I thought I would die beneath that gate!
If not for the rebels' attack from the rear, that band would have slaughtered us to the last one.
We stood hidden in the fog, making noise from a safe distance, staying beyond arrow range. One of their commanders finally snapped, and the gates were opened. Maybe two hundred goblins, accompanied by wolves and several orcs, rushed straight at us. I activated [Berserker's Fury], yet still ended up impaled with spears and arrows — my second head severed, my main one slashed and torn!
I thought I would bleed out! Never before had I devoured and torn apart so much flesh at once. At one point, I was sure that most of Mago's subordinates had already fallen fighting the oversized orcs. Each of them was at least level [32], and the strongest of them was [36]! If not for the sudden assault by dozens of goblins bearing a strange symbol of a bloody hand painted on their faces, I would have died miserably.
It seemed the vampiress had a plan after all!?
In the thick fog, the enemies didn't even notice arrows striking them in the back, followed by a wall of spears and swords turning them into a bloody pulp!
"Take them! Hit them! Kill!"
Mago howled in a blood-soaked frenzy. He dodged a hobgoblin's spear thrust, smashed its face with his broken spear, then tore its throat out with his bare teeth. My [Roar] turned them into enraged killing machines, fearless even in the face of death!
Combat in such a mass was nothing like anything I'd known from movies or games! Huge waves of bloodied goblins butchered one another without restraint, desperately trying to maintain some form of formation. I heard screams of pain, snapping bones, and the whimpering of dying wolves. The ground was flooded with red; the strong trampled the weak, entrails and severed limbs littered the battlefield.
I broke through with a few others. The enemy began to flee, and still fueled by the remnants of [Berserker's Fury], I chased them alongside the green ones. I caught an orc with thick, dark-green skin and sank my teeth into his face. Wounded, writhing from poisoned arrows, stabbed by goblins and torn apart by my fangs, he died in convulsions, howling until his final breath.
Mago ran after me — he was the only one who had broken through that far besides me. With the single head I had left after the battle at the gate, I saw slaves tearing off their chains. Even children and goblin women threw stones at their oppressors, aiding the rebels however they could.
I thought this must have been what death camps looked like in humanity's darkest eras. Bodies nailed to stakes, corpses hanging from every other building, wooden cages filled with bound goblins and goblin women who hadn't yet been freed. The stench of smoke and death was overwhelming.
Even through the fog, I could see those horrors clearly. I told myself that the beast responsible for this could not escape unpunished.
I regained full control over my body. The effect of Zod's special ability faded. I headed toward the tallest building of the stronghold, from which I sensed a familiar aura — one overwhelmed by an even greater, earth-brown presence.
Suddenly, enormous spikes of that aura surged upward like massive thorns. In a single second, dozens of goblin auras vanished. I had a terrible feeling…
I didn't want to be here, but even though I was a monster and not from this world, I couldn't accept how these creatures had treated the goblins — worse than objects! I wanted to support Valeria in her resolve. I owed those little green ones a debt as well.
Perhaps ten or more rebels, along with Mago, broke through with me into the heart of the battle. I saw dead orcs and hobgoblins everywhere, massive earthen spikes embedded in the ceiling, slaughtering rebels indiscriminately. Corpses lay thick, blood splattered the walls, and the air was filled with the disgusting stench of entrails mixed with blood.
I looked at a gray-skinned orc. Level [61] appeared before my eyes.
I couldn't believe it! How had she defeated him!? How did she get here!? What was that fog!?
I heard curses and threats. I felt like I was about to lose consciousness, but [Bloodlust] gave me strength. I lunged at the nearest hobgoblin and tore flesh from its body. My head spun. Everything hurt.
I saw Valeria raise a strange sword — nothing like her misty, blackened blade. Its aura seemed alive, clashing with Valeria's own, spreading throughout the hall, attacking and weakening everyone around it.
I felt as if I were being burned alive — my vitality, will, and aura draining at a horrifying speed.
