Two hours after the battle, the recruits had regained their formation. The magic beast cores were collected, and the corpses were burned to prevent the spread of disease or anything worse. When Chadwick and his men returned, they informed Arthur that they had located the goblin nest. Naturally, Arthur decided to exterminate it to eliminate any potential threat to the town. If left alone, the goblins would multiply at an alarming rate.
But before organizing the recruits and preparing for the assault, Arthur gathered everyone together. Before them, he laid out the corpse of the fallen recruit. He lifted the linen covering and spoke in a loud voice that reached everyone's ears:
"This person before you is Brad. I believe most of you know who he is. He shared the same food and bedding with you this past week. He bathed with you, trained with you, became your friend—and more importantly, a soldier who served me alongside you."
Most inhabitants of this world were used to death. It was a part of their daily lives. Each day they lost someone—due to illness, grave injuries, or sometimes, monsters.
Even so, death still had an impact. Their hearts tightened, and they felt a measure of sorrow for their fallen companion.
After a brief moment of silence, Arthur continued, "But that's over now. Brad will no longer share your meals, nor will he train with you. He died in vain—because of his weakness. And yet, he stands as a valuable example to follow.
If you hesitate or forget your training, your fate will be the same: death. Nevertheless, Brad pledged his loyalty to me. And I treat my followers well—both in life and in death."
Arthur bowed, clasped Brad's hands over his chest, and said quietly, "Preserve his body. We'll return it to the village and bury him properly. Chadwick, once we're back, give Brad's family one gold coin and fifty silver coins in honor of his service."
When the recruits heard the amount of money Brad's family would receive, they gasped audibly. Even Chadwick and the veteran soldiers were astonished. A single gold coin was enough to keep his family comfortable for a long time.
"And also," Arthur added, "grant his family the right to enter the castle should anything bad happen."
The recruits were even more shocked by Arthur's generosity. The castle could house around a thousand people at most, so those allowed in during crises were extremely limited—usually only the families of soldiers and important individuals.
Arthur noticed the disbelief in everyone's eyes and scoffed at them. "I see you're surprised by my decisions. But know this: anyone who dies serving me—his family will receive the same compensation. Your lives matter and should be rewarded accordingly."
Everyone drew heavy breaths. A sharp gleam lit their eyes as they steeled their resolve to give everything they had for Arthur. Most of them carried the burden of their family's future. When they realized that even in death they could still serve the ones they loved, all hesitation disappeared—and their loyalty to Arthur deepened without them even noticing.
Otieno was the first to react. He raised his sword high and cried, "Long live Arvan, our glorious lord—kind to his people, ruthless to his enemies!"
One after another, the others followed suit—raising their hands, even Octavia, Faelor, and the veteran soldiers.
"Long live Arvan!"
"Long live Arvan!"
"Long live Arvan!"
Arthur raised his hand proudly and silenced them before saying, "Prepare yourselves. We will wipe out the remaining goblins."
"Listen well. Chadwick, take twenty men with you and block the entrance to the goblin nest. Alvin and Brock, each of you take fifteen soldiers and search for any additional exits. Listen closely—do not enter the nest under any circumstances. Wait for my orders."
Alvin, Brock, and Brent were the three soldiers Chadwick had recommended to serve as trainers for the new recruits due to their vast experience and solid character. Their abilities were quite low—they'd been stuck at Rank E for a long time—but Arthur didn't care about their current strength.
All he needed were trustworthy people who wouldn't stab him in the back at the first opportunity. As he expected, he earned the loyalty of all three in a short span of time. They became part of his retinue and official guards. Thanks to them, he was able to expel all of the Baronet's former lackeys under the excuse that he no longer needed them.
Arthur's small army set out toward the goblin nest. Naturally, he left the injured behind, along with Octavia and Faelor, so they wouldn't be a hindrance if things went south.
While marching through the forest, they were pelted with stones by goblins hiding in the trees, which slowed their pace. However, no one was seriously injured—they'd anticipated this. None of the recruits knew how to use a bow, so they had a tough time bringing the goblins down.
The goblins were smart enough to understand the value of ranged combat, but not smart enough to craft bows or arrows, so they resorted to throwing rocks.
After traveling a mile and a half, they reached a large pit that led to an underground tunnel. Without rushing, Arthur waited for updates from the other teams. As the novel described, two additional entrances to the goblin nest were found.
With utter calm, Arthur raised his hand and ordered, "Gather all the dry shrubs and pile them at the entrance. Notify the other teams to do the same."
Under Chadwick's lead, all the recruits began gathering dry shrubs and filled the entrance with them. Once done, Arthur gave the order to ignite them. Due to their primitive methods and the lack of any mages in the group, lighting the fire took some time.
'I need to make matches. This is inefficient,' Arthur thought, watching the flames consume the dense shrubbery. Thick smoke began pouring into the cave. Arthur smiled.
"Let's see how the goblins handle this."
It would've been foolish to enter the goblin nest and fight them on their own turf. Even the protagonist Novarian nearly died for making that mistake and had to flee. During his escape, he stumbled upon the magical artifact Arthur now sought.
The smoke continued to spread through the cave, seeping in through every entrance and choking the goblins within. Unable to breathe, they abandoned their posts and ran outside like madmen. As they neared the exits, many collapsed from lack of oxygen. Even the stronger goblins who managed to keep running were horrified to find raging flames blocking their escape.
Despair set in. Some ran straight into the fire. Though their bodies and feet burned, they managed to make it out—only to be met by spears that pierced them swiftly and mercilessly.
Arthur smirked mockingly. 'This is as easy as taking candy from a baby.'
The suffocating goblins continued to pour out of the flames one after another, only to be effortlessly slain by the recruits. After another hour, no trace of the goblins remained. The fire at the entrance died down, leaving only a suffocating haze of smoke.