The great sword carved a savage arc. The monsters in its path were parted from life in an instant. Doran’s eyes burned like a beast’s as she sought her next target.

There—that one.

She moved as though rest was a crime. She butchered her enemies with pathological tenacity. The monsters that faced her, cowed by her ferocity, withered like the dying aged.

On the other flank, the goblin pikemen earned their keep. At the barked command, their spears thrust forward in a single wave—row after row of steel-tipped death that punched through enemy flesh without exception.

“Kku-gwek!” A goblin war-cry—harsh, guttural.

But the monsters didn’t roll over and die. They sprang high, or dropped so low their bellies nearly scraped the earth, trying to worm through gaps in the spear formation. It was like throwing themselves into a pit of death.

«Shield line!»

«Uwoooooh!»

The giant goblin shield-wall locked into place, a fortress of flesh and iron. They batted charging monsters away with their massive shields, then stabbed and clubbed—short swords and maces finding necks and skulls. Monsters died with split throats and shattered craniums.

The battlefield was a slaughter. Egg against rock. The monsters swarmed like moths to a flame and died like mayflies, their corpses littering the ground in heaps.

“Kkui-eek!” A death-squeal.

Doran split the spine of a monster three times her size. She didn’t stop there—hacked through its neck to make sure, then swept her gaze across the field.

«Combat complete!»

The battle was over. In this stretch of land, only the goblins still had working lungs and beating hearts.

‘Excellent.’

Go Byeonggap let out a genuine, pure note of admiration. He hadn’t lifted a finger this fight. He’d just stood there, arms crossed, watching. And that wasn’t carelessness—the power gap was that absolute.

‘Landriol really did build a killing machine.’

Landriol’s reign of terror hadn’t just left scars. Look at that iron discipline, those drilled formations. That kind of precision had to be forged through fear-driven training. Nothing else could produce it.

«Good work, everyone! Head back to Asvillam and tend to the wounded.» Go Byeonggap’s voice carried.

The goblins roared their victory and streamed back into Asvillam.

In the midst of it all, Go Byeonggap called out Doran. Kiriyan and Dorma had already drifted over.

«My Lord!»

«Well done, Doran. Your command’s getting sharper every day. I wouldn’t worry about putting you in charge of a whole fortress before long.»

«Heh heh. It was nothing.»

He gave Doran’s shoulder a light pat, then looked behind him.

Goblins were watching him—eyes full of a little fear and a whole lot of awe.

«Dorma.»

«Yes, My Lord.»

«Take them back. Get their wounds treated and their bellies full. They looked half-starved.»

«As you command. And what of you, My Lord?»

«I’m going to scout this area a bit more. There might be more goblins out there.»

«I see. Understood. Call on us anytime you have need.»

«Right. Good work, everyone.»

«My Lord, see you later!»

«My Lord, please take care.»

«We withdraw. Now, follow me, all of you!»

Dorma led the goblin colony across into Asvillam.

Byeonggap received a message that 204 goblins had been newly annexed to Asvillam.

A shame, but that was all for the day.

* * *

The goblins of Baltadren now numbered 1,254.

Adding the 820 spirits including Ea brought the population past 2,000. And with Somnium’s 530 goblins on top of that, the total exceeded 2,500.

Truth be told, that number was embarrassing even for a town, let alone a kingdom. But hadn’t Asvillam started with just thirty-three goblins? This was plenty of progress.

Not that he was satisfied. His goal was the founding of New Asvillam — a great nation ruling this vast wilderness.

For that, he’d have to break out of this lopsided structure where ninety-nine percent of the residents were male.

“Nice weather.”

September was already cresting mid-month, and the air had grown crisp. The sky was creeping higher, too. Earth’s chaos hadn’t touched Asvillam at all; aside from minor disturbances, it was peaceful as ever.

Go Byeonggap was taking a rest at his home in Asvillam. Leaning against the second-floor window, he looked down into the yard, where his mother was watering the vegetable garden.

Park Yeongok had adapted to Asvillam better than expected. She got along easily with the goblins, and especially clicked with Ea. She’d thrown herself into managing the goblins’ meals with real passion.

