"Here, catch!" I threw a piece of roasted meat, and Hagu snapped it up in one swift motion.
"Good boy," I said, stroking the feathers on his head.
Hagu was a giant eagle standing just over one meter tall with a wingspan of three meters. The feathers on his head stood up like two horns when viewed from afar. The down on his belly and underside was white with black spots, while his back was dark gray, almost black.
Although I wasn't an expert on birds, Hagu resembled a species of eagle that existed on Earth, the harpy eagle. Unlike what I expected, Hagu was not classified as a monster but rather a level 4 animal, royal eagle.
Although finding him was difficult, capturing him was relatively easy. Even though he usually stayed in the treetops, the temptation of a plump rabbit like Usagi wandering alone was too much for him to resist.
What Hagu didn't expect was that when he pounced, he would be knocked out by what he thought was his snack. After that, it was the usual routine: calming him down while stuffing him with food, and voila, I gained a scout for our team.
Rin was against taming him because he was male, but since I didn't understand her intention, I simply ignored her.
While I was petting Hagu, Rin started rubbing her head against my arm.
I gave in to her whims and gently stroked her hair.
***
As we headed towards the goblin colony, Hagu flew close to the treetops, keeping watch on the perimeter. Although I couldn't share his vision, I could still gather information.
Due to his low intelligence, the details weren't much, but it was certainly useful enough. Thanks to his keen vision, we were able to eliminate some groups of goblins that were hunting in the area.
Against the small groups of goblins, Kuku was overpowering. With her thick fur, she could obliterate them without receiving any significant damage. At first, they were just ordinary goblins, but as we proceeded, we encountered more evolved goblins like barbarians, warriors, and hunters. Although the group sizes varied, they never exceeded eight, so we dealt with them easily.
Thanks to Hagu patrolling the sky, we eliminated the risk of falling into another trap set by the goblins. As the group's tanker, Kuku always charged ahead, taking the brunt of the damage. Against the evolved goblins, the damage she received was significant, but nothing that put her life at risk. Besides, now I could use a healing spell, which made things easier.
Seizing the opportunity, I tested the effectiveness of the magic arrow in real combat. If it hit the head accurately, it meant instant death. For a moment, I was pleased with the power of the spell, but when compared to Usagi and Kurama's magic attacks, my arrow was a shame.
The ice horn fired by Usagi's horn had much greater piercing power and speed than the magic arrow. As for Kurama's fireball, although it didn't explode, it caused severe burns that left the target on the brink of death.
Strangely, he didn't shoot the fireball from his mouth but used his tail to launch it.
After their evolution, both of their physical abilities greatly increased, and they definitely became strong, but in comparison, Rin was overwhelming.
She moved freely on the battlefield, knocking down her opponents with just one strike. Even when she was attacked by the claws of a hunter goblin, thanks to her newly acquired skill, Iron Skin, she only suffered superficial scratches.
When she used this skill, her appearance remained the same, but her skin became quite rigid and resistant. The disadvantage was that it made her slightly slower in movement, which made her more susceptible to attacks.
But that wasn't a problem for her. After she used self-healing, the superficial scratch disappeared before our eyes.
During battles, she actively used all of her abilities. The only one she wasn't using, or rather, couldn't use, was Burning Heart.
From the description of the skill, it seems that it only comes into play when Rin is fighting to protect me. So it's not something she can activate at will anytime.
She's becoming quite OP. If it weren't for her being my tamed monster, I would complain that my own skills were lacking in comparison to hers.
But anyway, although she's overwhelming, later on, I should make this muscle-brain learn to be cautious. Even though she has convenient skills, she shouldn't get carried away and recklessly dive into a group of opponents.
"For now, this is quite easy," I said as I took a sip of water.
While collecting the corpses of the goblins we had just defeated, I received an alert from Hagu. More goblins were approaching, drawn by the screams of the previous group. Not long after, I heard the rustling of leaves as they ran through the vegetation.
"Prepare for battle," I shouted to the group.
A few seconds later, four hunter goblins came into view.
"Rin, I want you to capture one of them," I ordered.
