The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 6 Goblin Head soup 6

I killed them all.

No more goblin knights, no more grunts, and even those shooting crossbows and casting spells from a distance—all dead.

There was no sign of life left in the goblin underground empire.

It felt like I was the only one left in the world, with a strange sense of eerie silence hanging over me.

As I rotated my stiff shoulders and back, I heard the sound of bones cracking and felt a slight sense of relief.

“Haaah…”

I didn’t know how many there were…

Thousands?

No, maybe in the tens of thousands?

Thanks to the [Holy Body Annihilation] miracle that wiped out a large number of goblins, I couldn’t estimate the exact number.

– Wow, the host really did it.

– Crazy crazy.

– From today, I pledge my loyalty to the host.

– Loyalty loyalty.

– If you mess with that Noona, you’re dead, hahaha.

– For real, lol.

– There’s actually a hunter who can solo the Goblin Empire? Boom boom pow?

I found out later that the Goblin Empire is a difficulty level even an S-rank hunter can’t handle alone.

[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 10,000,000 won!]

– Congratulations on defeating the Goblin Empire!

“Ah, thank you, KawaiiHorned~ But since the Emperor Goblin hasn’t appeared yet, it’s not a complete victory…”

– Oh right, there’s still the mission, huh?

– Can the host take down the Emperor?

– Don’t you see? She’ll probably take it down like it’s nothing, lol.

– But the Emperor is a boss mob, it’s on a different level from regular mobs.

– Still, I think the host will win.

– Yeah, that’s true.

“Kraaaaarrrrgh!!!”

At that moment, a massive scream echoed, shaking the underground city.

I turned my head in the direction of the sound.

The immense pressure and the overwhelming presence that instantly filled the space—it could only be the Emperor Goblin.

“My Soup!”

○○○○

The Goblin Empire had been defeated once by an expedition of four S-rank hunters and numerous A-rank hunters from the Hunter Association.

At that time, the expedition knew almost nothing about the Goblin Empire, and since the Goblin Empire was attempting to invade reality, the association declared an emergency and hastily assembled the hunters.

In the end, during the extermination battle with the Goblin Empire, two S-rank hunters died.

Not only did they lose valuable S-rank hunters, but there were also many other casualties.

According to reports, the Goblin Empire had been preparing to invade the human world on a large scale, so the association urgently dispatched a raid team to prevent civilian casualties, regardless of the success of the raid itself.

As everyone knows, the expedition did defeat the Goblin Empire.

However, even then, it wasn’t a complete victory for the humans and the Hunter Association.

Even though two S-rank hunters had died, they still failed to kill the Emperor Goblin.

The S-rank hunters, blinded by the Goblin Empire’s ‘Vision Theft’ spell, quickly found themselves on the defensive.

Eventually, two S-rank hunters died, but even then, they didn’t give up and continued to fight.

The Emperor Goblin, overconfident after blinding the hunters, was caught off guard, and the hunters managed to severely injure it.

With its life in danger, the Emperor Goblin had no choice but to close the gate and retreat.

If the hunters had pursued it further, the Goblin Empire might have been destroyed for good.

However, the damage to the expedition was so severe that both sides seemed to reach an unspoken truce.

After recovering from its injuries, the Emperor Goblin began rebuilding its kingdom into a strong empire once more, preparing to invade the human world again.

This time, it trained far more goblin knights.

It created various types of shamans skilled in casting deadly spells on humans and even founded an entire army of shamans.

In secret, it opened gates to human military bases, stealing weapons and dangerous materials like bombs in preparation for its invasion.

Much more thoroughly than before.

This time, the Emperor Goblin vowed to make human territories its own, hiding its empire as a Camouflaged Dungeon.

From there, it slowly laid the groundwork for the invasion, waiting for the right moment.

Yes, the opportunity would surely come.

If not for the crazy saint trying to make soup out of goblins, the Emperor Goblin’s plan might have succeeded.

At first, the Emperor Goblin didn’t pay much attention to the strange woman who invaded his kingdom alone.

He was confident that his powerful army of goblin knights and shamans would capture the arrogant woman before he had to step in.

The Emperor Goblin had experienced the strength of S-rank hunters in the past.

They were powerful humans, but it was only natural that a single person couldn’t handle his army without support.

Perhaps a few dozen, maybe even a hundred goblin knights would die, but given time, such losses could easily be replenished.

He could always bring in breeders from other dimensions.

And any goblin blessed by the Emperor’s grace could become stronger.

[Cursed creatures of the earth…]

But the monstrous woman who came to destroy the heart of his empire was enough to ignite the Emperor Goblin’s fury.

