoke, her voice softer now.

"Your Majesty, about those Naga..."

Renjiro rose smoothly from the simple wooden bench.

He walked towards the open courtyard gate, gazing down the path the two fox folk had just taken, watching their retreating backs until they were swallowed by the trees.

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