Chapter 29: SWORDSMANSHIP

TL Note: Last chapter was a bit too short, and this one isn’t that long either, so here’s another one.

Goblin Name Cheat Sheet:

The [Goblin] is to make it easier to CTRL+F.

[Goblin] Gi Ga

The goblin in that estranged group that was with the protagonist when he defeated an orc. He is currently a noble class, the highest amongst the protagonist’s subordinates. He prefers to use the spear.

[Goblin] Gi Gu

The former leader of the village. He was pressured by the protagonist in his goblin noble form, and was added to his subordinates. He uses the long sword, and is relatively smart for a goblin rare.

[Goblin] Gi Gi

Known as a beast warrior, a goblin with the ability to tame beasts.

He evolved while hunting spear deer with the protagonist.

He prefers to use the axe. His goblin class is rare.

[Goblin] Gi Go

A goblin with many wounds on his body. The food of his horde was stolen by the gray wolves, so he made a decision to follow the protagonist. He is the most experienced amongst the goblin rares. His weapon is a curved katana.

[Goblin] Gi Za

The druid goblin rare that recently joined them.

Chapter 29: Swordsmanship

[Race] Goblin

[Level] 60

[Class] Duke; Horde Chief

[Possessed Skills] <<Horde Commander>> <<Insurgent Will>> <<Overpowering Howl>> <<Swordsmanship B->> <<Insatiable Desire>> <<King’s Soul>> <<Ruler’s Wisdom I>> <<Eyes of the Blue Snake>> <<Dance at Death’s Border>> <<Red Snake’s Eye>> <<Magic Manipulation>> <<Soul of a Crazed Warrior>> <<Third Impact (The Third Chant)>>

[Divine Protection] Goddess of the Underworld (Altesia)

[Attributes] Darkness; Death

[Subordinate Beasts] Kobold (Lv9)

[Abnormal Status] <<Charm of the Saint>>

When we got back to the village, I immediately went back to my own room, and lied on my straw mattress.

The battle this time was actually quite dangerous.

I managed to somehow cover for the blood loss by eating the gray wolf’s meat, but that’s not something I can rely on all the time.

As I laid down the pups beside me, I closed my eyes, and fell into slumber.

Time passed, and then I felt something hairy touch my face; and I woke up. There, I saw the gray wolf pups sleeping before me.

“Ahh…” I muttered to myself. “They’re alive.”

I’m glad.

As I heaved a sigh of relief, thinking something that was out of character for me, I closed my eyes again.

And the breath of the goddess of sleep, Luna, immediately took me.

◇◇◆

When I woke up the next day, the first thing I did was to go interview the goblins that levelled up.

As I sat cross-legged, the gray wolf pups frolicked about on top of my knees. And for whatever reason a sense of rivalry was ignited within the kobold as it kept trying to play with me.

It’s somehow irritating, I thought.

In any case, having already reached level 60, the only goblins whose status I can’t see with my [Skill] << Red Snake’s Eye>> are those that are above level 60.

In other words, goblins that will soon promote up.

And it is to those goblins that I need to present as much opportunities to fight in as possible.

And since there’re no more major opponents, I should be able to send them to observe the west and hunt around that area.

I also interviewed the rare goblins, but to my surprise, I couldn’t see the statuses of Gi Gu, Gi Go, and Gi Za.

Which goes to say that these goblins will also promote to a new class soon. It shouldn’t take much longer for them to reach the noble class.

But compared to them, although Gi Gi and Gi Ga have been steadily accumulating levels, their growth is still far slower than mine. I guess I’ll have to focus on them.

I continued the interviews until the sun was high up the sky. And after interviewing mostly half of the warriors of the settlement, around 40 goblins, I ended the interview for the day. I might have overdone it actually.

In today’s interview, what caught my attention the most were the throw-type skills.

When it comes to fighting orcs and other monsters that specialize in close combat, the most effective way of fighting them is to fight them from afar, dealing damage to them while not taking any ourselves.

The druids may be able to learn magic, but having the other goblins do the same thing is quite difficult. So instead I want them to learn those throw-type skills. Skills that let them throw projectiles.

I could gather all those that can throw projectiles, and have them form a group, but… hmm… what should I do?

The current three-man cell works by having one goblin lure the enemy, while another goblin breaks the opponent’s stance. And then with the opponent’s stance broken, the two goblins are pin the opponent down to let the third goblin kill the enemy effortlessly.

This is the current pattern, so the question is, how will the three-man cell operate once I mix long-range support like the druids with that?

I don’t know. Or at least… I don’t have anything certain yet.

In any case, I need a change of pace.

After finishing the interview, I got myself some food, and went to the prison.

“I’m entering,” I said.

As I entered the prison, the gray wolf pups and the kobold followed me, frolicking by my feet.

“F–Fluffy…” muttered Reshia.

“…C¬–Cute,” muttered another.

Reshia’s and Lili’s eyes were sparkling.

“U–Umm…”

Lili would normally just hide behind Reshia and not talk to me, but today she’s giving me the armor I asked her to adjust

“I’ve adjusted the armor… Here,” said Lili with an uncomfortable expression. “The materials are armor rabbit and shape alligator.”

The armor she made for me before got too small, so I asked her to fix it. Taking the armor from her hands, I wore it to try it out, and it fit perfectly.

“It fits perfectly. Thank you.”

Just when I thought she was about to shake in fear, she shook her head instead.

“I need to give you a reward of some sort. Any requests?”

She performed better than expected. I should spoil her a little. But then Reshia suddenly interjected, saying, “Then in that case, some more food–.” And I curtly replied, “Not you.”

Ignored, Reshia puffed up her cheeks, and Lili answered,

“Then in that case, I’d like to have an opportunity to swing my sword.”

