Two weeks had passed, and Asher was now the size of a seven-year-old human child. The initial regret of being born as a goblin had completely vanished. In fact, he felt somewhat glad, as the goblin body grew so rapidly. He had been diligently sneaking out with Cybele, and through his hard work, he had reached level 6. He could have leveled up more, but he allowed Cybele to level up from time to time since the strength of the soldiers she produced depended on her own strength.
With his growth, Asher knew it wouldn't be long before his mother allowed him and his siblings to go hunting.
At the moment, Asher was sitting on his mother's lap, latched onto one of Sana's breasts while his hand massaged the other. Sana had grown accustomed to her son's antics, so she wasn't particularly bothered by it. However, this time, they had some curious spectators.
Kiko, Risu, and Emi were watching Asher with curious and somewhat amused glances. They, too, had become familiar with this scene.
"Look, brother is so big, yet he still drinks mother's milk!" Kiko giggled from the side.
"He sure loves breasts!" Risu chimed in. "Every chance he gets, he's suckling on them."
"Umm… will he love my breasts too when I grow up?" Emi's low whisper escaped unnoticed by her two sisters, who were too busy watching their brother play with Sana's breasts.
As for Raon, he was simply sleeping in a corner of the cave.
Sana, her face flushed, ruffled Asher's hair. "Ash, you're big now. You should eat meat like your other siblings, or else you won't grow up to be a strong goblin. And my breasts barely give any milk anymore."
Asher paused, and with a soft *pop*, the hardened nipple came out of his mouth. He looked at his mother with a determined gaze and spoke while holding one of her breasts,
"Mother, I love your breasts. Even if they don't give milk anymore, I will continue to suck on them."
Sana was surprised by her son's determined expression.
She didn't understand why her son was so attached to her breasts, but she didn't mind letting him have his way with her a little. It wasn't like she disliked it.
Inwardly, Asher gloated at himself for being able to spout such nonsense with such a serious face.
"But you have to start eating meat," Sana said, her resolve wavering.
"Okay, I'll start eating meat when you let me go outside to hunt," Asher replied.
Sana wasn't opposed to the idea, as she had been planning to let him join his sisters in hunting in a few days anyway.
Before she could respond, Asher grabbed her neck and pulled her into a deep kiss. Sana was surprised by her son's strength, wondering how he had become so strong. Of course, she had no idea that her son had been sneaking out and leveling up.
As the kiss deepened, the curious gazes of his siblings lingered. But before the girls could react, a loud *thud* echoed from the cave entrance.
Alarmed, Asher broke the kiss as Sana hurried toward the source of the noise. The other kids, including Asher, carefully followed behind her.
At the entrance, they saw Noa—Raon's mother—breathing heavily as she lay on the ground. Small cuts covered her body, and her face was twisted in exhaustion and pain.
Sana quickly knelt beside her, checking for injuries.
Raon, usually quiet and distant, ran to her side, panic in his voice. "Mother! What happened?"
Though he rarely showed it, he was deeply attached to his mother. She was the leader of the hunting group after his father went missing, and he admired her strength. Seeing her like this made his stomach twist with fear.
Noa looked at her son with a bitter expression and whispered a single word.
"Humans."
Everyone's attention snapped toward her. Even Sana, who had been focused on tending to Noa, froze.
"Where are the rest?" Sana asked, her voice tense.
"Dead," Noa muttered.
Silence.
The three girls stiffened, their faces pale.
Asher glanced at his mother, half expecting her to cry or break down. Instead, she just sighed.
'Huh. Not bad.' Asher gave her a mental thumbs-up for her resilience. Unlike the others, he wasn't too attached to the goblins who had died—he had barely even seen them.
But then Sana suddenly wobbled, her knees buckling as she muttered in despair, "…We're finished."
Before she could collapse, Asher reacted with surprising speed, catching her.
'Oh. She's already given up hope?'
He immediately took back the points he had mentally given her for staying calm.
Then, he asked the most important question of the day.
"Did they follow you?"
Noa met his gaze, her face full of pain. "No," she said, her voice strained. "They all gave their lives… to let me escape. But I don't think those despicable humans will have any trouble finding us soon."
She turned to Sana, her eyes pleading. "Sana, please… take the kids and run away from here!"
Sana's hands clenched into fists. "Run where, Noa?" she asked bitterly. "Even if we escape, where would we go? Do you think the Green Fang clan would welcome us? No—they want us dead just as much."
Asher's curiosity spiked at that remark, but now wasn't the time to ask questions.
Without hesitation, he walked forward and lifted Noa into a princess carry.
It was an odd sight—an underdeveloped seven-year-old goblin effortlessly carrying a full-grown woman. But no one was in the right state of mind to notice… except Noa, who looked at Asher in pure shock.
With surprising ease, Asher carried her deeper into the cave. The others quickly followed, their fear and anxiety making them move without question.
Once they settled inside, Asher glanced around. The atmosphere was heavy. Despair was written all over their faces.
And honestly? He couldn't blame them.
Their group had always been small and weak, barely surviving in the wilderness. His time hunting with the ants had taught him just how fragile their situation really was. The only reason he had managed to stay safe was thanks to the ants acting as cannon fodder and gathering vital information.
Now, with just two adult goblins and a handful of kids, their survival chances had dropped to near zero. Even if the humans didn't come looking for them, they would starve to death.
Sensing their distress, Asher made a decision.
He had originally planned to keep his secrets to himself.
But now?
Now, he needed them to cooperate with him.
There was no point keeping his plans to himself anymore. It was time to make them cooperate.
Asher clapped his hands to get their attention. "Everyone, I have someone to introduce to you."
The goblins turned to him with curious expressions, their despair momentarily forgotten.
"But you have to promise me that you won't panic," he added, raising a finger. "Remember—she is our ally."
Now, instead of just curiosity, there was suspicion. Noa and Sana exchanged glances, but in the end, they all nodded.
Asher smirked. "Come, Cybele!"
At his command, a massive shadow materialized behind him.
Glowing red eyes pierced through the darkness, towering over the goblins.
The moment they saw it, their faces went pale.
Even injured, Noa jumped up, ready to run. Sana instinctively reached for Asher, her face stricken with panic. The children trembled, clutching at Sana's legs.
A monster.
But before anyone could act, something shocking happened.
The massive, ominous creature—a Stingreaver Ant Queen—lowered its enormous head and nuzzled against Asher like a puppy.
The entire cave fell silent.
Noa and Sana froze mid-motion, their brains struggling to process what they were seeing. The little goblins' jaws dropped open.
This wasn't how a deadly, man-eating monster was supposed to behave.
Noa's breath hitched. She knew what this thing was. Even though it was still young, a Stingreaver Ant Queen was a terrifying monster that few goblins had ever seen and lived to tell the tale.
And yet…
It was acting completely tame in front of Asher.
Like a pet.
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Asher casually patted Cybele's head. "See? No need to freak out. She's on our side."
But from the way everyone was still staring at him in pure disbelief…
He had a feeling it would take some time for them to process this.