Footsteps echoed.
It's the sound of confidence walking into a place it believed already conquered.
From the mouth of the Obsidian Tower, goblins emerged.
They did not scurry.
They advanced in formation. Their bodies were thin and hunched and their skin was etched with ritual scars that glimmered faintly with runic corruption.
At the front walked one whose presence warped the air around him.
The Goblin Monster Emperor. The Covenant-Breaker.
A being older than most empires. The first to betray humanity during the war in the Mural World. A mind that survived not by strength, but by turning every alliance into a weapon.
In his grasp was a staff of blackened crystal and fossilized bone. Its surface pulsed with layered enchantments, humming with dread and long-hoarded malice. The artifact whispered in multiple tongues at once.
Behind him came five Monster Kings, each dragging a living prisoner.
Five captives from the Thousand Races. Two were human.
