—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jacques watched Iyer, who had been next to him just moments before, vanish.
Even with their sight, they relied on the fluorescent dye on the trees to navigate the dark night, yet Iyer moved between the trees as if he could see perfectly.
The task assigned to the villagers near the settlement was undoubtedly dangerous, but with Iyer there, they were sure to be safe.
“Let’s move too.”
After instructing those remaining on the hill, Jacques ascended to the peak with the other young villagers.
Reaching the summit, a bright light illuminating the dark night caught his eye.
It was the goblin settlement, located at the bottom of the opposite hill.
Thanks to the torches placed in a circle around the settlement, Jacques’ group could clearly see them from their vantage point.
‘Their numbers are definitely down.’
Two patrol teams had fallen victim to the traps.
News of the third team should arrive soon.
That would mean nearly ten goblins were out of commission, and according to Iyer’s instructions, they would only have to face about twenty.
Of course, they had no intention of fighting those twenty head-on.
As Iyer had said… this was a hunt.
“Is everyone ready?”
He drew the bow slung on his back as he spoke.
It wasn’t just Jacques.
All the young villagers with him also had bows.
Those gathered on the hill were all chosen from among those whose profession was hunting.
Holding their bows and checking the small quivers at their waists, Jacques waited for the signal.
The signal that the third patrol team had been incapacitated.
It was almost time for that signal.
“……!”
A faint light flickered, moving at the top of a tree.
It meant the third patrol team had also been successfully neutralized.
With familiar, swift movements, he drew an arrow from his quiver and nocked it.
The sound of arrows being nocked echoed from those around him.
Their targets were the goblins below.
Hitting them from this distance wasn’t easy, but by the time they had exhausted their quivers, most of the goblins would be dead, riddled with arrows.
The nocked arrow aimed at a goblin wandering around the settlement.
Taking a small breath, Jacques quietly shouted,
“Fire!”
With his command, a rain of arrows, loosed by ten archers, showered the goblin settlement.
Kieeek!
Screams erupted from the goblin settlement.
But soon, the whistling sound of another volley of arrows drowned out the goblins’ cries.
The goblins in the settlement must have been fleeing frantically, caught completely off guard.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The village youths’ archery skills were better than expected.
I was slightly impressed.
“Everyone ready? They’ll be coming out soon.”
The young men waiting behind me nodded.
They held crude wooden spears in their hands.
Crude and made of wood, they lacked penetrating power and durability, but they were more than enough to pierce a goblin’s body.
Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?
We were positioned in the bushes on either side of the settlement entrance.
Divided into two groups, hidden left and right, our task was…
“Now!”
With a sickening thud, a spear pierced a goblin.
The goblins fleeing the settlement to escape the arrow rain were caught completely off guard by the unexpected ambush, dying without a scream.
Panicked goblins, unable to grasp the situation, emerged from the entrance and were impaled one after another.
Those not killed instantly were finished off by others stabbing them repeatedly.
After about eight goblins were killed, they stopped coming out of the entrance.
It seemed even these blockheads finally realized there was an ambush at the entrance.
Even if they were more intelligent than other monsters, they were still beneath humans.
“Blame your inferior nature.”
The continuous rain of arrows finally stopped.
It meant Jacques and his group on the hill had run out of arrows.
“Shall we go then?”
With a chilling sound, I drew my sword and stepped into the settlement.
Dozens of goblins, pierced by arrows, lay scattered on the ground.
The remaining males and females, I presumed.
In that case…
A small hut caught my eye as I surveyed the settlement.
“The young ones will be in there. They’re too young to pose a threat, so kill them all.”
“Yes!”
Goblins were the cockroaches of the monster world.
Leaving even one youngling alive would allow them to multiply like vermin and become a seed of future disaster.
When extermination was necessary, complete eradication was the only way to prevent future problems.
After watching three young villagers with spears enter the hut, I moved on.
Thud! Thud!
I systematically finished off the goblins lying on the ground, hit by arrows.
Some were dead, some were still alive.
Some even played dead, so I had to pierce each one through the neck to confirm.
As I walked towards the center of the settlement, confirming each kill, I finally saw what I had been expecting.
In the center of the settlement, a hut larger than any other.
For goblins, they had even built impressive stairs leading up to it.
A goblin that looked slightly different from the others was descending the stairs.
Making eye contact with it, I grinned.
Although my eyes were covered with cloth, of course.
“Knew you’d be here. Goblin boss.”
Graooo!
Unlike ordinary goblins, which were only about half the size of humans, this one was almost human-sized, with particularly prominent fangs.
The club it held was also rather ornately decorated.
This was the leader of the settlement, the one who had led the goblins here.
The very one I needed to see.
“You don’t have to look at me like you want to kill me… I wanted to meet you too.”
I walked slowly towards it as it approached, its hand gripping the club tightly.
One step.
One step.
At first, it had approached with a haughty expression, as if ready to kill me on the spot, but as I drew closer, its pace gradually slowed.