‘What is that female? How did she single-handedly wipe out my entire army…!’

Only after some time did the Emperor Goblin realize that the woman wielding those grotesque tentacles had destroyed his entire army on her own.

Rather than wonder how she did it, the Emperor Goblin seethed with rage toward the female.

“Kraaaaaaah!!!”

He held a giant greatsword in one hand and a totem used by the goblin shaman chief in the other, jumping down from his palace.

“Oh, it’s the Emperor Goblin!”

– What’s that?

– Wow, is that the Emperor?

– What the heck, is that really a goblin???

– Whoa, damn hahaha.

– He’s so tall????

The Emperor Goblin was the pinnacle of all goblins, a singular origin creature.

He stood nearly three meters tall, far larger than a human, and unlike the weak, fleshy goblins, his body was muscular and stronger than an ogre’s.

Rather than looking ugly, the Emperor Goblin could even be described as handsome for a goblin.

– Damn, a goblin is better-looking than me.

– Hahaha.

– LOL.

– No wonder he’s called the Emperor Goblin, lol.

His eyes shone with intelligence, and despite his rage, the Emperor Goblin didn’t lose his composure or recklessly attack the ‘woman’ who had destroyed his empire.

That alone was enough to make the saint lick her lips in anticipation.

Thud!

[Cursed human, do you realize where you are?]

“Everyone, today we have confirmed that the Emperor Goblin is intelligent enough to communicate with humans!”

[Look at me, human. Your power is indeed great. It may be on par with mine, or perhaps even greater.]

– That’s right, huh?

– Come to think of it, the association hasn’t released much info about the Emperor Goblin.

– Other goblins can’t speak, but the Emperor is special?

– The Emperor Goblin has been talking to the host for a while now.

– But she’s not responding, lol.

“Looking at you, there’s no fine hair like other goblins… Great, the meat looks clean!”

[Ha! Are you mocking me, human? For today, I will fulfill the mission bestowed upon me by the Earth Mother…]

“By the way, I was thinking of making some goblin head soup…”

[What did you say?]

Soup? What is that?

The Emperor Goblin didn’t know what soup was.

But the phrase…

Goblin head soup.

Just hearing it gave him a bad feeling and made him uneasy.

– Are you seriously going to make that???

– You crazy woman!

– Why???

– Why on earth???

– Wait, so taking down the Emperor Goblin is already a given?

– Hahaha, that damn soup, LOL.

“Look! His body is stronger than other goblins! He has great intelligence! Having higher intelligence means a bigger brain, so it’s perfect for making goblin head soup!”

– Noona, please stop with the nonsense.

– LOL.

– Here she goes again.

– Without fail, the craziness is back…!

– Haha, I’m losing it, lol.

– I’m never going to worry about Noona again, lol.

– I was really worried when her vision was blocked earlier, but now she’s back to talking about soup, lol.

– But doesn’t the Emperor seem really pissed right now?

– And what’s he going to do about it, lol.

The Emperor Goblin, who had been baffled by the female’s behavior as she ignored him, finally began to feel true anger.

[Are you mocking me?]

He had thought this was an extraordinary female.

This white-haired woman was clearly one of the strongest beings among humans.

She seemed far stronger than the S-rank hunters who had attacked his empire before.

Although he felt fury toward her, the Emperor Goblin also held some respect for her.

Despite being a female, weaker than a male, she had broken through his army alone and slaughtered all of his knights and shamans, even after being blinded.

Beyond his anger, he thought of her as a ‘warrior,’ someone worthy of him drawing his sword and giving her a death that wasn’t disgraceful.

If she were to submit to his power and join his empire, the invasion of the human world would go much more smoothly, and he even imagined a bright future.

[Ha… This… this wretched female…]

– Wait, is the Emperor Goblin trembling right now???

– What, lol.

– If someone destroyed your house and then ignored you, wouldn’t you be pissed off too, lol?

– Hahaha.

– Hahaha.

– And what are you going to do about it, lol.

– Our Noona only has cooking on her mind, lol.

– LOL.

[This won’t do! I had planned to treat you as a warrior, but I’ve changed my mind. You will now become a breeder who will birth an army greater than the one you destroyed!]

“By the way, what do you think? The bowl I was planning to use broke earlier, but wouldn’t it be nice to just serve it in the pot and completely empty it out, then go ‘Boom Yeah~’?”

– Wait, the host is still ignoring the Emperor, lol.

– But I’m not really worried, lol.

– Eating soup and going ‘Boom Yeah~’ is a classic.

However, the Emperor Goblin could no longer hold back his anger.

He wanted to have a reasonable conversation.

