Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

The goblins traveling on foot were half a day behind them. However, since the Whippers—who held the skills for construction and prospecting within the goblin caste system—as well as the food gatherers and the outcast laborers were all in the rear group, Ron and his party had no choice but to wait.

Fortunately, the heavy rain over the Delusional Land arrived later than expected. The goblins managed to set up a simple camp before the downpour began that night, preparing shelters for Ron’s party, Klade, and his Warg Mount.

The rest of the goblins had to find their own places to take shelter from the rain. Some crawled under the bellies of the Warg Mounts, while others slipped into the nearby forest—in short, they scattered everywhere.

Leaning on her shield, Victoria stood at the entrance to their tent, keeping a vigilant watch.

”Get some rest,” Aive said, patting her shoulder from behind. ”You’ve been taking every night watch these past few days. You’re going to wear yourself out.”

”It’s fine. This is my duty,” Victoria said, waving a hand dismissively. ”We can’t afford to be careless, especially now that we’re on the outskirts of the Delusional Land. There’s a reason it’s remained unoccupied all this time.”

”Even if there is danger, it’ll be deeper inside, won’t it? What could possibly be out here...?” Aive shook her head. Realizing she couldn’t persuade the Priest, she gave up and went back to get some rest herself.

As it turned out, Victoria’s concerns were not unfounded. It was just that the victims weren’t them.

At dawn, the rain stopped. Ron crouched in a clearing, where three goblin corpses lay in a row before him.

Two of the bodies had been mauled by beasts beyond recognition, but one was still mostly intact, clearly showing a bite mark on its waist.

”A hemotoxin,” Ron concluded. ”Anticoagulant effects, muscle paralysis... these are all typical symptoms. The predator was most likely a reptile.”

”Some kind of large reptile, probably a giant lizard,” Delaford chimed in. ”A snake wouldn’t leave a bite mark like this.”

As a veteran Hunter, his words carried considerable weight.

”They must have just found random places to sleep, giving the giant lizards a chance for a surprise attack,” Klade said, unsurprised. To him, the goblins were nothing more than expendable cannon fodder; he wouldn’t feel a shred of pity no matter how many died. Still, the deaths of these three served as a clear warning.

”Gather everyone and start building a fortified camp,” Klade’s order was passed down the ranks. ”These beasts usually only attack stragglers. Stick together in groups of three or five. No one moves alone anymore!”

However, Klade’s order seemed to have no effect. The following night, another six goblins met an untimely end.

”There was only one body left when we arrived,” Delaford said, annoyed. ”A long trail of blood leads deeper into the woods. The giant lizards must have dragged the others back to their nest!”

”This one’s been torn to shreds, too. I can’t make anything out,” Ron said with a frown. ’He wasn’t a forensic examiner; he couldn’t possibly glean any useful information from such mangled remains.’

”This doesn’t make sense,” Aive said, crossing her arms. ”Delaford, didn’t you say the hunting has been good the last few days? That there’s plenty of game? Why would the giant lizards go out of their way to attack you?”

”Maybe... goblin meat... is tasty?” Delaford tilted his head, racking his brain but unable to come up with any other answer.

But that was nearly impossible. It was a universally acknowledged fact that Dwarf meat was the most delicious. Goblins were hardly a prize worth hunting over and over again.

”Reinforce the perimeter!” Klade had no better ideas.

On the third day, four more goblins vanished. An atmosphere of terror began to pervade the entire group. Rumors even started to spread among the goblins that this was a divine punishment from Maghreb.

They were not a highly disciplined force. With people disappearing every couple of days, morale was plummeting. If things kept on like this, it was only a matter of time before desertions and riots broke out.

”This is fucking cursed!” Klade roared, furious. ”No wonder this godforsaken place is called the Delusional Land! Its hostility toward outsiders is off the charts!”

”But I’ll be damned if I believe that—I’m sleeping outside tonight. If they dare show their faces again, I’ll skin them alive and make a new cushion for my chair!”

’He had been worrying about not being able to bring his old chair with them on the migration, after all!’

”I’m going to get some rest. I’ll help out tonight as well,” Victoria said before turning and heading into her tent.

’She had no real interest in protecting the goblins, but she knew that once the goblins were all picked off, they would be next.’

As the party’s leader, Ron couldn’t possibly let Victoria face such danger alone. So, as dusk fell once more over the Delusional Land, the four of them quietly took up positions near an earth goblin who was deliberately resting ’alone’.

Klade’s Warg Mount lay hidden under a large pile of leaves, ready to act as both an early warning and a third line of attack.

Time trickled by. Soon, it was after midnight.

The four of them and the Warg Mount held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

SHHH... SHHH... A faint, dragging sound drew closer and closer.

”Six of them... so many...” Delaford whispered. ’No wonder they could attack so many people at once. The poor bastards never even had a chance to cry for help.’

”Do giant lizards hunt in packs?” Ron whispered, his brow furrowed.

’That wasn’t how he remembered them from his past life.’

”Generally, no,” Delaford muttered. ”Giant lizards usually live in small family groups of two to four, and they rarely leave their territory. That’s why we’ve almost never been attacked by them before...”

”Look! They’re making their move!”

One of the giant lizards was already on top of Klade, its foul-smelling maw—lined with fine, sharp teeth—opening wide to bite down on his neck. But at that exact moment, Klade’s yellow eyes snapped open. With a flex of his powerful arms, his massive hands shot out like iron pincers and clamped around the lizard’s neck, seizing it in a death grip!

The giant lizard shrieked, struggling desperately to escape the earth goblin’s grasp. But whether it clawed with its limbs or thrashed about, it was useless. Suddenly, the earth goblin pulled the lizard’s neck into a tight embrace. The others heard a sickening series of snaps and cracks. When Klade tossed the creature aside, the reptile was nothing more than a limp, broken mass of flesh.

Just then, the other giant lizards, recovering from their initial shock, swarmed the earth goblin and began their attack!

AWOOOO— With a long howl from the Warg Mount hidden beneath the leaves, the signal was given. Ron and the others, who had been lying in wait, immediately charged out.

Four orbs of light flared to life in the air, instantly illuminating the entire battlefield. At that moment, two humanoid creatures who had crept up beside Klade were caught in the glare. Their color-changing skin could no longer conceal them, and they were completely exposed to the ambush set by Ron and his party!