Goblins—there is no equivalent concept in the Far Eastern language of Shenzhou. They are humanoid creatures that belong to Western myth and fantasy.
They are usually depicted with dark green skin and long pointed ears, small and ugly little underlings.
Though ugly and individually weak, typically treated as nothing more than beginner village mobs, if one were to name the most famous creatures in Western fantasy, goblins would undoubtedly claim a place.
In terms of fame and cultural reach, they stand shoulder to shoulder with dragons, elves, dwarves, and slimes. Without question, they are among the most iconic of Western fantasy beings.
"Oh? You actually recognize this disgusting thing that barely qualifies as prey?" Esdeath spread open the dossier and gave it a little shake, clearly surprised.
That shouldn't be the case. Weren't the home worlds of these Valkyries technologically advanced civilizations that had already entered the Information Age?
Aside from the Honkai Beasts born from the great Honkai Eruptions, goblins and other demi-human species... when she had led the assault on Anti-Entropy's headquarters in the Americas, she hadn't seen anything like that.
Even if such creatures had fixed territorial habitats, why hadn't there been any record of them in other Legions' battle reports?
Logically speaking, Bronya shouldn't know about this kind of creature. Unless...
"Where did you learn about them?" Esdeath looked at the gray-haired girl with twin drill pigtails before her. "From imperial colonial archives in the library, or..."
"From a game." Her voice was flat and emotionless.
"Huh?"
Esdeath froze for a moment.
"The 'game' you're talking about is... hunting? Horse racing? Chess? Rugby...?"
"None of those. This..." As she spoke, Bronya reached into her pocket, fumbled for a moment, and pulled out a handheld console roughly seven inches long and about 3.2 inches wide.
It was silver-gray, with buttons on both sides—somewhat resembling a Nintendo Switch.
"A personal tactical terminal?"
Taking it from her, Esdeath turned it over in her hands, examining it carefully. It looked oddly familiar. The Imperial Auxilia and the Servitor Army had similar standard-issue equipment.
Aside from the military versions being bulkier, rougher, and slightly smaller, they were remarkably alike.
But what did a game have to do with a brick-like single-soldier personal terminal? Did it have communication and positioning functions built into it as well?
"How do you use this?"
Pressing the buttons and turning the device on, Esdeath stared at the screen filled with square icons—colorful, varied, and flashy—feeling utterly lost.
"Online game. Goblins... let me see. After I cleared it last time, I..." Bronya rose slightly on her toes and tapped the touchscreen a few times, swiping across it.
Am I just that ignorant? Esdeath's expression grew extremely focused.
Forgive her—this barbarian from the Empire's far north. While the Empire had indeed absorbed many industrial and Information Age civilizations, and a broad entertainment industry certainly existed, Esdeath herself... whenever there was war, she went to fight.
Aside from key light and heavy industrial equipment, Esdeath—no, in fact many Imperial soldiers, especially those born in the Empire proper—had always treated things like game consoles and personal computers with disdain, even if they had encountered them.
After all, once war broke out and artillery roared, a city's power grid, networks, and communication lines were cut immediately. By the time sweeping operations began, those devices were nothing more than powerless decorations.
And once the war ended and Esdeath returned to the Imperial Capital, she would never request online games. Her entertainment consisted of hunting, horse racing, training, and gladiatorial combat.
The electronic devices she used were primarily for communication, video, positioning, maps, and submitting or reviewing combat reports.
Even if the people under her command dabbled in such entertainment industries, it was done privately.
To put it simply—you could slack off and play games during work, sure. But who would openly announce it? That would be like playing on your phone in class right in front of the dean. Asking for trouble.
"Found it. This one. Bronya has played quite a few Western fantasy games. Goblins and kobolds are practically mandatory monsters in every Western fantasy adventure game. This is the only one I haven't uninstalled yet."
When it came to games—especially while introducing one to her current superior, General Esdeath—Bronya inexplicably felt a sense of missionary zeal. Her usually flat voice grew rare and noticeable excitement.
