Ch-9 Goblin Extermination

It was the second summer since Hoshi-san and I arrived in Tokura Village.

Though we no longer had trouble communicating and life had stabilized, there was still no sign of when we might return to our original world. The days grew more and more anxious.

There was no school in the village, but several times a month, Village Chief Sato gathered the children in the village hall.

The elders took turns teaching essential skills for daily life, such as reading, writing, arithmetic, self-defense, and identifying medicinal herbs.

It was like a private school, and Hoshi-san and I had been attending for the past six months.

To be honest, it was a little strange to see two adults learning elementary skills alongside a group of children. But we tried not to think about it, because it was actually helpful.

Both Hoshi-san and I were popular with the animal children.

Humans were rare to begin with, but I had earned a reputation for my hunting skills and swordsmanship.

Meanwhile, Hoshi-san captivated the children with games from our world, such as origami and cat's cradle.

After the writing lesson today, I was teaching swordsmanship to some boys in the garden of the village chief's house, along with Plum.

Hoshi-san was nearby, playing hopscotch with Melon and the girls in the park.

Since the prank on her reincarnation anniversary, Hoshi-san had calmed down. Nightmares rarely bothered her anymore and she could spend her days in peace.

"Makaritoru!"

A messenger shouted as they approached the village chief's house. Hoshi-san and the girls quickly stepped aside as the rider passed, heading straight for the chief's door.

"A fast horse is quite rare. I wonder what's going on," Plum said worriedly, looking at me.

Lately, Plum and I had become very close, some villagers comparing us to siblings. For better or worse, I felt that I was becoming more and more like Hikaru.

Soon the chief of the village came out of the house and called:

"Plum, go and call Imenji. It's an emergency."

Imenji was Plum's father, Barua. Sensing something serious, we hurried home and relayed the message.

Barua didn't return until late that night. Plum and Melon had fallen asleep with Hoshi-san, so I was about to turn in myself when Barua finally arrived, looking exhausted.

"You're still awake? Were you waiting for me? Thank you."

"No, it's not that. Melon took my bed."

"Haha, sorry about that as always."

"So, Barua, what's going on? Was it about the fast horse?

"Yes. A beastman settlement just over the ridge was attacked and destroyed by a goblin horde. They'll probably use the area as a base for now, but once they've consumed all the resources around them, they'll move on to their next target.

"If we're unlucky, that target could be our village."

"Do goblins move like locusts?"

"Locusts? What's that? Well, they go where their instincts take them. But when there's a dry spring, like this year, their numbers explode."

"So what measures are being taken?"

"For now, we've sent messengers to the border garrison, but it will take more than a month for reinforcements to arrive. Until then, we'll have to defend the village ourselves. We'll organize everyone who can fight. Your help would be appreciated."

"Of course. But I've never seen a goblin before. What are they like?"

"They are small demons, about the size of children. Individually, they're weak - Plum could probably take down one without much trouble - but their numbers are overwhelming. This will be a fight for survival more than anything else."

I nodded, realizing that securing the village and its defenses would be crucial.

The next day, the entire village began preparing for the goblin attack.

A few days later, scouts returned from the other side of the mountain. They estimated the goblin horde to be about 5,000 strong.

The goblins would consume everything in the area in a matter of days and then move on. If they were headed for our village, they would not arrive for at least ten days.

The villagers worked hard, building protective fences and digging ditches. But when it came to the fields, they had no choice but to abandon them.

Women and children prepared to evacuate to the mountains with as much food as they could carry. Their destination was a mountain hut where Hoshi-san and I had once camped.

Twenty men, including Barua, Okia, and myself, were selected for the fighting party. Plum wanted to join, but was turned down by Barua, who told her she'd be needed if stray goblins headed for the mountains. She seemed satisfied with this reasoning.

With a goal of 250 goblins per person, it was going to be tough. But we had no choice but to prepare for the battle ahead.

"Haha, the target quota for each person is 250 monsters. Oh well, I guess I'll have to do it."

Okia lent me two swords that looked like they were of excellent workmanship. As expected, I couldn't wield both at once, so I strapped one to my back as a backup, just in case.

As more information trickled in from the scouting party, it became clear that the goblin horde was indeed heading for the village. The mountain evacuation group began to move, taking as many crops from the fields as they could.

