I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 460: Omniscience and Omnipotence

Damian was the oldest woman in the tribe.She watched the tribespeople gathered around the bonfire, faces lit with joy as they ate the fragrant roasted meat, and unlike them, worry lined her features.

She kept feeling that the powerful Red Dragon was an ill omen.

A creature so mighty intruding on their peaceful life could bring unspeakable disaster.

But she was too old, and the tribe already considered it an act of kindness to support a woman over sixty. In other monster tribes like theirs, an elderly individual who could no longer provide labor or fighting strength would either be used as food or expelled to fend for themselves.

She knew she could not bring up gloomy talk while others celebrated.

"Throat..."

The firelight flickered over her wrinkled face, dry as dead wood, casting brooding shadows.

She could only clasp her prayer beads, part her darkened lips slightly, and silently begin reciting the Hymn to the Saint.

Both the string of beads in her hand and the Hymn had been passed down from her grandfather, who had been dead for many years.

It was said that his generation had been the main force following the Brave Hero Roland into the monster nation.

To give Roland a chance to penetrate deep into monster territory, countless people opened up a war of unprecedented scale against the monsters.

In the end, the Brave Hero slew the Demon King, countless lives were left on that land, and a small portion of people who were separated from the main army had no choice but to root themselves and survive within monster territory.

The Hymn to the Saint actually praised the Brave Hero Roland.

They hoped this mortal enemy of the monsters could bring spiritual comfort to those among them who merely scraped by to survive.

"Thank the Red Dragon!"

"Thank Nira!"

"Thank the food!"

People circled the dying bonfire, singing and dancing.

The more suppressed the environment, the more people needed to let loose.

This was a tribal custom: whenever they acquired enough food, they'd hold a bonfire celebration.

They savored the hard-won food, dancing and cheering to celebrate surviving another day, and after the festivities, everyone would return home to engage in the more primal pleasures.

Nira sat by the fire; her slightly coarse but distinct-featured face looked even redder under the flames.

Of course, there was no alcohol at a tribe celebration—this flush came from the most ordinary physiological reaction.

Not far away, a bearded man named Matthew took in the sight and suddenly felt that the woman every eligible man in the tribe pursued looked even more radiant and alluring.

The bonfire crackled, embers dancing across faces.

He felt his body growing hot, a fierce emotion welling up like a spring.

Matthew keenly sensed that the woman he secretly loved seemed somewhat distracted during this celebration.

He glanced around, mustered his courage, and stepped forward.

"Nira, could you invite him to dance with us?"

Before he could finish, Nira waved her hand.

"Sorry, Matthew. I want to be alone."

That same refusal she had given countless times.

Matthew’s sudden surge of unease missed a beat.

"Ok... fine, then rest first."

He retreated shyly.

It wasn't that he didn't want to act more assertively, but Nira's status in the tribe set her apart. She was stronger than most men and wielded mysterious power. Her father was Zeke, the tribe chief.

By custom she should have been married off at a suitable age, but by her own will she had not paired up.

Everywhere, the strong have privileges.

Right now, what was on Nira's mind?

The red light reflected in her pupils seemed to gradually transform into a red dragon. In flickering impressions, she felt as if she again caught sight of that radiant figure seated by the dragon.

"Thump! Thump!"

She could hear her heartbeat clearly.

An unprecedented intense feeling filled her chest.

She chewed the roasted meat, and her body felt as if it were slowly melting.

"It's so nice..."

Her complex feelings were not only instinctive attraction to the mysterious man; more than that, they were longing and self-abasement.

That kind of person seemed to live in a world utterly different from theirs, like a lofty being compared to wild dogs on the plains.

The moon-white robe he wore could probably buy their entire tribe’s life if there were such markets left in this world.

But knowing they now shared the same place, the breath she exhaled might even drift to his side...

She felt a guilty, illicit pleasure, as if she were defiling a flawless jade with her filthy hands.

At twenty years old, this was the first time she had felt such a strange emotion.

Saint, please forgive me...

After that brief joy, guilt for her tainted thoughts washed over her, and she quickly closed her eyes and silently recited the Hymn to the Saint that everyone in the tribe memorized.

The celebration soon drew to an end.

