"Another army convoy is heading to the Carverstead ruins, boss," a young, scrawny goblin explained to Dirx as he dropped down to a single knee towards him. "Shall we send a spy again to watch what they're doing?"
"Nah, they're probably still recovering the dead, the poor bastards," the rotund goblin replied as he took a swig of bitter nettle wine, where he laid back seated on a large, padded armchair within his tent. "What we're really watching for are more of those mages. The second we see one of those, we need to triple the perimeter troops."
"Ay, sir," the skinny goblin nodded with his light-green, bald head. "And how is our Corn Commander doing this morning?"
I was doing quite well. It had been around 3 weeks since the massacre at Carverstead, making it least a month since I'd first left the corn field in this new world. Upon me teleporting us to the designated forest, Dirx and Krissy were reunited with their goblin clan at the camp, and eventually, several other goblin clans joined us. Together, they all built a sprawling, miniature village there in that dense forest, where I could count between 30-40 inhabitants at any point. Dirx had somewhat become the leader over the goblins. I say "somewhat" because upon meeting me for the first time, the one that had freed them all from Gogrin, the mischievous creatures went and affectionately named me "Corn Commander", essentially making me the figurehead for the combined goblin military forces.
The goblins themselves were a crafty, albeit unserious group of individuals. Almost everything was a joke to them, so you could imagine how they reacted to a sentient corncob that possessed otherworldly powers. But I took a liking to them.
I was able to keep a constant watch on the village after I'd discovered how to passively link myself to multiple creatures at once. Being in that forest meant that there were always bugs around, where I could latch onto dozens of them at once and use their eyes and ears (antenna?) to have a near-omnipresent view of the village at all times. I could hear most conversation, and see any events as they unfolded. Of course, nobody knew the extent of my power at this point—yet, I wasn't about to tell them either. I mean it had been weeks, they'd probably call me a creep if they discovered that I've been able to see and hear everything.
My corn body was stashed away in the large, luxurious tend that was set up in the middle of the village. This was where Darotha and Lyka spent much of their time, sitting around like princesses while keeping themselves busy. Darotha ended up being something of a tailor, repairing and manufacturing her own dresses there in the tent. Lyka had an eye for fashion, and used parchment and pen to sketch out new designs for her friend to try out. They were a cute team, using materials obtained from the ever-industrious goblins, who routinely roved around the nearby towns gathering supplies. Lyka herself normally kept me nearby, usually in a pocket or pouch of whatever she was wearing.
"Good morning, everyone," I announced through a telepathic link across the whole village. "Does anyone have any news on Grey Storm?"
I watched the numerous goblins begin to gather outside our tent. Emerging from a neighboring shelter, Krissy yawned sleepily as she emerged—completely naked. I saw a lot of things with my omnipresence (which I've nicknamed "field vision"). Maybe I am a creep. Her green, curvaceous body leaned against the entrance to her tent, where she demanded breakfast from a passing goblin, who blushed upon seeing her. Compared to her brother, she'd turned into something of a demanding tyrant since he assumed his leadership position.
"At least half a dozen are out there," Darotha, who was draped in a slender, black housecoat, explained as she peeked out the entrance. "Did you want to address them now, Tino?"
"Yes, let's hope they have something," I replied.
"I hope so too, Master, I know you must be itching to get out of here and move on," Lyka sighed. "I want you to find those bastards too. Take revenge on them for Daddy."
Locating the Grey Storm mercenaries was my first objective. I wasn't sure what I was going to do to them yet, but for the innocents that they slaughtered, I wanted to at least give them a good thrashing. In the last few weeks, I'd spent hours upon hours meditating, taking in a constant stream of kernels from the many sentient beings that lived around us. I felt myself getting stronger and stronger, where I was now patiently waiting for a chance to test out the extent of my power.
"Hello, everyone," I announced as Lyka, who was dressed in a tight-fitting, rose-colored housedress, held me out in front of the crowd upon emerging from the tent. "First off, I wanted to thank you all for your hard work. Give yourselves a hand."
The goblins grinned and began to smugly clap for themselves, nodding at each other and chuckling.
"Now, what do you have for me?" I continued.
"Undead skeletons plan to ransack Carverstead for remaining corpses tonight," one of the goblins explained with a smile. "They're trying to add to their numbers, they must have an enchanted coffin or a lich nearby to turn the dead into more of their undead soldiers."
"What? Skeletons?" I replied, disappointment in my telepathic voice. "I don't care about that, I wanted to locate the Grey Storm. How did you even find out about this?"
"I asked one," the goblin shrugged. "They don't really mind goblins. It's the kingdoms of mankind that the undead typically despise. I mean they were the ones that banished them to the Grimshire, so the ones that make it out here are usually pretty pissed."
"Well unless it involves those hoods, I don't really care," I admitted. "Anyone have any news on those guys?"
"W-wait, Master," Lyka interjected as she held my corn body up to her face. "I doubt that the soldiers have finished putting everyone from Carverstead to rest. I wouldn't feel right knowing that my former neighbors are being used to craft more undead soldiers. Isn't there anything you can do?"
There was. With this acquired kernel energy that I'd been sitting there gathering over the last few weeks, I was looking for an opportunity to see what I was capable of combat-wise.
"Y-you're right, Lyka!" I improvised. "I will do the right thing and put a stop to those skeletons tonight!"