The monster, which looked more like an oni, stared at me, its red pupils fixed on me against a black sclera. Maybe my last comment had offended it.

Hobgoblins were an evolution of Goblins. After fighting, reproducing, and even devouring other monsters, Goblins would evolve into Hobgoblins. The problem was that Goblins were weak and extremely competitive, so it was rare for them to reach such a stage. It seemed that, by a twist of fate, I was standing face to face with a monster at that evolutionary stage.

But regardless of whether the Goddess of Fortune looked at me with a smile or a grimace, I wouldn’t back down. Not before, and not now, with him holding Diane by the neck.

[

Monster: Hobgoblin

Level: 25

Health: 300 points

Mana: 100 points

Strength: 40 points

Defense: 30 points

Magic: 30 points

Agility: 20 points

]

As I faced this Hobgoblin face to face, his stats appeared before me. He was a bit stronger than me in some aspects, but not by a large margin. But numbers aside, my will to defeat this monster was ignited by the sight of the girl he was gripping by the neck.

"Rick..." still being choked by the monster’s hands, Diane called my name in a frail voice. Her beautiful white hair was disheveled, and blood was coming from her mouth. Diane, who was a proud woman, now seemed weak and exhausted from the fight.

Seeing the girl under my protection like this made my heart pound faster, directing my fury toward the monster who attacked her.

In the blink of an eye, I grabbed the monster’s wrist and broke it with a strong grip, forcing him to release Diane. Then I sent him flying with a furious punch to his solar plexus. The small, rudimentary houses made by the Goblins behind him were destroyed as his body crashed through them. The Hobgoblin only stopped when his body slammed against the wall that separated the depression at the edge of the village.

That definitely wasn’t enough to defeat him, but I avoided charging straight into the fight. I went over to Diane, who was lying on the ground. Fortunately, she was still breathing.

"Master," Camula, who had approached me, said, "forgive me. If I had been more cautious, Diane wouldn’t have..."

"No, Camula," I corrected her. "It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off you."

I brushed aside the beautiful white hair of the girl in my arms and placed my hand on her chest.

"Heal." I cast my skill, a gentle green aura softly glowing around her body.

Her eyes trembled slightly before revealing her amethyst-colored pupils to me.

"That’s good. It seems you’ll be fine," I said, happy to see that Diane was conscious again.

"Huh? Where is the monster?" she asked.

"Ah, that. I still have to face him. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I beat the crap out of him for touching my women." I caressed the face of my Assassin, wiping away where the dirt from the ground had stained it, "So you can rest for now."

"No, I will..."

"You’re not going anywhere. You’re a Valkyrie and I’m your Tamer. Be an obedient girl and do what I say, understood?"

Diane closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed in a reluctant expression. Just how stubborn could she be, even after a defeat like that?

Finally, she sighed and said to me, "All right, I understand."

"Good." I turned to the demon girl who was near us. "Camula, take Diane somewhere safe."

"Understood." Camula still seemed to feel guilty about Diane being in that state, but she did as I said. She placed Diane’s arm around the back of her neck and helped her move.

When my Valkyries could no longer be seen, I heard a noise in the distance, right in the direction where I had thrown the Hobgoblin, and soon after, a loud crash just a few meters away from me.

A cloud of dust rose right where the ground had split open in front of me, but I didn’t move an inch. One wrong move—even a single blink—could mean my defeat.

"Finally alone," I said to my enemy. "Now that they’re gone, I can fight you with all my might."

The red Goblin snorted in disdain. "You talk big for a hairless monkey."

"I talk as big as my power allows me to," I said as I drew my sword from its sheath. "If I were you, I’d get ready, because this hairless monkey is the one who will defeat you."

"Hahahaha!" He laughed at me. "As if. As soon as I defeat you, I’ll devour your flesh and indulge in the women here. Including the ones you brought—"

The Hobgoblin cut off his own sentence when my punch struck him right in the face. Unfortunately, I couldn’t send him flying this time. The monster was already more prepared for my blows. The claws on his feet tore into the ground, and the friction reduced his speed.

His nose had a shape closer to that of a human, unlike normal Goblins, but after that direct punch, it was slightly crooked to the side, with a purple liquid running from his nostrils. The injury must have bothered him, because he grabbed it and twisted it back into place. I could hear the sharp sound of his nose being set.

"You’re pretty strong for a hairless monkey, but you won’t be able to defeat me," the Hobgoblin said, brandishing his club.

It was the first time I had really paid attention to my opponent’s weapon. At first glance, it looked like a club made of dark stone, but on closer inspection, its texture seemed to be wood. It was something really strange, but it still looked like a very heavy weapon.

I took my stance, preparing myself for his attack, and he did the same. We stared at each other, waiting for an opening to strike at the slightest sign of weakness. I couldn’t underestimate that Hobgoblin. He had good combat instincts, and he understood that he was fighting an opponent close to his level.

I don’t know which of us moved first, because at the very first sign of movement, the other reacted just as fast and launched an attack.

With my sword, I tried to strike the Hobgoblin’s chest, but he anticipated my charge and blocked with his club. The impact of our weapons reverberated through my body.

The material of his weapon was indeed strange. It wasn’t metal, didn’t look like metal, yet it was just as hard. No, maybe it was even more durable than a metal sword.

I didn’t know the limit of my blade’s resistance against his weapon, so I thought it would be better to avoid clashing with him head-on. The best approach would be to attack his openings. And that was exactly what I did.

"Holy Light!" I called out, activating the skill I had gained thanks to Alicia.

I wasn’t crazy enough to fight a fair battle against that monster. If he had an advantage because of his weapon, it was only fair that I had an advantage because of my magic.

Now that the light of my Holy Light dazzled his vision, I could launch an attack while his guard was down. I ran toward my enemy, aiming for his vital points.

"WRAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Hobgoblin roared in rage, and then, with a brutal movement, he slammed his club into the ground.

"Huh!" I was caught off guard by the cloud of dust thrown right in front of me.

He had neutralized our clash. If he couldn’t see because of my Holy Light, then I couldn’t see because he had obstructed my vision. It was as if I were fighting a mirror.

"I wouldn’t expect anything less from a Goblin, always using tricks to gain an advantage," I said, trying to provoke him.

I stayed alert to my surroundings, trying to hear where he was coming from. Even if I couldn’t see him, if I could locate him, I could turn the fight in my favor.

"Who are you to say that, magic user!!" he shouted at me, at the same time I felt a pressure coming straight toward me.

I barely avoided being turned into mush by an attack aimed at my head. A few meters away, where I had been just seconds ago, a crater had formed where his club had struck.

"You talk about me using magic, but that weapon of yours is simply unfair," I said, as the cloud of dust slowly began to clear, revealing the monster’s ugly face.

"Ahh, you’re talking about this beauty," he said, a note of admiration in his voice as he spoke about the piece of wood in his hands. "I got it as a reward for helping a certain goddess. This is my greatest treasure, even greater than my females. Even though it’s made from a tree trunk, your human weapons can’t cut it."