Episode 21 – The Monsters of the Frontier (1)
“Orc mercenaries are too expensive…”
“Is the grain you brought all of it? Hmm, then what about the slaves? How many did you bring?”
The City of Ruin. Though not particularly large in absolute terms, it is still one of the more considerable settlements in this frontier region.
Thanks to this, all logistics and trade in the area converge here. It serves as a gateway for the scattered small forces of the frontier to connect with the outer world.
They gather here to exchange what they need or procure items that are otherwise unavailable, then return.
A single goblin tribe was able to acquire Syla as a female slave only because they had traded her for by-products of the mana beasts they hunted here.
Even tribes or factions with such hostility towards each other that they raid and plunder each other have to maintain peace when they come here.
Because the lord of this place decreed it so.
“Hmm, our revenue has decreased more than expected.”
And the ‘actual’ owner of this place also disliked unnecessary conflicts and disputes.
The more the demons spread throughout the region and fought amongst themselves, the greater the economic damage to the city.
“I don’t know exactly why, but we have recently noticed something strange.”
At his words, one of the subordinates bearing the report nodded.
The subordinate had dark brown skin and bore a strong resemblance to a goblin. However, compared to ordinary goblins, he was much taller and bulkier.
He was a hobgoblin, similar in size to a grown human male, and stood out significantly from the common goblins.
Superior beings among the goblins, even normal hobgoblins are much more intelligent and powerful compared to average goblins.
“What strange matter? Tell me about it.”
He was also a hobgoblin like his subordinate.
However, he was a special individual among hobgoblins, and because of this, he was granted the authority to govern the city on behalf of his master.
“Upon checking, we found that the number of visits by the Wild Goblins of the North has drastically decreased. The by-products of the mana beasts they usually bring in are now critically insufficient.”
“Those bastards…?”
He frowned at the mention of the Wild Goblins of the North.
Far removed from anything worth conquest, these remote frontier lands are home to wild goblins. They live in scattered hamlets and the by-products of the mana beasts they hunt are one of the city’s major economic goods.
“Damn them! They’re getting lazy. That’s why we shouldn’t overvalue them.”
He openly displayed his irritation. The wild goblins had indeed been excellent workers.
Supply them with the weapons and female slaves they need, and they would go out and hunt mana beasts, bringing back the by-products.
Weapons and female slaves could be easily obtained, but the mana beasts’ by-products were truly valuable. So far, they had profited greatly from their trade with the wild goblins.
But now, this system has a problem.
“How shall we deal with it?”
“If they won’t come here, then we’ll have to go to them! Issue permits to merchants who wish to deal with them. And, of course, tax those permits.”
Necessity compels even the stubborn.
With only a few days of interrupted trade already causing issues, action was unavoidable for them.
“Bah! Is that true? If you want to trade, you’re asking merchants to go all the way into the northern forest to find those goblins?! There was no talk of that before!”
“What choice do we have? If the suppliers won’t come, we can’t exactly drag them here by force.”
The orders of Market, the hobgoblin Bekins, soon spread throughout the city.
Most merchants visiting the city were left bewildered. Especially those who came with the intention of acquiring the by-products.
“Damn! You want us to drag these and go all the way to the forest?”
An orc gestured towards the wooden cart behind him.
In the enclosed wooden cart were various tied-up female members of different species—female slaves coveted by goblins.
“The only option is to raise the prices.”
“Hah, certainly!”
The hobgoblin official’s comment was met with smirks from the orc slave traders. With transportation costs rising, it was only natural for prices to follow suit.
However, the irony was that the high prices would eventually work against them since the wild goblins wouldn’t pay with lightweight currency, but the heavy by-products.
“Unless we want to take losses, the only solution is to raid the goblin settlements and take the lightest but most valuable things.”
“But Chief, if caught doing that, we could be banned from this city.”
“So what? If we don’t meet our quota, we’ll die at the hands of the Captain. Let’s make a big score and escape!”
Faced with the prospect of unsustainable losses, the orc chieftain devised an extreme plan.
The scheme was to pretend to follow the trade protocols, gain permits and access the north, then raid the wild goblin settlements.
“Why should such primitive, insignificant frontier folk tie us down?”
The orc chief glanced slyly at the slaves on the cart, his thoughts dark. Since they wouldn’t be sold anyway, it made more sense to have unrestrained fun with them until they broke and then discard them.
“Alright. You may proceed.”
