"Ah!!!"
"I died!"
In the Cardinal World, at the village's central square, one Hobgoblin after another awoke from their immersive experience.
"This was too fast, wasn't it?"
"Damn it!"
"Those Heroic Spirit warriors were too despicable, several of them ganged up on me!"
"..."
For a time, the village was noisy and lively.
The reason for this was that the army personally led by the Conqueror had clashed with the Goblins.
As for the result...
The Hobgoblins were not weak in strength, comparable to the ordinary Heroic Spirits under the Conqueror's command.
However, the opponent had over 20,000 people.
The sheer number was four times that of the Goblins.
Coupled with the excellent coordination of the Heroic Spirit warriors, the Goblin side struggled for only a moment before quickly showing signs of decline.
While it wasn't a complete rout, it was very close.
"Well, it doesn't matter."
Fortunately, Bai Luo did not have much expectation for the Goblins: "At least they didn't abandon their armor and maintained our side's dignity."
Goblins were originally the lowest-tier monsters in the Cardinal World.
Even with Bai Luo's blessing and increased racial stats, it was still difficult for them to become elite soldiers.
Moreover, Bai Luo's purpose in subjugating the Goblins was to make them citizens of the Demon Country.
His only expectation for the Goblins was that they not be cowards.
On this point, Bai Luo was very confident.
Looking at the original novel, it can be seen that the Goblins were loyal to Rimuru.
They were not the lewd and despicable Goblins found in other fantasy novels from other worlds; they were demons with wisdom and integrity, possessing a strong sense of belonging to the Demon Country.
"However..."
Bai Luo looked at the Hobgoblins and Gobulinas who were still in meditation: "No matter what race, even a weak Goblin, can still produce excellent warriors."
"Eh?"
"Look, Gobuya is still fighting!"
"As expected of Gobuya!"
Gobuya, a female Goblin, was a very excellent Goblin girl with the potential to evolve further.
"Huh?"
"What's going on with Gobutha?"
"Hey, Gobutha, what are you still sitting there for?"
"Wake up quickly and watch Gobuya and their battle with us."
To facilitate the Goblins' participation in the war, the Goblins who were fighting were currently gathered in the square.
They sat cross-legged on the ground, controlling their other bodies more effectively through meditation.
"Don't touch him!"
Just as someone was about to push Gobutha, a clear, cold voice sounded beside him.
"Ah! It's Snow Empress-sama!"
"Snow Empress-sama, what did you say?"
"Don't move him, he's still fighting the enemy."
The Snow Empress told everyone to disperse, then looked at the short figure still sitting cross-legged.
As the chief steward responsible for managing the monsters in the village.
The Snow Empress, abandoning her aloof and cold demeanor from the Northern Icefield, began to unearth the potential and talents of the monsters.
This battle was originally a training exercise for the monsters.
Since it was a training exercise, some would certainly stand out.
"Let me see which Goblins can still hold their ground against the assault of the Heroic Spirit warriors."
As the crowd dispersed, the Snow Empress looked around, seeing many individuals she had previously favored.
The Snow Empress did not underestimate the Goblins.
Monsters in the Cardinal World had a mechanism called evolution.
Even weak Goblins, if they had enough aptitude, could potentially grow to the level of a Demon Lord Seed in the future.
The Snow Empress had few interests.
One of them was helping Bai Luo discover talent.
Just like carving and polishing an ice sculpture, ultimately revealing its brilliant light.
This was a pastime that the Snow Empress had found with great difficulty.
"Uh..."
However, upon seeing Gobutha, even the usually aloof Snow Empress couldn't help but freeze.
"This one..."
The Snow Empress scrutinized Gobutha: "Are you sure he's a Hobgoblin?"
There was a significant difference between Hobgoblins and Goblins.
The latter were completely deformed little monsters.
Whereas Hobgoblins had very little difference from humans.
Among them, the females were almost identical to humans, except for their greenish skin.
But this one before her...
How should he be evaluated?
The Snow Empress could only say that he truly had the appearance of a Goblin, with a foolish look on his face.
'This...'
The Snow Empress felt that the threshold for her talent cultivation might need to be raised slightly.
She did not want such a unique talent to appear among her creations one day in the future.
"No wonder you would be suspicious."
The Snow Empress secretly nodded, expressing understanding: "Alright, everyone, don't disturb the Goblins who are still meditating; let them continue fighting."
"Yes!"
"Okay, Snow Empress-sama."
Upon receiving the Snow Empress's command, the Goblins spontaneously protected their un-defeated kin behind them.
At the same time, those who had withdrawn from the battlefield all looked up.
They watched the battle, which had already entered its final stage, projected before them.
Shattered earth, desert crystallized by high temperatures, and countless elite Heroic Spirit warriors cut and bound by spatial threads.
An army of 20,000 defeated 5,000 Goblins.
Without mourning the Goblin deaths for even a moment, nearly a hundred Ogre elites immediately rushed to the battlefield.
At first, the Conqueror thought that the Ogres were merely B+ rank Servants like the wolf tribe.
Only a handful, such as Shion, reached or even surpassed A rank.
However, reality was far crueler than the Conqueror had imagined.
A hundred Ogres, each equivalent to an A-rank Heroic Spirit.
Among them, there were even powerful beings comparable to Shion and Cang Ying.
For example, Souren, his strength was on par with Cang Ying.
It was only due to Bai Luo's appointment that he acted discreetly as a member of the Oniwaban.
If you were to single them out, among the 200 Ogres, you could find at least 50 top-tier powerhouses.
And so...
Without a doubt, the 20,000-strong Heroic Spirit army was slaughtered by a mere hundred people.
"Monsters..."
The Conqueror and Waver were unharmed.
Due to Bai Luo's command, the Ogres deliberately avoided them, allowing them to pass through.
Waver stared blankly at the Ogres.
In that instant, the power displayed by the Ogres completely shattered Waver's understanding of Heroic Spirits.
Strong, they were simply too strong.
It was hard to imagine that there were still 100 such terrifying Heroic Spirits.
And Bai Luo, who commanded such a force, seemed to Waver like an insurmountable chasm, blocking the path between the Masters and the Holy Grail.