Chapter 13:

The Friendly Merchant Camp

With these interesting thoughts in mind, I slowly made my way back to our temporary camp. And what was the rush, really? No one would move until dawn; they'd be too scared. So, dragging my feet, I slowly tried to eat some dried meat.

To be honest, it was already stuck in my throat. Even washing it down with a few gulps of strong wine didn't change its foul taste. It makes you think that Nurgle would surely devour it with great pleasure, even remarking in their own language that they'd never tasted anything better in their life. All these reflections were linked to the Nurgle's Appetite skill.

But I was more concerned about the second trophy I'd gained. It was very rare. What bothered me about it was that any problems with a goblin's personal life—and not just a goblin’s—are solved with medicinal skills, not something like this. What could possibly be so useful about it? What could the System offer in the list of upgrades for the Nurgle’s Fecundity skill that would interest very wealthy goblins?

The nights in our region were already getting chilly. In less than a month, the cold season would begin, and moving through snowdrifts would become much more difficult. But for now, you could still sleep in a regular sleeping bag. Of course, this only applied to those who had one; the poorer or dumber ones had to make do with wrapping themselves in a warm hide. This was usually the case for young warriors who hadn't saved up enough for proper gear.

Approaching the camp, I saw the fires were lit again and sentries were posted on the perimeter, but no one was asleep. Everyone was crowded around my squad, loudly arguing in raised voices.

"Liet, what makes you think your warriors should get the experience from the Nurgle we killed?" Leur shouted.

"My guards fought those beasts face-to-face, while you cowered under a magical barrier like sewer rats," the merchant shrieked.

In this mutual stream of accusations, I was surprised by the sharp words from Tatalem So; I had expected to hear them from him least of all.

"And will your tongue turn to say that to our Decurion when he gets back?" my second mage said, laughing loudly. "You'll probably go quietly wash your trousers again, just like last time."

At this, almost all my soldiers couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. It seemed they had no doubt about my return. The caravan guards tensed up, looking hostile. Liet flinched, then screamed furiously.

"As if! He'll get back, will he? One goblin against that many Nurgle is why he’s taking so long. He’s probably out there collecting experience," he finished, now roaring with laughter.

Liet’s laughter was joined by all his fighters, including the sentries, who had long been watching the altercation in the camp, paying no attention to the forest behind them.

Five paces from the nearest sentry, I couldn't resist. I crept up behind him and struck him on the back of the head with my palm. The goblin fell backward. Of course, it didn't kill him, but he was guaranteed to lose consciousness. Initially, I hadn’t planned to startle anyone with my sudden appearance. But this irresponsible attitude to guard duty simply drove me insane. I had personally witnessed countless times how entire camps were wiped out because of such sorry-ass fighters.

I had to get to my soldiers by walking through a dense crowd of caravan guards. It was simply impractical to go around them. With light shoves to their backs, I knocked down those who blocked my way. Some began to turn their heads toward me, but they weren't brave enough to shout. The rest were too engrossed in the argument happening right in front of them. And that was no surprise, since the argument was about dividing SP. Is there anything more important than that in the world?

"Where's this great Decurion of yours who beats enemies by the thousands?" Liet cried, straining his voice. "Will you tell me to wait again? I'm tired of this argument; I want to immediately claim the SP from the five Nurgle that are still alive."

The merchant seemed to suspect something, seeing the change on my warriors’ faces. They instantly stopped shouting and stared at something behind him. Liet began to turn around—quite quickly for a civilian specialist. But he was unlucky. If he'd turned to the right, my palm would have hit the back of his head. But it turned out the way it did. My armored gauntlet hit his face with a juicy crunch. The merchant flew back a couple of steps and hit the ground unconscious. The caravan guards froze like statues.

"Mister Decurion!" my goblins greeted in unison.

"Leur, use a single dose of healing on the injured one," I hissed, looking at the now-silent goblins on both sides.

A green glow shot from the mage's hand, and the blood on Liet's face stopped flowing. The spoils were indeed decent: five Nurgle—three at level 2, one at level 3, and one at level 4. In total, 34 SP. They were mostly those that had suffered multiple arrow hits, but had coincidentally lost mobility without dying. And this was enough experience to level up every one of my rookies. Of course, some of my new recruits had managed to level up on their own, and some, surprisingly, had done so twice.

"Why didn't you finish off these Nurgle right away?" I said loudly, almost clicking the words, staring at the mage.

