After the junior officers' meeting, I was more content than ever. My squad was to escort a merchant caravan to the neighboring fortress of Northern Ishal in three days. The merchants had their own security, but reconnaissance recently reported an increase in the nurgle population. My job was to reinforce the caravan's safety.
The only thing that slightly dampened my mood was the transfer of a second mage to my squad. It would be difficult to keep an eye on two at once, especially considering how young and inexperienced Tatalem So was. But I liked training ordinary recruits; they weren't the distant offspring of an aristocrat, but children of common goblins whose youthful bravado vanished quite quickly.
From my former warriors, I was only left with the diminutive Chikir, and the experienced Moresh and Uler. Leur, our primary mage, had begged for the latter two, nearly tearing his throat out. He told Centurion Otsev that it was because of the cohesion these warriors had with our squad. But it was clear he was afraid of being protected by what I would not hesitate to call a mob of green teenagers with their first levels.
The second mage, Tatalem So, stood still, listened to commands, and never lifted his gaze from the ground. In short, he was setting a good example for his future comrades. In the end, a clumsy formation of 13 completely untrained goblins stood before me. Of course, all new recruits were given three mandatory skills: Shield Mastery, Bow Mastery, and Spear Mastery. So it couldn't be said that they were completely incompetent.
"I am Decurion Irchin," I hissed from beneath my helmet's visor. Initially, I was tempted to show my transformed face, but there was a high chance of unnecessary panic and hysterics. Even Zhurek the Slippery recoiled in horror the first time he saw what was hidden beneath the visor. "First, we will honor the memory of a worthy warrior who served for many years in my squad. The scout Sotop single-handedly killed an E-rank Arachnid Warrior, saving all our lives. We will never forget his name." I pulled a flask of wine from my Bag of Holding. I took a sip myself and passed it to my new soldiers.
"He must've covered your asses pretty well," one of the rookies decided to voice his opinion.
"Moresh," I hissed, pointing at the initiative-taking goblin, "teach him some respect for his superiors."
A sharp lunge and Elos—the name of the now-beaten warrior—tumbled to the training ground. A few solid blows with an armored foot to the abdomen and the rookie gasped in pain. The other goblins fell silent, frightened, not expecting such a sharp change in atmosphere. They still had to absorb our army's code and certain customs with blood and sweat.
Training, in general, was routine. This was despite the rather mediocre attributes of the recruits handed over to me. My main focus was on practicing intercepting arrows aimed at the mages with their shields. To do this, I would throw small stones while they were running. When one of the rookies cried out that it was impossible, Moresh would explain the full extent of his delusion. I also gave the command for the mages to erect magical barriers at the most unexpected moments.
"Tatalem So, barrier!" I roared, and at the same time, Moresh sprinted toward the young mage. They had just finished running a lap around the training ground and were tiredly sitting on the dirt.
The mage, flustered, began to get up, turned around, and saw a warrior with a shield rushing toward him. Just two unnecessary moments later, Tatalem So lay on the ground along with two other failures. Realizing that punishing the offenders could be problematic, Moresh was helped by Uler. Of course, an ordinary warrior would not hit a mage, so I had to do it myself.
"Do you think I'll tolerate incompetence? Your mistake could kill the entire squad. Whether you want it or not, I will teach you discipline," I snarled in the face of the already breathless young mage.
At that moment, Chikir watched smugly and smiled, enjoying the suffering of the aristocrat's descendant.
"Moresh, punish Chikir. He isn't feeling our squad spirit," I said coldly.
The goblin flinched in fear, and all his malicious glee vanished without a trace. The only one who performed well, aside from Moresh and Uler, was Leur. He was focused and attentive. I never managed to catch him in a mistake; he always managed to create a spell in time. But unlike Tatalem So, whose expression changed from resentful to resigned throughout the day, Leur seemed slightly frightened. It was as if he knew something, and it gave him no peace.
That night in the barracks, my soldiers were sleeping like the dead from exhaustion. But at night, I continued to train alone, gradually getting used to my changed body dimensions, the considerable weight of the armor, and most importantly, the new, larger, and heavier weapon. Now I was able to wield a spear twice as heavy as my previous one, and its size had also increased, which I also had to get used to.
