While Archer was meeting with the Kobold inhabitants of the Ancient forest by the riverbank, someone was keeping an eye on the pair of parent and child antelopes grazing on the sparse forest…  

Hiding in a grove of trees about 10 meters ahead of the antelope and its young was a large Goblin who had two horns protruding from his head and was carrying a greatsword. It was Brave who evolved after defeating the pack leader during the raid on the black and white Kobolds the other day.

His appearance was more civilized than when he was rampaging through Easteria forest, and he wore black leather armor over the clothes he had taken from the Adventurers.

While keeping an eye on the antelope and its young who had yet to notice them, Brave sent a quick hand sign to his partner who was a tall, thin man with pale blue skin.

Sword, I’m going after the parent.

Sure, you want to test your power, don’t you?

Sword, the Goblin who responded to the message, was similarly dressed in irregular leather armor on top of the clothes he had taken, and his favorite twin swords hung from his waist. He also had a head of hair, perhaps due to evolution, and two horns growing out of the gaps. 

With their human-like appearance, both of them looked more like demons living in the mountains of an island nation in the Far East than Goblins.

You guys, push them back from the sides.

After confirming that the two Goblin Warriors who received Sword’s message have hidden their presence, muted themselves, and blended into the trees on either side while avoiding the antelope and its young, Brave came rushing out with a power-infused battle cry from his core.  

“KOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”

A small dot of light appeared in his mouth, and a strip of light gushed out from it!

“Giuuh!? U…uh”

Thud

The Breath of Light emitted from Brave’s mouth pierced the parent antelope’s body. The antelope was able to keep standing for a while, but it eventually lost strength and dropped to the ground.

“Giau, giu!”

Unable to grasp the situation, the young antelope approached its parent’s corpse and cried out, but the move ended up being an unwise choice.

“Giuruh, raruto.” (Pierce, Thunderbolt Sword!)

“Gii!?”

A horizontal thunderbolt shot out from Sword’s outstretched palm and hit the young antelope hard, stunning it.

Immediately after, four Goblins lurking on the left and right sides approached the antelope pair, and slit the parent antelope’s artery to drain its blood before rigor mortis set in. Meanwhile, since the young antelope was merely stunned by the Thunder Sword attack Sword had used while making minor adjustments, it was not killed on the spot but bound and casually carried off.

While watching the situation, Brave meditated on his recently acquired abilities. The first time he fired the Breath, he felt a sensation similar to nausea and he felt uncomfortable as if the contents of his stomach were threatening to come out.

“… Giuruegiru garusu agiusu, iruregisu.” (… I appreciate the ability to be able to fire a long-range attack, but it’s a strange feeling.)

Name: Brave ()

Race: Goblin

Rank: High Brave

Skill: Battle Cry (Goblin Strengthening), Elementary Magic (Holy/ Healing only), Shining Sword, Hero’s Resurrection, Breath (Light)

Title: The Shining Hero

Weapon: Claymore

Armament: Leather Armor

“Gii, gifire garuva.” (Well, you’ll just have to get used to it.)

A Goblin Fighter approached Sword, who was still unaccustomed to the sensation of using magic and opened and closed his hands and called out to him to catch his attention.

“Iratigusu, magire edoru.” (We will be done processing the meat in a while.)

“Kauru gieruah! Haruto girusu girumedes.” (Today’s catch is a feast! It’s just tiring having to lug these back though.)

While an adult antelope might not be that big, it still weighed around 50kg. However, considering the ratio of blood to body weight, it would be a little lighter after draining the blood. If it is still too heavy, it would weigh about 30 kg after the guts are removed, which is a bit of a waste since some parts can be eaten.

We brought two pairs of backpacks and jute bags to carry the prey and four of the larger and stronger Goblin Fighters accompanied us to carry the food. If we took turns carrying the baby antelope, the 3km distance to Vali’s village won’t be a problem.

“Gia, girusuvarigio gigu demugiire ergadoa!” (Now, let’s go home and have a drink with Lord Vali while snacking on meat!)

“Eru gurezea, giido… giau dorau giigiru.” (Sword, don’t drink. You’re annoying when you’re drunk.)

As he rebuked Sword who was a bad drunk, Brave concentrated on their surroundings and looked for monsters and their natural enemies such as Kobolds who are attracted to the smell of blood. After checking that the coast was clear, he urged his companions to return to the village.

……………

………

…

I hid on top of a tree and used my magic-enhanced eyes to look at the Goblin village nearby. 

When Silva and the others asked for my help as an Elder Kobold, I withheld my answer and came to scout the Goblin village they told me about, but…

(What the heck!? Their village is more prosperous than my pack’s!)

Apparently, the Ancient forest has more history than the Easteria forest, so the Goblins are living more sophisticated lives.

Well, I’m sure the clothes the Goblins are wearing were taken from the other races they captured… Besides, I don’t think they can make sewable linen cloth since it would at least require a primitive loom and some skill.

When I took a quick look around, I saw a large house in the middle of the settlement that was covered on all sides by a wooden fence of about 130 m per side, and about 40 large and small houses were built around it. The house in the center is probably the chieftain’s house which has a prison for captive females such as Humans and Elves.

Meanwhile, at the northwestern side of the village, there was a ranch where boar-type monsters and the bipedal Land Lizard monster mounts are kept. I wonder if they’ve ever considered having those as emergency food during times of famine?

(Judging by the size of the building and the lot area, there should be about a dozen Cavalry Goblins.)

And when I turned my gaze to the Eastern part of the village, I saw a small cultivated area that draws water from the river, and the remains of a primitive draft furnace after it was dismantled, so it seems they can process steel too…  Also, from the training facilities like the arena, the presence of archers must be considered.

(They have all the facilities that I’ve wanted to build for my pack village…)

I was already annoyed by this, and my feelings were somewhat inclined to cooperate with Silva and her team, but there were other reasons as well.

In the first place, the Goblins have always been our natural enemies because they competed with Kobolds for territory, and I couldn’t overlook the fact that this hostile race is becoming more civilized. If we’re not careful, there’s also a possibility that they’ll move north and invade Easteria forest too. 

(Alright, let’s burn this place down and get rid of those Goblins!)

After taking some time to determine the state of the village and its battle strength, I left my hiding place and returned to the other Kobolds who were hiding in a place about 10 km away.