(2015/10/18) Monk -> Friar; some lines were monk instead of friar.
[Race] Goblin
[Level] 32
[Class] Noble; King of a Group
[Possessed Skills] <> <> <> <> <> <>
[Divine Protection] Goddess of the Underworld, Altesia
[Attributes] Darkness, Death
With the immediate threat gone, I began to formulate a plan on how to expand our area of living.
Right now, the area around the abandoned building is able to provide more than enough food for us to live on. Thereâs also a lake, so thereâs no shortage of water.
Moreover, thereâre no shortage of animals to be hunted.
However, my dream isnât something that will end in a remote place like this. Even if I announce myself as king here, only around 50 goblins will submit to me.
Thatâs not enough. Itâs not enough at all.
I donât even know where in this world I am.
There are humans in this world, so there should be another existence that lives on this land who holds an authority separate from ours.
Whether that existence be a dragon, a human, or perhaps something else altogether.
The first thing is to understand the geography of the surrounding area.
How far does this forest extend? Is there something outside the forest? And from where to where are the dangerous areas in the forest?
In order to collect that information, and in order to make them understand that which is called an organization, I have to educate the goblins.
And so I made the goblins work in a three-man cell system that I created, and let them hunt that way.
Every three male goblin worked as a group, hunting their preys with traps and tools.
At the same time, I only permitted copulation with the female goblins to the three-man cells that achieved excellent results.
Perhaps itâs because some of my humanity still remains that I fail to to feel any sort of compassion towards the female goblins.
⌠Should I be happy about this?
I call the area that the former estranged group lived in, the boundary when travelling by foot. Itâs an area thatâs relatively safe with plenty of traps having been prepared.
Having left the command of the hunts to Gigu and Giga, I went to explore the still unexplored areas.
When it comes to the untrodden areas of the forest, the first thing I should check is the vicinity of the lake.
The distance from the village to the lake by foot is around half a day. For my equipment, all I had was a Pelt Armor we got from defeating the orcs, two long swords, and a dagger.
It might be too light, but I have to increase the overall strength of the group, so it canât be helped if these are all I have.
I have already thrown everything that seemed useable to the goblins, and Iâm only exploring around the lake for my own sake, so it should be fine.
Hiding in the bushes, I searched for any enemy.
Right now Iâm more than a match for an orc, but there might be creatures stronger than me in this forest. Like the giant spider, or an orc Iâve never seen before, or perhaps a lizard man. And then thereâre the kobolds. Theyâre weaker than goblins, but theyâre quite troublesome if they work together. I havenât seen one yet though.
But more than that, whatâs really bothering me is the fact that I donât trust the goblins.
In other words, Iâm always living in fear of their betrayal.
After all, theyâre beasts. Even if they speak words like humans, and try to live like humans, they are not humans. Thatâs why there are things thatâs impossible to make them comprehend. And so itâs not strange at all for me to look for a place I can fit in inside that.
In the height of hunting, I cornered a strong enemy and killed it. I later realized that I couldnât remember anything except that elated sensation. And just like when Iâd hurt them, I felt anger rush to my head so much so that it felt like it was going to burst.
That sensation was repulsive.
Iâm turning into a monster. I can feel it.
I can see an illusion of my mind merging into my body.
Without any clear line, it feels as if Iâm being dragged into some sort of destiny.
Grating, I bit my teeth.
This isnât funny.
I am going to become a king by my own will!
Iâm going to rule over the monsters!
Iâm going to rule over men!
And⌠andâŚ
âââ
As those wandering thoughts spun in my mind, the first creature Iâd seen in this forest passed by my eyes.
Earth colored rabbit covered in armor, an armor rabbit. I stared at it as it led five others as to eat grass.
ââââ Now that I think about it, I am quite hungry.
Suddenly recalling my hunger, I gradually shortened the distance between my prey and myself.
Inch by inch, I crawled towards the armor rabbit. Then all of the sudden its ears braced, and it noticed me approaching.
ââââ It noticed!
The instant I thought that, I sprinted.
Rushing as fast as I could, I swung my sword as I barely caught up with it.
But as if they had known that my sword would come, the armored rabbits ran in scattered directions. Settling for the still small rabbit, I resisted the urge to swing my blade down, and leaped once more.
As the rabbit was about to run away, I threw a blow strong enough to hollow the ground.
Its neck sent flying, the flowers of blood bloomed, and it lay lifeless on the ground.
I took its lifeless body into my hand, and took a bite out of it from its armor. My teeth sunk into it, but it was unusually hard.
At this rate my fangs might end up breaking instead, so I used my dagger to strip off its armor, and eat only the meat.
Although it was small, it felt like it ended as soon as I put it into my mouth. And all that was left was a wearisome sensation.
