The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 118 Jessie Ava
"Goblin!" the knight said strangely after seeing the green-skinned dwarf being watched by people on the ground. The well-informed Lagrange knight quickly identified the creature's race.

"How come there are goblins here?" The leading knight touched his helmet in surprise.

"Keep an eye on him! I'll go report to His Highness!" The knight was undecided and had no choice but to turn back and look for Roland.

"What's wrong?" Roland asked, seeing that only one knight had returned. It seemed that something had happened.

"Your Highness, our people have discovered a... goblin in the fields," the knight said with a strange expression.

"What? Goblins? Are you kidding me? There are goblins here? Aren't goblins supposed to be hiding in the far north, barely surviving?" Roland said, somewhat speechless.

"I don't know! Why are goblins here too?" Renault's face was grim. Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, goblins, centaurs—they've all gathered in the Lovanian region. There are enough people to play mahjong. The already chaotic Lovanian region has become even more chaotic after the two Battles of Lonely Mountain...

"Sigh! Let's bring the goblins over and ask them!" Roland sighed. It wasn't even the War of the Ring yet, and all sorts of monsters and demons were already showing up.

……

"It really is a goblin... It looks... quite distinctive!" Roland forced himself to examine the goblin in front of him, only to feel a wave of discomfort in his abdomen... Short stature, pale green skin... It seemed to exude an aura of forgiveness from birth, short limbs, a large head with a pair of bright eyes and a long, pointed nose, sparse hair that made him look incredibly weathered, and most comically, he was encased in ill-fitting clothes, looking as if he were inside a sack...

"Greetings, Lord!" To everyone's surprise, the goblin in front of them actually knelt on one knee and performed an elegant noble greeting.

"Am I... seeing things?" Caslo said incredulously.

"I'm afraid these eyes are ruined... Is it because I've been looking at too many people and my eyes are playing tricks on me?" Lance, who happened to be walking by, saw this scene and was immediately stunned, as if he had been electrocuted.

"Are goblins all so polite now..." Renault's lips twitched.

Only Roland remained calm, showing no emotion whatsoever, but in reality, a raging storm was raging within him.

In a game, Roland once received a quest that traced the past glory of the goblin civilization. During this quest, Roland witnessed the goblins' once-glorious alchemical civilization and advanced magical artifacts. Countless goblin wizards and alchemists used powerful magic and alchemical artifacts to protect their land and wage war… until one day, the vast goblin empire collapsed overnight. Countless goblins fled north to the far north to eke out a living, while the remaining goblins sought refuge among various races. However, having lost much of their wealth, the goblins couldn't find work among these races… after all, alchemy requires money! The short and weak goblins were no match for dwarves; they were even looked down upon for odd jobs… Gradually, driven by the need to survive, the goblins were forced to steal and rob… The once-glorious goblin race became pariahs…

"Phew!" Roland suppressed the shock in his heart, adjusted his mindset, and then slowly spoke.

"Mr. Goblin, what brings you into my territory?" Roland dared not treat the goblin like a rat in the street; after all, the goblin race had once been wealthy! They knew about magic scrolls, right? The kind anyone could tear open and use. The first inventor of these things wasn't the darlings of nature—the elves—but the diminutive goblins. In the eyes of the world, goblins were filthy, greedy, cunning, and huddled in dark caves… a whole host of derogatory terms. But Roland knew the goblin race's true depth!
"I apologize, my lord, for trespassing into your territory. I am willing to abide by your laws. If you do not welcome me, please allow me to leave your territory safely." The goblin in front of me, dressed in comical attire, was not presentable, but spoke with neither servility nor arrogance.

“It’s alright. I just want to know your name, where you’re from, and what you want,” Roland asked like a curious child. “Hey! Speak up! Standing before you is the master of Lovanian and the Rune region! The lord of Swiftstream City! The King of Lagrange! The great paladin! The noble follower of the Dragon God!” Caslo stepped forward, his hand on his sword, and addressed the goblin with authority after seeing him fall silent.

“My name is Jessie Ava. I came from Florence. As for my purpose… I just want to go south and make a living…” Jessie Ava said slowly, glancing unnoticed at Caslo’s hand on his sword.

"I'm afraid it's not just begging, theft should also count!" Caslo glared at Jessie Ava.

Unexpectedly, the goblin Jessie Ava in front of him did not show any remorse or feeling exposed. Instead, he lowered his head and sighed silently.

"This goblin's identity is not simple." Renault quietly came up behind Roland, and in the instant they brushed past each other, Renault used his battle aura to force his voice into a line and said to Roland.

"Found it!" Roland narrowed his eyes. This goblin was too unusual. When others accused them of stealing, most goblins would either cunningly argue or run away with a look of shame. But the goblin in front of him did not show any of these behaviors. Instead, he put on a compassionate and merciful air. From his dejected posture, it was clear that this Jessie Ava was definitely not a simple goblin.

"Why aren't you angry when he says you stole?" Roland casually raised his riding whip and waved it at Jesse Ava.

"Goblins are cunning and skilled at stealing, haven't those reputations been around for thousands of years?" Jessie Ava laughed mockingly.

"The world is ignorant; of course they don't know how glorious the Goblin Empire once was!" Roland chuckled. He had once had the privilege of sparring with goblin professionals in a system quest instance, and overall, one word summed it up—amazing! Have you ever seen magic scrolls being tossed around for free? Have you ever seen a large-scale war begin with forbidden spells? These were all invented and perfected by these unassuming green-skinned dwarves!
"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Jessie Ava suddenly trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief. Apart from his ancestral teachings, which had told him about these things and made him understand the glory of his ancestors, the world had long forgotten the glory of the Goblin Empire. How did Roland know about it? Could there be a second ancestral teaching left in the world? Jessie Ava couldn't help but start to have wild thoughts.

"You...you...how...did...know?" Jessie Ava was so shocked by Roland's words that she stammered.

"Hehe, that's a secret! Tell me your purpose first, and then we can have a proper chat!" Roland's lips curled into a wicked smile.

"Hmph! You treacherous humans! Don't even think about gaining the trust of the goblin race again!" Jessie Ava said angrily, catching everyone off guard.

Only Roland fell into deep thought...

"It seems the legends in the game are true..." Roland sighed as he recalled a piece of game history he had once read.

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(End of this chapter)