Chapter 5 - My Mother's Work

My mother’s 'Divine Calling' is called [Great Warrior].

While a standard [Warrior] is the class most suited for direct physical combat, the Great Warrior is an enhanced version—a ferocious, power-oriented class. It is said that those who master this path can crush any obstacle in their way through sheer force, carving a path through the wilderness as they charge forward.

In fact, seeing my mother fight for the first time was nothing short of breathtaking.

"Gugyagogegeeeeee!?"

That was the death rattle of a goblin.

It took her axe directly to the crown of its head—a perfect vertical split. It died instantly, without a moment's grace. Without missing a beat, she decapitated the next goblin charging at her, and sliced the one after that clean in half at the waist.

When a few goblins turned tail in terror, she hurled her hand-axe at their retreating backs, taking them down with unerring precision.

She was a female demon-god, laying waste to the stretch of forest that served as the goblins' stronghold.

...And yes, this is my mother.

"Hehe, I’m actually a bit embarrassed to have my children watching me," Mother said, looking genuinely bashful while holding a hand-axe drenched in goblin blood.

"I wanted to remain your graceful, kind mother at home, so I tried to avoid showing you my fighting side as much as possible. But Calibur and Sao are both nearly adults now. To survive on your own, you have to look at the ugly things, too..."

I’m not sure if "ugly" is the word—more like "grotesque."

The goblin corpses littering the area, split in two by Mother, were a very straightforward piece of gore. Because they are somewhat humanoid, the horror of death stands out much more than with beast-type monsters.

"In the city, the test for whether someone is fit to be an adventurer is whether they can kill a goblin without hesitation. Their human-like appearance can make your hand falter, but you have to be cold-blooded. ...Well, Calibur seems to be doing just fine."

Right next to us, my sister had been swinging her sword with giddy excitement.

A long time ago, she had been so terrified of a magic bear that she wet herself, but after much "growth," she had developed a steady foundation. Now, she was hacking goblins down left and right, laughing loudly—"Hahaha!"—even as blood sprayed wildly.

"You don't need to get that into it, but monsters are nothing but a plague to humanity. Goblins in particular are incredibly cruel to those weaker than themselves. They ruin fields, kill livestock, and sometimes kidnap human children to torment them until they die. And they do it just for fun."

They don't do it to survive or to eat; they commit atrocities purely for sport.

So that’s what a goblin is in this world.

"To ensure people can live in peace, we mustn't let a single monster near human territory. Sao, you do your best to help wipe them out, too."

"Okay~!"

I suppose I’d better work hard to meet Mother’s expectations. I brandished the pole I brought along and charged at the goblins.

Publicly, my 'Divine Calling', [Pole Master], has been established as a class that is purely an expert in using a pole as a weapon. The destructive power I generate by swinging my pole and striking a target is enough to shatter rock.

Despite holding a mere wooden stick, the impact feels as though it were made of solid steel. Is this also an effect of my [Pole Master] class?

Since I needed to demonstrate my strength publicly to be allowed into the forest with my sister, Mother was well aware of my combat ability.

"You’re amazing, Sao. I wondered what would happen when you got a strange 'Divine Calling like [Pole Master], but it seems it was a proper 'winning' class after all."

No, no.

I'm still hiding the really strange parts of being a [Pole Master].

"Mother is so happy to see not just Calibur, but Sao grow up so splendidly. I'm so happy, my axe is feeling sharper than ever!"

Wait, did Mother just decapitate two goblins at once with a single swing?

The cutting power of an axe is truly terrifying. It is, after all, a tool invented to fell trees—the hardest organic matter on earth. It has a thickness and weight that swords can't compare to. When that mass is concentrated into a honed edge and swung with the skills of a warrior, a human body has no way to block it. Goblins are the same.

In the wake of Mother’s path, goblin corpses simply piled up like scattered pebbles.

"...Hey, do we even need to be here?" my sister asked after a while.

"Mother is killing almost every enemy that shows up. We’re lucky to even get the leftovers she misses. And lately, she hasn't missed any at all. Mother is a war machine all on her own. Look, see for yourself."

Sister looked around. Following her gaze, I saw that aside from our family of three, the only other things present were countless goblin corpses.

"I can't see any of the other people who were here at the start. They must be operating separately, right? We should probably leave Mother’s side to be more efficient...!"

When she said that... she wasn't just trying to get me alone to have sex, was she?

"Oh, I didn't have us separate without a thought, you know? I have a proper strategy."

"A strategy?"

"First, I charge in from the front and devastate them. Goblins are mostly cowards, so they usually flee without putting up much resistance. They’re incredibly lily-livered when faced with an opponent stronger than themselves."

"If that happens, won't most of them get away?"

True. No matter how "strongest" Mother was, chasing down goblins fleeing in every direction to crush them one by one would be an exhausting task. Some would definitely escape.

"That's why the other volunteers are waiting in a circle surrounding the forest, ready to catch and finish off any goblins that try to run."

"A containment net, then."

