My Reincarnation Skills Are “Playing With Dolls” and “Playing With Clay”, but What Am I Supposed to Do With These? C131

Episode 131: Annihilation

Honestly, it was a sight that made me want to look away. 

All of the wagons in Vargas and his company's caravan were ``smashed'' and their cargo was scattered all over the place. 

Artifacts and broken liquor barrels were scattered about, and things that human thieves would have found valuable didn't seem to have been touched much, but food and weapons remained, although I don't know if they were there originally. It wasn't. 

I heard about this later from my merchants. 

We, the bodyguards, were in charge of monitoring the surrounding area and searching for survivors. 

The bodies around the carriage were in such a pitiful state that their original forms were no longer preserved, and it looked as if they had been crushed to death with a single blow. I wasn't sure how many people there were, and it was tough for me, who has a low tolerance for gore. 

Then, when I cautiously searched the shadows of the surrounding rocks, I found the bodies of four adventurers who were escorts who had been killed by normal spears or arrows, probably from a fight with goblins. There were also two bodies that appeared to have been crushed by some kind of force. 

One of them seemed to belong to the escort leader, judging by the feel of the armor and clothes. 

　Zero survivors. 

However, considering the size of the caravan, I felt that the number of bodies was small. 

"Some people have been taken, I don't know if they were taken alive, killed, or dismembered."

Lucien comes back and says something gruesome with no expression on his face. 

Even with Carmilla and Lucien's senses, it seems that they have gone so far that they can no longer clearly follow the traces. 

“For what?”

“Was there a woman?”

In response to Hout's question, Lucien responded with a question to the merchants who were investigating the remains of the wagon. 

``When I looked inside the wagon, there were signs that one or two female merchants or slaves had been there, but there were no bodies.''

Osmarf answered. 

“If it’s just that, the numbers don’t add up, so I guess it’s mainly food.”

 Are you serious···

I remember hearing before that humanoid monsters like orcs sometimes kidnap human women and make them give birth to children. 

However, Lucien says that since there were not only women but also human bodies taken away, there is a possibility that the demons saw them as food and took away some of the people that looked ``easier to eat.'' That seems to be the case. 

...It's impossible for me to think about it any further. 

Nolte and Hout also have pale faces, but Natasia and Mikula remain calm. 

"...That means we don't have to worry about being attacked for the time being."

Heybar sorts out the situation, and Osmarf agrees. 

“Maybe we should hurry up.”

Lucien and the life-sized Lina, who was in scout mode for the search, were looking at each other. 

Lucien was the first to speak. 

"Well, once you pull it out, it's likely that it's nocturnal and has returned to its nest, so I wonder how far it can escape before it takes a rest and reappears in the evening."

"Yeah, there were probably one or two that were tough to begin with, but the next time I run into them, they'll all be stronger, so I want to escape without having to fight."

 What does it mean? 

Not only me, but also among the merchants, Habar seems to be the only one who has something in mind. 

"Weren't you a goblin? What do you mean the next time you run into one, you'll be stronger?"

Natasia asked the two of them. This time it was Lina who answered. 

“Monsters that defeat or eat humans will rapidly level up.When humans defeat monsters,

Just like leveling up.”

I was speechless. 

When I think about it, it's no wonder that just like we gain experience points when we defeat monsters and thieves, monsters that defeat humans also gain experience points...Do monsters also level up? 

However, this seems to be knowledge known only to a few people in this world. 

"I guess so. I've heard stories like that before, but..."

"Let's hurry. We can talk about anything else after we cross the border."

At the sound of Osmarf's voice, everyone came back to their senses. That's certainly true. 

From here, it usually takes half a day to pass through the ravine and enter the territory of the Parthean Empire, and it seems like it's barely possible to make it there before dusk. 

I'm sorry, but it doesn't seem like we have time to bury the bodies of the annihilated merchant caravan. 

Lucien recited a holy verse on the spot, and we all prayed for the soul's soul, and we quickly got into the carriage. 

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The road was steep, so I think we put a lot of strain on the six horses. 

　

However, perhaps the fact that we used water magic to cool our bodies and gave us cold water to drink every time we took a short break had an effect, as we progressed to the point where we thought we would be able to cross the border at dusk if we continued like this. there was. 

However, it wasn't so sweet. 

I mean, I think about it every time, but if it were a game in this world, the conditions would be too harsh... 

As the sun began to set, on the mental map of everyone in the party, a number of red dots appeared far behind us, surrounding a white dot that seemed to be a commercial caravan behind us. 

This doesn't mean that the monsters are only behind you. 

What the map skill shows is the area that our party members once visited or within their field of view, so it only shows the area behind them that they passed through. 

The field of view in front is much smaller. 

Through Lina's distant speech, warn the entire merchant caravan. 

Carmilla was snorting and exploring her surroundings. 

"It smells like a goblin, but it's stronger than before. And there are others that are even stronger."

Along with Carmilla's recognition, several vague red dots began to appear around us. 

“Osmalf, do you know of any terrain that is easy to defend around here?”

"...No, it feels similar for a while, but if you go that far, it's a little higher than the surrounding area."

The point I was pointing at was a few hundred meters up the gentle slope I was on, and looked like a small mountain pass. 

It certainly seems better than being surrounded in a low place. 

"Then, let's move over there quickly. Carmilla, please lead the way."

I also informed the two cars behind me and hurried the carriages. 

Carmilla, who is the fastest, jumps off the carriage and runs while keeping an eye on her surroundings. It's faster that way. 

It seems that all the monsters are approaching from one side of the road, to the left. 

I managed to reach the mountain pass before we could make contact, and there I stopped the carriage and waited. 

The monsters seemed to realize that they could not be taken by surprise, so they cautiously closed the half-encirclement circle. 

At this point, a red dot will clearly appear on the map skill. 10, 15...20? About half of them were small red dots that looked like simple goblins, and the rest seemed to be of a higher level. 

The distance was about 100 meters, and it seemed like it was passing through the shadows of rocks, so we couldn't see it visually from our position looking down on it. It's strangely controlled. 

I made Lina into a life-sized magician and made her hold a ceramic sword for self-defense, and I had a sword in my right hand and a wand to strengthen my magic in my left. Then, I put Taro and Wang out behind the carriage. 

The red dot approached less than 50 meters away, and arrows were fired from behind the rocks all at once. 

At the same time, a group of about ten small monsters attacked us with crude spears. 

<Goblin LV2> <Goblin LV1>... 

It's level 1 or 2 at most. 

However, the people who shot the arrow from behind the rock that appeared in my field of vision for a moment were higher-ranking goblins. It was only a glimpse, but I think I saw <Goblin Leader LV4> or <LV5>. 

They're higher level than the orcs, so you'd better be a little careful. 

To avoid exposing ourselves to the arrows, we fought back with projectiles and magic from behind the carriage and nearby rocks. 

The goblins fall one after another with Lucien's arrows and Lina's fireballs. 

Then, Taro swung his long sword and mowed down the person who came even closer. 

Several of the goblin leader's arrows hit Taro, but they were only deflected by his hardened ceramic body. 

I don't think this was enough to defeat the merchant caravan that preceded them, but I wonder if they chased them too far and were ambushed. 

However, the second wave suddenly appeared. 

“Gyan!”

At the same time that One screamed, a powerful magical power appeared nearby. 

Up until that moment, there was certainly no sign of anything. 

Carmilla shouted. 

"Back, it's a golem!"

When I turned around, in front of me was a gigantic rock-like golem that was nearly 5 meters tall and was about to swing its barrel-like fist at a covered wagon.