In the morning, a severely beaten squad set out to meet the merchant caravan. Of course, I ordered the mages to cast healing spells on the most distinguished, but almost everyone's face was adorned with multiple bruises. Whispers of discontent and any altercations were completely eliminated. My new recruits had managed to learn a few things about me during the night. Their faces and expressions became much sadder, but at the same time, their character became clearly more pliable, perhaps even with a touch of resignation.
I wasn't fooling myself into thinking that in less than three days I could turn these young goblins into fierce veterans. Chikir, for example, hadn't even had a few years to learn how to act competently in a real fight. This deficiency could probably be fixed with a Small Group Battle Tactics skill card, but who would waste such a rarity on green recruits?
Catching up with the column of laden carts, I began to give commands.
"Leur and his covering group take the center of the column. Tatalem So and his cover will move two carts behind that. The rest of the warriors will be positioned in their immediate vicinity," I commanded loudly.
My soldiers hadn't even managed to move from their spots when a shrill figure leaped out of the crowd of motley-dressed merchant caravan guards.
"Who gave you the right to arrange soldiers in my caravan?" said a young goblin of level 16 named Liet. "You were hired to reinforce our security. I'll decide where to place the warriors. It's obvious you put all your points into the Strength attribute, what a commander."
My warriors froze, waiting for the merchant to be dealt with; they didn't even draw their weapons. But the caravan's guards tensed up considerably as I began to approach Liet and his guards. The merchant glanced back hesitantly, but seeing the support of the 30 guards standing nearby, he began to yell again with renewed enthusiasm.
"Do you even know who I am? Your insolence will cost you dearly," the short goblin puffed out his chest proudly. "My trading house paid for military escort, and you must follow the orders given, otherwise..."
He didn't get to finish. Approaching close enough, I lifted my helmet's visor and chirped predatorily.
"Only my centurion can give me orders. My squad will move at the end of the column."
Having said this, I turned around. The crowd, with trembling hands, continued to stand nervously, unable to utter a single word. A pleasant soldierly appearance is half the battle, as my first decurion used to say.
"My squad, take the rear of the column. We move in a tight defensive formation."
Getting ready took another whole hour. Ten large carts hitched to draft aurochs were ready to set off. Aurochs are large animals with simply monstrous endurance, and most importantly, their horned heads are foolish enough to allow themselves to be tamed.
The merchants tried to ignore us, pretending that the reinforced squad of soldiers simply didn't exist. We, however, moved at the tail of the caravan like uninvited guests. The journey ahead was long and was expected to take no less than five days. There was only one difficult and truly dangerous section: a full day's travel through a dense forest. It was there, according to scouting reports, that large concentrations of nurgles had been spotted.
The first three days of the journey were calm, even boring, I would say. Of course, there were loud arguments and even scuffles during breaks. But that's a normal thing on long treks. When you spend the whole day on your feet in full gear and have to keep an eye on your sector, you get tired and irritated one way or another. And the young ones like to use their fists. So, on the third night, two of the merchant's guards had a disagreement. And a wild uproar was raised throughout the camp. It was already past midnight, and most of the soldiers were asleep. Tatalem So also woke up from the shouting, loudly grumbling about how he would fry the troublemakers with his lightning, he got up and reflexively created a Light Orb simply trying to make out the two future corpses. But then, unexpectedly, the sentries screamed, as if they were being chewed alive.
"Nurgles! Alarm!" the goblins screamed from all sides.
Everyone started jumping up and grabbing their weapons.
"Leur, barrier!" I roared. "Tatalem So, raise the Light Orb as high as you can."
A moment later, a transparent magical shield separated my entire squad from the creeping swarm of nurgles. In the ensuing melee, only the Light Orb provided enough light to make sense of the situation. Small bonfires around the perimeter of the camp provided almost no visibility. For me, of course, darkness was no problem, but what did that matter if all my soldiers couldn't see the enemy?
At least a hundred nurgles were trying to catch the merchant caravan's guards by surprise. These creatures were nothing special among monsters. They were even somewhat similar to goblins, mostly in their build, but their heads were a completely different shape. Massive jaws, huge fangs that prevented their mouths from closing completely, and a disproportionately large neck. But the most disgusting thing was their eyes—solid black orbs without a trace of a sclera. This explained their love for night hunting.