The next day, before dawn, while the air still wore a moist haze,

"Rumble!"

A terrifying commotion came from outside the mining valley.

Old woman Damian was the first to wake. She turned toward the direction of the great sound, her pupils narrowing quickly.

She hurriedly shook the sleeping youths on the nearby grass.

"Wake up! Everyone, wake up!"

"Rumble!"

Even as she shook them, the tremors continued.

That glaring shaking felt as if a god had unleashed its anger.

Stones began falling from the mine tunnel walls, crashing at their feet.

"What's happening? What's happening?"

"Is it an earthquake?"

Everyone turned pale with fear.

If such a natural disaster struck, those underground could be buried.

At present, they had no idea what caused the crisis.

One thing was clear: they had to get out quickly or they might never leave.

The whole tribe sprang into action like ants, rousing sleepers, quickly grabbing important clothes, gear, food, and baskets, forming a line toward the nearest exit.

"Father, should we warn the Red Dragon?"

In the panic, Nira still worried about the depths of the cavern.

"Get out first! That giant beast isn't our concern."

Her father barked, and Nira snapped back to attention.

That Red Dragon, the size of a small mountain, was infinitely stronger than ordinary mortals.

If they could escape this crisis, how could they possibly trap such a creature?

As they rushed out, the tremors intensified; more stones rained from above.

Some unlucky souls were struck and bloodied, escorted out by other tribespeople.

For a human tribe, every member was precious.

In this monster-infested domain, their only allies were their tribe. If they abandoned companions willy-nilly, extinction would soon follow.

Fortunately, light soon appeared ahead.

They passed through the exit with their hearts in their mouths and stepped into the wider mine plain.

There they finally saw the source of the disaster.

In the sky, that familiar yet strange crimson dragon circled, spewing magma-like attacks. Its enemies were countless monsters pouring in like water into low ground.

Now and then, the crimson dragon beat its wings and launched a massive fireball tinged with destruction; a single blast could annihilate many monsters.

These relentless assaults were what caused the tremors inside their mine.

Nira turned and searched for a certain pure white figure, but to her disappointment she couldn’t find him.

Everywhere she looked—on the desolate land, on the dragon's back or claws—there was no sign of that person.

Could he still be deep inside the cavern?

Eliminating other possibilities left only that answer.

"Father, where are we headed now?"

Of course, now was not the time to ponder that.

No matter how her heart fluttered, in the face of life-or-death crisis for the tribe it was trivial.

The swarm of incoming monsters could easily crush this human tribe.

The tunnel that sheltered them had collapsed.

The only small relief was that, for some unknown reason, all the monsters surged toward the Red Dragon’s location, seemingly ignoring the ants that were the tribe.

Their battle with the dragon was some distance away, so they still had a chance to flee in the chaos.

"Move that way."

Zeke, the chief, pointed toward the direction with fewer monsters.

Though the tribe only numbered about a hundred people, many had mastered transcendent power.

Along with other capable fighters, if luck held, they could break out before everything turned worse.

As Nira had guessed, Gauss still sat meditating deep inside the cavern.

Only the Red Drake Hephaestus had emerged to fight.

Of course, it wasn't that Hephaestus had a death wish and wanted to slug it out with the swarm.

Nor was it kind enough to buy time for the human tribe.

At first, when it sensed something was wrong, it had tried to take Gauss and leave, to fly far away.

But it failed.

Since yesterday, the space around Gauss had entered a strange state. Hephaestus tried several times and could not carry Gauss away.

A mysterious force wrapped around Gauss and repelled its claws.

Helpless, Hephaestus had to go out and fight the surging enemies.

The strange aura around Gauss was gradually fading, and Hephaestus guessed Gauss’s slumber would soon end.

It only needed to buy a bit more time.

Putting aside the battle with the Red Drake, Nira’s tribe was already locked in fierce combat.

Although the monsters’ primary target was the distant Red Dragon, if they spotted a group of humans nearby they wouldn’t pass up such an easy buffet.

"Shh!"

Chief Zeke swung his great blade, cutting through an oncoming gnoll.

Warm red blood spattered half his cheek.

The troop advanced with him and Nira leading the front; capable adults shielded the old and children in the center.