After assessing the goblins for a moment, she then advanced. When she uses her speed reinforcement, she is even faster than the hunter goblins. Before they could react, she grabbed one of them by the neck and threw it to the ground.
I was right behind her and took advantage of their distraction to split one in half, while Kurama and Usagi took care of the other two.
While the captured goblin struggled and screamed, Rin buried its head in the ground, but that didn't make it stop screaming. Not being someone with much patience, Rin beat the goblin until it became quiet.
By quiet, I mean almost dead, but since it was still alive, that was enough. It also served as a test subject to test the capabilities of the Veil of Healing. Although it's not a powerful spell that can instantly heal someone, it can still save a life if I have time to use it.
After that, I followed the standard procedure for capturing monsters. This turned out to be even more effective with a hungry goblin. Since hunter goblins are agile and deal fatal attacks, this goblin was a great addition to the team I plan to leave hunting in the forest.
Upon checking its information, I noticed that it was a level 13 female.
She being chosen between four was probably intentional on Rin's part.
That being said, I was curious. First Kuku, and now a goblin. What are her intentions?
While trying to figure out Rin's motives, she seemed to be engaged in a heated conversation with the goblin we had just captured.
She pointed at me and said that I was the boss. Although I thought it was unnecessary, I didn't stop her. I was more curious to know why she was having this conversation, especially since she hadn't done it with the others. Could it be because they were of the same species?
Anyway, it didn't matter. As I did with all my tamed monsters, I quickly named the goblin Han. That would be her new name.
***
After a few minutes of rest, we returned to the old plan where Usagi would lure the goblins to our location. Despite the dangers we faced last time, things were different now. We could always escape if we wanted to.
Unfortunately, the plan to attract the goblins with Usagi didn't work as well as I had hoped. Unlike the previous times when groups of ten to twenty would come, this time a large group arrived, similar to when we were ambushed. Among the common goblins, there were many evolved goblins.
However, with Hagu flying overhead to check the surroundings, I wasn't worried. I became even more at ease when I discovered that despite the huge group, there were no signs of an ambush.
Unlike the usual, where the goblins ran disorderly, with the faster ones leaving the slower ones behind, this time it was different. They were all running together in an organized manner, not leaving anyone behind.
Since they were working as a unit, it meant one thing: there was a goblin lord among them giving orders.
Unfortunately, neither Hagu nor Usagi can count. All they knew was that there were many goblins. Regardless of the number of opponents, we were prepared for combat. As I mentioned before, with our current speed, we could easily escape if needed.
However, I didn't want to risk the lives of Han and Kuku. Throwing them randomly into a crowd of enemies would be the same as sentencing them to death. Since I didn't want them to die for nothing, I sent them to a safe place to ensure their safety.
While we waited hidden, I spotted Usagi luring the goblins at a slow enough speed so they wouldn't lose sight of her.
Although it was just an estimate, I would say there were about two hundred of them, but that wasn't a problem for us.
The moment Usagi passed by our location, we emerged from behind the trees and attacked the large group from the flanks.
With my One-Cut Sword, I managed to take down five goblins at once in the surprise attack, and before they could react, I struck again, eliminating three more enemies.
Not far from me, Rin and Kurama also succeeded in taking down some goblins.
"Fall back!" I ordered.
Without hesitation, I ran towards Kurama and climbed onto his back. The next part of the plan was for Rin to also get on Kurama's back. Then we would combine Kurama's agility with our attacks to decrease the number of goblins. With both Rin and me riding him, we would be like two knights in one.
While Kurama circled the goblins, we would easily eliminate any of them that approached. Since Kurama didn't need to be guided, we could focus all our attention on the goblins without worry.
Or at least, that's how it was supposed to be.
"What are you doing standing there, you idiot?! Fall back!" I shouted at Rin, who seemed to completely ignore the plan.
However, as I waited for her to come to her senses and retreat, she assumed a fighting stance, ready to confront the crowd of goblins.
"Damn musclehead!" I grumbled.
With no other options, I jumped off Kurama's back and ran to help Rin.