The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 10: New Adventurer Bern (8). Plans and Reality Are Different

Bern surveyed his surroundings.

The goblin horde numbered around eighty.

Most of them were clad in crude armor stitched together from animal hides. About one in ten, however, wore fitted armor, as if custom-made.

Their weapons were mostly wood or stone rather than metal, but even those gleamed suspiciously—likely coated in poison.

With this level of strength, they could easily overrun a village, and perhaps even a small territory.

Under normal circumstances, a lone swordsman carrying a mage on his back wouldn't even be able to engage in a fight against such numbers.

“Be at ease. It would be simple to sever your heads right this moment, but I intend to grant you one final chance.”

The Goblin Lord spoke as if the battle had already been decided.

Or rather, he only appeared to be that confident.

...He’s stalling. He’s waiting for the hunting party to return.

Though the Goblin Lord seemed careless, standing there with his guard down, Bern noticed otherwise.

He was poised to move at any moment. His body remained tense, muscles primed for action.

Ordinarily, this force would be more than enough. But if something unexpected were to happen, he wanted to increase his odds of victory as much as possible.

That kind of calculation, that kind of tactical instinct—this Goblin Lord had naturally acquired and executed it.

It was a good thing we found him early.

Bern acknowledged that this goblin was special.

If he had to describe it, this was a hero among goblins.

Not only did he possess intelligence and physical prowess, but he also had caution, boldness, and ambition.

Had he been given more time—had this horde successfully seized control of a fief—

Had they learned proper metallurgy, military tactics, and, most importantly, the application of mana from the humans—

They would have become a disaster waiting to unfold.

“Surrender, humans.”

Now that Bern understood his enemy’s intent, there was no need to play along with the stalling tactic.

Even so, he chose to entertain the conversation.

Originally, he had planned to finish this quickly.

But upon assessing the cavern’s size, the fact that there was only one entrance, and the enemy’s positioning—

He realized there was a way to wipe them all out without having to chase them down one by one.

“Don’t forget the signal.”

He whispered softly, just loud enough for Blanca to hear.

Then, he spoke to the Goblin Lord.

“Surrender, you say? You expect us to become your prey without a fight?”

“We only prey upon the weak and useless. That applies to both goblins and humans alike.”

“And we are neither?”

“Did you not prove your worth by wreaking havoc upon my territory?”

“Then that seems like all the more reason for you to kill us.”

“Killing you will not bring my fallen warriors back. But if you join me, my forces will grow even stronger.”

“It’s a convincing argument, but I don’t particularly like the idea of living as a slave in a cave.”

“I may reside here now, but that will soon change. And I would not treat you like mere slaves.”

“Hm.”

Bern let out a thoughtful hum.

To an outsider, he looked like he was actually considering the Goblin Lord’s offer.

Even Blanca, clinging to his back, nearly doubted him for a moment.

Had he not whispered to her beforehand, she might have already bolted.

Sensing a real opportunity to recruit Bern, the Goblin Lord’s golden eyes gleamed.

“Think carefully, human. It has taken me less than half a year to build this force.”

“Oh?”

Bern’s reaction translated to ‘So the lord of this land has been letting this happen for half a year?’

But the Goblin Lord mistook it for genuine admiration and continued, lifting his chin proudly.

“Now imagine what my power will be like in one year, three years, or ten. Imagine the wealth, power, and honor you could obtain by my side.”

“Hmmm. That is quite tempting.”

“If you refuse, only death awaits you. But if you accept, there is glory. What is there to hesitate about?”

It was then that the commotion behind Bern grew louder.

—Grrik!

—Grrruk!

The sound of creatures swarming in numbers.

The goblins who had been out hunting had returned, having learned that their base was under attack.

Though their armor was cruder than those of the Goblin Lord’s personal guards, they outnumbered them.

And every single one of them radiated killing intent, their rage palpable.

It seemed they had been forced to push through the Green Hunter Incense at the entrance, which had made for an extremely unpleasant experience.

As they poured into the cavern, Bern found himself being pushed further inward, deeper into the goblin horde.

He was now completely surrounded.

“Tsk, tsk. Hesitation has led to your downfall. Had you sworn loyalty sooner, you would have been treated well as a faithful vassal.”

The Goblin Lord sighed in mock pity, though his voice carried an undercurrent of mockery.

Bern asked,

“You were planning to buy time from the start, weren’t you?”

“Who knows? Is that really relevant right now?”

“If I pledged my loyalty even now, would you accept it?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“I would. But your position would be lower than before. So? This is your final chance.”

As if in response to the Goblin Lord’s words, over a hundred goblins leveled their weapons at Bern.

He felt Blanca gripping his clothes tightly from behind.

Bern answered.

Not with words—

But with action.

Whoosh!

The volleyball-sized cotton ball in Bern’s right hand, despite its soft appearance, cut through the air with a vicious sound.

