Goblin Workshop In Me

134. Turning the Tide

A dimly lit town street. Monsters stuck their heads out from between the demolished buildings.

“Are those Wyverns? Their teeth are scary.”

Most of the monsters here were Wyverns, a rare and powerful monster with an A-class level risk and normally unusual to see, but now, there were over 300 of them. Large B-class monsters sparsely mixed in the crowd. It seemed that only big ones were chosen on purpose. However, the entity exuded the greatest energy was the woman taking the lead, a South American beauty with gray hair and dark skin.

Her aura was no joke for an entity less than half the size of the monsters. Ko Byeong-gap was able to recognize it right off.

‘She’s an SS-class.’

She had a similar presence to Seo Si-hee. There were only a few people in the world with that energy.

‘From now on, I’ll have to think hard about not blinking.’

Ko Byeong-gap made the nearby Gruggles step forward. Their number had decreased significantly due to the removal of the Illumination bases. Still, he counted thousands of them if he added the little ones.

‘It’s okay. Monsters run away when they see the Gruggles.’

“Crrr!”

“…They’re not running away.”

Something unexpected happened. Originally, monsters ran away whenever they saw the Gruggles. But this time, their red eyes flashed and burned with fighting spirit. By the time he felt that the plan had gone wrong, the woman they faced spoke.

“Oh, what are those black things? I’ve never heard of something like this… what are these? What are you doing?”

She spoke in English with a unique accent. In his lifetime, Ko Byeong-gap had never thought that his English skills were particularly decent. But for some reason, he understood what the woman said.

‘Is it because of Ea’s power?’

When his power as a Lord was taken away, he couldn’t even speak to the Goblins. With the help of Ea, he broke down the language barrier, becoming fluent in all languages. Ko Byeong-gap sensed the aura around her without the woman noticing.

“Are these all of the monsters? We’ll have to take our time.”

He opened his mouth, pretending to be calm. Fluent English flowed from his tongue.

“Well, that’s not how I get personal information. Isn’t it basic to introduce yourself if you want to know who others are?

“What? You’re trying to tease me?”

The woman looked as if she was exhausted, but then she grunted, pointing to the monsters standing behind her.

“I know you’re pretending to be fine. I can feel that you’re nervous.”

“Are you trying to brag? I’m sorry, but I have plenty of them too.”

“You mean those black things? Are they a big deal?”

A Wyvern spewed a lump of Karma. The yellow lump of Karma swallowed six Gruggles at once. The Goblins readied to attack immediately, but Ko Byeong-gap quickly reached his hand to stop them.

“Wait.”

“Yes.”

The woman’s eyes turned fierce as she stared at the Goblins, but a few seconds later, she frowned and tilted her head.

“Hey, you.”

“What?”

“How do you control those Goblins? You’re not psychic.”

“How do you know if I’m psychic or not?”

“Huh? How dare you act arrogant in front of the world’s best mind controller?”

She even tried. The woman attempted to control the Goblins with her mental control. However, the Goblins didn’t even pretend to listen to her orders.

‘My control doesn’t work. There’s no way they’re on the same level as me… does that mean they have a stronger bond than my control?’

It was ridiculous. There were none better than her. So, was he just holding onto those monsters by using those black creatures?

Ko Byeong-gap asked in a sarcastic tone:

“You’re a notable person occupying a seat in the Six-rays Bridge. If you’re a psychic, then… are you the woman named Ariena? The last member? That’s probably you.”

“How do you even know that? Oh, I see, you and Seo Si-hee are the same. Where’s that crazy old hag?”

“I’ll let you know if you tell me where Go Geon-ryong is first.”

“Let’s see… let’s see… hmph! I don’t need it. It’s enough to turn you into my slave and make you tell me.”

Ariena released Karma, trying to infiltrate Ko Byeong-gap’s mind, placing her consciousness into her Karma.

‘Will he have the talent to endure it even if he’s special? I don’t know what tricks he has, but if I make him my slave, even those Goblins will follow me.’

She dug into Ko Byeong-gap’s inner mind. He didn’t notice what she was doing since it just looked like she was standing still. He decided to remain still since he had to waste their time anyway. Meanwhile, Ariena gradually dug deeper and deeper into Ko Byeong-gap.

The space was all black. All she had to do was plant her soul in there and get out. Then, Ko Byeong-gap would become her puppet.

‘Okay. If I leave now…’

“Have you no shame, girl? Do you know where you are to dare dump such a filthy thing off?”

‘Huh? What?!’

Ariena turned in surprise. Of course, she was still inside Ko Byeong-gap, but she doubted her eyes as she saw a giant of a man towering over her.

‘Two souls in one body…? No! Three!’

She turned around once again. Something staggered out of the dark, which looked like the monsters outside. However, those monsters couldn’t compare to the energy-emitting.

‘I can’t believe it! How can three souls coexist in one body? Even the Archbishop only has two!’

Ariena instinctively felt that something was wrong. The creature spat out a shrill voice.

“Kyahaha! It’s Madmut’s energy! It’s fresh!”

“Hey, Devil. I spotted that girl first. This is my play area, so it’s mine to take after waking up.”

“No! I’m going to eat that soul!”

“Do as you please, eat it or not. Instead, don’t touch it until I get my hands on it.”

“Okay. I just need to eat the soul. Hahahaha!”

“You… what are you?! Why are you here?!”

Ariena asked, stepping back. Landriol answered, summoning a sword as huge as his body.

“Hmph, what would you do if you knew who I was? Your disgrace goes too far.”

