Although they managed to repel the invading adventurers once, when they were attacked a second time, Gi Ba Hagar was wounded. Because of that he couldn't pursue the humans as they fled.

Gi Ba was a valiant and exceptional goblin warrior whom even the king acknowledged. The way he skillfully handled two different weapons at the same time sometimes resembled Gi Gu Verbena.

He was also a skilled leader who didn't lose out to the other goblin n.o.bles.

He was both a brilliant warrior and a leader, but if there was one fault with him, it was that he stubbornly refused to work with the humans. On that point, he was so stubborn that he even earned the king's displeasure.

The human race, which was the dominant force in the continent, had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Should they fail to find a compromise with them, they will be forced to battle until one side is annihilated.

The Goblin King wished to avoid that, which is why he adopted a generous policy toward the humans.

But the Goblin King also wished to rule the world, so he couldn't just throw away an excellent warrior like Gi Ba. Besides, as the King of Goblins, he also wished to see Gi Ba grow free from his restraints.

After getting wounded, Gi Ba quickly underwent treatment and sent a report to the king, then he hurriedly went out to search for the enemy himself.

“To think humans actually wounded me… You will pay for this humans! You will pay!”

Gi Ba's face that was twisted from his seething anger brought much distress to the villagers. It was such that the children under Shumea would cry just upon meeting him. But their crying voices only served to add fuel to the flames.

As far as Gi Ba was concerned, all humans were enemies and couldn't be trusted. It didn't matter that they were under them. There was no telling when they would bare their fangs.

“When that day comes, I will surely slaughter every last one of you,” he muttered to himself.

Mustering every self-control he could, Gi Ba avoided the humans and focused on searching for the adventurers.

The adventurers had run toward the north, so he took the goblins directly under him and chased after them.

“Kill them all!”

As Gi Ba gave out that command, he suddenly noticed Shumea and her slave gladiators.

There were about 30 of them all in all, every single an experienced warrior that would not lose out to the goblins.

“What do you think you're doing!?”

Blinded by anger, Gi Ba a.s.sumed they were planning to rendezvous with the adventurers.

“What do you mean what? We heard you were done in, so we came to help,” Shumea said with her hands on her hips.

She had borrowed some slaves from Yoshu and was going around patrolling with them.

The two of them stared at each other, neither side backing down.

The situation looked explosive.

“What are you doing? If you're playing, we're going back, ok?” The first wing of the harpies, Yus.h.i.+ka, interjected from the skies.

They were visiting the western capital when Shumea asked them to aid with the search.

“You're siding with the humans!?” Gi Ba accused.

“You may not understand, but if it's your king, he would surely agree with this,” Yus.h.i.+ka said with a sigh.

While Gi Ba was gritting his teeth as he did everything he could just to keep himself from exploding, Shumea was quietly and uninterestedly plucked her bundled hair.

Sighing, she spoke to Gi Ba.

“Anyway, it's good to see you're alright. When we find them, we'll contact you,” she said.

But Gi Ba only snorted and turned heel.

“Hmph!”

As he left, Shumea and Yus.h.i.+ka looked at each other and sighed

“Did the king pick the wrong person?” Yus.h.i.+ka asked.

“I'm sure there are all sorts among the goblins, but you know… In this case, I'd say the king is probably the exception and not the rule,” Shumea pointed out.

“Now that you mention it, goblins were that sort,” Yus.h.i.+ka nodded.

“It's a bit off, but that's probably the norm for goblins.”

Realizing that their common sense had started to go off course somewhere, the two of them shared a wry smile.

◆◇◆

Word that adventurers from Germion Kingdom had invaded their lands has already reached the ears of Gi Ga Rax, who was in charge of protecting the entire western region.

The fact that the king had entrusted him to defend it in showed just how deeply he trusted him and how highly he appraised his abilities.

“I take it Lord Gi Ba is their target?” The demihuman entrusted with the defense of the western capital, Nikea of the araneae, folded her arms and confirmed with Gi Ga.

She was considered as one of the central members even among the demihumans working with the king.

“It's still too early to a.s.sume that. It's possible this is only a diversion,” Fei of the sylphs said.

He was in charge of the administration of the entire western region.

