Chapter 18
Inside the forest, countless footsteps could be heard along with furious grunts and growls. Countless eyes with sinister glows could be seen moving about as if searching for something. Under the illumination of the moon’s light several small figures were revealed.
Goblins!
Yes, the ones creating the footsteps and grunting and growling were goblins.
Currently, dozens of goblins are searching for someone that might be hiding on the trees and foliage. Who is this someone you ask? Why it’s Rennel of course.
After killing the goblin champion, Rennel retreated into the depths of the forest to recuperate. The goblins that saw her go into the depths of the forest quickly followed her but lost sight of her once they're inside.
Unperturbed, the goblins keep on searching aimlessly. Alas, the result was the same; there’s no sign of the human who killed one of their champions. It was as if she disappeared like the wind.
Some of the goblins who went into the depths of the forest came out and returned to the village to report and to bring more goblins for the search; hence, the current situation.
Rennel who was atop one of the trees watched closely as the goblins searched for her. She’s been on the same tree for a while now and hasn’t moved to another tree despite being very near where she had fought the goblins earlier.
It’s not that she couldn’t move but rather simply she’s didn’t care and was too lazy to find another hiding place. Countless goblins had passed by the tree she was at since she retreated deeper into the forest. And yet, despite their numbers they still couldn’t find her.
Why won’t she move you asked?
It’s because she’s perfectly safe where she is. No matter how many goblins are looking for her, they still won’t find her even if they burn the whole forest to the ground. And it’s all because of her teacher, Chaos.
With Chaos concealing her presence, the goblins, even the goblin king won’t be able to locate her no matter what they do. Currently, Rennel was protected by an invisible isolation barrier that not only mask her presence it also affects other creature’s perceptions.
Thanks to this barrier, the goblins simply brush past the tree she was on. Heck the barrier was so powerful that she could start a fire, roast some meat and the goblins won’t still notice her. In a way, it could even be said that she’s on another dimension different from his original one.
“Take your time to restore your strength. After that you could try infiltrating the village. Your goal this time should be to kill the goblin king.” Chaos said after he got bored of watching the goblins scurrying around like little children.
“Yes teacher.” Rennel answered.
After saying so, Rennel reached for the pouch on her side. The pouch contain some dried meat (jerky) and fruits and a flask of water. She then bites onto a jerky and chewed with a frown on her face. The jerky was very unappetizing but Rennel didn’t utter a single complain. She's already used to eating dry meat and fruits on their journey, so it’s not really a problem for her.
Besides, it's not like she's on the mood for delicious food. All she needed right now was rest and a bit of food in order to restore her strength.
After eating a few more jerky and dried fruits, Rennel took several sip from her water flask. The girl then closed her eyes for a quick nap. Even though she’s on top of a tree, she wasn’t afraid of falling off. It’s nothing strange really since she’s already used to it.
While the goblins are searching for Rennel, the alliance which consisted of adventurers and the army are slowly retreating into the plain. Since night had fallen, continuing the battle under the light of the moon would be very foolish. Although they have members that could also see during the night (Beastmen and Elves) their numbers are insufficient to battle against the horde.
Besides, like all of the other adventurers they too are exhausted after fighting for nonstop for so long. The adventurers and the army made a temporary camp on the plain. They surrounded the camp with barricades made out of woods from a nearby forest; serving as a line of defense against the goblins.
Moreover, dozens of adventurers would take turn keeping watch and resting. This is to prevent surprise attacks from the goblins. And for additional protection, several mages had setup magic traps around camp that would activate the moment someone or something steps on them. These magic traps would serve as the first line of defense against any goblin attacks.
****
Inside a tent, the leaders of the two groups, Guild Master Tigre and a general of the army, General Souren are currently studying the result of the afternoon battle.
“The casualties on our side were more than I anticipated,” Guild Master Tigre commented after reading the report. “23 dead, 57 injured... And this is just the first battle.”
“It can’t be helped. The goblins have more number than we anticipated. In my opinion, it’s still small considering what we’re up against.” General Souren said with a noncommittal expression.
Guild Master Tigre did not comment on the General’s noncommittal expression, and could only sigh. This was the difference between a master of a guild and a general. Because generals commanded more people, they saw more deaths and are therefore more used to high casualties.
Of course this doesn’t mean that the general didn’t care for the lives of his soldiers. Like most people he would still be affected if people he knew die, it’s just that he won’t usually express it.
Also, in term of number, the army obviously outnumbered the adventurers. As such, there side has more casualties. In the report, majority of the dead and injured were from the army. And yet, General Souren didn’t show much emotion as if numbed to the death of his soldiers.
“The ones responsible for most of the death and injuries are the goblin mages. The next time we battle with the goblins, we must try to kill the mages first,” General Souren said after thinking for a bit.
“Yeah, we should try to reduce the number of their mages before the goblin king appeared. Once the goblin king joined the fight, things would get messier,” Guild Master agreed and shared his thoughts.
General Touresn paused for a while before asking, “Is it already confirmed? Does this village actually manage to produce a goblin king?
The general’s question was more of a confirmation instead of doubting the words of Guild Master Tigre. Since their next battle plan rides on this information, it’s better to be sure.
“It’s quite unfortunate but there’s 85% chance that this village was being spearheaded by a goblin king,” The guild master confirmed.
“I see.”
General Souren just nodded his head. Right now he’s digesting all of the information inside his head. At the same time, he was thinking of a countermeasure.
