Chapter: 240
Still, it’s fortunate that hobgoblins themselves don’t multiply like goblins do.
If there’s enough food, goblins can swell to dozens in an instant, so hobgoblins will appear soon… but experienced adventurers or soldiers should be able to take them down without much trouble.
So, let’s leave a warning for the humans through the Life Church. Let’s warn them not to let goblins gather in groups of more than a few dozen.
For now… it seems like investigating and researching goblins is the priority.
That’s how I started to get to know the goblins better.
First off, it seems that reproducing through mold isn’t an easy task for goblins either.
After rewinding time to check, I confirmed that baby goblins were born from the mold… but in the process, the goblin was nearly out of magical power.
It seems that baby goblins are born from molds supplied with sufficient magical power… If there’s insufficient magical power, they probably won’t just multiply from the mold.
In other words, in an environment with abundant magical power, they can grow tremendously, but… um… let’s revisit that when the time comes.
Watching a goblin create offspring while draining almost all of its magical power made me ponder.
What happens when a goblin runs out of magic power? I suspect it would die. Hmm… I really should check this out myself.
So, I left the goblin in the terrarium I had oddly grown fond of and began capturing goblins living in groups to extract the magic power from their bodies.
That was a pretty substantial amount of magic power to draw from a single goblin. Could it be… that I’m pulling magic power shared among a group of goblins instead of just from one?
It was quite peculiar. I only extracted magic from one goblin, yet it seemed like I was draining the magic power from all goblins in that group… It was as if the group of goblins was treated like a single entity.
As all the magic power was extracted from the goblin, it died as expected.
And it wasn’t just the one goblin from which the magic was drawn; all the goblins in the group died simultaneously.
It was exceedingly strange. I knew that each goblin was connected to mold and magic, but to think they’d all perish at once with depleted magical power.
It looks like they’re linked by a fungal network, so to speak.
Hmm… Fungal network. I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere. Fungal network, umm… let’s put that aside for now.
The corpses of the goblins that had all their magic drained began to turn into powdery dust and scatter, unlike the remains of regular goblins. Hmm… this powder… is it goblin mold?
So even in death, do they still spread mold? That’s quite dreadful.
I looked at the goblin mold being blown away by the wind and thought, that pitch-black mold… Kind of gives off a charcoal dust vibe. I wonder if it ignites easily?
I flicked my fingers and lit a flame, attaching it to the mold… to my astonishment, the goblin mold caught fire incredibly well. Just as I suspected…
Perhaps fire is the solution for goblins. If it burns this well, I might have to worry about forest fires instead.
Well, I think hunting goblins and burning their nests or caves with torches will help control the spread of the mold, so that’s a relief.
Alright, now that we’ve resolved one question… let’s move on.
Goblins are monsters.
Monsters drop magic stones.
In that case, goblins should drop magic stones… but…
For some reason, goblins don’t drop magic stones. They should, but they don’t.
This inquiry was resolved when I captured a goblin, anesthetized it, and proceeded to dissect it alive.
First of all, there was a magic stone inside the goblin. It was tiny, like a little shard, but it definitely existed.
The problem lies in the fact that the magic stone is so small and weak that the shock from a goblin losing its life shatters it into pieces.
Moreover, the amount of magical power shared through the mold is greater than the magic contained in the stone itself.
As a result, goblins ended up being nearly useless monsters with almost no byproducts when hunted.
Tsk. At this rate, people will start avoiding goblin hunting. Adventurers go after valuable monsters, and there’s really no reason to hunt these goblins.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
With goblins out of the way, let’s talk about hobgoblins.
Hobgoblins, which emerge when dozens of goblins gather, are significantly stronger physically than goblins.
There are differences among individuals, but roughly around 0.7 to 0.9 of an average person?
Of course, seasoned soldiers or adventurers who know how to fight should have no trouble taking them down.
Anyway, I captured one of those hobgoblins and started to examine it.
