Chapter 37: Hunt

After the reorganization of the goblins, Didi was assigned to keep watch of the surroundings of the village. The goblins under him were 50 goblins and it was the most numerous one out of all. His unit could be called the spearhead of the goblins.

The one who volunteered to support him in the future was Una, a goblin who had the same rank as Didi. He had specifically asked to join Didi and Dawn granted his wish.

And now, those two goblins were looking over the forest beyond their village. To be exact, they were in the northern part of the village, looking over where they came from.

Guoooh!

A monster was rushing out while letting out its menacing roar. It was a bear but not the animal; it was the Bearus that boasts strength in its paws and poison in its claws. Most would tremble in fear in front of this gigantic Bearus but the goblins didn't have the slightest sign of that.

The goblins immediately dispersed when the bear brought its paws down and they climbed upon its back. They didn't have things like a sword so they have to pierce through the softest part of the body; its eyes.

The Bearus tried to struggle but it was all for naught. A goblin punched its eyes and with its vision out of the game, the goblin took their sweet time to finish it off.

It didn't even take 30 goblins to finish the fight. It was an overwhelming victory to the goblins who were considered prey for all monsters. Another group of goblins entered the stage and they brought the corpse of the monster to the inner parts of the village.

It was all and fine for the goblins to fight but there was a different problem for the village itself.

"Didi…This is the fourth time, isn't this too many?"

"Yeah, it sounds similar to the story of that goblin."

Right after Dawn's ceremony comes a pack of monsters looking to attack their village. Didi defended against it but not even half an hour has passed that another pack of monsters appeared right in front of their noses.

And it was similar to the situation that was described by Wos. The monsters from the south were increasing and the direction from here was the north...

"Is the forest undergoing something?"

Una asked with excitement evident in his tone. It is indeed a problem that monsters are rapidly increasing but that doesn't mean they have to be burdened about it.

"You go to the king, Una. Tell him about this, we might have to relocate soon."

"Relocate? Why?"

"If we get pincered from the front and back, we won't be able to win."

Una widened his eyes at Didi's statement. Of course, he knew that there were threats to the south, whether it be goblins or monsters.

"I'll go tell him!"

Una ran while shouting some more words to Didi but he didn't hear it. Didi sat on the ground and he crossed his arms as he thought.

'Monsters increasing...and the Blessings of the battlefield.'

Of course, he didn't forget when the Blessings told him that it was looking at him with amused eyes. The title given to him was Believer but it didn't give him any power at all. It was an unprecedented situation.

And now, the monster population was increasing...This is the first time it ever happened.

'I should talk about this to the Elder.'

Didi wasn't smart and he doesn't have the necessary wits to quickly think. He also doesn't have the necessary patience to think about it for a long time. He was, in bones and brains, a Big Goblin.

'Ah...Una already left.'

He wanted to go and ask the Elder now but there were no goblins that could lead the other goblins here.

"Haaah. I really don't get why the king wants me to be a Brute."

A Brute was the position of a commander that Dawn gave. Except for Karkas, all of them got this name.

Technically, it was just a name but it was a source of pride for the goblins. It means that one was in a position where the king trusts them with his forces.

"I just want to be where the king is..."

Of course, the greatest honor was staying by the king's side. However, Dawn doesn't realize the dilemma of his ever so loyal subordinate.

****

"Hmmm. So he wants me to come to him?"

"Yes, chief."

At a place where the outside couldn't be seen, a group of goblins was talking amongst themselves. The one leading the talk was the chief of a big village, Womo.

He was the father of Wos and Mos, the goblins who visited Dawn.

Right now, they were talking about the terms given by Dawn and how they will respond to him.

"Well, have you succeeded in the other?"

"No, it seems that some of his goblins were hunting during the time we visited."

Of course, they didn't go there just to ask for permission. They also went there to see the war potential of the village. The strength of the chief, numbers, the blessed...several things were confirmed during that brief exchange.

"If he was able to kill Raen then his forces shouldn't be small. The blessed too, it seems like the chief over there has the foundation to build a Big Village."

A Big Village is different from any village. It is akin to how a noble rules over its land. The chief has several vassals under him and the adequate number necessary to steadily grow the scale of the village.

The villages of the former chieftain, Karkas and Didi couldn't be compared to a Big Village. Those villages were created just for survival and the Big Village was for prosperity and increasing the population. As the goblin's population was thinning out, this method has come to be.

That's also the reason why if one went further south, one would be able to meet more goblins. The goblins in the north were serving as a shield from the humans and any possible invasion, whether they like it or not.

But it's not as if the chiefs and the Big Villages were all working towards the betterment of their race. Some waged wars with each other and some just killed its villagers. There were various goblins as there were various humans.

"Yes, however, they are clearly lacking. If we compare them to ours, they are basically chicks without a mother. The chief over there isn't doing anything."

Naturally, the chief of a Big Village has to lead the goblins whether it is a battle with another village or a hunt. And the possible next chief of this Big Village, Wos has judged that the enemy chief was incompetent. His words held credibility.

In all actuality, all they saw was Dawn returning from somewhere while his subordinates were resting in the village. Even though they don't know the inner workings, that was still a clue.

Of course, such clues were not always right.

"Chief, I have something to say."

"Hmm?"

The chief, Womo, looked at his son, Mos. He was his son but that was not an important thing for a goblin. The important thing was that the knowledge that the chief had, will be passed down to the next chief.

The son will not necessarily succeed in the chief position but in most Big Villages, the son will be reared personally by the chief so this makes the son the next powerful goblin, second only to the chief.

"The chief there has a mark of the Cave of Regalia. Will it be fine?"

Even in the goblin's society, there were some unwritten rules. One such rule is that one cannot attack a goblin who has a mark of the Cave of Regalia but if the marked goblin attacked them, they can retaliate. Not all of them know why but this unwritten rule is still observed.

The reason why Mos was worrying was that if the other goblins learned that they attacked Dawn, who has a mark, then they may be wiped off the map.

There were cases when goblins attacked and killed a marked goblin but the goblin who did the killing and its village were destroyed. No goblin knows who destroyed the village and that brings fear even to them. Even the Five Great Clans cannot trespass the rule.

"Well, it will be fine. We don't have to go on the specified day. I still have to attend the meeting."

The goblins all nodded their heads at Womo's words. They all have smiles on their faces at the thought that they won't be fighting a marked goblin but...

"Ah, just to be sure, make sure you prepare for war. We might have to move there after all."

All of the smiles were wiped off their faces as dark and gloomy expressions replaced it. The only two...no, one goblin had a fearless smile on his face.

'Yes!'

That goblin was Mos. It seems he still wanted to punish the goblin who dared to copy the King.