Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Seris and the Village (7)
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"Seris! Kara!"
Gedric's voice rang out from right nearby. I ducked into cover and scanned for his position.
'There he is.'
I spotted Gedric. A bloodstained sword gleamed in his hand. A head-on fight was out of the question. I drew my dagger and crept toward him from his blind spot.
'Do I really have to go this far?'
The closer I got, the more that thought nagged at me. Did he have to die? Couldn't I just threaten him or talk him into leaving us alone?
I shook my head. This was a man who'd chased us down while slaughtering goblins with his sword. Words weren't going to solve anything.
I shoved the weak thought aside, silenced my footsteps, and closed in. I reached the point where sneaking any closer without being spotted was impossible. Gripping the dagger for a lethal strike, I lunged at him.
"Urk?!"
Gedric whipped around at the sound of my footsteps. The moment he saw me, he twisted away.
"Damn it."
I hadn't buried it deep. Clicking my tongue in frustration, I swung the dagger wildly.
"Han Yuseong! What the hell do you think you're doing? Stop this!"
Gedric dodged my dagger and shouted. But I had no reason to stop. With his foot tangled from the surprise attack, this was my best shot.
I swung the dagger silently, relentlessly.
Anywhere would do. Just one solid cut. Then Gedric would weaken from blood loss and pain, losing his rhythm.
But I couldn't land a single clean hit. Even with his foot caught, Gedric fluidly blocked my attacks.
In the end, he regained his composure. I backed away to create distance.
"That all you got, kid?"
"...What kind of person are you?"
"That's my line. What the hell are you doing? And where's Seris?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I sized him up.
His skill outclassed mine by miles. He handled a blind-spot ambush with ease. He'd definitely trained professionally somewhere.
'A knight? No, that can't be.'
A knight could hunt trolls without breaking a sweat. If Gedric were one, I'd already be dead.
"Not gonna talk? Hand her over now, and I'll let you live."
His skill was superior. What about weapons? I had a dagger; he had a sword.
The reach difference was glaring.
I judged I couldn't beat Gedric. My eyes darted to an escape route, and I bolted.
"You little shit!"
Gedric's furious roar chased me from behind. I didn't look back. Glancing over would slow me down inevitably.
"Stop! Bring her now, and I'll let it slide!"
I kept running as Gedric pursued. After a long chase, I reached my destination. I skidded to a halt and finally turned.
"Huff... huff... you damned bastard..."
Gedric was gasping for breath. Twenty years my senior, his stamina couldn't keep up.
"Figured it out yet? Your only way to survive is..."
Gedric's triumphant expression twisted. He'd seen the stockade behind me.
"What the hell is that?"
"A goblin den."
It wasn't the exact one I'd been aiming for. I'd stumbled on this one midway. As long as it had goblins, any den would do.
I drew a deep breath.
"Goblin sirs! Save me!!"
I bellowed at the top of my lungs.
Gedric stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Are you insane? You wanna die together?!"
Gedric advanced on me, clearly intent on killing or subduing me. But he froze, scowling at the footsteps from behind me.
-Kirik? Humans? Why are humans here?
The stockade gate creaked open, and a few goblins emerged. I plastered on the most pathetic, groveling expression I could muster.
"Please spare me! That guy's gone mad—he's been killing goblin sirs left and right, and now he's after me too!"
I couldn't let Gedric go free. He might tell the baron about me and Seris.
So I rolled the dice.
I'd confirmed goblins could understand speech when I killed them before.
The key was how they'd react to my words.
Best case: they believed me and attacked Gedric. Worst: they tried to kill us both.
'Hope those goblins I spared aren't here.'
If they were, my lie would unravel. I scanned the goblins warily, but they all looked alike—like trying to tell ants apart.
I just prayed.
"What the fuck are you babbling about, you psycho?!"
"Eek! Eek! Goblin sirs, mercy! He's trying to kill me!"
I darted behind the goblins. They blinked in confusion, baffled by the situation.
-What's going on here?
-Beats me, kirik. What now?
-Just kill 'em both?
-Sounds good, kirik!
Shit. These dumb goblins didn't deserve the luxury of deliberation. This meant fighting through a goblin melee to stab Gedric.
Could I pull it off?
No choice. I'd gotten a status window; I couldn't die here.