"Goblins are only truly scary when they’re in a pack. Catching them while they’re fleeing individually is certain and safe. Remember this, as it's the most effective tactic for exterminating a goblin horde."

"Okay~!"

However, for this tactic to work, you need the power to shatter the horde in the first place. Realizing Mother was playing that role entirely by herself made a shiver run down my spine.

"Then shouldn't we have joined the containment group? We would have been more useful there than here."

"Hmm, well, about that..." Mother hesitated.

"Usually, there are more goblins than this. I thought that with me, Calibur, and Sao, we’d have a nice-sized group to blow through comfortably. But I ended up cleaning them all up by myself."

As if to prove Mother’s point, the goblins that had been attacking relentlessly were gone, and the area had fallen silent. That was the only reason we could chat so casually.

"The numbers were lower than I expected. Maybe the gap since the last cull was too short? Well, I’ll leave the rest to the people in the containment net..."

A deviation from the usual pattern.

I had a bad feeling.

"I’m going to go take a look."

"Eh?"

I took a running start, clutching my pole. Getting up enough speed, I caught the end of my pole on a root protruding from the ground. The pole flexed with the momentum. As the bent wood sought to snap back into a straight line, the force launched me upward.

Pole vaulting.

I burst through the thick foliage and soared high into the sky, allowing me to see far and wide. Though the forest below was dense and hard to see through...

I was able to visually confirm an anomaly.

Gravity pulled me back down, and I landed near Mother and Sister.

"Sao, you can jump so high! Mother is impressed!"

Mother was marveling at a weird point, but I ignored it.

"There's a massive battle going on."

"What?"

"It’s a good distance from here. It must be the group that was waiting for the containment. It looked like they were being overrun by a massive swarm of goblins."

"That... that can't be...!"

They looked like they couldn't believe it, but I had definitely seen it. From my bird's-eye view, I had seen a scene of absolute carnage.

"They read our strategy. I think they avoided Mother, who is the strongest, and aimed for a single-point breakthrough where everyone else was bunched up."

"Even if goblins are smart, to use such advanced tactics...! No, if Sao says so, there’s no doubt."

Talk about mysterious levels of trust.

"Then let's hurry over there! Based on how Sao sounds, it feels like they’re about to break through! If they escape, this whole mission is a failure!"

Sister panicked. She was right, though, so I decided to push myself a bit.

"I’ll jump ahead. Sister, Mother, follow the direction I go."

"What?"

Another pole vault.

This time, I angled the jump—not straight up, but diagonally forward. By doing so, I could leap over the forest and reach the destination in a straight line.

I can't believe the [Pole Master] skills can be used like this. Isn't the range of application a little too broad?

***

In the time it took to think that, I arrived.

When I dove into the scene, it was a literal hellscape. The warriors from the various villages and the goblins were tangled in a chaotic melee; there wasn't a shred of order left.

"Don't let a single one escape! Hold the line! HOLD IT—AUGH!?"

"Has anyone contacted Machete?! Isn't she here yet!?"

"Help me! I can't hold them alone!"

"GYAAAAH! DON'T BITE MY EAR!!"

It was a disaster. It felt like three to five goblins were clinging to every single village warrior trying to defend. In other words: total desperation.

I joined the fray immediately, bringing my pole down on the goblins.

"Gyeh!?"

"Gueh!?"

Goblins fell one after another, their skulls crushed as they let out their death cries. It helped that they were so preoccupied with attacking people that my surprise attacks landed easily.

"I’m here to help. Are you alright?"

"A kid? Why are you here...!"

I turned the swarming goblins into corpses and reached out a hand to the person I’d rescued.

"Can you tell me the situation? How bad are the casualties?"

"I don't know... a massive swarm hit us out of nowhere... I don't even know how long we've been fighting..."

It seems they were hit by a surprise attack. They were so busy just trying to fight back that they couldn't even grasp the situation.

Fine. In that case, I’ll prioritize saving everyone over organizing the facts. If I just kill every goblin in sight, things will be clear enough to understand in the end.

Anyway!

One by one!

Swing the pole!

Smash!

Snap!

Crush!

"What is that brat...!?"

"He's insanely strong...! The goblins are disappearing right before our eyes!!"

By the time I took a breath to steady myself, a significant number of goblins had stopped breathing. The original number had probably been reduced to about twenty percent.

Tactically speaking, that kind of damage should constitute a total wipeout, but the remaining goblins showed no sign of retreating.

Goblins are cowards; aren't they supposed to run the moment things look slightly bad?

"Watch out! It’s not over yet!"

One of the village warriors, who had been fighting the defensive battle, shouted while blood ran down his forehead.

"There’s a special one among the goblins! He’s the one giving orders! Be careful—if you treat him like the others, you’ll be finished in a second!"

What?!

I see. Mother was suspicious of the goblins' unexpected behavior too. There was a commander-type among them?

A mutation? A high-tier species?

A Goblin Leader? A Goblin King? Something like that?!

"That guy is... a Rokuburin!"

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