Chapter 34: Goblin Slayer
Goblins, unlike orcs, do not reproduce by using females of other races as breeding grounds.
How they are born and reproduce has not been well understood until today. Some scholars claim that all goblins are born from a single queen, but no one has truly reached the truth.
Goblin leaders appear in every 10 goblins.
Goblins with magic weapon skills appear in every 30 goblins.
Higher-ranking hobgoblins appear in every 50 goblins.
It is said that the highest-ranking goblins, the high goblins, are born with a probability of 1 in 100.
Among those high goblins, particularly exceptional individuals serve as Goblin Generals, leading thousands of goblins and forming legions. And beyond that, there is the Goblin King, who leads several legions.
The Goblin King is classified as a lower-ranked A-rank and is a type of monster that excels not only in individual combat power but also in group battles. It is said that the combat power of the group led by the King increases by at least one rank, but this is not observed among the goblins in the western forest. Therefore, it is believed that the one in the western forest is not a King but a General, according to the Knight Order's perspective.
"Well then, should we take care of this quickly?"
While gazing at the hollow that is believed to be the base, Cecilia casually remarks.
Cecilia is one of the few active adventurers who holds the title of "Goblin Slayer," given to those who have defeated more than 10,000 goblins. She is also capable of defeating Goblin Generals while humming a tune.
By the way, no matter how many tens of thousands of goblins you defeat, your guild card rank does not increase. For example, in order to rise to Rank C, you must defeat a certain number of monsters for promotion and also defeat at least Rank C or higher monsters. That's how the system works.
In other words, an A-rank adventurer is synonymous with someone who can defeat A-rank monsters, including Goblin Kings, on their own.
This situation, where there are dozens of A-rank adventurers gathered, is nothing but a nightmare for the goblins.
For them, the goblin stronghold in front of them is nothing more than a passing point.
"No, Cecilia. We won't be able to gather information if Kakeru doesn't defeat the boss."
"Ah... you're right. Kakeru, then I'll leave the boss to you. We'll take care of the small fry."
"Yes! I've got it. Death Scythe!"
I pulled out the Death Scythe from the magic circle in mid-air and charged straight into the goblin stronghold.
"Chloe, Sylphy, Sara, Eva, I'm counting on you for the rest."
"Understood."
"I understand."
"Got it."
"Leave it to us."
"Klaus brothers, I entrust the area to you. Listen carefully, don't let a single one escape."
"Understood, my lord."
Without paying any attention to the small fry popping up, we infiltrated the cave where the boss was located, taking the shortest route.
(Another cave again...)
No matter what, I couldn't help but recall the deadly battle with the goblins from the other day.
Later, I found out that the boss goblin at that time was a High Goblin of C rank. It was revealed after appraising the magic stone.
The Goblin General is a B-ranked monster, but I don't feel like losing to it in my current state. I'll consume it completely.
- Bogo bogo bogo...
Suddenly, the ground swelled up, blocking our path.
"I have memorized Earth Magic."
Alright, with this, I've obtained all four major elemental magics. Ah... but now that I think about it, it might be faster to have Katarina-san show me some magic. I'll ask her next time.
With Death Scythe, I sliced apart the Goblin Mage hiding behind the earthen wall.
New goblins emerged from the depths, but I used intimidation to render them immobile and then slashed them all at once.
The enemies seemed completely unprepared for our surprise attack, and the Goblin General hastily ordered a charge.
"Damn it, why have these humans come here? There's only one opponent, hurry up and kill him!"
Alright, let's appraise...
[Rank] B
[Race] Goblin General
[Age] 5
[Status] Anger
[Level] 13
[HP] 1985
[MP] 482
[Attack] 1948
[Defense] 1985
[Agility] 1496
[Intelligence] 193
[Skills] Physical Enhancement, Magic Resistance, Physical Resistance, Intermediate Earth Magic
Oh, it has some pretty useful skills. I'll obtain them casually and use them... for now,
I activated Intimidation and mercilessly sliced apart two High Goblins whose movements had stopped.
"Level up!"
"Now it's just you!"
I cast a Fireball at the sluggish Goblin General.
"You fool! Do you think such an attack will work?"
The Fireball hit the Goblin General, but it didn't have much effect.
It's fine, I just wanted to let it use its skills.
"I have memorized Magic Resistance."
The Goblin General unleashed its magic.
"Rock Spear!"
Five spears made of rock came flying.
"I have memorized Intermediate Earth Magic."
"Wall!"
While blocking the spears with an earthen wall, I approached the Goblin General and struck it with the handle of the Death Scythe.
"I have memorized Physical Resistance."
Due to physical resistance, physical damage doesn't seem to affect Goblin General much. The attacks are significantly weakened. But judging from that, if it didn't have resistance, it would have died by now... It's difficult to gauge.
Now that I've received what I needed, let's finish this quickly.
In the end, I decapitated Goblin General with a single swing of Death's Scythe.
"My level has increased."
Alright, let's make a sketch contract now. I start drawing Goblin General in my sketchbook.
"Summon Sketch, Felzen!!"
The status looks something like this:
[Rank] B
[Name] Felzen
[Species] Goblin General
[Age] 5
[Status] Contract [Kakeru]
[Level] 62
[Health] 3895
[Mana] 1482
[Attack Power] 3489
[Endurance] 3985
[Agility] 3467
[Intelligence] 293
[Skills] Physical Enhancement, Magic Resistance, Physical Resistance, Earth Magic (Intermediate)
"Now, Felzen, tell me everything."
"I will answer anything, my master."
***
We leave the cave and temporarily regroup with everyone.
"My Lord, are you injured?"
"I'm fine. Thank you, Chloe."
"From the looks of it, it seems to have gone well, Kakeru-dono."
Andrea-san smiled as she looked at Felzen.
"Yes, we've confirmed the underground route without any problems."
"Kakeru, so where is the underground route located?"
"It's at the back of this cave."
In the subsequent discussion, as originally planned, our adventurer group will search the enemy's stronghold through the underground route, while the knights will be in charge of managing this cave.
Except for Felzen, all the summoned beasts were returned for now, and we set off towards the cave. We don't know where the underground route leads, but it's likely within the eastern territory.
The danger will increase from here on, but we have reliable companions like never before, so there's nothing to fear.
We bid farewell to Andrea-san and the knights and step into the cave, heading for the underground route.