As an emperor, as the origin creature known as the Goblin Emperor, he wanted to give this intruder, who had defeated his army, the honor of a proper duel.

But she was ignoring him completely, chatting with someone else and paying him no mind at all.

No, she was paying attention.

She was talking about making him into soup, mocking him right to his face.

The Emperor Goblin raised the totem in his left hand and cast buffs on his body.

He increased his speed, enhanced his skin’s defense, boosted his strength, and even strengthened the sword he held.

The totem was essentially a crystal containing the spirits of many goblin shamans, and it could apply various buffs.

In a short moment, the Emperor Goblin applied countless buffs to his body and sword.

The moment the buffs were complete, he turned his furious gaze toward the female before him.

One second.

It took one second for the Emperor Goblin to finish buffing himself and charge at the arrogant woman.

CRACK!!!

And the Emperor Goblin’s greatsword struck the saint’s neck.

The saint’s skin was incredibly tough.

But it wasn’t invincible.

Her skin was certainly strong enough to resist swords, arrows, and bullets, but the Emperor Goblin’s strength was on a completely different level, befitting the master of an S-rank dungeon.

Moreover, the Emperor Goblin had amplified his strength with layers of buffs from the totem.

Even if he couldn’t cut the woman’s neck with his greatsword, it didn’t matter.

The Emperor Goblin’s raw power was a weapon in itself, and the greatsword wasn’t meant to cut—it was meant to ‘slam’ into the arrogant woman’s neck.

CRACK!!

– ????

– Holy crap.

– WTF

– ?

– Noona

– Noona?!

– Noona!

– Is she dead?!

– What the…

– I can’t believe this!

– Is she really dead??

The woman’s neck was bent at a bizarre angle from the impact.

The greatsword hadn’t pierced her skin.

But the sheer strength of the Emperor Goblin had twisted the woman’s neck into an impossible angle.

[Hahaha! That’s what you get for mocking me!]

The Emperor Goblin knew that when a creature’s neck bent that way, they were dead.

Her neck hadn’t just turned once, but two or three times, hanging loosely.

Her neck bones and spine were surely broken, and she must have died.

CRUNCH!

[Ugh?!]

However, just as he thought the battle was over, the woman’s hand suddenly grabbed the Emperor Goblin’s greatsword.

Was it rigor mortis?

No, rigor mortis didn’t work like that.

The Emperor Goblin was flustered, but he tried to pull his greatsword out of the woman’s hand.

[Wh-what?!]

And as he realized it wasn’t budging, the Emperor Goblin began to sweat, sensing something terribly wrong.

Why wasn’t she collapsing, even with her neck twisted like that???

“Ouch…”

– What’s going on? How did she survive???

– Haha, look at the newbies freaking out, lol.

– LOL.

– What? How is the host still alive??

– So many newbies in here, lol.

– I smell newbie blood.

[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 100,000 won!]

– Our host Noona is… the Saintess of the Dead. Not just the ‘Saintess for the Dead.’ She IS the Dead Saint.

– Which means she doesn’t die, lol.

– Let’s begin the praise for the Dead Saint!

– 1111

– Remember when she got swallowed whole by a Sandworm and then burst out of its stomach, lol.

– Oh yeah, that was hilarious, lol.

– ???

– Wait, how is she really still alive???

The Dead Saint.

Not a saint who guides the dead or the lost, but one who is dead.

A zombie, undead, ghoul—there are many names for her.

And a saint.

An impossible, contradictory, twisted miracle.

The reason she wields such inhuman strength.

Creak! Creak!

– Holy crap, what’s with her neck twisting back???

– LOL.

[Miracle – Great Healing]

Crack! Crack!

Her broken neck bones began to return to their original position.

Her crushed skin, her fractured jawbone, everything returned to normal.

“Wow, the Emperor Goblin is really strong. My neck twisted three times.”

I’m strong?

The Emperor Goblin, staring at the woman who still had a grip on his greatsword, began to feel fear.

“Now, it’s soup time.”

And the Emperor Goblin, looking at the tentacles blooming like flowers from the woman’s back, widened his eyes.

They were like the jaws of a carnivorous plant, ready to devour its prey.

Rip!

“Bon appétit.”

[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 10,000,000 won!]

– She really killed the Emperor! Congrats congrats!

[‘HushTangerineCookie’ has completed the 5,000,000 won mission!]

– Success in defeating the Emperor Goblin! Congrats congrats congrats!

[‘BaldManagerLickLick’ has donated 10,000 won!]

– Wow, she actually did it.

The last sound the Emperor Goblin heard was the strange electronic tune of a donation alert.