“Hmph, see you later.”
A group of orc slave traders, who had brought slaves intended for sale to the goblins, secured their permits first and set out north, entering the thick northern forest.
Though harsh, it wasn’t entirely without paths. Plus, they carried maps already marked with the locations of the major wild goblin settlements.
“Just be careful of the mana beasts.”
“Besides, aren’t the ones here all small fry? The large ones are closer to the world’s center, right?”
With sufficient numbers and adequately armed, they traveled confidently.
Having complete faith that nothing in this land could harm them, they laughed and chatted lightly.
“…Why is it so quiet?”
How far had they penetrated? Just as they were nearing their targeted goblin settlement, they suddenly noticed something was off.
Even though they numbered dozens and were armed orcs, the aggressive mana beasts should have made an appearance by now, but not a single one had been seen.
Moreover, there was not a single goblin around, either for hunting or scouting.
“Never mind that. We’re almost there. Prepare as per the plan…,”
And soon, they would discover why.
In the forest clearing the orc chief had pointed out, where a goblin settlement should have been, there was instead a massive puddle of mysterious slime, surrounded by countless writhing tentacles connected to oversized, living organs.
“What in the world is that?”
Yet, the only things they saw were the enormous, slithering tentacles connected to the living masses, their forms obscured.
“We’ve been had.”
At that moment, someone’s menacing laughter echoed, followed by countless monstrous figures previously hidden from sight springing into action, swiftly and accurately surrounding the intruders.
“Wh, what the hell are these things!?”
“Mana beasts! They’re mana beasts, Chief!”
Startled, the orcs quickly armed themselves, aiming at the countless unknown creatures encircling them from all sides.
‘Sweet mother of… how many are there?’
The eyes of the orc chieftain, wielding a large sword, bulged in shock.
The monsters completely surrounded them, numbering well over a hundred.
“Even the knowledgeable among us don’t recognize these. If such beasts inhabit this forest…”
Even the orc most knowledgeable about mana beasts had never seen these creatures before.
The creatures were slowly tightening the circle, their armored bodies glittering ominously.
‘Are these really mana beasts?’
Involuntarily sweating, the orc chief tightened his grip on his sword handle and gritted his teeth.
Even their armor-like black shells, the holes that were their eyes, and the chillingly cold aura exuding from them indicated that these were far from ordinary beasts.
“Th, they’re coming!”
“Fight! Break through!”
Without warning, the creatures surrounding them moved in unison, charging.
Unable to sit and die quietly, the orcs began a fierce resistance.
True to their warrior heritage, the orcs successfully cut down and impaled a few enemies at close range.
“There are too many! Leader, we…!”
But the sheer numbers were overwhelming. Every time they killed one enemy, two emerged from behind to press the attack, extending stinger-laden limbs from the ridges of their heads and backs.
“Aaaargh!”
The chief watched in horror as an adjacent subordinate was torn apart by a storm of sharp toxins that pierced through their armor.
‘This is a massacre…’
Whichever direction he looked, the battlefield was swarming with monsters.
Even with physical limits, it was impossible to kill all these enemies.
The only solution was a desperate escape while enduring whatever losses were necessary before exhaustion set in.
“Follow me!”
Swinging his great sword like a windmill and cleaving through half a dozen enemies, the orc chief charged forward to carve a path.
Though it seemed impossible, his sword, empowered by mana and glowing faintly blue, began gradually making headway.
‘Here! I can’t die at the hands of these worm-like things!’
He no longer cared how many of his subordinates had fallen.
He just wanted to survive.
“What the hell is this!?”
In his escape, the orc chief suddenly faced a new kind of enemy.
A massive beast with an impenetrably hard carapace wielded two enormous pincer-like legs. As it swung them like scissors, the orc chief barely dodged and with full force managed to sever one of its arms.
“Ugh…”
The creature retaliated, swinging its other arm to decapitate him. Drained from repeated expenditure of mana, the orc chief barely blocked the blow by embedding his sword into the ground. The blade was larger than his own body. Without mana manipulation skills, overcoming such physical might would have been impossible.
“Where the hell did you monsters come from?”
As he wobbled, he looked up to see someone had suddenly leaped onto the back of the charging monster.
At this point, he realized they had been trapped from the very beginning and gave up on survival.
No answer came. Instead, a crimson gaze piercing through a mask surrounded by pink hair, along with swirling crimson energy, coalesced into a spear that flew at him.
