Chapter 10 – Remodeling and Evolution (5)
[Your soldiers have eliminated Grandel. With this, another territory is now yours.]
Grandel is a Tier 3 monster, a carnivorous creature resembling a giant chimpanzee or orangutan.
Though it resembles an ape, as a creature of the Demon Realm, it isn’t particularly more intelligent than other monsters.
Contrary to the first time I faced a Tier 3 monster, the Lagadon, I was able to defeat Grandel fairly easily this time.
My soldiers were much stronger now and far more numerous.
The territory that Grandel had claimed as its own naturally became ours after we eliminated its top predator.
“…”
However, my thoughts were elsewhere entirely—on the goblins we had encountered in the newly scouted territory.
“None of those goblins showed any signs of being controlled by a player. They must be a naturally occurring group.”
I sent out scouts to track the excited goblins and eventually discovered their nest.
Set deep in a forest basin, the goblin nest resembled those I had seen in games and was no small operation. Easily comprising several hundred goblins, they lived in a settlement where they built homes, practiced rudimentary farming, and armed themselves with tools and weapons made from monster by-products.
Prepared for invasion, they had erected strong wooden palisades and watchtowers by cutting down trees and digging trenches, thoroughly monitoring their surroundings.
But that was all. If they were under the control of a player, there would have been unmistakable signs—but none were evident.
Eliminating that possibility left only one conclusion: they were competitors who would hinder us in the future and should be crushed before they became a threat.
Moreover, seeing it another way, it meant a cluster of hundreds of potential prey. Initially caught off guard, I now saw it as an excellent opportunity.
“Their individuals may be worthless, but as a group, they compare…”
A single ordinary goblin wouldn’t even qualify for the lowest Tier 1. However, as a group of several hundred, they surpassed any tier distinctions.
“Could we win if we waged war on them now? We would need to maximize efficiency by wiping them out entirely.”
Though low-tier, goblins are demons in their own right—intelligent beings living in the Demon Realm.
It could be a different battle than the ones fought so far against the more animalistic mana beasts.
Though those squat monsters may seem comical on the surface, having played them myself, I know their potential.
“I’ll accelerate the modifications of the combat soldiers.”
Ultimately, my decision was to prepare as much as we could and strike first.
“Reclassify our combat soldiers according to role.”
The first upgrade was splitting our combat soldiers into specialized roles.
Without any data, it was impossible before, but through hunting the local mana beasts, we successfully acquired diverse genetic information.
As my analytical abilities have improved with continuous enhancement of consciousness, and my physical upgrades have enabled the creation of modified creatures through multipotent cells, we’ve made progress.
Though not yet at a refined level, we could only enhance our current frontline soldiers and add one new combat role at this stage.
“Such a large settlement likely has special individuals. To fight the goblins, we need stronger, tougher soldiers.”
The new soldiers were larger, heavier, and sturdier than the previous soldiers.
Modeled from the Tier 2 mana beast giant scorpion, Retail, they resembled SUV-sized creatures, designed as pure chimera hybrids using genetic information from various mana beasts and my own DNA.
[It will take 3 more days for the newly designed soldiers to reach maturity.]
“If the current soldiers are small close-combat troops, these new ones are heavy assault troops. For this level of goblins, this should be enough.”
Much was at stake in this single battle, so preparation was critical.
The newly created assault troops, the fully nourished current combat soldiers, and hundreds of reserves waiting in ‘hibernation’ mode for full maturity—all were set.
If the goblins remain unaware of us, I am confident they cannot win against our surprise attack.
“…It’s time to deploy. No need to delay unnecessarily.”
Finally, when all preparations were complete, I sent the forces from the nest where I sat in a chair, intent on launching a preemptive strike before the goblins noticed our expanding territory.
*
“Chief, hunting grounds lacking prey. We must hunt further.”
“The number of prey has decreased in the eastern hunting grounds.”
The goblin chief stroked his beard in response to his subordinate’s report. The chief, gifted with higher intelligence, looked down at a crudely drawn map of the area they frequented for hunting.
However, the number of prey from there has recently dwindled, which was a large concern.
With their population rapidly increasing through high reproduction rates, they needed more sustenance.
“For now, send them to hunt farther. We need another solution eventually.”
The chief instructed them to go hunting farther despite the risks, as hunting was their primary livelihood.
“Our settlement has grown strong enough.”
But the goblins did not only rely on hunting.
After all, hunting alone couldn’t sustain the population growth.
The way to increase the warriors. The chief knew it well already.
By raiding neighboring settlements, enslaving others, and farming on a large scale.
“To do that, we need stronger warriors. At this level, we can only defeat weaker settlements. And for stronger warriors, we need stronger females.”
Goblins, with only a few exceptional individuals like the chief, primarily consist of females and males who show little difference in form, intelligence, or physical capabilities.
No matter how many of these regular goblins reproduce, they only produce more of the same common soldiers and workers.
Intelligent and strong special individuals are born from the union of male goblins with the more superior females of other races.
Through these special offsprings, which inherit abilities from the females of other races, the goblins surpass their own limitations to become dominant figures in their race.
Unfortunately, the chief’s last female companion had died a long time ago.
Naturally, the chief was eager to produce more elite individuals to bolster the settlement.
“Which settlement should we attack first?”
The chief muttered as he looked at the map marked with other goblin settlements, unaware of the creeping force heading toward his own settlement.
“Found tracks.”
“It’s prey!”
Ironically, the first to detect the incoming force were a group of hunters.
The hunters who were out searching for prey cheered upon finding distinct tracks of one of their favorite slow-moving targets: the giant larva, Drumo.
“Prey… wait…”
But the excited hunters, ready with weapons, froze instantly.
The larvae they were chasing had already been reduced to minced meat.
Instead, hundreds of strange creatures were quietly concealed, watching their every move without making a sound.
Endless crimson glows reflected from within their black exoskeletons, sending shivers down the goblins’ spines.
Even the dumbest among them understood they had walked into a trap.
“Kill them.”
And at that moment, a single will commanding those numerous creatures revealed their hostility toward the goblins.
“Eek! They’re coming!”
The creatures didn’t hesitate as they hurled themselves at the goblins in an instant.
The startled goblins raised their weapons but were overwhelmed by both numbers and physical superiority. They were quickly swallowed up like sand grains by a wave.
