The combination of Leap, Acceleration, and Biting is swift.
It’s a collaboration of skills, or should I say, a combination?
Anyway, that combination flows as quickly as using a single skill.
An average goblin would have its heart eaten in the blink of an eye.
But Skull Crusher Ayutar was no average goblin.
Moreover, unlike the others, he was wearing armor covering his upper body.
I had no choice but to aim for the exposed parts of his body.
Hands, or neck.
I aimed for the neck.
My appearance was revealed for just a moment as sparks flew.
When intense light disappears, deeper darkness follows.
And darkness was my stage.
I approached his nape without making a sound.
I’ll sink my Venomous Fang into that smelly neck.
“Uwooooh!”
That’s when it happened.
Ayutar let out a roar and changed the trajectory of his club.
At the same time, he struck me with his forearm.
I was flung into the air with a whoosh.
Oh no, he noticed.
He realized that I would aim for his nape.
Even if you can’t see, you can block if you know where the attack will come from.
It’s frustrating being small.
I flew through the air for quite a while.
Where I landed was on a goblin’s shoulder.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Something cold and slippery clung to him in the darkness.
Croc’s goblin screamed as if he’d seen a ghost.
Not surprising.
“Begone, ghost!”
He really thought a ghost was strangling his neck.
With my night vision, I could see the goblin’s actions.
He kept turning and swinging his sword in all directions.
It’s okay! It’s! O! Kay!
I calmed the goblin down.
By biting his back and strangling his neck.
“Kuueok!”
With his dying breath.
「Your level has increased.」
As expected, the experience points from goblins have a good cost-performance ratio.
I dropped to the ground with a thud.
The battlefield was in utter chaos.
Goblins would probably see better in the dark than humans.
Nevertheless, the night was dark.
Croc’s goblins, who had been carrying torches until just now, probably hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet.
They could only rely on starlight to see ahead.
Peep peep-
But arrows were being shot from the forests on both sides.
Lunga’s goblin archers couldn’t see either, but if you keep shooting, you’re bound to hit something.
Dozens of goblins had already died from arrow wounds or being run over by carts.
“Shield bearers, gather! Wolf riders, enter the forest!”
Even in this chaos, there were some attempting to command.
There weren’t that many arrows to begin with. Goblin metallurgy wasn’t very advanced.
So it would be hand-to-hand combat.
A flock of ostriches burst out of the forest.
Lunga’s goblins riding ostriches crossed the night field.
Red Crow Ostriches are nocturnal. They ran well even in darkness.
And not just any ostrich, but ‘Red Crow Ostrich’.
The already threatening ostrich claws were like blades.
“Kwaaaak!”
Heart-slicing ostrich!
The sacrificed goblin screamed, spewing blood.
I wondered why they were called Red Crow when their claws were white, but they’re red with blood.
“Kheung!”
This time, a wolf pounced on such an ostrich.
The wolf’s rider was hanging limp, dead with an arrow in his head.
Even so, the wolf that had tasted blood didn’t stop biting.
It’s a melee.
No matter how effective Snake Galgong-myeong’s strategy was, blood was bound to be spilled.
Goblins from the Lunga tribe and Croc tribe fought, all mixed up.
But.
“This is nothing but your stage.”
A dark night without a single torch.
Undergrowth reaching up to the shins.
Screams and shouts to cover the sound of moving through the bushes.
This environment is the best for a snake to run wild.
Seureuruk-
I just bit an ankle as I passed by.
「The proficiency of Deadly Poison: Neurotoxin has increased.」
It’s true that white snakes are cooler than black ones.
But black snakes are less noticeable. That’s practical.
I have to admit that.
「Stealth lv6 has become Stealth lv7.」
Wherever I passed, one goblin fell.
Thud, thud, and thud.
「Your level has increased.」
The proficiency of deadly poison, which was hard to increase, keeps rising.
「Deadly Poison: Neurotoxin lv4 has become Deadly Poison: Neurotoxin lv5.」
「Your level has increased.」
From the point when the number of goblins I took down exceeded ten, Croc’s goblins started to notice my presence.
Death was crawling by their side.
“Be careful, there’s a snake!”
“Damn it, aaaargh!”
Some mistook the wind rustling the bushes for me.
They flailed about swinging their swords, but I was already gone from their side.
Clang, bang!
In front of two hobgoblins fighting fiercely, paying no attention to their surroundings.
Nanaluk and Ayutar.
The two strongest were still fighting, sparks flying.
「Using Basic Elemental Magic: Earth lv5.」
I bound Ayutar’s feet, making him stagger.
Nanaluk’s sword strikes Ayutar’s shoulder hard.
Jjeong!
The crude armor prevented the blade from digging in.
But his shoulder must hurt as if it’s about to break.
And I leaped once more.
Biting his exposed left hand and.
