Chapter 109: Retreat?

No way!

We actually hurt it?!

Gopushadow landed on the ground, rolling several times before springing back to his feet.

He looked at the giant spider, then raised his head and grinned.

"Kakaka! How’s that, you oversized bug?!"

Nice!

The attack hadn’t killed the monster, but it had finally managed to penetrate that absurdly tough exoskeleton.

That was enough.

At least now we knew the bastard wasn’t completely invulnerable.

Of course, the wound wasn’t nearly as serious as I’d hoped. But well, that wasn’t entirely unexpected.

If a single [Whirling Flame] could kill this thing, I would have been more surprised than happy.

The fire continued burning around the wound for a few more seconds before finally fading away.

The giant spider slowly raised its head, its crimson eyes fixed on Gopushadow.

...

Uh-oh.

It was pissed now.

KREEEEEEEECHHHH!!!

The spider let out a furious screech before charging straight toward Gopushadow!

"YIKES!!!"

Gopushadow immediately dropped the Blazing SkullCleaver and ran!

The guy was ridiculously fast, though. There was no way this enormous spider would be able to catch him as long as he kept moving.

At least that was reassuring.

"Alright! Everyone, listen up!" I shouted through [Ruler’s Voice]. "I don’t really want to say this, but we’re retreating!"

"Huh?!" Gopuro exclaimed in surprise.

Gopuran also looked confused.

"Big Boss, are you sure?! We can still fight!"

"With what?! There’s no way you can damage it with ordinary attacks anymore! And besides, our objective has already been completed!"

At my words, the goblins finally remembered why we’d come here in the first place.

"Right!" Gopuro exclaimed. "The chieftain!"

He quickly glanced behind him.

And there, standing beside the elderly shaman, was the Bright Red Nose Tribe’s chieftain.

****

Yup...

At the end of the day, our objective had never been to defeat this boss monster.

We’d come here to rescue the Bright Red Nose Tribe’s chieftain and help the survivors escape.

And now... we’d already accomplished the most important part.

The chieftain was alive and had finally awakened.

The enormous goblin had just managed to get back on his feet, although he was still leaning heavily on the shaman for support. His body was covered in wounds, and his face was pale from the terrible injuries he’d suffered.

Still, he was conscious. That was what mattered.

His eyes slowly swept across the clearing, taking in the shattered ground, the scattered corpses of the Dark Giant Spiders, and the colossal monster standing before him.

His expression changed.

Perfect.

Mission accomplished.

"Good job, everyone."

Now...

We just had to get the hell out of here.

"EVERYONE! FALL BACK! PROTECT THE CHIEFTAIN AND RETREAT!" I issued my final order.

"YES!"

My goblins immediately began withdrawing, keeping their weapons raised as they warily watched the giant spider.

Unfortunately, the monster didn’t seem particularly interested in letting us leave.

Or rather...

It didn’t seem particularly interested in letting Gopushadow leave.

After all, he was the one who’d managed to wound it.

"Hahaha! Shadow, looks like you’ve made yourself a little enemy!" Gopuro shouted.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The giant spider suddenly leaped into the air and crashed down right where Gopushadow had been running!

The ground shattered beneath its enormous weight, sending dirt and rocks flying in every direction.

But...

It had hit nothing but air.

Gopushadow was already gone!

The slender goblin had changed direction at the last moment, darting out of the attack range with his usual agility.

The giant spider turned toward him, raised its massive body, and let out another furious screech.

KREEEEEECHHHH!!!

Gopushadow glanced over his shoulder at the enormous monster. Then, instead of looking frightened, he turned around with a wide grin.

"Kakakaka! Just you wait, you ugly bastard!"

He pointed his dagger toward the spider and proudly declared:

"Once me get stronger, me come back and kill your ass! Then me make you into spider soup!"

Yeah, sure, Shadow. Whatever you say...

Once we got back to my castle and had some time to regroup, I’d train an even stronger group of warriors. We’d come back eventually and settle the score with this terrifying bastard.

This time, it might have won.

But next time? Things would be different.

...

Or at least, that was what I thought.

"There’s no need to wait until next time..."

A deep voice suddenly rang out across the battlefield.

Gopuro turned toward the speaker, his eyes widening.

Because standing just a short distance away was a familiar figure.

It was the chieftain!

Wait... WHAT?!

When did he get here?!

I was just as surprised.

One moment, the guy had barely managed to wake up after nearly dying. Now he was already standing on his own?

More importantly...

Something about his presence had changed.

The weakness and exhaustion were still there. His wounds hadn’t magically disappeared, and he was clearly far from fully recovered.

But his eyes...

They were filled with confidence and an unwavering resolve as he stared at the colossal spider.

The chieftain then reached out with his remaining right arm and picked up the Blazing SkullCleaver that Gopushadow had dropped.

He examined the weapon for a moment, running his fingers along the curve of its blade.

"What a fine weapon..." he murmured. "May I borrow this?"

"S-Sure?" Gopuro replied, still looking somewhat bewildered.

"Wait a minute!" Gopuberry hurried over, her eyes widening when she saw the chieftain holding the axe. "You want to fight?!"

"Yes."

"But it’s dangerous!" she protested. "You just woke up! You haven’t even recovered your strength yet!"

"Yeah!" Gopuflammy chimed in. "Please, don’t push yourself! Everyone has already escaped. You don’t need to fight anymore!"

"That’s right!" Gopuran added. "We’ve already exhausted so many resources and worked so hard just to save you. Please don’t do anything reckless now!"

"Besides, we need to hurry! The Cursed Land’s mist will reach this area soon!" Gopuro pointed toward the distant forest.

However...

The chieftain didn’t seem convinced.

He lowered his head, studying the Blazing SkullCleaver in his hand.

"Please... let me do this. Just give me five seconds. One strike..."

His fingers slowly tightened around the axe handle.

"I want to slay at least one more of these bastards."

...

For a moment, nobody said anything.

Then...

FWWWWOOOOOM!!!

The Blazing SkullCleaver suddenly began to glow!

The orange markings engraved along its handle ignited one after another, their light spreading across the weapon like flowing flames.

The fire quickly traveled from the axe to the chieftain’s right arm!

His arm was engulfed in flames.

Then the fire spread across his body, wrapping around his enormous frame like a blazing cloak. The flames danced over his wounds and armor, casting a fiery glow across the clearing.

His eyes burned with fierce determination.

But beneath that determination...

There was something else, too.

Hatred.

Deep, burning hatred toward the kind of monsters that had slaughtered his people.