The sylphs were both long-lived and skilled in the arcane arts, but until just recently, they were forced to coop up within the forest. The sylph, Fei, was a man who has rendered distinguished service under the Goblin King's shadow.

The human representative, Yoshu, tilted his head as he showed understanding to the sylph's words.

“Perhaps that's their goal, but we can't just leave them be either, so for the mean time, Shumea is chasing them with the gladiators. I am worried, though. Isn't there any way to contact Lord Gi Ba?” Yoshu said.

He is Shumea's younger brother and the man responsible for the human slaves, who are considered the king's property. His position in the western capital is exceedingly high.

Though he only joined the goblins due to his older sister's whims, after his travels with Gi Go, he has started to seriously look for a way for humans and goblins to coexist.

“If their attack on Gi Ba is a diversion, then the east is in danger,” Gi Ga Rax said without hesitation after hearing out the opinions of the various representatives of the western region.

“Because they can't deal with that many soldiers?” Yoshu became thoughtful after hearing Gi Ga's words.

“The odds of them aiming for the western city itself is low, but just in case, I suggest we still ask the various chiefs to stay alert,” Nikea suggested, to which everyone nodded.

“Let's have the harpies choose the astute among them and have them keep watch for any suspicious persons,” Fei suggested.

Gi Ga nodded. “Very well, but we must quell this chaos as soon as possible. To worry the king is to betray his trust in us as his retainers. We must avoid that.”

After all, the Goblin King was currently working to conquer the south.

“I will go out myself. Any and all who go against the will of his majesty shall be punished.”

As Gi Ga Rax said that, the meeting was drawn to a close.

After he ordered some of the harpies to accompany the sylphs staying at the western capital, he himself left the western capital.

Riding on black-tiger-back he led the young goblins fresh out of the forest away from the western capital.

◆◇◆

Some of the adventurers were found in one of the northern villages.

But after being driven into a corner, they tried taking over the village by occupying the village chief's house.

The goblins were chasing after them, but Shumea and her gladiators got to them first.

The adventurers ran in all directions to avoid pursuit, but the difference in strength was simply too great.

And after running for so long, the fleeing adventurers no longer had the strength to think. So without caring for the consequences, they rushed into the village chief's house, killed their son, and stole their food.

It was the sort of act that was repulsive enough to make the gladiators chasing after them want to look away.

“Cease your futile resistance!”

Shumea called out to the adventurers that have barricaded themselves inside the village chief's house, but all she got in response was the corpse of the village chief's young son, which was then shot with an arrow.

Essentially, they were saying that they would kill any who approached.

Unfortunately, they did not understand Shumea's personality.

Shumea grit her teeth and raised up her spear as she bellowed out.

“You actually dared to kill a child!”

Though normally gentle, she was a different person once her fuse was lit. And the adventurers who unknowingly lit it would surely pay.

“Get me some oil, a fire, and some arrows!”

Since only enemies were left in the house, Shumea ordered for fire arrows to be prepared.

She turned to the villagers.

“Don't worry! Reparations will be made!”

The villagers from the northern villages of the western region have frequently seen her negotiating with the goblins, so they greatly trusted her.

“If it's her, she'll definitely keep her word.”

As the villagers nodded to each other, they prepared the things she needed, and before long, fire arrows were shot at the village chief's house, giving rise to a lotus flower that rendered it into ash.

The adventurers ran with panicked gait away from the house, but they were quickly disposed of by Shumea and her gladiators.

The numbers were too different. So long as they fought 3 gladiators to 1 adventurer, they could easily dispose of them with little to no danger.

After disposing the adventurers, Shumea made a grave for the deceased chief and his son.

Because of that the trust the people had in her shot up even further.

But just when it seemed everything was over, a problem appeared on Gi Ba's side, a problem reported by a harpy express messenger, who arrived as soon as the adventurers were dealt with.

The leader of the invading adventurers, Belthazar, went into the forest looking for his prey. 10 adventurers had encroached into these lands, but everyone else except for him and the two adventurers, who chose to follow him, went their own way and met their own destruction.

Belthazar had set his eyes on one goblin.

It was a blue goblin known as a n.o.ble cla.s.s.

Belthazar was renowned us the Almighty Spear, but his strength today was already a far cry from his heyday. In exchange, however, he has gained much experience in the underworld as wall as the skills to use other people.