A pair of these monsters had already begun to claw at our barrier, but my recruits were still unable to overcome their confusion and start shooting their bows. If there hadn't been a magical barrier between us, the nurgles would have long ago overrun our positions with their numbers. Compared to them, the merchant's guards looked more confident, even without a combat mage in their ranks. They formed a kind of defensive formation, where the front rank of guards armed themselves with shields and spears, while the warriors in the back rows started firing their bows.
"Nocks at the ready! Shoot at will at the nearest creatures!" I commanded, shouting over the general din.
At this point, I had already managed to release three arrows from my heavier bow. The impact force of the arrowhead was enough to pierce through the bodies of unarmored nurgles. When choosing my new weapon at the fortress quartermaster, I had specifically picked a large bow with a very tight string. I couldn't shoot it quickly, but the penetration was many times better than my previous weapon.
In fact, nurgles were not very dangerous in direct combat, unlike the arachnids or chitinous beetles, but they were incredibly prolific and always won battles with a huge numerical advantage. And the only thing that kept them from multiplying uncontrollably was their love for eating their own kind.
All of Liet's guards had already engaged in close combat, having thrown aside their bows, which did not stop them from confidently pushing back the numerically superior enemy. Meanwhile, my recruits, finally realizing their complete safety, began confidently sinking arrow after arrow into the soft bodies of the nurgles. After all, these weren't arachnids with an almost complete lack of sensitivity to pain. These creatures shrieked with every hit. Many fell to the ground even with a single arrow, continuing to writhe, thereby further widening the wound. They were also very similar to goblins in their cowardice. As soon as it became clear that they wouldn't take us by surprise, most of the still-living nurgles sprinted back to the cover of the trees, a hundred paces from our temporary camp.
As soon as the first creatures started to flee, I darted from under the protection of the magical barrier after them. My Strength and Agility attributes allowed me to develop a speed higher than that of the majority of the nurgles. There was no point in commanding my soldiers to stay under the barrier for one simple reason: I can see in the darkness for many hundreds of paces, thanks to the Eye of Darkness skill, while their visibility ends at a small lit area of 50 paces. Beyond that distance, there is absolute uncertainty—what if there are a few hundred more of these creatures hiding there? Therefore, forcing them to move now would have been a very difficult task.
I, however, clearly observed that no reserve unit was threatening us, so I decided to try to catch up with the fleeing nurgles in the forest. And there, perhaps, courage would return to their hearts, and they would attack the lone pursuer. As Centurion Otsev once said, these creatures lack the Intelligence attribute, but their first limit is not restricted to 5 points like goblins, but to a full 7. This allows advanced individuals to raise their Instinct attribute to high values, which leads to unpleasant results for us goblins. Such nurgles become quite cunning and in some situations, even unpredictable.
Leaving the protective barrier, I tried to finish off all the wounded in my path, but without losing much running speed.
Nurgle Rank F+ Level 4
[Notice] You have received 11 SP. (11/180)
My new cleaver easily split the head of the monster lying on the ground. I had abandoned the classic sword because there wasn't one large enough for my current physique in the fortress's armory. And the increased Strength, as well as the enormous momentum of the exosuit, had to be put to use somehow. So now I was gradually getting used to the new weapon and its lack of a stabbing edge. But I think the resulting impact power would later compensate for all the inconveniences.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (16/180)
This nurgle was trying to crawl away with an arrow in its side, and I managed to sever its head with a single blow. Only a second level, which wasn't surprising. In the attacking crowd, there were only a few individuals with a level higher than 5.
[Notice] You have received 8 SP. (24/180)
Of course, I could have collected experience from all the bodies lying around the camp, but that would bring me no benefit. According to the agreement, all free experience had to be surrendered by my squad upon arrival at the final destination. And while gaining levels up to 10 for units was not forbidden and even welcomed, it was strictly forbidden for me to get any stronger. That's what my reserve of over 100 free System Points was for, and I shouldn't exceed them. This even includes situations where I'm obligated to only wound an enemy and let my soldiers finish it off.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (29/180)
This one was the last in the clearing before our camp. I then rushed into the dense undergrowth without slowing down, which slightly reduced my visibility. But realizing that I didn't have to close my eyes as I had instinctively done before, fearing to damage them with a branch, I increased my speed a little more. Of course, it was very pleasant to feel how easily the thin branches of the bushes gave way under such great weight. The nurgles, on the other hand, had to tear through them or make detours, losing time.
