(A/N: Which character should get more focus next? I made a poll on my Patreon page and everyone can vote on it, feel free to join the fun)
All the other males watching the spectacle unconsciously reached down to cradle their own crotches, a sharp phantom pain throbbing through their minds in sympathy.
Lyssandra kept pressing her heel down hard on the bloody meat of Three's groin until the remaining flesh finally tore apart completely.
Once the left ball dangled by a thread and the severed parts lay in the dirt, Three collapsed into unconsciousness, his crotch painted a vivid, gruesome red.
"Feed this to him,"
Lyssandra commanded, summoning a great healing potion and tossing it gently to Two.
Two immediately uncorked the bottle and poured the thick, green liquid into Three's mouth, making sure not to spill a drop.
After waiting a short while, Three slowly began to stir, his eyelids fluttering open as the healing magic knitted his flesh back together.
As if the memory of the horror just rushed back, he looked down below and let out a fresh gasp of fear.
His cock and his right ball were gone, leaving only a fresh, dark green scar and his lone left ball as a stark reminder of his insolence toward the Great One.
"Do you know your crime?"
Lyssandra asked, her voice cutting through the silence of the arena.
As if a transformation had taken root within him, Three scrambled to his knees, his movements robotically precise.
Lyssandra signaled the other goblins to release their hold, allowing Three to bow before her without restraint.
"I-I made a grave mistake and have been punished for it. I do not deserve to live. Please, kill me,"
Three whispered, his face a mask of strange stillness.
Every emotion seemed to have been drained from his small features his eyes, once alive and defiant, now stared down with a dull, empty gaze.
"Kill you? No, no, no. Not yet,"
Lyssandra replied, waving a dismissive hand.
"You still have some useful to me. You will die only when I say so. Am I clear?"
Her voice commanded absolute, terrifying power.
After a short, heavy pause, Three replied in a monotone tone,
"I obey, Great One."
Then he stood up, his posture stiff and his face remaining eerily blank.
"Good. Now, follow me,"
Lyssandra commanded, turning on her heel to lead the three goblins outside the camp.
She marched them toward the dense, treacherous jungle where the lightning wolves now made their home.
'Shit, shit, shit. That was terrifying. She was far crueler than even the lightning wolf.'
Two thought nervously as they walked toward the jungle biome, his small face drained of all color since they started their march.
"Hey, are you okay?"
One slowed his step to ask, his eyes narrowing with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about the lightning wolf,"
Two threw out a quick excuse, not daring to test the patience of the Great One.
"Alright, your face was a little pale, so I thought you were under the weather. Also, speed up your pace. Both of you are lagging too far behind,"
One raised his voice, issuing a sharp warning to his companions.
"G-Got it,"
Two answered quickly, forcing his legs to move faster.
Three simply increased his speed silently, matching the length of his stride to catch up with Lyssandra's relentless pace.
Amidst the dense jungle, a small rabbit was gnawing on a blade of grass, its cute appearance enough to melt the soul of anyone weak.
In this dungeon, however, only the strong survived, turning normal animals into mere food for the hungry predators lurking in the shadows.
Crouching behind some thick bushes, Lyssandra whispered instructions to the three goblins positioned behind her.
"Remember what I just told you?"
she asked, her voice barely audible.
They all nodded, their faces serious and devoid of their usual childish fear.
"Silence over speed,"
One stated, reciting the lesson perfectly.
"One strike, not many,"
Two added, his hand resting on the hilt of his dagger.
"Aim for weakness,"
Three finished, glaring intently at the small target.
"And finally?"
Lyssandra prodded them.
"Don't be seen,"
all three whispered in unison, their voices blending into the rustle of the leaves.
"Good. Now, get your target,"
Lyssandra commanded them, raising a hand to signal the start of the hunt.
The rabbit was still enjoying its meal, unaware that it had become the target of the horrifying predators closing in.
The three goblins spread out in a tight triangle formation, slowly surrounding the small, oblivious creature in the center.
Clutching their daggers in trembling but steady hands, they inched closer, shrinking the circle of doom.
