Green blood was still dripping from the neck of the Goblin that had just been brought down by the old Goblin. The smell of iron and blood mixed in the damp forest air.

I stared at the corpse in front of me. This was a full fledged warrior, not some crippled elder. Its essence had to be dense.

'Absorb.'

Hot and dense energy slammed into me instantly. The accumulated essence from the cave finally overflowed. This wasn't just an upgrade. It felt like forcing my brain to tear past its old capacity limits.

[Goblin (Warrior) Essence Assimilated]
[Level 3 Reached]
[Maximum Mana Increased: 60 to 70]
[Stat Increased (Random): Stamina +1]
[Available: 1 Free Stat Point]

[Status Window]
Name: Luke (Host: Biscuit) | Level: 3
Physical Condition: Healthy | Mana: 70/70
Vassal Slot: 2/3
Attributes: Str 1 | Sta 3 | Agi 7 | Int 12
Free Points: 2

I exhaled a long breath. The damp forest air that had previously made my chest tight now felt lighter. My four tiny legs that had gone numb from the freezing mud slowly stopped trembling. The muscles grew denser and felt more resilient. This single additional point in Stamina was effectively banishing my fatigue like a low dose adrenaline injection.

My eyes then shifted to the Free Points. There were two.

The temptation to inject both into the Strength attribute for a deadlier jaw bite crossed my mind for a second. But I immediately brushed it aside. As a Rank E Hunter who frequently moonlighted with Gate mining teams, I knew the rules well. You never waste your remaining reserves on the lowly prey right in front of you. These points were my life insurance. I would save them until I knew exactly what kind of monsters were waiting for me in their lair.

My focus returned to the corpse in front of me. I had completely drained its essence. This corpse was now nothing more than scrap meat that I couldn't resurrect.

I had one empty Vassal slot, but no warrior to fill it.

In the distance, the main group's footsteps halted. They were a dozen meters ahead. One of the three Goblins leading the group turned around. He grunted in annoyance at the Middle Guard Goblin who was tasked with watching the captives.

"Grak'thar!" he barked in a hoarse language.

The Middle Guard also turned to look back right toward my hiding spot. He cursed, demanding the comrade in the rear whose essence I had just sucked dry to catch up immediately.

They were starting to realize someone was left behind. The Middle Guard snorted harshly, turned his body around, and began walking back along the trail. Straight toward us.

An opportunity. And a threat.

The corpse in front of me was permanently ruined and could no longer be raised as a decoy. All I had right now was the old Goblin and the Cave Rat. If he saw those two standing over his comrade's dead body, he would definitely scream. His three friends up ahead would respond immediately.

I had to silence him before he saw this corpse.

I immediately pressed my belly against the wet dirt. For the first time since being thrown into this foreign dimension, I was grateful to be trapped in a body the size of a soccer ball. The thick grass hid me perfectly.

I issued a mental command. The old Goblin and the Cave Rat crouched down as well.

It wasn't perfect. The Cave Rat was one second too late.

Snap. A twig broke.

The Middle Guard's footsteps stopped. His hands gripped the shaft of his rusted wooden spear tightly. His eyes narrowed at the bushes where we were hiding.

Silence. That second felt much longer than usual. I could hear the racing heartbeat of this tiny body.

The Goblin growled low and slowly stepped forward. His spear was raised.

The distance closed. Five meters. Four. Three.

There was no time for complex tactics. This had to be fast.

'Rat, bite his left leg. Old Goblin, stab his neck. Now!'

The bushes rustled violently. The Cave Rat darted out first like a black bullet. The Middle Guard Goblin was startled and tried to lower his spear, but he was too late. The rat's jaws sank deep into his left ankle.

The monster let out a stifled shriek, his attention entirely diverted downward. That was his final mistake. The old Goblin lunged from his blind spot. His left hand clamped over the young monster's mouth with all his might to muffle the scream, while the dull bone knife was driven brutally through the left side of his neck.

Squuelch. Blood sprayed. The Middle Guard Goblin thrashed around with his eyes bulging in horror. His body collapsed to the ground with the old Goblin pinning him down mercilessly until he completely stopped breathing.

I crawled out of the bushes, staring at the fresh corpse in front of me. My heart was pounding. That was close.

This time, no absorbing.

'Arise.'

Black energy seeped into his skull. A split second later, a notification panel appeared before me.

[Host #3 Successfully Bound]
[Species: Goblin (Warrior)]
[Vessel Integrity: Severely Wounded]

The Vassal Goblin stood up. His eyes now emitted a faint purple glow. He gripped his spear tightly, his posture perfectly straight. Being only a meter away from him allowed me to feel the pull of his muscles and the grip of his hands on the spear as if it were my own body. I now had an intact combat warrior.

Three against three. The Vassals' conditions were pitiful, but they held no hesitation and no fear. One second to take down the one in the back, two seconds to break their formation. After that, numbers would no longer matter. This wasn't a duel. This was an execution.

I stepped forward. 'Get ready...'

My mental command halted. My bat like ears suddenly twitched and stood erect, catching a harsh vibration in the air a second before the actual sound hit.

Bwooooom! The sound of an animal horn trumpet echoed through the forest. The blare was hoarse and long.

Up ahead, the group of three Goblins and the captives cheered in response to the trumpet sound. From behind the dense foliage of a giant banyan tree in the distance, six more green figures stepped out.

They were an additional patrol unit. Two carried swords, and the one walking in the front was slightly larger with a bone chest plate, seemingly acting as the group leader.

The total number of enemies was no longer three. It was nine.

The fur on my back stood rigid. Every muscle fiber in this tiny body trembled, rejecting the command to step forward.

'Fall back. Into the bushes. Not a sound.'

The three Vassals crouched in unison, slowly retreating into the shadows of the thicket with me.

I stared coldly at the group that had now merged into one large squad. They laughed hoarsely, kicking the exhausted male captive to keep him moving. They began heading deeper toward the source of the trumpet sound. Their lair.

I ground my fangs quietly. Attacking them now was suicide. My three low level Vassals wouldn't survive against nine armed Goblins at once. Risking a direct confrontation was as stupid as walking into a Gate without preparation.

At the very least, I needed to know where their lair was located... and how to get inside without dying a pointless death.

Knowing the location of an enemy base was incredibly valuable tactical information. In the past, I was used to hiding in silence, mapping out routes from behind the ruins of a Gate before the mining team dared to step foot inside.

'Follow them,' I ordered the three Vassals. 'Let's see exactly which hole these bastards sleep in.'