It was not long after Ginovan had reported about the golem’s core to the fortress commander Baron Dortagon.
“As expected, they’re gathering mercenaries.”
Jun who had been observing the overall atmosphere of the fortress through the window casually remarked.
As soon as the commander’s orders were posted in the Mercenaries’ Guild, the atmosphere in the Black Forest Fortress began to change rapidly.
Just like Jun, the other mercenaries were also showing a lot of interest in the upcoming subjugation mission.
“Judging from the fact that they’re wearing high-grade equipment, it seems like there are adventurers as well… Are those mages? What are they doing here?”
In response to Jun’s muttering, Chloe who was busy with paperwork nearby answered.
“They must have come thinking it’s connected to the Goblin Lord. If a field boss appears, it’s only a matter of time before an Area Lord shows up too. But those adventurers might have a hard time. There’s already an adventurer party called ‘Azure Cloud’ that set up camp in the Black Forest.”
“Azure Cloud? Ah, that adventurer party stationed at Level 3?”
“That’s right. They’ve been gearing up to hunt the Area Lord since last year. I heard even the imperial family granted them permission.”
“What about the mages, then?”
“The Area Lord has appeared earlier than usual this year. They’re probably here because of that, don’t you think?”
Chloe tried not to show her concern and cast a worried glance at Jun.
Jun had never had a good relationship with mages.
When he noticed this, Jun responded.
“My so-called master went to great lengths to hide my existence. Then he up and died. So, you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Still, it wasn’t a comfortable topic, so Jun quickly changed the subject.
“So, what about the items I mentioned?”
“I brought them. Managed to get a good price, too.”
Chloe finished her paperwork and took out the items she had prepared one by one from her space pouch.
There were various potion ingredients and a new spellbook.
“All of it together, 7.2 million gold coins.”
“Damn. That’s ridiculously expensive.”
Most of the money they had earned from raiding the goblin village was gone without a trace.
But there was no helping it.
The Goblin Lord had appeared sooner than expected, and Jun needed to prepare the appropriate spells for what was coming next.
Chloe smiled faintly, perhaps because she found Jun’s sad expression amusing.
“That’s why I told you to invest. Just leave it alone, and the money multiplies on its own, you know? Besides, there’s still a long way to go before Blackout resets. It’s the perfect time to invest.”
“No point in hoarding money just to die with it. Right now, it’s time to invest in reputation, not wealth.”
Chloe shrugged her shoulders.
As a merchant, her perspective on money differed greatly from Jun’s who was a mercenary.
“By the way, it’s been a while since you’ve seen a spellbook, huh? Is this the first time since then?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
Jun’s expression as he handled the luxurious spellbook was somewhat nostalgic.
It wasn’t so much a memory of “Lee Jeong-Jun” as it was the instinct of the body he now inhabited.
Is this what they call a love-hate relationship?
In Jun’s memories, the original owner of this body had an intense passion for magic.
Yet, through various fragmented memories, it was clear that he eventually grew disappointed with magic.
To be more precise, it was a disappointment for the society of mages.
From that point on, he already knew in his gut that his master was aiming for his heart.
Well, I don’t know if that’s why he made that choice.
When Jun first awoke in this body, the first thing he saw was the ceiling and a severed rope hanging from it…
Hmm. Maybe handling a spellbook after so long is making these old memories come back.
In any case, it was a story that no longer mattered. Jun quietly packed the spellbook made of smooth leather and stood up.
“Alright, I’ll be going now. Let’s meet again later.”
***
As time passed, Ginovan volunteered for the scouting team as planned.
Since the scouting team had a high death rate, no one wanted to step forward, but Ginovan was different, and word spread that Commander Baron Dortagon was greatly pleased with his decision.
“Sir Ginovan, you’re the most dedicated. I trust you’ll handle the scouting well.”
“Thank you for your trust, Commander.”
Unlike the two attack teams that were still in the preparation stage, the scouting team was deployed first.
Their mission was to locate the Goblin Lord.
To that end, the scouting team which included Jun and Aiden headed into the Black Forest.
The starting part of the forest was relatively peaceful, but after about a day of marching, battles began to break out more frequently.
“A swarm of Corrow Bees ahead!”
“Form a defensive line! Brace your legs!”