"Mister Decurion," he answered, a little flustered at first but then pulling himself together. "After the chaos of the battle, we couldn't divide the spoils among ourselves. Then everyone joined in the debate."

"Leur, who wanted the SP the most?"

"The rookie Elos and Chikir were shouting that they needed to level up. They wouldn't calm down, and the other caravan guards joined in on their shouting," the mage said grimly.

As I listened to his answer, I walked over to the half-dead Nurgle.

[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (35/190)

I chopped the nearest one in the chest with my cleaver.

[Notice] You have received 11 SP. (46/190)

…

[Notice] You have received 5 SP. (64/190)

When the creatures were all dead, I turned to the fighters.

"Moresh, make sure the two offenders move the bodies away from the camp and give them a good beating," I commanded. "The rest of you, stand down until morning."

I slept well. Where technological armor samples had a huge advantage over their prehistoric counterparts from my world was in their ergonomics. If you fall asleep in heavy armor, your muscles will be stiff all over in the morning. But I slept as if on a feather bed. I got up, stretched, and looked around. Dawn was beautifully painting the treetops surrounding our temporary stop. The new recruits were already cooking food for the entire squad over the fires. The aurochs drivers were waking the animals and getting them ready for the day's march. Surprisingly, the Nurgle had failed to wound a single draft animal during yesterday's attack.

Today was a crucial day; we would have to travel through a dense forest. The main road does pass through it, but the trees crowd in on it. And that's where sudden attacks are expected. As I ate the hot porridge with great pleasure, I watched my new recruits. Tal and Zhue were the quietest, but they were the only ones who had raised their level to 3 yesterday. That spoke to their intelligence. And they had a knack for it. If luck was on their side, these goblins could become true warriors.

The merchant Liet did not approach me to discuss our shared strategy for moving through the Somber Gorges, as the forest on our route was called. He had generally become a bit cold toward me. Another pleasant surprise this morning was a question from Tal and Zhue.

"Mister Decurion, would it be okay if we sat with you while you're eating?" they asked hesitantly.

I waved my hand in a gesture of invitation. They sat down and for a full minute, worked their spoons diligently, eating their porridge. All the while, they were glancing at me out of the corner of their eyes. When my plate was empty, Zhue finally took a chance and asked, "Mister Decurion, could you tell us how best to distribute our attributes? Tal and I have argued so much, but we still can't reach a decision that suits both of us."

"And what were your opinions?" I asked quietly.

Tal flinched, apparently still not used to the sound of my voice, but he quickly gathered himself and began to explain.

"Zhue thinks we should increase Agility. In his opinion, this will allow us to move faster and defend against any attacks."

"And what do you think?"

"I think," Tal stammered, choosing his words, "that it's better to increase Vitality. It will prolong our lives, and they say any wounds will heal much better. But there's also a huge temptation to put attributes into Intelligence. It must be awesome to become smart."

After his words, I also fell into thought. It's very difficult to spend attribute points; there are never enough of them. Mages themselves say that they reluctantly put free attributes into Wisdom to increase their mana pool. Because with high speed and strength, and even with so-so weapon technique, you can destroy a very serious opponent. But there are also times when it's physically impossible to reach an opponent, for example, flying monsters that easily resist arrows and their derivatives. And here, high-power ranged magic is absolutely essential, and it is always very mana-intensive. Therefore, you have to compromise between what you want and what you need. As for the rookies, after a little thought, I answered which attributes were best to develop. Of course, not according to the scheme I used myself, but still.

"All points should be put into Strength," I answered. "This will allow you to use heavy armor and large shields. You can't defend against every blow, especially those you can't see. But steel plates have no eyes and always protect you. You can increase Intelligence when your Strength reaches at least 7, or better yet, 8 units. As for Vitality, it's even simpler. It's raised at the last levels available to units in our army, that is, at 9 and 10. It is with these points that you prolong your life. As a rule, you retire after this. And when you're as huge as a hobgoblin, it'll be easy to find calmer work. For example, guarding a city or even a shop. A nimble and fast warrior isn't needed there; what's more necessary is a large, intimidating brute. But I'll warn you right now: don't put attributes into anything during a mission. You'll have to find new gear, and the shouts during the transformation might attract wild creatures, and the officers might not like that," I finished quietly as I got up.

Zhue jumped up right after me, understanding that the conversation was over.

"Mister Decurion, thank you so much, you've helped us a lot," he said, bowing.

