The Western Swamp was damp and soggy.
A glossy beetle was huffing and puffing as it crawled across the slippery old tree roots.
The roots were covered in a thick layer of green moss, causing the hooks on the beetle Little Shell's limbs to slip slightly, nearly making it fall.
It crawled and crawled, finally emerging from this perpetually misty old forest.
The light became slightly brighter, though the sky remained grayish.
But the ground beneath its feet was noticeably drier and much firmer, no longer the kind of black-water-oozing muck that squelched with every step.
Little Shell comfortably stretched its legs.
Just then, a smell mixing rotten fish, stinky sweat, and burnt hair violently assaulted its sensory organs.
It looked up in alarm and saw that on the relatively dry, habitable high ground ahead stood a stinking fortress.
Little Shell shook its antennae and decided to detour to avoid being mistaken for a rock and kicked by a goblin.
After it scurried away, a series of noisy, shrill screams soon erupted from the relatively open forest clearing outside the fortress.
"Pull tight, you idiots! To the left, left!"
"It's getting away, shoot its legs, no, its butt!"
"Owwwooo—!"
Over a dozen well-equipped goblin warriors were scrambling frantically, using several tough vine ropes to try and restrain a colossal creature that had fallen into a furious rage.
This was a Wild Boar King, its size far exceeding the ordinary!
Its hide was an unhealthy gray-black color, coarse as steel needles, caked with mud and congealed dark red blood scabs.
Two curved, massive tusks gleamed coldly in the dim light like two drawn scimitars.
"ROAR—!!!"
The Wild Boar King's eyes flashed red as it violently shook its head. Its terrifying brute force erupted instantly, and the taut vine ropes snapped with loud, straining *TWANG* sounds.
Several goblin warriors clinging desperately to the ropes felt an irresistible, immense force wrench them away. They screamed as they were flung through the air, crashing into tree trunks like discarded sacks.
Or, even more unluckily, plummeting directly into the nearby muck, splashing up large sprays of filthy water.
Freed from its restraints, the enraged Wild Boar King went completely berserk.
It snorted, its pillar-like thick hooves churning up large clods of earth as it charged like an out-of-control heavy war chariot toward the remaining, petrified goblins.
A young tree as thick as a bowl in its path was snapped clean in half upon impact.
"Run!"
"By Grolush!"
"My new leather armor!"
The goblins were scared out of their wits, dropping their weapons and armor, wishing they had been born with extra legs. The scene descended into utter chaos.
"Hmph!"
Right then, a dull snort, rumbling like thunder, sounded.
A tall, powerfully built figure abruptly appeared directly in the path of the Wild Boar King's charge.
He didn't even adopt a defensive stance, just stood casually with his arms hanging naturally at his sides.
The bugbear Hammerbone.
He stood two heads taller than the largest goblin, wearing only a heavy leather loincloth, his upper body bare, showcasing an explosive sense of power.
The massive, spike-covered maul, caked with dark red bloodstains, rested casually against the ground by his feet.
Facing the wildly charging Boar King, Hammerbone's huge hands shot out like lightning, firmly gripping the bases of the boar's two massive tusks.
And pushed down.
The wild charge came to an abrupt, screeching halt!
The Wild Boar King's four hooves frantically scrabbled at the ground, mud flying everywhere, as it let out an ear-splitting roar, its crimson eyes glaring fixedly at the "little one" blocking its path.
Yet, no matter how much force it exerted, those tusks capable of smashing trees remained immovable in Hammerbone's grasp, as if welded into iron pillars.
His feet sank deep into the muddy ground, but his burly body remained steady as a rock.
"Trash."
Hammerbone rumbled his assessment.
After a brief, dead silence, the surrounding surviving goblins erupted into deafening shrieks and cheers:
"Lord Hammerbone is mighty!"
"So strong! Truly worthy of being the leader of the Rockbreaker tribe!"
"The Wild Boar King is like a little bug in Lord Hammerbone's hands!"
