Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Hobgoblin Bastards #7
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"Spears, attack!"
"Keruk!"
At my command, the four goblin spearmen thrust their spears forward in perfect unison.
Whish!
Clack!
Wooden spears slicing through empty air. With four of them, a single order unleashed four attacks at once.
Of course, the assault didn't end there.
"Keruk! Kerruk!"
"Keruring!"
The spearmen kept thrusting relentlessly, stabbing at the void as if some enemy lurked there. They vented all their rage, turning the imaginary foe into Swiss cheese.
"Kruk!"
"Keruk!"
Guarding those spearmen up front were the shield bearers. Jaws clenched tight with utmost seriousness, they raised their shields to form an impenetrable wall.
Splat!
Spearmen stabbing at thin air.
Thud.
And shield bearers holding the line in front.
"Perfect!"
Ever since they'd skewered those hobgoblin scouts with their spears the other day, their spear technique proficiency had shot up. Once they grasped the basics of wielding the tools, training became a breeze.
"At this rate, we can defend the dungeon flawlessly! Good work! My soldiers!"
"Keruk!"
Buril snapped a salute at my praise.
Honestly, Buril's efforts had been huge—whacking the little ones on the head while drilling the lessons home. I couldn't have run these drills alone. All thanks to our ace, Buril. With this level of proficiency, even the next batch of goblins should pick it up on their own.
"Attack, halt! Reform ranks!"
Clack! Clack!
The squad snapped into line at my order!
"Forward... march! Step! One! Two! One! Two!"
"Keruk! Kek! Keruk! Kek!"
The goblins advanced right away!
"Eh."
Their footwork still sucked. But hey, as long as they kept formation while marching in step, no need to obsess over drill-perfect marching. If they could move while holding shape, that was enough.
"We'll work on that later. Now! Advance while... spears, attack!"
"Ke... keruk?"
That one stumped them—they turned to me in confusion, milling about.
"Eyes front! Thrust spears while advancing!"
"Keruk!"
Buril must've gotten fed up; he butted the back of a shield bearer's head lightly with his spear shaft. The others nodded like they'd finally got it, then slowly advanced while thrusting.
A bit clumsy, but they understood.
"Maintain formation!"
That was plenty.
Anyway, I ran the drills like that—diligently, obsessively. Hell, even back in my army days, we never trained this systematically.
What did we do?
Preemptive strikes with Jeon Joon-tae. Quick gear grabs, scrounge supplies, rapid march to the outpost, dig in, then kill time endlessly. Training was mostly dead boring after the first bit.
But cold weapon drills? Everyone had to pour their soul into it.
"All units! Retreat!"
"Keruuuuk!"
Thud thud thud!
They scattered like pros, though. "Retreat" got instant reactions. Once they were all clear...
Huuu.
I drew a deep breath.
"All units, return to positions! Hold formation!"
Then...
Thud thud thud!
"Kerruk!"
"Kerung!"
My goblin soldiers rushed back, snapping into formation slick as could be!
"Kruu!"
Too damn good! I'd trained them perfectly up to this point! Look at those cute little bastards plugging the passage solid! The ends were a tad shaky, but it was one hell of a wall!
"Great blockade. Next drill, kids. Make way for big bro."
"Keruk?"
I crossed to their opposite side, thrusting a reversed wooden spear. Now I was the enemy. And the goblins handled it flawlessly.
Training over.
"Hoo! Good work, everyone! At ease!"
"Keruk!"
At "at ease," they dropped gear and flopped down. Sprawled like that, it straight-up reminded me of army days—no bullshit. That's exactly how we'd crash after a march on break time.
Even the green skin matched.
"Alright, Sharan, come here!"
"Shaa!"
I called, and Sharan scampered over from chilling by the entrance, planting herself in front of me.
"Training's done, so time for some mana infusion."
No need for more Domination anyway. I'd dump all recovered mana into buffing my minions.
"Here goes."
"Shaaat...!"
She twitched like always at the infusion, then rubbed up against me, purring happily.
"Shaa shaa."
"Heh heh, that good, huh?"
I'd been pumping a ton of mana into Sharan. Keep this up, and maybe Domination would even stick someday? Not that I needed it—she was plenty affectionate already.
But still.
"Shaa?"
Watching her, I got this vague sense she was picking up my vibe, or something. Hard to pin down. What if constant infusions let my energy settle into her?
Sharan wielding mana herself?
And who knows.
Maybe the infusions would amp her up so much she starts talking.
Whatever, too early to tell. I knew infusions restored and boosted monster strength, but details were fuzzy. Not enough data yet. Gotta keep experimenting.
"And Buril."
Next up: Buril.
"Keruk!"
He popped up, striking the pose for mana.
As squad leader, he needed extra love.
"Infuse!"
"Kek!"
Loving it, as usual.
Keep this up, and Buril should grow too, right? Not expecting some dramatic shit, but it'd be nice if he bulked up hobgoblin-style. Who knows, this guy might blow up huge later.
"Hey, you lot! Line up for yours!"
The goblins stirred, and Imsoong's crew—who'd been goofing off up front—rushed over.
Now to juice these punks too.
Thanks to nonstop mana practice, I could finesse it down to tiny bits now.
Before, minimum was 1 unit. Now I could split it to like 0.2.
Wished I could give 'em full doses, but with Sharan and Buril taxing me already, this'd have to do.
"Alright, one by one. Hold still."
Like giving shots at the clinic, I dosed them in turn.
"Keruk...!"
"Kruk!"
Tiny amounts, but they loved it. Man. If I were a real powerhouse demon, this shitshow would've been instant.
"Fuckin' reject demon blood."
Mom's a duchess from good stock—ain't no bloodline boost?
"Alright. Personal maintenance time. We'll hunt soon."
"Keruk."
And so the days rolled on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A few days later.
The hobgoblin army finally showed.
"Grak. Grarak!"
"Grararak!"
A properly armed hobgoblin squad on the move. My watch caught 'em. Good call coming out to scout.
"Grak!"
Looked like they'd geared up for missing scout search and revenge. No scouts back meant dead. So army to investigate and wipe the cause.
"Shaa."
Sharan tugged my shoulder.
"Yeah. We're good. Not engaging."
Quick whisper back.
Me and Sharan solo vs. a hob squad? Insane. No provoking. Those fuckers were dangerous. Domination's iffy on 'em anyway—no way I'm risking a beatdown.
"Fall back."
They'd reached the area. Only play was turtle in the dungeon. Sharan and I retreated inside pronto.
"Keruk?"
"Buril. Tense up. War time. Take the kids inside. Out on my order."
"Kerukruk!"
Buril got it, herded minions deeper in.
"Shaa..."
"Sharan, stick by me."
I took position deep inside, where I could peek out, and went prone with Sharan.
Now to monitor the hobgoblins.
Bright outside vs. pitch black inside. Perfect for one-way viewing. They couldn't see jack in here.
...
Even the glowbugs for light were stashed. Jarred up, Imsoong on babysitting duty. My word, he'd release 'em inside.
Need light sometimes.
Prone, eyes glued forward.
Finally.
Thud.
Hobgoblin army appeared.
"..."
Gulp.
Tension spiked.
Heart pounding like mad.
Hobs halted just shy of the entrance. They knew hostile neighbors lived here. And they'd brought the army.
Probably gearing for assault.
War starts... huh?
Then.
"Grakrak."
A bigger one stepped up. Hulking compared to the rest, muscled build.
Captain?
Tribe chief or some shit?
"..."
Fuck.
This just got tricky.