I have complained before about how much I hate to lead groups and that is especially true when we are in battle. There is an exception to this though. That is when I have to deal with something that requires a group to handle.

This is one of those situations. Spending a few hours down here and I can see why goblin mage had to put all her effort into maintaining her wall. Multiple walls would still be wise.

I have to deal with waves and waves of rats. Thankfully, we at least had the most basic of preparation before entering this region. Well, having a rudimentary map of the region can be considered to be something of a preparation right.

The first problem we had to deal with was the quarry itself. The quarry was much deeper than I had originally anticipated and I can thank troop for this bit of sloppiness. They had barely scouted out this region for any potential threats. Well, I did say that It will take a very long time to train this bunch.

Anyway, I would like to meet the genius that dug this quarry. It is very unstable. A small explosion in the correct location and I can completely make this region fall on itself.

once we crossed a certain depth, the entire mine was infested with rats and it still is. I have to be very clear that I am the only one hunting her. The main reason for this is quite simple, the other two can barely fight in narrow and unstable tunnels that make up the quarry.

Soldier one, who uses a spear will never be able to fight properly and as for jack, I don't want to risk things with him by letting him use magic. He can bring down these tunnels and cause a bunch of cave-ins in this region.

He is taking care of something as important as clearing this region. He will be creating undead. While this undead will not be of much use, they are still better than something. Well, it is time for me to fight again.

This time it is a group of four rats. It will be a bit hard, but I can do it on my own. These rats do not have any mana, but this does not make them any less deadly. Firstly, they are the size of a small dog, and then Their teeth are capable of cutting through my armor. while I don't need to worry too much about damage to this armor body of mine, there is still a limit to this.

If enough damage is done to my body, my soul would lose connection with the armor and a free soul not bound to anything had two results, becoming a ghost or going to the underworld. Neither of those is an option that I want to deal with right now, especially the former.

Well, time for me to focus on the group in front of me. These creatures are thankfully pretty dumb. Well, there is not much chance of a sneak attack with this body, but a man has got to try.

Pulling out all the mana stored in my body, I begin to create a mana string. This string is different from the one that I usually use. It is a flimsy string, breaking in contact with the air. But that is what it is supposed to do. It generates a very bright flash of light when the string breaks. I call it light string due to how bright it can get. It is something like a flash spell. It is one of the reasons I have started to work on mana string now. It can boost my abilities in battle quite tremendously.

Anyway, If I can time it right, I can get two kills in an instant. Though, I am not sure of how accurate I can be. It is hard for me to use my sword while fighting here.

Anyway, while I am thinking all this I am throwing the light string I have created straight in the middle of this group. I can't see the flash of bright light that has affected them, but I can see my mana dissipating. I wait for a few seconds and charge.

Right now the creatures will not be able to see me clearly, even with the nearly nonexistent eyes that they have. It is a neat trick to start a fight with.

making my way to the closest target I have, which is wildly flailing about, its teeth and claws going everywhere. Well, I still have to be careful. In such a small region, it is pretty hard not to get hit.

Well, I take my sword and use it to stab this rat's head. Before the creature can even realize it, it has already had its brain stabbed.

Unfortunately, before I can make my way to the second rat, they have already recovered. Their attacks which were previously chaotic and disorderly, quickly take a more orderly form.

The pressure on me gets increased by quite a bit. It is hard for me to perform a proper slash in this small region and stabbing doesn't pack the same momentum. That means that the main method for me to fight comes from dodging the creature's attacks and then stabbing their vitals at the correct time.

Now, dodging is a very hard task with this body of mine. With my reaction speed, I will never be able to dodge them if I were to rely on this body's instinctual motion.

I have to actively see their movement pattern and how exactly I can exploit it. With beings that walk on two legs, this prediction is much easier, but with these rats, it is much harder. Well, I will have to focus completely on dealing with these creatures, so I will have to deactivate this recording magic of mine.

(After roughly fifteen minutes)

I can certainly say that this body of mine has some serious stamina. Then again, I am supposed to be one of the undead.

Still, I seriously overestimate myself sometimes. My present injuries are the result of this very overconfidence. I have been bitten once on my sword-wielding arm, twice on my legs and there is a pretty serious claw strike on my back. At the very least, I do not have any blood or organs. Infections are not something that I want to worry about right now.

I will have to use one carcass completely to repair this damage you know.

Thinking this, I make my way through the tunnels to the base. Well, it is not a base. It is just the region where soldier one and I rest and recuperate and jack does his magic or he slacks off very badly. It is kind of hard to tell.

It has been about two days since he had informed me about the existence of the den and about a day and a half since we ended up down here. After our first few fights with the rats, it became pretty clear that I am the only one fit to fight here.

From that time, I have been constantly doing everything that I can decrease their numbers as possible. Right now my count is lying at fifty-four, including the four that I just killed.

That many kills have made my work easier at the very least. When we first entered here, the rats were everywhere. When fighting I had to be very careful of not attracting another troop. I can barely handle four of them, if you added even one more creature I would have been beaten. Now it is much easier and I am pretty certain that we are nearing the den. I don't know how long it will take but we have gotten some territory at the very least.

Right now we do not need to worry about the night wolves, but each day that we spend in this place their threat is increased. According to jack night, wolves are creatures that do not have much aggression in them, especially to the goblins. Before our group, there had barely been any action against goblin squads in this region.

At most there have been threatening actions, to make sure that the goblins did not get too comfortable in this region. Their sudden increase in violence makes me very wary.

Things like that are the action of an invading force, who would like to hide the fact that they are amassing an army here. Naturally, they would not like us ruining this for them. They will attack, that much I am certain of. The fact that they are waiting is making me worried. We are in their territory after all. What could make them wait for this long before attacking?

Well, that is the problem with imagination. If you do not put a stop to it, it can certainly put some dangerous thoughts in your heads. This imagination is what has led to kings going mad in paranoia. I sometimes wonder why people even want to be a king. It is very effective at destroying people. Well, there we go again reliving memories. Time to focus on something else for now.

(Meanwhile)

The night king's court is very active today. Well, it is the meeting of two powerhouses, silence would have been pretty unlikely and boring.

Night king - what are you planning to do, representative. You might represent the other families but I have the final say in this matter. I won't be risking things because one of the families wants revenge.

Representative - the families are not happy with the way things are going. We don't mind listening to your commands, but we are finding it hard to believe that you hold the ability to be fair anymore.

Night king - young one, you dared to blame me for favoritism. Do you want to die right now?

Representative - three of our young are dead and the night hunter meant to protect them is not yet dead. For such failure, death is the only punishment that is possible.

Night king - he is the general of the night hunters. His death will be detrimental to the group.

Representative - well, that is true, night king but the families are demanding revenge and they want it very badly. You cannot deny our revenge. It can be against the one that was meant to guard them or the ones that killed them. That is your choice.

Night king - fine, representative. They are presently at the abomination that the goblins have created. You want your revenge then you can go and take it. I will allow an attack. I will personally make the night hunters help you. I think the Night hunter will like that. He always wanted to destroy that temple. Just make sure that I will have no problem dealing with it it.

Representative - the night hunters must not interfere with our revenge or the conditions of our agreements will be nulled. The goblins are sneaking into our lands, the water wolves are charging into our lands and you the night king are becoming old. Now is not the time for unnecessary arguments among us night wolves, isn't it?

Night king - fine, but I would suggest that you do not underestimate the enemies. They are a very powerful group of goblins. There is a first step being in the group and there is a being that you need to be particularly wary of. It is an armored creature. It is a kind of undead, as far as I can tell.

Representative - what can be worse than a first step among the goblins. They will never waste their leaders for such a small region.

Night king - a being about whom I have not a single clue about is someone that you should be wary of, especially if the leader of the goblins is involved.