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Chapter: 242

Goblins were treated as nothing more than a pesky nuisance from a human perspective.

Small in size, weak, and just swinging around sticks – they were truly weak monsters.

Hiding in the bushes to sneakily steal crops or livestock was the extent of their capability; pathetic little monsters.

The evolved version of these goblins, known as hobgoblins, possessed the strength of a single adult human, but they weren’t a significant threat to the village; thanks to a bit of intelligence, they lived hidden from humans.

Thus, it seemed people didn’t particularly care about groups of hobgoblins.

Even when the Church of Life warned them about the dangers of goblin gatherings, people shrugged it off, viewing it as merely a collection of annoying little goblins. Just that. Pitiful monsters that could be dealt with in no time if one was determined.

That’s how naive the humans were. Their complacency came back to bite them quite quickly.

“It’s turned into ruins.”

A small village reduced to ashes. The remains of what appeared to be a newly settled pioneering village were filled with corpses.

Human corpses. Goblin corpses. A horrific scene of crows devouring the dead from both sides.

After clicking my tongue softly, I ignited a flame of magical power on a goblin corpse, causing the crows to take flight, fleeing from the flames.

For the human corpses, I dug a large pit to gather them and set them ablaze. The sacred flames believed in by humans… the flames of Ifrit would purify their souls.

Among the burning bodies, there were also scattered corpses of young children.

Children who met their demise before their lives even had a chance to bloom…. I felt a faint sorrow at the deaths of such small lives.

It wasn’t that I didn’t feel any emotions, but that emotion felt less intense than before.

Why is that? Is my ability to feel emotions dulling? Has my spirit dried over such a long time?

No, the mind should be fine. If it were due to having lived long, it should have dulled long ago. The sudden change now must be due to some other cause.

If there’s an issue, it must be with my emotions.

I don’t know what that cause is, but…. it’s not an urgent issue at the moment, so I’ll overlook it.

I confirmed that the human corpses had been reduced to bones, covered them with earth to fill the pit, and erected a small tombstone to signify that there was a grave here.

Honestly, I could easily revive the dead if I wished…. I could even turn back time…. But I brushed those thoughts aside.

Reviving them would mean denying death.

Along with life…. I would be denying the death that I govern and take responsibility for.

Well, it would be different if I had a specific purpose. But bringing back people who were just sacrificed by monsters…. wouldn’t be right.

Unless there is a clear purpose…. it’s best not to resurrect lives or turn back time to make things as if they never happened.

So.

“Please take care of their souls.”

I spoke softly to the small grim reapers gathered to take the souls of the dead. After bowing their heads to me, they began guiding the souls away.

Still. Even if I can’t bring the dead back to life…. I will ensure their resentment is properly settled.

I headed towards the spot where the goblin horde that attacked the village was located.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

About 80 goblins, eight hobgoblins, and one unique goblin that was definitely not an orc.

The slightly larger hobgoblin was directing the goblins around.

That’s…. not an orc. Maybe an evolved hobgoblin of a different form.

It seems there are more evolution routes for hobgoblins other than just becoming orcs.

Upon closer inspection, this goblin possessed significant magical power, yet physically seemed weaker than an orc. Perhaps it failed its evolution?

No, that’s not certain. This unique goblin might have some hidden abilities.

It seemed familiar with directing the other goblins, as if it had done it countless times before; I’ll temporarily dub it Goblin Chieftain.

But then again, it’s still just a goblin, so grand titles like ‘king’ don’t suit it; it’s just a chieftain at best.

The goblins obeying Goblin Chieftain had apparently made a cave in the mountains their nest, carrying in food.

Once all the goblins entered the cave, the Goblin Chieftain concealed the entrance with bushes and branches, looked around, nodded, and then slightly rearranged the foliage, leaving no trace of its entrance.

That goblin chieftain…. understands the concept of hiding, huh?