He watched as the goblins preyed upon the adventurers. His countenance didn't change the slightest even as he watched the goblins finish them off.

He patiently and quietly waited for his opportunity.

The blue goblin led less than 10 goblins. There were no rare goblins or red goblins in his horde, only green ones, which were the normal cla.s.s, so only the blue goblin was a threat.

“I'll take care of the blue one. You two take care of the rest.”

The two adventurers that chose to go with Belthazar nodded, and after they'd each decided which goblin to take, they drew their weapons and peeked at the goblins from the darkness.

“…Go!”

After killing the adventurers, the goblins were about to turn around and go back, but then Belthazar and one adventurer suddenly ran out.

As they ran, the other adventurer that waited behind drew his bow and shot an arrow at one of the normal goblins.

“What!?” Gi Ba cried out in shock, but Belthazar's spear was already headed toward him.

Gi Ba was able to dodge that spear by a hair's breadth, but Belthazar's attack did not stop.

“Hmph!”

Belthazar thrust his spear, slammed it, swept with it… He perfectly demonstrated the advantages of the spear as he attacked Gi Ba and left him with no choice but to defend.

The cross-shaped blade of she spear grazed Gi Ba, but Belthazar brought it back to try and catch him.

Gi Ba desperately tried to avoid that, causing him to fall to the ground.

Unfortunately, Belthazar was aiming for that, and he sent down his spear at the fallen goblin.

“KU, you dare, human!?”

As Gi Ba tried to stand up, Belthazar sent an attack toward his feet, but while Ba was able to block using his long sword, he still ended up being scratched.

Gi Ba tried to rush forward to bring the battle closer, but Belthazar brought back his spear and hit Gi Ba with the b.u.t.t end, then as he s.h.i.+fted around, he swung his spear toward the tendons of Gi Ba's feet.

“GU!?” Gi Ba mumbled out a cry after getting hit in the face.

But then in the next moment, the sound of the spear swinging reached his ears, and an ill foreboding jolted through his back. Immediately, Gi Ba flipped forward.

Blue blood gushed into the air as the spear grazed Gi Ba's back.

It was only a graze, but true to the name 'Almighty Spear', Gi Ba was sent rolling to the ground like a ball.

As Gi Ba tried to stand up once more, Belthazar was already rus.h.i.+ng toward him.

Unfortunately for Belthazar, Gi Ba was able to take him by surprise by throwing his sword at him, creating a much needed opening.

Gi Ba used that opening to take out his axe and close in on Belthazar. Gi Ba wanted to end the battle as soon as possible.

For some reason – perhaps because Belthazar was s.h.i.+fting from offense to defense – he had his spear halfway pointed outside.

Gi Ba took that for an opening, and he swung down his axe with a strength unthinkable for a human.

The force behind that swing was enough to cut the spear in half, but it hit nothing but the ground.

“What!?”

Gi Ba angrily turned toward his missing foe, but that cross-shaped spear blade was already headed for his neck.

“You parried my axe!?”

Gi Ba's axe was. .h.i.t from the side, causing it to move out of its intended trajectory.

It sounds simple on paper, but in practice, it takes a lot of guts and skill. The fact that the man before him was able to pull off such a feat was a testament to the height of his mastery.

In fact, even Belthazar himself was shocked. For that last parry reminded him of his old glory, and with it, a plethora of unwanted memories.

“…Just an old dream, huh,” he muttered to himself in self-derision, then he lifted up his spear.

He was about to press the attack when he suddenly felt a killing intent and the sound of footsteps coming from behind.

Immediately, Belthazar turned and swung his spear.

The head of a goblin came flying at that.

“GI!?”

Without even the time to cry out, a goblin's life was taken.

Belthazar clicked his tongue as he looked for the adventurers that should have been fighting with him. Needless to say, they were already dead.

“Useless,” he spat.

He'd originally planned to fight this battle alone, so the adventurers were only really extras. If they could be used, then good, if not, then that's fine too.

While he was busy taking care of the normal goblin, Gi Ba had taken some distance.

Belthazar turned to him and a.s.sumed stance once more.

“Stay put and I'll give you a pleasant death,” Belthazar said.

“Don't order me, human!” Gi Ba spat.

