What's Yours is Mine

We had reached the forested area north of the Royal Capital Garond. A pack of goblins had apparently taken up residence in an abandoned village there, and our request was to subjugate them.

Goblins are social monsters that live in groups when outside of a dungeon. They usually have a leader of some sort, and if left to their own devices, the goblins around that leader eventually evolve into high-rank species.

Even if they’re just goblins, these high-rank species can become formidable enemies. Because of that, any competent ruler will dispatch the army or issue a subjugation request to adventurers as soon as a settlement is discovered.

Fortunately, it seemed we had caught this one early, as the village was still relatively small. If that was the case, the high-rank species shouldn't be too developed yet. Zephyr predicted they were being led by something around the level of a Goblin Commander.

Aside from the members of Glory’s Steps, our group consisted of Lowell, Zephyr, and Eina.

Eina was a member of Zephyr’s party. She was a Commoner mage who didn't seem built for close-quarters combat. She was also incredibly taciturn, rarely speaking except to chant spells. She would respond if you spoke to her, though, so communication wasn't an issue.

Zephyr’s party usually operated as a foursome, but his other two members were currently away on personal business. It seemed that was why he had invited us along for the request.

We were about to storm the abandoned village, but we’d already thinned the herd. We had staked out the entrance for a while, picking off the goblins that wandered outside with surprise attacks.

None of those had been high-rank species, however. They were likely still inside the village.

"Ready?" Zephyr called out.

Everyone nodded silently. All that was left was to annihilate them according to the plan.

Eina took the first shot. As she chanted Explosion, a blast ripped through what looked like a central plaza, catching several goblins who had been loitering about. Those caught in the center were likely killed instantly.

Alerted by the blast, more goblins began pouring out of the decaying buildings. There were a little over ten of them, but since there still weren't any high-rank species among them, I knew this couldn't be the whole lot.

The goblins began to chatter in eerie, panicked voices as they took in the carnage in the plaza. One of them eventually spotted us, pointing and screaming incessantly. I couldn't understand the words, but there was no doubt we had been identified as the enemy.

A few goblins scrambled back into the buildings while the rest charged toward us.

In the chaos, I quietly slipped away from the group. I had activated Shadow Hiding beforehand, so the goblins didn't even notice I was gone.

My role was to pick them off in secret. Shadow Hiding wears off if you draw too much attention, but in the middle of a chaotic melee, I could keep it active for quite a while depending on my footwork. The key was to stay inconspicuous and strike from the dark. Since my allies were drawing plenty of agro, I could silence the goblins on the periphery one by one without anyone noticing.

While I worked, the goblins that had retreated into the buildings returned with reinforcements. There were more than I had expected—including the ones already present, their numbers seemed to exceed thirty.

Maybe my estimate was a bit naive, I thought. The settlement was larger than I’d anticipated. Still, it was nothing we couldn't handle.

Our formation was simple: Halfa provided cover with her bow, Eina attacked with magic, and Lowell and Zephyr protected the rear. Shiroru and I were supposed to act as skirmishers, shaving down their numbers. At least, that was the plan...

"Waf! Wafuuuu!"

Shiroru, using both his Giantization skill and Lightning Clad, tore through the battlefield. Goblins collapsed in his wake, one after another. They weren't dead, but seeing them twitching and convulsing on the ground, it was clear they were too paralyzed to move. He was neutralizing multiple enemies with every single dash; it was essentially a one-beast wrecking crew.

"Do they even need us for this?" Zephyr asked, sounding bored.

"Indeed," Lowell replied. "I suppose that is the power of a Holy Beast."

"Huh? Holy Beast?"

"Er, nothing..."

Lowell and Zephyr were having a leisurely chat. The goblins were so preoccupied with Shiroru that they didn't even spare a glance for the backline, leaving the two warriors with nothing to do.

Actually, at this rate, I wouldn't have anything to do either. Since I’d gone to the trouble of using my skills, I figured I should put in at least a little work.

I moved away from Shiroru's path and began finishing off the goblins that were trying to catch their breath. Between Shiroru and me, we must have taken out well over fifty by now, yet the numbers didn't seem to be decreasing.

I soon realized why: goblins were steadily streaming out of one specific building. This was definitely strange.

I broke off my assassination run and circled back to Lowell.

"Lowell, isn't this weird?"

"Yeah. There are way too many of them, and it's odd that only small-fry are coming out."

Now that he mentioned it, he was right. Normally, it was unthinkable for the high-rank species to stay hidden during this much of a commotion.

"Besides, look at their gear," Zephyr added, focusing on the goblins' weapons. "Isn't it a bit too high-quality for bunch of runts like these?"

I looked closer. He was right. While the gear wasn't exactly "magnificent," many of them were carrying brand-new blades. Goblins shouldn't have the technology to forge their own weapons, so how had they gotten their hands on so many?

Just then—

"Gruaaaa!"

A roar shook the very air. Finally, the high-rank species was making an appearance.

"Oho, finally decided to join us? That's a General. Might be a bit of a handful," Zephyr said.

"There are quite a few Commanders and Leaders as well," Lowell noted. "Why did they wait until now to emerge?"

A Goblin General was categorized as Threat Rank B by the Adventurer’s Guild. For comparison, a normal goblin was Rank E. A General was a foe on a completely different level of power.

However, neither Zephyr nor Lowell looked panicked. While a Rank B monster was generally considered the limit for a five-person party of C-Rank adventurers, our group didn't seem the least bit worried.

"Hey, hey, check out that General's weapon! It looks better than my own gear!" Zephyr shouted.

"...You're right. Even the Commander's weapons are high enough quality to serve as spares," Lowell agreed.

"Alright! Those things are wasted on them! Let's finish this quick and take those toys for ourselves!"

Zephyr had started sounding like a common thug!

I had thought we were in for a struggle, but was I the only one who felt that way?