After Crushing the Final Boss, I Got Infinite Mana and Returned to Earth ～With Cheat-Level Power, I’ll Rule Both the Game World and the Real World～ - Chapter 12: We Wiped Out the Goblins Attacking the Village

Chapter 12: We Wiped Out the Goblins Attacking the Village

When you hear “goblin,” you probably picture some ugly, green-skinned monster about waist-high compared to a grown man.

Yep, that’s pretty much on the mark.

In Final Stories, goblins were just smart enough to make stone tools and even had their own language.

But still—a goblin is a goblin. A monster.

Their main diet? Humans. And they especially liked the softer flesh of women and children.

Women were also targeted as breeding stock, which made them the most aggressively hunted.

With fifty goblins swarming a village, even if every able-bodied man fought back, sheer numbers alone would overwhelm them.

The adventurers spread out a map, got the location of the village from the boy, and started a quick strategy meeting while checking over their gear.

“Hmm, it’s farther than I thought. Best to take a wagon.”

“Yeah, if we run there and arrive exhausted, getting wiped out by goblins won’t even be funny.”

“The bigger problem is the number. Fifty goblins means there’s definitely a leader commanding them.”

“A Goblin King, huh. Only Garf here might stand a chance one-on-one. The rest of us will have to hold back the others.”

“Priority is saving the villagers. From what the kid said, the men fought back as best they could, so there’s a good chance they’re still alive.”

“Bring all the ointments, bandages, and potions we can. Someone free, go buy supplies from the shop.”

“Split the cost evenly. And no whining about being cheap.”

To be honest, I had underestimated them.

I’d written them off as useless adults, day-drinking adventurers wasting their time.

But once their switch flipped? Totally different story.

They double-checked supplies with sharp banter, planned out the rescue step by step, and treated the quest with the seriousness it deserved.

I was still new to this adventurer gig, so I couldn’t exactly dump all the responsibility on them after being the one to accept the quest.

So, holding Diabel, I spoke to the boy who was staring down at the floor.

“Young man, excuse me for a moment. —Memory Load.”

“Eh—w-whoa, what!?”

“Another bizarre spell from you, huh…”

I placed my hand on his head and pulled up the image of his village.

It was like downloading necessary data onto a computer.

Compared to time manipulation, the visualization was trickier, so I wasn’t sure it would work—but somehow, I got what I needed.

“May I say something?”

“Yeah, what’s up, Minato?”

“I can use teleportation magic. I’ll transport all of us straight to the boy’s village.”

“““!?”””

The adventurers froze at my words, staring at me in shock.

In the Magiluke Kingdom, only nobles were supposed to use magic—especially teleportation, a spell on par with the highest-tier magic.

They had to realize then that I wasn’t just some ordinary rookie.

Garf looked at me with a solemn expression and asked—

“Can you really use teleportation magic?”

“In a situation like this, I wouldn’t lie.”

“…Then just who the hell are you?”

“If knowing that’s necessary to save the boy’s village, I’ll answer.”

“Hah! Hahaha!! No, that’s not needed!! Listen up!! Forget traveling by wagon!! Once you’re done checking your gear, start warming up!! And if anyone’s still drunk, chug a vial of wake-up tonic before we leave!!”

The adventurers all nodded firmly at Garf’s orders.

Before long, everyone was fully armed and assembled in front of me.

“Alright, let’s move. —Gate.”

A magic circle spread beneath our feet, and in a flash of dazzling light, the adventurers and I vanished.

When I opened my eyes, we were already standing in the village square—the exact one I’d seen in the boy’s memory.

The adventurers, still reeling from their first teleport, quickly shook it off and scanned the area for threats.

Just then, a villager with a crutch rushed toward us in a panic.

“W-What the—!? Where the hell did you people come from!?”

“Ah, well, let’s skip the complicated explanation. We’re adventurers from the Magiluke Kingdom Capital Guild. We came here after taking the goblin extermination request from your kid.”

“A-Adventurers!? S-So many of you came!?”

That was Garf for you. Just moments ago, he’d been acting like a thug, picking a fight with me. 

Now, he was calmly stepping up as the representative, reassuring the villagers like a pro.

“How could we ever thank you enough…?”

“Don’t sweat it. Figured once in a while we oughta take jobs that don’t pay so well. Anyway—sorry to rush you, but fill us in on the situation.”

While Garf got the details from the villager, the other adventurers started treating the injured.

I pitched in with the wounded too, all while taking a look around the village.

…It was a wreck.

Parts of the log wall they’d built as a barricade had been smashed through, houses were half-destroyed—it was obvious they’d put up a desperate fight.

Even if we wiped out or drove off the goblins, rebuilding would eat up a massive amount of money and time.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

“Don’t you dare leave me behind, mortal.”

“Oh, Diabel. I thought you’d stayed at the guild, cuddled like a stuffed toy by that boy…”

“I disliked that brat. Compared to Aoi, his petting skills were abysmal.”

“Well, Aoi’s used to petting Shiva, after all.”

Diabel perched on my shoulder, looked over the devastation, and let out a heavy sigh.

“This is dreadful.”

“Yes, I agree. Even the fields are ruined. Honestly, the real hardship for this village will begin after the goblins are gone.”

“…But aren’t you a prince? Couldn’t you help them rebuild?”

“My reason for helping is to build a friendly relationship with the Adventurers’ Guild—for Aoi and my mother’s sake. What comes after depends on the villagers themselves.”