"Ahhh!!"

A young man in the tribe was clumsily cut in the thigh by a sly goblin's slide. Blood gushed like a spring.

He screamed hoarsely, wildly swinging his stone knife, trying to stop other monsters from closing in.

But quicker hands among the monsters dragged him away by the thigh from the human ranks.

"Zeke!"

"Keep moving!"

As chief, Zeke saw this and steeled his heart, continuing to give orders.

The tribe’s principle was not to abandon a companion easily, but the situation had clearly gone beyond normal limits.

They had to make sacrifices, otherwise everyone would die here.

Others understood this.

Following Zeke’s charge, they continued toward the mine's exterior.

Those left behind quickly found themselves pinned and crawling with monsters.

As the column moved, more monsters were drawn in; sacrifices among the tribe mounted.

Nira could only comfort herself that these sacrifices were worth it; the mine exit was within reach.

If they escaped the mine, they could start anew.

If only...

They were about to reach the narrow exit trail when shadows rose like a black tide on a distant slope.

"So... so many."

It was a staggering monster army, colliding head-on with their small human band.

Leading them was a giant beast the size of a small mountain, part demon and part stag, its thighs thicker than ten grown men's waists.

"Plop!"

"We're dead!"

Someone's weapon dropped limp from their hands.

You couldn't blame them for weak nerves. Facing such a terrifying enemy and overwhelming numbers, resistance was hard to summon.

Death seemed to be circling.

"Thud!"

Each of the giant beast's steps triggered violent tremors.

Only a handful of the tribe could still muster the will to fight.

Even those had no hope of survival in their hearts; they only wished to die fighting for some dignity.

In their narrowed vision, the mountain-sized beast rapidly loomed closer.

If it stomped, it would crush them into pulp in an instant.

"Saint, please protect us!"

Nira gripped her blade, roughly infusing a layer of mana into the weapon, inhaled deeply, and then stomped forward to charge the beast with the resolve to die.

!

But tragic as it was, even with their readiness to die, before Nira and the others could reach the giant beast—still hundreds of meters away—the tremor from its step toppled them, throwing them hard to the ground.

"Thud!"

Nira lifted her head; vision blurred from the fall. The beast's column-like thigh was already terrifyingly close.

At the brink of death, time seemed to slow.

That pure white figure she yearned for flickered before her eyes again.

Am I going to die...?

That thought rose in her heart.

Time froze in that instant.

"Tap!"

In the almost-still flow of time, a footstep lightly fell.

Gauss stood there, his eyes rotating faster than any normal person could process, taking in everything around him.

"One stag-headed elite, 367 gnolls, 523 goblins, and 51 goblin-like creatures..."

In his thinking and observation, time felt paused.

He could capture every surrounding detail: the regret on the face of the woman who had just fallen, the slow motion of the giant beast's movement, and the precise numbers and species of the monsters behind it—all clearly appearing in his mind.

When he focused his spirit on the stag-headed elite leading the horde, time snapped back into motion like a sped-up reel.

From the stag-headed elite’s body, several illusory images and trajectories extended out.

Each trajectory was a condensation of possible seconds in the immediate future and would change in response to his actions.

If he slipped away, the beast would crush the forward images like a chariot, splattering flesh like fruit, and the beast would continue deeper into the valley.

Raising his gaze, the timeline shifted again, scenes collapsing and restarting.

Everything rewound to the origin point. He did not choose to leave.

He gathered power; the amplified draconic force of the Dragon King's Progeny laced his fist, and he unexpectedly smashed the stag-headed leader’s pale, antlered mask. The elite's horrified eyes reflected his figure.

The monster tried to resist, but Gauss moved faster than it could react.

A fist wrapped in roaring qi struck. Cracks first appeared on the monster's hard stag mask, then spread like falling snow, revealing the ugly, withered face beneath.

Shockwaves radiated outward from his fist in concentric rings.

The mountain-sized stag elite was flung away by sheer force and crashed into the massed monster ranks behind it; the fifty-four gnolls and twelve goblins directly behind it would be crushed on the spot.

If he could go back to the origin point...

It felt as though he had seen everything—

like a god of omniscience and omnipotence plucking threads on the loom of time.