After all, besides being a programmer, special forces soldier, and Valkyrie, in daily life Bronya was a dominant high-tier player in the gaming world. Arcade, PC, console—she mastered them all.
Her in-game persona, known as "Metal Gear Bronya," was a widely renowned big shot across gaming communities.
As for someone like Kiana—a complete newbie—Bronya could crush her with one hand.
Back when the game "Karen Fantasy" launched its public beta, Bronya had been so strong that the developers were forced to resort to underhanded measures, using administrator privileges.
A burst of rousing startup sound effects rang out—Ding—! The screen flashed white, and instantly a fantastical image of swords and magic appeared.
"This is Bronya's completed collection compendium." She opened the achievements tab on the main interface and enthusiastically tapped into her personal bestiary.
She had figured it out—Esdeath wasn't just clueless about online games. She was practically a beginner when it came to computers in general.
"This one." Bronya pointed with her small finger.
Looking at the final page of the compendium, at the very bottom—a green-skinned underling with only a single white star for rarity—Esdeath compared it with the image in the dossier she held.
"It really does look similar."
The goblin in the game compendium, perhaps due to legal restrictions for the sake of minors, was relatively clean and smooth-skinned, not excessively bloody or realistic. Ugly, yes—but at least tolerable.
The images in the dossier provided by the base supervisor of the Space Wolves Legion, however, were far more nauseating.
Every goblin pictured was filthy, with flattened, elongated skulls covered in fleshy tumors—some of them ruptured. Thick saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths. Even through a mere photograph, one could almost imagine the unbearable stench up close.
Just as Esdeath curiously tapped through other monster entries to read their background descriptions, Kiana suddenly slipped beside Bronya and hugged her from behind.
"Hehe, Bronya, didn't you always say you're the mature one and that I'm just a noob who loves to play? So why are you carrying a game console around with you?"
With a teasing grin, Kiana nudged Bronya's lower back with her elbow.
"Mm... this is a soldier's dignity." Bronya's eyes shifted slightly, clearly a bit embarrassed, but she still tried to maintain her calm tone.
"I think I understand what kind of goblins you're familiar with." Esdeath raised her head and waved Bronya's handheld console. "Bronya, right? Could I borrow this for one night?"
"Yes."
"Then thank you." Esdeath waved her hand and said to the base supervisor beside her, "Take them to the dormitories first."
"Have a good rest tonight. Tonight will probably be the most comfortable night you'll have for quite some time."
With that, Esdeath led the members of the Jaegers Unit toward another fork in the corridor.
Just as she was about to turn the corner, Esdeath suddenly stopped and looked back at Kiana and the others with a strange smile.
"A friendly reminder. These goblins are not the same as those goblins."
"See you tomorrow."
"...See you tomorrow." Kiana waved and muttered.
"Aren't goblins just beginner mobs in games... how strong could they possibly be?"
"Don't underestimate this." Fu Hua grabbed Senti—who was eagerly staring down toward the colosseum beneath the fortress—and said seriously, "I have a feeling this trial won't simply test our strength. There will be other aspects as well."
"We must prepare ourselves. This is only the beginning of the trial," Durandal added. "After this, there's still Mr. Sebas. That will be the real training."
"Mm. One can tell Mr. Sebas is a very strict person." Rita glanced at the gray-armored giant from the Space Wolves and bowed slightly. "Supervisor, we'll trouble you."
"What a hassle, these formalities." He muttered, then turned his head and signaled. "Take them to the upper dormitories."
"Yes!"
...
"Uh... I thought the upper section would be some kind of presidential suite. Turns out it's still a dormitory."
The moment they stepped into the room and saw rows of bunk beds, Senti immediately looked deflated.
"That's it? How could this possibly match this Immortal's noble status—ow!"
Fu Hua immediately chopped her on the head and said helplessly, "Be grateful you have somewhere to stay. For all we know, tomorrow night we might be sleeping out in the wilderness."
