🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 69
Lost on the Way
“Did this path always connect here?”
The mercenaries narrowed their eyes at the altered suppression front.
Is that… a goblin?
‘Grk.’
‘Krrk.’
Bipedal, humanoid—but its presence was nothing like a human’s.
Short. Stocky.
A green body with pointed ears—
And the goblin split the skull of one of its own kind with an axe.
“Was this a goblin territory?”
“Goblins move their territory often, don’t they? But… have goblins ever killed their own kind?”
The mercenaries fell silent.
The goblin raised its axe high.
Boom!
A thunderous blast rang out, rattling eardrums. A red signal flare lit up the sky.
The Imperial Guard shouted,
“Monster signal flare!”
Anomaly always existed.
They had lost sight of the old woman.
“What is that old woman?!”
“Do not break formation! Regroup and provide cover!”
It had been strange from the start. How could an old woman who could barely see in front of her walk onto a sloped suppression front?
Sorrow. Loss. Emptiness.
Death. Separation.
The air was thick with it.
‘Then why? Why here? Why now, of all times?’
Sharloff swallowed hard.
—Boom!
Another flare burst.
The world turned white.
“Monster miasma detected! Prepare for an attack!”
The paths of the suppression front were fully illuminated.
“Goblins! Goblins have left their territory!”
“…Are those really goblins?”
They approached in a group.
“What is that stench of rotting corpses?”
Small bodies, green skin peeled and cracked.
“Something’s wrong with them.”
The goblins pricked up their pointed ears. Wheezing pale breath, they hurled axe blades through the air.
A worn hand axe grazed a guard’s cheek and embedded itself in a tree stump.
“The path is too narrow to properly form a suppression formation!”
The sloped terrain was slippery—one misstep meant a fall. The guards slashed forward.
“Even if goblins migrate, this place is far too distant from their territory!”
The guards tightened formation to shield the Empress.
Benjamin drew his sword, pushing back his robe.
“The basilisk nest collapsed and changed the terrain. Hold formation and prepare for attack!”
An anomaly shattered reason itself.
‘No way…’
Sharloff stood stunned.
Benjamin grabbed him and pulled him back.
“Don’t space out.”
Another monster flare burst.
“We sense them approaching from behind as well.”
“Form up. Establish a defensive formation and escort Her Majesty.”
This was a funnel where goblins poured out endlessly.
‘Krrk.’
‘Kirrik.’
Swords were drawn as the guards formed a protective line.
“Sharle.”
Benjamin pressed an arm against Sharle’s shoulder.
“Draw your sword and fall back. Even if you die, die in the rear.”
“……”
“Do you understand what I’m warning you about?”
“Don’t leave the defensive formation?”
“If you break formation, the entire front collapses. Step back, but keep your sword drawn and stay alert.”
Sharloff narrowed his eyes.
—Thunk!
Benjamin stabbed a goblin straight through the heart.
“If you’re going to get used to it, better now than later.”
He withdrew his blade, splitting the monster’s heart.
“At least now you’ll know where you stand.”
Dark green skin crushed under steel. Even with their hearts destroyed, some still nodded their heads grotesquely.
“When killing them, aim for the neck.”
“……”
“If you swing carelessly, you’ll be the one who gets hurt.”
To lead the suppression force—
One’s blade had to be straighter than any other.
“Where are Pedlin and the mercenary corps?!”
“The Duncan Mercenary Corps has just arrived!”
Pedlin swung his greatsword, severing a goblin’s neck.
“Cut the necks! Ordinary vital points won’t kill them!”
Soon, the Duncan Mercenaries joined the Imperial Guard.
Armored mercenaries followed, systematically decapitating goblins.
This wasn’t flesh being cut—it was bone grinding away.
“They’re coming from behind!”
Killing intent surged.
—Whoosh!
Sharloff leaned back and slid along the ground.
“Don’t leave the form—!”
He drew his sword and severed their necks.
Zzzing.
Pain shot through his wrist, pooling in his grip. He shook the blood from his blade.
‘Strange… This is strange.’
The mercenaries couldn’t describe it any other way. Pedlin removed his helmet and spoke.
“The terrain collapsed and connected to the goblins’ hill.”
Even for migratory goblins, this was far too distant.
Which meant the land itself had changed.
Benjamin asked,
“Casualties?”
“Multiple flares went up. An outer mercenary unit appears to be isolated inside.”
“Can we reach them?”
“The internal routes are blocked… They seem intelligent. Even reaching them will take time.”
