Chapter 14 - Wait, I Actually Have It?
Chapter 14 - Wait, I Actually Have It?
Chapter 14 - No Way, There Really Is One?
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"I'm back, Karl."
"Mm, so you are. From the look on your face, it seems you got some results."
In truth, there wasn't anything particularly clear-cut. Just knowing the type didn't mean I could use it right away.
It was like knowing a math formula but still not being able to solve every problem. When it came to the black mage, I was still completely in the dark.
Of course, it wasn't a total waste of time. I'd at least figured out which direction to head in.
"I think I roughly... know how I should proceed."
"Is that so. That alone is quite the accomplishment."
"Yes, well... Ah. That aside, I picked up a request. Do you happen to have time?"
Karl nodded quietly.
Good. In that case...
"This one's a real jackpot. Looks like the Adventurers' Guild finally noticed how strong you are."
"Is that so."
After dragging that giant bone all the way here, of course they'd notice. They'd have to be idiots not to.
"So they handed me an excellent job. A goblin subjugation campaign, no less!"
"Goblins? Those small green things? They don't seem impressive enough to warrant a full campaign."
She was saying that because she didn't know goblins' traits.
Sure, one goblin by itself was nothing special. Maybe on the level of a child.
The problem was their sheer numbers.
Their pregnancy cycle was short, and each birth spat out four or five at once.
On top of that, their growth cycle was ridiculously fast! In two or three months, the newborns would already be adults capable of getting pregnant themselves.
"Purely in terms of danger to humans, goblins rank higher than bears or wolves. If there's a man in the party, they'll do whatever it takes to capture him alive."
Goblins were one of the few monsters capable of interbreeding.
Most of their species were female, so males were extremely rare. That was why they lunged at any man they spotted.
"The scale of the goblins we're subjugating this time is enormous. They've nested on Adens Plain and are apparently attacking nearby cities."
"They shouldn't have food. How are they maintaining those numbers?"
"Goblins can survive just fine on weeds alone. You already know monster ecology is unreasonable like that."
Thanks to that, the once lush Adens Plain had turned into a complete desert.
It was impossible to even guess how many there were. The subjugation force estimated around five thousand.
"Seven villages near the city have already been wiped out. All the women were killed, and the men were dragged into the goblin burrows. If this keeps up, the city itself will be in danger once their numbers swell."
"So they formed a subjugation army."
Apparently, this kind of situation was rare. If the survival of a city was at stake every other day, living would be impossible.
That said, it was also the kind of crisis adventurers loved. When the world got harsher, adventurers made more money.
And I was one of those adventurers who loved it.
"They seem to be scraping together every last person they can. I heard the total comes to a thousand?"
"That many, huh."
"Yes, it's an unprecedented scale. Eight hundred city garrison troops plus two hundred adventurers!"
That was a number you could wage an actual war with. Even a grand lord would struggle to muster this many.
"They really did scrape the bottom of the barrel."
"Well, that just proves how many goblins there are, doesn't it? The reward is generous too. Just the participation fee is four silver coins!"
Apparently, tons of people had wanted this job.
However, the employer valued quality over quantity, so only D-rank and above were accepted. It was a luxury move, really—picking and choosing in such an urgent situation.
Anyway, normally I wouldn't have been selected, but thanks to traveling with Karl, I'd landed the incredible luck of joining this subjugation force!
"Plus, we get extra silver for every achievement, so it's a total win."
"Mm, yes. A decent job. You brought back something good."
"It's all thanks to you."
Karl lowered the axe slung across her back.
"Something is happening. Things that should not be occurring are happening one after another."
"Pardon?"
"No matter. Little warrior Dennis. Prepare for battle."
With those words, she waved her hand lightly and headed back toward the inn.
She was probably going to drink. Had I not mentioned it...? We were supposed to depart tomorrow.
"Well, it'll be fine."
As always, Karl would greet me looking perfectly fine.
The next day, at noon.
Karl and I met in front of the Adventurers' Guild early in the morning, gathered at the assembly point, and set off for Adens Plain with roughly fifty others.
If we marched diligently for two days, we'd arrive in no time.
"Karl, aren't you hot?"
Even in this sweltering weather, she wore her helmet and thick breastplate without a care.
If she came from a cold place, shouldn't she be weak to heat? Watching Karl made it clear that kind of assumption was just prejudice, which was annoying.
"Not hot. Walking is fine."
"Excuse me? How does that work?"
"Warriors of the Snowfield can regulate their body temperature through breathing. We expel the heat by walking."
"Wow..."
