Chapter 75.4 - The First Year at the Academy - Hero's Vessel (4)
Chapter 75.4. The First Year at the Academy – Hero's Vessel (4)
The five goblins were holding the bornis, and devouring it with a single-minded effort.
It looks a little like a big piece of fruit. But if you look closely, it's still grotesque.
They were up against a fallen tree that looked like a roosting place, so we spread out, blocked their escape route, and swooped down on them at once.
Goblins fell one after another.
Finally, the last one picked up a weapon, but Valerie's Arua Sero looped off its head.
"Oh, found it."
As we dismantle them like a stream of water, Markant found a small magic stone.
He tossed it, gave it to me, then cupped his chin as if to say, "Take it.".
"Are you sure?"
"How much is it after we share it, such a small thing?"
"Oh, yeah. I appreciate it."
I intend to try my hand at [Magic Tool Creation] shortly, so no matter how many magic stones I have, it won't be enough.
When I moved my gaze to thank everyone, I caught sight of Ose, who was bending down.
Danil stands behind him.
"What's wrong?"
"These guys seem to have come straight back from over there."
"You don't think they hunted the bornis in the vicinity?"
"Probably."
We looked each other in the face as we talked like that.
When I invoked the "presence detection," I could faintly sense the presence of bornis in the area. There were few, but not none. The fact that they went all the way to the distance means.
I examined the carcasses of the bornis.
The locations were scattered, but they all had holes in them. There is also a thick branch lying nearby.
"Did it stab it with a branch and carry it away?"
"That means there's a hunting ground. So, let's clean that one up too."
"Yes, we should. Before night falls."
Bornis were nocturnal.
When the sun went down, they would move in search of food.
With Ose leading the way, we retraced the goblin's footprints.
It was easy for me, not to mention Ose, to follow the freshly made and unconcealed footprints.
We proceed without stopping, and after a while, Ose turns his hand backward and disappears.
I duck for breath to signal that I'm waiting, and he soon returns.
"I found it, but it's a little unexpected."
Looking at the hunting ground he led me to, Markant is alerted to his surroundings.
"It's awfully big, but is it a goblin settlement?"
"A former settlement. No goblins."
Ose corrects that.
Meanwhile, I'm speechless.
This is – that guy's stronghold.
Usually, goblins leave the trees where they are and form settlements that blend into the forest.
However, this village had cut down all the trees on its property and was not even trying to hide. This is the confidence of a strong man.
Rustic dwellings stood in a random row, and many of them collapsed.
Adventurers must have destroyed them.
And from the dwellings, we sense countless signs of life.
"You said that Bornis is an omnivore. Do they eat carcasses too?"
"Yes. They don't care if they live or die."
Valerie responded to my question.
If that's the case – I'm the one who started the mass outbreak of Bornis.
The settlement was destroyed because of the death of its leader. The adventurers destroyed their settlement, and I had no direct hand in it. Still, if the leader had lived, the situation would have been very different. If he had been in command, the strike force would have struggled, and would not have been destroyed so easily.
Still, I thought it would have ended the same way at some point.
If the strike force loses, Selene will get serious. There would be nothing to do against the golems and the hordes of wizards. Then, as now, the bornis problem will occur.
It doesn't matter who asks when.
I knew this in my head, but I was overcome with an inexpressible emotion.
Marchant approaches the half-destroyed dwelling.
"This is a sword wound. I see, so this is the settlement that the goblin was in charge of. It's big, this big."
"Wait a minute. So the goblin just now was eating the carcass of the same species that ate Bornis? Knowing that?"
"Apparently. I knew extermination was the right thing to do, both of them."
Markant looks at Ose, his face contorting in disgust.
"So how many are there?"
"Countless. And how many are lurking inside the ruins of their dwellings?"
"That's a hassle. If we provoke them too much, they'll scatter. We're running low on oil. We should call for backup.
No need for that.
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