Byeonggap didn’t bother to stop her. Because she looked happy.

‘Right. Mom was always an active person.’

After being discharged, she must have found life spent just watching TV at home boring. Byeonggap was glad to see her energy coming back.

Whew — !

A strange rush of wind cut through the air from above. Byeonggap looked up instinctively.

«Lord!»

«Hm? Isn’t that a harpy?»

The harpy flapped its wings as it approached, then landed lightly on the roof.

«When did you get here?»

«Me? Just now. Lord, here.»

The harpy handed over a rolled-up piece of paper. Byeonggap took it and unrolled it. Inside was dense writing in somewhat clumsy characters.

«Gobungi asked me to give this to you.»

«Yeah, Lord. I’m hungry.»

«Yeah. Good work coming all this way. Go to Ea and ask her for something to eat.»

«Okay, I’ll go.»

The harpy leapt up and flew off toward the dining hall. Byeonggap settled into the chair behind him and read the letter.

Despite the crooked handwriting, the contents were neatly and clearly organized.

<My Lord. This is Gobungi.

The day before yesterday, I went around the rocky mountain area, figuring I’d gather firewood while I was at it.

Walking along a fork of the river for about an hour, I discovered a basin I hadn’t found before.

It’s about the size of Somnium, and it had a vein connected to the Crystal Mine there, too.

I’m writing to suggest that if you set up a base there and put in manpower, the crystal mining output could increase.

I’ll close here. I miss you. From Gobungi.>

“You little…”

Go Byeonggap felt his nose sting for no reason.

“Found a new vein, huh. That’s good news.”

It came at the right time—he needed plenty of resources. He stepped out of the house right away.

He drove to Somnium. The road was well-paved, so it didn’t take long. When he arrived, Gobungi, who had been deep in work, came running out breathlessly.

«Huff, huff. My Lord. I knew you’d come, but I didn’t expect you so soon.»

«Where is it? Let’s go together.»

«Ah, yes, yes! I’ll prepare right away.»

Gobungi finished his quick preparations and returned.

«Can we take the car?»

«Hmm… unless we carve a new road, I think we’ll have to walk.»

«Tch. No choice then. Lead the way.»

«Yep! Just follow me.»

Go Byeonggap headed to the newly discovered basin with Gobungi.

Walking along one of the river’s branches, they came to a valley strewn with pebbles and flowing clear water. Pushing through thick leaves and vines for about thirty more minutes, they emerged onto a flat basin.

«Here it is! What do you think?»

«Whoa, splendid. Fertile soil, a river nearby. I didn’t know you had this kind of knack.»

«Hehe, I’ve been roaming around lately and found it by chance.»

«Roaming around? Why?»

«Just… wanted to check what’s around Somnium, you know. So I can prepare for any unexpected situations.»

Go Byeonggap smiled warmly and roughly ruffled Gobungi’s head.

«You little scamp! There’s no one quite like you.»

«Hehehe.»

«Still, going alone too much is dangerous. A few Grugle might still be lurking.»

«I can handle most things alone now.»

Gobungi proudly patted the sword on his hip and said it with confidence. Go Byeonggap found the sight amusing and burst out laughing.

«Good! We’ll set up Somnium Phase 2 here. I’ve been needing a lot of crystals, and I never expected such a windfall.»

«A lot of crystals? What business are you planning, sir?»

Gobungi asked, curiosity glinting in his eyes. Go Byeonggap smirked slyly.

«To get you a wife, you idiot.»

* * *

In today’s social climate, saying that could get you in big trouble, but Go Byeonggap believed men and women each had their fitting roles.

Of course, just looking at Doran, she was better at swordsmanship than most grown male goblins. So Byeonggap’s words didn’t mean something like ‘men are strong, women are weak.’

When someone worked outside, someone else needed to support from within—that, to him, was harmony in every sense.

Like the balance of yin and yang, you could say.

So, even in the midst of the Somnium District 2 construction chaos, he gathered the goblins.

