Chapter 42 - The Goblin's Trap
For as long as he could remember, that man had a vague understanding of how animals felt.
He was the second son of a farming family in a small village, surrounded by various livestock and guard dogs.
He understood the animals' feelings of like and dislike and did things that made them happy. Naturally, the animals became attached to him, and by the time he was ten, he could handle them better than his father.
His father and those around him rejoiced at the growth of the talented younger generation and began entrusting him with the livestock whenever they went out to pasture.
The man knew he could manipulate animals to some extent. And he told no one. He thought it was better not to speak of it. Those who possessed powers others did not would be worked to the bone as servants for the nobles who owned the village.
If their family's safety was taken hostage, no one could resist. While it certainly guaranteed a better life than that of the average peasant, one's life would be dictated by their innate nature. He didn't think nobles would value him just because he was good at manipulating livestock. He intended to live quietly so that no one would find out.
When he was fifteen, he heard stories of a certain country.
In that country, there was no such thing as social status; there were no nobles or serfs. It was a meritocracy where those who passed selection exams were made administrators in order of their grades, and the government was run by a council that included the King.
Tenant farmers who did not own their own land leased land from the state as contract farmers to engage in agriculture. They were free to cultivate whatever they wished on the leased land, as long as they paid the poll tax and performed their labor duties. If they had enough money to buy it and the ability to pay the annual property tax, they could even make the land their own.
Of course, there were those who worked for farmers with vast lands, but wages were determined based on contracts with the employer. Farmlands that forced people to work for unfairly low wages were confiscated by the state.
The man wanted to go to that country.
If he went there, he could freely manipulate sheep and cattle released onto vast pastures all by himself. Surely he would be hired for high wages. Perhaps he wouldn't have to spend the winter on the verge of starvation.
However, that country apparently did not accept subjects from other nations. It was said that if caught, one would be deported back to their original country. They said it was to protect their own food supply. It was said that those who crossed the border as vagrants had no choice but to become mountain bandits. Besides, it was obvious what would happen to his family if he fled alone.
The man gave up.
When the man was twenty-one, war broke out.
It became a great war involving the entire island, and the man was drafted. His job in the army was as a groom for military horses, a rear-line duty.
The war lasted a long time, and he was summoned many times. While the village's strongest men died on the front lines, he survived.
Once, when they had penetrated deep into enemy territory, they suffered a crushing defeat, and his allies scattered and fled.
At that moment, he finally decided to desert.
He knew that in such times, he wouldn't be searched for. He would be treated as killed in action.
However, if a deserter returned to his hometown, he would be captured and severely punished along with his family. It was almost certain the entire family would face the death penalty. Having no other choice, he entered the mountains.
The man's abilities were exerted to their fullest in the mountains and forests. He manipulated beasts, commanded birds, and created a small kingdom within the forest.
One day, the beasts he lived with let out warning growls, and the birds became agitated.
It seemed something unusual had occurred.
When he went to look, there was a wolf. It must have been targeted by a hunter; the arrowhead stuck in its right front leg wouldn't come out. If left as it was, the flesh would rot and it would die.
Upon seeing the man, the wolf made its hostility clear, but he approached without fear. And then he spoke to it.
It was his first time conveying his intent to a wounded beast, but it seemed to work.
The wolf became docile and left the treatment of its wound to the man.
Since then, the wolf began to act alongside him.
Hunters might be nearby. He decided to move his dwelling.
Taking only the wolf, he crossed from mountain to mountain, aiming for the northeast. In the northeast lay the country he had heard rumors about, where there was no discrimination based on status. He thought he could live with the animals there again.
The country he was aiming for shared a border, but he had to pass through the plains. To avoid being seen, he tried to enter another country first and then head for his target country from there.
It was the enemy country from when he had served in the army, but he avoided the highways and moved along the mountains, passing through without difficulty.
At night, he camped with the wolf. He thought that if an enemy went unnoticed by the wolf, he couldn't help being killed.
Continuing north along the mountains, he found an old temple along the way.
Thinking it better not to get involved, he moved away and camped in a distant spot.
And then he was captured.
When he came to, he had been placed inside a room. It was a crude stone room, but it was clean. The door was locked. The window was small, certainly not large enough for a human to crawl through. A forest spread out outside the window, and it didn't seem far from where he had been caught.
What he remembered was that while sleeping in the forest, he suddenly woke up to find two red eyes peering at him. While looking into the eyes, he lost consciousness as if being drawn in.
During the time until he woke up, he wondered if he had simply been sleeping.
He had merely dreamed. He was talking to a man in a black robe in a small room. He answered as he was asked about his past and his family.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
When he answered, the man in the black robe he had seen in his dream entered the room.
The robed man said he had a request. He wanted him to raise spiders.
When asked for what purpose, he was told it was better not to know.
If he refused, he would be handed over to his home country as a deserter. However, if he cooperated and succeeded, they would keep quiet and give him a position.
It would be a position to live quietly in this temple, raising livestock and monsters.
When he asked about the wolf's whereabouts, the reply was that it hadn't been killed.
He had no choice but to agree. He couldn't put his family in danger because of his own selfishness in deserting.
However, the man did not know. His home village had been subjected to looting and violation during a temporary occupation by enemy soldiers, and the villagers had been massacred.
