Chapter 14: Mutants (4)
[A new type of scout has been born.]
“Good.”
Until now, reconnaissance was done by simply deploying an ordinary soldier. It was enough.
But as our faction grew and we needed more information, crawling on the ground for reconnaissance felt limiting.
Especially in situations where I needed to gather intelligence for warfare, knowing aerial reconnaissance or even satellite reconnaissance made the current method even more frustrating.
So, I created a new soldier. It wasn’t difficult; I merely modified the existing combat soldier to enable flight.
Much lighter in body, with swift transparent wings. The durability and combat ability may be slightly lacking, but it compensates with speed.
Initially, I planned to enhance the flying combatant’s characteristics further before mass production.
“Reconnoiter the enemy. From as high up as possible.”
Its size isn’t large, about the size of a goblin.
However, it possesses visual capabilities at the top tier level, synthesized from all the genetic information of the mana beasts under my control.
It can see through the cover of night as clearly as day, discern even the smallest details, and its countless compound eyes effectively monitor the surroundings in real-time.
[The scout has arrived at the enemy camp.]
I scattered these scouts in all directions.
Currently, I’m mainly focused on the goblin village that appears to be influenced by a Player.
“Could it be a multiplayer setup? Not the main base?”
It’s normal for goblins to create multiple nests if that’s the case. If so, the enemy’s main base could be unimaginably larger.
“At least 800 units… Factoring in those engaged in external activities or indoors, we can estimate it at a thousand.”
The enemy’s strength, observed from the sky, was beyond our expectations.
If this were a game, creating or conquering new nests by now wouldn’t be unusual.
“It’s the Altar of the Thousand. This must be their main base.”
But through the eyes of the possessed scout, I saw a structure resembling an altar at the center of the enemy’s village.
Constructed from stones and skulls, the altar was a structure that only a Player could build, capable of producing mutated beings with red skin, Red Skins.
That means this is their main base.
“The possibility of reinforcements can likely be ruled out. They probably haven’t established diplomatic relations with neighboring goblin villages.”
It would be disastrous if reinforcements arrived from their main base while we’re in the middle of fighting. With this concern resolved, I no longer had any reason to hesitate.
[The newly expanded nests significantly increase the speed of soldier production.]
“Good. Ideally, I’d like to act immediately, but let me wait a bit longer.”
To prepare more thoroughly, I decided to grant them a few more days of delay.
Even now, our nests continue to expand, and the number of soldiers keeps increasing.
—
At one of the caves near our base, the huge centipede Garthia fell after putting up a minimal resistance against our soldiers’ acidic venom.
Once the conquest of the cave was complete, workers were deployed in large numbers to begin the task of reshaping the cave’s interior.
In the deepest part of this cave, a worker arrived and judged it as an appropriate location. He then tore the pouch hanging from his mouth.
Inside the pouch was a thick black slime. The condensed stem cells immediately began dividing rapidly and started growing into the necessary structures.
[Artificial Womb Growth Completed.]
[Artificial Digestive Organ Growth Completed.]
Without my physical presence, these parts grown by sending just a portion of my cells would grow and function autonomously.
With them, a new nest was born.
The artificial wombs immediately began nurturing eggs, while the digestive organs were fed tirelessly by the workers.
“With my current forces, we have a thousand ready to mobilize immediately. Another thousand are growing, and we can produce half that number per cycle…”
Through the connected consciousness, I had real-time access to information, including the count of soldiers under my command.
With this number, I felt we were strong enough to dominate a region. This is the opportune moment, and I made the decision.
“assemble. And advance.”
The time has come. We must fight to sustain our rapid growth. If we stop, we could collapse under the weight of our oversized body.
[Your soldiers are gathering and surging towards the enemy camp.]
All the active soldiers awoke, including those who had been conserving energy in dormancy, and charged towards the observed goblin settlement.
*
“Chief, today’s hunting and harvest report.”
“Hmm…The harvest wasn’t bad today. You say you caught a Lagadon?”
The chief, pleased with the report written on leather, nodded.
It was another smooth day.
They successfully hunted abundant prey, expanded the fields, and stockpiled sufficient food, allowing them to craft better weapons.
“All this is possible thanks to the great Sky God’s assistance.”
Closing his eyes reverently, the chief clasped his hands as if praying to the sky and nodded. The others followed his example and gave thanks.
“We must reward the warrior captain Huchi and his men who caught the Lagadon. Tell them they can seize and play with any female from the breeding grounds tonight.”
“Ah…”
The goblins all buzzed at the chief’s reward.
The opportunity to mate with the “females” in the breeding grounds was the ultimate reward for them.
It was reasonable to grant this privilege to those who had proven their strength.
“I’ll conclude the meeting here. Everyone, return to rest.”
After concluding the meeting, the chief rose from his seat. He planned to inspect his subordinates’ progress by taking a tour of the village before sleeping.
“Huh? What is it?”
“Chief, it’s… it’s about our scouts. Some scouts we sent to the northwest, to confirm the Romu clan, haven’t returned.”
“One of Romu’s scouts sent word that something was off, but I didn’t expect…”
The chief frowned as the red-skinned warrior delivered the news. He was just about to sleep peacefully when something troubling came up. However, it wasn’t wise to move now, with the nocturnal mana beasts active.
“Wha-?!”
But at that moment, the chief’s eyes rolled back, and his body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.
Seeing this, the surrounding goblins were greatly startled and immediately bowed to the ground.
“Chief, the Sky God is giving you a vision!”
Such occurrences were familiar to the goblins. Whenever the chief convulsed, he would receive a divine message from the Sky God, allowing him to perform miraculous magic or make wise decisions that benefited their village.
With anticipation, all the goblins waited to see what miracle the chief would display this time.
“Ugh…hah!”
When the chief finally seemed to have finished receiving the revelation, the goblins, respectfully kneeling, awaited his pronouncement with bright eyes.
But the chief cried out with a pale face.
“Monsters are coming! Their numbers are overwhelming! Prepare for defense immediately! Hurry!”
“What?!”
The revelation the chief received this time wasn’t about giving them a direction to move towards or blessing them with special powers.
“Emergency!”
It was a pure and urgent warning that something dire was imminent.
“Hurry up and move! Pick up your weapons!”
“Warriors, command the soldiers! We’ve been warned by the Sky God!”
The entire goblin village erupted into chaos.
All the goblins prepared for battle and headed toward the walls and watchtowers.
Torches lit up endlessly, making the area as bright as day.
“Damn! Damn!”
Even those who had been resting in the damp burrows dug into the ground had to come out and fight.
Warrior captain Huchi, who was supposed to enjoy his reward all night, was the same.
With a sorrowful look, Huchi let go of the hair he had been holding and quickly put on his armor before rushing out.
After all the goblins had gone out, there remained only the groans of the restrained individuals in the area.
…
Among those was the girl Huchi had just let go of.
Intoxicated from the aphrodisiac mixed into the poisonous herbs the goblins regularly fed her, she couldn’t even support herself.
Confined in the murky underground, she was kept as a breeding slave.
Her attempt to avoid being assaulted was merely delayed.
Even in her dazed state, she knew that there was no escape from this predicament.