Sheathing my sword, I tried crunching the remaining small bones, but my teeth couldnât go through. I looked closely at the armor rabbitâs armor.
Looking at the splattered neck, it can be seen that only the part around the neck was the armor slightly thinner.
Looks like my huntâs success was only out of luck. If I had hit its armor, my sword may have been sent flying back instead.
âFumuâ
I breathed out unconsciously. Thereâs no need to brood any more on this.
More than that, I wonder if itâs possible to use this as armor. However, in order to do that, a specialist with knowledge in sewing, and the ability to mold this into a shape thatâll protect the vitals is necessary.
I tried cutting off the unnecessary parts with a short sword, but itâs not really going well. This kind of delicate work is just really not suited for goblin hands.
Looks like Iâll need to get a human to make this.
In the end, I decided to just take it back home since it might be useful later.
I opened a hole in the pelt part of the armor, inserted a rope of ivy through it, fastened it, and carried it on my back.
ââAlright, letâs move on.
Walking through the bushes, I surveyed the vicinity of the lake till sunset.
My spoils for the day include three pelts of armor rabbits, and the fang and hide of a small alligator with wings called shape alligator.
âââ
By the time I came back, there was a commotion in the village.
I knitted my brows at the tumult, and called out.
âWhatâs all the commotion about?â
âKing!â
The old goblin respectfully bowed to me, but it seemed to be in a state of excitement.
âItâs humans. The humans have come into the forest.â
Surprisingly, it was actually quite a troubling issue.
âHow many? What are their equipment?â
Giga stepped before me.
âSix humans. Two with axe, two with sword, one spear. Female, two.â
Itâs too early. I knew that weâd eventually have to make contact with the humans, but this timing isâŚ
Moreover, I donât know what their objective is.
Why did they come here? To subjugate us? No, itâs not like weâŚ
At that moment, I remembered the kidnapped women.
If thatâs their purpose, then itâd be impossible for them to be anything else but an enemy.
Itâs possible that they couldâve come here to investigate.
What to do? What to do!?
Should I do it? But even if I hold it off for now, theyâll come back. Whatâs most difficult is having to deal with the humansâ relentless attack. Iâm human, so I know. If the humans were to be driven by hate, by malice, or perhaps by fear, then their tenacity will shoot through the roof.
Then should I run? Where? A place I could run to with all my subordinates, is there such a place? Even if we were to go in the night, beasts that move during the night, like the giant spider, could attack us, causing needless casualties.
What to do? What to do!?
âKing, your orders.â
I looked down on the servile, old goblin, and pondered. I could also just abandon these guys.
âHave the humans entered the forest before?â
The old goblin folded its arms as it curiously looked up to me.
âThe humans find themselves lost in the forest several times in a year.â
Several times in a year? Thatâs not too bad. Itâs been a month since Iâve been born into this world.
If I could buy at least a monthâs time, then I should at least be able to grow bigger than I am now.
âWeâll kill the humans. Gigu, prepare. Giga, keep watch while weâre out.â
Taking 40 goblins with me, I ran into the forest.
Under the twilight, we moved as fast as possible while making sure not to encounter the giant spiders and the giant skink lizards.
Being able to perceive the location of the humans was thanks to my strengthened night vision, which was even stronger than the goblinsâ.
The humans roamed, walking, with a torch in their hand while they raised their voices.
Confirming the humansâ locations, I ordered the goblins to be quiet and to pick up some stones. Then I inclined my ears to listen to the humans.
âFinra, say something!â
âWhere are you!?â
They seem to be looking for someone.
The two men that wielded an axe had their backs bent, seemingly appearing to be unversed in the ways of fighting. Contrary to that, the man and woman who carried a sword with them exuded a dangerous aura.
But what I canât comprehend are the two in the center. A man and woman who wore religious clothing.
I fail to see any traces of strength in them, but my nose is telling me that these two are the most dangerous ones. You could also say that Iâm just feeling uneasy. But those two are giving off a strange atmosphere.
The man gives off an ominous aura, while the girl is giving off an overwhelming, divine aura. Thatâs the kind of power I can see hidden inside those two.
I wasnât enthusiastic at first, but now that the preyâs are here, my face canât help but twist into a smile.
With my subordinates concealed, I appeared before the six humans, and stood at the center of that narrow animal trail.
âWhatâs your business, human?â
In order to see their reaction, I asked them that while using <> at the same time.
To that, the two men wielding an axe, and the female swordsman faltered.
But the friar, the nun, and the male swordsman didnât appear to be affected at all.
The enraged voice of my <> howled from the depths of my soul.
