Fast! This is way too fast for goblins! At this rate they’ll burst out of the forest before we can even take position up front!
「Bisha! A goblin pack is coming out! Get to the front and open fire!」
「Got it!」
I left the front to the fast-footed Bisha and dropped into a prone firing position where I was.
Three seconds later, goblins, Maanu, burst out of the forest.
They were about the size of the Maanu we’d seen in Mubando Village, clearly ones that had lived a long time.
Bisha, standing at the front, raised her P90 and fired, turning the lead Maanu into a literal beehive. I poured automatic fire into the flank of the stunned Maanu beside it.
We dropped several, but having survived this long, the Maanu weren’t going down without a fight.
When the one that looked like the boss let out a roar, the survivors scattered. Still, they were well within the MINIMI’s range. I had over a hundred rounds left.
I crippled four more with the remaining fire, then immediately switched to the Scorpion.
Bisha was taking them down too, leaving about half. Still, the stronger ones remained, moving fast. Even when hit, they didn’t flinch.
Even so, we kept shooting, whittling them down bit by bit until only the boss-like individual was left.
When the Scorpion ran dry, I switched to the Glock and moved to join Bisha, weapon at the ready.
「Ammo?」
「Just the Glock and my kukri knife」
「I’ll go in. Circle around and strike when there’s an opening」
Without waiting for Bisha’s reply, I charged the boss-like Maanu.
I’m scared. Terrified. But if I can’t beat something like this, there’s no way I’ll survive facing the higher species, special individuals, or a Goblin King that’ll show up sooner or later. I can’t afford to lose here!
I flashed the light mounted on my Glock. As the boss-like Maanu turned its eyes away from the glare, I pumped rounds into it.
But it didn’t seem to do much. Nine-millimeter really is weak for this.
Still, it wasn’t completely ineffective. I swapped magazines immediately and fed it another full load.
With Bisha joining in, we finally put it down after pumping four or five dozen rounds into it.
「…Is it dead?」
That’s a forbidden phrase. Don’t go raising death flags.
I immediately swapped in my last magazine and put five rounds into the boss-like individual. Yeah. No movement. Just like a corpse.
「Bisha. Go get the weapons from the trailer」
There were no goblin presences nearby, but that didn’t mean other monsters wouldn’t show up. We needed to reestablish our formation right away.
「Impressive」
A relaxed voice from the side made me jump. Don’t sneak up on me without a sound. If I were Mister Togo, I’d have killed you. I almost pissed myself from the shock!
「You say you have no talent, yet you took down a higher species, and the boss of a pack at that」
「If I’d beaten it alone, I might take pride in it. But I only managed because Bisha was there. There’s nothing to brag about」
It’s not like I want praise for killing something by myself anyway. What I’m doing is stealing lives. I do it so I can live. There’s nothing noble about that.
「Takato!」
Bisha came back, and I slid the D Sniper and magazines into my plate carrier. The Glock was just a backup, so I hadn’t brought extra magazines for it.
「First, we finish off the Maanu that are still alive」
After all that shooting, quite a few were still breathing. I couldn’t relax until they were dealt with.
I put one round into each of their heads, and finally, just to be sure, shot the boss-like individual in the head as well.
「A cautious man」
「I don’t want to get bitten from behind」
Any death flags get smashed completely.
「Mishinie. There’s no goblin presence, but keep watch around us」
「Leave it to me. I’ll repay the debt」
Manly as ever, Mishinie. I might fall for her.
「Bisha. Let’s collect the magic stones from the Maanu. At this size, they should have them. And don’t forget to pick up the magazines. Glock mags aren’t exactly plentiful」
Of course, I didn’t forget the Scorpion magazines either. Magazines are annoyingly expensive in such an understated way that it really gets to you.
We got magic stones from twenty-one of them, but by the time we finished cutting them all open, it was already past noon.
「Let’s eat lunch first」
After washing the blood off my hands and knife, I headed back to Home.
「Takato, did something happen?」
Ladarion and Miriel were standing by the entrance, looking worried.
「Yeah. A pack of Maanu suddenly attacked, and we’ve been fighting them until now. I’ll get lunch ready right away」
I grabbed the tablet and, feeling lazy, ordered a business hotel breakfast buffet.
「Takato-san. I’ll heal you」
Miriel cast a stamina recovery spell on me as I stood there absentmindedly.
「Thanks. I feel a bit better」
「If it’s only a bit, that means you’re extremely tired. Please don’t push yourself」
「Yeah, I will.」
I have no intention of working through a doctor’s stop order. We’re done for today.
I transferred the breakfast buffet onto large plates and carried them outside.
「Sorry to keep you waiting. Eat as much as you want」
I’ll eat plenty too and rebuild my stamina.
Once lunch was over, we started cleaning up. While we did that, I had Bisha wash the magic stones.
「Are we heading back?」
「No. We’ll stay in the village tonight and head back tomorrow morning」
I want them to handle the cleanup, and there are still a few goblins alive inside the cave. If they’re not dead by tomorrow, I’ll dump about fifty kilos of dry ice in there.
After cleanup was finished, we put away the Pioneer and trailer and rechecked our gear. Guns, check. Ammunition, check. Supplies, check.
「Nothing forgotten?」
「Yeah. Nothing」
Final check complete. Time to withdraw to the village.
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