How was that even possible? She wasn't human anymore.
"By the way, this is my first time marching with this many people."
"I heard you worked as a porter."
"That was only with small-scale adventurer parties. This size is a first for me."
Even that was only possible for porters with some reputation.
At this scale, people would normally just bring carriages. Of course, the subjugation force was providing food and lodging, so no one had brought any.
"By the way... we're still quite far from the destination, aren't we?"
"Yes, still a ways to go."
"Then why are those goblins here?"
Hold on, what was she talking about?
"Gyaaah!"
"Fuck! Ambush! Everyone, battle formation!"
The fifty adventurers were walking along a narrow mountain path.
Countless goblins ambushed them while they were lined up! Maybe their green skin served as camouflage. They poured out from the grass and trees in large numbers.
"Clever. They deliberately struck while we were on this narrow path. If we had long weapons, we couldn't swing them without hitting our allies."
"Either way, this is bad news!"
I drew Pulsion and quickly thrust the blade, gutting a goblin in one strike.
Apparently, stabbing was much easier and more lethal than slashing.
In such a cramped space, thrusting was far better than swinging!
"Still, it doesn't matter."
Karl didn't lift her axe. Instead, she raised her rough hand and crushed a goblin's skull.
Thud, thud. Every time her fist swung, it sounded like an explosion, and green fluid splattered everywhere.
The other adventurers were holding their own reasonably well. It was an ambush, but goblins were still goblins. One well-armed adventurer could easily take down ten.
'At this rate, we'll wipe them out quickly.'
While I kept thrusting Pulsion and tearing open goblin bellies, I realized their numbers were already dwindling.
'More relaxed than expected. With these numbers, we should be panicking.'
The main reason was that goblins couldn't even approach me. Karl's fists had become a weapon that could reliably kill two at once.
Of course, the adventurers hadn't escaped unscathed.
The first three adventurers hit by the ambush were torn to shreds. Seven more who swung their swords desperately afterward were overwhelmed by sheer numbers and killed.
Many others suffered deep and shallow wounds. Aside from Karl and me, almost no one was unscathed.
"Looks like we've cleaned up most of them."
After swinging my sword one last time to sever the head of a goblin that kept charging, I turned to Karl.
"No. It's not over, little warrior."
"Pardon? Ah, of course we haven't killed all the goblins, so it's not over."
"There's a leader over there. Go catch it."
Karl pointed into the forest with her finger.
A goblin leader? I couldn't understand what she meant.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly as I said. There were ones controlling this group. Go kill them, Dennis."
"Th-that seems impossible with my strength alone..."
"A warrior grows through trials. And those ones are appropriate."
If Karl said so, it must be right. I ran in the direction she pointed.
"...There really is one."
After running for a while, I spotted about five goblins huddled together in the distance.
"Krrrk! Krrk!"
The one in the center must be the leader. It was larger than the others and held a staff.
That one had a striking burn scar... Wait. Could it be...?
"So our bad blood continues here."
Of course, I wasn't the one who gave it that burn...
'Still, there are a lot of them. I wish the number would drop a bit.'
According to Karl, I could handle about five, but honestly, I wasn't sure.
Goblins were specialists in teamwork.
"Whatever! Die, you bastards!"
I'll just stab first!
Yelling, I sprinted forward and drove my blade into the belly of the goblin standing beside the leader.
"Krrrk!"
"Kyaaak!"
I yanked the blade out and immediately slashed sideways into the next one's flank, splitting its torso like chopping firewood, then stepped back.
Maybe because I attacked so fast, they couldn't counter and looked visibly flustered.
"Nice. If I keep this up..."
—Tap tap tap!
Just then, I heard something running up from behind.
Reflexively looking back, I saw four goblins covered in blood charging at me.
'Shit!'
I thought there were only five, but there were more?
This was bad! Really fucking bad!
"Krrk!"
Meanwhile, the leader goblin's face lit up with delight.
They couldn't have planned this... Damn it! To fall for an ambush relying on such luck.
'I can't trust the padded armor with this many.'
If only there was even one ally on this side...
"Krrk?"
At that moment, the lead goblin in the back began to swell in various places.
"Krrrk! Krrrk! Krrrk..."
Pop!
The swollen skin quickly expanded and burst in all directions. It looked just like a tree fruit exploding.
The most surprising part was that the exploded goblin's body then regenerated and soon reconstituted into a smaller being.
It wasn't exactly reconstitution... Bones and flesh gathered together and transformed into another existence.
"Imppppp....."
It rose with the most sinister cry I had ever heard.
What the hell was that?