Episode 2: Goblin Tribe (1)
Episode 2: Goblin Tribe (1)
Warm sunlight shone on my face through the gaps in the curtains.
"Haah-am."
It was a refreshing morning, but having fallen asleep late last night, I also felt a lack of sleep.
I gently lifted the blanket and shook Priscilla-nim, who was hiding and sleeping inside it.
"Priscilla-nim, it's morning. You said you have plans today, right?"
When her body was shaken, Priscilla-nim made an expression of annoyance and burrowed back into the kicked-off blanket.
"I'll sleep more~ just until breakfast is ready."
"Just a little bit."
Leaving Priscilla-nim, who had hidden back under the blanket, behind, I got up from the spot, tied up my slightly long hair, and picked up and put on the clothes scattered around me.
I headed straight to the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast.
Today's breakfast is pumpkin soup and bread baked in the oven.
It was one of the breakfast menus Priscilla-nim liked.
Of course, since she's an omnivore, she usually eats well whatever I make, but...
A short while later, the warm, steaming soup and warm bread were ready, and I entered the bedroom once more to shake awake Priscilla-nim, who was buried in the blankets.
"Priscilla-nim, breakfast is ready. Time to get up now."
"Uung, no. You carry me like this and take me to the table~"
After letting out a deep sigh, I roughly picked up Priscilla-nim's clothes, which were lying around, and dressed her.
"Get me new clothes~"
"You're just going to change into them with magic when you go out anyway."
I lifted Priscilla-nim, now dressed, and headed to the dining table.
Priscilla-nim rubbed her eyes, took alternating bites of soup and bread, and let out a big yawn.
"Van~ While I'm out today, go down to the village and solve some problem for me."
While munching on bread, Priscilla-nim broached the subject first.
"The village? What kind of problem occurred?"
"I don't know either. I sensed an aura of prayers asking me for help, so you go check it out, help a bit, and come back."
"Hmm... Understood."
Before I knew it, Priscilla-nim had finished her meal. With a snap of her fingers, her pajamas instantly disappeared, transforming into the splendid attire of the Witch of the Swamp.
"I have separate business to attend to, so I'll be back tomorrow or around this evening."
"Where are you going?"
"The Walpurgis Empire is inviting talented mages. What do you know~ They asked for me too. The popularity of this one~"
When it comes to the Walpurgis Empire, I heard it's a powerful military nation that believes magic should be performed only by the chosen few and acts with a focus on martial strength.
They called for Priscilla-nim from such a place?
It didn't make sense, but since I, who had never been anywhere beyond this vicinity, didn't suspect much.
"Then I'll be off, so you do your best too."
-Chu.
Priscilla-nim blew me a hand kiss and vanished into the air in an instant.
"I guess I should get ready and head out too."
There wasn't anything special to pack. A large black cloak to cover the casually picked-up clothes.
And one very large and imposing Great Sword.
**
Upon arriving at the village, cries of pain could be heard from all directions.
Severely injured villagers lying collapsed, unfamiliar knights, and even those treating them.
Strangely, the women and children were nowhere to be seen.
I quietly approached someone treating the injured.
-Thud thud.
As I approached closely, they were startled out of their wits and fell backward.
They looked at me with panicked faces, trembling in fear.
Why are they so scared?
Ah, the hood... I lowered the black hood covering my head and asked.
"Where is the Village Chief?"
"The Village Chief is over there... But who might you be...?"
"The Witch of the Swamp-nim told me to come take a look."
Upon hearing the words 'Witch of the Swamp,' the villager trembling in fear finally smiled.
"Everyone!!! The Witch of the Swamp-nim has sent us a Great Warrior!!! We are saved!!!"
And he shouted loud enough to echo throughout the entire village.
"No, I'm not a Great Warrior..."
The villagers who could still walk began to gather around me, one by one.
And among them, one elderly-looking man stepped forward.
"As I thought, she must have heard my prayers. The village's guardian deity, the Witch of the Swamp, Priscilla-nim... To send a Great Warrior, one of the kingdom's finest, thank you."
"I said I'm not a Great Warrior... Now explain what happened. Let me resolve it quickly and go back. Today is leg day, so I'm busy."
"Of course. What happened was..."
Wiping away tears briefly, the Village Chief explained what had occurred.
Lately, there have been periodic sightings of goblin groups around the village, so before being attacked by them, they requested the kingdom's knight order to subdue them.
However, the knight order that came to subdue the goblin group got their asses handed to them by the goblins.
And the goblins proceeded to attack the village itself, kidnapping the women and children.
I looked around to check the state of the knights.
Impractical, ornate armor. Silver longswords not designed with attack capability in mind.
They weren't a real knight order, but a gathering of incompetent kids composed of noble children.
They probably came thinking lightly of goblins, as it was a knight order for noble children with aspirations of becoming knights to fill their resumes, but the monsters in this world are ferocious.
