I Am Sought After by Everyone in a Different World Where the Power and Chastity of Men and Women Are Reversed - 87

Chapter 87: Hobgoblin

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“It seems the men were locked here.”

“But since they’re not here now, that means they’ve been taken away.”

As we proceeded further into the goblins’ den, we reached an area with a cage made of wooden bars. It seemed they had been keeping the kidnapped men here. 

“There are signs on the ground that someone was dragged away! Let’s hurry!”

Sure enough, there were drag marks on the ground, as if someone was forcefully pulled along. We would be able to find the goblins if we followed these marks. 

“Damn it. It looks like they’ve escaped from the nest.”

Proceeding further, we found the exit of the cave. The exit was cleverly camouflaged by the rock, making it hard to know there was an exit there. It seemed the goblins in this world were quite intelligent, given that they were able to prepare an emergency exit.

“….Aside from the drag marks, there are footprints that look too big for normal goblins.”

Indeed. On the ground, there were several goblin footprints along with one set of something bigger. 

“It must be a hobgoblin. That hobgoblin must be the boss of this group.”

Apparently, there were various types of goblins, like goblin mages and now, hobgoblins.

“Even if we’re fighting against hobgoblins, I’m sure we’ll be able to defeat it since our group is pretty big and we have Tia and the others with us. However, low-ranked adventurers wouldn’t stand a chance against a group this big led by a hobgoblin.”

“That’s right. It’s really fortunate that we happened to use this mountain road and managed to cull the goblin in time. Now… If only the kidnapped man is still alive, that would be great…”

It seemed that even if our opponent was a hobgoblin, everyone in here could handle it just fine. While beginner adventurers might be able to defeat a few goblins, but this goblin group was too big, probably around 100 goblins in total. Not to mention, there were several high-ranking goblins like goblin mages and hobgoblins. It would be difficult for low-ranked adventurers to handle this nest. 

That being said… Even if I had a weapon with me, I doubt I could take down a single goblin. Besides, in this world, the women were stronger in terms of physical strength and magic power.

“There they are!”

“We found them!”

After advancing through the forest for a few minutes, we quickly caught up with the fleeing group of goblins. The hobgoblin was much larger than normal goblins, making it easy to follow its trail. The hobgoblin was twice the height of normal goblins. A normal goblin was about one meter tall, since the hobgoblin was twice that size, the hobgoblin was around 2 meters, taller than me even. 

And… Just as I expected, this hobgoblin had a pair of ample peaches. This hobgoblin was a female indeed… The hobgoblin’s face was just as hideous as the other goblins. It was holding onto a massive club made of wood in its right hand and there was a naked man slung over its left shoulder. 

“Grrr! Grrrrr!!”

“Geghyaaa!! Ghayaaa!”

They had noticed our arrival as well. There were five goblins around the hobgoblins, dragging another man along. The goblins’ bellies were big… Which served as enough proof to know what had they done to those poor men. 

“Our top priority is to rescue those men! Tia, please take care of the big one!”

“Leave it to me!”

Elmie and Tia charged at the goblins. 

“Grrr!! Grrr!!”

“Ugh-! Elmie, I’m counting on you!”

“Yeah!”

The hobgoblin prepared for battle. She then lifted the man it had been carrying on its shoulder with one hand and hurled the poor man toward Elmie and Tia-san.

“…Phew! Got it! He’s safe now!”

An ordinary person would’ve been sent flying by the impact from the speed of the throwing, but Elmie was able to catch the man without injuring the man.

“Take that!!”

“Gugyaaaa!!”

Whoa?! Seriously?!

Tia-san swung her large axe down and split the hobgoblin clean in half, along with the club it had been holding. What an incredible strength. Her prowess was not to be scoffed at, just like how she had destroyed the door to the underground prison back in the Dark Guild’s hideout. While Elmie was the speed type, Tia-san was the power type. Elmie once told us that she found Tia-san a bit difficult to deal with, but I believed the two of them could make a really good team since they balanced each other. 

“Gegya?! Gyaaa?!”

“Gyaa! Gyagya!!”

Seeing their leader get taken down by Tia-san without breaking a sweat, the rest of the goblins went into a panic. They pushed the other man forward, as if they were trying to turn him into a hostage. It seemed the goblins had taken the two men along with them not only to increase their numbers, but also to use the men as hostages in case of emergency. Goblins were truly cunning creatures. 

“Souma! It’s your turn now!”

“Souma-sama! Please!”

“Leave it to me!”

At long last, I could finally have my chance to be useful!

“Barrier!”

I created a shield around the man who was being held by the goblins. 

“Air Cutter!”

“Icicle Bullet!”

“GIGYAA?!”

“GYAGYAAA!”

The goblins looked visibly surprised to see we were still hurling them with magic despite having a hostage. Flora’s wind magic and Runes-san’s ice magic easily killed the remaining goblins. 

‘Ugh…”

“He’s okay! He’s still alive!”

Jerome-san quickly ran over to the men. Thanks to the barrier magic, the kidnapped man was unscathed. 

Finally, the barrier magic I had practiced diligently was proven to be useful. 

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T/N: Those men have Souma to heal the physical injury but they will need a therapist to heal the trauma (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )