Chapter Five: The Path of Vengeance

The goblin chieftain was not a mage and thus had weak senses, failing to notice the disturbance in space. Chu Yun swiftly chanted a short incantation and pointed into the void.

“Arcane Blast!”

A brilliant, intense beam of energy shot from Chu Yun’s fingertip, striking the mirrored surface. The energy ray pierced through the portal to the mirrored world that Chu Yun had opened, emerging from the mirror in the real world and hitting the goblin chieftain’s head with unerring precision.

A thunderous explosion ensued.

-25!

The goblin chieftain’s head burst apart, surprising Chu Yun. He had forgotten one thing: beings in the real world were quite different from their mirrored counterparts. Mirror entities were unique lifeforms without vital spots, but creatures in the real world, when struck unguarded at a vital point, suffered multiplied damage.

Chu Yun glanced again at the attributes of Arcane Blast.

[Arcane Blast]
Tier: 0th-level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 9 meters
Components: Incantation, gesture
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Fires a beam of intense energy at a target, dealing 1–10 points of spell damage.
Description: At higher levels, you can create more beams: 2 at 5th level, 3 at 11th, 4 at 17th.

With a base attack of 1–10, even with Chu Yun’s own attribute bonuses, he couldn’t outright kill the enemy unless he struck a vital spot, which at least doubled or further increased the damage.

After the Arcane Blast blew apart the goblin chieftain’s head, a large group of goblins rushed toward the damaged tent. The human woman had been knocked unconscious by the explosion’s shockwave, but her mirrored form showed she was not seriously injured.

Chu Yun continued to wait inside the mirror, adjusting his angle of attack to target the tent’s entrance, carefully avoiding the woman sprawled on the ground.

As the goblin patrol squad hurried to the tent entrance, a torrent of flames surged from the hanging bronze mirror, engulfing the goblin guards outside the door. Screams echoed as the squad of ten patrol goblins and the tent itself were set ablaze.

Taking advantage of the cover provided by the flames, Chu Yun emerged from the bronze mirror, dragging the woman out from behind the tent to prevent her from being burned alive.

The goblin camp was crowded, numbering sixty in all, but only about twenty were warriors. Now, only ten remained. The rest were logistical workers, with less than half the fighting capacity of goblin warriors.

More importantly, goblins as a race were notorious for bullying the weak and fearing the strong. When they saw their chieftain and his guards easily defeated by a human, few dared muster the courage to attack Chu Yun.

The bravest among them was Captain Gebuta. He recognized Chu Yun—the mage who had been nearly boiled alive and whom he had brought to the camp. It was Chu Yun who had killed the chieftain, and Gebuta felt responsible.

“Urah!!”

Watching Gebuta rush at him, Chu Yun nodded slightly. This goblin was a true warrior, with the potential to become a chieftain one day. Unfortunately, today he faced Chu Yun.

“Arcane Blast!”

The arcane energy surged from Chu Yun’s fingertip, striking Gebuta head-on before he could dodge. Even clad in leather armor and without a vital hit, an ordinary goblin could not withstand Chu Yun’s magic.

Mages in this world commanded great intimidation—even though others knew that a mage could run out of mental energy and lose their ability to cast spells, none dared remain.

The goblin camp’s rabble began to scatter; as long as they survived, they could rebuild. With their high reproductive rate, it wouldn’t be long before they rose again.

Most goblins fled the camp, while some ran toward the breeding tents, apparently intent on taking their women or offspring with them.

Another Arcane Blast struck a goblin near the tent, finally driving them off.

Repeated spellcasting had taken a toll; Chu Yun had only six points of mental energy left. He’d hoped to kill a few more goblins but felt exhaustion creeping in. To avoid risks, he refrained from further casting—if his mental energy dropped to zero, he’d become extremely fatigued and could fall asleep at any moment. Overdrafting into negative values would harm him, requiring considerable time to heal, and in severe cases could cause permanent reductions in his maximum energy.

Meanwhile, the fire in the camp began spreading across the dry grass, perhaps another reason for the goblins’ hasty retreat.

Chu Yun hurriedly brought the unconscious woman to the breeding tent. As he pulled the flap open, a nauseating stench hit him.

Inside, ten human women were imprisoned—the oldest about forty, the youngest perhaps just twelve or thirteen. Most had already suffered abuse at the hands of the goblins; only one, likely captured today, still appeared unharmed. Goblin breeding rights were usually reserved for the chieftain; the rest only played with the women after conception.

Two women had been captured today: the one knocked unconscious by the explosion, and the girl before him.

The girl’s appearance was odd; she had a pair of fox ears atop her head and a bushy tail behind, wagging in agitation. Perhaps due to her race, she hadn’t been the chieftain’s first choice, and her clothes remained intact.

“Sir, are you here to rescue us?” The young fox woman’s eyes brimmed with pleading.

Chu Yun nodded, cutting the ropes binding her with a short dagger and said, “The goblins have been defeated, and the fire is spreading outside. Take everyone and leave.”

“Th-thank you, sir!” The fox girl nodded hurriedly, then helped Chu Yun untie the remaining women.

Yet, even after regaining their freedom, several remained blank-eyed and numb, making no move to leave. Chu Yun studied them; most had swollen bellies.

“As long as you’re alive, there is still hope. Everything can get better.” Chu Yun sighed.

Coming from a peaceful world, Chu Yun felt deep sympathy for their misfortunes—he himself had nearly been killed.

Chu Yun had done all he could; he’d given them a choice. What they chose was now their own right.

The eldest rescued woman shook her head, explaining, “I know a bit about their situation. Their families and children were all murdered by these damned goblins. The beasts even forced them to eat their loved ones’ flesh...”

Chu Yun had once believed the goblins acted out of survival instincts for their race, and while their deeds were abhorrent, he could somewhat understand. But hearing the woman’s account, he felt utter revulsion toward the species.

“Sir, the fire is about to reach us. What should we do?” The fox girl asked anxiously.

“Let’s go. Respect their choice.” Chu Yun led the willing captives out of the tent.

Before leaving, he turned back to the remaining women: “In truth, goblin fighting prowess is nothing compared to humans. If you wish to die, why not first kill a few goblins for revenge? At least you’ll have avenged your families.”

At his words, a faint light flickered in the eyes of the three women who stayed behind. Still, they did not leave; instead, they picked up knives fallen in the tent and plunged them into their own swollen bellies.

“……”