However, the appearance of the Sword Maiden gave them hope of escaping this hellish den. One by one, they rushed forward and knelt before her.
"Milady, please, take us away from here!"
For a while, the hallway was filled with overlapping cries of pleading voices.
These women were all ordinary villagers captured by goblins from various settlements—completely powerless, with no combat ability whatsoever.
Thus, they had never dared to flee this nest and could only pray for salvation from the Sword Maiden, the mighty one who had dared to invade the goblin den alone.
"Do not be afraid, everyone," the Sword Maiden said loudly, comforting the women before her. "All the goblins in the front tunnels have already been slain by me. You may leave safely without fear of attack."
She spoke without concern that her voice might attract goblins from deeper within the palace.
"But…"
Even with her reassurance, the frightened women still hesitated, unable to summon the courage to move.
Just as they were about to speak again, a burst of intense light suddenly erupted from the ground, causing a wave of panic among them.
When the light faded, they realized with astonishment that their once-bare bodies were now clothed in complete, undamaged garments.
Seeing this scene, the Sword Maiden immediately understood—it could only have been Eriri's doing.
"It seems Lady Eriri has been watching over me all this time. I must not let her down!"
Realizing that Eriri's gaze might be upon her at this very moment, the Sword Maiden instinctively straightened her back, a spark of fervent excitement rising within her heart.
Just then, astonished voices spread through the group of rescued women.
"What's going on?"
"Why did clothes suddenly appear on me?"
"Could this be a divine manifestation? But if so, why didn't the gods save us from the goblins before?"
"Milady, do you know what happened?"
"…"
Some attributed this miracle to the gods, for such an event was clearly beyond human ability. Others turned their curious eyes to the Sword Maiden, hoping she would explain.
Although the light of healing had faded, the Sword Maiden had conjured a floating flame to illuminate the cave, allowing everyone to see clearly.
"You need not be surprised," she said gently. "The garments upon you are gifts from the one I serve—this has nothing to do with the gods. Please, accept them without worry."
At the mention of "the one I serve," the women noticed the fervent gleam that flashed through the Sword Maiden's eyes.
Yet her words left them puzzled.
"Milady, from your attire, you appear to be a priestess of the temple. The one you serve… is that not a god?" one woman asked hesitantly, while the others watched curiously.
"You are right," the Sword Maiden replied with a calm smile. "Once, I was a priestess devoted to the Supreme God. But now, I have found my true faith in that Lady. This priesthood… is no longer worth holding."
The Sword Maiden had long intended to leave the temple and devote herself to Eriri's service. Now, she had finally made her decision.
Hearing her declaration, the rescued women did not doubt her words. Instead, they expressed deep gratitude toward the mysterious Lady Eriri mentioned by the Sword Maiden.
Though many of them had once worshiped the gods, their faith had already begun to waver after the horrors they had endured. And now, none dared to criticize the Sword Maiden for abandoning the Supreme God—after all, she was their savior.
"Alright, as you can see, that Lady must surely be watching over us from somewhere right now. So, you can safely leave the cave without worrying about goblins attacking you. That Lady will protect you."
The Sword Maiden clasped her hands before her still undeveloped chest, a pious smile blooming across her delicate face.
"Of course, if any of you still feel uneasy, you may wait here for a while. I will go and eliminate the remaining goblins within, then return to escort you all out together."
The women looked at one another in hesitation, uncertain of what to do.
But the Sword Maiden had no patience to wait for them to decide. It didn't matter—she could simply bring along whoever remained when she came back. Without saying another word, she turned and strode deeper into the cave.
...
As she departed, the flame she had conjured for light dissipated, plunging the cavern back into darkness once more.
...
At the deepest part of the cave, inside a vast chamber, a massive goblin stood in the shadows—its size far surpassing that of an ordinary hobgoblin. It wore crude armor, a giant stone blade resting upon its shoulder. This was the leader of the lair, known among its kind as a Goblin Champion—a mid-tier variant among goblins.
Beside it stood several shorter goblins holding primitive staffs—the Goblin Shamans.
While the Goblin Champion possessed immense physical strength but little intellect beyond a normal goblin's, the Shamans had evolved in intelligence, capable even of devising simple strategies.
The commotion from earlier had already alerted these remaining goblins. Yet, thanks to the presence of the Shamans, the Goblin Champion restrained itself from recklessly charging toward the Sword Maiden.
Under the shamans' direction, they had prepared several traps throughout the deepest cavern, lying in wait for her arrival.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance. The Sword Maiden appeared, walking confidently into the chamber.
Instantly, the Goblin Shamans barked commands, triggering all the traps they had prepared.
Two large wooden panels covered in sharp spikes suddenly slammed toward the Sword Maiden from both sides, while a barrage of arrows shot at her from the front like a rainstorm.
