Volume One, Chapter 14: The Rescue of the Captive

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Just after the twenty grotesque, loathsome goblins were completely wiped out, Lin Yi leaned wearily against the city wall, gasping for breath. Yet, as he was about to rest for a moment, a clear and familiar system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

“Congratulations on successfully defending your castle. Keep up the good work!”

This unexpected voice invigorated Lin Yi, stirring an indescribable joy within him. With the system’s affirmation, he was certain there were no more goblins left.

In high spirits, Lin Yi excitedly grabbed Zhang Xin, whose enthusiasm was impossible to gauge, and quickly strode toward a small group nearby still tidying the battlefield.

As they approached, they saw that the goblin corpses, once scattered haphazardly on the ground, had completely vanished. In their place stood twenty faintly glowing treasure chests.

Although all these chests were only of ordinary grade, seeing so many before him made Lin Yi’s heart race uncontrollably.

Fully immersed in the immense joy of discovering the chests, Lin Yi’s eyes were fixed intently on them, as if they were the most precious treasures in the world.

At that moment, Zhang Guoxing, his face smeared with blood, approached heavily. First, he respectfully saluted Lin Yi.

Then, cautiously, he asked, “Your Majesty, how should we handle the corpses of these monsters? In my humble opinion, perhaps we should burn them to ashes to prevent disease or other troubles.”

Hearing this, Lin Yi whipped his head around, eyes wide, wearing a look of both amusement and exasperation. Frustrated, he exclaimed, “You prodigal fool! There are so many treasure chests here, and you want to burn them all? Do you know how precious these chests are?” He raised his hand, about to tap Zhang Guoxing on the head.

However, just as his hand was about to land, Lin Yi suddenly seemed to remember something and abruptly stopped.

Of course—these NPC citizens couldn’t see the treasure chests at all! To them, it was just a pile of worthless corpses.

So he said, “Fine, do as you wish.”

Sure enough, when Zhang Guoxing moved the corpses, the chests remained unmoved. Lin Yi confirmed that the citizen NPCs truly could not see the chests or such items—only those he gave could see the actual objects.

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At that moment, Huang Xiaorong hurriedly came running, her expression anxious. When she reached Lin Yi, she first gave a deep, respectful bow, then eagerly said, “Your Majesty, I... I just discovered something!”

Out of breath from running so fast, Huang Xiaorong spoke with a slight wheeze.

“Don’t rush, take your time,” Lin Yi said quickly, soothing her and signaling her to catch her breath.

After a brief pause, Huang Xiaorong finally calmed down. She turned to the others, speaking a bit slower but still urgently, “I know a bit about goblin habits. These creatures especially like to capture human females as prisoners, dragging them back to their tribes. And... well, you all understand what that means.”

She continued, “Following this clue, I found several women tied up tightly in cages behind their position! Judging by their state, they seem close to breaking.”

“However,” she added, “I feared there might be goblin ambushes nearby, so I didn’t dare act rashly and rushed back to report this to Your Majesty and everyone.”

Hearing this, Zhang Guoxing suddenly grew emotional, shouting loudly, “What are we waiting for? We have to save them!”

Lin Yi frowned slightly but replied calmly, “I never said we wouldn’t save them. Huang Tian, you and two others go immediately to rescue those trapped women. Don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any more goblins around. Hurry, but be sure to stay safe.”

Watching the three depart swiftly, Lin Yi sighed, “Huang Xiaorong really is cautious now, scarred by past wounds. Those people are the foundation of my future strength!”

Then Lin Yi turned his gaze back to the twenty treasure chests, chuckling foolishly.

Zhang Xin looked at Lin Yi with a puzzled smile and whispered, “Big brother, are you feeling unwell again? Why are you staring at empty ground and smiling like that?”

Her large, curious eyes fixated on Lin Yi. Overwhelmed with excitement, his face twitched slightly.

Suddenly, a small hand squeezed Lin Yi’s thigh tightly, and a nervous, childish voice asked, “Big brother, are you feeling unwell again? Why are you smiling at empty ground non-stop?”

With a sharp “hiss,” Lin Yi instinctively reached down to touch the squeezed spot, letting out a pained groan. Hearing Zhang Xin’s words, his face, flushed with excitement moments before, instantly turned patchy with shades of green and purple—clearly, he was furious.

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However, when he turned to look at Zhang Xin’s innocent, harmless little face, he forcibly suppressed the raging anger within. Silently, he reminded himself, “She’s only two or three years old... I must endure...”

Taking a deep breath, Lin Yi calmed his emotions and soon smiled again. He gently stroked Zhang Xin’s little head and said softly, “I’m not sick, I just suddenly thought of something very happy.”

“Oh... I see,” Zhang Xin nodded, only half understanding.

Lin Yi then released her small hand and stepped toward one of the treasure chests nearby. Raising his wrist, he revealed a high-tech smart watch and began scanning the chest.

Like a curious little explorer, Zhang Xin followed closely behind. Along the way, her little mouth didn’t stop moving, asking all kinds of questions: “Big brother, what are you doing?” “Big brother, is there treasure inside?” “Big brother, why aren’t you talking?”

Lin Yi was already numb inside. Not that he was a king or anything—he wasn’t a babysitter. Please don’t follow me. Though he thought this, he said aloud, “Xiao Xin, I’m not doing anything special, just checking the place where the goblins’ corpses were.”

“Is that so? But why can’t I see anything except blood on the ground?” Zhang Xin asked in her soft, childish voice.

“That’s because I’m the king! I can see things you can’t,” Lin Yi said, pinching her little nose playfully while looking outside.

He spotted Huang Tian and the others in the distance, though a bit blurry. He called out, “They’re coming back quickly. Let’s go meet them.”

“Yay!” Zhang Xin bounced excitedly.

Soon, Lin Yi saw Huang Tian and his group followed by several others—eight people in total. Lin Yi’s heart swelled with joy; his castle was about to welcome new arrivals.