[Notice]You have received 2 SP. (31/180)
A very young nurgle got tangled in the branches of a bush. Without slowing down, I continued to move away from the camp as far as possible. This would ensure that no one could find out exactly how much SP I had managed to get.
[Notice] You have received 2 SP. (33/180)
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (38/180)
The two were running at full speed, and what I found strange was that they didn't even turn around at the noise I was making, tearing through the dense undergrowth. Levels 1 and 2, which was not surprising; the higher their level, the faster they ran away. I suspected that if they didn't start stopping and gathering in a larger group in another 300 to 400 paces, I would simply run out of Stamina to continue the chase. I was already breathing heavily, and my heart was pounding like a cornered auroch.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (43/180)
This was the last one I could realistically reach in a dash. I then slowed my pace a bit but still kept the fleeing creatures in sight. I ran another 200 paces, but they weren't even thinking of slowing down. I was already quite far from the temporary camp, and to be honest, this was all becoming excessively dangerous. I could more or less handle three dozen low-level nurgles, but that's if there wasn't anything more serious.
What if they were running to their lair or a cave? There could be hundreds of those freaks there. And they would attack all at once, from the smallest to the largest. Even the young and their females would throw themselves into the fight as if crazed when it came to their den.
I slowed down even more, just enough to roughly see their direction of flight. There were already more than a hundred paces between us, and in the dense forest, it was difficult to spot them flickering ahead. But, strangely enough, my low Vitality helped me avoid getting into big trouble. I had already switched to a walk and noticed that the nurgles had started screaming loudly in their own language. That meant they had finally stopped. I shouldn't rush in headlong.
I crept slowly around the bushes, trying to make as little noise as possible. And my caution was rewarded. These creatures were huddled around a gigantic nurgle, a full two heads taller than me.
Nurgle Alpha Rank E+ Level 3
And around him, smaller creatures scurried, squealing. He suddenly grabbed a wounded one and began to tear it to pieces. And what surprised me was that the crowd's squealing wasn't frightened, but rather joyful; they were clearly hoping for the remains of the alpha's meal.
For all the similarities between our species, and for all my hard-heartedness, this trait of theirs remained a mystery to me. Even the wild Wargs in the snowy worlds didn't eat their own kind, and there was always a huge problem with food there. Here, the forest was full of small game, and the rivers were full of fish. In short, it was a disgusting sight, even for a veteran warrior like me.
While continuing to watch stealthily, I simultaneously thought about what I had seen and still couldn't make a decision. The risk, of course, was acceptable. I thought I had enough strength to handle such an opponent now. And they wouldn't fight to the last. This wasn't their den, but just a small camp. As soon as the alpha and half the pack were killed, the rest of the nurgles would scatter, and there would be no point in pursuing them further.
But on the other hand, judging by his size, his Strength attribute was roughly equal to 10 points. His blows, of course, wouldn't be able to pierce my armor, but the kinetic energy could very well rupture my internal organs. And I shouldn't forget that the alpha had gone through a rebirth, and that's only possible after level 25. Of course, he lost some attributes in the process, but he was still a very serious opponent.
The only thing that made me happy was the lack of combat skills in his arsenal, as the main natural strength of nurgles is their numbers. And I certainly wouldn't count on 30 nurgles being unable to pry open the exosuit of a goblin completely buried under their mass. With so many claws, someone would definitely catch the helmet clasps, and tearing off even a chitinous head would not be difficult for them.
I crept to a distance of 20 paces. I tensed the muscles of my right arm with maximum force and released all three of my available needles into the nurgles alpha, one after another. I didn't dare throw my spear; the Vitality of E-rank creatures was on a completely different level compared to their younger relatives. And I had heard more than once that they had very strong bones.