I squeezed out all the venom remaining in my venom glands.
“Kwaaaak!”
The neurotoxin will spread throughout his body in an instant.
Victory is mine.
Ayutar’s eyes met mine.
The Skull Crusher hadn’t earned that title for nothing.
Ayutar had spirit.
“Uoooooh!”
He threw away his club and drew the short sword at his waist.
“Po, poison snake!”
And with that short sword, he cut off his left arm that I had bitten.
Ssweok!
“Huk, huk! I’m alive!”
This goblin.
How much does he fear snakes?
Blood spurted from his severed left arm.
And passing through that fountain of blood came a sharp axe blade.
It was Nanaluk.
Seogek!
She must have aimed for the neck.
But Ayutar blocked it with his right hand in that split second.
Thuk.
What fell off wasn’t his head, but his right hand.
Having lost both hands, defeat was certain.
But even in this situation, Ayutar didn’t give up.
Using his larger build, he embraced Nanaluk tightly.
And bit her nape.
“Aak!”
Even Nanaluk, the warrior of reversal, couldn’t help but be surprised.
Why is this crazy goblin so tenacious?
The prejudice that goblins are just mobs was now shattered and torn beyond recognition.
Nanaluk is also trying to push him away and escape by twisting her head.
Dangerous!
I crawled up Ayutar’s leg.
I can’t separate him with my strength.
Then I have no choice but to end his life myself.
After crawling up his leg, I entered through a gap in his clanking armor.
Ugh, the smell of sweat.
But I have a strong stomach.
I bit his belly furiously.
“Aaaaargh!”
He let out a thunderous scream.
You should consider yourself lucky.
If I were still my previous small size, I would have gone in through your navel and come out through your mouth.
He finally couldn’t endure anymore and started to run away.
Wobble, I can feel his body tilting.
With a thud, the direction of gravity changed.
The Skull Crusher no longer moved.
A thrilling chain of level-ups that I hadn’t experienced in a while began.
「Your level has increased.」
「Your level has increased.」
「Your level has increased.」
A whole three level-ups.
My level exceeded 10.
A thrilling pleasure spread throughout my body.
Does saying it like this make me sound a bit perverse?
Let’s just say it’s a pleasant refreshing feeling.
Let me rest like this for a moment.
I’ll be covered by the armor. I need to recover my strength for a bit.
This situation feels as comfortable as when I was inside the Chimera and Horn Jaguar.
But I didn’t stay long.
Ew, the smell.
Honestly, it’s a better environment than the Chimera’s belly, but somehow it was unpleasant.
I turned my head to try to get out, but it wasn’t easy because of all the blood.
I had no choice but to decide on a frontal breakthrough.
Ayutar’s armor was a crude thing made by weaving pieces of iron together.
If I slowly widened the gap between the fibers, I could make a hole and get out.
That’s what I did.
As I forcefully pushed my head out to emerge, light welcomed me.
The battle must be over since they’ve lit torches.
Of course, it would be our victory.
Puhwak!
I finally broke through the chest part of Ayutar’s armor.
The goblins welcomed me with bright smiles… not.
Of course, only Nanaluk was smiling, but not the other goblins of Croc.
Those captured as prisoners and forced to kneel were shocked.
“It ate Ayutar’s heart!”
“The heart-eating snake, it’s real!”
Ah, so that’s how it looked.
This time, I wasn’t really trying to eat the heart.
I guess it might look that way when a snake with a bright red mouth emerges from the chest of the leader.
「The title ‘Heart-eating Snake’ spreads more widely.」
「The rank of the title has increased.」
What!
I still haven’t gotten the title Ullullullu, but the rank of the Heart-eating Snake title has increased.
I could immediately understand what that meant.
──────────────
[Heart-eating Snake]
The terror of the Croc tribe in the great forest.
A snake that grows by eating hearts, it ate the heart of Ayutar, the warrior chief of Croc.
It is said to have a special technique for eating hearts.
Gains more magical power by devouring the hearts of enemies.
──────────────
Oh, the description has definitely changed.
It’s become a bit more glamorous, and my activities are clearly recorded.
The point about having a ‘special technique for eating hearts’ is a bit concerning, since I don’t actually have one.
So, what kind of feat would I need to achieve the title of Ullullullu?
Do I really need to spew lightning while killing that headless red snake or whatever it was?
That’s not easy.
“How did it go?”
Nanaluk had her warriors summarize the situation.
The bite wound on her nape had disappeared.
Thanks to the potion.
“We’ve captured fifteen prisoners.”
“What about the dead and wounded?”
“Six are dead. Five have lost arms or legs.”
About ten out of 80 or so goblins were incapacitated.
But 70 goblins were still intact.
This could be called a great victory.
“Thanks to me.”
It was thanks to Pelerian’s potions.
