55. Save the Goblins
“… Yes, that’s all for the brief. Tomorrow’s operation time is the same as usual. Um, do you have any comments or questions?”
The leader Boo Young-geon asked in a dry voice. The group that sat in front of him had no intention of responding. It looked like their lips had been glued to their mouths.
“Well, that’s it for today’s roll call. The weather is very chilly, so cover your sleeping bag and sleep well.”
It was already the 46th night of the expedition. The warm autumn had gone away, and the winter slowly began to come.
‘We’re halfway there. I can go home if I hold on for as long as I can.’
The electronic watch that showed the date read as November 7. It seemed like yesterday that they celebrated October in North Korea, but it had already been a week since November. It was a wonderful thing anyway.
“Mr. Byeong-gap, you’re going to do the second shift, right?”
“Yes, please.” Kim Dae-yeop, another porter, asked. It was to plan the order of their guard.
Porters were on duty from 10 pm to 7 am, three hours per person. Ko Byeong-gap always insisted on the second watch.
“Aren’t you tired because you’re on second watch every day? Should I do it today?”
“No, I don’t mind. I’d like the second.”
Anyone who had served in the military would agree. The fact that there were classifications even in sleeping time.
The first and last were the best. A middle worker who woke up in the middle then went back to sleep was likely to be tired the next day.
It was no different with Ko Byeong-gap since he also wanted to take the first or last shift. However, he insisted on taking the second watch because he had a good reason.
“Byeong-gap, get me a bottle of water.”
“Huh? What are you going to do with a bottle of water?”
“I’m going to brush my teeth.”
“I already gave you one earlier in the evening for washing your face. What about that?”
Jeong Seon-kyung looked embarrassed at Ko Byeong-gap’s question. She scratched her temples and smiled awkwardly. “Because I spilled it by mistake.”
“Oh my.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be so petty and get me a bottle. I feel uncomfortable when I sleep without brushing my teeth.”
“I don’t think that’s what you’re supposed to say, and you’re up in the middle of the night smoking anyways.”
While Ko Byeong-gap said so, he gently took out a bottle of water. After all, it would be supply day in three days, so they had enough to last.
“Thank you!”
Ko Byeong-gap immediately went to his tent after giving it to Jeong Seon-kyung. He had a lot of work to do at dawn, so he needed to sleep quickly.
“Oh, it’s cold.”
The sleeping bag was cold. Ko Byeong-gap popped a couple of hot packs and dug into the sleeping bag. As soon as the heat spread, exhaustion enveloped his body.
He fell asleep immediately.
***
Beep beep! Beep beep beep!
“Ugh.”
The electronic watch uttered an 8-bit alarm. Ko Byeong-gap opened his eyes with a lamented face.
The surroundings were as still as death. The current time was 23:15. It was too early to wake up, considering that his work would start at 1 am.
There was no time to grumble. Ko Byeong-gap quickly dressed up and came out. There was a small campfire in the middle of the campsite. Kim Dae-yeop, the first shift, sat absentmindedly and turned his head.
“You woke up early again today. Are you going out again?”
“Haha. Well, yes.”
“Have a safe trip.”
Kim Dae-yeop spoke as if he was used to it. Now, he wouldn’t even ask where he was going.
Ko Byeong-gap escaped from the campsite. Afterward, he ran fast and emitted his strength to the fullest. His eyes glistened like a cat and a wild beast. The dense darkness couldn’t stop him from advancing.
‘I think it was about here.’
After he ran for a while, his legs stopped.
A sparse black mass was scattered among the fallen thatch. They were all the corpses of monsters. In other words, Goblin food.
“Is this a father’s trouble? I’m not even married, but I have three hundred children. Anyway, my fate isn’t usually the case.” Ko Byeong-gap grumbled but moved diligently. He picked up the bodies of monsters laid on the ground and sent them to Ashvilam.
It would be easier if he let the Goblins do it, but now was the time for them to sleep too. Ko Byeong-gap said he didn’t want to wake them up.
‘I’m glad they’re big.’
After collecting for 30 to 40 minutes, the Goblins would have enough food for a few meals. In fact, the amount of meat currently piled up in Ashvilam was quite large.
However, Ko Byeong-gap didn’t skip that task except for supply day. If something went wrong, he might not be able to provide meat for a few days.
He also gathered the magic stones.
“I wonder if the kids are doing well. I need to take a quick look.”