"The other Hua is so picky... isn't this already pretty nice?" Pardofelis said cheerfully as she stepped inside.
"Pardo! I'm going to smash that cat head of yours!"
"Waaah—! Sister Hua, save me!"
Walking in, Kiana and Raiden Mei exchanged a smile. They kicked off their boots, placed them neatly into the shoe cabinet, and stepped further inside.
The entire floor was covered with a massive handwoven braided carpet. The fibers seemed to come from some unknown animal—but since goblins existed here, perhaps it came from some magical beast of a fantasy world.
Barefoot on the carpet, their feet sank nearly halfway into the thick softness. The extremely comfortable sensation shot straight from the soles of their feet to their heads.
Although the space was far smaller than some of the Palace Annex residences they had stayed in within the Imperial Capital, it was more than sufficient. The atmosphere stirred warm memories for them.
"Kiana, which bed do you want?"
"Isn't that obvious? Of course I'm sleeping with Mei!"
Before Raiden Mei could react, Kiana suddenly wrapped her in a hug and buried her face in the girl's soft chest, breathing in the rich feminine fragrance around her—something like lavender.
"Kiana... honestly, what am I supposed to do with you?"
With the sensitive area being squeezed, a strange glimmer appeared in the girl's clear amethyst-like eyes. Her long purple-black ponytail swayed back and forth.
"Lady Durandal, I didn't expect we would have another chance to live in a shared dormitory like this. How nostalgic," Rita said.
After choosing a bunk near the window, the maid who always considered herself Durandal's personal attendant immediately began tidying the bed, happily constructing their temporary little nest.
"Whatever awaits us tomorrow, proper rest will help us face the trial better, wouldn't you agree, Lady Durandal?"
"You're quite optimistic, Rita." Though she said that, Durandal didn't just stand there watching. She stepped forward to help make the bed.
"Bronya-nee."
"Seele."
...
Soon, the dormitory lights were switched off.
But with moonlight filtering through the windows—and the faint sounds of breathing in the darkness—it was easy to imagine how the room had become filled with the mixed scent of so many girls and their pheromones that night.
Meanwhile, Esdeath's room remained brightly lit. She flipped through the records in the dossier while comparing them with the background descriptions on Bronya's handheld console.
"The difference is huge. It's hard to believe they're supposed to represent the same species."
The similarities were that goblins frequently appeared in forests and around remote frontier villages. Individually weak, they reproduced rapidly and usually attacked other creatures in groups.
If other worlds might contain good goblins, then the goblins of this world were evil beyond ordinary imagination. A purely predatory species that produced nothing themselves. Every resource they possessed came from burning, killing, and looting.
Furthermore, the goblins of this world possessed a particularly distinctive trait: they were all male.
In other words, their reproduction depended entirely on females of other races.
When they captured men, they would either kill and eat them immediately or butcher them to store as rations. Women suffered even worse fates. They were taken away to serve as tools for reproduction and as reserve food supplies.
Their ultimate fate required no explanation.
According to expedition reports from various Astartes Legions, goblins had been discovered in many worlds that hosted extraordinary lifeforms.
But a case as revolting as the Fifth Trial World—"Goblin Slayer"—was truly one of a kind.
Esdeath recalled that when the governor of this world had first submitted the goblin reports to the imperial central authorities, even Selene had been alerted.
But after reading the documents, Selene had ultimately treated the matter with little concern.
"However... what did Her Majesty mean by 'green skins' and 'waaagh'?"
She did not dwell on the thought, assuming it merely referred to another goblin species. Esdeath tapped the handheld console on the desk.
"The difference..."
Comparison truly made the contrast unbearable. Next to the creatures in reality, the goblins in Bronya's game almost seemed like saints.
Standing up, Esdeath pushed open the window and gazed at the twin planets shining in the night sky outside.
"I've decided. Whether Kiana and the others can overcome this hurdle or not, once this is over..."
"I'm going to wipe them out. Every last one of them."