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Chapter 9
The downside was that it was still difficult to produce sword energy or sword aura.
Though I could mimic sword energy, it was softer and far less efficient than genuine sword energy.
Even so, it was a bizarre situation where there was no reason for to lose, even when facing sword energy.
After retrieving the prison key from a corpse, I began unlocking the doors one by one.
However, those who had been imprisoned seed to fear and couldn’t easily step outside.
“Are you the son of Verus?”
When I spoke to a young dwarf sitting dazed in one of the cells, his eyes widened as he looked up at .
“What are you all doing? Co on out. You need to return to your families.”
I said calmly and then resud walking.
It was only after I started moving that the prisoners hesitantly began stepping out of their cells.
“An intruder...! Gaaah!!”
“Ahhhhhh!! Monster! It's a monster!!”
“Please, spare ! Urk!”
As I erged from the underground, the interior of an old, decrepit building ca into view.
Most of the knights stationed in this worn-down building were at best aura users—re lower-ranking knights.
This ant that significant military power wasn’t needed to guard this place.
After all, most of the prisoners here were ordinary people, and this location was hidden.
There seed to be no reason to assign high-ranking experts or elite forces to this area.
And what if they were discovered?
Who cares?
There wouldn’t have been any evidence left behind.
“Y-young master...”
At that mont, a woman who had erged cautiously from the prison approached hesitantly.
She was the wife of a man who managed one of the count’s businesses, a pharmacy.
According to reports, the pharmacist had been acting as if bewitched, attempting to end contracts and dissolve his business.
What else could he do when his wife was held captive?
Forced to remain silent due to his family’s lives being at stake, lissa probably didn’t have detailed knowledge of this situation either.
One thing, however, was certain.
Tyvel’s sche to shake the business would no longer have any effect.
“By the way, does anyone here know the way back to the territory?”
This forest wasn’t part of the Count’s heavily monitored Forest of Monsters.
Since I had been blindfolded on the way here, I had no idea how to navigate out of this forest.
Perhaps one of the others might know the way…
“I’m sorry. Since this forest is so remote, there aren’t many who know their way around it.”
It seed no one knew, as this was such a secluded place.
Should I have spared at least one of them?
The regret was fleeting.
It wasn’t worth dwelling on.
“It’s fine. We’ll just ask soone who knows the way.”
“Soone who knows the way?”
I turned my head toward the forest.
And then, small, green-skinned goblins began erging one by one.
“Eek! G-goblins!”
The terrified response of the villagers made wave a hand dismissively.
“Don’t be scared. They’re our navigation system.”
Goblins.
Among the weakest of monsters, and one of the most nurous in existence.
With exceptional reproductive capabilities and decent cunning, they possessed enough intelligence to understand human speech to so extent.
While they lacked the skill to craft objects or build intricate traps, they were quick learners who could steal items and figure out how to use them.
In terms of danger, they weren’t particularly high on the list.
Though clever, their physical capabilities were fundantally lacking.
And even among them, only a small number were genuinely smart—most were outright stupid.
Now, how should one interpret a goblin wearing ragged clothing to cover itself?
There was only one answer.
That thing must have attacked humans and stolen their belongings.
If a goblin in this forest was carrying human goods, there was only one explanation.
It had ventured into human settlents, stolen items, and escaped.
This, at least, was an important clue for .
Kiaaaak!!!
The goblins charged at and the exhausted villagers with reckless abandon, showing no sign of fear.
There were ten of them in total.
Considering the number of villagers, I could easily handle them, but the goblins were clutching rusted daggers and the like.
Moreover, the villagers were completely worn out, so even if they had managed to escape, they wouldn’t have fared well on their own.
“Y-young master!”
“Stay behind .”
The dagger I had been using while escaping the underground was already too damaged to be of further use.
Since I wasn’t using sword energy to stabilize my aura, but rather forcefully wrapping raw aura around the weapon, a poorly made blade couldn’t endure for long.
It wasn’t as though I could go back and fetch a spare weapon now.
If there’s no sword, use your fists.
After loosening my wrists lightly, I explosively activated the aura throughout my body.
Boom!!!
Then, I slamd a brutal fist down onto the head of a goblin attempting to stab with its rusted dagger.
The technique I used was a simple but effective close-combat move: a single strike.
Squelch!!!
With a horrific sound of rupturing flesh, the goblin’s head exploded, spraying crimson blood everywhere.
Next, I spun my body, utilizing the centrifugal force to deliver a kick that sent the next goblin flying as if it were a soccer ball.
Thwack!!!
The heavy kick crushed the goblin’s face as it was sent hurtling away.
Seeing two of their kind fall so swiftly, the remaining goblins hesitated—a natural response.
“Only one of you needs to stay alive. You, the one who looks the smartest.”
I pointed at one of the goblins as I spoke, and the rest started sweating nervously, darting their eyes around.
“The rest of you will die. Why hesitate?”
Boom!!!
It didn’t take long to wipe out the goblins.
Most of them were so terrified that they ran away, making it take even longer to hunt them down and kill them.
The monsters I had slain countless tis.
