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“This is good…”

 

It was the same old familiar soup, but it tasted about thirty percent better after everything we’d been through. The big chunks of meat were soft and the vegetables practically melted in your mouth. What was particularly good, was the potatoes. They had soaked in the flavor of the soup and were both soft and flaky. I had always loved potatoes and could go for seconds even.

 

I finished my bowl quickly and asked for more. All the while, I continued to use Presence Detection and Eyes of the God Wolf. It covered a large area around Namila Village, and I would be able to see any intruders. I had done this several times while we took shelter, and had detected a number of goblins. However, they were not able to do much in this weather. They either stayed still or seemed to wander aimlessly. Perhaps it was their lack of intelligence that made it harder for them to find the village. Of course, as we had killed most of the goblins, the ones I detected were pretty far away.

 

It was while I was doing this that I detected something that for the first time, wasn’t a goblin.

 

“What the…”

 

It wasn’t weak. In fact, it was incredibly strong. Perhaps someone more familiar would have recognized what it was. But for now, it was still pretty far off.

And yet, it seemed to be coming towards the village in a straight line. It was as if the snow had no effect on it, not even slowing it. It walked straight at a fixed speed.

 

Frantically, I directed Eyes of the God Wolf towards it. The blizzard turned everything white, and it was hard to make out. Still, I saw something.

 

“Is it…a goblin?”

 

It looked like a goblin. However, it was also quite different from the goblins we fought today. First of all, its skin was a dark red, and the physique looked more like an adult human. Its body was muscular, unlike the small goblins. And it carried a giant sword as a weapon. It was quite similar in shape to my own greatsword. It carried the sword on its shoulder as it walked towards us. It was hard to interpret this as anything other than bad.

 

“Ah…”

 

The goblin was about to encounter one of the groups of goblins that were stuck in the snow. I gulped and watched. They met in less than a minute. The smaller goblins raised their arms as if expecting to be saved. As for the dark red goblin. It showed its teeth as it laughed. Then it swung its sword. The small goblins didn’t stand a chance. Blood soaked into the snow. The dark red goblin leaned the sword on its shoulder again and continued its march.

 

“Daniela. Some pen and paper.”

 

Daniela looked at me with puzzlement, but when she saw that I was using Eyes of the God Wolf, she quickly took the items out of the hollow bag and brought them to me.

 

“What did you see?”

“This looks bad. There’s a goblin out there that almost looks human. It’s dark red and headed right towards us. I saw it cut down some goblins on the way. It looks cruel.”

“Hmm…”

“Any ideas?”

“Perhaps. Black goblins are High Goblins. Red ones are called Red Goblins. They are special goblins that are extremely vicious, but also very rare.”

 

I was still watching the dark red goblin, but I could hear Daniela’s voice. From what she told me, it seemed likely that this was an advanced version of a Red Goblin.

 

“Would that make it…a High Red Goblin?”

“It is possible.”

“Alright…wait here.”

 

I turned off Eyes of the God Wolf off and started to draw a sketch of the goblin I had seen. As I was no artist, the drawing sucked. But I just needed to capture the distinct features.

 

“Like this.”

“That is horrible…”

“Shut up.”

“However, I think I understand. The physique seems close to a High Goblin. Its temperament sounds like a Red Goblin. They are known to not only kill but eat their own kind.”

“But this one didn’t eat the others?”

“Maybe it was full?”

 

So it already ate goblins on the way…?

This thing really was a freak. It was hard to understand. Maybe one of the goblins had escaped and was able to send word to the nest…? But there was a blizzard. All the other goblins had frozen and become lost. It was cold enough to die out there. I doubted any goblins could have gotten so far.

 

“There is no use in wondering about it. We must tell Adlus.”

“Um… Has something happened?”

 

Silket asked, just as Daniela was helping me stand up. She didn’t know about Eyes of the God Wolf. To her, it would have just looked like I had called Daniela over with a worried expression, and now we were leaving.

 

“Yes. He has detected something. It may be dangerous, so you should stay here for now. This is a matter for the Rubies.”

“I understand. Will there be enough time to alert the other Jades?”

“Yes. Can I count on you?”

“Leave it to me!”

 

If it was within the village, she should be able to move. At least, the scouts had had no problem. Silket woke up Marcel and took her as well.

 

“We better go then.”

“Yeah.”

 

I picked up the hollow bag and walked outside. The blizzard was even stronger than before. And yet that thing was walking through it as if it was nothing. What kind of monster was this?

I stared at Daniela’s back as we walked, and prepared myself mentally for the threat ahead.

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