A. Against the Hobgoblins

Pino heard Balam's voice which was so loud, he returned to focus as soon as he heard the voice. He brandished his sword and stared at the remaining goblins in front of him, strengthening his grip, he still felt a little nauseous so that his grip was a little loose. Pino stomped his feet and jumped, attacking the Goblins. Swinging his sword, one of the goblins in front of him couldn't dodge Pino's attack and ended up being cut in half.

Looking at the other goblins with fierce gaze, he started to be able to give off killing intent and it wasn't weak. Leaping at the stunned and motionless Goblin, Pino made use of it by swinging his weapon, he slashed at the Goblin. After that, Pino faced the Goblin who was still standing, he cut it down viciously, repeatedly swinging his sword so that the Goblin turned into meat paste.

Bluargh... Bluargh... Bluargh...

Pino could no longer hold back the feeling of nausea, he moved sideways to avoid the goblin corpse and then spat out his entire stomach. He has faced this kind of situation, killing animals is easy because he is used to it, and the situation he is currently in is the same as back then, where he killed an animal for the first time.

It looked easy when Pino killed the Goblins, it could all happen because the Goblins who attacked him were just ordinary Goblins and there was a terrible figure behind Pino. That figure is Balam, the Goblins know that so they can't attack freely, their instincts tell them to run away but they can't do it because they are being watched by Balam, so there is only one way, namely to fight.

Even so, they couldn't fight back with all their might, they were threatened by Balam's presence, so their attack power was weakened. Just like when Pino was on alert, when he was nauseous, it was the perfect time to kill Pino, but they couldn't move because they felt Balam's murderous gaze. Then, they just stood still, didn't move a finger, didn't move, that was all they could do. Their instincts warned them to leave the place, but they couldn't do anything about it.

Balam approached Pino who was kneeling beside a tree and supported his body with the hand that he placed on the tree. Seeing Pino who was gurgling, Balam just shook his head, he didn't scold him, he just waited for Pino to get better. Standing still behind Pino, Balam watched the surrounding area, he was completely alert.

He had often met this kind of goblin horde, but he also knew, if there was a group of goblins with no more than 10 goblins, they were just scout goblins, if within a certain time they didn't return. A larger group of Goblins will appear, their main group will appear. Usually a large Goblin group will have as many as 30 Goblin members with several leaders known as Hob-Goblins.

"Come on ... kid. Are you going to throw up all the time and get all your guts out? How are you going to fight against monsters that are terrible and much stronger than these Goblins? Just fight them, you got like this, hurry up and follow me, there are a few things I will show you, "said Balam, he lifted Pino with one hand and supported him, seeing Pino's pale face, Balam sighed softly.

Balam didn't take Pino to Morshore City, but instead went into the thickets where the Goblins had appeared. Balam, who had memorized the Goblin's footprints, started walking towards the direction where the Goblin's footprints came from, so they walked in a different direction from the Goblin's footprints. Past several shady trees and thickets, they quickened their footsteps.

Pino, who was still feeling weak from vomiting up almost all of his stomach contents, could only walk slowly and follow Balam with small steps. He didn't know where he was going, following Balam's footsteps, Pino didn't complain at all. No matter where it is taken, Pino always believes in Balam.

After nightfall, they stopped for a moment to rest, usually they would make a bonfire while resting outside and on the clear ground, but they didn't. Balam forbids this, Balam doesn't want to cause trouble, especially since they are close to their destination, which is the origin of the Goblins that attacked them.

From the start, this was what Balam was aiming for in bringing Pino after fighting the Goblins. Balam wanted to show what kind of enemy he would face, he wanted to tell Pino how cruel the monsters were, besides that he also wanted to give Pino his experience about real wars and situations between life and death. Of course this is not an easy thing for him to see his beloved child being killed in front of his eyes, so he will help if the situation falls far short of his expectations, such as the appearance of the Goblin Chief.

"Son ... you fought the Goblins and killed them, how do you feel? We followed their trail but in opposite directions, so we can find out where they came from. Remember what you will see later is a reality, prepare your heart. Don't you throw up like that. You can do it, right !!! "snarled Balam, he suppressed his voice and raised the volume, his voice becoming louder.

Pino took a breath of cold air, this was the first time he saw Balam like this, seeing his face that had turned fierce and his cold gaze with high killing intent, never had he seen Balam in this state. Confirming his heart, Pino replied loudly and with determination, "Yes, Father. I'll do it, I won't throw up like that again!"

"Good, not far from here is a Goblin's lair, you know what that means? It is the most terrifying place for women ... not only that, you will see something unimaginable. Monsters ... they will only kill and kill, slaughter humans, look at us as mere prey, however ... not with the Goblins, they consider humans, especially women, as generation-producing machines, "said Balam, there was a fluctuation in his eyes, there was anger and great hatred.

No matter who the opponent was, Balam would only treat them as prey, even high ranking monsters, but as for the Goblins themselves, he had a real grudge. A feeling that arose from the painful past and continues to be the worst memory in his life. That incident also encouraged him to continue training until he is as strong as he is now, and he wanted to tell Pino about it.

They spend the night, and Balam relates the events that underlie his hatred for Goblins. He revealed everything to Pino, why did he tell his son the painful and embarrassing past for a warrior? He didn't want Pino to experience the same thing, he wanted Pino to understand what the monsters looked like, and what kind of damage they did.

Why did Balam say it all? Because he was sure that one day Pino would fight many terrible opponents. Balam wants to prepare Pino, to make his heart hard as steel and not afraid of anything, but also to have empathy and sympathy for others, so telling his experience and taking him to the same place will make Pino understand it for real.