As the last nightmare beast goblin turned to ashes amidst its despairing wails, the deserted village fell silent once more.

Relying on wisdom to see through the greenskins' ambush, the Hero turned the tables, surrounding them instead, and the slaughter continued until all the goblins were dead.

In the past, after killing the goblin leader, she used to worry about how to deal with the remaining goblins; despite chasing them to exhaustion, she could never achieve a clean sweep.

The Hero, who was spread too thin, once envied the Mage's wide-range spells.

After all, these despicable and cowardly magical creatures knew nothing of loyalty to avenge their leader; once they lost command, they would panic and flee haphazardly.

But now, with the elemental sealing of the Gleaming Scale Serpent and the convenient magic she herself mastered, it was naturally impossible for any goblin remnants to escape.

Yet after the extermination of the remaining nightmare beast goblins, the young woman's expression revealed no relief, but rather became more solemn.

Although to the current Hero, these goblins were weak enough to be defeated with a single punch, she was no longer a novice who needed to look up goblins in the library.

With her current understanding of goblins, she could accurately judge the level of the nightmare beasts.

"Equivalent to a high-level demon leader, and nearly a hundred intermediate goblins..."

Without exaggeration, such a lineup could easily wipe out several villages or towns of similar size to hers.

This deserted village was truly a demon cave in name and fact; ordinary adventurers arriving here would likely become goblin prey without even a chance to resist.

If history had not shown that there had never been a goblin of Demon King Level, had these goblins begun to breed, the threat would have rivaled that of a small Arcane Surge.

If not for a stroke of luck that led the client to discover it, and if the Hero had not come here, the Church might have had to suffer hundreds of casualties to detect the anomaly.

"Goblins won't mutate for no reason; something must have caused this change..."

The Hero narrowed her eyes, spreading her perception carefully and searching every inch of this deserted village.

All changes have origins, especially in nature, where phenomena are closely linked.

Only by finding the true source can the root of future troubles be severed.

For example, premium-grade Dragon Saliva Grass and treasure-level Dragon Blood Ore are materials whose utility isn't extraordinary but whose rarity multiplies their value.

Because it takes the magical power flowing from a dragon to produce these special materials, there have been instances in the past where hunters, by tracking the growth of Dragon Saliva Grass, successfully deduced the flight path of dragons and ultimately found the Dragon Nest.

[Within the Kingdom, the disaster level of dragons (affecting dragon status rather than level)]

5 - Extinction, 20 - Traceless, 30 - Friendly, 50 - Peaceful, 70 - Princess-stealing Evil Dragon, 90 - Sketched by Divine Knowledge Saintess, 90+ Occasional Dragon Disaster, 95+ Great Demon - Foreign Country Annihilation

D100=d100(65)=65

[Is there a friendly Dragonkind? (50+ yes, 70+ Dragon Knight)]

D100=d100(49)=49

Dragons are greedy and powerful entities. Each adult dragon belongs to the Fantasy Species class, and due to their love for gold and treasures, their relationship with humankind is far from friendly.

Throughout the Kingdom's history, there are numerous documented instances of dragon plundering events, including several Arcane Surges led by Evil Dragons and other wicked dragons.

But dragons are independent beings, and although most dragons plunder treasures, they do not indiscriminately kill; sometimes, they are willing to communicate with humans.

Though no dragon has ever openly allied with or made a pact with the Kingdom, humanity has indeed gained a lot from these powerful beings: precious materials, vocational skills imitating their posture, and even noble Dragon Vein Mages, Dragon Blood Warriors...

However, since the rise of the Divine Knowledge Saintess, sightings of dragons have decreased significantly.

Just like when the Corrupted Phoenix sealed under the volcano gave rise to demon spirits like the Depraved Flame, tormenting the White Snake, without a powerful magic source on the level of an Ancient Dragon Species, it would be impossible to produce so many high-intensity mutant goblins.

Although the Hero has encountered strong goblins born from survival of the fittest in harsh environments, this is near the Holy City, within human territory.

No matter how you look at it, there are simply no conditions here for fostering high-level goblins.

Moreover, these nightmare beast goblins possess the ability to create illusions and set intricate traps, and their attack moves are comparable to those of skilled assassins. It's hard to imagine they could naturally learn such skills, driven only by instinct.

So, if it's not a natural mutation, there's only one possibility...

"An artificial ritual." The Hero quickly concluded, her expression grave.

The only link she could think of was the supreme key of the Black Gate, a subject of investigation by another self a few days ago, and one of the Pantheon-graded sins, the Key of [].

1.5. Black Dream

2.6. Lucid Dreaming

3.7. Dream

4.8. Dreamland

9. Dream Merge

10. Great Success/Extreme Failure

D10=d10(1)=1

♛: Black Dream

[Traces of the Dream Key remaining (90+本人)]

D80+20=d80(75)+20=95

[Saintess's Precepts]

D972=d972(814)=814

→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←

"——It's the Black Dream Key."

Realizing the goblins in this deserted village were possibly experimental products of the Black Gate, the Hero immediately became tense.

The True Saint Disciples, with their Keys of the Door, are Pantheon-level criminals, posing a threat to the Kingdom no less than a Great Demon.

These disciples managed to remain free under the Divine Knowledge Saintess, who instigated a fifteen-year-long Holy War, and even plotted grand schemes like subverting the Capital, hinting at only a fraction of their formidable power.

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