Rick watched on as all 50 Goblins in his Royal Guard kneeled at once, and not a single one of them wavered or hesitated for even a single moment.

  ‘I can’t lie, that looks sick.’

  [Well don’t have them kneel forever.]

  ‘Ah yeah, you’re right.’

  “Your Oath.”

  At once, as if waiting for it like it was the best thing in the world, 50 Goblins began speaking the exact same words with vigor and determination laced throughout.

  “I swear to the King of all Goblins, that I will serve the King and his future descendants till my last breath.

  “I swear to the King of all Goblins, to be obedient, keep your secrets, and give counsel when asked.

  “I swear to the King of all Goblins, that my sword will never hesitate in striking down the enemies of the King.

  “I swear to the King of all Goblins, shield and protect you until my last breath.

  “I swear to the King of all Goblins, that death is a small price to pay.”

  They didn’t yell. They didn’t get rowdy. They didn’t sound overly passionate.

  Their voices were even, determined, and spoken at a regular level.

  But for some reason, it felt like this oath echoed beyond the area that they stood in. It felt like this Oath reached the far reaches of Mir and even the lands beyond.

  The Oath of the Royal Guard to the King of Goblins.

  It meant more than Rick could even begin to understand.

  Than any of these Goblins in Mir could understand.

  But even though they didn’t quite understand the scope of what they just did, that didn’t mean a great deal of importance wasn’t attached to it.

  “I accept your Oaths! The day you forget your Oaths is the day you forget me as King! Rise now as members of my Royal Guard!”

  All 50 Goblins stood to their feet with a mix of excitement and conviction in their eyes.

  Over the last few months, they had worked hard to get to the point they were at today. The selection process itself was grim.

  The 14 Chiefs put out a call for Goblins who wanted to become members of the Royal Guard, and well, every single Goblin who met the requirement of being a minimum of Tier Three all jumped at the chance.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  This was the Royal Guard they were talking about.

  They would get to guard the King!

  Then the first requirement got put out: anyone who applied would need to survive outside of Goblin-controlled lands deeper in the Dark Lands of Mir by themselves for a certain period of time.

  That doused a bucket of ice-cold water on the fiery hearts of a majority of the Goblins who wanted to join the Guard.

  Although the 14 Clans all contributed arms and significant efforts to the constant battle, that didn’t mean all the Goblins were actually on the frontlines fighting with their lives on the line on a day-to-day basis.

  No, that wasn’t the case at all.

  And even with the Goblins who did fight on the frontlines on a constant basis, a vast majority of them had never been alone out there—and if they were alone, it was due to being the last surviving member of a squad, and reinforcements managed to reach them in time for them to survive.

  So instead of a few thousand Goblins applying to the position, that number got brought down to just a few hundred.

  Then all of those Goblins were thrust into enemy territory a small number at a time and were required to survive for a certain number of days based on their Tier.

  Tier Threes had to survive for two days, Tier Fours four days, and Tier Fives ten days.

  Goblins weren’t in the business of throwing their fellow Goblins into the maws of death for the sake of a preliminary test, so at least three Chiefs were on standby to save any Goblins who got close to dying during their test.

  That test was eventually completed, and the number of Goblins was reduced further.

  Then came the next test, and well…

  It was pretty much the exact same thing.

  Only this time, the Chiefs got rid of all their morals.

  Goblins would be left in enemy territory, and they had to make it home on their own.

  There would be no Chiefs looking over their shoulders for this portion of the test. And unlike the previous version, where they just needed to survive for a couple of days and potentially be able to just hide in one location until they were picked up—

  They actively had to move and potentially expose themselves to danger.

  Either make it home… or, well, don’t.

  It was a tough call to make, but the Royal Guards couldn’t be afraid of danger, and they needed to be able to survive in the worst conditions if the King was to be at their back.

  In that type of situation, they had to be able to stand tall and carry out their duties to the best of their abilities.

  Being crippled by fear wasn’t an option for Royal Guards.

  This test reduced the number once again.

  Either through unfortunate means or the Goblins stepping away voluntarily.

  Of course, Rick didn’t know about any of this initially. When he mentioned putting the Goblins through a test of sorts, he was thinking some type of rigorous training—maybe a fighting tournament here and there.

  But the Chiefs took it to the extreme, and when Rick eventually found out, he wanted to get angry at his Chiefs for allowing this to happen. But Velora reminded him that this was all indeed voluntary, and plenty of Goblins stepped away when they no longer wanted to continue with the process.

  He didn’t chastise his Chiefs, but it didn’t mean he was happy to learn of the process.

  Anyway.

  The test continued until, through both quitting and surviving, a final team was configured.

  After that, the final team were set to be the prospective Royal Guards, and then they were put through rigorous training by the strongest Chiefs of the 14 Clans.

  How to guard, formations, stamina training, group battles, solo battles, orders to follow, actions to take in certain situations, and many different things.

  Even Rick had to receive some training as well, but mostly separate from the group.

  He needed to know the orders that he could give that would result in certain actions being taken by the Guards, how to receive their Oaths, and many other things to ensure the King and his Royal Guards were in tune.

  All in all, this was now the most elite force of Goblins in the Dark Lands of Mir.

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