Its ferocious roars also gradually subsided…
Kee, kieek… keeeeeek…
By the time the distance between us was less than ten steps, its roars had turned into mournful whimpers.
“Sorry. I wasn’t a monster subjugation specialist for nothing.”
Among adventurer requests, monster subjugation was the most dangerous.
The reason I specialized in it wasn’t just the high pay… but because I was biologically suited for it.
“There’s nothing you can do about interspecies matchups. Especially between a ruler and its subjects, like you and me.”
Keeek… Keeeeeek…
Its whimpers were almost pleading.
If I had only heard its cries, my heart might have weakened, and I might have lowered my sword.
They were that heartbreaking.
But unfortunately, the creature in front of me wasn’t something cute like a cat or a dog.
“Be born as a cat in your next life.”
Then at least you won’t die like this.
The raised sword plunged into the goblin’s neck with a thud.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Crackle, crackle.
The smell of burning wood wafted through the air. The smell of smoke from the multiple bonfires lit in the center of the village.
I stared blankly into the flames, feeling the warmth of the fire and the scent of nature.
They called this “fire gazing” these days, didn’t they?
Not bad.
“…And so, with more than half of the goblins slain by the rain of arrows from the sky, the brave warriors of the village, armed with sharp spears, faced the fleeing goblins!”
At the largest bonfire, a young man with a pleasant voice exaggeratedly spread his arms, recounting their heroic tale.
The enemy was just goblins, but since the people of this small village had never seen monsters before, the story was being told as if their opponents were ogres.
A chuckle escaped my lips… but such an atmosphere was only natural after a dramatic victory.
As a romantic who loved such sentiments, I couldn’t help but enjoy it.
“Then! A man appeared, cleaving the charging goblins in two with flashes of light! It was none other than the blind swordsman, Iyerpol!”
“Hmm…?”
“Every time he swung his sword, the wicked goblins fell to the ground, and every time he moved his mountain-like feet, the surrounding monsters recoiled!”
The story seemed to be going in a strange direction.
I was pretty sure I only finished off the ones who were already down…?
I remembered most of the goblins already being dead, pierced by arrows.
“Iyerpol! Iyerpol! Iyerpol!”
“Uh… ahaha.”
As my story was told, the people cheered and chanted my name.
Wow, this was incredibly embarrassing.
It was a good thing my eyes were covered with cloth. What would they think if they saw my twitching eyes?
As I awkwardly raised my hand in response, the cheers grew louder.
“Overwhelmed by Swordsman Iyerpol’s might, the goblin king trembled like a pitiful bird and knelt before him. Even the monster king, who commanded nearly a hundred goblins, couldn’t defy Swordsman Iyerpol’s valor! The monster begged for mercy, and before him stood Swordsman Iyerpol with his sword drawn!”
“Iyerpol! Iyerpol!”
“But for the peace and safety of his precious people, a swordsman must cut down even a pleading enemy… The swordsman Iyerpol raised his sword high! And with his final words, he struck down like lightning!”
“You were a worthy opponent, King of Monsters…”
The man, acting like a stage actor with a deep voice, finished the story.
As expected… the people cheered.
I couldn’t help but cover my face with my hands.
Please stop.
Even a new type of torture wouldn’t be this cruel.
Regardless, the people were enthralled by the “Story of the brave village youths and Swordsman Iyerpol who subjugated nearly a hundred goblins and their king.”
“…Come to think of it, wasn’t that guy a bit small to be a Goblin King?”
The question suddenly popped into my head, but it was quickly buried by the villagers offering me drinks.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The king’s fists trembled.
Before him lay the corpses of his tribe members, scattered across the ground.
Males and females alike.
The king headed towards the hut where the females gave birth.
Inside the hut, the young, the future of the tribe, lay dead, their chests pierced.
All dead.
Killed by the intruders.
It had happened so fast.
Rushing to the scene after hearing the screams of his tribe members, he found goblins killed by humans, caught in traps.
They were the members of his patrol.
The screams continued, and each time, the king ran to find his patrolling tribe members.
As he headed towards the source of the third scream,
A loud noise came from the direction of the human village.
He instinctively knew something was wrong.
By the time he returned to the settlement… everyone had already been turned into corpses.
Goooooo… Graaaaaaoooh!!
The king swore.
He would kill all the humans who had murdered his tribe.
He would go right now and show them the same fate.
The king ran frantically towards the human village, whose location he already knew.
Crash!
Crash!
As he pushed through the trees, something snapped under his foot.
It was one of the traps that had caught his patrol.
But such things were useless against him, the king.
As if to forget the slight tingling in his foot, he pushed off the ground even harder.
Just as he emerged into an open area after pushing through the dense trees…
Jerk!
A powerful force yanked him backward.
No, it wasn’t something pulling him.
Something hard and tough had snagged his head. The momentum of his run and the thing that had caught his head combined, launching him into the air.
As the king opened his eyes mid-air, he realized he was flying above a cliff.
And his airborne body… began to fall in a parabolic arc.
Snap!
Feeling a sharp pain in his neck with another jolt, the king’s consciousness faded into darkness.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lmao