The scales around the draconic wolf's throat began emitting bursts of steam. Moments later, a torrent of intense heat surged out, distorting the air as it blasted into the goblin camp. The scorching wave instantly desiccated the surrounding corrupted plants, leaving them withered and lifeless.
The goblins fared far worse. Those caught in the flames were twisted into grotesque shapes as they burned alive. The survivors scattered in terror, their panicked screams echoing through the forest.
Field couldn't help but recall his childhood memory of pouring boiling water onto an anthill.
The wolf's fire beam swept through the camp, a devastating scythe of destruction. Goblins ignited like dry leaves, their bodies reduced to ash amidst their anguished wails. Those struck directly by the flames disintegrated into blackened smears, while others desperately hurled spears and rocks in a futile attempt to fight back.
"Awwoooo!"
The goblin leader, rallying seven or eight loyal warriors, let out a furious cry as they charged at Field, spears raised.
"Whoosh~"
The lead goblin didn't even have time to scream. Without warning, it collapsed to the ground, its mangled intestines and shredded organs spilling from a massive wound in its abdomen. The arrow that killed it had driven itself deep into the boulder behind, the arrow's fletching still quivering faintly.
Before they could even think of retreating, streaks of silver light pierced the air, cutting them down instantly.
Within moments, the camp was silent. The ground beneath the goblins had been baked to a cracked, arid state, littered with ashen remains. All that was left of the goblins were piles of pale grey bone dust, scattered across the scorched earth.
"These goblins have armour—definitely not something they crafted themselves," Field remarked, maintaining his focus as he continued to examine the remains. Unfortunately, the minimap didn't highlight resources, leaving him to rely on observation. Picking up a rusted, misshapen scrap of iron, he inspected it closely.
"This seems to be a royal piece… or it was," he muttered. The elaborate, decorative patterns on the fragment were faintly visible, marking it as part of a shoulder guard once produced for the royal army. The goblins had repurposed it as a crude helmet.
Field flicked the metal piece with his finger, sending flakes of rust cascading to the ground.
"Well, what was I expecting? These armours are rusted to the point of uselessness. They're worth less than scrap," he said disdainfully, tossing the junk aside before continuing his search through the goblin camp.
In this era, the concept of "antiques" held no value.
"Lord Field, I suspect there's another nest nearby. The absence of goblin younglings in this camp is… unusual," Ashina observed.
"Search thoroughly. Finding treasures is secondary—what matters most is eradicating these goblins entirely," Field replied, his tone serious. He couldn't afford to leave behind a group of vengeful creatures to menace his territory later.
"If you don't pull weeds by the roots, they'll grow back stronger," he added grimly.
Ashina tilted her head curiously. Field seemed unusually cautious about goblins, despite their apparent weakness. Still, a lord's orders were absolute. She began scouring the surrounding area carefully.
As predicted, their search led them to a nearby underground burrow. Inside, they found the goblins' younglings, hidden away not far from the main camp.
Pulling aside the thorny vines blocking the entrance, Field crouched and slipped into the burrow.
The opening was small, but once inside, the space expanded into a surprisingly large cavern. It was cluttered with junk, especially piles of rusted armour and weapons, all in various states of decay. The stench of rust mixed with the acrid smell of urine and feces made the air almost unbearable. Field, however, barely flinched—he was already used to the reek of corruption.
"Waaaah~!"
A writhing mass of goblins, no bigger than weasels, huddled together on the floor. There were easily over a hundred of the yellow-skinned creatures. If they hadn't been discovered, they could have restored the tribe's strength in just a month.
Nearby, two deformed does were confined, undoubtedly the goblins' breeding stock.
Goblins didn't have females of their own species and resorted to using other creatures to reproduce. Their rapid reproductive rate made them a constant threat.
"Are these immune to the death mist?" Field's eyes gleamed with curiosity as he approached the does. His excitement faded quickly, however, as he noticed the grotesque mouths and eyes growing along their backs.
"Ah, they're corrupted creatures… just the non-aggressive kind," he muttered in disappointment.
Ashina covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "These goblins are quite peculiar. It's rare to find anything immune to the death mist."
She had a point—if immunity were common, the Empire would have reclaimed the vast Northern Province long ago.
"Something's not right. These goblins have figured out how to breed using corrupted creatures?" Field's expression darkened as the realization struck him. He drew in a sharp breath. Corrupted creatures were everywhere. If the goblins could capture large numbers of females, it could pose a significant threat to Nightfall Territory.
"This is a serious issue. We'll need to keep a closer eye on goblins in the future," he said grimly.
Ashina drew her longsword from its sheath at her waist. The draconic wolf was too large to enter the burrow, so they would have to handle this themselves.
"Let's finish this quickly," Field said, picking up a rusted spiked mace from the ground. Like a game of whack-a-mole, he smashed the tiny goblins one by one, flattening them into "two-dimensional" remains. Afterward, he dispatched the two corrupted does with heavy swings, sending them to the afterlife as well.
Once the goblin burrow was cleared, Field began examining its contents. The cavern was filled with heaps of broken, rusted armour—hauling it back would be time-consuming and utterly pointless, so he left it behind. However, one object stood out: a locked ironwood chest that practically begged to be opened.
"Did you spot a key anywhere?" Field asked, glancing around.
Ashina gave him a playful wink. "Of course, my dear lord."
With a casual motion, she reached out, grasped the lock, and tore it off along with the moss-covered metal latch in a single pull.
Well, that was impressive.
Field took a deep breath and cautiously opened the chest, half-expecting a trap or a mimic to spring out. Fortunately, his paranoid fantasies didn't come to pass.
The first things he saw were two faded flags. One was the tattered griffon banner, long associated with the Empire. The other was unfamiliar, bearing a design of an eye inside a hexagram—a symbol that might belong to a noble family. It reminded Field of the banners from the Ros family, whose crest was an abstract rose that looked so ridiculous he refused to use it, thinking it resembled something from a flamboyant carnival.
Beneath the flags was a row of sealed, slender wooden tubes, standing upright.
Using a small knife, Field carefully pried one open, revealing a tightly rolled piece of parchment inside.
"I can feel magic flowing through this. I don't think it's a treasure map," Field murmured, his eyes narrowing as he examined the parchment.
Ashina's wolf ears perked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Do you think we've stumbled upon some long-buried royal secret? Or maybe a treasure hoarded by some noble family?"
Field was equally intrigued. The griffon banner and royal armour fragments strongly suggested this was equipment left behind by the Empire's army. Whatever was written on the parchment had to be something significant.
Carefully tipping out the rolled parchment, Field noticed the flame-shaped design etched into its surface—it looked oddly familiar.
Ashina's initial excitement faded as soon as she glanced at the symbols on the scroll. Her eyes narrowed in frustration.
As expected, the scroll was covered in incomprehensible magical symbols.
"It's a magic scroll!"
"No wonder it looked so familiar," Field said with a chuckle. "My sister studied at the Mage Academy, and she loved flaunting magic scrolls just like this one whenever she came home."
Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Field aimed the scroll at the corpse of the corrupted deer and unrolled it.