Unexpected Goblins?!

February 5.

Whoosh—

Because of the sudden downpour, Princess Adrina’s party could not move. Rain fell indiscriminately. In terrain like this—almost jungle-like—such phenomena could happen occasionally.

Blown by strong winds and unable to move, the party only began to move when the rain suddenly stopped and a clear sky returned, as if nothing had happened. It was the second day. In effect, they were forced to wander the jungle without a real destination.

They had to move through the muck left by the rain, and Princess Adrina felt her feet growing heavier as mud clung to them. She wondered how a mere island could be so vast.

Because they were setting course in many directions rather than going straight, their travel distance inevitably increased. They literally had to comb the island aimlessly to find a place whose location they did not know.

‘No wonder they still can’t find them, right?’

She thought her brother’s people were combing this place and that even with all that time it would be hard to find them. If so, it would also take them a long time to search. Perhaps it would take even longer.

‘His Majesty said he would buy as much time as possible.’

Recalling King Ian’s words that he would pretend to be ill if things went badly, Princess Adrina shook her head and resolved to be strong. At that moment there was a thud! and she couldn’t help but let out a short scream — a dagger had been driven deep into the tree where she had been standing.

“What, what is—”

“My—are you all right?”

Agent Hanseuran came over to ask if she was alright, and then they all saw the dagger in the tree — and a snake writhing on the dagger. Turning their eyes, they saw a secret agent standing with an impassive expression.

‘He noticed the snake approaching the princess and threw a dagger at it in one shot.’

She clicked her tongue at the display of skill. She had passed a fair amount of training herself, but she wasn’t on their level. Hanseuran, thinking the princess might misunderstand, spoke up.

“It looks like he got the snake that was approaching the princess.”

“Sn-snake?”

“Look here.”

At those words, Princess Adrina looked and saw the dagger in the tree and the snake impaled on it. She looked at the snake with disgust, then, expressionless, dipped her head slightly toward the agent and offered her thanks.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, the snake would have attacked me.”

“……..”

His silence left her a little embarrassed, but she reminded herself he was the sort who never showed emotion. She also resolved to be cautious now that there were snakes in the environment.

Hanseuran then asked her as if to test her knowledge.

“Did you know there weren’t supposed to be any snakes on this island?”

“Were there?”

“Yes. In the past one of our Polia Kingdom exploration teams visited here, and, perhaps by mistake, a crate containing snakes collected elsewhere was brought ashore. The lid opened and they escaped into this place.”

“So someone intentionally let them loose?”

“The journals they kept say the crate’s lid opened when no one noticed. Everyone denied it, so they could not find who was responsible.”

“So that’s how snakes came to inhabit this place.”

She felt sorrow that human actions could so drastically alter nature. She knew places like this existed across the world and caused many changes; in some areas the environment had collapsed and native flora and fauna had been wiped out.

“Do humans even deserve that right..?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh—never mind. Just talking to myself. We should get moving—”

Bang! Bang-bang! Bang! Bang!

At the sudden gunfire, everyone raised their muzzles in all directions. Hanseuran moved quickly to shield Princess Adrina and began scanning the area. As they all tensed, more shots rang out.

Bang! Bang-bang! Bang!

“It sounds like they fired from a spot somewhat away from here.”

“So that means people who arrived before us are a little further off?”

“That’s good. We were having trouble not knowing where they were, but now they’ve revealed themselves — that’s advantageous. But what are they shooting at?”

She doubted they were shooting at snakes; whatever it was, it also meant those others hadn’t yet entered the ruins.

“What do you intend to do?”

“We should approach them.”

“You mean approach them?”

“Judging by the situation, they arrived before us and have been scouting around. They must have gathered a lot of information. If we can acquire what they’ve collected without wandering ourselves, it will shorten the time to find things.”

Even a map recording where they’d already searched would let them skip those areas and look only at what remained. Hearing this, Princess Adrina couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Approaching meant a clash, and that could mean someone might die. Hanseuran asked her about that.

“Are you hesitating?”

“…Do we really have to spill blood?”

“It’s not a question of whether — blood will be spilled. If we don’t find them first, we’ll suffer many casualties. Is that what you want?”

If not now, there was a high risk they’d be discovered and attacked first. That would cause needless casualties. For a moment Hanseuran wondered if she hesitated because the enemies might be her countrymen. But her next words reassured him.

“No. This was something I prepared myself for when coming here.”

