Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”I’m fine, but quite a few of my little friends died,” the goblin said, stroking Big White sadly. ”Thank goodness they spotted the assassin. If it weren’t for them, I’d probably be a corpse by now.”

”I probably would have had time to use Resurrection Magic to get you back up,” Victoria teased, ”but not your little friends.”

”Hey, something’s not right,” Aive said, looking around. ”There are only four of us. Where are Sera and Silvia?”

”Don’t tell me that barbarian slept so soundly she missed this?” Silvia said as she walked out. ”What are you all doing? It’s so noisy.”

”They didn’t go to your room? The assassins...” Ron looked at Silvia in confusion. ’She’s a Mage, just like me, so why is she so calm? It’s as if nothing happened.’

”Oh, you mean my midnight snack?” Silvia raised an eyebrow and dragged an unlucky assassin out of her room. He was dead from blood loss, with two large holes in his neck.

”I’m all too familiar with these night owls. I learned my melee combat alongside them—though it’s a shame I only barely passed.”

”If I could have excelled at that while also studying Magic, I wouldn’t have had to run away for my freedom. But life as an assassin certainly isn’t as good as this.”

”So, where’s Sera?” Silvia frowned. ”Don’t tell me she actually slept like the dead and let an assassin slit her throat?”

Alarmed, the group kicked down Sera’s door, only to find the room empty. There was no sign of an assassin, and Sera was gone too.

Just then, the simple Communication Stone Quest was wearing began to buzz. The Tiffling gestured for everyone to be quiet, then held it to his ear to listen.

”Hm? Oh, okay. I’m on my way. I’ll do my best.”

”What’s going on?” Ron asked.

”It’s Sera,” Quest said, his expression grave. ”The remaining assassins found her dead drunk in the main hall, but a Dwarf she was drinking with spotted them. They’re locked in a fight in the hall right now.”

”The strange part is, they said they landed a fatal blow on Sera, but she got back up and has grown to a gigantic size!”

Though Quest didn’t understand the reason for this, Ron and the others exchanged a glance and immediately charged ahead.

That Indomitable ring had activated!

They had to get there before Sera collapsed for good—at the very least, they had to back her up before the minute after her ’death’ was over!

With no time to don their armor or grab their weapons, Ron and the others rushed into the main hall of the trading post. There, they saw Sera locked in a fierce battle with a full seven assassins, while Rurik lay on the ground, a dagger in his back.

”That’s all thirteen assassins accounted for!” Silvia immediately began Casting. Having just drunk her fill, the Vampire Descendant was brimming with energy. ”Thank goodness for Sera. Otherwise, we’d still be worried about where the others were!”

”ROAR—”

Sera had gone completely berserk. Seeing her teammates arrive, the barbarian forced herself to hold on, manipulating her increasingly stiff body to swing the Grip of the Vast Wave. With a hoarse, almost inhuman roar, she brutally slammed an overeager assassin into the ground. When she lifted the proportionally gigantic greatsword, little more than a bloody smear remained.

”He can be saved!” Victoria forcefully threw down a statue and knelt beside Rurik. The Dwarf Blacksmith had only temporarily fainted from the combined effects of the wound and a poison. After she administered an Antitoxic Potion and a Healing Potion, he slowly began to stir.

”By Moradin!” The Dwarf’s great beard was still trembling after he woke up. ”Now that was a rush!”

”The real rush is just getting started!” Aive shouted, her eyes bloodshot as she charged. ”Not a single one of these murderers is getting away!”

Although the Half-Elf had always focused on protecting her companions during their adventures, forcing her to don heavy armor and take up a sturdy shield, her skill at killing with a Longsword was no less impressive than her strength as a Protector. She didn’t flinch for a moment, even when facing a larger number of elite assassins.

And Ron, once again, became the assassins from Carolina’s perceived weak spot.

”You people just don’t quit, do you?!” Ron kicked over a table to block an assassin’s charge. The radiance of a Lightning Gemstone flared on one hand, while the other snatched a bottle of hard liquor from the counter and hurled it. ”If it comes to it, I’ll just rebuild this whole place myself!”

With a BOOM, the strong liquor exploded in the high heat, erupting in the middle of the crowd. By now, both Sera and Aive were covered in injuries, but they had all but abandoned defense, braving the lightning, flames, and flying shards of glass to press their savage assault.

Delaford’s swarm of rats quickly surged forward. Just as an assassin was about to ambush Aive from behind, a great tide of rats poured down from the ceiling beams, drowning him in an instant.

”We vastly outnumber you!” the Goblin Hunter yelled, shaking his fist. He then grabbed a chair and joined the fight.

Sera’s vision abruptly went dark. Her giant form shrank back to normal, and the ring on her finger shattered into a thousand pieces. At that same moment, she had the satisfaction of seeing Silvia smash a wine bottle over the last assassin’s head from behind, felling him. Half the bottle remained lodged in his skull, refusing to come out.

Then, Victoria pulled her up and started pouring Healing Potions into her mouth as if they were free, nearly choking her to death all over again.

”Stop!” Sera wiped her mouth, her voice hoarse. ”I haven’t even seen the Hall of Heroes! I still haven’t—”

”That’s because this was no glorious death!” Ron tossed an empty potion bottle aside. ”You have to keep fighting here in the world of the living!”

”Your leader’s right,” Rurik said, stroking his great beard. ”I only just found a drinking buddy in you. It’d be a real shame for you to die just like that!”

”Alright,” Sera said, clarity slowly returning to her eyes. ”It seems Grom believes I still have more important things to accomplish. Thank you, all of you. Really!”

”Especially you, Victoria!”

”To be honest, sometimes I think about pledging myself to some deity and becoming a Priest,” Silvia said with a hint of jealousy. ”Being able to use Divine Magic instantly is just unfair!”

”You’re more than welcome to join me,” Victoria said with a smile.

”I think I’ll pass,” Silvia said with a shrug. ”The truth is, I’m already a believer in the beautiful Lady Intoxicating Bee. I’m sure she can help me get my revenge on Carolina.”

”To be perfectly honest, though, I still haven’t decided whether to devote myself to her, body and soul. It’s a rather important decision for me, after all.”