What’s going on? I wondered. At the same time, I snuck a glance at Reshia, only to see that she was surprised too. So she doesn’t know anything either, huh? I concluded.

“You want to fight with us?” I asked.

What are you thinking Lili? What’s with the sudden change of heart?

“…Umm… I want to move my body,” she replied.

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Is that really all there is to it? What’s hidden behind those eyes of yours, Lili? But… this is a good opportunity.

“If you just want to move your body, then… I’ll have you spar with the goblins.”

I don’t know what Lili is hoping for, but this is a good opportunity to gather experience when fighting against the humans that are called, “adventurers”.

And I might even solve the problem with the three-man cells if she seriously helps out.

“… Understood.”

With that curt reply, her sparring days were decided.

◆◆◇

Right after lunch, I had Lili and a nearby three-man cell unit spar.

Reshia might be able to heal them, but it’s still too dangerous to play around with a real weapon. So I prepared wooden swords and wooden spears with rounded ends for the spar.

Now I wonder what’s going to happen.

Lili hasn’t held a sword in a while, so I let her warm up for a bit first, while I kept Reshia away.

And then the mock battle began.

“Start.”

At my call, the mock battle began. The first ones to move were the goblins.

Following the essentials when hunting their prey, the three-man cell unit slowly approached Lili from scattered directions as they tried to surround her.

Lili held the wooden sword tightly in front of her as she measured the distance.

As the three-man cell unit surrounded Lili in a triangle, roaring voices bellowed, and the three goblins attacked Lili at the same time. A three-pronged attack… but Lili remained calm.

When being attacked from three directions, one only needs to move toward a single direction to break the triangle formation.

And of course the goblins were expecting Lili to break through from the front, but betraying their expectations, she moved the other way instead.

The opponent was right in front of her, yet she chose to show her back, and faced the other way. By doing so, she betrayed the expectations of the goblin, and she ended up facing the very goblin whose duty was to defeat her from the back.

That movement caused the goblins to stop momentarily, and in that short opening, her sword passed by the flank of the goblin in front of her cleanly.

A splendid clean strike, I thought.

Then immediately following the first strike, she spun and struck at the panicked goblin that was now behind her.

The goblin fell, and the remaining two stopped in their tracks, frozen. But Lili showed no mercy.

“Shi!”

With a cry of fighting spirit, Lili moved her body, and struck at one of the two remaining goblins.

The goblin was somehow able to block the wooden sword attacking from below, but the following attack from above was unexpected, and he couldn’t help but let the wooden sword in his hands slip.

And in the next instant, the goblin was retired.

Two of the goblins were down for the count. The only remaining one, the one in the front whose duty was to keep Lili from moving.

But without even so much as a challenge, the mock battle ended.

“…Spectacular,” I praised.

And as if she was the one fighting, Reshia puffed her chest up. For some reason though, the gray wolf pups were hugging her. Seeing that I couldn’t help but wonder, when did she win them over?

Then Reshia said,

“But of course, after all, she did study under the Zweil Style in the capital.”

After defeating the three goblins, Lili dedicated her sword towards Reshia. A knight’s ceremony. But that seemingly natural act to them was truly like those of the drawings on the olden scrolls.

All the more so with the beautiful features of a young woman such as hers.

Then all of the sudden, Gi Go, kneeled before me as he called out to me.

“Chief!” he said. “If it be possible, please grant unto me the opportunity to wash away this shame.”

Hearing that, a gleam of understanding flashed through my eyes. And I thought to myself, so those goblins were from his village.

Since Gi Go and Gi Gu were both former leaders of their respective villages, they were able to naturally form unity amongst the members of their former villages. In other words, it’s what you would could a faction.

Nothing’s happened yet so far, but I might have to think of some measures or ways to deal with them in the future.

In any case, it’s nothing urgent for now.

“Gi Go,” I said, calling out to the kneeling goblin before me.

“Yes, chief?” he replied.

“Why do you think they lost?” I asked.

“Because they were weak,” he curtly replied.

Well… he’s not wrong.

“Then what should be done in order to win,” I asked again. And without any hesitation, he replied, “Numbers.”

Numbers, huh? That might work here, but eventually, that method will reach its end. So I told him, “Think of a way to defeat humans with only three goblins.”

From now on, I want these goblins to start thinking by themselves. It’s about time they stopped relying on me so much.

Think by yourself, and make your own decisions. If you can’t do that, then it’ll be difficult to survive the coming battles where our lives are at stake.

As Gi Go was about to leave, I stopped him, and said,

“Don’t punish the three goblins that just lost, alright?”

“Understood,” he said, bowing his head deeply, before going back to his own place.

Well, well… Things have taken quite an interesting turn, haven’t they?

Now I wonder who will think up a good method first. For that let’s go and stir up some rivalry.

“Lili, can you fight one more time,” I asked.

“No problem,” she replied as she let her wooden sword sing with a swing.

This girl might just be a godsend.

As I thought that, I called out to Gi Gu.

“Gi Gu,” I said.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Pick three goblins from your faction and have them form a unit.”

Gi Gu bowed, and he picked a three-man cell from his faction, and had them fight Lili.

I did the same for the other factions, and in the end, not one of the factions could put up a good fight. Of course, with the condition that the goblin rares above can’t fight.

Then seeing the time, I ordered the goblins to hunt.

“We’ll be continuing this for a while. But for now, go and hunt until the sun sets.”

After this we’ll repeat these mock battles a lot.

Now, I wonder who amongst the goblins will be the first to break from his shell.

◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆

Gray wolves (Lv1) have been tamed.

◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆

TL Note: I don’t know Luna’s gender as it wasn’t specified. But luna or ryuna sounds like a girl’s name, so I’ll treat her as a goddess for now.

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