The interior of the nest was deeper and more winding than Matthew had anticipated, and it was far larger than the goblin nest.
Under the faint green glow reflecting off the stone walls, his creeping shadow danced and leaped.
The air was thick with a pungent, gamey stench—a mixture of blood, musty soil, and sulfur.
Matthew advanced along the narrow passage. After a moment, the space ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious underground cavern.
The structure here was somewhat similar to the goblin nest he had explored last time, both being caves used by monsters as settlements. However, this one was far superior in terms of both spatial scale and internal construction.
The ceiling of the cave was higher, and the air circulation was slightly better. Rough traces of excavation and reinforcement could be seen on the stone walls.
Most noticeably, the cave was simply divided into “rooms” of various sizes. Although they were only crudely partitioned with stones, deadwood, or animal hides, it already showed a clearer sense of community organization and functional zoning than the goblins had.
A thought flashed through Matthew's mind:
The way these low-level monsters planned their living environments actually shared some similarities.
But his attention was quickly drawn to the scene in the center of the cavern.
There, a crude platform about half a person's height had been built from thick logs and stone slabs. A thick layer of dry animal hides and straw mats was spread across it.
Sitting lazily upon it was none other than that goat-horned magical beast.
At this moment, its thick hooves rested casually on a pile of animal bones that had been gnawed completely clean and scattered haphazardly.
The bones varied in size, clearly belonging to different prey. They were likely the “tribute” provided by the kobolds it had enslaved.
Its crimson pupils glinted faintly in the dim light as it looked down at the kobolds occasionally passing below, carrying itself like the undisputed “king” of this underground nest.
Matthew's gaze quickly swept over every corner of the cave. He saw that those crude “rooms” were almost completely empty.
The vast majority of the kobolds were prostrated below the platform where the goat demon sat. Their postures were utterly subservient, like a crowd of slaves waiting for their sole ruler to issue commands.
Their bodies were hunched and their skin sagged, clearly indicating old age and physical weakness. Others showed obvious juvenile traits, their eyes filled with nothing but ignorance and fear.
The rest were thin kobolds with female characteristics, huddled together in fear. They possessed none of the stockiness and ferocity that adult male kobolds should have.
This scene initially made Matthew feel a slight sense of relief. There was no sign of any other goat demons in the cave, which basically confirmed his previous assessment that this was a solitary individual that had accidentally wandered here.
This meant the level of safety was greatly increased.
But soon, his attention was firmly seized by the state of the kobolds below, and his heart suddenly grew cold:
There isn't even a single strong, adult male kobold.
“The intelligence of this goat demon is probably even higher than I expected.”
Matthew's gaze swept across the area below as his thoughts raced:
“It knows those strong individuals pose a potential threat, so it only kept a few old, weak, female, and young ones inside the nest to serve it. Meanwhile, it drove all the other adult kobolds with combat capability to the periphery—to handle patrols, hunting, and guarding.”
However, Matthew had carefully checked the surrounding environment before sneaking in and had not found any other patrolling or guarding kobolds.
Either they happened to have left this area to forage or patrol elsewhere... or they had already been disposed of or consumed by this goat demon in some way.
And those three kobolds from earlier were likely the last of the able-bodied ones.
After all, how could such a large tribe only have three able-bodied males?
Having figured this out, Matthew couldn't help but feel a surge of complex joy.
This goat demon, no matter how one looked at it, had truly done him a massive favor:
It had not only weakened the overall combat strength of the kobold tribe, leaving the defenses inside the nest nearly empty;
it had also actively scattered the threats to the periphery, allowing Matthew to eliminate them in batches and reduce the risk of a frontal confrontation.
More importantly, this arrangement exposed the goat demon's own caution—
and even a certain level of insecurity, indirectly confirming Matthew's previous assessment that its strength had not yet reached its peak and that it was highly likely a juvenile.
It was likely even unable to control too many able-bodied kobolds.
“A 'juvenile ruler' who is quite intelligent and knows how to manage slaves, yet must guard against everything due to limited strength...”
Matthew gripped his bow tighter, the corners of his mouth curling up imperceptibly.
“It really is... satisfyingly thoughtful.”
Lurking in the shadows of the passage, Matthew quickly formulated a tactic.
His primary target was the goat demon.
Those old and weak kobolds prostrated on the ground posed almost no threat...
Matthew decisively raised his hunting bow and pulled back the string, 【Eagle Eye Gaze】 locking onto the goat-horned beast sitting high up.
He calmed his breathing, focusing his arm strength—
Swish—!
The arrow whistled sharply through the air, flying straight toward the back of the goat demon's heart.
Below, the goat demon's reaction was also incredibly fast!
Almost the exact instant the bowstring snapped, it lunged to the side to dodge. But the arrow flew too quickly; it only managed to shift its vital organs slightly out of the direct path—
Just as Matthew felt a flash of joy, thinking the shot was guaranteed to hit!
A trace of panic flashed through the goat demon's eyes. It suddenly let out a low, hoarse roar, and a misty, dark red energy barrier instantly flared up around its body!
When the arrow struck the barrier, it felt as though it had pierced a glob of thick blood. Its momentum slowed visibly, and its force was rapidly depleted.
Pfft!
The arrowhead ultimately pierced the barrier, but it had already lost most of its power. It only managed to sink shallowly into the right side of the goat demon's waist.
“Roar...!”
The goat demon let out a roar of mingled pain and fury. Its crimson eyes snapped toward the source of the arrow, flashing with a savage light.
At the same time, the old, weak, female, and young kobolds prostrated at the goat demon's feet were startled by the sudden whistling sound and the agonizing roar. They jerked their heads up.
When they saw their once-mighty “master” with an arrow protruding from its waist, bleeding and roaring in pain and anger, their long-accumulated fear and survival instincts instantly overwhelmed everything else.
Without a single moment of hesitation, and without the slightest thought of offering aid,
they let out chaotic, panicked screeches. Like ants doused in boiling water, they scrambled on all fours, desperately squeezing into the shadows of the cave's various corners, seeking only to escape this sudden chaos.
The goat demon's injury, far from inspiring them to fight a common enemy, acted like a popped bubble of fear, plunging them entirely into a frantic, panicked flight.
Not a single one tried to turn back to help, nor did any of them stop.
Chaos instantly replaced the submissive order of moments ago.
Rate on N.U.
