Episode 11: The Rescue

Having finished my meal and preparations for battle, I moved back to a position where I could see the lake. Moving at night was tough, but thankfully, this world also had a moon. A waxing crescent moon peeked out from the sky, faintly illuminating the forest.

I hadn’t been active at night until now, so I hadn’t been conscious of the moon’s existence. It seemed somewhat different in size from the moon seen from Japan—or rather, Earth—and the pattern on the visible part was different too. It reaffirmed that this wasn’t Earth, but that was old news by now.

I returned to the spot where I had observed the Goblins, but my spear wasn’t there. Whether the Goblins took it or I dropped it along the way, I have no memory of it, so I don’t know. Since it didn’t seem likely I’d find it, I had to give up. I had prepared a club with a stone tied to it as a substitute, which turned out to be the right call.

Most of the Goblins must have retreated to the cave, as only a few remained to watch the fire. However, occasionally some figure would enter or exit the cave, and straining my ears, I could hear a buzz of various noises from inside, so they seemed to be still awake.

I decided to take a nap and rest, waiting for the Goblins to fall asleep. Given that I encountered them during the day and they were eating at dusk, I don’t think they are nocturnal.

Also, since this is Goblin territory, there are no signs of beasts approaching, making it relatively safe as long as the Goblins don’t notice me. Attacks from beasts stopped abruptly on my way here, so they must fear the Hobgoblin after all.

Several hours passed since then. Due to tension and pain from my wounds, I couldn’t sleep well, but I managed to doze off a bit. My fatigue healed, my body felt lighter, and the wounds on my cheek and ear had closed up. They still need time to heal completely, but for now, they shouldn’t be a hindrance. Small scratches all over my body were mostly healed.

The waxing moon, which had been west of the zenith, was now tilting near the horizon. If it follows a similar orbit to Earth’s moon, it should be near midnight. Since the luminous nebula wasn’t visible in the eastern sky, I inferred it was about that time. With the moon’s altitude lower, the light was significantly reduced, barely brighter than pitch darkness. It felt quite good for stealthy action.

At the lakeside, three were still watching the fire, but no other Goblins were visible, and there was no movement in or out of the cave. Straining my ears, I couldn’t hear any activity from inside the cave. It seems they’ve fallen asleep.

I quietly advanced to the edge of the forest without making a sound. Up to that point, with the fire in front of them, I should be backlit and invisible to them. I observed their movements and timed it for when their figures overlapped. Then, when the moment came, I threw a stone with all my might.

The stone, accelerated by will, sent one Goblin flying, knocking down the two behind him as well. Immediately after throwing the stone, I sprinted at full speed and crushed the heads of the fallen Goblins with my club before they could even scream. I had no hesitation in killing Goblins. To me, they were now objects of hatred, existences lower than beasts.

I approached the cave entrance and listened, but since I sensed no movement from the Goblins, it seemed I hadn’t been noticed. I managed well up to here, but now is the real deal. I took a deep breath to calm my violently beating heart.

But the stench drifting from the cave was so bad I almost choked. Rotting smells, odors like vagrants, and various other nasty smells mixed together to create stagnant air.

This alone almost made me falter, but I suppressed the feeling of going crazy and smeared the Goblins’ filth-mixed mud onto my exposed limbs. My white skin looks quite bright in night vision, so this was to prevent detection and mask my scent.

I couldn’t take deep breaths anymore, so I clenched my fists to steel my resolve, taking shallow breaths as I entered the cave.

The cave entrance was narrow, forcing me to crouch to proceed given my height. I thought the inside would be pitch black, but faintly glowing stones were scattered here and there. Serving as indirect lighting, they allowed me to see the interior quite clearly with my night vision.

This cave must have been used for a long time; the ground was flat, and the rock walls were worn smooth in places. The ease of walking was helpful, but the deeper I went, the stronger the smell became; I seriously felt like vomiting.

I advanced slowly with stealthy steps so the Goblins wouldn’t notice. The cave seemed to have a complex structure; although there were few forks, the winding passages made it impossible to see ahead. Fighting anxiety, I proceeded with extreme caution.

Back in Japan, I had entered several caves. Major ones included Fujido in Gunma, Nippara Limestone Cave in Tokyo, Abukuma Cave in Fukushima, and Akkado in Iwate.

Akkado, in particular, had many places with low ceilings, and helmets were lent out. I hit my head many times, so without a helmet, it would have been seriously bad. This cave resembled Akkado. If I carelessly moved too fast and scraped my head against the ceiling, flesh would be gouged out, so I advanced quietly and carefully.

Stumbling a few times, I turned several curves and moved forward until I saw a wider space. It was like a large hall with many flat areas. The Goblins had secured spots here and there, laying furs on the ground to sleep.

I thought they’d be snoring loudly, but surprisingly, they were sleeping quietly. Is it because they are closer to beasts than humans? Well, that doesn’t matter, but anyway, the smell was intense, stinging my eyes.

I psyched myself up, became even more cautious, entered the large hall, and moved between the sleeping Goblins. Since a slight noise might wake them, I walked slowly, step by step. Walking just a few steps felt like an incredibly long time.

As I passed several Goblins, I accidentally kicked a pebble, which hit a Goblin’s body. Crap! I instinctively crouched and froze, watching intently.

That Goblin rolled over, scratched the spot where the pebble hit with its fingertips, and fortunately didn’t wake up. Perhaps they’ve never been attacked by beasts here. They seem completely at ease. Relieved, I continued to advance even more slowly.

Reaching near the center of the hall, I saw it branch off into several directions in the back. One of them was a bit brighter, so I approached and peeked inside.

