Malin remembered that this little squirrel was called Milani; its owner had named it this. As a spirit, it could understand human speech, which was very important because, in general, spirits that couldn’t understand humans were already dead.
Malin took out a small twig with a tiny acorn on it; for an omnivorous spirit like Milani, the fruit induced by spiritual energy was irresistible.
Milani was starving too and started gnawing at the acorn right away. After finishing it off, she then contentedly perched on Malin’s shoulder.
It seemed that the previous winter had not been kind to the little creature in the wild.
"Come to think of it, I’ve never seen such an obedient animal spirit. My family’s big dog only listens to my father and doesn’t care for anyone else’s words", Faye said, looking at the squirrel on Malin’s shoulder. She cautiously approached and stretched out her hand, trying to touch the squirrel.
Malin noticed Milani’s wariness and fear and gently tapped its little head, "Milani, this is Faye. If you let her hold you, this acorn is yours."
With a surprisingly human-like expression of astonishment on its little face, Milani patted its belly and then clutched the acorn, jumping straight into Faye’s hands.
"My goodness, I’ve never seen a spirit behave so well," Clovis also came over, holding an acorn in her hand that was similarly nurtured with spiritual energy. Milani sniffed her acorn, pursed its lips in refusal, but still rubbed its head against the back of Clovis’s hand.
"It must have been raised by someone before. But tell me, Malin, do you know its owner?" Clovis asked with a look of surprise.
So Malin retold the story of its owner and friend.
Upon hearing that it was a pet of a member of the Church of the War God’s squad, Clovis pointed her finger and tapped Milani’s little head, "Poor thing, it’s already used to humans as its masters. It’s harder for it to survive in the wild compared to wild spirits. Having made it through this winter was very difficult indeed."
"Yes, since it has managed to find me again, I’ll adopt it," Malin said with a smile, watching Milani in Faye’s palm clinging to the acorn, unable but unwilling to let go of the second one, "Milani, give the acorn to Faye. Let her keep it for you."
Upon hearing Malin’s words, Milani turned its head to look at Faye, and after a brief moment of perplexity, it stood up and offered the acorn to her.
The girls’ hearts melted instantly.
Watching this scene, Malin smiled and patted the walking stick that had transformed from the small twig in his hand.
Don’t worry; you’ll always be my number one.
As Malin, leading the group, crested the hill, he stopped at Milani’s shrieking. The little squirrel leaped onto his shoulder and pointed ahead, incessantly jumping.
Malin pondered, "You’re saying there’s danger ahead?"
"What kind of danger is it, and do you think we can handle it if you lead us to see it?" Malin felt lucky to have encountered the little squirrel today. Having lived in this area for half a year, it could certainly be considered a local guide. If it could lead the way, the task would be halved.
Milani continued to nod, gesturing first at Malin and then towards the distance.
"Shields up, search formation," Malin commanded. The two dwarves moved to either side of the group while Jessica, armed with a firearm, moved behind Malin.
Malin let go of Milani; the little squirrel bounced ahead, moving along the ridge line until it stopped near a grove two miles in, then hopped back onto Malin’s shoulder, pointing toward the opposite side of the hill’s crest.
Malin, accompanied by Jessica, climbed to the top and lay on the snowy ground covered with a camo tarp hurriedly prepared by Malin. From there, he saw a small settlement at the foot of the opposite hill.
"Goblins," Jessica frowned, "How have they come so close to human settlements?"
Malin looked up the definition of goblins—these pests were trouble. It took about five or even more goblins to match a single adult human in combat, but these bastards relied on numbers. Malin glanced at the settlement, "I can see more than forty outside, I don’t know how many are in the seven tents, but the total number should not exceed a hundred. I haven’t seen any goblins with ranged weapons."
"A goblin settlement. If they form a tribe, then there should be young ones. It’s still very cold today; the young aren’t outside, but we can’t rule out this possibility," Jessica observed then looked at Malin, "Goblins attack our human villages, stealing cattle and sheep, and if a human is alone, especially children, they might kill and eat the victims."
"So you’re saying, we’re in competition with them?"
"Competition? That could be one way to put it."
"Then I know what to do. You stay here and watch them; I’ll go down and assign the tasks."
Sliding down the hill, Malin relayed the situation on the other side to Faye, "Should we take care of them?"
