It Doesn’t Explain The Reason

Kikori and Kuon moved deeper into the forest.

Just as expected, there were still no monsters around… but there was something else that was very different from usual.

“I thought we came in zigzagging, but there are a lot of people out here.”

“Of course. Anyone with decent ears has heard at least a little about the Big Goblin.”

Right—here and there, they could see other adventurers nearby.

They looked like they were searching for something… most likely probing for some lead that would connect to the “commander.”

“Even yesterday’s lizard riders came from off the front of the Hero Gate—the so-called ‘Adventurers’ Road.’ Those guys knew there’d be fewer adventurers if they avoided that route.”

“Huh.”

“But the Hero Gate’s security got reinforced. Next time they show up, they’ll get wiped out on the spot.”

Kikori didn’t know the details of what happened around there yesterday, but he did know this much: when he was with Aria, the attack had definitely come from somewhere off the “Adventurers’ Road.”

“Sounds like the same thing as monster distribution. But there’s something I don’t get.”

“What?”

“There’s an anomalously evolved goblin. There are hobgoblins that clearly look like they’re being commanded. And there’s probably a commander.”

“Yeah.”

“…But none of that explains why the monsters disappeared near the Hero Gate, does it?”

That was the thing—every part of that was about goblins.

Even if there was something commanding goblins… it shouldn’t have anything to do with Horned Rabbits.

But the Horned Rabbits were gone too. What logic could possibly explain that?

“And there are other weird things. Where did the goblins that disappeared go? Why did the hobgoblins… the lizard riders attack? Where are the low-ranking goblins that should’ve been used as the first wave? What are they doing, and where?”

“…You’re right. That is weird. Yeah—those lizard riders were so shocking it slipped my mind. Without goblin infantry accompanying them—no, even with that… it’s way too reckless. Even monsters should know that, right? So why?”

Monsters learned. That was why the current distribution existed in the first place.

So why?

Leaving Kuon muttering to himself, Kikori thought too.

Why would they launch an attack like that?

What, exactly, was the monsters’… the “commander’s” target?

As he thought, Kikori suddenly realized it.

“Kuon.”

“Hm?”

“…What’s the security like around the Hero Gate? Around the wall near it?”

“Security? That’s part of the fortress too, you know? The wall-fortress runs on and on for—no way…”

Yes—Kikori thought there was a chance that was it.

If they sent lizard riders and Magi Riders charging the Hero Gate—units they knew couldn’t do it, but that would force the humans to heighten their guard—then their real aim was…

“Not the gate! The commander’s target is… breaking through that wall-fortress, isn’t it!?”