Wildness and Masks

Every race is naturally entitled to the right to live, but everyone also has the right to revenge.

The burning fire can bring warmth and life, but it can also bring pain and destruction. The difference lies only in how one views and approaches it.

—Words of the Dawn God

...

In the memory of his father.

Ogre wasn't particularly clear about which group of goblins had raided his birth village or if they were still alive.

Ogre didn't even know if the Goblin King had been replaced.

But none of this affected his revenge—as long as he cleared out the goblins in the forest, the result would be the same.

When Ogre pushed open the dusty threshold of the cave, the first thing he saw wasn't female captives, but weak newborn goblins and a few female goblins.

Their pitiful expressions seemed to tell Ogre that they were innocent, different from those marauders.

Their tears and weakness were so similar to the helpless humans during the raids.

If it were some newly initiated Professional apprentices, they might feel pity, waver, or even question how their actions differed from the goblin marauders.

But Ogre wouldn't.

What awaited these goblins was only the cold hammer in his hand and the stones he hurled.

Letting them go would only cause conflict and make the future more painful for both sides, with no benefit whatsoever.

In Ogre's view, a shameless, cunning, and evil race that builds its survival on the pain and destruction of other races—even if weak—is not innocent.

Moreover, the raided race was his own.

"Leave it to me," Ogre said coldly to the half-naked woman in front of him, holding a torch.

After dealing with the mobile female goblins and the slightly grown goblins trying to escape, Ogre turned his attention to the remaining goblin infants, some of whom hadn't even opened their eyes and were crawling on the captured women.

These women were bound by chains, fed just enough to keep them alive, and their days in the cave had made them lose their sense of self and desire for freedom.

Even now, seeing Ogre's slaughter, they could hardly muster any emotion.

Ogre wanted to root out the problem, and most of the captured women cooperated with him, their only remaining emotions likely being humiliation and hatred.

But in this vast world, there are always exceptions.

"No, it's my child..." The tragic woman clung to the little green-skinned goblin in her arms, looking even more pitiful.

Some women, after being defiled and rescued, develop sympathy for the goblins they gave birth to.

They see them as their children, their only solace.

But Ogre knew that these creatures would never see parents in their eyes; it was all just a natural disguise.

Killing them, severing the past, was the best choice.

"It's just a parasite."

Ogre was taught by his father from a young age not to judge a person as good or evil based on their race.

But his father also said,

"Ogre, you are ultimately human, and to humans, goblins, ogres, and other demon beasts are dangerous, greedy, and brutal. They are your enemies, and you must never harbor any sympathy for them... Only those who are absolutely strong have the right to show kindness."

Is Ogre strong? Without a doubt, not yet...

No matter how important this goblin infant was to the woman in front of him, Ogre would not soften his heart.

A woman who has been humiliated can be accepted, but a woman with a goblin she gave birth to... often faces a dead end.

"Please, I beg you, it's just a child..." The woman, accustomed to the darkness, instinctively recoiled at the sight of the torch's light.

Yet she still instinctively protected the goblin infant in her arms, which also cowered and closed its eyes at the light, appearing pitiful and innocent.

"My father told me not to judge a creature's goodness or evilness by its race," Ogre's self-talk gave the woman a glimmer of hope.

But what followed was utter hysteria.

"No! Give it back to me!" The woman, though bound by chains, struggled and roared like a beast.

But her weakened state showed she was at her wits' end.

"But its birth was a mistake..." Ogre roughly snatched the green creature and immediately strangled the green infant with his hand.

"No!" The woman's desperate struggle caused the chains binding her to inflict even more harm.

Before the woman could do anything more reckless, Ogre swiftly moved behind her and knocked her out with a quick hand chop.

In such moments, actions often speak louder than words.

"In fact, my father also told me not to seek revenge... but I couldn't do it."

Ogre completed the unfinished words in his heart.

"You are free now," Ogre said to the remaining women.

Most of these women, used as breeding tools, were human...

"All pitiful people..."

Ogre sighed slightly in his heart, then took out his hammer and smashed the chains binding them one by one.

As for the remaining locks, that would have to be handled by the village.

"Thank you..."

This was the first thanks Ogre received after entering the cave.

"It's all over now," Ogre casually comforted before moving on to the next woman.

To ensure milk, goblins would feed them, and although these women lived miserably, they still had the strength to leave.

As for what they were fed...

That depended on luck.

During the rescue, Ogre also saw several skeletons with clothing...

"Sigh..." Although Ogre had seen such scenes several times, he couldn't help but feel a sense of lament.

Rescuing these poor souls wasn't Ogre's task, but he did it anyway.

Although these women might not fare particularly well after returning to human society, it was still better than staying here.

As for where they would go, most villages were willing to take them in.

Just as Ogre finished rescuing the last woman, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.

"Watch out!" a woman shouted forcefully.

Upon hearing the warning, Ogre quickly took a few steps forward before turning around, gripping the hammer he had used for the slaughter.

"Why are you pointing a sword at me?" Ogre asked the woman who attempted to attack him with a sword, puzzled.

He couldn't quite understand what this woman was thinking.

"You killed my child..." This woman had no reaction when Ogre killed the goblin infant, but after being rescued, she silently picked up a sword.

Hearing this answer, Ogre's usually expressionless face under the mask showed a big expression for the first time.

"Hahaha, I saved you, and you want to harm your savior with a sword for this reason!" He laughed, a laugh of anger, as this absurd answer disgusted him.

"You... you're a good person, but you... shouldn't kill the innocent, children are innocent."

The woman with the sword seemed unsure why she was doing this, perhaps due to madness after losing her emotional anchor, shame from being seen in her ugliness, or maybe her long-strained mind had completely collapsed.

"A good person? A good person should be threatened with a sword?" Ogre found it absurd.

Faced with Ogre's questioning, the woman dropped the sword and began to cry on her knees—clearly, her mind was already unstable.

Seeing this, Ogre just sighed, then picked up the fallen sword and swung it forward.

The bright red blood was particularly striking in the dimly lit cave—

Ogre killed the woman who had swung a sword at him.

She was the first human he killed in this cave.

Ogre never expected to come here and end up killing a person...

The surrounding women, already numb, merely glanced up slightly, their reactions indifferent...

Perhaps they were already numb...

When an endless nightmare nears its end, there aren't many ripples; they still need to adjust.

"Let's go... it's time to return to where you should be," Ogre said to the group, leaving the sword behind.

His previously calm heart suddenly felt a bit complicated...

When Ogre swung the sword to kill that woman, he saw her mouth open, as if trying to say something to him.

That mouth shape was clearly—thank you...

"She wanted to die... but didn't have the courage to commit suicide. No, no, she was probably already dead in this state... Well, for her, this might not be a bad choice..." Ogre thought as he walked ahead.

Then he shook his head, no longer pondering what the woman who swung the sword at him had experienced in the past.

Ogre could naturally see that she was seeking death.

As for what she experienced, it held no meaning for Ogre.

Ogre always believed in one thing—

Let the dead rest in peace, and the living must be strong.