Akatsuki Translations

Misuzu follows a short distance behind me. Evie is the only one waiting in a completely separate position. Lean and I advance at a turtle’s pace, reaching the wall made of stacked logs.

“Quietly,” I signal to Lean, putting my index finger to my lips. She nods.

I peer through the gaps between the logs. However, the spaces are surprisingly well-sealed, and I can’t see through. So I press my ear against it, listening intently for sounds from the other side. There’s a sense that someone is moving around.

I hold up my hand to Lean, signaling her to stay put.

I wait for a while as the presence seems to move away. Footsteps can be heard retreating. Lean and I nod to each other and climb over the 2-meter wall. We land quietly. We’ve taken off our armor to avoid making noise. As goblins level up, their senses become sharper.

Goblins on the third floor are said to have senses comparable to humans, so they’d easily notice clanking armor. So although our defense is lower, we’re only equipped with ghillie suits in the color of dead grass and daggers.

Lean is also only carrying the nameless dagger I got from the gacha. Everything else is stored in our magic bags. From here on, it’s all about how quickly we can move. We’ve entered the settlement, so we can’t use our voices. I use hand signals to communicate with Lean.

(Lean, you go that way. I’ll go this way.)

She understands immediately and moves away from me.

The young girl always walks without hesitation and shows no fear.

It’s either courage or recklessness.

As I think to myself, “Please don’t die,” I realize I’m not exactly relaxed either. Still wearing my ghillie suit, I move along the wall. Then,

“Gyagya,” a voice sounds.

I glance over. A Goblin Soldier is approaching. No matter how good the ghillie suit is, they’ll notice a human-shaped bush if seen up close. I quickly hide in the shadow of a building.

“Gyagyagya,” they’re saying something. There are two of them. Their faces are as ugly as ever, but as goblins level up this high, their physiques become quite solid. Their skin is still green, but the Soldiers are even bigger than the adult goblins I saw on the first floor.

They’re muscular, like bodybuilders. It looks like they could easily crush Lean’s head with their bare hands. Compared to Goblin Riders, they’re lightly equipped, seeming to prioritize mobility with light armor.

They’re walking this way. If they get any closer, I’ll have to flee to where other goblins might see me.

A patrol?

Are they this thorough with their rounds even in the middle of their living area?

My heart starts pounding.

If I’m discovered now, I’ll have to run immediately, but I can’t abandon Lean, so I’d have to go back to get her.

“Gyaa”

“Gyagyagyagya”

As I’m tensing up, the Goblin Soldiers start urinating against the log wall.

Phew.

They’re peeing together.

It’s something I’ve never done, not having had close friends. But really, they’re just living their normal lives. Some are eating, some are feeding female creatures they keep, and some are even playing games.

If you only observed their behavior, you might not notice much difference from humans.

Forgive me.

Even so, goblins are beings that can’t coexist with humans. I waited for the two Goblin Soldiers to move away. Once they were at a distance, I moved along the wall again. This time I was able to reach my destination in one go. Well-built goblins were wandering here and there.

Moving in an environment surrounded by enemies is quite nerve-wracking.

I wonder if Lean is doing alright?

Given that there’s no commotion, it seems she hasn’t been discovered in the settlement. I could no longer see Lean from where I was. I look up at the target building. It’s the watchtower.

I scan the surroundings.

There were no goblins in the settlement looking this way. These creatures shouldn’t normally be concerned about intruders. They should just be living according to their instincts. So they shouldn’t care about anything beyond the role given to them by the dungeon.

I grab the frame of the watchtower.

I’m barefoot to avoid making even the slightest sound. With this and the dead grass-colored ghillie suit, I should be able to deceive the goblins’ senses. I climb the watchtower quietly, surprising even myself, like a ninja.

I reach the observation deck. There are two Goblin Mages on watch. Apparently, this number is always constant. They usually look outward from the settlement, so you can peek from inside without being noticed. I poke my head out a little.

“Gya!”

“Gyaa~”

“Gyaa-gyaa”

“Gyaa~~”

The goblins are completely relaxed, chatting happily. Unlike the Soldiers, the Mages have the build of ordinary goblins. They wear red robes, round hats, and carry small staffs. Their faces are more intelligent-looking compared to the goblins on the first floor.

“There are cases where human women live happily with goblins,” Yonezaki had said. It might not be entirely untrue. Some women might let their guard down if treated kindly by these creatures. Their level is 16. It would be trouble if I fail to kill them. I reach for my dagger. I quietly cast a skill.

“【Acceleration】”

I wonder how much they can perceive me. From my position with my head slightly exposed, I put strength into my hands and stand on top of the watchtower. Despite being right behind them, the Mages haven’t noticed yet. That’s how quietly I’ve moved.

We can’t get along, you know.

Being attacked at a moment like this, their inability to react is just like humans. I draw my dagger. I absolutely can’t let them make a sound. I stab the right Goblin Mage in the neck. Then I pull it out. Green blood flows.

The left Goblin Mage was about to raise his staff.

As expected of level 16. Despite such a surprise attack, he’s already showing a reaction. But it’s not fast enough. My dagger thrust!

“Gya!”

But he twists his body and dodges.