It seems that while its physical ability may be weaker than an orc, its intelligence could possibly be superior. Did it evolve by sacrificing physical prowess to enhance its intellect?

This could prove to be a significant threat to humans.

So.

“Let’s wrap this up quickly.”

I approached the cave entrance and carefully peered inside.

The cave wasn’t very deep. It wouldn’t take the space of roughly a hundred goblins to fill it to capacity.

There weren’t any other creatures or entrances, so exterminating the goblins inside would pose no problems.

The goblins likely chose this cave in search of a safe nest, but ironically, that made it a perfect situation for wiping them out.

I used my magical power to create flammable gas that burned easily and pushed it into the cave.

Only goblins were inside; the livestock they had gathered were all dead.

There was no one to rescue. So.

As the flammable gas filled the cave, I conjured a fireball and hurled it inside.

At that moment.

BOOM!!!

A colossal explosion erupted within the confined space of the cave.

The shock was enough to shake the ground surrounding it. The goblins didn’t burn entirely in a single blast; some managed to feed the flames as they were consumed by the goblins, creating a relentless fire.

The frail goblins turned to ash in that singular explosion.

The same went for the hobgoblins. Even if they had stronger bodies compared to goblins, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand such an explosion.

And the Goblin Chieftain…. was it left alive from the explosion’s shock, or was it burning to death engulfed in flames.

Hmm…. Nice. I was planning to forget about it if it died cleanly, but alive, it’s a different story.

I used spatial movement to extract the burning Goblin Chieftain, then extinguished the flames.

Barely clinging to life, the Goblin Chieftain looked slightly larger than a hobgoblin. Let’s take a closer look at its body.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Hmm…. I dissected the dying Goblin Chieftain, but there was nothing noteworthy.

Its brain was larger and more complex than a hobgoblin’s, but that’s about it. The body itself was just slightly larger than a hobgoblin.

Even its heart was just a bit smaller than that of an orc…. It was larger than a hobgoblin’s, though. Hmm.

I took the mana stone from the dead Goblin Chieftain, burned the remains of what used to be the chieftain, and tidied up the surroundings.

It seems the flames burning inside the cave have been extinguished, and the goblin blight has been adequately dealt with.

At this very moment, similar creatures like this goblin horde are probably appearing here and there, so I should give humans a more direct warning.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The Church of Life had repeatedly warned humans.

They must not allow goblins to run rampant. If hobgoblins band together, it would lead to disaster.

And in fact, as the message spread that those who evolved from hobgoblins grew strong enough to lead tribes of goblins to attack small villages, many began to hunt goblins.

Adventurers were mandated to hunt goblins, with quotas set, while villages formed vigilante groups to patrol and hunt goblins.

Landlords dispatched soldiers for security, exerting effort to eradicate hobgoblins.

Yet, it was already too late.

While humans weren’t paying attention to the goblins, a vast number of hobgoblins had gathered and formed their ranks, alongside orcs or goblins of equal status.

The goblin horde led by orcs pillaged small villages, attacked traders, and expanded their numbers by living off the abundant food they plundered.

As the number of orcs swelled and began to absorb other groups of goblins, they grew and grew until ultimately.

A massive kingdom led by hundreds of orcs was on the verge of being established.

A kingdom led by robust orcs. The kingdom of goblins…. no, the kingdom of greenskins.

The orc king commanding that kingdom…. only began to change after commanding hundreds of orcs like himself.

Unlike other hobgoblins or the evolution into orcs, the orc king transformed into a gigantic chrysalis, remaining immobile for several days.

During that time, an immense amount of magical power poured into him from the goblins and orcs belonging to the greenskin kingdom.

After a few days had passed, the orc king broke free from the chrysalis and began to reveal himself.

He stood towering like a giant, possessing the strength to crush rocks with his bare hands.

Just his roar would cause frail goblins to faint away – a monstrous being.

Ogre.

That was the name of the monster.

 

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