Chapter 260 Precious Gift

Suzuka stepped into Valerius' office, her expression composed despite the weight of recent events. She offered him a respectful nod, her gaze meeting his. Behind her, she callously dragged the dirty sack with the goblin within and a box with the goblin eggs in her other hand.

"Hello there, Valerius," she greeted, "I'm back with some gifts and bad news. What do you want first?" 

Valerius returned her greeting with a furrowed brow, his tone tinged with concern. He hadn't expected to see her returning so soon from the mission he had entrusted to her and Larry's team, especially considering the difficulty of their task - to rescue the enslaved goblins from the wretched confines of the breeding farms.

"Greetings Helen. I didn't anticipate your return so quickly. I can only assume things did not go as planned. Well then, gifts can wait a bit. Tell me what happened."

Suzuka's demeanor was surprisingly carefree as she recounted the mission's events to Valerius. She leaned casually against the edge of his desk, her tone easygoing as she detailed the chaos that had unfolded at the goblin breeding farms.

"You wouldn't believe the mess we stumbled into out there. The goblin farm got completely wrecked. Those evil goblins didn't hesitate to use the slave goblins as meat shields against us. It was brutal, they used them as pawns. Chugging them at us like some rocks."

She paused, her expression briefly darkening before she continued.

 "And then there were these two behemoths lurking in hiding, wreaking havoc on everything in sight. They trashed the place, trampled goblin slaves, hatchlings, eggs - you name it. The whole hatchery was smashed to bits. Unborn hatchlings painted the walls with their disgusting guts, stinking egg slime, and goblin blood. It was disgusting."

"It all went to shit real quick," Suzuka admitted with a shrug, her expression betraying no hint of remorse.

 "But hey, that's how it goes sometimes, right?"

She made a point not to place blame on Larry, despite knowing that his orders caused the massacre.

 "Mia took a big hit but she will be fine. Your men took her to Dr. Jenkis, he will fix her up. Larry, Jake, and Max are all fine. They're staying behind at the breeding farm, looking after the surviving goblins and hatchlings we managed to salvage from the wreckage," she reassured Valerius.

"But, despite all of the madness, we were able to save eight hatchlings and four goblin slaves."

 Valerius listened to Suzuka's recounting of the mission with a calm demeanor, showing little sign of concern despite the grim news. 

"I had a feeling that things might not go as planned," he admitted calmly, his voice steady. 

"Such losses are regrettable, but acceptable considering it was our first attempt at such a mission."

He waved off any notion of blame, his gaze steady as he spoke.

 "I won't fault anyone for failing. These things happen, and we must learn from them."

He paused for a moment, his expression thoughtful.

 "I'm content with the few survivors you managed to rescue. But I would hope that we can do better next time. I would prefer that we save at least twice as many goblin lives, but for now, a few survivors will have to suffice."

He paused, his gaze shifting toward the slightly squirming sack by Suzuka's feet.

"Well then, how about those gifts you were talking about?"

 She lifted the filthy sack from the ground, revealing the scrawny goblin slave within. With a sharp shake, she allowed him to tumble out, landing with a painful thud on the floor in a pitiful heap.

"Here," she said, gesturing towards the pitiful creature sprawled before them, "I've brought you a goblin slave and two goblin eggs, just as we agreed. My end of the deal is fulfilled."

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of the wretched goblin before her. He was nothing more than a skeletal shell, his body ravaged by weeks of deprivation and cruelty. Filth clung to his skin like a second layer, a clear sign of the hellish conditions he had endured on the breeding farm. The goblin lay sprawled, his form barely moving, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. Disgust flickered across Suzuka's features as she took in his wretched state.

"Pathetic," she muttered under her breath, her voice dripping with disgust.

 Without hesitation, Suzuka grabbed the goblin by his dirty ears, hauling him to his feet with a rough tug. 

"Show some respect," she scolded him, her voice sharp with irritation.

 "You're in front of an important person. Act like it, instead of lying on the floor like useless filth."

With a disdainful glare, Suzuka released her grip on the goblin, leaving him standing unsteadily on his own two feet. She turned back to Valerius, her expression a mask of indifference as if the goblin's suffering meant nothing to her.

His sunken eyes flickered weakly as he swayed on his feet, struggling to maintain consciousness in the face of overwhelming exhaustion and dehydration. With a soft groan, he collapsed to the ground once more, his body too weak to remain upright.

His sunken eyes struggled to focus on Suzuka's form before him, a mix of fear and confusion clouding his gaze. With a weak groan, the goblin attempted to speak, but his parched throat could only produce a raspy whisper. His cracked lips moved soundlessly as he struggled to form coherent words, his mind muddled by days of torment and deprivation.

In one final effort, the goblin reached out a trembling hand towards Suzuka, his fingers curling feebly before falling limply to his side. His eyes, dull and glazed with exhaustion, darted around the room in confusion. In his delirium, the goblin's mind drifted into darkness, his consciousness slipping away as he teetered on the brink of death.