Gi Ba rushed with his axe once more.

Gi Ba could not run away from a human. His pride would not permit it.

As iron clashed with iron, a goblin and a human took ragged breaths.

It was a fierce battle between Gi Ba with his superior stamina and Belthazar with his superior skills.

n.o.bles cla.s.ses originally weren't that different with humans, but under the king's rule where food was plentiful, the goblins grew without any nutritional deficiencies, leading the n.o.ble cla.s.ses to become at least a head taller than the humans.

But that couldn't be helped. After all, there were always inherent differences between races.

On top of that, Belthazar's dealings with the underworld has left him negligent of his training. So long as a person's mind was healthy, he would be able to find the will to push forward. Although Belthazar was ahead of Gi Ba in terms of skill, his lack of training was pulling him down.

Despite that, however, Belthazar was still a notch above common adventurers. As one who was once renowned as the Almighty Spear, a warrior with skills on par of that of Gulland's, his spear was still beyond Gi Ba's reach.

Gi Ba instinctually understood that while his stamina was greater than his foe's, his skill was a notch below. Because of that he tried to move the location of the battlefield, hoping to make his opponent put his guard down.

He took some dirt and threw it at his opponent. He took some stones and threw them too. He took some branches as he entered the forest and fought with them. But try and try as he might, he could not stop Belthazar for even a moment. The enemy was steadily closing in on him.

Be it dirt or stone, a single spin from Belthazar's spear was all it took to brush them aside.

And With none of his tricks working, despair gradually settled in Gi Ba's heart. A despair called helplessness. Gi Ba was already burning out.

But the same was true for Belthazar. After all, he was but a human, and one who has not trained in recent times no less. Strong as he might have been once, fighting against goblins whose stamina far surpa.s.ses that of man is not something his body could so easily afford.

Already, the sun was inclined toward the west, and the surrounding area was growing dim.

“Realize it already, goblin. No matter how much you run, you can't win against me,” Belthazar said.

When the word 'run' was mentioned, a great fire blazed within Gi Ba's eyes.

“Run? …Me? Against some lowly human!?”

Blinded with rage, Gi Ba took his axe, turned around, and angrily rushed toward Belthazar.

I Win, Belthazar thought.

Their exchange lasted only for a moment.

Gi Ba rushed toward Belthazar, but Belthazar deflected his axe, leaving him with no weapon left but his fists. That turned out to be a bad idea, as Belthazar's spear left him with a deep wound on his chest.

But who was Gi Ba? He was a goblin whose bravery was acknowledged even by the king himself. Wounded he may be, he did not halt for even a moment as he continued his charge toward the enemy. And jumping forth from Belthazar's blind spot, he was able to send the human flying with the last of his strength.

Belthazar tumbled on the ground, groaning out in pain, but his wounds were not fatal. He was immediately able to pick himself back up and look around him.

There Gi Ba lay.

“…I won. With this I…”

As Belthazar was about to drag his aching body to where Gi Ba's body was, the strange cry of a bird and the breaking of branches from up above resounded.

“What!?”

Belthazar immediately got out of the way as something huge descended from above. Not long after, something stood in front him.

“~~! Oww…”

It was Shumea, covered in wounds from the branches of the trees.

In fact, branches covered her whole body as she wielded her short spear. She was wounded all over.

For a moment – and only a moment – even a hard man like Belthazar could not help but be stupefied at the sight of a human falling from the sky.

Shumea used that moment to ensure that Gi Ba was still alive, then she turned to Belthazar.

“You must be an adventurer,” she said.

Belthazar was greatly troubled by the sudden appearance of a human spearman, but nevertheless, he kept his composure as he wielded his spear once more.

“Move! I don't feel like killing a human today!”

Anyone who stood in his way was an enemy, Belthazar convinced himself that as he held his spear tight.

“Unfortunately, I can't leave a monster who kills children alone either!” Shumea said as she spun her spear to brush the branches off her body, then she stepped forward.

As iron clashed with iron, Gi Ba finally regained consciousness.

“Urghh…”

Despite his greater healing prowess as a goblin, the deep wound on his chest was still severe. If he moved poorly, he could endanger his life.

In fact, Gi Ba was not so sure how he was still alive.

