Chapter 249 249



After Tenku and Kaede left Setsuka and the others, the two rushed to the location of a goblin. The spies were confused because the two people suddenly separated from their group. But they decided to stay in that place and watch over Kirika according to orders from Chizen. As long as the girl accompanying Tenku wasn't Kirika, it was none of their business.

Tenku and Kaede didn't take long to reach their destination. They saw a goblin walking sneakily from one bamboo tree to another. The monster looked around warily and tried to avoid the visitors in that place.

"That goblin seems afraid of being found out by the people in the Arashiyama bamboo grove." Kaede said weakly because she didn't want the monsters to notice their presence. But then, she became nervous after discovering that her distance from Tenku was almost zero, making her heart race.

"This is weird. Goblin-class monsters should only act on their instincts. But why does this one look like it has intelligence?" Tenku narrowed his eyes and said. He felt that the existence of the goblin in front of him was unnatural.

Only high-level monsters should have intelligence since they have evolved over a long period. But Tenku was confused because that goblin could act like a human. He felt something odd about the monster's existence.

"Yeah, you're right. I also feel the same way as you. Low-level monsters shouldn't be able to act like that." Kaede nodded in agreement at his words. She tried to keep her composure and suppressed the nervousness in her heart from being too close to Tenku. Even so, Kaede was happy but couldn't show it on her face.

Kaede had never felt this way in the past. But after their shared mission on Mount Kumotori, she felt something growing inside her heart. She had doubts about her feelings, but now she is sure that she has affection for Tenku.

"It looks like there aren't any other monsters around this place." Tenku tried to check the surroundings but found no other goblins.

"Then what are we going to do with that goblin? Should we kill or capture the monster?" Kaede turned her gaze to Tenku, and their eyes met. It made her face as red as an apple, and her heart stopped momentarily. But Kaede quickly regained her senses and turned her face away from him.

"We'll follow that goblin. We will kill the monster if we get nothing from it." Tenku replied. He noticed Kaede's strange behavior but didn't want to think about it too much. Tenku wanted to solve the goblin problem immediately and returned to Setsuka and the others. He wanted to enjoy his winter vacation with them in peace. Because of that, Tenku hoped that no other monsters would appear in the Arashiyama bamboo grove.

"I understand." Kaede nodded slightly in response and replied in a barely audible voice.

Tenku and Kaede continued to follow the goblin for half an hour, and they were surprised to see the monster stop in front of a large cave-like hole covered with straw. After that, the goblin went inside and closed the entrance again.

"That goblin is very good at disguising their hiding places. I didn't expect that we would find the monsters' hideout here. Has a space collapse appeared in the Arashiyama bamboo forest? Why are there so few monsters?

The lowest threat level of space collapse would have at least a hundred or more monsters appearing from the portal. But the number of goblins in the pit was less than twenty, and they seemed to want to attack this tourist spot. We were lucky that we followed the goblin and didn't kill it." Tenku muttered after he inspected the cave with his spiritual sense. He saw dozens of goblins in the pit sharpening their weapons.

"What!? That hole is the hideout of the goblins, and they intend to attack the Arashiyama bamboo grove!?" Kaede was shocked after she heard his words.

"Yes." Tenku nodded and then explained what he had seen in the cave to her.

Kaede frowned when she found out about it. She didn't expect a group of goblins to be hiding around the Arashiyama bamboo grove.

"What should we do now?" Kaede asked. She wanted to kill the monsters right now, but she couldn't act without a word from Tenku. After all, he was the one who brought her to that place. So Kaede will follow whatever he decides.

"Of course, we will kill those monsters. Let's go into the cave. But you must be careful because they seem to have prepared a trap for intruders." Tenku warned Kaede.

"Then we don't need to go into that cave to kill those monsters." Kaede replied and smiled sweetly. Tenku was confused by the meaning of her words. But before he could ask, Kaede suddenly manifested her staff-shaped Phantasmal Object and pointed it toward the cave.

"Catch the monsters!" Kaede said in a low voice, and dozens of vines sprouted from the snow-covered ground. It shot off at high speed and charged into the cave. Tenku could hear the screams of the goblins as the vines entered their hideout.

Kaede didn't take long to catch all the monsters in the cave using the vines. No, one goblin had managed to escape her attacks, and that was the monster they had followed.