All three shots hit their target. I was a little overcautious and aimed the first dart to hit for sure, in the chest. But I instantly realized that I could aim and hit at this distance intuitively. So the next two darts flew toward its head. One even landed in its huge, open mouth. All three shots took barely a single breath, which pleased me. The penetrating power was sufficient, and the projectiles entered the creature's body almost to their full length. But there were also some unpleasant moments. My arm ached from the inside. Now the main question was, would the poison be able to slow down this brute? Without waiting for an answer, I darted away.
The crowd of nurgles that had been cowardly fleeing from our camp just a few minutes ago, squealing and yelping, now eagerly rushed after me. Their leader roared especially loudly. After moving away for only a hundred paces, it became clear that the nurgle alpha's legs were starting to buckle. Fortunately, the others were enthusiastically rushing toward the lone, stopped target.
Shield in my right hand. Heavy cleaver in my left. I stood, trying to calm my breathing after the sprint at maximum speed. Three breaths and I met the first wretch with a downward, slightly slanted blow, almost cutting his torso in half.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (48/180)
I pushed the second one away with my shield. The third one, mid-jump, was met by my cleaver, which split its skull almost in half.
[Notice] You have received 8 SP. (56/180)
The Eye of Darkness was open, and the blood flowing over my cleaver seemed black. Everything in front of my eyes looked unreal. The world was in shades of gray, and if not for the screams and the sounds of combat, you could easily think it was a hallucination from eating poisonous mushrooms.
All these thoughts flashed by in just two heartbeats, which was exactly how much rest the oncoming nurgles gave me. A strike, then another. I was hitting with my shield as hard as I could, hoping to break their bones so the wounded couldn't physically run away. The difference in our attributes, especially in Perception and Agility, allowed me to move much faster. And literally, to hit the creatures on the fly. By lunging to the sides and forward, I prevented them from surrounding me. A few times, they still managed to grab my legs with their teeth, but a strike with the edge of the shield instantly calmed those aggressive nurgles.
Just then, a larger monster stopped for a moment, five paces from me, surveying its surviving kin. Screeching furiously, it began to turn around. I let the cleaver fall from my hand, then touched the card with the spear. The large nurgle, probably level 7, had already sprinted in the opposite direction from me. I threw the heavy spear, and it pierced straight through its waist. The creature let out a deafening shriek of pain. At that moment, I took another body on my shield and pushed it away with a blow.
The mournful cry that sounded changed something in the creatures' behavior, and the remaining nurgles that had been surrounding me scattered. There was no point in chasing them. Instead of fleeing toward their den, they frantically ran in every direction. The second and final spear appeared in my right hand. I threw it, and the clumsiest nurgle, who had been lingering in a nearby bush, shrieked in pain. The tip went straight through its right thigh, and the creature fell. The spear snagged on small branches, the nurgle got tangled, and it began to scream even louder.
I slowly returned my shield to a card. I bent down and picked up the cleaver. Everything around me was drenched in blood. With a strange detachment, I noticed I couldn't smell it. I hadn't given it any thought before. It turned out the air filtration function in the exosuit was still working. And that was a welcome surprise. I was surprised at myself at that moment. Next to me were chunks of dead nurgle bodies and a few that were clearly still alive, scraping the grass with their claws, trying to get up. And yet, there I was, thinking about the smells of the forest.
The whole fight didn't take much time, a minute at most. My heart was slowly calming down, my breathing was evening out, and I was still just standing there and breathing. The tension of the difficult fight, coiled inside me like a spring, was beginning to release.
I looked at the experience counter.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (61/180)
...
[Notice] You have received 2 SP. (132/180)
A total of 14 nurgles died from my cleaver in this fight, not counting the wounded who were now bleeding on the ground.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (137/180)
I finished off the nearest nurgle by simply splitting its chest.
[Notice] You have received 8 SP. (145/180)
Another one with broken bones was trying to crawl away from the battle.
[Notice] You have received 2 SP. (147/180)
Blood was oozing from a large wound on its skull, but the nurgle stubbornly kept trying to escape.
[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (152/180)
This was the last one crippled by a shield strike. Their levels were too low, and my steel-bound shield had, as usual, proven its worth. Of course, I could have hit them with just my arm covered in the exosuit, but I didn't want to break the habit of using a tool that had served me for so long.