“Urghh…”

As the sound of iron clas.h.i.+ng resounded once more, Gi Ba finally remembered what he had been doing.

Yes, he was fighting with a human adventurer, wasn't he? As he thought that, he noticed from the corner of his eyes Shumea fighting Belthazar.

“Why…” Gi Ba groaned.

Shumea was covered in wounds and she was fighting Belthazar. In a sens, it could be said that she got hurt protecting him.

Could he let such a thing happen?

Could he really let the thing he hates so much protect him like this?

“…Never!”

Gi Ba stood up, ignoring the pain coursing throughout his whole body. He hated humans the most, so he could not possibly allow himself to be protected by one.

“GURUUOOAA!”

With a howl, Gi Ba forced his mind to ignore the pain, then he picked up his axe and ran for Belthazar.

At that, Belthazar clicked his tongue, and with no other choice, turned around and left the forest.

Blinded with rage, Gi Ba chased after him, ignoring Shumea's pleas.

“d.a.m.n it, Gi Ba!” Shumea spat as she too was forced to give chase.

As she dragged her hurting body, she blew a whistle to signal the harpies flying up above. Naturally, her sudden descent from the sky was only possible because of their help.

After leaving the forest, Belthazar and Gi Ba resumed their battle.

Shumea b.u.t.ted into their fight and spoke to Gi Ba.

“Stop pus.h.i.+ng yourself! Do you want to die!?” Shumea said.

“Shut up! Shut up! Don't tell me what to do, human!” Gi Ba said back as Belthazar swung his spear.

With the blood having gone to his head, Gi Ba could not dodge Belthazar's attack.

As Belthazar's spear parried Gi Ba's axe, the b.u.t.t end of the spear slammed into Gi Ba.

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Shumea said as she jumped in front to cover for Gi Ba.

As Belthazar's spear pierced Shumea's shoulder, blood splattered into the air.

“…Die!”

Belthazar swung his spear once more after collecting his breath a little, but Shumea did not back off. Instead, she raised up her spear to block his attack.

Seeing her attempt such an unthinkable thing, against his common sense, Gi Ba cried out.

“Stop it!” Gi Ba cried.

“—GAH!?”

But the grim reaper's fated scythe did not claim Shumea's head. Instead, it claimed Belthazar's.

For before anyone knew it, before Belthazar's spear could even descend, another spear had appeared out of his chest.

Blood flowed out of his mouth, and with it, his strength.

With its last drops, Belthazar turned around, and there he saw a one-armed goblin riding atop a monster beast.

The last of his strength used up, Belthazar fell to the ground with his spear.

“Liza…”

The last word to leave his lips was the name of his most beloved daughter.

“Ms. Shumea!” Selena cried out as she ran to Shumea.

She had been moving with Gi Ga and his men searching the western region for the invading adventurers.

She took Selena into her embrace and – with tears in her eyes – healed her wounds.

She used the same spell on Gi Ba, a warm sensation filling his chest.

“I should thank you, Gi Ba Hagar,” Gi Ga Rax said as he got off his black tiger.

“…I.” Gi Ba did not say anything else and Gi Ga Rax eyed him with narrowed eyes, then he handed Shumea to Yoshu and his men who arrived last.

◆◇◆

Gi Ga Rax threw his spear and slayed Belthazar the Almighty Spear. At that, the trouble started by the invading human adventurers was drawn to a close. But with Gi Ba and Shumea heavily wounded, the fighting power of the western region has gone down just as Gulland had hoped.

Much to his chagrin, however, the goblins did not come to attack the fortress, and even the archer adventurer who returned was heavily wounded, dying as soon as he reached the fortress.

Try as Gulland might to pet.i.tion the king to dispatch the troops, King Ashtal firmly refused him.

As such, war did not break out between the western region and the Germion Kingdom.

Immediately after the adventurer trouble was settled, Gi Za Zakuend arrived. When he heard that the problem had already been settled, he sent a messenger to the king and headed to the Forest of Darkness to pick up the fresh recruits.

Much of the details of this incident was spread throughout the western region by the gossip-loving harpies, which as a result began to stir an air of reconciliation between the human-hating goblins and the humans of the western region.

Result-wise, it could be said that this incident was favorable for the Goblin King's southern expedition.