They were acting intelligently.
“Goblins living in groups is one thing—but this is something else entirely.”
A goblin tilted its head back and screamed.
—Crunch!
Sharloff hooked its neck and sheathed his blade.
“We may need more support inside. Securing the area comes first.”
A guard whispered,
“Y-Your Majesty, goblins are gathering from all directions.”
Footsteps thundered in the distance.
“Do not leave formation! If the terrain has changed, escorting you outside separately will be difficult!”
The old woman knew.
Her son was dead.
‘The dead child lost his legs… Was he torn apart by monsters?’
‘Climb the mountain and perform a requiem ritual. Only then can your son leave this world.’
A man had come to her.
Saying her fallen son had lost his way.
She was blind—she couldn’t see him.
But she knew he was a man close to death.
“My child left with the mercenary corps to protect this land righteously, and he died righteously. Do not defile his death with careless words!”
From that day on—
‘It hurts, Mother.’
‘My body was torn apart. I can’t walk without my legs.’
Her son, dead on the suppression front.
She kept seeing him.
“I am blind. I cannot see you.”
That was true.
Then why did she see him?
“Child… where does it hurt?”
Her dead son crawled toward her, body shredded.
She couldn’t see him fully—only trace his shape with her hands.
Even his corpse had been too mutilated for a proper farewell.
“Why… why did you come to me like this?”
She sobbed.
She was bewitched.
Knowing her son was dead—
Yet she followed his shadow when it appeared.
The illusion scattered.
Like dust, his afterimage faded.
Blind again.
Only vague outlines remained.
Red.
Everything turned red.
“It’s time to return to reality.”
A woman stood there.
“The child isn’t here.”
The old woman swallowed her sobs.
“Then… where is my child?”
“He is not here. If someone poisoned your mind with cruel words, steady yourself and return. If you follow your dead son into death, what child would welcome that?”
Noise slowly returned to her world.
Shouting everywhere.
Sharloff stood there.
Goblins kept pouring out.
Killing and dying without end.
“Cough—please, spare—!”
The mercenaries shut their eyes.
We’re dying.
This is really it.
We can’t hold out anymore.
Crunch!
A neck was pierced.
Wasn’t that death?
“Are you alright?”
Benjamin pulled a mercenary back from the brink.
Cloaked figures joined the fight.
Only then did the mercenaries’ legs give out.
They had nearly died.
“Th-thank you!”
“The wounded to the rear!”
Benjamin exhaled softly.
The Duncan Corps and the Guard reformed the suppression formation.
“Apologies. The front collapsed once.”
“It’s fine. We regained control from below.”
The area was secured.
Benjamin wiped his cheek.
“My body feels sticky.”
“The humidity.”
He ruffled his sweat-soaked hair.
“They just kept coming.”
Goblin corpses piled up.
“Even seasoned mercenaries rarely look that calm after seeing monster corpses.”
“You mean the Empress?”
“She’s beside the old woman.”
Sharloff stood beside her.
Silent.
“She’s better than mid-tier mercenaries.”
“Not something to say lightly.”
“I’ll keep it to myself.”
“Was the old woman identified?”
“She’s the mother of a fallen mercenary. Several people saw her at the funeral.”
“Is she truly blind?”
That was the real question.
The former basilisk nest—high on a coastal cliff—had collapsed, altering the terrain.
Who would crawl up there willingly?
“Western sector secured.”
“Eastern sector cleared.”
“All goblins in the area eliminated.”
Green blood pooled on the ground.
Blades rose.
Necks were severed.
No hesitation.
Cut the neck. Open the path. Protect their lord.
That was all.
Green blood marked the trail.
The last goblin’s neck snapped.
Benjamin sheathed his sword.
“Fearless.”
Sharloff exhaled softly.
“Where is this place?” the old woman asked.
“The suppression front.”
“…Why did you come here?”
“To perform a requiem for my child. But it’s pointless now.”
A fallen mercenary and his family.
“You’ve suffered enough. Rest.”
Sharloff placed a hand on her forehead.
“It’s fine.”
Sleep for a while.
When you wake, it will all be over.
“Sleep a little longer.”
“If I sleep, I won’t see my child—”
“You’ll see him in your unconscious memories.”
He closed her eyes.
“Sharle.”
She lifted her head calmly.
“Are you injured?”
“No. Just some dirt.”
Benjamin spoke quietly.
“Keep your sword drawn. It’s not over yet.”
It wasn’t over.
Soon—
The dead would walk the earth.