No way. He avoided it.

I quickly grab his arm to prevent him from moving. But with his high level, his resistance almost throws me off balance.

“【Great Strength】”

I invoke the new skill I gained at level 10. I forcibly pin the Goblin Mage’s body to the floor of the watchtower. Then I swing down my dagger again. He narrowly dodges that too. This is bad, it’s getting messy. Realizing he’s about to scream, I cover his throat.

I press down on his neck with both hands. The Mage’s right hand is moving. He’s trying to cast a spell. I step on it, breaking his fingers.

I firmly strangle his neck with both hands. I have no choice but to choke him to death. What an unpleasant situation. It feels like I’m committing murder. I feel the sensation of his neck bones breaking. The Goblin Mage’s body suddenly goes limp, and when I release my hands, he lies motionless on the floor.

His mouth is still moving, so he’s probably still alive. However, when the neck bones break, it severs the central nervous system. As a living being, he shouldn’t be able to move in this state. No matter how much life force he has, he’ll die soon.

For some reason, I’m reminded of Ikemoto.

“I wonder if he was alive for a little while too?”

No, no, I decided to stop thinking about that. More importantly, even with a surprise attack, I struggled a bit. I hope Lean is okay.

I’m quite worried, but I need to hurry. From the watchtower, I look in the direction Lean went. Lean was also trying to reach the top of a watchtower. I’d like to keep watching, but there’s no time. I have to move on to the next one.

There are four watchtowers, one in each cardinal direction. Whether there’s actually east, west, north, and south in a dungeon is debatable, but the map app assigns these directions. From any watchtower, you can see all the others in every direction.

So when infiltrating the settlement, we need to quickly eliminate all the watchtowers before being noticed. Otherwise, Goblin Mages in other towers will notice and put the whole place on high alert. If that happens, we’d be at a severe disadvantage, almost like facing a goblin army.

“I’m counting on you, Misuzu,” I think. Misuzu should be backing up Lean. I quickly descend the watchtower. Misuzu, who had infiltrated the settlement, was waiting a short distance away.

Misuzu comes before me. We nod to each other silently as we switch positions.

(Lean’s about to attack, so please hurry and back her up)

I tried to convey this, but I’m not sure if it got across. Nevertheless, Misuzu hurriedly climbs the watchtower I had just taken. I step outside the wall for a moment. Wandering inside would be conspicuous.

Just outside the wall is a blind spot for the Goblin Mages standing on the watchtowers. So I can move faster here. I start jogging towards the next watchtower.

From outside, I check for any sounds inside. There were none, but I had a bad feeling. I put my hands on top of the wall and peeked inside.

“Hah.”

There was a female lion sleeping along the wall. So there are still Goblin Riders in the settlement? I quietly land and slit the lioness’s throat without hesitation. I thought about how easily I’ve come to do such terrible things.

I climb the frame of the next watchtower.

No goblin in the settlement should have noticed their comrades quietly dying yet. I put my hand on the observation deck and, just like before, poked my head out a little.

Two Goblin Mages.

The pattern hasn’t changed. I executed quietly.

“Phew. It’s hot even without armor.”

I looked at the watchtower Lean had headed to. There were two corpses lying there. One must have been killed by Lean. I couldn’t see any wounds from here. But the other had an arrow in its head.

Misuzu sees me and gives a small wave. I wave back. I turn my attention to the last watchtower. Lean was about to infiltrate it. Misuzu was concentrating, bow drawn. It was almost simultaneous with Lean’s entry.

Misuzu loosed her arrow.

It hits a Goblin Mage in the back of the head. Lean follows up, stabbing the other Goblin Mage in the neck.

“Good, Lean managed to kill properly too.”

Everything has gone according to plan so far.

Now there are no more watchful eyes from high positions. I carefully poke my head out from the watchtower. Looking out over the savanna grassland, I still can’t spot Evie and the others in their ghillie suits.

But knowing they’re watching, I signal to Evie.

(All four towers secured)

In the direction where Evie should be, I notice a clump of grass that looked like scenery start to move.

“They really were quite careless, huh?”

If I had been watching carefully, I probably would have noticed even human-sized movements. Still, the fact that the Goblin Mages on watch didn’t notice our approach suggests that even goblins get complacent with daily repetition, only truly vigilant when clear threats appear.

With no more watchful eyes, Evie was moving Rai quite quickly. Evie waits again along the wall. Looking at Misuzu, I see she’s not watching me but focusing on Lean. We were desperately killing goblins who were just living their daily lives.

Come to think of it, I remember Yonezaki saying on TV:

“Are goblins cruel creatures? No, that’s wrong. They’re true to their biological instincts and are very peaceful creatures except for the roles given to them by the dungeon. In my opinion, humans are far worse. If it benefits them, they’re capable of using any underhanded means to exterminate others.”

“Isn’t that going too far?”

“Is it? If the dungeon’s will wasn’t regulating the army, humans would probably have turned the Stone Area into their own residence by now. And they’d say, ‘This is the new frontier we’ve acquired!’”

This was the beginning of our full-scale surprise culling operation.

Apologies for the late upload. Just finished a rewatch of the Lord of the Rings.