I watched as the vampiress finished the horned orc with a thrust straight through the heart. She spat in his face.
I lost my hearing. Blood streamed from my eyes and ears. I staggered, unable to bite. With the last of my strength, I saw the final remnants of the earth-brown aura gather in Hakku's fist. I spat venom at him and roared.
Valeria collapsed unconscious. I charged toward her and tore the orc apart. His aura vanished. The hall filled with a presence the color of molten iron — hungry and overwhelming. A pool of blood spread from Valeria's body. She looked burned, blood streaming down her face.
I made my decision in a single second.
My heart pounded wildly. I felt like I was being roasted alive. I thought I would die here. Memories from this life and my past one flashed before my eyes.
"Live!"
I shouted from the depths of my lungs — and my voice came out!?
I grabbed the cursed sword's hilt with my tail and hurled it into the wall. The monstrous aura vanished. Some goblins, bloodied but alive, survived — only those behind the exit.
Panicked, I realized what had happened.
Level [25].
Passive Skill: [Speech]!?
I had no strength left to think. Goblins flooded inside, and I had no intention of leaving Valeria alone. I could sense only faint remnants of her aura and life force. A single push would have been enough to finish her.
We hadn't accomplished something so incredible just to fall at the very end — slain by those we had come to free.
The world went black. The last thing I saw was Mago shielding us with his body, arguing with a massive hobgoblin marked with a red hand on his face and chest…
I fell into a deep sleep.
I dreamed of those beautiful eyes — golden, amber-crimson, set in a stunning face. She reminded me of a school beauty I remembered more than twenty-five years later. My first and greatest school crush. Someone I could only admire from afar, whose voice I never got to hear.
The dream felt endless. Valeria smiled in it and thanked me, as if she were saying goodbye. I felt a strange sadness, even though I barely knew her.
I truly hate kind women. They are polite, gentle, warm… and then they want nothing to do with you.
I had changed though.
So why did I feel this aching sorrow?
A wolf's howl nearby and faint noises beyond the wall woke me.
I turned my head to the left.
My second head was greedily devouring piles of carcasses!?
The enslaved had every reason to hate their oppressors. Apparently, they decided to combine business with pleasure. Not only would they avoid burying Hakku's servants, they would desecrate their bodies — and help me grow stronger.
I instinctively took a few bites myself. After so long in this world, I barely felt anything when eating monsters or other slightly intelligent beings. In part, I had become a hydra — in thought and in action.
The door outside stood wide open. Many goblins brought herbs, strange foods, and even more carcasses of fallen enemies. When I stepped outside, a thunderous roar erupted — cheers of joy.
Gray-haired elders wept. Figures that looked like walking corpses knelt and bowed deeply. The wounds from ropes and shackles had yet to heal, yet they already served me as if I were their new god.
"O Great Hydra! Thank you for killing Hakku and freeing us from his tyranny!"
What?
It was the vampiress who saved them all.
Why were they thanking me?
Perhaps only the newly arrived goblins had seen me finish the orc before he could cast some spell. No one else had survived the great hall!?
Hundreds of eyes pierced my soul. I knew what kind of people they were — cruel, fickle, capable of turning on me at any moment. This was a horrifying world where the strong did whatever they pleased with the weak.
Zod was right.
I had to play my role.
"On your knees! You stand before Artax — the Great Hydra of the Southern Mountains. I am the emissary of Zod — Lord of Monsters and the last of the Behemoths! I have come to free goblins and hobgoblins from orc rule and to unite this forest!"
Some fainted. Others covered their faces in terror. The name Zod stirred hundreds of auras — each trembling with fear and awe.
I saw familiar faces. All were kneeling. Even little Gege pressed her forehead to the ground, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.
One of them — tall, muscular, with thick hair — stepped forward.
He studied me, clenched his fists, then dropped to one knee and bowed deeply three times.