If it were just a matter of the number of battles fought, there wouldn’t be a monster I had killed more frequently than goblins.
“Good heavens…”
“Was the young master always this strong? I don’t rember that…”
“It feels like watching the Count in his pri.”
So of the domain’s residents, who were at least sowhat familiar with , looked puzzled, as if struggling to accept my transformation.
Of course, no one openly dared to ask, “Why are you so strong?”
Part of it was because I had rarely interacted with others, so I didn’t have many close connections.
But ever since the massacre of knights in the underground chamber, the residents had harbored a certain fear toward .
“Kee... keeik…”
The first goblin I chose was trembling in fear, sitting frozen in place.
I pointed at the rags it was wearing.
“That—where did you get it?”
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The goblin rolled its eyes in every direction, then hastily began stripping off its rags as if to hand them over to .
It must have misunderstood, thinking I wanted the rags, typical of a creature born to steal and survive.
Of course.
Wham!!
“Keeeeeek!!!”
The sound of a strategic nuke-level impact landing on its head was the inevitable result.
“What filthy thing are you trying to show ? I’m asking where you got this.”
I wasn’t expecting an answer.
I’d seen plenty of goblins in the Hall of Swords, and dealing with them was simpler than one might think.
You just needed to reinforce a single goal repeatedly—by beating it into them until they understood.
They eventually caught on quite well.
Whether this goblin had the sa nature as those I encountered at the Hall of Swords, I couldn’t be sure.
“This.”
“Keeeee...”
SMAAACK!!
This ti, I slapped it across the face with gusto.
“Where did you get this? Lead to it.”
SMAAACK!!
“You don’t understand? Don’t worry. The more you get hit, the clearer your head will be.”
SMAAACK!!
After the repeated beating, the goblin couldn’t even cry properly anymore, most of its teeth shattered.
It got to the point where…
“Um… Young Master. That, uh… oh, never mind.”
The residents of the domain started casting pitying glances at the goblin.
How annoying.
“I ca here to save you all, didn’t I?”
“Well… you were captured at first…”
“What? So should I just leave?”
Noticing my expression darken, the residents quickly backed off.
“No, absolutely not! How could we possibly interfere with your noble endeavors, Young Master? Who’s the fool criticizing your actions?!”
“Yeah, who is it?!”
The sa people who had just spoken now pretended they hadn’t.
When I turned my attention back to the goblin, it desperately racked its brain.
Then, its eyes widened as it reached out to stop , weakly staggering to its feet.
“Keeik… keei…”
It pointed toward the depths of the forest, as if indicating it would guide .
Its eyes were filled with fear, dreading another beating.
“See? I told you they understand.”
“Young Master… I’ve encountered goblins a few tis myself, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“When you’re sincere, even they will respond. If you ever lose your way, look for goblins wearing scraps of cloth or holding weapons. Those are the ones who’ve attacked humans before.”
“Uh… yes, I suppose…”
* * *
The Cascadia territory was surrounded by towering walls.
One side of the territory bordered a forest teeming with extrely dangerous magical beasts, which was why the position of the border count was recognized for guarding the kingdom’s land.
Most of the other forests around the territory were ordinary, but this one was uniquely dangerous, making it essential for the border count to maintain a stronger military presence than typical nobles.
Of course, the current forces of the Count’s domain were a shadow of what they should be.
The gates of the Count’s castle served different purposes, and the one guarded by veteran soldier Hanson and his junior was particularly quiet.
“Yaaawn… man, this is so boring.”
“Senior, isn’t this better than guarding the south gate? At least this one’s peaceful.”
“You little punk, do you know how many rchants used to co through the south gate every day? Even though the numbers have dropped lately, standing guard there was great for pocket money.”
The south gate of the Count’s domain was primarily used by rchants for trade.
Many rchants, eager to enter quickly, would slip money to the guards.
rchants gained speed, the guards gained coin, and everyone was happy.
For rchants, ti is money.
“And look at this place. Not even an ant shows up. While everyone else is raking in extra cash, we’re stuck here wasting ti.”
“Well, I guess it’s better than guarding the gate that leads to the magical forest.”
“Even I can’t argue with that. Haha.”
The atmosphere in the domain had been tense lately, making guard duty all the more exhausting.
It was then that the junior guard noticed sothing in the distance and tilted his head.
“Senior, isn’t that a group of people over there?”
“What are you talking about? No one’s gone out through this gate today.”
The previous shift of guards had also reported no one leaving, so there shouldn’t have been anyone returning from the forest.
“No, really, look over there!”
Hanson squinted toward the forest.
Surprisingly, there were indeed people.
Not just one or two, but over a dozen.
Realizing sothing was off, the guards quickly tightened their grips on their weapons.
“Hey, hey! Go ring the bell! We’ve got unidentified individuals approaching!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Wait! Hey, wait a second!”
Just as his junior reached for the bell, Hanson stopped him.
“What? Why?”
“Let’s wait and see.”
Hanson fell silent, observing the figures closely.
Soon, as the group drew nearer and their features beca clearer, voices could also be heard.
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