From the shadows, the Goblin Shamans launched attack spells—fireballs and wind blades shot through the air toward her without mercy.
However, the spells' power was only slightly stronger than those of the young mage from before.
Facing the flurry of attacks, the Sword Maiden's expression remained calm and steady.
After the previous battles, she had learned to face danger without flinching.
She didn't even attempt to dodge. Instead, she drew upon the vast energy within her body, forming a powerful energy shield that enveloped her completely.
In the next instant, all attacks struck at once—but whether arrows, spikes, or magic, every assault was stopped effortlessly just a few inches from her body, unable to advance any further.
The meticulously laid traps of the Goblin Shamans failed entirely, not even slowing her steps.
Seeing this, the Goblin Champion could no longer contain its fury. With a roar, it charged forward, leading the remaining goblins in a frenzied assault.
The Sword Maiden showed no hesitation. She gathered every ounce of energy within her and unleashed it toward the Goblin Champion.
A brilliant energy blast shot forth, striking the Goblin Champion dead-on before erupting in a massive explosion.
The detonation shook the entire cave, sending clouds of dust billowing through the air. The ground trembled, and fragments of rock rained down from the ceiling.
Watching the devastation she had caused, the Sword Maiden instinctively patted her chest, a hint of relief and lingering fear flashing across her face.
"Thankfully, the cave didn't collapse… I didn't expect my full-strength attack to be so powerful!"
"I wonder how many goblins that blast managed to kill…"
The Sword Maiden waved away the swirling smoke before her, her gaze fixed on the heart of the explosion where the dust was thickest.
A few minutes later, the haze gradually settled, and the scene before her came back into view.
At the explosion's epicenter lay a massive crater—over ten meters wide and several meters deep. Even the cave walls on both sides had been blown open, leaving gaping holes several meters across.
The Goblin Champion's enormous body had completely vanished, along with the ordinary goblins that had once surrounded it.
With a single strike, the Sword Maiden had annihilated more than ninety percent of the remaining goblins in the lair. The few survivors were grievously wounded by the shockwave, too weak to even attempt an attack.
In other words, with just one attack, she had nearly wiped out the entire nest.
Gazing coldly at the pitiful, dying goblins, the Sword Maiden felt not a shred of mercy.
This was the first mission Lady Eriri had entrusted to her, and she intended to complete it perfectly.
Besides, she already harbored immense hatred toward goblins—there was no room for pity.
As she strode toward them, the mangled goblins trembled in terror, their broken limbs flailing as they screamed pitifully.
Though their intelligence was low, fear still ran deep within them.
But their fear could not save them. Moments later, under the Sword Maiden's merciless hand, every last goblin was slain.
Soon, only one remained—a young goblin cowering on the ground, clutching its head, tears of terror streaming down its face.
For a brief moment, the Sword Maiden hesitated. Yet the memory of all that the goblins had done quickly erased any trace of compassion, replacing it with cold, lethal resolve.
Without hesitation, she raised her right hand and extended her index finger toward the trembling creature.
A small beam of energy shot forth, piercing the young goblin's skull like a bullet—ending its life in an instant. With that, the final goblin in the nest was gone.
Having completed her task, the Sword Maiden finally let out a long breath of relief.
However, unwilling to risk leaving any survivors, she carefully searched the entire cave. The inspection took more than ten minutes—far longer than the mere ten it had taken her to slaughter every goblin.
Only after confirming that not a single goblin remained alive did she turn and make her way back toward the exit.
When she passed through the corridors and reached the cages that had once held the human women, she found them empty—the rescued women had already left.
She did not mind. Without slowing her pace, she continued toward the cave's exit, her steps quickening with each passing moment.
She could no longer contain her eagerness—she wanted to see Eriri again, to report her success.
...
Meanwhile, outside the cave, a group of exhausted women emerged into the open air.
Bathed once more in sunlight after days of imprisonment, they wept with joy, their tense hearts finally relaxing.
The violent tremors they had felt earlier had terrified them—they feared the cave might collapse and bury them alive, or worse, that goblins would chase them down and drag them back into that nightmare.
Driven by fear, they had quickened their pace, breaking into a run as they fled. Fortunately, the tunnels had no forks, allowing them to reach the surface safely.
As for whether the Sword Maiden could truly defeat all the goblins inside, none of them could be certain.
Though she had appeared powerful, no one could rule out the possibility of failure.
That uncertainty was why they had chosen to leave immediately.
"What should we do now? Should we wait here for the priestess to come out?" one woman asked hesitantly.
"Let's not," another replied, her voice trembling. "I don't want to stay near this place for even another second…"
Her words were met with unanimous agreement. The horrors they had endured had left deep scars within their hearts. The very thought of goblins filled them with uncontrollable fear.
—
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