It had already been four days since he couldn’t go to Ashvilam. He was busy with the expedition, so he didn’t have time at all. However, he didn’t have to worry too much since they were doing well the last time he stopped by.
Ko Byeong-gap, who picked up the meat, glanced at his watch. It was 23:55.
‘Why don’t we just take a peek?’
Should he go watch the kids sleep? Ko Byeong-gap thought about it for a while before making up his mind.
He opened the door to move on to Ashvilam, but that moment…
‘?!’
He turned suddenly and posed for battle. He could feel the signs of living and moving creatures at a close distance. Instead of going over to Ashvilam, he pulled out his sword.
‘Are there any monsters left? Or is it just an animal?’
Ko Byeong-gap scoured the ruins with bright eyes. If it was a monster and if there was also a fairly large colony around, he should run to the campsite and report it immediately.
A few seconds got him on his nerves like that. Ko Byeong-gap suddenly felt strange.
‘What is this feeling?’
There was something quite friendly about it.
“Keruk?”
He heard a sound behind his back. Ko Byeong-gap quickly turned around and looked there. There was a normal goblin that stood with a cute hand ax. On its other hand, it held a chunk of monster meat.
The guy looked up his way.
“Oh my gosh! What are you doing up? No, when did you get over here? I didn’t see you coming out.”
“Lo… Lord?”
“Oh, my liver almost dropped! Tsk! Hurry up and go back. And don’t come out thoughtlessly unless I call you. Do you have no fear?”
“Go? Where?”
“Where do you think, dude? Ashvilam.”
“Oh, Ashvilam!”
The Normal Goblin exclaimed in surprise.
“Ashvilam, I want to go!”
“…”
Only then did Ko Byeong-gap notice a strange smell.
The Normal Goblin in front of his eyes looked so shabby up close. His arms and legs were as thin as a homeless man. There was no such shabby Goblin in Ashvilam. Everyone ate well and slept well, and their complexion was good.
‘Did he come from the Monster Wave…? Of course.’
Ko Byeong-gap drew his sword and approached the Goblin. He was scared and shrank a little, but he didn’t shy away.
“Hey, little one.”
“Huh?”
“Are you alone? Where are the other kids?”
He was still dumbfounded and slow to react. Nevertheless, he reached out and pointed in one direction.
“There’s more.”
“How many are there? How many people do you have?”
“Uh… Uh…”
The Normal Goblin folded his fingers and began counting. Ko Byeong-gap put him on his side and blamed himself for asking.
“This way?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.”
“Stay put.”
“Gasp!”
Ko Byeong-gap ran fast. The Normal Goblin trembled and grabbed the hem of Ko Byeong-gap’s clothes.
‘That’s not good. This is the other group’s area.’
His expression hardened a little. It was because the place they were headed to was the opposite of the campsite. It meant that it wasn’t his jurisdiction.
He didn’t know if the area had been sorted out or not. Given that the Goblin wasn’t dead and remained alive, chances were high that it was the latter.
“What have you come all this way for?”
“Meat. To get… I’m hungry.”
“If you’re going, you should come with me. Why did you come alone?”
“Goblins hurt. I’m not hurt.”
“Hurt? Why?”
“The monsters. Catch us.”
“What?”
Ko Byeong-gap stopped running. He asked again, frowning, “Catch you? What kind of son of a bitch?”
“Big monster. Strong monster… We can’t win.”
“Damn it. Let’s hurry!”
Ko Byeong-gap accelerated even more. His swollen leg muscles produced tremendous momentum and ran a great distance in a short time. After a while, he was able to reach his destination. It was a half-collapsed building.
It was an unusually large building. It must’ve been used as a government office before North Korea collapsed. He felt a lot of presence inside the two-story building.
“There?”
“Yes, yes.”
Ko Byeong-gap quickly entered the building. The smell of stale mold and fishy blood was all over the building.
“Argh!”
It was a withered Goblin corpse that greeted Ko Byeong-gap at the entrance of the building. When he looked at his condition, it seemed that he had been dead for ten days.
He held back his emotions and pulled the lantern off his waist. Every time he took a step, a Goblin corpse caught at his feet.
“Living kin. It is above.”
“… Yeah. Let’s go there.”
Ko Byeong-gap went up to the second floor. A little past the corridor, a large space was revealed. He shone the lantern where darkness had fallen…
“Kereuk…”
“Ah…”
More than a hundred Goblins laid sick. The smell of decay wafted everywhere. As he witnessed the horrific sight, his anger rose.