Before Suzuka could scold the goblin again, Valerius stepped forward with a sense of warmth and compassion emanating from him. He approached the goblin with gentle hands, ignoring the filth that stained his expensive attire as he picked up the filthy, naked body of the goblin, his focus solely on the frail creature before him, cradling him gently in his arms.

"Shhh, there, there. Everything will be fine. You have nothing to fear." Valerius murmured soothingly, his voice comforting. 

With tender care, Valerius carried the exhausted goblin to the nearby couch, laying him down with the utmost gentleness. He gently brushed his hand over the goblin's ear, a gesture of affection that spoke volumes of his genuine concern.

"There now," Valerius whispered, his tone comforting. 

"Rest, my tiny goblin. I will take good care of you."

With a final glance at the goblin, Valerius turned his attention to the goblin eggs that Suzuka placed on the table in a box.

 "I've kept them warm and submerged in goblin shit to keep them from spoiling and killing the hatchlings."

She paused, her brow furrowing slightly as she continued, "After seeing the goblin hatchlings squirming in the feces when their eggs popped as the behemoth trampled through the hatchery, I think they'll hatch in a day or two."

Suzuka's tone was cautious, her words laced with a hint of doubt.

 "The undeveloped, prematurely unhatched goblins were almost formed, so I assume they were close to hatching. But," she quickly interjected, "I'm not sure. As I said, I'm no goblin expert. It's just my opinion."

With a shrug, Suzuka stepped back, leaving the fate of the goblin eggs in Valerius's hands.

Valerius's eyes lit up with an almost manic fervor as he gazed upon the box containing the goblin eggs. His usual calm and composed demeanor shattered like glass, replaced by a feverish excitement that seemed to consume him from within.

"By the gods," he shouted, his voice trembling with barely contained enthusiasm. 

"Fertile goblin eggs! This is a rare and precious gift indeed! Finally, I got my hands on them, many attempts were made but a little bit of unbalance in the temperature or a wrong mix in the nourishment of the feces and they died before hatching."

His hands trembled with anticipation as he reached out to touch the box, his fingers lingering over its surface as if reluctant to disturb the contents within. The thought of witnessing a goblin hatching filled him with restless energy, causing him to squirm in place with excitement.

"I can hardly contain myself," he confessed, his voice quivering with anticipation. 

"The prospect of witnessing new life emerging from these eggs... It's exhilarating! I need to move them to my lab right away! No time to waste!"

Valerius's usual stoicism had been replaced by a wild-eyed fervor, his obsession with the goblin eggs consuming every fiber of his being. At that moment, nothing else mattered but the promise of new life and the thrill of the unknown.

Suzuka's gaze flickered with carefree curiosity as she turned to Valerius. With a playful grin, she leaned in closer, her voice laced with genuine interest.

"So, Valerius. What's the deal with these goblin eggs? I mean, what exactly happens when they hatch? Do they come out all squirming and slimy, or are they more... I don't know, civilized? Why are you so obsessed with them?"

With a barely contained excitement, he launched into an elaborate explanation, his words flowing like a river of fascination.

"Goblin eggs are a marvel of biological engineering. You see, within each egg lies the potential for a new life, waiting to burst forth into the world. The eggs themselves are composed of a unique blend of proteins and enzymes, designed to protect and nurture the developing embryo within. As the embryo grows, it undergoes a series of complex transformations, gradually taking on the form of a fully developed goblin hatchling. And when the time is right, the egg hatches, releasing the newborn goblin into the world."

Valerius's eyes gleamed with fervor as he launched into an explanation, his words tumbling forth in a torrent of scientific detail.

"They are truly remarkable specimens of nature. You see, unlike many other species, goblin hatchlings emerge from their eggs already possessing common senses and a basic understanding of their surroundings. And it's not just that. These intelligent little beings learn at an astonishing speed during their early days as hatchlings. Their minds are like sponges, absorbing information at a rate that far surpasses even the most gifted infants."

Valerius leaned in closer, his gaze intense as he emphasized his point. 

"Their intellect peaks during those first few weeks after hatching, before gradually dulling until they fully mature. Since the goblin has no education, there is no one to teach them complicated things. That's why you see the goblins in the forest, dumb as bricks, as you so aptly put it."

"But here's the fascinating part," Valerius continued, his voice growing more animated with each word. 

"Goblins talk to their eggs in the days leading up to hatching. Through this communication, the hatchlings absorb knowledge and information before they've even taken their first breath. That's why goblin hatchlings are so smart the moment they emerge from their eggs. They're already equipped with a wealth of common goblin slave knowledge."

Valerius's eyes gleamed with fervor as he made his next point, drawing a comparison between human babies and goblin hatchlings. 

"Unlike human babies, who can't even wipe their own asses for years after birth, goblin hatchlings can perform basic tasks immediately upon hatching. It's proof of their superior intellect."

"Imagine," he mused, "if a goblin could receive an education before even hatching. Who knows what heights their minds could reach? They might even surpass the intellect of a human."