Indeed, a much stronger physique compared to a goblin. If a hobgoblin were to assault people alongside goblins… those who aren’t good at fighting might find themselves in serious trouble.
Sharing magic power with their group works the same way as with goblins, and most characteristics seem consistent too. The magic stone within its body… Oh, there it is.
Given how large the hobgoblin has grown, it possessed a proper magic stone.
Although it was smaller compared to other monsters, it was indeed a solid crystal.
For maintaining public order, this amount of magic stones could definitely hold some value… right?
If it comes to that, I might need to consider incentivizing goblin hunting through the Life Church. Perhaps offering a small reward if they bring in proof like cut-off ears. But let’s put that aside for now.
While observing the numerous goblin groups and checking on hobgoblin ones, I stumbled upon something rather intriguing.
Two horde of goblins came into contact with a hobgoblin foraging for food.
In a standard goblin group without hobgoblins, they’d quickly part ways without incident or sometimes even brawl due to arguments, but groups with hobgoblins were slightly different.
The hobgoblins leading the charge spotted each other and started glaring at one another.
As the hobgoblins maintained a locked gaze, the atmosphere began to grow tense.
Two hobgoblins suddenly extended their fists to clash them together.
An utterly perplexing scene. The tense atmosphere they initially had evaporated, and the two hobgoblins became chummy as if they had belonged to the same group from the beginning. In no time, the two goblin groups merged into one.
Hmm… Hobgoblins clustering together. Now, that’s quite fascinating.
Unlike when they were just goblins, they merge because there are hobgoblins… hmm…
Oh, a connection of magical power exists between the two hobgoblins too. How intriguing.
Wait. A magical connection…? Just like goblins?
So this means… is it possible for hobgoblins to evolve just like goblins?
If heaps of hobgoblins came together, just like this merger… I wonder if a massive horde of hobgoblins would evolve?
Such questions were soon validated.
In a jungle untouched by human hands, a group of dozens of hobgoblins had gathered. In the center stood a colossal figure.
A massive monster, towering two heads above adult-sized hobgoblins, was bellowing at the goblins.
This monster had green skin like a goblin, a muscular build, a large jaw, and prominent fangs jutted from its mouth.
Hmm… Let’s give it a name. I’ll call it Orc. It resembles a wild boar, likely due to its fangs.
It would’ve been better if its nose was pig-like… ahem anyway.
Orcs commanded the hobgoblins, who in turn governed the goblins. It was a straightforward yet efficient command structure.
Hmm. Let’s see. The orcs were directing their goblins toward a small village… Hmm. I can’t just leave them be.
Hundreds of goblins, dozens of hobgoblins, and an orc.
No matter how weak each individual goblin may be, such numbers pose a considerable threat.
Thus, I revealed myself before the goblins.
“Kyaarruruk!!”
“Crawk!”
A cacophony erupted from the goblins. They were weak, but very many.
First things first, let’s tidy this up.
I flicked my fingers, and flames engulfed the goblins’ bodies.
Like well-dried firewood, the goblins quickly turned to ashes. It seemed even the spores they were spreading were incinerated. Clearly, fire is effective against goblins.
As my goblin subordinates perished in flames, the hobgoblins charged in, but honestly, goblins or hobgoblins, they’re basically the same at this point. I’ve already sufficiently analyzed the hobgoblins; they’re of no concern now.
With another flick of my fingers, the hobgoblins were reduced to ash as well.
As the orc witnessed this scene, he… turned around and began to flee.
Was it because he was terrified by the sight of me incinerating his subordinates in an instant or was he beginning to comprehend my strength?
I’m not entirely sure, but the orc was smart enough to start running.
However, I can’t let him go easily. This is the first time I’ve encountered an orc that evolved from a hobgoblin.
I need to examine that orc closely. So, without delay…
The orc found himself ensnared by the roots of a tree that burst from the ground, rendering him immobile in no time.
Alright then, it’s investigation time.
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