One by one, they crept quietly over to them.
"So next we go down and look for Toga?"
Bruno looked at Gauss.
"Don’t rush it."
Gauss absorbed the last wisp of goblin spirit.
Maybe he had absorbed too much goblin spirit; the clay goblin he pinched out now looked almost indistinguishable from the real deal, even managing to mimic that disgusting stench.
Aside from not being able to chatter with other goblins in their "wu-wu-zha-zha" language, there was basically no way to tell it apart.
Under the Dwarves’ shocked gazes, the clay Gauss threw out rapidly transformed, and then a vividly lifelike ugly little green-skinned imp appeared beside everyone.
Its appearance was so realistic that the Dwarves instinctively reached for the weapons at their waists.
"Let my Magic Goblin go in and scout things out first."
He had deliberately chosen the moment when the hunting squad had just returned from outside with a big haul into the Underground City town to launch the attack; for a short time, no other goblins should be coming back.
Before the actual assault, Gauss felt he had to locate Toga first.
Otherwise, once the battle started, things would definitely get even more chaotic, and it would be even more troublesome to search for her then.
And the aftermath of their fighting might affect her as well.
Soon, the goblin Gauss had created moved its legs under his control and walked toward the entrance of the Underground City town.
Gauss was also able to share its vision.
He was very familiar with goblins’ movements and various unconscious behaviors.
So controlling it to walk around looked no different from an ordinary goblin.
The entrance was in the plaza at the center of the ruins.
Once it reached here, the number of goblins increased.
These goblins were gathered here, loading the prey caught by the just-returned hunting squad onto handcarts, ready to transport it down to the residential area below.
While they were busy, one goblin silently merged into them.
Under the gaze of a goblin boss nearby, the goblins swallowed their saliva but honestly pushed the carts.
Of course, not all goblins were that honest; one goblin who couldn’t control its appetite was already lying to the side, skin split open and flesh torn, screaming miserably.
Following his "companions," Gauss smoothly entered the monster town.
After going down a steep slope, Gauss entered a spacious underground area.
This should be the Underground City defensive facilities for this town; when monsters invaded, the ordinary residents of the city could temporarily hide inside here.
Who would’ve thought it had now become a natural goblin nest.
There were even more goblins in the underground space.
Some of them were using stone tools to dig and expand the nest in all directions, while others were grinding and making primitive tools.
Gauss even saw the figures of several Big Goblins.
After sending the food to the designated storage area, Gauss didn’t go back to the surface with the other goblins to haul more supplies; instead, he slipped away quietly.
He silently observed the entire Underground City town.
A few wooden huts had been built in the middle; they looked like the residences of the "rulers" of the nest.
Most of the goblins just slept randomly on open ground covered with dry grass; if there was a wooden pole propping up a shanty, that already counted as a wealthy household.
There were a lot of them, but in fact the level of development wasn’t that high, huh?
Gauss came to that conclusion.
This was obviously a somewhat deformed tribe, or rather one in the early stage of development.
They had numbers but lacked quality.
A jackal came over to Gauss, sniffed him lightly, and, finding nothing wrong, quickly ran off again.
Seeing this, Gauss was even more certain that his clay goblin was now indistinguishable from the genuine article.
So he searched the Underground City town with greater confidence.
...
"Guu——"
Inside the cell.
A red‑curled female Dwarf, Toga, slowly opened her eyes.
She had already gone hungry for two days.
But these damned green-skinned imps hadn’t shown the slightest intention of giving her any food.
The residual toxins in her body also made her limbs weak and sapped all her strength.
You could say that right now, any random goblin could probably take her life.
The only thing that comforted her was that the goblin leader here seemed to fancy her smithing skills, only locking her up here without doing anything else.
Otherwise, she would definitely find a way to end her own life before being violated.
Right now, she only hoped that Bruno, that guy, would realize she’d gone missing as soon as possible and come up with something.
"Tap——"
Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.
The footsteps stopped abruptly only when they reached her side.
Toga struggled to lift her head and looked over, her gaze turning wary.
She saw a neither-fat-nor-thin goblin standing outside the cage, sizing her up.
This was the first time a goblin had come over since she was locked up here.
So, were these goblins about to do something to her?
Her mood suddenly tensed up.
Just as she started letting her imagination run wild, the strange goblin that had been staring at her suddenly spoke.
"Don’t be afraid, I’m here to save you."
"Huh?"
Toga’s eyes instantly widened.
This goblin was speaking standard human Common Tongue.
"I’m an Adventurer entrusted by Bruno, and this is one of my Magic mimicry clones."
Hearing Bruno’s name, Toga finally relaxed.
At the same time, the heart that had been sinking into despair suddenly lit up again.
Even the ugly goblin in front of her seemed to become more amiable.
Is there anything in this world more stressful than being a female creature in a goblin nest?