“Don’t hold up your spears, you idiot! These things will die on their own! Just keep your shields up!”
The Corrow Bees were about the size of a small dog and carried corrosive venom sacs from their waist to their hindquarters.
The strategy to deal with them was simple.
All I had to do was hold the shields up and watch them crash into it and self-destruct.
But right after that, an Outer Wolf appeared.
Just as the clever creatures realized that the rear of the scouting team was wide open and were about to move.
Slash―!!
Aiden who had been hiding in a nearby tree suddenly lunged down.
He slashed one of the three Outer Wolves deeply along its side.
At the same time, Aiden grabbed the injured creature by the tail and pulled it away from the scouting team.
Grrr!!!
Awooooo――!!
As you would expect from pack creatures, their sense of camaraderie was strong, and eventually they all turned on Aiden.
However, unlike before, Aiden didn’t dodge. Instead, he actively engaged them.
I can see it!
During the gap before the scouting team was formed, Aiden had entered the Black Forest with Jun daily. And he gained experience by facing various monsters during that time.
Each piece of advice Jun gave was invaluable, and Aiden absorbed and mastered the knowledge like a sponge.
Because of this, he could clearly read the Outer Wolves’ movements.
Now, he felt he could deal with them even without using magical power.
As expected. He’s overflowing with talent.
Jun who had been watching Aiden’s movements for a moment soon turned his attention to the soldiers.
The swarm of Corrow Bees was just now colliding with them.
The moment the creatures touched the sturdy shields, their bodies shattered and scattered.
Chiieeek――!!
At the same time, the poison sacs burst and they released a fierce sound and a foul stench over the shields.
“Ugh!”
“Hey, you idiot! Don’t get pushed back! I said, don’t get pushed back!”
“Close the gaps in the shields! The poison is getting through!”
A few soldiers who were still unaccustomed to the situation began to falter, but the veteran soldiers shouted at them.
There hadn’t been any major casualties yet, but there were still many Corrow Bees left at the front.
The formation couldn’t afford to collapse so soon.
At that moment, Jun’s [Shield] spread over the soldiers’ shields.
Bam, bam, bam!!
It wasn’t strengthened with a large amount of magical power, so it was quickly shattered by the charging Corrow Bees, but it bought the soldiers enough time to regain their stance.
This should be enough for now.
In fact, ranged attacks were perfect for dealing with these self-destructing bees.
Since self-destruction is their specialty, their defense is almost nonexistent. They’ll probably die after a few [Wind Cutter] shots.
But Jun deliberately held back.
The troops were still in the process of adapting to the Black Forest.
This was something he had already agreed upon with Ginovan.
“They’re almost all dead!”
“We just need to hold on one more time!”
“We did it!”
“Whoooa!”
When they finally managed to fend off all the Corrow Bees, the soldiers’ morale soared.
The battlefield reeked with a foul stench, yet the soldiers’ expressions were bright.
Ginovan then gave orders with practiced ease.
“Gather the Corrow Bees’ corpses and scatter them around the campsite. That way, other monsters won’t be drawn to us.”
They would have to endure that terrible stench all night, but the same would apply to any other monsters.
The stronger the stench, the less likely monsters would attack.
As they finished preparing the camp, Ginovan called for Jun.
“Jun, what do you think of the current situation?”
“It seems that there’s already a shift in the monsters’ habitats.”
“Hmm, I thought so.”
Originally, Corrow Bees only appeared deeper in the forest.
This was likely due to the goblins rapidly expanding their territory from the northeast.
The Corrow Bees must have relocated their habitat because of the growing number of goblins.
What might seem like a small piece of information, all pointed to the same conclusion when pieced together.
“It certainly looks like our target is in the northeast.”
“Then how do you plan to adjust the scouting speed?”
“It’s probably best to slow it down. They’ll need time to adapt, and besides, the main force still has some time before they establish the base camp.”
Since he was known to be very considerate of his subordinates, Ginovan made his decision with caution.
Jun didn’t strongly oppose his decision.
It also meant more opportunities for him to prove himself.
After the scouting mission began, Ginovan who had been observing Jun and Aiden’s steady performance mentioned their contributions.
“At least you and your companion… Aiden, was it?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to you both, I was able to worry a bit less. Your timely interventions have been a great help.”