"O magnificent friend of goblins and hobgoblins. I am Doirak Ironflank. Leader of the rebels, and younger brother of the last chieftain of the Dok tribe — the greatest of all goblin tribes, from which came Domadok Grayhide himself — the greatest goblin to ever live, who fought at Zod's side during the War of Catastrophe countless generations ago!"
Oh damn. So goblins had known Zod well.
I hoped they wouldn't see through my lies and kill me. I couldn't handle them all — and I still didn't know what condition the vampiress was in. I needed time to think. What could I even build with this miserable band?
I lied to survive.
"Thank you for saving our tribe," he continued, a tear rolling down his cheek "Three winters ago, bands of orcs and ogres seized our stronghold. Many hobgoblins betrayed us! Since then, that powerful half-ogre — who lost the leadership duel of the Bloody Axe tribe — enslaved and sold countless goblins. Even more were sent into the Wild Dungeon to die… My brother was thrown to the dungeon boss as fodder!"
A heavy story.
I was lucky Hakku had been a fool — and that among the goblins remained those with enough will to ignite a rebellion at the first opportunity. Without that strange fog Valeria must have summoned, they would have seen our pathetic numbers. Many goblins might not have switched sides.
It would have been a massacre.
"Brave goblin! We came to free your tribe — and all goblin tribes! Ogres will never trample you again. Not while Artax, Chosen of Zod, stands beside you!"
Video games hadn't lied after all. The green folk weren't exactly Einsteins. No one tried to confirm whether I truly had any connection to Zod. They saw Hakku dead — and assumed I was stronger.
I just hoped they wouldn't realize too quickly that I was bluffing nonstop and had never planned to unite goblin tribes at all.
"Take me to the brave Valeria. It was she who cast the magical fog upon the stronghold and brought us victory. The Chosen of Zod wishes to thank her."
Most of them froze. Mago and Godo looked like they wanted to say something — but fell silent. The green crowd quieted, exchanging uneasy glances.
Finally, the rebel leader clenched his teeth and spoke fearfully:
"Great Hydra… that woman is Valeria Nocturne. If you accept her, you will bring upon yourself — and upon us — the wrath of the vampires and the Demon Lord Fug'a Caligo, their most sacred patron. She killed her own father and disgraced her name. Please reconsider, mighty Artax! We beg you!"
Those words terrified me.
Patricide!?
Enemy of demon lord and vampires!?
I couldn't accept it. She didn't seem like that kind of person. She was stupid, arrogant, unhinged, unpredictable, and strange — but not evil.
"Take me to her! I shall judge her by the customs of the First Behemoths. My mentor and greatest friend — Zod — taught them to me!"
The green masses parted. Doirak collapsed to the ground, grinding his teeth, unable to accept my will. Many goblins darkened, as if a dreadful, irreversible sentence had fallen upon their tribes.
They had imprisoned the vampiress in a large earthen chamber — once used as a jail. The air inside was stale and filthy. Green masses followed me. I barely fit; my second head scraped the ceiling, growling loudly.
Before me stood a cell.
Behind wooden bars sat Valeria — bound, weak, her eyes dull, as if stripped of all desire to live. And yet, I was certain that if she wished, she could slaughter everyone here…
Even without a sword.
"You came… Not long ago, I was meant to become the Queen of Vampires… Now they call me a king-slayer… a patricide… Everyone despises me."
She gave a weak, broken laugh. Her voice trembled, though she sat perfectly still.
"Even you, Hydra… think it's true?"
"Valeria Nocturne! In the name of Zod, Lord of Monsters, I shall pass judgment upon you. Let the spirits of the ancient Behemoths decide your fate. You shall be exiled from goblin lands — or become their queen. The trial begins!"
The goblins stared at me in disbelief. But Mago, Godo, and Gege lit up instantly, loudly telling everyone how incredible the vampiress truly was.
She realized my game.
Tilting her head, she chuckled softly and said:
"Speech really is the best skill."
She smiled broadly and stood up.
She was ready for judgment.