“It would be great if some of our people could infiltrate the village and kill the goblin king. If it could be done, our casualties would be greatly reduced,” General Souren thought out loud.
Hearing the general’s words, Guild Master Tigre could not be helped but be reminded of a certain girl. During the afternoon, everyone including the goblins was startled by a sudden explosion from the rear of the goblin village.
Although no one knew who or what caused it, Guild Master Tigre had a feeling that it was caused by that strange but beautiful girl.
“About that… There was actually someone trying to do exactly that,” The guild master said with a sigh.
“What? What do you mean?” General Souren asked. His eyes urging the guild master to explain what he had just said.
The guild master let out another sigh before explaining. He told the general about the strange girl who manage to gain a recommendation from a guild boss after registering as an adventurer for just two weeks. He also told him how that girl was able to defeat and subdue a monster king on her lonesome.
The general have this ‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing’ look on his face but upon realizing that the guild master was very serious when he said those things, General Souren fall into a contemplating state.
“The explosion earlier… Was it cause by her?” The general ask after a long silence.
“I have no proof to support my claim but I believed that it was most likely caused by her.” The guild master answered with serious look.
“I see… If we could coordinate with her—“
“That might be difficult. If I’m not mistaken, the goblins should be looking for her right now. If we send people to assist her just like that, it might just endanger her instead. Since she was able to subdue a monster king, it means that she’s quite resourceful, and should currently be safe.” The guild master cut off the general’s words and explained.
“True… Then we should just observe the situation at the rear of the village for now before making a move if the situation calls for it? General Souren asked.
“Yes.”
Remembering his conversation with the girl, Guild Master Tigre decided to fully trust the girl. Although it this decision might not make sense to most people, both the guild master and the general knew that it might be the breakthrough they were waiting for.
****
Several hours passed before Rennel finally opened her eyes. She stretched her limbs before looking below. There was no one there. From the looks of it the goblins had given out searching for her.
Seeing this, a smile crept on the girl’s face. It’s finally time to act.
Rennel jumped off the tree she was resting several hours ago and look at the sky. It was a clear night. If it were a normal day, Rennel would have enjoyed stargazing on such a beautiful night. Unfortunately, she wasn’t on the mood to be gazing at the stars.
“Some other time,” She thought.
While she was contemplating, a small figure landed on her shoulder and spoke, “Don’t be careless. Remember, I’ll only save you if you’re on your last leg.” It cautioned.
“I know teacher,” the girl nodded.
Rennel walked towards the village. The road leading there was clear of snow, probably caused by the goblins running back and forth as they searched for her. It’s only normal to think like that. After all, goblins are not known to be the type to clean their surroundings.
With the road cleared of snow, Rennel didn’t have to worry about leaving tracks for others to follow. Also, for some reason she didn’t see any goblins on the vicinity. Using her radar-like detection ability, she also didn’t detect any life forms on near the village.
No, to be precise, there were no goblins above ground but she could sense goblins below the ground. And there weren’t just dozens of them, rather there were thousands!
It was an underground village!
“There’s actually this many goblins?!”
Rennel could not help her surprise. She knew that there were a lot of goblins in the village but she didn’t expect to see several thousands of them!
“And here I thought that I’ve killed a lot of them but from the looks of it, I barely scratched the surface. How troublesome…”
The girl expression grew more solemn the more she scanned the underground village. Inside the village there were not only regular goblins but also a dozen large goblins – most likely goblin champions.
“One goblin champion is difficult enough but to think that there’s still a dozen of them left!”
Feeling a little light headed, Rennel stopped using her ability. Her original plan was to sneak into the village and assassinate the goblin king. But from the looks of it, that’s something very difficult to accomplish even for her.
The number of ordinary goblin alone would be enough to overwhelm her, what’s more if the goblin shamans, goblin, mages, and hob-goblins join the fray. Then there are the goblin champions. A dozen of them would be very tricky opponents.
“Aside from that… there’s also the goblin king.” Rennel murmured to herself.
Rennel remembered the overwhelming presence of a certain goblin when she was scanning the underground village. The size of the goblin was exaggerated enough but what truly caught her attention was the amount of mana the monster possessed!
“With that many goblins, I can forget sneaking. I’ll probably be discovered unless I can use teacher’s isolation barrier. But if I asked teacher’s help, it will no longer be a test.”
Knowing that sneaking around was no different from suicide, Rennel have no choice but to rethink her plan. Since an assassination was no longer an option, Rennel was thinking that maybe she should try the opposite.
Yes, instead of being silent and sneaky she should be loud and up front.
“Should I bury them?”
Rennel thought of a crazy and dangerous idea. Since most of the goblins were currently underground, she had this thought of burying all of the goblins alive!
“It should work if I use that skill again. But still, I couldn’t do this alone. Maybe it’s time to rendezvous with the guild master and ask them to cooperate with me?”
The more Rennel thought of it, the more she thinks that her plan was feasible. But she also thought that in order to get the best result, she must coordinate with the adventurers and the army.
“In order to prevent the goblins from escaping after causing a cave-in, she needed people to ambush the escaping goblins. Alright, let’s do that!”
Having made her decision, Rennel turned around. She’s needs to see the guild master and coordinate her action with them. Since there’s only one chance to make her plan a success, she mustn’t be careless.
****
To be continued
Previous Chapters: https://read.cash/@beastion
