Ch 21

  Matt stilled his breath as he listened intently for any sign of the goblins. He heard them round the corner, their crude chatter echoing softly along the cave’s walls. Although most of their conversation wasn’t essential to his plan for tackling what he now considered a massive infestation, it revealed unsettling details about their mindset. Their focus, disturbingly centered on sex, confirmed that Matt had unwittingly wandered down the hall toward the so-called breeding pits. That dreadful term alone filled him with apprehension about what horrors might await him deeper inside, though those worries were abruptly interrupted when two goblins came to a stop.

  After exchanging a few vulgar words of farewell, the other goblins in the group departed, leaving the remaining pair to settle onto a pair of stones placed right at the curve of the cave. A weighty silence hung in the air before the two goblins began to grumble about being stuck on guard duty instead of luxuriating in the breeding pits as they preferred. Just as Matt was contemplating his next move—possibly eliminating the two and making a swift escape—one goblin’s words halted him in his tracks.

  "I can’t wait until those stupid scouts finish rounding up all the new brood bitches," declared the first goblin in a gleeful, mocking tone. "It’s been too long since I last savored the despair in their eyes as they realized they’d do just about anything for a chance at survival."

  "I still can’t believe one of them tried launching an attack without proper authorization," grumbled the second goblin. "That idiot—and everyone who went along with his plan—deserved the death they got. I can’t fathom that they truly believed bringing back six unbroken bitches would lead to any outcome other than their own demise, even if they somehow succeeded."

  "That’s just the fate for the rejects who never had a hope of ever laying eyes on a proper, bent-over bitch ready for breeding," the first goblin laughed scornfully. "All they can dream of is bending over another reject and deceiving themselves into thinking it matters."

  Still, the second goblin pressed on, "But what do you think the king will do now that a move has been made?"

  "Nothing will change," the first replied dismissively. "By the end of the month, the constant monster attacks will have them pushed to their limits. With the wastes targeting every man they can find during that time, the weaker women will begin to crumble as they always do. Then the real fun begins: those of us with brains—and those deemed truly worthy of breeding—will finally make our move."

  "I think we should focus on the group that the idiots tried to kidnap," the second goblin suggested. "They should be made an example of, especially the man they brought along."

  "Oh, so you think he should be one of those who gets buggered to give the reluctant bitches the final push to surrender?" the first sneered.

  "No, I say he should be tied down while we unleash half a dozen of our crazed bitches on him," replied the second with a dark chuckle.

  "That will never happen," the first countered. "The king won’t risk any challenges to his authority at this point. Besides, do you really want to see your chance to breed ruined because six of our bitches end up carrying a human’s baby?"

  "Watching that bastard get devoured while having his seed stolen would be worth every chaotic moment—especially when all these new bitches are ready to be broken in. Ideally, I’d even breed one of the six with him at the same time, forcing them to watch just what our women can do."

  Matt felt an overwhelming urge to vomit, but he suppressed it as his desire to eliminate all the goblins intensified with each vile word they uttered. Despite their repulsive language, he was gaining valuable information from them. That was until one of the goblins who had left suddenly dashed back in, shouting frantically about the monsters that Matt had allowed to enter. With that, the conversation abruptly ended as two goblins rushed towards the commotion, while the other goblin sprinted further into the tunnel.

  This situation presented a dilemma for Matt: he could either continue to remain hidden and recuperate, pursue the goblin running deeper into the tunnel to kill him before the alarm could be raised further, or attempt an escape. Though not in perfect condition, Matt was in significantly better shape than before; his arm was functional again and he was no longer bleeding. Thus, staying hidden was no longer an option. He quickly abandoned his hiding spot and charged further in, deciding that eliminating the goblin who had run deeper into the tunnel was the best course of action, regardless of any other factors.

  It didn't take long for him to catch up, as his pace was considerably faster due to his longer legs, and the goblin appeared to be nearly out of breath. When Matt plunged his knife downward, he swiftly dispatched the goblin, and a quick message appeared before him.

  Monstered killed: Level 7 goblin.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Base experience multiplied by 5.

  Awarding 150 experience.

  Current experience to next level 2358/3000.

  With a dead goblin sprawled on the ground before him, Matt scanned his surroundings for a place to hide the body. This led him to make the unfortunate decision of peering around the next corner, where he stumbled upon a scene that could only be described as hellish. The tunnel expanded into a smaller chamber dominated by a large cage. Inside the cage were women of diverse body types, ranging from petite with pronounced curves to towering bodybuilders. Their skin tones varied from deep green to stone gray, leaving Matt struggling to process their unique beauty. A quick count suggested there were about 15 women, but there may have been more, as the sight of so many nude figures, none of whom were human, made it difficult to think clearly. It was evident, however, that not all were goblins or hobgoblins, given that two of the women appeared strong enough to crush him with their bare hands, defying his expectations of either species.