Tal got up much more slowly and, bowing, said quietly, "Mister Decurion, thank you so much, but may I ask one more question?"

"Ask away," I answered, now much colder.

"But how can you overcome the limit in the Strength attribute? We weren't promised any SP as a salary," Tal said even more quietly.

"You really should spend one attribute point on Intelligence," I hissed, now much more cheerful. "It's not customary to talk about it openly, but the law doesn't forbid a unit from spending SP during a mission. It's forbidden to learn new skills. New ones. Do you understand what I'm talking about?" I looked him in the eyes intently.

They both bowed even lower and shouted loudly, "Mister Decurion, may Great Anteros bless you!"

We didn't move out until half an hour later. Liet and his guards took a non-military amount of time to pack up the camp. However, I was always surprised by the arrogance of goblins who had never left our native world of Asshor. They don't even imagine what trials even ordinary soldiers of the Lord sometimes have to go through. Not to mention the experience of officers. But for some reason, this never occurs to these arrogant local bosses. They seem to think they can look more frightening and impressive than some D-rank Ancient Lich.

The trees gradually began to crowd in on the road. The tension in the ranks of the goblins started to rise as soon as the branches hid our path in shadow. The sound of steps and the creaking of the cart wheels became clearer. With every verst we traveled, the warriors gripped their weapons tighter. And when something ahead on the road scared a flock of crows and they flew high into the sky, the entire caravan literally shuddered at their cawing.

"That's a bad omen," Moresh said grimly.

"Stop trying to scare us, we're already scared enough," Chikir tried to say bravely, but his face, covered in multiple bruises, didn't inspire confidence. "Caravans constantly travel this road, and nothing happens to them," he said uncertainly.

No one commented on his words. Some were whispering; I even heard snippets of a prayer to Anteros for his intercession. The caravan guards walked more briskly, despite their losses yesterday. But that was understandable; Liet had assured all his warriors that yesterday's swarm was huge and that the road would be completely safe for the next month. At another time, I might have believed that story, too. But yesterday's Nurgle leader was only level 3, which meant he couldn't have been the main one in the lair. This meant the danger hadn't disappeared; on the contrary, it had increased. The escaped creatures would report on the losses and the number of goblins in the caravan. And the beasts would be able to prepare for an attack more intelligently.

Because, contrary to the opinion of most goblins, more developed Nurgle could perfectly well carry out strategic plans. Of course, within reasonable limits. You shouldn't expect them to build fortresses, but they weren't mindless animals either.

But time passed, and nothing happened. The general tension was replaced by caution, and then everyone relaxed completely. The trees parted a bit from the road, and it felt as if it was easier to breathe. The sun was steadily setting, but it had long been twilight in the shadows of the forest. Torches were lit on the carts. This made everyone in the caravan feel calmer. The aurochs drivers, who were sitting on the carts, even started chatting cheerfully with Liet, who was walking beside them. One more hour, no more, and we would reach a large clearing and could make camp for the night.

When the first scream was heard at the head of the caravan, I was standing 30 paces away from my squad, so I could see the entire situation from a distance. The attack was not a surprise to me. For half an hour now, I had easily been able to distinguish the figures of the vile Nurgle in the darkness of the forest. But I didn't want to warn the arrogant merchant from the neighboring fortress. This was a kind of small revenge for his loose tongue. I'm not exactly spiteful; I just think it's necessary to always punish goblins who infringe on my good name.

Liet forgot something: my order was to "increase security." No more, no less. There was no talk at all of saving the merchant’s life or his goods. If Centurion Otsev had wanted any of the above to be preserved, he would have given a clear order about it. And only that. We are a purely military unit and act according to the regulations and the Lord's own laws. And when the security of this caravan ceases to exist, we will become completely autonomous. That is, we must return to the nearest fortress and await further orders.

The caravan slowly stopped, everyone bristled with weapons, not yet fully understanding what was happening.

"Ambush!" they began to scream frantically up front. "Ambush!"

Crowds of Nurgle began to pour out of the forest. In the twilight, they came in like a wave. Their numbers were so great that some of the guards bolted in the opposite direction, trying to save their lives by fleeing. They simply didn't see that in the darkness they were running toward another group of forest creatures.

"Tatalem So, Leur! Raise the barrier!" I commanded as loudly as possible in the general chaos of screams.