"I agree. These goblin scouts might belong to a large tribe. The weather is cold this year, and if the goblin tribes in the wilderness don’t have enough food, they would choose to emerge from the forests and plunder any villages they can reach," Faye, as the commander, was the first to consent.
Once Faye spoke, there was no opposition, so Malin and Faye organized an attack—Malin led his people around to the north, coordinating with spellcasters to drive the goblins west along the hillside with an Earth Elemental Avatar, while Faye led the remaining spellcasters and archers to shoot the goblins from the hilltop.
This was the best outcome, and if the goblins didn’t flee but fought the Earth Elemental, then Malin wouldn’t charge in. Instead, like Faye on the hilltop, they would use firearms to pick off the goblins.
The age had its advantages; nearly every church apprentice had a firearm license and a gun. The only difference was their ability to hit targets at a long range. Thus, Malin left the better shots with Faye, who would be firing from the hilltop, while he took those less proficient and swapped their weapons for shotguns—when loaded with buckshot, one sweep could clear an area. In such circumstances, simply firing into the crowd of goblins would suffice.
Once in position, Malin flashed a small mirror towards the direction of the hillside twice, and upon receiving a response, he and Lillim summoned eight Earth Elemental Avatars.
The appearance of the Earth Elementals immediately set off shrill warnings from the goblins, and Malin could see juveniles and their mothers scurrying out of the tents.
Some goblins attempted to flee with their young while others began to fight the Earth Elementals. It was at this moment that gunfire rang out from the hillside, targeting the fleeing goblins, causing those who managed to escape their settlements to fall continuously. The plain beyond the snowy hill offered no cover, and while some goblins attempted to fight back with bows and arrows, their weapons couldn’t even send an arrow as far as the hilltop.
The Earth Elementals by then had also breached the defensive line of the resisting goblins. However, Malin and Lillim did not order them to pursue the runners but to keep battling the goblins.
The fleeing goblins fell into pools of their own blood. The cold and blood loss would quickly lead to their deaths. Malin saw a juvenile wailing among the bodies, then a bullet flipped it onto the ground.
"Let’s move up." Malin stood up, and stepping out from behind the cover of rocks and shrubs, he fired his shotgun at a goblin using a boulder as cover. The lead shot pierced through its body, knocking the creature to the ground.
Malin’s comrades also began their attack. Many goblins lucky enough to survive the initial assault and hiding behind cover were now under fire. The battle quickly ended.
Leading the advance, Malin emptied the bullets in his lever-action shotgun, then, wielding a Revolver, he continued to shoot at the struggling goblins.
Soon, young boys dragged over several surrendering goblins. One of the boys pulled out a bottle and began pouring its contents onto a goblin’s head.
Malin walked over and pushed him away, "What are you doing?"
"Burning them, Sir Malin," In the Church of the Harvest Goddess, no apprentice was unaware of Malin’s strength. The boy promptly responded, "It’s high-proof alcohol."
"That’s too wasteful. Besides, remember this: we can be butchers slaughtering other races, but not lunatics committing all manner of evil. They lack civilization and conscience, but we understand these things, so..." Malin paused, glancing at everyone, "All goblins still breathing must be finished with a bullet or a bayonet, but do not burn them or torture them. You may do as you wish when I’m not here, but as long as I am present, it’s not allowed."
"Alright, Sir." The boys sulked and then pulled out bayonets, fixing them to their guns.
Malin passed by a dying goblin, the Revolver in his hand pointed at it. He didn’t pull the trigger in the end—the creature had just breathed its last.
"Sir Malin, there are some juveniles here too." The boys herded a group of goblin juveniles towards him.
"Do we have any record of using goblins in plantations or mines?" Malin examined the juveniles before looking up at Faye approaching him.
"Mines, but to be honest, goblins are more like single-use tools. These juveniles, if in the North, would only serve as feed for the mounts of Wolf Riders," remarked Faye as she eyed the juvenile goblins. Then she was assailed by the smell permeating the air and covered her nose with a hand.
"Hand them over to the Church of Justice. Let them deal with these juveniles," Malin said, and Jessica quickly whipped out a large coil of rope to tie up the young goblins.
"You’re too kind, Sir." A team member made the comment.
Malin smiled in response, "We spill blood in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and it’s crucial to remember this. Indiscriminate killing is merely the beginning of chaos."