It was like a small room, and I discovered a woman lying there. Judging by her hair color and body shape, it seemed to be the woman who had fled earlier. She appeared to be fast asleep, breathing quietly.

The woman seemed naked, but straw was laid on the floor, and a fur covered her belly. She seemed to be treated better than I expected, but vines acting as ropes were wrapped around her ankles to prevent escape.

No other humans were visible. Are they somewhere else? Rather than risking unknown dangers, I prioritized rescuing this woman for now.

I approached the woman without waking the Goblins. When I got to her side, there was a distinctly different smell from the rest. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it was probably the smell of sex. The odor emanating from her body made it clear what had been done to her. Moreover, there were fresh bruises and cuts all over her body, revealing vivid traces of assault.

I felt intense anger along with sadness, but I forcibly suppressed it and told myself to deal with it as calmly as possible. I took out my stone knife and cut the base of the vines binding the woman by pressing down with force. Fortunately, it made almost no sound.

Now I could let the woman escape, but I hesitated whether to carry her out as is or wake her up first. I had intended to rescue her, but I hadn’t thought about the specific method. I had never experienced anything like this in my life, so I was acting somewhat like in a movie or drama, but I hit a wall easily.

Thinking it would be better than carrying her suddenly and having her scream, I decided to wake her. I tapped her shoulder as if knocking, but she didn’t wake up. Whether from exhaustion or deep sleep, she didn’t stir. Unavoidably, I grabbed both her shoulders and shook her strongly. Finally, signs of awakening appeared.

The woman opened her eyes slightly, but her expression was vacant. Perhaps her consciousness wasn’t clear yet; she looked at me blankly. To let her know I wasn’t a Goblin, I brought my face close to hers and looked into her eyes. However, perhaps due to the darkness she couldn’t recognize me, or maybe out of despair, she just stayed still. Getting nowhere like this, I lifted the woman and hoisted her onto my shoulder.

“Ah…”

The woman let out a small voice. Fearing she would make any more noise, I started running quickly.

“Aaaahhh!!! Gyaaaahhh!!!”

Driven by fear, the woman screamed and started thrashing. At that signal, the Goblins woke up and rose. My choice was wrong. I should have quietly carried her out while she was in a deep sleep. But it was too late for regrets.

While taking care not to drop the thrashing woman, I kicked away Goblins blocking my path and swung my club to smash them as I ran in the opposite direction from where I came. Fortunately, the Goblins were still groggy and slow, so I could easily scatter them and advance. The Goblins behind me seemed to falter for a moment, but when one Goblin screamed, they chased after me all at once.

Even carrying the woman, I seemed faster, so they didn’t catch up. However, there were many places with low ceilings, making it hard to pass through. At one spot with a particularly low ceiling, I struggled quite a bit, allowing three Goblins to catch up.

The three Goblins swung sticks and threw stones, but I managed to escape to a place with a higher ceiling while dodging their attacks. There, I swung my club and beat the three to death. Since making noise didn’t matter anymore, I beat them mercilessly. I kicked the dead Goblin bodies into the chasing Goblins.

Buying time with that, I fixed the thrashing woman around my waist and ran toward the exit. The woman, in a panic, kicked her legs and hit me while screaming, but perhaps due to weakness, it wasn’t much of a burden. The woman must be having a hard time being shaken and swung around, but running away takes priority right now.

Managing to slip through the low exit and get outside, I readjusted the woman onto my back piggyback style. A little later, the Goblins rushed the exit, but I threw a stone and killed the lead Goblin. When its body fell, the following Goblins tripped and fell one after another. They ended up in a pile, effectively blocking the exit.

I thought I had shaken them off, but a roar accompanied by a tremendous Pressure assaulted me from deep within the cave. The Hobgoblin must have woken up and started pursuing. I nearly froze, but because I was on guard, my movements only dulled slightly. Steeling my mind and spirit, the clinging Pressure dispersed.

The woman seemed to have fainted from that just now. Feeling a warm sensation flow down my back, she must have lost control of her bladder. Since she stopped struggling, it became easier to run, which helped.

I ran along the lakeshore. The setting moon was visible in the western sky, faintly illuminating the surroundings and reflecting light on the lake. From that, I knew the infiltration time was short. It felt very long due to tension, but that seemed to be only subjective.

Looking back, the Hobgoblin was chasing me, kicking other Goblins out of the way. The kicked Goblins flew and rolled with tremendous force, so they probably aren’t unharmed. That’s how enraged the Hobgoblin seems. Not just because of that, but the Hobgoblin is clearly faster, and being caught up is just a matter of time.

I thought I’d be done for if he threw a stone axe like before, but the Hobgoblin is holding a sword. I only caught a glimpse, but it looked like an iron longsword, looking quite large even for the Hobgoblin’s body. It was probably stolen from a human.

The Hobgoblin is closing in fast. It seems a fight is unavoidable. If possible, I want to fight in a place that gives me even a slight advantage. I wanted to fight with a spear that has reach, but unfortunately, I don’t have one now.

I entered the forest, looking for a place with dense trees. If the opponent has a sword, a place where it’s hard to swing would be better. My weapons are a club, a whip, and small stones for throwing and finger flicks. I have to manage with this.

A little deeper into the forest, there was a place where several trees were leaning over, about to fall. Branches were intricately tangled, making it narrow for swinging a sword. It looked ideal. Here, I won’t be surrounded by other Goblins either.

I jumped into that spot and hid the woman behind a large tree in the back. Turning around, the Hobgoblin was right there. Finally, the battle with a formidable enemy begins. The roar and Pressure fan my fear.

I gripped the club tightly.