Attention was drawn to the sudden light. When the Goblins spotted Ko Byeong-gap, their eyes widened.
“Lo… Lord?!”
“Gasp!”
‘I’m gonna have to call the kids.’
Approximately 45 minutes were left. Time was running out to fix it on his own.
“Huh… Am I seeing wrong? Are you our Lord?” At that time, a Goblin in relatively good condition approached and asked. Ko Byeong-gap’s eyes widened a little.
‘A Goblin Priest?’
It was a Goblin Priest, which was rare to encounter. There were very few monsters with healing abilities. Among them, the Goblin Priest was uniquely small in number.
It was a B-class but hardly capable of fighting.
There were many things he wanted to ask, but now, he had to prioritize his work.
“Okay. As you felt, I am your Lord. Are you the leader of these people?”
“Yes… Yes.”
“Are you all here? Or is there more? We have no time. Answer quickly.”
“This is all of us.”
“Listen, everyone!” Ko Byeong-gap shouted while he opened the door to Ashvilam.
“If you go over here, you can reach Ashvilam. Don’t ask anything. Those who can move their body get over immediately!”
“Oh, Ashvilam?”
“I don’t have time—What?”
Ko Byeong-gap turned his head in surprise. The only thing he could see was the wall, but his gaze was further away.
A considerable amount of presence flocked to that place and was quite close! Even the Goblin Priest seemed to have noticed something unusual.
“It’s them!”
“Them?”
“They’re monsters that eat us. We’ve lost dozens of our kind to them! We fought desperately, but it wasn’t enough for us.”
The Goblin’s eyes blazed with anger. Ko Byeong-gap couldn’t understand why the monsters ate each other, but he decided to ask later.
“Hurry up for now! Go quickly!” Ko Byeong-gap ordered, and the Goblins quickly moved. He also went straight to Ashvilam.
As soon as he stepped into Ashvilam, he headed for the camp. He then shouted for everyone to wake up.
“Everyone, wake up! Get up, everybody up! It’s an emergency!”
“…”
“Everyone, wake up! Damn it. Are they all sleeping?”
The stillness covered Ashvilam. That silence doesn’t seem to go away easily…
“Hmm? Lord’s voice?”
“It’s the Lord’s voice!”
“Wake up! Lord is calling!”
No, it was lifted off so easily. Had it only been 5 seconds? Dynamic movements were felt throughout Ashvilam. Soon, the Goblins began to pop out from all directions.
“Lord!”
“When did you come?”
The Goblin swarmed with longing faces. It was very nice to catch up and chat with them. However, other issues were too urgent now.
“Focus without asking anything! Focus!”
“Focus! Focus!”
“To the attack squad and the 1st infantry, get your weapons and go through the door! There will be a big fight. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
“And the 2nd infantry, don’t pack your weapons, just go out. The rest of you stand by. The injured Goblins will come soon, so heal them. Do you understand everything?”
“No problem!”
“Then move now!”
Ko Byeong-gap came out again. A large number of the creature’s presence that he felt from afar was getting closer.
‘That’s a lot of them, but they’re not too strong to handle!’
“Gasp! Lord. What about them?” The Goblins that followed asked with dread.
There were still hundreds of Goblins who were seriously injured to the point of being unable to move.
“2nd infantry. Move the wounded here to Ashvilam. Report as soon as you move everyone. You have to do it as fast as you can.”
“Oh, I see!”
“Attack squad and 1st Infantry, follow me!”
The six-man attack team, excluding them, and the 1st infantry of 30 individuals with the highest achievement in textbooks. A total of 37 fighters, including Ko Byeong-gap, went down to the first floor.
A night where darkness had fallen and a dense cloud of dust rose from far away. The identity of the swarm of monsters that shook the ground were Giant Cow monsters.
‘Are they Gorgons?’
A one-eyed monster cow with horns up to 60 cm in length. There were 150 of those.
Fortunately, a Gorgon’s rating was C. Although there was a difference in their ratings, they were ready to fight.
“Nobody should enter the building. Everyone is ready for battle!”
“Haaaah!”
“Whoa!”
Dozens of spears were aimed at the front. Ko Byeong-gap also drew his sword and released his strength.
The clash between the two groups was imminent. When the early winter night air was heated, Ko Byeong-gap ran to the front and shouted, “Let’s go! Revenge for our people!”
“Kereuk!”
“Let them feel the difference in class!”
A night where the moon was high. Under the bright moonlight, a fierce battle of slaughter took place.
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