Chapter 13.1

Forest Slaughter

We hadn't even thought about a surprise attack on the caravan. The day had been tense, of course, but it was almost over. Everyone was snapping over small things, including me. These new recruits were simply astounding in their incompetence. Where on earth did they find them to torment us? It's a good thing Centurion Otsev personally accommodated me and left Moresh and Uler in our squad for my safety. I could completely rely on these experienced warriors, unlike the rest of the snot-nosed goblins surrounding me.

While moving, they didn't leave my side. But the new recruits were dumb enough to run to the trees to relieve themselves. And this was in a combat formation. At first, I expected Mister Irchin the Malicious to simply tear these idiots to shreds. But he acted as if he didn't notice their mistakes. Perhaps he understood that it was impossible to get anything useful out of them right away. But I was inclined to think he simply didn't care about us. He was lost in his own thoughts. After the changes that happened, he had become even more withdrawn than before. Although, what am I saying? How else could you behave after turning into something resembling an arachnid?

My thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected scream. The guards at the front of the caravan were attacked by Nurgles. In the light of the torches, it was difficult to make out what was happening. But the old Decurion, who had been moving at a distance all this time, proved that soldiers and even mages don't need to think. With a powerful command to raise the barriers, I activated a sequence of magical sigils on pure reflexes, and a magical defense rose around us. Two breaths later, Tatalem So, that young upstart, repeated my actions. For a moment, it seemed to me that Decurion Irchin looked at him with disappointment. Of course, I couldn't see his face under the visor of his helmet, so maybe it was just my imagination.

Moresh cuffed the new recruits who had been slow to arm themselves with bows. And then he cuffed those who didn't understand which way to shoot. In my opinion, they should be flogged with a whip. While they were dallying, Uler had already released five arrows. And these green recruits were just beginning to let their first arrows fly from their bowstrings. But my observation of our squad's soldiers was interrupted by a monstrous scream. And it wasn't the roar of a Nurgle leader, who, judging by the number of lesser creatures, was definitely present here. No, it was the old Decurion.

He spread his arms to the sides and roared like a monster, interspersing his terrible roar with a clicking sound that was even more frightening. Until that moment, no more than 30 Nurgles had been running toward us. But after this display of power, at least 50 more creatures rushed toward us.

Our squad nervously scurried about; the hysterical screams of the caravan guards in front of us only added to the fear. Some of the shrieks were so loud that they literally tore through the night sky; these goblins were clearly being eaten alive. The old Decurion charged at the oncoming wave of forest creatures, and pieces—and sometimes entire bodies—flew in all directions. It was as if he was flattening the Nurgles’s bodies with blows from his heavy shield. His cleaver never stopped for a moment; he even managed to strike on the return swing of the blade. In a few moments, he had crushed the front group of a dozen creatures. And then he charged at the next crowd, deeper into the forest.

We all watched the old Decurion's movements, unable to believe our eyes. It seemed he could single-handedly turn the tide of the battle. But when new creatures started pouring out from behind the carts and every single warrior in our squad was wielding a spear, because the monsters had already completely surrounded the protective barrier, we began to lose hope. There were no fewer than two hundred Nurgles. They furiously threw themselves at the magical barrier, and in just a couple of minutes, Tatalem So collapsed to the ground, having suffered magical exhaustion; the energy in his reserve was completely gone.

I was trembling with fear; the thought of escaping didn't even cross my mind. I only thought about how I would use a fireball at the last moment to incinerate both me and the rushing creatures so eager to eat my body alive. In the darkness, it was difficult to determine how many Nurgle were standing behind the attackers—one, two, or a dozen for each of them. There was still energy left, and the initial onslaught had weakened. It was difficult for the creatures to attack, moving over the dead bodies of their kin.

At that moment, a roar sounded, and then another. But the second one clearly belonged to a larger creature than our Decurion. The fight continued for about another minute. Our new recruits were so exhausted they clearly couldn't strike with full force with their spears. And at that moment, from the front of the column, we heard a mournful howl. And it was as if the Nurgles had been replaced; they rushed off in all directions, and within ten heartbeats, not a single monster standing on its feet was in my field of vision.

The soldiers inside the barrier froze, not believing their eyes. Only the experienced Moresh continued to stab the bodies lying near the edge of the protective barrier with his spear, hoping to get a little more experience. After all, stepping outside the magical protection would be the height of stupidity. And then I remembered the old Decurion, who hadn't even thought about hiding under the barrier; on the contrary, he had charged toward the enemy. In his old age, his head had completely stopped thinking. With his actions, he was sure to get us all killed. Maybe my uncle wasn't wrong to offer me his help.