Chapter 79: To the Bright Red Nose Tribe (2)

And just like that, we followed the sound of the water.

The small stream Gopuro had mentioned should be somewhere around here. Once we found it, all we had to do was follow it upstream, and we should eventually reach the Bright Red Nose Tribe.

At least, that was the plan.

"But hey, why do you call it the Bright Red Nose Tribe?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"Well, because they have really red noses!" Gopuro replied matter-of-factly.

"Haha, really?"

"Yeah!"

Gopuro then told me a little about what he knew of the tribe.

Apparently, their noses weren’t naturally bright red. They painted them that way!

From what he explained, every goblin tribe in the forest had its own distinctive appearance. Some painted patterns on their noses, others marked their arms, while a few preferred to wear funny hats or other accessories. It was simply a way for members of different tribes to recognize one another.

That reminded me of something.

When Gopuro and Gopuran had first come to my castle, both of them had worn white markings on their faces, almost like tribal tattoos.

"So, what was your tribe called, then?" I asked.

"Oh, it was the White Whiskers Tribe!" Gopuran answered.

"Oh? White Whiskers?" I repeated before chuckling. "Haha, that’s a cute name!"

"Yeah!" Gopuran said.

"But now we are the Castle Tribe!" Gopuro suddenly declared with pride.

That actually made me laugh.

"Haha, true, true."

"And soon, the Bright Red Nose Tribe will be eaten by our Castle Tribe too!" he continued enthusiastically.

"Haha, that’s right!" Gopushadow pumped his fist.

Hearing that, I couldn’t help laughing at their choice of words.

Well, I suppose recruiting them is a little like eating them up, in a way!

Of course, whether the Bright Red Nose Tribe would be quite so eager to join us remained to be seen.

Hopefully, we could settle things peacefully.

****

And so, with that cheerful thought in mind, the three goblins and I continued chatting as they made their way through the forest toward the stream.

They occasionally pushed aside branches or stepped over exposed roots, while Gopuro seemed to be enjoying his role as their guide a little too much.

For a while, everything went smoothly.

Until...

...something caught Gopuro’s attention.

His cheerful expression gradually faded as he slowed his pace and began sniffing the air. His ears twitched, and he glanced toward the trees ahead as though he had picked up a scent he didn’t recognize.

A moment later, Gopuran and Gopushadow seemed to notice it, too.

The three exchanged a quick glance before coming to a halt.

Their expressions turned serious. Without another word, they drew their weapons and cautiously scanned the surrounding trees.

Huh?

What’s going on?

I focused on their surroundings as well, trying to spot or hear anything unusual. But I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, nor could I hear anything that seemed particularly suspicious.

In fact, the forest was so quiet now it was even a little bit creepy.

So why had my goblins suddenly become so alert like that?

"Oi! What’s happening?" I asked through [Ruler’s Voice].

Gopuro didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and sniffed the air again.

"Puran, Shadow. You guys smell that?"

"Yeah..." Gopuran replied, scrunching her nose.

Beside her, Gopushadow also gave a short nod. His usual playful expression had disappeared, and his fingers tightened around the handles of his twin daggers. There was even a slight tremor in his hands now.

Meanwhile, I was still completely in the dark.

This was because [Vassal’s Eyes] only allowed me to share my citizens’ vision and hearing. I couldn’t experience their sense of smell, so whatever they had detected remained a complete mystery to me.

A sense of unease crept through me.

Damn it...

Is it another enemy?

A wolf? Or another Colossal Bear?

Or, worse... a giant spider?!

I really didn’t want to run into any spiders right now.

"Puro, answer me! What’s going on?" I pressed.

Gopuro’s expression grew grim.

"Big Boss, I smell blood!"

Huh? Blood?

"Yeah..." Gopuran added, her voice unusually serious. "It’s definitely the scent of blood. There’s no mistake about it."

She paused, sniffing the air once more before continuing.

"And not just any blood. It’s goblin blood..."

What?!

The revelation caught me off guard.

Goblin blood?

"Wait a minute. You can actually tell the difference between goblin blood and other kinds of blood?"

"Yes," Gopuro answered simply.

For once, even he wasn’t joking around.

Seriously? Goblins can distinguish blood by species just from its smell?

That was completely new information!

Then again, thinking back on it, perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised.

I remembered the time my castle had been attacked by a group of goblins. Back then, the attackers had probably been able to smell their own tribemates’ blood left behind on my iron portcullis, too.

Well, that would explain a few things.

But more importantly, if all three of them could smell goblin blood nearby, there might be injured goblins somewhere ahead. Or worse, we might have stumbled upon the aftermath of a fight.

Hmmm...

Whatever they had discovered, it clearly wasn’t something to take lightly.

"Be careful, then," I warned them.

"Yes..." the three replied, their eyes fixed on the forest ahead.

They then began advancing cautiously, their steps growing slower as they followed the scent of blood. Gopuro kept his massive iron axe ready, while Gopuran and Gopushadow stayed alert, watching the surrounding trees for any sign of danger.

Meanwhile, I mentally prepared myself for the worst too.

More specifically, I readied my blessings, making sure I could activate them at a moment’s notice to boost their abilities if anything went wrong.

And then, soon enough, we found it.

The source of that bloody smell....

*****

"Damn..." I muttered.

The sight before me was downright horrifying. It was like seeing a horror movie happening in real life.

The three goblins wore grim expressions, too. Even through their eyes, I could tell that whatever lay before us was far worse than we had expected.

The stream we had been looking for was no longer an ordinary stream.

Instead, its once-clear water had turned a deep, blood-red.