âWhy is there a high-class goblin here!?â
The male swordsman opened his eyes wide. And the two axe-wielding men began to gradually step down.
âTo think it could even speak human language⌠Itâs fairly high-ranked, be careful!â
Yelled the friar, as he stepped forward to cover the nun.
I calmly probed their individual movements.
âUmm⌠if we can talk, then if we tried talking ââââ
As my ears picked up the whispering voice of the nun, the friar interfered.
âImpossible. Thatâs a monster, you know!â
Seemingly having been pushed by everyone elseâs opinion, the nun was made to step back. As I glanced at her, I concluded that she isnât the main force of the group, rather, sheâs the weak point.
âKeifen, can I leave it to you?â
Responding to the friarâs words, the male swordsman stepped forward. The aura oozing out of the man was heavy. The man appeared to be an experienced swordsman. But he still appears to be in his twenties⌠or is he actually in his thirties?
The man wielded a thick, massive, blade that needed two hands to carry.
âDonât hate me, this too is destiny!â
As I thought he was going to bring the massive, double-edged sword to his shoulder, the man shortened the distance of ten steps to a zero with fearful rush.
ââ Not good!
Concluding that in an instant, I quickly moved back as I threw my dagger.
That sword smashed against the place I was standing at without the tiniest bit of deviation, hollowing a huge hole in the ground.
That hole was enough for a goblin to fully enter, causing me to be dumbstruck for a moment.
ââ This is the power of a human?
The dagger Iâd thrown has been broken into two, scattered besides the swordsman.
Planning to give chase, a faint light covered the swordsmanâs body. While the friar behind him formed spells as he whispered something.
âThereâs no point in arguing about it, huh?â
Then in that case, thereâs no choice but to fight as a monster to my heartâs content. Man against beast, if itâs that kind of setting, then⌠I have a fighting style thatâs perfectly suited.
âDo it.â
I yelled with my <>, ordering my subordinates to throw the stones.
Even if itâs only a bunch of stones, having stones the size of a fist thrown at you from the thickets from both sides simultaneously is not something laughable.
The stones came flying one after another. And some of them hit the two axe-wielding men, knocking them unconscious.
âZeon-sama!â
âReshia-sama!? Not good!â
Even the friarâs leg was injured. The female swordsman covered the nun as she screamed, while the male swordsman only temporarily lost his focus.
However, I wouldnât miss that small opening that Iâd been waiting for.
I kicked myself off the ground with all my strength, sprinting at my fastest. Then I grabbed the swordsmanâs face that was twisted in fright, and swung my sword in a flash.
I felt my sword sink into his flesh as that speedy sword came to a stop. And with his left leg sunken into the ground, half of his body turned over with it as the axis. At the same time I turned to face the swordsman, I swung my sword once more from the back, aiming at his neck.
âKu⌠god blesseth us his protection (Shield)â
At the friarâs response that was too late, a wall expanded around them. This is probably that thing called magic. A semi-circle shaped, colorless wall stood in the air, repelling the stones, causing the crushed stonesâ particles to spread around the wall.
Then blood spurted from inside that membrane.
The swordsmanâs body slowly fell into the ground.
With the resounding screams as accompaniment, I wielded my sword high once more. The friar is in the way.
âLili, take Reshia with you, and run!â
A ball of fire formed at the palm of the friar.
âPour the grace of god to flame! (Fire Ball).â
A lump of fire the size of a fist came flying in a straight line, aiming for my head. Bending over, I dodged it, and at the same I went down on my limbs like a beast, and rushed towards the friar.
With a low sword stance, I attacked from that beast like position.
âYou, monsterâŚâ
The chipped blade scooped out the entrails of the friar, penetrating his back through his abdominal cavity. The friar spouted all manners of curses as blood came out of his mouth. But the friar continued to block my path, and I could see what could be called that of a religious fanatic surface in his eyes.
âWe art the disciples of god. Quivâr not will we âere death. The vanguards of the devil ââ
Unable to hold myself back at that vilification, I pierced the friar with my sword, and gouged out his entrails.
The friar screamed as if his soul had just been withdrawn.
Right before his god summons his soul, I decided to pay my respects. I brought my mouth close to him, and whispered by his ear with a voice loud enough only for him alone to hear.
âYou know that tasty looking girl? Iâm going to kill her as I play with her.â
The friar opened his eyes in fright as he breathed his last breath.
Which woman did he thought of, I wonder.
I pulled the chipped blade sword out of the lifeless friar with all my strength. And with a swing, the clots of blood clinging to the sword were all brushed off.
Those clots of blood came splattering towards the female swordsmanâs face who was covering the nun.
Shaking, the female swordsman pointed her sword at me.
When I saw that, I unconcsiously twisted my face into a sadistic smile.