Hoshi-san, Plum, Melon, and the others accompanied the evacuees.

We, the combat team, fortified a small stronghold in the center of the village and prepared for the confrontation.

I asked Barua if it wouldn't be better for everyone to evacuate, but he explained that it would be disastrous if the goblins attacked the evacuation site.

Besides, there seemed to be an unwritten rule in this world: when goblins appeared, the affected villages had to do everything they could to reduce their numbers.

Surely, if we allowed the horde to escape, the next village would suffer even more.

Apparently, there were tens of thousands of goblins at first. By the time they reached the previous village, their numbers had dwindled to about 5,000.

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A few days later, just as the scouts had predicted, the goblins swarmed into the village.

At first they ravaged the outlying fields, devouring crops wherever they could find them.

I asked if we could attack them one by one, but Barua told me to wait until we had a clear idea of their distribution.

"Looks like all 5,000 have shown up," Okia reported to Barua.

"Good. Let's start with the closest cluster from here. Yuuta and Sodon, stay behind to secure the retreat. Now, let's move!"

At Barua's command, the battle team rushed out of the fortress.

Sodon and I stood ready to ensure a safe return for the team. Fortunately, the goblins were too busy devouring the fields to block our retreat.

After about 30 minutes, the party returned to the stronghold. Everyone made it back safely.

"Wow, this is tough," Barua muttered as he caught his breath. "We haven't even killed a thousand yet. Oh well, let's rest up and hit them again!"

Meanwhile, the goblins continued their feast, tightening the ring of destruction around the fort.

"I see," I thought to myself. "The fields are being used as bait. If all 5,000 goblins attack the fort at once, we'll never stand a chance."

"All right, time for round two!"

Once again, Barua and the others rushed out, while Sodon and I stayed behind to guard the retreat.

This time, some goblins near the fort noticed us and attacked. Their movements were slow and clumsy, and they weren't very strong. I managed to slay them with a few swipes of my sword.

But when I let my guard down for a moment, several goblins swarmed Sodon at once.

"This is bad!"

I quickly rushed to his side and cut down the attackers. Then it hit me - the true danger of their overwhelming numbers. If we weren't careful, we could be overpowered in an instant. Fortunately, Sodon's injuries were minor, and he was able to continue fighting.

When the battle team returned from their second attack, it was clear that they were even more exhausted than before.

"Barua, should I step in?" I asked.

"No, Yuuta. Securing the escape route is the most important task in this strategy. Save your energy for that," Barua replied firmly.

Just as I was about to accept my role, Okia suddenly shouted, "Something's wrong!"

Everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Barua asked.

"I'm sure there were about 5,000 goblins to begin with. We've taken out about 1,500 in two attacks. So why are there only about 1,500 left outside the fort?"

Barua quickly checked the situation.

"You are right. Where did the other 2,000 go?"

A heavy silence fell over the group.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Okia said. "We need to check the evacuation camp in the mountains immediately!"

Barua nodded. "All right, we'll split up the group. Those of you who stay here will finish clearing out the goblins in the area and then head for the mountains as soon as possible. Okia and I will lead a team to the camp."

The group split up. Barua and Okia's group cut through the goblins and headed for the mountains.

Under Holma's command, the remaining fighters concentrated on thinning out the goblins near the village. We worked tirelessly, cutting them down one by one, losing track of how many we had killed.

By the time the sun began to set, the goblins in the immediate area had been nearly wiped out.

"Yuta, rest for now," Holma said. "Barua and the others are experienced warriors. They'll be fine. You'll need your strength to follow them."

Reluctantly, I drank some water and rested. After about an hour, I felt well enough to move again.

"Yuta, you are young," Holma said with a smile. "You will recover quickly. Now go, all your strength will be needed."

I joined Sodon and a few others, and we headed for the mountains.

As we climbed, we began to see goblin corpses scattered along the path.

"Barua and his team must have come this way," Sodon said.

"We should see the riverbed once we cross this ridge," I replied. "But if there weren't at least a thousand goblin corpses along the way, that means most of them made it to the camp."

Sodon's face darkened.

"Let's hurry. Barua and the others will guard the camp."

We pushed forward, encouraging each other as we climbed toward the ridge.