The next day, a woman dressed in white came to the room.
Apparently, she was to examine his abilities.
And so he learned magic.
They said it was magic to manipulate monsters at will.
He was ordered to practice. And then he was handed a spider larva to raise.
When he went outside, he realized he was in a stone house in the middle of a forest.
He didn't know where it was.
About half a year passed.
The spider had grown to the size of a puppy, and a new order was given.
He was told to go to a certain mountain and raise the spider into a more powerful monster.
The reason wasn't given, nor did he know where it was; he simply agreed.
By the next morning, the location had changed before he knew it.
He moved in with the spider and raised it while being monitored by the man in the black robe who appeared out of nowhere once a month.
When the spider reached the size of a cow, the man in the black robe told him that a pack of monsters had set up a nest three mountains to the south. And he was ordered to lead that pack.
He was told to avoid being seen by people, and if anyone found out he was raising spiders, he was to kill them without mercy.
And he was informed that this was within enemy territory and was a special operation that only he could perform.
He was shown a document as proof—the man couldn't read, but the emblem stamped on it was a familiar one—and told that regardless of the outcome, if he remained loyal, his family would be rewarded.
The grand cause and his sense of filial piety toward his parents gave legitimacy to his actions, and within his heart, a desire to carry out the orders and hostility toward those who would interfere with the operation welled up.
He resolved to lead the monster pack, become the master of that land, and repel the enemy soldiers.
At this stage, he had no intention of begrudging his own life.
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McBurn was advancing at the head of the unit through the dim cave illuminated by torches.
He had a leather shield on his left arm and held a short sword, which he excelled at, in his right hand.
The goblin nest continued away from the entrance for a while after they had parted with the members of the Marcelo Company. Then it drew a large semi-circle to the right. In other words, it extended back toward the entrance.
According to the detection by Priest Williams, there were eight goblins ahead, and moreover, above them.
He kept a vigilant eye on the cave ceiling as well.
As they advanced slowly, they reached a dead end.
When he illuminated the back of the cave, there were stairs leading up. It seemed to have at least a two-story structure.
The stairs were a right-handed spiral, and stones were embedded in the stairs to prevent them from collapsing.
When he asked Priest Williams, the goblins were apparently diagonally above.
The ceiling seemed no different than before.
He had a subordinate with a short spear poke the ceiling, but there was no particular change.
When McBurn pointed to the stairs, Angus tilted his head.
"This is rare. It's quite an elaborate construction for a goblin nest."
"Have you ever seen monsters build something like this?"
"No, I haven't. Though, I've never entered the dwellings of the high-ranking lot in the center of the Demon Lord's army, so I can't say for sure."
McBurn then called Priest Williams.
"Are you certain the eight above are goblins?"
"There is no mistake. They are directly above us."
McBurn thought for a moment, then turned to the others with resolve.
"Two of us, including myself, will go up. The rest of you stay here. Never get close to directly beneath the goblins. While I'm up there, I'll leave the command here to Angus. That includes the decision to retreat. If we retreat, the town guard will serve as the rearguard. No matter what happens, please protect Priest Williams."
Upon hearing those words, one of the guards stepped forward.
"Squad leader, I'll go. You stay here."
"No. The stairs are a right-handed spiral. If you hold a weapon in your right hand, you won't be able to use it properly. I can use weapons with my left hand too, so I'll take the lead. You follow behind me."
Saying so, McBurn switched his shield to his right hand and held a torch as a substitute weapon in his left.
The spiral stairs were as high as a two-story human building.
They reached the end of the stairs without being attacked by goblins.
Angus's voice could be heard.
He reported that the goblins had moved further back.
When he held up the torch, the upper floor was a somewhat wide room, with a single narrow passage continuing that only something like a goblin could enter.
To his surprise, the room had a small window, and light was leaking in from outside.
When McBurn looked out, he could see the hole Paul had dug in front of the entrance diagonally below to the right through the shade of the leaves.
Apparently, they were being scouted.
However, according to the priest's detection, the eight who had been here since they entered hadn't moved.
What was the window for? Moreover, the goblins had apparently moved further back. Even if there were a separate unit outside, the range they could communicate from here was limited, so there was no way they wouldn't be spotted by scouts. Was this place built by a human or something...
Suddenly, a loud sound like something collapsing echoed from the narrow passage where the goblins were thought to have fled.
"This is bad! The passage was collapsed! We can't get out!"
Hearing Angus's panicked voice, McBurn instinctively ran down the stairs.
Below, they had gathered near the stairs and were holding up several torches.
He saw that earth and sand had crumbled down, completely blocking the passage.
"What happened? Are there any casualties?"
"No, no casualties. But we've lost our escape route."
McBurn confirmed the goblins' movements with Priest Williams.
"After you went up, McBurn-san, the goblins moved further back, but I thought they had stopped around there, so we all evacuated here. Then, the ceiling suddenly collapsed. After that, the goblins moved even further back. It seems they are no longer in this area, so they probably joined the main force in the back."
Priest Williams explained while tracing the goblins' movements by pointing at the ceiling.
It seemed they had fallen into a trap. Was it fortunate that there were no casualties? I hope Paul and the others are alright, and that they realized what happened from that sound...
McBurn felt various inconsistencies with everything so far, but he switched his mindset.
Escaping and joining up with his allies took priority.