[Notice] You have received 11 SP. (163/180)
This was the nurgle that had gotten stuck in the bushes; by the time I walked up to it, it had already bled out and showed no signs of life. The spear's strike had damaged the femoral artery.
[Notice] You have received 19 SP. (182/180)
[Notice] You have reached Level 19. (2/190)
You have also received 1 free attribute point.
I touched the spear and took the experience. While I was busy with the others, the large nurgle had also stopped showing signs of life. All in all, it wasn't a bad outcome; out of 30 creatures, I managed to get experience from 20. Maybe they thought their leader was with them, or maybe it was just instinct that made them think it was always easier to defeat a lone target.
I purposefully raised my level. First, there was still the alpha, and second, I had never heard of nurgles dropping interesting skill cards. Of course, cards were collected from all the creatures killed today. But I seriously doubted I'd be lucky enough to find something worth investing SP in. Raising my own skills was quite painful and I likely wouldn't be able to do it, and the attribute point could be distributed later.
The nurgle alpha lay there, trembling slightly. It turned out it had managed to pull the dart from its chest, but that didn't help it overcome the poisoning. I threw my spear at it with all my might, aiming for the body. From five paces away, it only went in a hand-width and fell out, not even sticking in the alpha's body.
I then began striking its thigh, then its skull, with the cleaver. A large wound appeared on its thigh and bled profusely, but it was certainly not lethal. After hitting its skull, I even started to worry about the integrity of my blade. The cleaver rang out as if it had met steel on its path. To be honest, at that moment, I even had a small fantasy that a Steel Bone skill card would drop from the nurgle alpha's corpse.
In terms of damage, I hadn't achieved anything more than scraped hide with my strike to its skull. After testing the physical capabilities of the nurgl alpha's body and my assumptions, I simply sliced its throat with force.
[Notice] You have received 28 SP. (30/190)
Yes, only 28 SP. If it had been level 25 before its rebirth, I could have gotten a full 70 SP. But that was just thinking out loud. I had no right to complain at all, not after that incredible luck when I got the Minor Deceit skill card. And now, instead of the coveted Steel Bone skill card that this creature clearly had, I had a blank E-rank card in my hands. It was of no use to me; presenting evidence that I was capable of killing an E-rank monster alone was too dangerous for many reasons.
And I definitely didn't want to fight a monster like that in a direct confrontation. One-on-one, there were some chances, of course, but if its smaller kin constrained my movements, even a little, there would be no talk of victory.
Naturally, there was no Bag of Holding to be found. The alpha simply couldn't have one. They even gained experience through their innate Monster trait, which allows them to absorb 25% of the SP directly by killing an opponent. Of course, the percentage was lower than that of an F-rank system weapon, but judging by the nurgles' levels, it didn't prevent them from constantly getting stronger.
Moving a hundred paces away from the massacre, I sat down to check the cards from the fallen creatures, and there were quite a few of them. But unfortunately, nothing interesting or, in my opinion, worth learning dropped from the enemy corpses. A dozen blanks and a couple of rare Nurgle Appetite skill cards.
Skill Card - Nurgle's Appetite (1/3)
Rank F
Description: Olfactory and taste receptors are modified, and almost all objects containing nutrients will make you want to eat them. Your stomach will also become more resistant to food that is not suitable for your species.
Saturation: 4/10 SP
The skill was interesting, of course, and I could even consider learning it. But it would certainly be very painful. And what was most dangerous was how it might affect my attitude toward living and dead goblins. I could end up in a situation where I start to consider young goblin females the most appetizing food, and I certainly didn't need those kinds of rumors in town. At the very least, before learning it, I needed to seriously weigh all the pros and cons, as the advantages it offered weren't that significant.
And like a sweet berry on a cake, there was a skill that was, by the way, highly valued when calculating mission bonuses.
Skill Card - Nurgle's Fecundity (1/3)
Rank F
Description: Increases the desire for procreation. Increases the attractiveness of individuals of the opposite sex of your species. Slightly increases attraction to the opposite sex.
Saturation: 10/10 SP
What was so secret about this that when appraising the loot, this skill card was counted as E-rank at 100 SP? I suspected that improving its rank could lead to a really interesting result. But I had never been interested in this question. It never even occurred to me that I would have to choose whether or not to learn it. Although there was still time to think about it.