"That goblin seems to have quite a good sense of danger and fighting ability. The monster quickly kept its distance from the other goblins and slashed at the vines with one of the swords in the cave.

It seems that only one goblin is different and a little special. Besides that monster, everything else in the cave is ordinary low-level monsters." Tenku was monitoring the situation inside the cave and was quite surprised by the reaction of that one goblin and its countermeasures.

Kaede also felt the same way as Tenku. She tried to catch the goblin with the vines she controlled but failed.

"That goblin is fast! Then, I'll take care of the rest of the monsters first." Kaede frowned when she saw the goblin jump in various directions to avoid her attacks. So she decided to deal with the monsters she had caught before focusing on that single goblin.

Kaede tapped her staff on the ground. Afterward, dozens of roots with sharp tips appeared, piercing the goblins' bodies to death.

"Okay. Now is your turn." Kaede looked at the one remaining goblin. It has intelligence and is different from the others.

She intended to kill all the goblins because she couldn't let Tenku fight those low-level monsters. It would only make Kaede look useless and show that she was a burden to him.

Kaede pointed her staff at the goblin, and dozens of vines attacked it. The monster intended to dodge her attack using its agility, but dozens of roots appeared from the ground under its footholds and locked its mobility.

The goblin panicked and tried to break free from the bondage of the roots by slashing them one by one. Unfortunately, it was useless as another root would grow when the monster cut it.

Tenku watched Kaede's way of fighting with a bit of admiration. Even though her opponents were only a group of goblins, the girl could deal with them efficiently. Besides, Tenku believed that Kaede only showed a little of her strength in that battle.

He felt that she was no weaker than Setsuka or Wang Ruyue when it came to the abilities of their Phantasmal Objects. Kaede might outperform the two girls if they fought in the middle of the forest. When Kaede was about to kill the goblin, Tenku quickly stopped her.

"Wait, Kaede! Please don't kill that monster. I want to check on that goblin while it's still alive." Tenku stood next to Kaede and spoke.

"I understand." Kaede nodded because she understood what Tenku wanted to do. Then she stabbed the goblin's legs and arms to prevent it from escaping. Kaede also wanted to know how a goblin-class monster could have such intelligence and fighting abilities, at least on par with second-level monsters.

After the goblin lost its mobility, Tenku and Kaede walked closer to the monster. He was slightly surprised when he saw the goblin showing eyes full of hostility towards him. If Kaede hadn't injured her hands and feet, the monsters would have attacked them again. Goblins would flee in fright after feeling the difference in strength with their opponents. But the monster in front of him showed the opposite reaction.

Tenku released his spiritual sense and scanned the goblin's body. Then he frowned and quickly turned the monster's body over after he found something. The goblin tried to resist, but it was futile under Tenku's power.

He tore off the clothes covering the monster's body, and his face darkened after he saw the many injection marks and surgery scars on the monster's body. Kaede was shocked and covered her mouth with both hands when she saw the scene.

Tenku quickly moved over to the other goblin corpses to inspect their bodies. He also found similar scars on their bodies. Strangely, only that monster was different from the others.

"I see. I understand now why that goblin is different from the others. The goblin seemed to have been used as an experiment by someone." Tenku said solemnly.

"What!? Is someone deliberately experimenting on monsters!? What are those guys aiming for!?" Kaede was shocked after hearing his words. He quickly understood the meaning of his statement.

"Yes. But I don't know what their goal is. I guess those guys intend to evolve the monsters to increase their strength. After that, I don't know what they plan to do." Tenki shook his head.

"Isn't that dangerous!? If those people created hundreds of intelligent monsters, it would threaten Realizers, especially if they did it to high-level monsters!" Kaede said in a trembling voice, and she felt terrified just imagining it.

"You don't need to worry about that. It seemed those guys could only do that experiment on low-level monsters, and the success rate wasn't high. If they can easily create monsters with such intelligence, the other goblins will also have the same strength as this one." Tenku patted Kaede's shoulder gently and tried to calm her down.

"Yes, you are right." Kaede breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that, and her heart calmed down

"After seeing what happened to those goblins, I've gotten a hint as to why the Realizers from the organization's headquarters came to Kyoto." Tenku looked at the monster corpses around him and smiled.