"Lord Hammerbone! Lord Hammerbone!"
Hammerbone paid no heed to the flattery around him. The muscles in his arms bulged as he exerted force, pressing down violently.
"CRACK!"
The Wild Boar King let out a shrill, distorted shriek of agony. Its massive head was forcibly pressed down until it nearly touched the ground.
Its front legs buckled, and its enormous body crashed to its knees with a thunderous impact. Only its hind hooves continued to twitch and struggle unconsciously, its previous ferocious momentum completely gone.
"Tie it up."
Hammerbone released his grip and brushed off the boar hair and mud clinging to him.
The goblins immediately swarmed in with thicker ropes and chains, hastily trussing up the thoroughly subdued Wild Boar King.
Behind Hammerbone, a goblin shaman leaning on a bone staff carefully skirted the mess on the ground and approached.
A fawning smile was plastered across his face.
"Lord Hammerbone, your strength would make even a giant sigh in admiration, it's truly remarkable. However, I must inform you of some bad news…"
He rubbed his hands together, lowering his voice.
"Bonebreaker and Venomfang, sent to investigate the eastern swamp, have lost contact. It seems that place indeed holds unknown dangers."
Hearing this, Hammerbone rumbled, "Danger? If you lot can't handle it, then I'll just go smash it flat myself."
Saying this, he bent down to pick up his terrifying maul.
"Lord Hammerbone, you cannot leave now!"
The shaman nearly jumped in fright, hastily spreading his scrawny arms as if to block the way, urgently pleading:
"Army Commander Splitfang is preparing for the war against the Dark Realm, planning to capture more slaves to mine ore during the summer. If you leave now…"
A flicker of irritation crossed Hammerbone's face, like a fierce beast tethered, seeing prey frolicking just out of reach but unable to pounce.
He snorted heavily, blasting two plumes of air from his nostrils. "Troublesome."
He scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the still-cheering goblin warriors, before finally settling back on the fawning shaman beside him, then glancing at the tightly bound Wild Boar King on the ground.
He reached out a massive hand and, as easily as plucking a chick, hoisted the scrawny shaman up into the air.
"Since I cannot go…"
Hammerbone rumbled, then swung his arm, sending the shaman—amidst his terrified shrieks—flying onto the Wild Boar King's broad back.
"Wha—?!"
The shaman was scared out of his wits, frantically grabbing handfuls of the boar's coarse mane to keep from tumbling off immediately.
Hammerbone clapped his hands in satisfaction, pointing east. "You, ride this big fellow there. It's got plenty of spirit."
"Even the sturdiest fortress, it can smash right through it with one charge. Go on, dig out that skulking creature for me."
Perched on the violently heaving back of the Wild Boar King, feeling the tremors of muscle and the scorching body heat beneath him, the shaman's face turned green. His voice was tearful.
"L-Lord Ham-Hammerbone, th-this Wild Boar King... it... it isn't tamed yet, it... it won't listen to me."
Hearing this, Hammerbone crossed his burly arms, his expression one of obviousness as he rumbled, "Hmph, of course..."
He hadn't even finished his sentence—"of course it won't listen to you."
"ROAR—!!!"
Perhaps the shaman's struggles irritated the Wild Boar King. The colossal beast let out a thunderous roar, its hind hooves madly kicking at the ground, and shot forward like an out-of-control cannonball, carrying the shaman on its back.
"Huh?"
Hammerbone was momentarily stunned. By the time he processed it, the Wild Boar King, bearing the shaman who could only scream "Aaaaah!", had already plunged headlong into the dense forest.
Dust, shredded leaves, broken branches... and the shaman's rapidly fading wails swiftly vanished into the woods.
Oh, his poor shaman advisor.
"What are you all standing around here for? Go after them!"
"Find that undead lord to the east and crush it for me."
"Yes, sir!"
The goblin warriors shrieked their acknowledgment, not daring to delay. They scrambled to grab their weapons and scurried off in the direction the Wild Boar King had disappeared.