Every single one of them looks terrifying and their disposition is hostile.
Of course, among them, goblins are on the weaker side, but judging by the villagers calling them a 'goblin group,' they likely have a scale capable of forming a goblin settlement.
If goblins gather on a settlement scale, they become a difficult opponent for ordinary adventurers or commoners to handle.
Trying to have the noble knight order handle such creatures clearly showed the kingdom guys were thoughtless bastards.
"Do you know the location of the goblin settlement?"
"I'm sorry. We also don't know the exact location..."
"Hmm... Doesn't matter. I'll handle it quickly and be back."
"Thank you, warrior!!! Is there anything we can help with...?"
"No need. How many women and children were kidnapped?"
"Altogether, um... Probably 12 women and 6 children."
Then a knight who was lying collapsed shouted.
"Our Knight Commander... and a civilian noblewoman were also kidnapped..."
Saying that, the knight lost consciousness.
Why would a civilian noblewoman come here?
I felt suspicious, but there was no time to wake up the fainted guy and ask.
I immediately headed out of the village, leaving the cheering villagers behind.
I would follow the goblins' footprints and traces toward the place where the knights were said to have been attacked.
Any clues there would likely lead to the goblin settlement.
**
A clearing in the not-so-deep forest.
There, goblins of various sizes had gathered and built a settlement.
From within the settlement made of logs and crude branches, terrible screams could be heard.
"Kyaaaah!!!"
Goblins are monsters, but it is said they evolved with higher intelligence to compensate for their small stature and weak strength.
Basically, they are capable enough to form groups and communities, but even so, they live faithfully by their instincts with the intelligence level of an infant.
Instincts similar to humans, like greed for possessions, lust, appetite, etc., are predominant.
For them, the people of a small village were a good means to satisfy all three desires.
"Kyaaah!!! Stop!!!"
On one side of the settlement, a small pen was built, and there the village women and children were huddled together.
"Kaaah!!"
As if their prey had become abundant, a group of goblins, easily numbering 20, roared.
"Uuug... Mom..."
The people trapped in the pen, perhaps foreseeing their own futures, could only shed endless tears and cling to each other.
Then, one goblin wearing a scrap of cloth resembling clothing entered the pen.
Usually, the leader of a goblin group is taken by the physically largest one, but this guy had slightly higher intelligence among goblins and was in a commander position.
"Grrrrrr."
Salivating, it grabbed one of the village women inside the pen.
"Uwaaah!!"
It threw the woman to the ground and tore her clothes off.
The goblin climbed on top of the woman writhing in fear and licked her skin with its tongue as it moved down.
"Please..."
Even though the woman pleaded, goblins are not beings that understand human speech, so it showed no reaction whatsoever.
And finally, at that very moment when the deed was about to be carried out.
-Kwagagagang!!
"Kyeeeeek!!!"
From far away, one goblin flies through the air, scattered to an unrecognizable degree.
-Boom!!!
"Kaaah!!"
Only then did the Goblin Commander, who had recognized the situation, rally the group and stare in the direction of the sound.
The gazes of the kidnapped villagers and the goblins focused in one direction, and soon the shabby gate of the settlement crumbled as a figure slowly walked in.
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
A giant man, appearing easily over 2 meters tall, approached the goblin group, carrying a massive sword as large as his own torso on his shoulder.
The great sword was so heavy relative to the man's stature that the very ground seemed to tremble just from him walking.
Leaving the goblins cowering before the man's pressure behind, he surveyed the people trapped in the pen.
"Most of them are gathered here, it seems... The Knight Commander and noblewoman aren't visible. Annoying."
And then, as if by some agreement, the goblins all simultaneously began rushing at the man.
"Alright, let's finish this quickly."
The man lifted his great sword.
And as he swung it powerfully, as if cutting across the ground.
-Vwoom!!
-Kwagagagang!!
An intense sound, as if a massive lump of iron was tearing through the air, was heard. Before even their screams could erupt, the upper bodies of the goblins disappeared, being slammed far into the forest.
With a single strike, half of the goblin group had vanished.
The goblins, half of them gone in an instant, finally seemed to feel fear, stopping their advancing footsteps toward the man and hesitating.
"It's our savior!!! A knight has come to save us!!"
"Mom!!! We're saved now!!!"
The village people trapped in the pen finally had color return to their faces and looked as if they had found hope.
The goblins tried to unite once more to oppose the man, but he paid them no mind.
"It's convenient that you're gathered together."
The man once again raised his great sword high into the sky and took another step toward the goblin group.
The goblins' instincts were probably telling them to flee from the monster present here, but for some reason, though afraid, they did not run away.
Within the inner tunnel of the goblin settlement, there, something... an strange entity that the goblins feared... seemed to have perceived the situation, as a pair of crimson eyes flashed.