Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race-Chapter 138 - Goblin Tide, Rising Leader

POV Rygar Adoldia

After we said our goodbyes and with all the preparations for our small expedition made, I went to Ezkalor and told him to follow me. And then we set off.

Eris, Aisha, and Nina were excited at the idea of killing a Red Dragon.

Isolte tried to maintain a composed and calm demeanor, but of course, she was having fun as well.

Jino seemed a bit apprehensive at first, but gradually he realized there was no real threat and began to relax. He was generally a quiet boy.

We had a route mapped out that would allow us to return in two months, if nothing went wrong. The members of the Iron Legion residing in the Sword Sanctuary Region had done extensive research of the area.

There were many monsters in the north of the Central Continent, but most of them were beyond the Magical Triumvirate, which would make the journey unnecessarily long.

Therefore, we decided to look for monsters closer by.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there had been a recent wave of monsters in a nearby region and the Iron Legion had sent me the information. We then set off toward that place as our first target.

As soon as we arrived at the local adventurers' guild, we gathered information about a horde of goblins and hobgoblins.

There were several extermination quests listed. Probably, as soon as an S-ranked group took on the mission to eliminate the elite warriors of the horde, the wave would be controlled.

But before that happened, we decided to go there. Before continuing our search, I announced to the group that I wouldn't be joining the fight, but merely observing them.

Since I wanted to see each of their progress, I decided to just watch.

They did very well. They started with the common goblins and the assault dogs they rode. They handled the threats more easily than I had expected.

And, to my surprise, Aisha took over the group's leadership. She was constantly giving orders to everyone in the group.

Of course, they were just goblins. Not even the Hobgoblins posed a real threat to the Sword Saints and Water Saints. But in large numbers, no one would be able to resist; that was the true danger of the waves.

Moreover, the horde's leaders could be a real challenge.

And so it was. They cleared the way to the center and engaged in an intense battle against the goblin elite.

Aisha demonstrated her mastery in several schools of offensive magic, mainly using earth, fire, and ice spells to skillfully control the battlefield.

At the same time, she continued coordinating Eris, Jino, and Nina, who acted as the group's spears. The three of them, being Sword Saints, eliminated any opponent they were assigned.

However, with such a large number of enemies, they would eventually be overwhelmed without proper combat leadership.

The goblin king, who had both the ability and the intelligence to gather a force of that magnitude, was no fool. He and his generals quickly realized that Aisha was the heart of the enemy strategy, and sent some of their best to kill her.

But Isolte was there. She acted as Aisha's personal guard, not allowing even an arrow or a dagger to reach the little strategist.

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Thanks to that, Aisha had the free space to continue commanding and using her spells in the most efficient way possible.

Meanwhile, I watched from a distance, ready to intervene if something went wrong. I observed each of them individually.

Aisha had really surprised me by taking control after I said I wouldn't help in the fight.

At first, I was only planning not to fight directly, but I still intended to command them in battle, since I didn't think any of them would be capable of that.

But at that very moment, Aisha really began to inquire about their abilities, strengths, and made her own capabilities as an exceptional mage clear.

After impressing them, she discreetly steered the conversation to make it seem as if she were the only leader to be considered, as if the others weren't even options... until it actually happened!

That surprised me and, at the same time, made me very proud.

Shortly after, she decided on the appropriate battle formations and established patrols to camp midway.

In combat, she observed the battlefield, quickly grasped each one's capabilities, and used them effectively to clear a path through the hundreds of goblins.

Nina, Jino, and Eris just followed the flow of command, but Isolte became even more interested in Aisha. She and Isolte seemed to be getting along.

Since Aisha met her at the Sword Sanctuary, Isolte had warmed up to her and they became friends. Aisha was also preferring to train in the Water God Style, so they became close.

It helped that Isolte was one of Eris's rivals, for whom Aisha was almost like a sister.

Isolte was a calm and composed girl, and she was evolving very quickly upon finding suitable training partners after so long.

At first, she seemed to be romantically interested in me, but after finding out that I was already married to Ghislaine, she gave up—after all, she was a follower of Milis.

Jino Britz, after his initial apprehension, seemed to be really enjoying the experience of adventuring, trying new foods, fighting monsters, and defeating them with his friends.

I could see at the Sanctuary that he had only followed the group because everyone told him to come, but he now seemed to enjoy traveling.

I talked a lot with Nina and Jino and told them many stories when we were still there, so he might have felt some curiosity about the outside, even if only a little.

Nina and Eris were constantly competing. In fact, the more Nina got to know Eris, the more confused she became about the girl.

She considered herself a calmer, smarter, and sharper person than Eris, and therefore, couldn't understand how on earth Eris could know so many things and still be stronger than her.

The strength gap was not as large anymore, but it still existed. Even so, Eris ended up becoming Nina's great friend and rival since we arrived at the Sanctuary.

I wasn't sure how Nina saw me... but I believe she viewed me positively.

Eris was as fierce as ever. But now, she was beginning to behave more and more like a warrior.

In recent years, either putting aside her tantrums, focusing on her training, or stopping her constant yelling... all of that indicated that she was becoming a woman.

Although, when you talked with her, you would still notice a vibrant and intense young lady like a hurricane.

She could be said to be the most lively of the whole group—she was buzzing all the time.

Eris had always wanted to be an adventurer, and she made that dream come true when she was traveling with our old group.