“Hmph. You’re rather cold toward your own kind, aren’t you?”

It was unexpected, hearing the Evil Dragon suggest helping rebuild a human village.

Well, if this place asked the kingdom for aid, I wouldn’t mind putting in a good word with the king.

Just then—

Kang! Kang! Kang!

The village bell rang out, signaling an emergency, and a villager shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Goblins!! The goblins are attacking again!!”

At once, the adventurers tending the injured snatched up their weapons and rushed outside.

Even Garf was among them, already clashing with goblins storming the front gate.

I didn’t join the fray.

The battlefield was pure chaos now, adventurers and goblins tangled in a mass melee. If I used magic there, it’d hit both sides indiscriminately. Accidentally killing adventurers would wipe out any trust I’d just built with the guild.

So, I held back and chose to observe from the shadows.

“Georg!! There’s a goblin scent inside the village!!”

“…Strange. The front should be covered by the adventurers. Ah—must be through that gap in the barricade.”

A distraction at the front, then a flanking maneuver through the damaged wall—dirty tactics, but smart.

Surprise attacks were a staple of war, but I hadn’t expected goblins to pull one off.

If this kept up, the village would suffer heavy casualties.

So I headed toward the breached section of the wall—and sure enough, goblins were trying to squeeze their way in.

Not that they were very clever about it.

Several of them tried to force their way through the narrow opening at the same time, only to get stuck like corks in a bottle.

Perfect. This was my chance.

“—Torch.”

I vaporized the goblins clogging the hole in the barricade.

The gap widened a little, but it also took out the goblins lined up outside, waiting their turn.

“Gya-gya!?”

“Gugya!!”

“Gyagyagya!!”

The ones lucky enough not to be in my line of fire shrieked in their ugly tongue for a moment—then bolted in a panic.

Of course, I didn’t just watch them leave.

“—Torch.”

I fired again, mowing down the retreating goblins one after another.

A few slipped away, but I must have taken out several dozen in total.

Still, between the ones charging the front gate and the ambushers at the wall, there had to be over a hundred altogether.

When I told Garf this after the main battle wrapped up, his face twisted like he’d bitten into something sour.

“…That’s bad. Could mean we’ve got a leader even stronger than a Goblin King—a Goblin Emperor.”

A Goblin Emperor.

A higher-tier commander with more power than a King, capable of leading hundreds of goblins.

It even showed up in Final Stories.

The very first boss the protagonist fought—an enemy that triggered the awakening of the Hero’s power.

…Could it be?

If the mastermind behind this attack really was a Goblin Emperor, then was it the same one the protagonist fought in Final Stories?

The possibility was high.

In the game, the Goblin Emperor bragged in its dialogue about destroying several small villages already.

Maybe this very village was supposed to be one of them.

Well, even if it was the same one, it didn’t matter.

I already had Diabel, the Evil Dragon, under my command.

If killing the Goblin Emperor here erased the protagonist’s awakening event, so be it. I could finish it off without hesitation.

Just as I resolved to crush the Emperor—

Thud… thud… The ground trembled. A goblin far larger than the village walls stomped into view.

We’d only just finished driving off the lesser goblins, and now the Goblin Emperor itself appeared.

“Guhahahahaha!! I was planning to wipe out this village today, but I didn’t expect reinforcements!! No matter—more food for me!!”

“Damn it, it really is a Goblin Emperor!! Minato!! I’ll buy us time!! You gather the villagers and adventurers and use teleport magic to escape!! This is a job only the knights could handle!!”

With death in his eyes, Garf stepped up to face the towering Emperor, raising his massive axe and letting out a roar.

“Looks like a tasty human! Right—first, I’ll eat you!”

“Ha—filthy goblin, say that again if you can—”

“—Torch.”

I aimed a Torch at the Goblin Emperor’s head.

Its neck and everything above vanished in an instant, the air filling with the smell of charred meat from the clean cut. No creature could live without its head—the Goblin Emperor staggered, then collapsed, dead.

“Big targets are nice—easy to hit without hitting others.”

“You could use a little tact… but, well, it was the right call. Let the determined man finish his moment of glory—”

That would’ve been a terrible wake-up if he’d died first.

To be honest, I didn’t dislike a guy like Garf. Partly because he was simple and easy to deal with, but mostly because he’d stepped up when it mattered—willing to risk his life. Guys like that deserved respect.

So I ended the Emperor’s life before Garf had to throw his away.

The moment the adventurers saw the Goblin Emperor fall, they erupted into cheers.

“W-What the hell was that just now!?”

“It went like pew!! and the Goblin Emperor’s head just straight-up evaporated!!”

“Do… do all mages do that!? Scary!! Mages are freakin’ scary!!”

“Well, yeah… makes sense. If he can use teleportation magic, of course he could pull something like that off.”

“And he’s only a 10th-class adventurer!? Man, we don’t even stand a chance anymore…”

And that’s how it went. Without losing a single adventurer, the goblins were wiped out completely, and the boy’s quest was cleared without a hitch.

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[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Apparently, Aoi’s really good at petting animals. They flock to her like she’s some kind of animal whisperer.

If you thought, “Wait, the fight ended way too fast,” drop those ★s!

And if you found yourself thinking, “Diabel’s actually kinda cute,” or “Can’t believe Garf turned out to be reliable, lol,” or “This afterword really is useless,” —then don’t forget to leave a comment, bookmark, ★rating, or review!