First, he issued a decree. The so-called Naming Order.

“Too many of you have no names. Even if it’s nothing grand, everyone should have one.”

He decided to give names to the nameless goblins.

Of course, he couldn’t personally name over 1,700 goblins. He also knew his naming sense was about as sharp as a pebble’s.

So he picked out a few goblins with some sense. Mostly the higher-ranking types among goblin-kind. He put them in charge of naming the goblins under their watch.

Nothing too grandiose. He made sure they kept it to two or three syllables.

By the time the king goblins and royal goblins had exhausted their imaginations, the task was done.

They brought him a ledger full of names, and Go Byeonggap, through alchemy, turned them into wooden nameplates. From that day on, every goblin wore a name tag on their chest.

The irony? Even after every goblin had a name, Go Byeonggap still called them Tiny, Hop-friend, Biggie, Fluffy, and so on.

The Greatest Name Contest Under Heaven was just a preview. The real event came next.

The wide plaza of Baltadren. Even 820 spirits had gathered as spectators.

That day, Go Byeonggap bought thirteen female goblins and presented them to the crowd. Converted to crystals, it was a whopping 6.5 million crystals’ worth.

«Uuuuhh…»

Truth be told, the goblins’ reaction was lukewarm.

Perhaps that was only natural. During Landriol’s reign, it was the female Saraon who had ruled and treated them harshly.

The nightmares of those days still lingered in their minds.

«Everyone, welcome them with applause. These goblins will live with us from now on.»

Only after Go Byeonggap said that did the goblins ease their wary expressions.

‘The Saraon’s nature might be prideful. But with proper education, they can be made to live as goblins.’

Doran was a good example. She had willingly supported Go Byeonggap even during the struggle against Landriol.

Inborn nature mattered, but Go Byeonggap wanted to believe that the lived environment mattered more.

The female goblins suffered the same confusion Doran had at first.

Because their living memories had been sealed, stuffed away like trophies in the Ancient Shop. Their minds were blank slates, pure white.

Go Byeonggap didn’t awaken their memories. He wanted them to live as beings of the present, not relics of the past.

Out of the thirteen female goblins, three went to Somnium, another three to Somnium District 2. Seven were kept in Baltadren.

A small change for now. But little by little, the male-to-female ratio would normalize.

In the time it took for those few ceremonies to pass, Somnium Second Complex was finished. Go Byeonggap moved three hundred goblins there first.

«Basello, I trust you’ll do well.»

«Leave it to me, My Lord.»

«Right. If Gobungi recommended you, you must be capable. Somnium’s right next door, so consult him if anything goes wrong.»

«Yes!»

Basello was a King Goblin. He’d also worked alongside Gobungi in Somnium, gaining experience.

Gobungi had recommended Basello as the manager of Second Complex, and Go Byeonggap respected his judgment.

“Hoo…”

As the sun began to sink toward the horizon, Go Byeonggap stepped back into Earth with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

He’d only taken one step out, yet the air around him shifted entirely. No peace lingered here—just a foul stench of blood and gunpowder, thick and suffocating.

Every time he came to Earth, his mood soured. It was the weight of all the shitty things he could sum up in one word: garbage dump.

Still, he couldn’t just hide in Asvillam to escape. That was something a spoiled brat would do.

The moment he set foot on Earth, his head turned. Go Byeonggap stared fixedly at a distant mountain.

“…Hunters? With that kind of massive presence, they must be in combat.”

A tremendous flow of energy pulsed from the north.

As if answering his guess, the world flashed for an instant.

Crack! Boom! Bang!

A colossal bolt of lightning slammed into the ground, then forked outward in every direction. It looked like a river of electricity had overflowed.

‘Not a natural phenomenon. There’s a psychic-type awakener out there. A strong one.’

That discharge felt familiar. Go Byeonggap sifted through his memory a moment before recalling a team member who had hurled lightning during the expedition.

S-Rank Hunter Sim Seungseop. Could it be him?

‘Let’s go take a look.’

Curiosity piqued, Go Byeonggap moved toward the source of the lightning.