Then.
Snap!
Two's foot crushed a dry branch, a loud, crunchy sound echoing sharply in the still jungle and startling the rabbit.
The creature raised its head in a split second, the mouthful of grass dropping onto the ground as its senses sharpened.
Its nose twitched uncontrollably, ears snapping upright and swiveling sharply, primal instincts roaring inside its tiny head to warn it of the impending death.
First came Three, rushing forward with his small dagger raised to bury the blade deep into the small creature.
The rabbit saw him clearly. In its terrified eyes, the goblin's action appeared like slow-motion footage, easy to avoid and simple to dodge.
Three missed, the blade biting into empty air as the rabbit jumped to the side with impossible speed.
The rabbit tried to scurry away, hoping to find cover among the undergrowth.
But midway, Two stood directly before its path, dagger raised and ready to strike it down before it could escape.
Two's strike struck true, the dagger slicing through the soft fur, yet it was merely a shallow scratch on the side of the rabbit's flank.
The rabbit managed to weave through Two's defense with surprising agility, narrowly escaping a fatal blow.
Suddenly, two more daggers flew from the bushes toward the fleeing creature.
One dagger missed, soaring harmlessly past its back, but the other managed to sever one of its long, twitching ears clean off.
One appeared immediately after, following the trajectory of his own thrown blades with a fierce charge.
He managed to land a blow on the rabbit's side, but the wound was narrow and not deep enough to stop it.
In the end, the rabbit managed to sprint away, disappearing into the dense underbrush.
It left behind only three breathless, sweating goblins standing in the middle of the clearing.
Behind them, the rhythmic clicking of heels echoed against the dirt floor of the jungle, cutting through the silence.
Lyssandra walked toward them with a sensual, slow sway of her hips, clicking her tongue in disappointment.
"Tch, tch, tch. Too loud, too slow, and you missed," she scolded, pointing a slender finger at Two, Three, and finally One.
Each of them slumped under her critique, their shoulders drooping low like scolded puppies facing their master.
"That was enough to warm you up. Don't worry, there will be many more chances in the future,"
Lyssandra said, her voice softening into a seductive hum.
"For now, I will teach you something called CQC, or close-quarter-combat," she added, her blue eyes gleaming with a sudden spark of authority.
The [CQC] skill she had bought from system shop long ago finally had the chance to shine, and she intended to imprint it deeply into their minds.
"Form a line," she commanded, and the three goblins snapped to attention, aligning themselves.
"Now, do as I do. Imitate perfectly every breath, every shift of weight, and every single movement,"
she instructed.
With that, the grueling training session began.
They repeated the lessons so many times that Lyssandra herself lost track, relentlessly hammering the details into the brains of those goblins.
Eventually, she decided that enough had been done for one day, though they would be required to practice relentlessly back at the camp.
Until they could perfect the technique to her satisfaction, they would not have another chance at leaving the perimeter for hunting.
Returning to the camp, Lyssandra followed the winding dirt road back toward her hut.
However, as she neared her residence, she noticed a half-finished structure of stone and wood, with a cluster of hobgoblins working tirelessly on it.
"I forgot my mansion was being built. Since I'm already here, let's take a look,"
Lyssandra muttered to herself, a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips.
She took a slow walk around the construction site, noticing that the workers were doing a commendable job, a fabulous job, in fact.
The walls were perfectly straight with no visible leaning, and the joints between the stones and wood were tight and seamless.
She looked up at the beams, seeing them firmly seated in their positions without a single hint of sagging.
"You guys are doing well. Keep up the good work,"
Lyssandra said to a swift goblin who was sprinting back and forth to transport materials.
"Thank you, Great One! I am honored to be a part of your sacred haven,"
he exclaimed, bowing so low and suddenly that the heavy sack of stones he was carrying slid right onto the feet of a hobgoblin behind him.
"Ouch!!! Watch what you are doing, you dumbass!"
the hobgoblin started to roar, but quickly clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle the shout before Lyssandra could hear the outburst.