More than half of the nearly twenty bottles of potions I had collected were invested in the goblins.
The effect of the potions was so excellent that unless it was an injury like losing a limb, they were healed enough to fight.
“Are we going to negotiate with these prisoners, Chief?”
Jadiram asked Nanaluk.
Tsk tsk, how can you have such an easygoing mindset?
“No.”
Nanaluk and my plan wasn’t like that.
“We’re attacking Croc as we are.”
Croc, who sent all his warriors to their deaths.
We’ll crush him and reclaim my dungeon.
“More precisely, it’s my dungeon.”
Anyway.
==
“Chief! Chief!”
A subordinate of Croc came running, panting heavily.
“Come out and see!”
“What is it?”
Croc glared fiercely.
He had been at the excavation site continuously for several days.
Because there was finally a big breakthrough.
They found the main entrance.
Judging by the enormous number of traps installed, it was certain.
Because of that, all the prisoners had already been used up.
Now, they were using the old and sick goblins from the tribe as prisoners.
The mood in the tribe wasn’t good, but it didn’t matter.
They couldn’t defy Croc anyway.
In any case, why was he being called out at such an important moment?
“Ayutar and all the warriors are dead!”
“What?”
How could that be? Even after giving them so many wolf riders!
Moreover, Ayutar was the second strongest hobgoblin after Croc.
When Croc went outside, there was a hobgoblin with a severed arm sitting there.
He was a warrior who had left with Ayutar.
“I’m, I’m sorry, Chief.”
“…Did other tribes form an alliance?”
Otherwise, there’s no way they could have lost to the soft Lunga.
“That wasn’t the case… we were ambushed.”
A grinding sound echoed.
It was the sound of Croc gritting his teeth.
“What about Lunga’s losses? Did you kill them all?”
If so, it wouldn’t matter.
The tribe’s strongest warrior wasn’t Ayutar, but Croc himself.
“We took down about twenty out of a hundred…”
“What nonsense!”
Just as he was about to kick the warrior who had returned alive.
Deng deng deng deng-
A bell rang.
A goblin on watch duty in the hastily built watchtower was ringing the bell.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”
The echoing cry.
There wasn’t even a palisade for defense here at Elephant Rock.
“About sixty warriors… no, seventy! Numerous ostrich riders!”
“Hueoook!”
Ayutar’s surviving subordinate had a seizure.
Was fear already ingrained in him?
Croc’s subordinate urgently shouted.
“Chief! I’ll gather the warriors.”
“Go and stop them.”
“What about you, Chief…”
Croc said with a stern expression.
“I’ll be at the excavation site.”
The subordinate was shocked.
Was the chief, Croc, saying he wouldn’t participate in the fight?
“Then…!”
“Call the tamer Melchi!”
“Ah.”
“Hold them off, I don’t care if you all die!”
After saying that, Croc went inside without hesitation.
The fate of the tribe? There was something more important below.
The mysterious man who came to him one day.
The man who made him evolve into a Hobgoblin King, and also showed him the way to evolve beyond that.
He said that the legacy of some reversal magician or whatever was hidden here at Elephant Rock.
==
I traveled with Nanaluk for half a day straight.
And finally, we arrived at Elephant Rock.
“There it is, that’s the place! These rat bastards, really!”
Below Elephant Rock, the excavation site remained as it was.
Seeing that the rock hasn’t collapsed yet, it seems it hasn’t been looted.
Pelerian urged to go in quickly.
That was my intention anyway.
“Thank you.”
Nanaluk winked at me.
From now on, I’ll act separately from the goblins.
When the melee breaks out, I’ll immediately find the dungeon and enter.
Being on an ostrich, my stamina is at its peak.
The remnants of the Croc tribe rang bells and prepared for defense.
Warriors came running out in a hurry.
It was right before the fight broke out.
The Croc goblins smiled brightly and rejoiced.
“Tamer Melchi has come-!”
The goblin named Melchi or whatever appeared.
He was a skinny goblin shaman, wearing something like a black cloth instead of armor.
“Kill them all, Melchi!”
The reason Croc’s warriors were rejoicing at the appearance of this scrawny goblin was clear.
“Damn… this could be dangerous.”
Even Nanaluk was tense.
The title ‘Tamer’ wasn’t given for nothing.
He controlled one magical beast.
And it was a very large and giant…
“Centipede.”
A giant centipede.
A centipede with bright red poisonous claws blocked Lunga’s warriors.
──────────────
[Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede lv31]
──────────────
No, it’s a giant centipede.
“Everyone, prepare to scatter. Kuk.”
Everyone looked scared.
I couldn’t understand the current situation.
Why is everyone so tense?
Isn’t it common sense that centipedes are kind?
──────────────
[Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede lv31]
[Traits]
[Gentleness]…
──────────────
See?