It flew straight at the Goblin Lord.

The Goblin Lord instinctively felt a sense of danger and quickly rolled to the side.

It was the correct decision.

The very moment the cotton ball made contact with the chair he had been sitting on—

It collapsed into splinters.

As if it had been struck by a massive iron ball.

The Goblin Lord tumbled to the ground, shouting,

“Kill them!!”

—GRYYYAAAH!!

The goblin soldiers lunged at Bern all at once.

Blanca, who had been silent until now, finally reached her limit and shouted,

“What are we supposed to do now!?”

“This!”

Bern’s body shot forward.

The path ahead was completely blocked by goblins wielding weapons, but Bern didn’t care.

Taah!

—Grrk!?!

Bern leaped into the air, planting his foot directly onto a goblin’s face. The unfortunate creature let out a strangled scream as Bern used its head as a stepping stone.

Without hesitation, Bern continued, sprinting across the goblins’ heads, treating them as his foothold.

By now, Blanca had somewhat adapted to traveling on his back, but this was beyond ridiculous.

If he even brushed against one of the goblins’ weapons, his legs and feet would be sliced open.

And even if he avoided that, losing balance for even a second meant being swallowed by the enemy ranks.

Yet Bern moved with unwavering confidence, without the slightest hesitation.

Then, at last, his foot landed somewhere that wasn’t a goblin’s head.

Blanca’s vision tilted sharply.

It was only natural.

Because Bern’s next step had landed on the wall of the massive cavern they were in.

Since this cavern had been chosen as the Goblin Lord’s ‘throne room,’ it wasn’t just wide—it was also incredibly tall.

Bern ran diagonally up the rugged, uneven wall, rapidly gaining height.

And then, he shouted,

“The center! Fire! Use maximum output!”

“Are you insane?!”

“An adventurer should be able to do at least this much!”

There’s no adventurer who does this!!

Blanca wanted to scream that at him.

But even as she thought that, her hand was already outstretched toward the ground below.

Almost all of the mana left in her body drained out at once, condensing into a massive wave of heat.

Ironically, the frantic spell-casting she had done earlier had paid off—her aim was now steady.

『Magic to Burn Stone.』

Fwoooosh!

A wave of searing heat erupted from above.

The Goblin Lord’s golden eyes widened in shock.

However, he was no ordinary goblin.

‘A fire that size...! It won’t be enough to wipe us out!’

Perhaps ten goblins, or dozens at most, might die due to the clustered formation—

But the bulk of his forces would survive.

He clenched his teeth, vowing to kill them once the flames died down.

He grabbed two nearby goblins, using them as shields to cover his body.

His calculation was correct.

If not for the cotton ball soaked with an entire barrel of oil sitting on his throne.

No matter how great his intelligence and talent—he was still a goblin who had only experienced a small world.

Blanca’s flames touched the throne, igniting the cotton ball’s surface.

The compressed oil burst forth, meeting the fire.

And then—

BOOOOOM!!

Light. Heat. Shockwaves.

Even at their high vantage point, near the cavern’s ceiling, Bern and Blanca felt the sheer force of the explosion.

Blanca barely managed to keep her eyes open, and when she did, she gasped at the scene below.

The disciplined, well-equipped, highly organized green army—

Was gone.

The goblins closest to the blast had been incinerated on the spot.

Those farther away were still burning alive, writhing in silent agony.

And among the survivors—

The Goblin Lord remained.

“Kh... Ghrk... GYAAAARGH!!”

His natural physical strength, combined with the shields he had used, had allowed him to survive—making him the least affected among those caught in the blast.

But that only meant his suffering lasted longer.

The flames, fed by the oil, clung to his body, refusing to die out.

The Goblin Lord crawled on the ground like an insect, his charred skin peeling away as he dragged himself forward.

He couldn’t understand.

Or rather, he didn’t want to understand.

He had been born for greatness.

He was meant to elevate goblins beyond their limits.

And yet—he was dying here, like this?

So meaningless.

So pointless.

As Bern approached with an indifferent expression, the Goblin Lord spat out his final, hate-filled words.

“Don’t... get... cocky...! If I had just a little—just a little more time—then you—!!”

Bern frowned slightly.

Then, as if genuinely puzzled, he replied,

“...Weren’t you the one who wasted that time?”

“...What?”

“If you needed time, you should have been careful not to be discovered. If you had expanded your forces gradually instead of rushing, no one would have noticed for much longer.”

Bern delivered his verdict calmly—but mercilessly.

“You didn’t lose because of bad luck. You lost because of your own incompetence.”

The Goblin Lord’s face twitched.

Then—without hesitation—

Bern swung his sword.

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With a swift, clean motion, the Goblin Lord’s head fell.

Bern picked it up.

Then, he turned to Blanca and said,

“For a first request, this went rather well.”

Blanca simply stared at him.

The way a cat might stare at the vastness of the universe.