But in that group, everyone was more or less equal in strength, and to her that seemed more exciting.

Furthermore, she was absolutely eager to kill a Red Dragon. She said that killing a normal dragon was the first step to being able to kill the Dragon God.

She was leading the combat with ferocity, and with her example of following everything Aisha said, there was little resistance from the others.

That probably was also Aisha's strategy... the girl was really impressive.

Anyway, the presence of Eris and Aisha made the group always lively.

And while they went on missions together, ate together, traveled together, and fought side by side, the group became increasingly excited and united.

Of course, this was mainly because they had been training together for over a year.

They were already "close", but depending on each other, trusting each other in battle, outside of the Sword Sanctuary, gave a sense of unity that was hard to replicate...

While I was watching the surroundings, suddenly I heard a guttural scream and immediately recognized it: the long-haired redhead had cut off the head of the Hobgoblin King.

A Rank A threat monster, which was a match for Holy-level warriors and presented a considerable challenge due to its intelligence and physical strength.

Eris and Nina had taken it upon themselves to confront it directly, while Jino, Isolte, and Aisha dealt with the surrounding Hobgoblin generals.

The hordes of goblins and hobgoblins desperately tried to advance to save their king, but it was already too late. When they saw their leader's head being raised by Eris, a scream of panic spread among them.

Order disappeared from the battlefield, and most of the monsters began fleeing in panic. Still, some Hobgoblin generals managed to contain the chaos, rallying some warriors and trying to resist.

It was then that Aisha, with her eyes gleaming with adrenaline and determination, gathered a huge Exodus Flame above her.

"They're just targets without their king! Kill them all!" she shouted, and hurled the colossal fireball at the enemies.

The impact was devastating. The screams of the goblins being consumed by the flames echoed like a chorus of terror.

Without hesitation, Eris, Nina, and Jino surged like an unstoppable wave against the fleeing goblins, mercilessly cutting them down with their Longswords of Light.

Isolte stayed by Aisha's side, in a guard position, alert to any possible threat.

Aisha, with her hands on her hips, had stains on her clothes and some bruises, but she smiled proudly, her chest puffed out, aware of her vital role in the victory.

Just as she had said, the horde was now nothing more than a unruly group of monsters.

I turned to Ezakalor and calmly ordered: "Go hunt some of them."

The enormous red dragon responded with a guttural roar and raced toward the fleeing goblins, shredding them with its claws, swallowing them, and burning everything around with its blazing flames.

When the group gathered again, they were visibly exhausted, but enthusiastically discussing the battle. I almost offered help to heal them, but Aisha was quicker, initiating the healing with precision.

Everyone had suffered injuries, but none of them were serious. Aisha used only intermediate spells, intelligently saving mana—she had precisely calculated how much she could spend during the battle, always choosing the most useful and efficient option.

While they talked and laughed, I approached and said with a smile: "My congratulations."

Everyone turned to me, attentive.

I continued: "I really didn't expect not to have to do anything... Nina, Eris, and Jino, you were like a death trio storming the battlefield. And you, Isolte, were like a wall protecting Aisha."

I looked at the little mage and patted her hair. "And you were even more impressive, Aisha! Leading them all like that! I'm really proud!"

Aisha beamed brightly, visibly radiant with the compliment. "It's all thanks to the master's teachings!"

I thought to myself: 'Alright, I taught you that... but who would have thought you'd learn so quickly?'

At that moment, Nina and Eris were whispering, until Nina gave Eris a slight shove. The redhead's face turned red.

She approached me and said hesitantly: "R-Rygar! I-I also did a good job, ri-right?"

I looked at her a bit confused, trying to understand the question. "Yes? You did."

Eris blushed even more, diverting her gaze. Behind her, Aisha signaled to me, running her hand through her hair. Oh... could it be...?

I took a deep breath and said hesitantly: "G-good job, Eris!"

I patted her head just as I did with Aisha and as I used to do with her before. She seemed to freeze for a second, then broke into a huge smile.

Immediately, Nina and Aisha began teasing her with giggles, and Isolte, with a contained smile, joined the fun as well.

Jino and I exchanged glances, feeling out of place in the midst of the scene. I leaned toward him and whispered:

"Hey, Jino... we're the only men here. We can't leave each other behind!"

Jino didn't seem to fully understand, but he nodded seriously, as if it were a vital mission. I silently laughed at the scene.

After that, we returned to the adventurers' guild.

The fight had spread like wildfire, and many adventurers, including those nearby, already knew what had happened.

City residents formed a line to thank us for eliminating the threat of the monster horde.

I didn't care much for the attention, but Eris, Nina, and Jino seemed visibly embarrassed. Isolte maintained her noble and calm posture.

Aisha, on the other hand, waved, smiled, and greeted everyone energetically, while loudly repeating that the mission had been completed by the Iron Legion.

'Was she born for the spotlight?' I thought. Perhaps. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The rest of the group found the reception pleasant. After that, we continued on our route.

We didn't face any other mission as dramatic, just exterminated some monsters and bandits along the way.

Gradually, we were getting closer to our destination, which was the Upper Jaw of the Red Dragon... and with that, I could begin to plot my plans more precisely.

In general, the plan was as follows: use my red dragon, Ezakalor, to infiltrate and... steal Red Dragon eggs!

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