“What? H-How?”

“I know that you have a relationship with that disgusting god. You reek of him.”

“Oh my god! Argh!”

“You ignorant girl. Did you think you could run away from me?”

Ariena, who tried to run away with her soul, was beaten by Landriol. The giant man’s presence was truly great. There was no way she could fight against him with just a piece of her soul. No, even if her soul was 100 percent in it, wouldn’t she still be intimidated by his presence? Ariena wasn’t sure.

“No! Let me go!”

Ariena appealed even though she knew he wouldn’t listen. The answer she heard was cold as expected.

“That’s crazy. You came here, and now you’re asking me to send you back. What a shameless girl. If you want to run away, you can leave your luggage first. Well, I don’t think that black thing will leave you alone.”

“Ahhh!”

“Are you ready to fight now? Good!”

Ariena whirled at him. However, Landriol easily hit her back and teased her. It was truly just a game to him. Landriol’s sword cut through her recklessly. Of course, she wasn’t hurt, but the pain felt like it was real.

Their dance didn’t last long. Ariena soon collapsed on the floor, and Landriol snorted.

“Is it already over? It’s a seed that doesn’t have grit.”

“End… end…”

“It’s over? Then can I eat that?”

“Do whatever you want, Devil.”

“Kyahaha! Good!”

Immediately after, the dark creature approached. The entity snatched Ariena’s soul with its mouth wide open.

“No! Please don’t!”

Unfortunately, the Devil didn’t know sympathy.

“Thank you for the food!”

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kyaaah! Argh!”

“What? Suddenly…?”

“Huh? Lord, she must be crazy.”

Ko Byeong-gap and the Goblins watched Ariena in disbelief as something strange happened. She stood silent for about ten seconds, then suddenly screamed and sat down.

“Kyaaaaah! Argh!”

Ariena ripped her hair out and pounded her forehead against the ground. Her groaning mixed with weeping like that of an animal. Ko Byeong-gap had no way to know the pain of having his soul eaten alive.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s good.’

Whatever it might be, the enemy’s panic was an opportunity. He whispered to his men.

“Everyone, stick with me. You take her head. Then, the monsters will naturally become helpless.”

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

“Kill them! Kill them all!”

Ariena suddenly screamed. Her eyes were red, and her veins burst. The monsters charged with a wild roar, perhaps feeling her anger. The high-level monsters were threatening. However, Ko Byeong-gap had already prepared his response.

‘Stop it.’

That quick command attracted all the Gruggles scattered around. They were like a river overflowing with water. Ariena freaked out.

“Uh… when?! I can’t even feel them?”

“You idiot. You have no idea.”

The thousands of Gruggles handled her monsters. Breaking through that opening, Ko Byeong-gap and his eight subordinates sprinted toward Ariena. Ariena reacted, but she was still in a state of shock. As a result, her movements were dull and slow as swordsmanship, magic, and pure power poured into her.

Dorma’s magic clamped her down while Doran and the other melee warriors rushed to her side. Her only counterattack was to block, as even if she caused a small amount of damage, it became meaningless because of Varmond’s healing technique. From Ariena’s point of view, it was an impossible dilemma.

“What? You’re terrible at fighting.”

“Ah! Shut up!”

There was no need for Ariena to attack with her body. She could easily subdue any enemy using her mind control. So, her fighting style relied on mental domination or allies through mind control. In that sense, Ko Byeong-gap and the Goblins were her natural enemies.

Even the monsters she brought along were surrounded by Gruggles and lost in the fray. Ariena’s body gradually became tattered and soaked in red.

“I’ll finish it.”

Aiming for that opening his allies made, Turka drew new. His arms moved like lightning and grabbed Ariena’s neck. No, since his hand was the size of a pot lid, it would be more appropriate to say that he held her entire head. Ariena lost strength and drooped. She was already unconscious in Turka’s grasp.

“Turka, stop.”

Before her head could pop, Ko Byeong-gap stopped Turka.

“What? Oh, I see.”

Turka opened his hand, letting Ariena fall like a wet towel. Her eyes had turned upside down, and her breathing was weak. If it weren’t for her SS-class body, she would’ve died immediately. Ko Byeong-gap looked down at her.

“Dorma, can you neutralize this woman without killing her?”

“Hmm, I’ll give it a try.”

Dorma approached Ariena and exuded dark energy. The black energy rushed into Ariena’s mouth.

“Gr! Grr!”

Ariena groaned in pain while her arms and legs trembled. The ritual ended shortly, and Dorma stood up.

“I tied up her mind. I thought it wouldn’t be possible because this woman’s mental strength exceeds the average, but I think it worked because her mind and body were weakened.”

“Really? There’s no possibility of her running away, right?”

“Yeah, until I cast my spell again, she’ll be like a living corpse.”

“Okay, well done.”

“Kahak! Kahak!”

“Kieeek!”

The moment Dorma tied Ariena’s mind; the remaining monsters began to flee. The anger in their eyes disappeared, and only fear remained.

Ko Byeong-gap ordered the Gruggles.

‘Chase them and kill them.’

“Haaahhh!”

The Gruggles followed quickly, slaughtering half of those running.

“Everyone worked hard. Let’s head back to Ashvilam.”

“Yep! Lord, thank you for your hard work.”

“Lord! Lord! Why didn’t you kill this woman?”

“I’m going to kill her.”

“What?”

“But before we kill her, we have to extract information.”

“Aha!”

Ko Byeong-gap crossed over to Ashvilam with Ariena slung across his shoulder.