Chapter 246.4

Volume 3: Chapter 246 – The Absence of a Great Man (4/4)

The area of the Western Region that the demihumans used to create their villages covered a vast area.

To the east were the hills, to the south were the grasslands, further up north was dotted with forests, and to the west were the great woodlands of the Forest of Darkness. A large portion of that area was left as the wilds unfit for humans to settle in. It was there that the demihumans lived.

It was their dream to run after monster beasts across the plains. That was their ideal life. It was not that they could not possess developed cities like the humans had. They simply did not want them. Their villages were not surrounded by high walls, but by wooden fences only meant to mark territories.

It was that sort of place that Esgare’s adventurers attacked.

An undeveloped land was also an undeveloped land to the demihumans. Such places could be home to dangerous monsters or traps formed by nature.

Entering such a place required courage; hence, it was one of the conditions for a demihuman to be considered an adult. That was why it was necessary for them to have that kind of wilderness.

And it was within that kind of wilderness that the adventurers hid themselves.

Of course, there weren’t many places that could accommodate 2,000 people. So they had to split themselves into many small groups and hide themselves in the undeveloped wilderness to hide from the winged ones (harpyurea) and to flee from people’s eyes.

They had to wait more than 10 days before things started to improve.

Gilmi, Gi Zu, and the rest of Fanzel ground their teeth as they watched things develop. It wasn’t until the month of Bilf when the northern winds were harsh that good news finally found its way to the Goblin King.

The governor-general of the western capital, Yoshu, had recovered.

With his recovery, the situation finally started to move.

Yoshu had a conference with Sophia, who was acting as Pale’s representative and to whom the Soar to Freedom (Elks Clan) had been entrusted to. He groaned when he found out that their intelligence network had been setup all over town, but also realized that they weren’t cut out for the wilderness.

At that, he immediately put up several requests at the guild.

A topographical survey of the undeveloped lands occupied by demihumans and uninhabitable by humans, but the people who accept the job must report their location daily. With such an easy job paying so well, a large number of people flooded the guild to apply for it.

But Yoshu already presumed that these people wouldn’t be coming back home. At that, Sophia felt the same kind of fear with him that she felt with Pale, but she pretended not to see it. The plan he came up with was indeed effective.

If they could find them, then good. And even if they couldn’t, so long as some evidence was left behind, Yoshu would be able to use that to calculate their whereabouts. That great resolve allowed the Western Capital to quickly regain its footing.

As a result, they were finally able to catch them. The statistics of missing people spread out over the map that the calm ruler devised announced the grave truth and the presence of the enemies to them.

No matter how skillfully the enemies tried to hide themselves within the wilderness, so long as the goblins and the demihumans scouted those places, they would easily be able to find their tracks. After narrowing down their targets, the scouts were able to ascertain the location of the enemy, and Gilmi’s Fanzel immediately set out to vanquish them.

The moment Fanzel made their move, a group of about 500 adventurers immediately fled.

Vanquishing one’s enemy should be done with all of one’s strength.

Gilmi, who strictly adhered to that principle, was able to extinguish nearly 500 adventurers in the blink of an eye. Just a little, he was able to find satisfaction in that. Even Gi Zu, who had been yelling and asking where the enemy was, was finally able to heave a sigh of relief after attacking them head on and bathing in their blood.

These Dark Hands may have been first-class, but any struggle they put up in the face of an army that was 7 times their strength could at most only delay their fate.

While Fanzel was excited about their rare victory, another report came.

—A group of unidentified humans was headed for the Forest of Darkness.

In that very moment, Gilmi assumed the worst.

“Those bastards!”

It was rare for Gilmi to curse, and he immediately ordered his army that was celebrating to turn around and head for the Forest of Darkness.

At the east of the Forest of Darkness could be found traces of the Gi Village.

Beyond that were the four tribes, but the closest to the east was the Ganra Village.

Gilmi ground his teeth and did all he could to stifle what impatience he felt as they ran across the Western Region through morning and evening without rest. The Ganra Tribe within Fanzel was just as impatient as him.

“Those who can’t keep up can just rendezvous with us later!”

Many people dropped out along the way as they literally ran three days and three nights without rest, and by the time they reached the Unknown Forest, where the Ganra Village was, what they saw was their village in flames.

Before the unfolding nightmare, many Ganra warriors fell to their knees.

Amidst the despairing voices was an angry voice yelled by Gilmi. He was looking for his master.

“Princess!　Princess Narsa, are you here!?”

Gilmi scolded the despairing Ganra warriors and searched for the master he served. In his mind, his position as the Goblin King’s general was already gone. He even forgot that the enemy could very well be lurking somewhere.

All he cared about was the safety of Princess Narsa.

He passed through the burning village and brushed aside the smoke to find some survivors. He asked them where his master was.

“Where is Princess Narsa!?”

The tribal members were on the verge of death but they still pointed him to the person he was looking for. Gilmi thanked them and ran in the direction they pointed at. When he found Narsa wounded but alive, he heaved a breath of relief and ran to her.

“Princess, thank goodness you are safe.”

“Gilmi… They stole our… Most valuable treasure…”

Upon seeing Gilmi, Princess Narsa exhausted the last of her strength and fainted.

Gilmi gathered the tribe, ensured the safety of the princess, and then left to recover the rest of the survivors.

Based on the information of the survivors, the adventurers apparently headed east once more.

Though reluctant, Gilmi sent Narsa to the Fortress of the Abyss, then rendezvoused with those who couldn’t keep up with their frantic march, and then turned the army around to chase after the adventurers again.