I steeled myself and reached for my dagger. Then I sensed a massive presence behind me.
I turned. A goblin bigger than me loomed there.
'A goblin bigger than me?'
Not by much, but the fact still shocked me.
-What happened?
The huge goblin growled low.
-Kirik! Chief, humans showed up! Time to kill!
-Is that so?
"Oh no, that's not it!"
-Hm? Human, you speak our tongue?
"Yes! I'm good with words! That's why I wanted to explain the situation..."
-Speak.
I explained the situation to the tribal chief goblin, twisting and embellishing freely since Gedric couldn't interrupt.
-So that human's the killer of our kin?
"Yes! Exactly! A real nasty piece of work. I tried telling you goblin sirs, but he came after me. That's why I couldn't warn you in time, and the village..."
-Hrm... I see...
The huge goblin eyed Gedric, seemingly mulling it over.
"You... you're talking to goblins? But that was human speech...?"
Gedric's face was pure horror.
-What's that human saying?
"He's awestruck by your mighty stature, Chief!"
-Hm? Krahaha! Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm the second biggest among our kind.
The chief puffed up proudly.
'Someone even bigger than this guy?'
These goblins were something else.
-Fine. I'll protect you.
"Thank you!"
-Kirik? Chief, the clan chief said to kill any humans trespassing our turf.
-This one's useful—understands our speech. Plenty of ways to use him. Shut up and kill that one.
-Kirik! Got it!
The goblins, minus the chief, surrounded Gedric.
"This is insane...!"
The goblin-Gedric brawl erupted. I watched from the sidelines with the chief.
"Huh? Chief, looks like your goblin friends are getting pushed back."
The goblins had the numbers, but Gedric outclassed them in raw power and skill. They dropped like flies.
Seven rushed in; four died. The rest cowered, too scared to approach.
Useless trash.
"Han Yuseong! I'll deal with you after these!"
-What's he saying?
"Says they're nothing, insulting you, Chief."
"When did I—!"
"Calling you a big, dumb oaf! You bastard, watch your mouth!"
"You son of a—!"
Gedric gnashed his teeth. I glanced at the chief. His bulging veins screamed fury.
-I'll handle this. Step aside.
-Kirik!
The goblins scattered eagerly. The chief swung his massive wooden club at Gedric.
"Ngh...!"
Gedric dodged and slashed the chief's thigh with his sword.
-You human scum! How dare you!
Enraged by the wound, the chief flailed his club wildly. One hit would be fatal.
But it was predictable.
Gedric weaved around, inflicting shallow cuts. The chief tired quickly.
'He's gonna lose like this?'
I'd expected more from the big goblin. Nope—just a oversized brute.
I gave up hope and drew my dagger. Timing it as Gedric dodged the club, I hurled it.
The dagger whistled toward him. Gedric spotted it and flinched away in panic.
"You filthy dog!!"
No time for curses.
-Got him!
Gedric's dodge wrecked his stance. The chief capitalized, swinging with full force.
Kwazh!
A dull thud, and Gedric crumpled. The chief hammered the fallen man relentlessly.
Gedric's corpse was unrecognizable mush. Satisfied, the chief slumped to the ground.
"You okay?"
I approached the chief. He panted and waved me off.
-I'm fine. This is nothing.
"Glad to hear it. Let me help you up."
-No... actually, yeah, thanks.
He started to refuse, then relented at his own state. I picked up my fallen dagger, then supported the chief.
"By the way, are these all the goblins here? Where are the others?"
-Gone with the clan chief to punish the village. Probably having fun by now.
"So these are all the goblins left here?"
-Yeah. A bit sooner woulda been... Gahk?! You bastard, what the—
I yanked the dagger from the chief's nape and stabbed again. And again, until he stopped moving.
The karma notification popped up, and only then did I stop stabbing. I stood and looked around. The goblins glared at me, terrified.
-K-Kirik... Chief...! Human! What are you doing?!
I headed to Gedric's corpse. The club-smashing made my stomach turn.
Avoiding the mess as much as possible, I picked up his sword and swung it experimentally.
"Eh, not great..."
Two years with daggers only? It didn't feel right in my hands.
"Still better than a dagger, though."
I advanced on the trembling goblins.
-K-Kirik...!
I'd wasted too much time. Needed to finish quick and head back.