  Matt might have continued to stare indefinitely if one of the muscular women hadn’t focused her attention on him. She didn’t break his trance immediately; instead, she began by smiling at his gaze before turning to present a full view of the scene. Only after he had taken a step back and garnered the attention of every other woman in the cage did she speak, snapping Matt back to his senses.

  "Like what you see? If so, why not let me out, and I’ll gladly show you what I'm capable of," she offered with a confident smirk.

  "Thanks, but I’m good," Matt replied, his reflexes kicking in from the few occasions he had been flirted with in town back on Earth. "Though, I am curious—why are you all being kept in a cage?"

  "You must be clueless about goblin society," replied a woman who appeared to be about four feet tall, with an ample bust and a bubbly demeanor. "This is what it means to be born female and still be able to breed."

  "Got it, so what happens if all of you manage to escape?" asked Matt as he shifted his gaze to the opposite corner of the room, his stomach churning with disgust at the thought of being attracted to any of the women present.

  "Are all human men like you?" demanded the bodybuilder-like goblin woman, her tone edged with hostility.

  "I'm not exactly sure what you're implying, but I doubt it," Matt replied. "We're quite varied in both appearance and personality."

  "I see. In that case, if you let me out, I'll simply find a few of you to have fun with—interested or not," the bodybuilder-like goblin woman retorted with a smirk. "Though I suppose I'll give you a slight head start on escaping, as thanks for finally freeing me from another disappointing tryst."

  "Got it, so your entire species is all about rape?" Matt snapped, turning to leave. "I'll keep that in mind before I decide to—"

  "No, we're about having sex and reproducing," interjected a four-foot-tall goblin in a surprisingly authoritative tone. "Besides, can you honestly say that looking at us doesn't make you want to forget about leaving and lose yourself completely?"

  "The head on my shoulders tells me that running away as fast as possible is the only smart choice," Matt said, his voice firmer now. "Now, have a good life."

  "Leave, and we’ll scream—unless you unlock us," interrupted the bodybuilder-like goblin woman. "I am not about to miss a chance to finally be free and do as I please. That’s the one thing I can’t stand about the way things are run here. Just because one in 50 goblins is born a woman means we’re forced to breed the moment we reach maturity. Heck, the only reason we’re allowed to even reach level 5 is that we can have twice as many children in our lifetime once we hit species rank F."

  "Go ahead and scream," Matt countered coolly, "though it won’t change my plans much."

  "But it would make a world of difference for all the humans likely being targeted on the surface as we speak," stated a new, commanding voice, causing Matt to freeze mid-step. "Good, you seem quite persuadable. You don't want to be raped, and we want to reach the surface—where we can find men who aren’t goblins to have fun with. So, let’s make a deal."

  "No deal can be made without trust, and I doubt either of us could ever trust the other. Besides, how exactly do you expect me to free any of you when I don’t have a way to open your cage?"

  "Telling you how to open it is as simple as turning the gear without dropping the failsafe," the voice explained calmly. "And as for trust—not necessary. All you need to do is raise the gate just enough while we move toward the exit. If you hit the failsafe, we really will be trapped until an army of goblins comes to reset it. How else do you think our males manage to pick one of us at a time to mate with, instead of watching us all escape at once?"

  "Our lives are spent in cages," added the four-foot-tall goblin woman, her voice tinged with resignation. "When we are born, we are locked away, and we only leave when it is time for us to be forced to reach level 5. Five male goblins act as our wardens on the surface. Even that takes forever because every time we go out, we come back pregnant, as our men can't keep it in their pants. Then it’s back into the cage until our child is weaned, 13 to 15 days later, and that cycle continues until we reach level 5. After that, it's a day or two in this cage before spending two weeks in our pregnancy and motherhood cage and then back here."

  "Two weeks? It only takes two weeks from when you get pregnant to when your child is weaned?" replied Matt, dumbfounded by such a timeline. "A thousand goblin women could breed an army of 26,000 in a year—that is just insanity."

  "That is what being a goblin is all about," stated the goblin woman with a physique like a bodybuilder, her eyes glinting with a fierce determination. "What do we care if half of our kids die before they are a year old and another half of what's left fail to make it to two years old? That still leaves plenty who can keep having more goblins, as we outbreed all other races and conquer everything with our numbers."

  Matt had no answer for that, as his brain worked in overdrive to figure out exactly what he was supposed to do in this situation. Even if he just freed the goblin women in the cage before him, it would cost the goblins around 400 children in a year. By the same math, Matt calculated that the six women with him could result in over 150 more goblins. At least, that was what he thought before the new voice shattered his logic with her next words.

  "Oh, and the women with you are especially prized, as human women will give birth every day once they are properly altered for the males' needs. Though none of their children will be female, at the very least, take solace in that when you explain this to them and how you didn’t create as much chaos as you could when you came here."