Jun scratched the back of his head as if he was embarrassed by Ginovan’s genuine praise.
“Is your companion someone who has been formally trained in swordsmanship?”
“…I heard he had some connections in the past.”
“Hmm, he might have been a squire for a famous knight.”
Jun couldn’t help but smile wryly to himself. Ginovan had no idea Aiden was actually of imperial blood.
As the saying goes, you notice what you know, and since Ginovan was a knight himself, it seemed he had picked up on something in Aiden’s movements.
But his interest went no further than that.
“Continue buying us time from the rear as you have been. My soldiers will soon finish adapting.”
“Understood.”
And just as Ginovan had predicted, the soldiers quickly became accustomed to fighting in the Black Forest.
Their experience from the previous goblin subjugation and the daily battles had honed their skills.
At first, they struggled to form proper formations in the densely wooded terrain, but now they moved into their positions naturally.
However, despite their efforts, the Black Forest showed no signs of being easily conquered.
“This time, it’s man-eating plants, huh…”
The changes in the monsters’ habitats were more significant than expected.
Ginovan looked at the plant-type monsters that had been slain by the soldiers with a deeply serious expression on his face.
Although he was a novice commander, he had graduated as an elite from the Imperial Military Academy.
Because of this, he was quite well-versed in information about the Black Forest, and the quality of the intelligence he had gathered was never lacking.
Even to him, the current anomalies in the Black Forest seemed unusual.
Jun felt the same way.
This… doesn’t feel right.
His intuition as a veteran sounded the alarm once again.
***
On the third day of their scouting mission.
The soldiers’ combat instincts had now been honed to a sharp edge, and the monster attacks had become more frequent.
Before long, the scouting team discovered a goblin village.
And near the village, as expected.
There were several totems hanging around. These indicated the presence of a Goblin Lord.
“Finally!”
“We’ve found their stronghold!”
“We need to show those bastards what we’re made of, haha!”
Though they hadn’t found the main enemy stronghold, confirming the presence of a Goblin Lord was an encouraging development.
Now, they just needed to wait for the main force sent from the fortress to arrive.
The last time they failed to subdue a field boss in the Black Forest was at least decades ago, so the soldiers’ faces reflected their confidence in victory.
“…It’s too close to the entrance.”
However, in contrast to the soldiers’ expressions, Ginovan’s face was far from pleased.
And with good reason. Hadn’t they discovered it near the northeastern entrance?
This meant that all the territory beyond that point likely belonged to the goblins.
It was far too vast.
“Jun. What do you think?”
Ginovan who had received much help from Jun on their way here asked for his opinion.
Like him, Jun’s expression was not good.
In fact, it seemed he sensed something more, as he had been lost in thought for a while.
“I suspect… an Irregular.”
And just as Ginovan had expected, Jun dug through his memories of <Blackout> that he had played in the past and came up with a somewhat proper answer.
“An Irregular Goblin Lord…?”
A mutant monster. An Irregular.
It was a term used when a monster exceeded the limits of its race.
If a regular monster appeared as an Irregular, it could be considered somewhat fortunate.
After all, Irregulars had a higher chance of dropping skill books and acquiring one of those could be incredibly beneficial in the early stages of development in terms of both performance and value.
There were even players in the community who specialized in hunting only Irregulars.
But a field boss appearing as an Irregular?
If you were a veteran player, you’d likely be cheering.
Considering a field boss had a 100% chance of dropping a skill book, it would indeed be a jackpot.
However.
“Do you think we can defeat that guy with our current troops?”
For Ginovan to say something like that meant that the difficulty of the subjugation had significantly increased.
“If it’s an Irregular Goblin Lord, I’ve read about it before. Even with the current level of troops, we should be able to subdue it. However… that’s assuming we’re thoroughly prepared.”
“You mean we can’t guarantee a perfect victory.”
After a moment of thought, Ginovan asked Jun again.
“Do you know when the last Irregular Goblin Lord appeared?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It was seventy-two years ago. That was also the last time we failed to subdue a Goblin Lord.”
“……”
Seventy-two years was long enough for several generations to pass within Blackout.
“I wonder if the fortress commander will take this seriously.”
“……”
“Haaah. This is giving me a headache.”
But what else could he do?
Right now, all he could do was report it to his superiors.
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