She had anticipated this kind of situation. From the beginning, finding the ruins amicably had been impossible. Biting her lip, she accepted the reality — since she had begun this, she had to face it.

“Let’s go to them.”

“Understood.”

Hanseuran signaled the others with hand gestures. They checked their weapons and their eyes gleamed with resolve. They set down their baggage, reduced their noise, and advanced toward where the gunfire had come from.

The intermittent shots soon ceased, and in the silence they drew close to where voices could be heard. Ready for battle, they peeked into sightlines and saw several dozen men.

What were they shooting at? Through the binoculars, Princess Adrina saw small humanoid creatures — but with green skin and long noses, features too inhuman to be mistaken for men. Several of them lay dead.

‘Goblins?’

She almost doubted her eyes. Yet, in a world where a Kraken had already appeared, the existence of goblins was not shocking.

‘But how could goblins exist here?’

This island had already been thoroughly explored in the past. The fact goblins were here was strange. Perhaps they had appeared recently, and perhaps it was tied to the ancient ruins they sought.

‘So they discovered something? Either way, now is the perfect moment for an ambush.’

They had slightly fewer numbers, but with the element of surprise, victory seemed likely. The enemy had just finished a fight and were not yet reorganized. Hanseuran quietly glanced at Princess Adrina.

“We’ll attack. Do you permit it?”

“…….”

Biting her lip, Princess Adrina nodded. She had decided from the beginning. Hanseuran raised his hand, preparing the signal. The agents aligned their sights, fingers ready on the triggers.

Holding his breath, Hanseuran aimed at a man’s head, squeezed the trigger—Bang! At once, forty shots erupted.

The men — presumed to be from the Magnia Empire — screamed and fell. A few survivors threw themselves down and returned fire at the muzzle flashes.

Their response was quick. Hanseuran pushed Princess Adrina behind a tree and kept firing, reloading smoothly. Bang! Bang-bang! Bang-bang-bang!

Princess Adrina could only cover her ears.

As minutes passed, the enemy’s gunfire weakened. Their initial losses from the ambush were too great. Now reduced, they even dragged goblin corpses for cover, but it did not help. The secret agents shot with clinical precision, striking down anyone who showed themselves.

For fifteen minutes, the firefight raged. Then it quieted. Voices carried from the other side. Hanseuran tapped Princess Adrina to uncover her ears.

“Can you tell what they’re saying?”

“Ah…”

She listened, then caught it.

“They’re saying… they surrender.”

Hanseuran nodded, raised his hand, and halted the attack. The gunfire stopped. In the quiet jungle, agents reloaded calmly. Soon, three men appeared with hands raised.

They had already discarded their weapons and expressed surrender. Hanseuran signaled, and a few agents moved forward cautiously. The rest spread out, watching the surroundings.

After confirming there were no more enemies hidden, they bound the three prisoners. The other corpses were checked to ensure no one was feigning death. Hanseuran whistled, and the rest of the team regrouped.

Seeing the number of agents, the three captives paled. Their shock deepened when they noticed a woman among them.

“At—Her Highness?!”

“How could the princess be here?!”

“You… you recognize me?”

“Of course! Explain what’s happening! Who are these people, and why are they here?!”

“Why did you attack us?!”

“Sorry, but I can’t explain the details.”

She could not reveal that she had come here allied with the Polia Kingdom. The captives flared in anger.

“Why not?!”

“How could you betray His Majesty the Emperor?!”

“You’re my brother’s men, aren’t you?”

“So you’ve betrayed the Emperor?!”

“Call it betrayal if you like. Regardless, I need what you’ve found.”

“So you already knew something and plotted this?!”

“No more words. Tell me everything — what are those goblins, and have you found the entrance to the ruins?”

“You think we’ll talk? We will never betray His Majesty!”

Their eyes blazed with conviction. Hanseuran spoke quietly.

“They won’t give us what we want.”

“They refuse to reveal anything.”

“Then we’ll make them talk. I’ll take them away.”

“Must it be so?”

Princess Adrina hesitated, realizing what would happen. But Hanseuran’s voice was firm.

“You already chose this path. Do not expect mercy from them.”

“I… I understand.”

Her face showed guilt, but she agreed. Hanseuran signaled, and the prisoners were dragged off.

There were agents who understood the Magnia tongue. The reason they’d let the captives speak to Princess Adrina first was to test her loyalty. If she had said the wrong words and shown betrayal, she would have been seized and sent back at once.