"Are all the monsters in this area like this?"

  The girl, Yverantheia, walked through the cave, refleg on the events that had transpired since she arrived in these mountains.

  A few days ago, she had g her map, picked a dire at random, aured into this mountain range. Not long after her arrival, she entered a group of goblins hunting.

  Yverantheia, once a saintess, had been educated about monsters. The church generally regarded monsters with hostility and rejudiced against any non-human species. In simple terms, they upheld human supremacy.

  Thus, the knowledge Yverantheia had acquired painted monsters as savage and harmful creatures. Among them, goblins were particurly loathsome.

  Acc to the church's teags, goblins captured females of other species for breeding. Despite being low-tier monsters, their intelligence allowed them to learn from other species’ attempts to eradicate them, making it essential to leave no survivors during hunts.

  Yverantheia had experienced several goblin hunts herself, and the reality often matched the church's teags.

  However, the church was no longer a trustworthy entity for Yverantheia.

  The goblins she observed now included females, and they had their own culture aions, vastly different from the goblins she had known.

  "It seems the church hid part of the truth," Yverantheia mused.

  A mixture of truth and lies is the most ving, and the church had skillfully exploited this. They had only told Yverantheia about the goblins' savagery, omitting everything else.

  Yverantheia tio observe, stealthily following the goblins to their vilge.

  Based on her observations, the goblins had a figure resembling a 'vilge chief.' Given their current level of civilization, dealing with the leader would make the rest easier.

  Of course, she po keep him alive, as it would be more beneficial.

  Relying on her superior physical abilities and magic, Yverantheia easily reached the goblin chief.

  "Who are you!?"

  "I am your future master."

  Seeing the elderly goblin before her, Yverantheia did not hesitate to release her aura of dominance.

  "Ugh!... Strong one, I reize your power. But by our rules, I ot entrust our tribe to you solely based on this."

  "What do you propose then?"

  "You must prove your strength with a tangible attack. This is our tradition."

  "…"

  Yverantheia had sidered resolving this through bat, but the situation was somewhat ued.

  "An attack, huh? Very well, I'll oblige you."

  eling her magic, Yverantheia, now enriched with extensive knowledge of monsters, prepared to use her powers.

  ‘Void Shockwave’

  From Yverantheia's hand, a spherical shockwave expanded instantly.

  The goblin chief, being closest to Yverantheia, was naturally blown away. His house was overturned, and the goblins in the vilge were knocked unscious by the sudden impact, creating a se of devastation.

  Returning to the present, Yverantheia had now arrived at the vilge of the smurfs.

  "Who is that?"

  "Her skin is so pale. How peculiar."

  As the smurfs whispered amongst themselves, a bearded elder, leaning on a staff, emerged from the crowd.

  "Stranger, what brings you to our vilge?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

  "I've e to make you submit to me."

  The smurfs gasped in unison. The elder's eyes widened for a moment before he regained his posure.

  "Acc to our scouts, it appears you've wiped out the goblins. The se you left behind terrified even our bravest who observed through their telescopes. Do you have anything to say about that?"

  "…"

  ‘Did it really look like a massacre?’ Yverantheia wondered.

  Not only had a young gobliiohis, but now the elder elf seemed to believe it too.

  "They're not dead…"

  "Why should we believe you?"

  The tension in the air grew thicker. The smurfs were ready to fight to the death, while Yverantheia stood poised to strike.

  "Pupu!"

  A peculiar sound broke the standoff. Yverauro see a familiar creature, a small tentacled being, approag.

  "How did you follow me?" Yverantheia asked the little tentacle.

  "Pupu!"

  The creature raised its tentacles, making a hat resembled an angry ra. It seemed upset that Yverantheia had left without it.

  Suddenly, a cacophony of footsteps echoed from the entrance of the vilge.

  "Finally, we have caught up with you, our master."

  An elderly goblin, leading a throng of goblins, poured into the smurf vilge and k before Yverantheia.

  "Hail to our master and her emissary!"

  "…Emissary?" Yverantheia echoed.

  "Pupu."

  Yverantheia g the little tentacle, which tilted its body in fusion.

  "Yes, we were able to find you thanks to the emissary."

  Yverantheia uzzled. Givetle tentacle’s slow movement, she should have easily outrun it within minutes, reag distances far beyond its sight. Yet it had found her with unerring accuracy.

  ‘Could it be… the blood?’

  Wheheia had been gravely injured, it was the tentacle that healed her, abs her spilled blood in the process. It seemed the most likely expnation was that it could trayone whose blood it had absorbed.

  ‘This little guy has a unique ability,’ Yverantheia mused.

  Although she still didn’t fully uand why it followed her, she saotential uses for its abilities. Moreover, it might possess other unknown skills. Just this realization made Yverantheia more ined to keep it by her side.

  "Well done, I'm pleased you found me."

  "We are honored! But, about the smurfs…"

  "Uh…"

  Realizing their misuanding, the smurfs were taken aback.

  "The goblin tribe has submitted to you, which proves your strength. On behalf of the smurfs, the blue elves, I decre our submission to you," the elder announced.

  Seeing the situation clearly, the elder knew better than to resist. He wasn’t foolish; as long as safety was assured, there was no harm in submitting to the strong. Moreover, from the goblin chief’s demeanor, Yverantheia didn’t seem to be a tyrant.

  Thus, two-thirds of the mountain range fell under Yverantheia’s rule.